Tag: post hardcore

This is it. The band, the album, the first release on Tooth and Nail Records. I remember when this came out. Nobody had heard of Tooth and Nail or Wish for Eden. I just knew this abrasive alternative/punk/grunge/hardcore hybrid was good. Really good. A little simplistic maybe, but super raw and totally scratched where I itched at the time. Wish for Eden’s impact is hard to understate. I was talking to some friends recently who are younger than me, maybe 15-20 years. These are folks heavily involved in the Christian independent scene.… Continued →

All in all, I thought 2025 was a pretty good year for music! There were a few bands I’d hoped to hear some new material from and didn’t. There were a few I didnt expect to hear from whatsoever…but we did! Then, there were even a few new bands and artists I’d never heard of before who popped up on the radar and made some really great music! As we move into 2026, I most certainly have some big expectations for the new year, as I have for years and years prior, but will they be met?… Continued →

✨AF X RESUSCITATION PRESENTS… ⚡️Resuscitation Records Night at the Subculture Stage on Friday, July 3rd!⚡️ The showcase will feature Clear Convictions, Dear Adversary, Pipe Bomb, Take, Plead the Widow’s Cause, and The Forefunner. These 6 bands will be only a fraction of the 90-100 artists the festival will book between now and July. The festival recently announced Bleach as a headliner as well. Grab your tickets today, go to Audiofeedfestival.com… Continued →

Chasing Victory has done it again, dropping another new single titled, “Renegade” (see below). The track comes out swinging, but relents slightly in the choruses, making way for some really melodic vocal leads that are especially catchy. The vocals on this track sound amazing. The guys just might have plans for more music ahead, who’d be psyched for that??   Oh, and head HERE to get merch, updates, an d more from the band.… Continued →

After the well-received album Pain Split in 2022 (vinyl in 2023), South Jersey’s melodic hardcore/post-hardcore heroes are back with another full-length. Once again, CDs were pressed by the band, while the vinyl release is through Resuscitation Records and comes in a beautiful transparent green vinyl. If you want the short version of this review, here it is: if you liked the debut, you’ll probably love Silver Glass Stare. That’s not to say it’s a remake by any means. In fact, there’s more of . .… Continued →

Another example for how 2025 musically just keeps getting better and better. This favorite band of mine NAMES WITHOUT NUMBERS are channeling their inner 80’s child and have covered the classic Tears for Fears staple, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and have released it on all streaming platforms. It’s a tasteful cover and showcases the band’s unforgettable sound and penchant for tackling heartwarming emotional subject matter mixed with heavy nostalgia to create an unforgettable cover track. Once you’re done giving this track a listen please go back and give all their other recent songs a stream/spin/play.… Continued →

I recently caught up with Joby Harris of Christian indie/punk supergroup Crash Rickshaw, for what turned out to be a rather enlightening (and lengthy) interview. What’s the story behind their decade-long hiatus? And why reconvene now? IVM: It’s been 24 years since the Crash Rickshaw debut, and 9 years since any last recorded music (only 10 copies made of The Unknown Clarity). Why the long wait, and what prompted the return? JH: We made the first Crash album at a prime time of being young, highly creative, knee-deep in a great music scene in Southern California and big dreams of doing that kind of thing forever.… Continued →

Everdown was a hardcore band from New Hampshire, active in the mid-90s, but their roots were in earlier versions of the band like Crawlspace (who recently had their material re-issued by The Charon Collective) and Dry Bones. Unlike their counterparts from southern California or New York City, Everdown incorporated other influences into their music like post-hardcore and even sludge. Perhaps it was their New England location, or maybe they were simply influenced by a different scene, but with unusual arrangements (for hardcore), and song lengths at times over 7 minutes, their take on hardcore was certainly unique in the Christian scene.… Continued →

Stavesacre emerged in the mid-90s as sort of Christian punk/alternative/metal supergroup. Featuring ex-members of The Crucified, Focused, Chatterbox, The Blamed, scaterd-few, and Saviour Machine, the band had a lot of hype to live up to before their debut album was even heard. And while the members’ previous project mostly dabbled in hardcore, Stavesacre forged new sounds more akin to post-hardcore or alternative metal. The late 90s landscape was ripe for such a shift, with nu metal and other forms of non-traditional metal emerging. The band’s debut album, Friction, was metal with eager praise from both fans and critics, covering ground that was often neglected in Christian circles.… Continued →

Spirit filled melodic/post-hardcore out of West Texas. FFO: Plead the Widow's Cause, The Dwelling, In Shepherds Arms, (Un)worthy, Remembering Never

Oh my! After a 20-year hiatus, post-punk/hardcore darlings Crash Rickshaw are back! The band, comprised of members of Project 86, Innermeans, Rainy Days, Starflyer 59, and more, will release a brand-new EP, entitled Big Sir. The new project will release via Velvet Blue Music on August 1st, and will be the label’s 250th release! In addition to digital downloads, physical media will include blue & yellow haze vinyl, and compact disc. Pre-orders are now live at Velvet Blue Music… Continued →

In completely unexpected news, Noise Ratchet have returned with a NEW (demo) song called “Who We Are” and it sounds darn near perfect song wise for 2025 but also rides on that classic 00’s emo/pop-punk train alongside other classic bands like Saosin, Thrice, Story of the Year, The Used, and Letter Kills. I hope more music like this is on the way soon. Welcome back! Listen to the song below.… Continued →

***April Fool’s Joke*** Brandon Jones otherwise known as the man with a plan, aka Nanny Doe, aka Founder and Owner of IVM, visited the White House over the weekend (see pic) to plan out how best to keep Faith based rock n’ roll aka Christian Music, alive and well into the next decade by incorporating his “Dominate” approach (inspired by the fine folks at Tooth & Nail Records in their ‘Dominate 98’ ad slogan) into the America First Agenda. Meeting with Trump and Musk, he felt that his lifelong passions could reverberate into Washington DC politics.… Continued →

Hey guys, there’s been a few new albums and other notable news that’s dropped lately, so I thought I’d just share a few with a couple thoughts, and maybe introduce a few new bands to you that you haven’t had the chance to check out yet as well. Sorry if there’s 1 or 2 that were recently posted, just take them twice as serious.   1. We’ve got the new/renewed album, “Nevertake” by Anberlin. This album is a recreation of Never Take Friendship Personal, only this time with Matty Mullins on the mic.… Continued →

New Jersey based spirit filled post-hardcore band – Plead The Widow’s Cause, just released their brand new full length record titled “(Silver Glass Stare)”. The title of record is actually an excerpt from “The Lord of The Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien. This is a heavy and metallic, spirit filled, post-hardcore, sometimes melodic, bundle of joy. This is a literal step up from the last record “Pain Split” and shows a band not afraid to stretch out their wings and experiment a little but at the same time drawing on past influences and classic hardcore sounds as well as some screamo 00’s tendencies.… Continued →

I love the old playful quote about the difference between knowledge and wisdom: Knowledge is knowing Frankenstein isn’t the monster. Wisdom is knowing Frankenstein is the monster! A similar thought could be applied to Norwegian band Royal: Knowledge is knowing Royal isn’t punk. Wisdom is know Royal is punk. If punk is about shedding notions of convention and rules, then Royal was as punk as they come. Royal blended genres like chefs blend fancy soups. They were simultaneously indie rock, jazz, post-hardcore, emo . . .… Continued →

The artist known as Ben S Dixon a multi instrumentalist and songwriter from the Northern Virginia area, just dropped his intense and heavy new song “Moths & Rust” which based off the verses in Matthew 6: 19-21. This has a really incredible sound and I was expecting it upon first listen. The song also features Nate Parrish which is always a good thing, right? Check out the track below and listen/stream wherever you get your music. (The lyrics are also on the YouTube video page so be to visit and check those out).… Continued →

Today’s introduction is of the project “FYR FYTR” (Fire Fighter). Introspective and passionate indie rock with an almost post-hardcore like influence, that Faith connection and a strong emphasis on emotions. I ran across this band a few weeks ago through a sponsored ad and instantly fell in the love with the music. I’m slow with news so it took me a little while to write this post. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. FYR FYTR just released a new song at the beginning of November titled “So Simple”.… Continued →

This killer independent post-hardcore, heavy band called CNTXT (like “Context”), is about to release a new 3 song “Covers” EP that’ll be available through on digital networks on 11/1/24. Featuring covers of Thrice, My Epic, and Exiting The Fall. Go give these guys a listen and get release for the release of “TIDES” on 11/1/24.… Continued →

The very first official Furnace Fest Vinyl announcement has taken place and 3 albums have been revealed as part of this exclusive: Dogwood “Building a Better Me” (2000), Slick Shoes “Self Titled” (2001), and As Cities Burn “Hell Or High Water” (2009). You can find these 3 at Furnace Fest next Month courtesy of UnoriginalVinyl and their very talented team. Let’s hope a different variant of each will appear online for those of us who can’t attend Furnace Fest. Which ones are you excited for?… Continued →

The Christian indie scene suffered a great loss last week, losing notable drummer Geoff Riley, known best for his immaculate time-keeping skills in the band Puller. The band was formed by Mike Lewis (ex-For Love Not Lisa, secular grunge/post-hardcore band), and hailed from Oklahoma. Mike posted the news of Geoff’s death, and some very poignant thoughts about Riley’s life and artistic contributions to the independent music scene via Instagram. Because it can’t really be said any better than this, I’m linking the post and including the entire text here: Geoff Riley Instagram Announcement “Hearing the news of my friend and music partner Geoff Riley passing is an overwhelming devastating loss.… Continued →

Names Without Numbers will release yet another NEW song, this one titled “Ping Pong Ball in a Concrete Room”. The song will drop on August 16th through all digital networks and streaming sites. The song will appear the band’s best work yet and most exciting new album – “We Create Reality” due out this fall via Fair Vaux.… Continued →

Anberlin have just released a music video for their new song “Seven” which features lead vocals from Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire. The song appears on the band’s new album “Vega” which is out now via Equal Vision Records.… Continued →

Today I am going to spotlight a killer new post-hardcore/post-metal heavy yet melodic band called “Descriptor“. They recently released a new song titled “Deathwork” and it is beautifully heavy, really great and hits me in all the right places. The vocalist can sing with the best of them and whoever is doing the screamed parts does it to the best of his abilities. Very passionate, hopeful, and heart piercing stuff. Imagine HANDS meets Least of These meets My Epic meets La Dispute meets Touche Amore.… Continued →

Islander are following up their last few singles leading up to the new album “Grammy Nominated” due out June 28th with this brand new track “What a Time To Be Alive” which is rich in sound and melodies. This is definitely a great sounding song and I think a lot of you will dig it. Check out the music video below and comment with your thoughts.… Continued →

The heavy music band (you call it whatever genre you’d like because they do it best) – Convictions, just dropped a new song a week ago titled “Hurts Like Hell” and coming from personal experience dealing with the grief of loss, I know exactly how that feels. Listen to the emotionally charged and feelings triggering new song in lyric video format below and make sure to give these guys a follow on your socials.… Continued →

Noise Ratchet have announced their reunion by being added to the Furnace Fest 2024 lineup and they’ve also teased the vinyl re-release of their now classic album, “Till We Have Faces”, originally released by The Militia Group in 2002. The band would go on to record and release a follow up EP for The Militia Group before departing for a major and recording their ill fated full length with Rick Rubin which was shelved and has been in the vault ever since. I’ve heard it and it would have been the band’s finest work and on par with the biggest bands of the 00’s.… Continued →

Tooth & Nail Records has just signed the band – My Epic! This will be the first time in their careers that they’ve changed labels. Their last non-label release was “This is Rescue (EP)” back in 2006. Congrats to the band and label. Let’s not forget all the amazing music they made with Facedown Records. They’ve got quite a hill to climb to beat those expectations that began with their last releases. “Northstar” is out this Friday and yes, it is a single. Click here to pre-save the new single.… Continued →

A lineup that’ll blow most fans minds of that early to late 00’s emo (or whatever you want to call it cool guy) is heading for your town this summer. The “20 Years of Tears Tour” will feature Hawthorne Heights, Thursday, Saosin, Anberlin, I See Stars, Cartel, Armor For Sleep, Stick To Your Guns, Emery, and This Wild Life. Now not all the bands will be at every date so be sure to check the tour poster below for the line up on each date closest to you.… Continued →

This split LP is a vinyl release featuring two hardcore/metalcore bands from Las Vegas. It appears from the photos that both bands also share some members. One of the first things you’ll notice about this 12” is the provocative cover art and exquisite packaging. Liner notes are printed on a full 12” booklet with glossy printing. It’s very similar to the booklets that have traditionally come inside CD packaging, except this is like 4 times the size. I don’t know if this is becoming a trend in vinyl packaging, but I’ve never seen anything quite this extensive.… Continued →