Tag: Sludge

The progressive-metal-math-sludge band UNTEACHERS who escape all conventional descriptions and standard genre labeling (except for my own labeling I slapped on for the purpose of this article and to give a hint of what you'll find upon listening). This band goes hard but not in the traditional metal approach with shrieking screaming and guttural bellowing bordering on the barf inducing, stomach churning variety. This is a no holds barred, face ripping, thick low end and beefy bass attack which adds this layered approach that brings together balance and fullness in sound. The vocals are on the higher end similar as to a Rush or Coheed and Cambria but not so much so that it becomes a distraction or a mimicked copy cat. This is super legit and the song is absolutely stunning from start to finish. It's like Rush, Coheed, and Failure joined together to form this somewhat rag tag assortment of superheroes maybe more akin to antiheroes? Anyway, they are joined together and birthed a creation (in a lab people) in kindred spirits with Deftones, Hum, Finch, Saosin, Roadside Monument, and the mighty Hands to form the most complete experimental sounding band of all time and who surely won't be riding the coattails of anyone else like all the star players of today (you know who you are cough Milli Vanilli cough cough). Ok in all seriousness, you need to listen to UNTEACHERS and you need you press play on their song "Households of a Cosmic War" today because Brandon gives his two thumbs up and 5 star approval (out of 5), the highest rating reserved only for the best of the best, the numero uno, champions of absolute music perfection. So drop your plans for the day, swipe off what you're doing, put the hot latte on the table and pull up your favorite digital network then push your finger hard on that play button and blast it out of whatever speakers God blessed you with to let the world feel the pure power of UNTEACHERS. The band will release their brand new album titled "Under Bright Sadness" on October 16th 2026 via Rottweiler Records. I personally extend my own Indie Vision Music mark of approval upon this song and hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do. *All expressed opinions and wording within this article are the explicit opinions of Brandon Jones alone and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of anyone else. This was written without A.i. and all grammatical errors are Brandon's proud mistakes of his own making. To hell with the devil! To each his own. Party on Wayne. Put your knee in the dirt and bow to the God that holds your blood red destiny in the palm of his awesome hands..it's..your..choice! That is all. Carry on with the countdown.

One of my fave indie metal bands from years ago have returned! MSNGRS (Messengers) a band from Texas that play heavy, sludgy, thrash type metal, have emerged from the depths of retirement hiatus to blast our eardrums into oblivion once again and rule the scene! The band has some new merch, a new website, and are working on new tunes. They are celebrating 15 years of “Anthems” and 13 years of “silence” (since their last recorded music). Check them out at their socials and visit 13yearsofsilence.com… 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 →

Brace yourself. The Souls Unrest has one of the more complicated histories in all of Christian metal. The roots of the band lie in old school punk band Spudgun, who released one album on Bulletproof Records (a division of Gray Dot). That band got heavier and darker, changing styles so much that a new name was warranted–World Against World. That version of the band also released one album (an amazing album at that) for Bulletproof, before morphing again. A short-lived project called The Orcrist followed, but released no official recordings.… Continued →

Fluffy’s debut, Fluffy Luvs You, was a fun punk rock record, even if it was a little predictable. Featuring 3 chord thrash goodness, and nonsensical lyrics, it stood out in the Christian punk scene for its lack of preaching. So fans and critics alike were a little puzzled when the band dropped their sophomore effort, Go, Fluffy, Go! In place of the fast, simple riffs, were long, slow songs that juxtaposed indie rock, sludge metal, and noise rock–something that wouldn’t be seen in CCM by another artist for another 5 years (yes, I’m thinking of Warlord’s EP, from 1997).… Continued →

Everdown is one of those bands that I heard back in the 90s that quickly rose to the top of my bands that never got old. Their sounds closest mainstream counterpart would be Helmet. The vocalist did not growl or give any guttural sounds & in essence the lyrics are easily understood. Forming in 1992, 1995’s Sicken’s grunge/sludge sound housed personal faves such as Sufferman, Crush & Nation while 1996’s Straining sounded much cleaner w/ greats Unleaded, Flown, One Knuckle Shy, & Seasons In Doubt. This is in the days before Solid State Records when punk, hardcore & alternative bands where thrown in under the Tooth & Nail Records label.… Continued →

"O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation." -Psalm 95:1

If you asked me what the heaviest Christian release of all time was, a strong contender would be the self-titled EP from Portand’s Warlord (not to be confused with the secular heavy metal band of the same name). One of the earliest releases on the Tooth & Nail imprint, Solid State Records, their debut EP featured deep, dark, heavy riffs and lengthy songs. In fact, this 4-song effort clocks in at longer than some full-lengths, due to the longevity of the tracks. Often overlooked and underappreciated, the release was the first of its kind in the Christian market.… Continued →

In the late 90s, I lived in Atlanta, GA, doing inner-city ministry and discipleship training. An old college friend of mine from the area, Darrel, invited me to a show south of the city. Blindside were doing a U.S. tour and this new band was opening, featuring ex-members of Spudgun and Joe Christmas. I’d been hearing from others about the intensity of their live shows so I was eager to attend. Pop-punkers Jesse and the Rockers also played, as well as a new band made up of high school kids, called Luti-Kriss that never went anywhere (I kid!)… Continued →

On The Attack Records act, Judgement X Day have released their new music video for the song “Age of Innocense” off of the upcoming album “The Altar” due out in January 2015.… Continued →

The bottom line is that Papertowns. is a young band with a massive amount of talent. If they are able to accomplish this much in just a few songs, their debut full length record should get them places.

Two passionate, DIY bands on a mission to bring back the sounds of old school hardcore.

I met Collin in California on November 22, 2003 at the Showcase Theater. He was playing in Shawn Jonas of Zao’s new band Symphony In Peril. We became fast friends, and I have followed Collin’s musical and design career ever since. When he posted the Band Camp link to his new solo project Maranatha, I was stoked to say the least. After hearing what Steven Cosand of Overcome did with Sanhedrin by himself. I knew Collin’s project had to be just as good, and was I right.… Continued →