Tag: song of the day

"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed His own blood for my soul."

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

You’re probably tired of hearing it, but these are strange times we’re living in. How could any of us have been prepared for the reality in which we find ourselves? I don’t know about you but I’ve read a lot of dystopian fiction and watched a ton of post-apocalyptic films.… Continued →

I loved Spoken from the moment their 3rd record dropped “Echoes of the Spirit Still Dwell”. The minute I heard this song, “Promise”, from the album “Moment of Imperfect Clarity”, I couldn’t shake my Spoken fandom. This band and their music came out at the perfect time post-9/11.… Continued →

Ok, yes I know, I am incredibly biased toward the music and sound of Five Iron Frenzy. They are high up on my list of “favorite bands” and I hold their songs close to my heart. I was browsing Instagram this morning and saw a couple of fans cover this song in their own unique way as seen on the FIF page and I had to bust this track out from the dusty bins of my fragile mind.… Continued →

Do you like playlists comprised of multiple genres featuring songs that span several decades? Yeah, maybe this was a bad idea but it’s too late now! I’ve compiled a playlist of all Song of the Day picks from our staff since we started the feature last summer.… Continued →

If you’ve been following my new release lists closely you may have noticed one artist has been in every list this year. Poor Bishop Hooper is Jesse and Leah Roberts and they’ve been busy working on a new project called EveryPsalm.… Continued →

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." - Romans 12:2

Along with L.S.U. and the Altar Boys, another band that was really influential in getting me into alternative music (as opposed to straight metal and thrash of my teenage years) was Breakfast with Amy. Their debut album had enough punk rock influence to appeal to that side of me that wanted noise and aggression, but there was more to their sound than just loud, fast, and angry.… Continued →

Though a fantastic classic/doom metal band, Chicago’s Trouble were always slightly confusing. They often used Christian imagery, biblically-themed lyrics, and somewhat uncharacteristically for doom metal–a positive outlook. Take this ballad from their 1990 self-titled album: Please, take His hand The time has come to learn Please, take my hand Let me take you to learn And yet, the band played almost exclusively secular venues with other secular artists, and depending on which band members you talked to, they seemed to distance themselves from the “Christian” tag.… Continued →

Zao had already made a name for themselves, working up from the underground, with a 7″, cassette demo(s) and 2 full-lengths. They were quickly becoming known for taking hardcore in a new direction. I remember a friend telling me that although he loved the riffs on their sophomore effort Splinter Shards the Birth of Separation, he also found them really hard to dance to.… Continued →

We now approach the 20th anniversary of this now classic punk rock split release between 1 huge fan favorite band – Dogwood, and 1 lesser known, extremely underrated melodic “new school punk” band, Incomplete. I’m left feeling sentimental just looking at the simple artwork and being reminded of two extremely important bands of my youth.… Continued →

HEAVY METAL, Dudes! Despite popular opinions and clearly showing my lack of “scene cred”, I instantly connected with The Showdown “Temptation Come My Way” album back in 2007/2008 and haven’t changed my opinion since. David’s grit-filled voice is front and center just the way a good heavy metal band should be on the song, “We Die Young”.… Continued →

I suppose that the first time you hear a band forever affects the way you think or feel about them. Although Undercover already had a long history behind them when I first heard them in 1990, I was completely unaware of it.… Continued →

Keeping it more current because I’m known to wallow in 90’s and early 00’s nostalgia. It is time to step forward in time a little. Does 2012 count as more current? I mean it is only 8 years ago, right? Well Wolves At The Gate have been making quality music for more than a decade and have released 4 nearly perfect full length albums (+ several eps and a covers ep) in their careers with Solid State Records.… Continued →

This wasn’t the typical Further Seems Forever song of unbridled aggression, melodies intertwined into some sort of cosmic explosion of pure joy and instant approval by even your most jaded friend. This song was somewhat of a departure although still incorporating that classic “emo” sound they’d been pegged with for years.… Continued →

In the late 80s/early 90s I was a straight-up metalhead. Thrash was my favorite variety, but I dipped into other stuff as well. But I had started developing a taste for punk too. The pace and beat of hardcore punk was actually very similar to thrash, but with different guitar tones.… Continued →

By the time Give us Barrabbas came out (the band’s 7th album), The Blamed had already gone through at least 4 different genres: punk rock, crossover thrash, hardcore punk, and punk metal. Now they were dabbling in experimental post-hardcore, which, for my money was their most successful rendering of noise to date.… Continued →

Another great example of early Christian punk/post-punk/new wave from the UK is Writz. They released one album in 1979 that would rival anything from the early CBGB’s scene, or even the stuff coming out of London or Manchester at the time.… Continued →

I was listening to this Unashamed song the other day through one of those Daily Mix Spotify Playlists that they so graciously create for me each day and I was brought back to a different time in my youth. So much anger, rage, and hope all in one song.… Continued →

If you asked me to name the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard, there would be a lot of contenders, but this one would certainly be up there. Haunting melodies (courtesy of Karen Peris), cryptic lyrics that hint at familial pain of some sort, topped off with Don Peris’s intricate acoustic guitar work and some incredible harmonies as well.… Continued →

I listen to metal rather sparingly, but I love this song. When 1:10 kicks in, I feel like I’ve been transported to medieval times, and it makes me feel freaking epic. The drums sound like horses trotting while they pull their chariots, and the guitars bring to mind knights battling under a glow of flames.… Continued →

Mexico City’s Meekness have a new track out for digital download. The extreme noise genre (and all its ridiculously named subgenres: harsh noise wall, power electronics, noisecore, gorenoise, etc.) is a tough genre to get into. It’s even arguable whether it could be called music.… Continued →

I feel a supernova swooping over you and your uh / Sit and wait a minute man, seldom into sentimental propaganda / Elements of enemy headed for the pedigree / Deader than the beat or the feet of a centipede recipe / Better go retreat hypothetically … Continued →

Here’s the thing . . . Sufjan is incredible. Whether or not you like his music, one has to acknowledge the astounding amount of talent the guy has. To me, he is the musical equivalent to the literary Tolkien. What I mean is this: somewhere in the deep recesses of their brains, the creative impetus for all those ideas already existed.… Continued →

Long before the Christian music industry had become familiar with industrial music via the likes of Deitiphobia, Mortal or Circle of Dust, indie stalwarts Blackhouse already had 9-10 albums out. Most of them were only available as imports or through independent mailorder, and many were on secular labels.… Continued →

Soul-Junk are one of those bands that are immensely difficult to keep up with. Incredibly prolific, they’ve released at least a dozen albums, and roughly 14 EPs. All of them are named after numbers, presumably years (mostly in the 1930s-1950s), but they don’t follow any logical sequential order.… Continued →

Folk really has to have something special if it’s going to catch my attention. Sure, there are a lot of great artists out there, but there are so many that it’s hard to stand out. A unique vocal, guitar prowess, or lyrics that hit that spot right in your gut that makes you either want to cry out at top of your lungs, or just really and truly live.… Continued →

I don’t know what it is but maybe today’s dark and stormy skies along with a heavy downpour elicits a moody yet introspective response to music. A song such as “Handshake” really makes you stop and think. I still believe after all these years that the band Black Eyed Sceva (and later known as ‘Model Engine’) were brilliant songwriters, Jeremy Post in particular.… Continued →