Author: Loyd Harp

From the opening riffs of opener “Armadillo”, you know this is going to be something interesting—dual harmonic guitar riffs in fuzzy tones. Vocals reflect Markham’s alt country background, but this is clearly a rock record. His bio claims he was trying to return to the hard rock and heavy metal that made him happy as a child, and while that is certainly a tangible presence, it’s filtered through his alternative consciousness. It’s like the rock era of Starflyer 59 where they essentially wrote doom metal riffs but set them into the context of shoegaze songs.… Continued →

There’s a recurring debate about who the first Christian rocker was. It’s very often touted that Larry Norman was the “godfather of Christian rock.” And if we mean by that that he was the first artist to really capture the essence of the genre with a wide influence, you’d have a pretty decent argument. However, if we’re talking about who was first, it wasn’t him. Not by a long shot. Larry’s first Gospel album dropped in 1969, after an impactful encounter with the Holy Spirit led him away from a substantial career in famed rock group People!… Continued →

British Christian reggae artist Ben Okafor was born in Nigeria. Experiencing life as a victim of the Nigerian civil war, and even serving temporarily as a child soldier, Okafor was able to relocate to England in the late 70s where he began a career as a reggae artist. His early works were even produced by Bob Lamb (UB40). Musically, Ben’s music has always had an interesting mix of influences from traditional roots reggae (Ben’s clean guitar playing is noted throughout his lengthy discography) to lovers rock (AKA pop-reggae), but also including folk and world elements–all of which are impacted by his diverse cultural and geographical background.… Continued →

I’m not sure how most IVM readers feel about new wave and synth-driven music. It’s extremely nostalgic for me, having grown up in the 80s. The 1980s also comprised the decade where contemporary Christian music came into its own as a marketable industry. While you could argue the merits of that, or against them, it’s a simple fact. But where there is ‘progress’ or marketability (read: money), there will also always be an undercurrent–an independent protest against the mainstream. Marc Plainguet–and his alter egos Gadget and Crazed Bunnyz–were spearheading lo-fi and experimental synth-driven music in the underground tape-trading scene.… Continued →

There used to be a fairly well-known release formula for SF59. Step one: release full-length album. Step two: release EP of similar material within the following year (or even later that same year). While the formula has been tweaked over the years, it still more or less holds. Whereas She’s the Queen was the counterpart to Silver, Miami functions that way for Young in My Head. Although there are some stylistic—and more noticeably, lyrical—differences, any of these songs probably could have been on Young in My Head.… Continued →

When Seventh Angel’s debut album The Torment came out, I was an instant fan. I was a huge thrash fan in my teenage years, and their unique take on it–lots of acoustic interludes, and darker chord progressions–appealed to me. A couple of years later, the band followed up with Lament for the Weary. I must admit that at first I didn’t get it. It was much slower than any thrash I’d ever heard, and I hadn’t discovered doom yet as a genre, so I didn’t have a frame of reference for slower tunes.… Continued →

When it comes to black metal, true fans will generally argue that the more raw, the better. And the more underground too. And there’s not much more rare, raw, and underground than Flaskavsae. The band was spearheaded by the mysterious “E” and most of their releases were in limited runs of a few hundred copies. I happened across the band when I was running a distro about 15 years ago specializing in underground metal, hardcore and indie rock (among other things). Their sound, though bleak, brings in bits of atmospheric layers, and at times, downright noisy textures.… Continued →

Power pop was (is?) a strange phenomenon. Despite the big hooks, melodic overtones and just enough of a punk edge to keep things interesting, it never really caught on in a huge way. Although it’s made inroads into new wave and, more recently, indie pop, the leaders of the subgenre still remain fairly underground, with a few notable exceptions (Cheap Trick and The Romantics are among the few artists with major radio hits). It should be no surprise then, that in Christian circles, artists in the style were even fewer.… Continued →

Mad at the World went through at least three distinct phases throughout their history, which impressively spans across 4 decades: synth-pop/new wave, hard alternative rock/metal, and retro rock/alternative. We’ve already featured a song from their synth-pop era, and here’s one from their hard alternative phase, but one that interestingly enough hints at their retro phase that would be unleashed in 2 more albums’ time. Both of the songs I’ve chosen from the Rose brothers have spoken words of encouragement to me when I needed them. Let’s face it: 2020 has largely been crap.… Continued →

It’s hard to believe this release is nearing 20 years old. Although I’ve been hearing about it for years, I only recently acquired a copy for myself, and it sounds just as innovative and fresh now as it must’ve done when it first dropped. I’m not sure how many industrial music fans we have at IVM, but this is the real deal. It’s not metallic industrial, nor dance stuff, just harsh, sonic, rhythmic experimentations. And what really caught me off guard was how much this album infuses ambient sounds.… Continued →

When listening to music, do you ever get the feeling you’re hearing something deeply personal, and you’re not really sure if you should be listening in? Of course, recorded music is made to be heard. It’s marketed for consumption. But there are some songs that just seem so intimate it’s like you’re accidentally listening to a private conversation. “Days End” from Brandtson’s debut strikes me that way. I was equally excited and perplexed when I first heard about this new band (in the late 90s). Six Feet Deep had been a staple in the Spirit-filled hardcore scene–passionate and preachy as that genre was known for, when the members changed the band name and style, replaced by the new “emo” tag (at the time, anyway).… Continued →

Film director Guillermo del Toro and spastic hardcore punk band Blaster the Rocket Man have at least one thing in common. Whereas most of society, and particularly within Christianity, monsters are usually the bad guys, these two artistic entities–operating in disparate fields as the case may be–often take the side of the monster. Pan’s Labyrinth, for instance, juxtaposes the kind but terrifying Pan against the inhuman, yet human, monsters of the Spanish fascists under Francisco Franco. Blaster the Rocket Man uses traditional monster and sci-fi imagery, all the while connecting these images to faith in Christ.… Continued →

I had this song on my mind the other day as I was thinking about what song I was going to choose for this week. The modus operandi: Ruminate on a song and make a choice. Find it on YouTube. Listen while I’m writing. Dang. I’ve loved this song for years, but was still surprised at how good it sounded more than 2 decades after it was recorded. I highly recommend headphones! This song has so many layers. So many things that make it great. It’s difficult to know where to begin.… Continued →

Lo-fi indie rockers, hailing from Kansas, Jetenderpaul were delightfully weird. They simultaneously embodied the avant-garde and pop music, writing short, melodious ditties that would never be on radio even though they should be. I was a huge fan of Velvet Blue Music in the 90s and picked up this EP on a whim, and I wasn’t disappointed. Although there really was nothing else like it in the Christian scene, the band’s work often appeals to fans of material from Danielson Famile and Havalina Rail Co. to Soul-Junk and Pony Express.… Continued →

Not much is known about this band, who released one album for major label Curb Records in 1997, called Yours Truly. They played a fairly straight-forward brand of alternative rock that hinted at grunge without ever fully going to Seattle. The lead single was “Low,” with its provocative chorus: I’m wasted! I’m wasted! I’m wasted . . . without You!” While the song might have raised eyebrows among critics of faith-based rock music, the lyrics hit home for some. I remember playing the song for a friend of mine, who at the time was not a fan of anything hard or heavy.… Continued →

Emo seems to be a genre that people either love or hate. Heck, even most of the bands who played in the genre didn’t want to be associated with the name for one reason or another. While Roadside Monument toyed around with various genres like indie rock (Beside This Brief Hexagonal), math rock (I Am the Day of Current Taste), and fusions of the two (Eight Hours Away from Becoming a Man), they also stayed just close enough to the emo genre to never fully break free from the tag.… Continued →

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 →

Many people nowadays have a love-hate relationship with worship music. It can sometimes be too simplistic, or based on shallow theology, yet believers have a real desire to connect with the Lord through music. The so-called Modern Worship movement has both helped and hindered this process. While it’s outside of our purposes here to give an overview of the practical, musical, and theological ramifications of modern worship music, let’s take a look at an early innovator. the violet burning (lower case intentional) started out as a hard-edged alternative rock band with both goth and post-punk tendencies.… Continued →

Roemer is a stripped-back acoustic/indie folk project. If you’re anything like me, folk has to be some really special to catch my attention—a quirky vocal style, effective use of harmonies, skilful playing, or best of all hard-hitting and/or poignant lyrics. If it has one or more of those, I’m more likely to pay attention. Straight Bars and Guns was written from an outsider looking in. Much like myself, Roemer is an American citizen living abroad. He in Berlin, me in the south of England. Being an American who doesn’t actually live in the United States gives one an interesting take—neither more nor less accurate, just different.… Continued →

Black/death metal band Since the Death have released a new single, “The Black Must Come Out” in advance of their full-length album by the same name. Label home Vision of God Records is offering the single for free download here: https://visionofgodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-black-must-come-out?fbclid=IwAR3muBU9kJVcfNZYrU25wu9q_-m-jQToaUVmngyqXhyBw7xh8IZ3UDsHNgw… Continued →

Jangle Pop. While the term might not mean much to most listeners today, it was the dominant form of alternative rock (on both sides of the Atlantic) in the late 80s to early 90s. As 70s punk gave way to 80s new wave and synth pop, underground bands were looking for more earthy sounds, moving away from sythesizers and often including acoustic guitars and instruments borrowed from folk rock. There was less emphasis on the lead guitar licks of glam metal and arena rock, and more emphasis on jangly guitar rhythms, hence the name.… Continued →

There’s a new collaborative album out featuring Sareem Poems & Newselph, and . . . it’s now available on vinyl! Hip-hop leading indie label Illect Recordings are offering the vinyl for pre-order via their Bandcamp page. Fans who pre-order the vinyl will get it 2 weeks before it hits stores August 14 (via Fat Beats). illect.bandcamp.com/album/the-art-of-living… Continued →

There’s a new brutal slamming death metal band in the works, spearheaded by Grant Mohler (also of Crushing the Deceiver). The studio-only project will be called simply Mohler, and will not interfere with Grant’s other band, as there will be no touring. The heavier-than-thou project will feature a host of big-name guest vocalists as well. More details to come . . .… Continued →

I first heard of Cross-Check a few months ago through social media channels. Shortly thereafter, I was asked to review their mini-album Overwhelming Odds for Heaven’s Metal. What I found on that release equally excited and bewildered me. The band has a way of weaving some very interesting and somewhat disparate influences into their sound. While they clearly take as their foundation a traditionalist line of old school hardcore, they manage to weave such diverse sounds as street punk, post-punk, rockabilly, and occasionally even surf rock.… Continued →

Instrumental music and Christianity have always shared a wonderfully curious relationship, adding a twist to the age old question, “what makes music Christian (or not)?” While attempting to answer that questions is always interesting, and dare I say, fruitful, it would take up much more time and space than what we are afforded here. Nonetheless, it seems appropriate to quote Johann Sebastian Bach: “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”… Continued →

I’ve been listening to a lot of the Beach Boys lately. Like, a lot. They’ve been my favourite band since childhood. What is it about the comforting sounds of childhood that helps us make sense of turmoil? With covid19, racism, and political division, something about that longing for innocence, for simpler times has got me digging deep into those smooth sounds. In the late 90s, KMG Records put out a compilation of surf rock and surf-inspired tunes called Surfonic: Water Revival, which was spearheaded and produced by Terry Taylor of Daniel Amos.… Continued →

For my Song of the Day this time round, we’re going back. Like way back. To the beginning of Jesus rock. It’s widely accepted that Larry Norman is the “godfather of Christian rock” and you can make a reasonable case for that. But he wasn’t the first. Several other bands and artists were contemporary with him, including Liverpool’s own The Crossbeats, Agape, and the All Saved Freak Band. Arguably the first rocker, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, was also a Christian and a gospel artist, plugging in her electric guitar long before Bill Haley and the Comets set on the scene.… Continued →

This obscure black metal band only issued a handful of releases from 2008-2011, before shunning Christian lyrical themes for their final release in 2014. “Howls of Worship” is taken from their self-titled EP and also appears on the full-length To Known Hell (what is it with extreme metal’s deliberate use of incorrect grammar?), and is a full-on black metal worship anthem: Come let us worship and bow down Let us kneel before the Lord our maker Come let us worship and bow down to our maker While it’s awesome to have a full-on worship song in the extreme metal format, that is not the track’s sole accomplishment.… Continued →

Lovers of traditional, old school death metal will know there is a significant lack of it coming from bands with a Christian worldview. The reasons for this are complex, and we won’t get into them here, except to say that it probably has something to do with the lyrical themes that often accompany their secular counterparts: death, gore, and the occult all being regular topics. Minnesota’s Crimson Thorn have often led the way in Christ-centered brutal death metal. Building on work from predecessors like Australia’s Mortification, CT got even heavier and unlike the boys from down under, Crimson Thorn didn’t dabble in other styles.… Continued →

I’ve reviewed 3 different releases from Shadow Puncher (for 2 different publications), and one of the things I’ve noticed is the diversity of sounds and influences on each project. While the one-man band from Norway functions within the death metal genre, each release has a different feel. The earliest material had a strong thrash influence, then moved into a djent-heavy sound. This EP is the first to utilise keyboards in a prominent way, thus adding a progressive element. After a 1-minute ambient keyboard intro, “One End of Heaven” rips into the speakers with brutal rhythms, blastbeats and plenty of time changes.… Continued →