Articles

January 3, 2025

Song of the Day: The Echoing Green - Defend Your Joy

This synth-pop powerhouse hailed from New Mexico, and was spearheaded by Joey Belville. They debuted in 1994 with a light, upbeat, joyful and relatively simplistic take on synth-pop with the aptly-titled Defend Your Joy. Produced by Ronnie Martin (Joy Electric, etc.), the album oozed of positivity and an almost naive optimism. And yet, it never came off as cheesy, disingenuous, or otherwise off-putting. In fact, I think the title track is a great song to kick off a new year with. I don’t know what your 2024 was like–joyful, sorrowful, challenging, rewarding, or something else–but a focus on the joy of the Lord is always appropriate.… Continued →

December 31, 2024

Best of 2024: Rob Jensen

Looking back, I feel like 2024 was a fairly average year for music. It had it’s ups and downs, a few surprises here and there, but all in all, I feel like the albums that show up on my year-end list are going to be ones that I’ll be listening to and enjoying for many years to come. So kick back, take a look, and drop your thoughts in the comments. Here’s looking forward to 2025!!!     1. Poppy – Negative Spaces I heard of Poppy in passing for a few yrs now, but knew she was more of a pop artist.… Continued →

December 30, 2024

Song of the Day: Midnight Orchestra - Chaos

This year’s last SOTD post from me is from a project that can be very hard to determine which genre it falls into. Helmed by Mick Rowe, brother of Jamie from Guardian/Kalamity Kills and who also worked with the arena rock band Tempest, Mick wanted to work a project that would be different than all else. Both LPs Land of Nod & Digital Saviour have elements of goth, hip hop, rock and pop. CCM rock & rhythmic radio shows picked up a few songs including God, I’m a Lie, War Dance & The Cage.… Continued →

December 29, 2024

Best of 2024: Brandon Jones

Well, we have reached that year end event, the time in which Indie Vision Music posts their “Best of Lists” for the world to see. 2024 was a tumultuous year and one filled with plenty of heartbreak and tragedy for myself of which I am still recovering from in the form of grief and trauma. As much as there were lows (I’m talking low lows), there were some definite highs and highlights I might say in the form of music. Albums and EPs plastered this year, many of which have entered my year end best of list.… Continued →

December 23, 2024

Song of the Day: Darkness Divided - The Hands That Bled (Acoustic) vs Souls of the Lost

This Texan band takes their name from Genesis 1:4 I found about them from RadioU in Ohio with their song Remnants. Since then, I have followed them & they just released their latest single King of the the Undertow recently. Starting in church worship, they changed styles in 2010. I personally am not a fan of acoustic covers, but I love this one.  Also, included a fave of mine from them.
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December 20, 2024

Song of the Day: Flight 180 - O Come All Ye Faithful

With Christmas being right around the corner, you know what time it is! It’s time for our annual Christmas-oriented Song of the Day entry. With a plethora of punk, indie, and even metal Christmas tunes (seriously, there’s way more than you might expect!) to choose from, it can be a daunting task. I like to choose tunes that are thoughtful, yet playful. Fun, yet reverent. I can’t think of a Christmas tune that fits that description much better than the ska/pop-punk stylings of Flight 180’s “O Come All Ye Faithful” (incidentally also my favorite Christmas song).… Continued →

December 18, 2024

December 16, 2024

December 14, 2024

Song of the Day: Ritual Servant - Comfort In the Fire

Releasing their first EP in 2017, this Carolina thrash band has done the genre very well imho. Some may recognize guitarist Ryan Roebuck’s name from other projects he has worked on such as Motivik & Vultures Gathering. Vocalist/guitarist Patrick Best has also worked with another band I personally like a lot called Collision of Innocence. Anyways, check this band out if you haven’t already.
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December 13, 2024

Song of the Day: The Mirrors - What Do You Say

After vocalist Bill Walden left 4th Watch in 1987, he had no plans to pursue any other music. (For context, the recognizable crooner had also been the early singer for Undercover.) So, when The Mirrors (formerly Malcolm & the Mirrors) came asking Bill to join them, and then asked again, he was reluctant and uninterested. However, providence prevailed and it turned out to be a great move both for the band and for Walden himself. The band was definitely on the ministry side of things. In fact, three of the band members became pastors.… Continued →

December 9, 2024

Song of the Day: LastPageFirst - Song For You

Pulling from the archives with this rare pop punk band, they were from Rochester, New York. Their LastFM bio is hilarious. This is from the last paragraph:  “LastPageFirst is definitely a band to watch in 2005. With their passion for touring, their amazing hooks and melodies, and an album and live show that is nothing short of stellar, LPF will soon have arenas full of young girls chanting their name.” Jeremy Call, their vocalist/guitarist also says this “Our goal is to build relationships with people. I want to show people that I’m just like them.… Continued →

December 6, 2024

Song of the Day: J.C. Crew - Pressure Drop

J.C. Crew was a hip-hop trio that was a one-and-done situation. They released Serious Bizness on Pakaderm/Word (with mainstream distribution through Epic) in 1991, and then more or less disappeared. Nevertheless, there are a few notable things about the project. The album features a danceable, funky style of hip-hop that was common at the time, meant to rock the party. However, the rapping was actually quite good too. One of the members, Maximillian later released album Deeper than Most through N-Soul in 1997, after a season with T-Bone’s Organized Rhyme Crew.… Continued →

December 4, 2024

Song of the Day: Superstar - The Brightest Star

Here is another Christian rock rarity. Do you remember Rustproof Records which put out great releases from Broomtree & Polarboy. Well, this band had a song called This Confusion included on a compilation from the label. Unsure on much else from the band because there isn’t much information on the www. As the discogs site doesn’t list the band beyond the comp, my best guess is the cd was released independently.  Here is a track listing from the cd though.  https://www.cylist.com/List/406381538/superstar-broken-record-cd-track-listing
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December 2, 2024

November 29, 2024

Song of the Day: Elgibbor - Final Triumph

Elgibbor began as a solo project of Jarek (AKA “Fire,” also of Fire Throne) from Poland in 1999. Other band members have come and gone, and Jarek has since relocated to the United States. The outfit is incredibly prolific, having released 15 full-length albums since its inception, not to mention singles, EPs and other releases. The band’s name is taken from a Hebrew name for God, meaning “God Almighty.” An interesting approach is taken by the band in that each album features a slightly different take on the black metal genre.… Continued →

November 27, 2024

November 25, 2024

Song of the Day: Terminal Generation - Body Bag vs Suck You Down

So here is another rarity band that I have pulled from the archives. The Terminal Generation considered themselves the world’s scariest band. Based out of California, they melded distorted guitars & vocals. Most would know them if they followed 90s Christian industrial movement when R.E.X. records released an industrial compilation called Electro Shock Therapy in 1995, but they actually got their start in LA in 1989.  
 
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November 22, 2024

Song of the Day: Innermeans - Casualty of Me

I wasn’t sure what to make of this band the first time I heard them. It was heavy, metallic hardcore, created in the era just before full-blown metalcore had become a thing. And the vocals were unlike anything I’d ever heard in hardcore before. The band hailed from Riverside, CA and were only active for a couple of years in the late 90s. They released a pair of demos, before releasing a devastating 4-song EP for fledgling Solid State Records, then-brand new sub-label of Tooth & Nail focusing exclusively on hardcore and metal.… Continued →

November 20, 2024

Song of the Day: Benjamin - Don't Tell Him You Love Him

Benjamin is the only son of Christian music legends Bill & Gloria Gaither. I have always liked this song & The Narrow Road. Rain Down a Fire was big on CCM radio also. I love the lyrics to the chorus of this song. Don’t tell Him you love Him, Don’t tell Him you need Him til you’re ready to fall down on your knees & ready to serve Him. Don’t tell Him you’re sorry, Don’t tell Him what you’re never going to do until you let Him stand & follow through.… Continued →

November 18, 2024

November 15, 2024

Song of the Day: Lost Dogs - No Ship Coming In

This folk/alternative/roots supergroup emerged in the early 90s as prominent members of four huge Christian bands came together in a new way altogether. Michael Roe of the Seventy Sevens, Terry Scott Taylor of Daniel Amos, Gene Eugene of Adam Again, and Derri Daugherty of the Choir joined their songwriting, playing, and singing skills and released the brilliant debut Scenic Routes in 1992. The album was an amalgamation of all things Americana: folk, country, gospel, bluegrass, blues, and rock and roll all coming together with an alternative tinge.… Continued →

November 13, 2024

Song of the Day: Zach Williams - There Was Jesus vs Old Church Choir

I admit I stopped listening to radio in the late 90s. Most of it was due to the point that Christian radio changed formats. It just seems to have the same exact basic gospel message to every song. We were dead in sin, but God brings us to Him & so we praise Him for that. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but there is more to Christian music than just the same idea. Here is an artist who has been through a lot & sings about Jesus being there all the time.… Continued →

November 11, 2024

November 10, 2024

November 8, 2024

Song of the Day: Imisi - God is Love (feat. Columbus Riddim)

‘Imisi is a reggae duo spearheaded by brothers David Fohe and Jubilee Fohe. They play in the pop-reggae or “lovers rock” style, but with a worshipful emphasis on the love of God. Imisi’s music was first brought to a wider audience through Mark Mohr’s (of Christafari) label Lion of Zion Entertainment, who released a pair of albums in 2003 and 2006, respectively. They seem to have been active up until at least 2023, releasing more albums–mostly digitally–through their websites at ReverbNation and BigCartel. “God is Love” comes from the 2013 project Riddimtion Project Vol 1 of which I can barely find any info at all.… Continued →

November 6, 2024

Song of the Day: All Star United - Let's Get Crazy vs Saviour of my Universe

I remember first hearing Ian Eskelin’s music from his rave outing called Zero. He then went by his Ian Eskelin birth name (which Wikipedia has incorrectly the album listed as his name) and then to just Ian. Then he changed musical direction entirely for this fun quirky alternative rock band called All Star United which released a slew of Christian rock radio friendly singles over the next few years. These 2 songs have always been my faves.  
 
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November 4, 2024

Song of the Day: Scars of Eden - Fade Away

Texan metalcore Scars of Eden formed in 2009 & released 2 EPs: Resistance & The Awakening. Check out this SOTD & the song’s lyric`s. I’ve walked away from the one who bled to take me From deaths cold embrace where flesh would surely take me Break me, Father Send me, Humbly God pour your spirit Into our hearts You will not abandon Those who call Your name I will not fall To the vices that restrain my soul We press on knowing Eternity was written on my heart Your looking at the ones who will never fade We will never fade away  
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November 1, 2024

Song of the Day: AP2 - My Sympathies

AP2 was the continuation of, or the evolution of the forerunner Argyle Park. The first incarnation of the band recorded one album, Misguided, for R.E.X. Music in 1994, performed only one live performance at Cornerstone Festival in 1995, then broke up shortly after amidst a plethora of controversy in Christian music circles. The bulk of the controversy involved the band not being positive enough or evangelistic enough. While the bands’ members were all known by pseudonymous aliases, it is fairly well-known that the creative forces behind the project were Scott Albert (AKA Dred and Deathwish) of Circle of Dust/Celldweller and childhood friend Chris Martello (AKA Buka), who at the time worked for MTV Sports and was responsible for getting lots of Christian alternative/punk/hardcore bands into MTV programming.… Continued →