News

It was inevitable for me to write the review on one of my fave songs of all time. This band brings back so many memories for me. I first heard of them through an indie Christian online radio website out of Florida (no wonder I know!). I was stationed as an active duty soldier in South Carolina, Back in those days, they were dabbling in unblack metal with great full lengths/EPs Act of Depression & Cries of the Past. I bought a drum set shortly afterwards!… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• August Burns Red – Standing In The Storm
• Captain the Sky – Butterfly Effect
• Chase Tremaine – Development & Compromise
• CHPTRS – Wouldn’t Miss It for the World
• Huntingtons – Foundations, Vol. 6 (Cricket Brown Cow)
• Odds of an Afterthought – Curtain Call
• Our Eternity – Bloodstained
• Talkie – Love Me, Baby

Pop & CCM

• Andrea Hamilton, Daily Squad – Nothing Left
• Branan Murphy – This World Is Not My Home
• Cochren & Co. – Don’t Lose Hope
• CRYS – pause
• Jared Marc – Watch This
• Jessie Villa – Thriller
• JJ Heller – In Your Eyes
• John Jin Han – Find My Own Way
• Micah Christopher – No More Fear
• Paul Whitacre – find the light (The Brilliance Edit)
• Phil Joel – Better Than I Found It (EP)
• ROY3LS – Diamond Love

Electronic

• Asher Postman – Found You

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Andy Squyres – Love Never Fails
• Benjamin Hamilton – art of being human (Radio Edit)
• boy & KING – Where Did You Come From?

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Eternal Decision had gotten some flack about sounding too much like early Metallica (a la ED’s song Hunger) just like another metal band, Jesus Freaks.  I don’t mind because a lot of music sounds like so & so. This song, pulled from their 1997 Godfather Records S/T, in particular was destined to be a fave of mine because of the Scooby Doo intro! I’ve even had some Facebook conversations with vocalist Joe Chambless & drummer Bill Meeks some years ago. Some other bands the members were in worth checking out are Awake which does 2 greats More Like You & Carry Me along with a more laid band rock band Veehr that has the catchy Everyone.… Continued →

Orion Walsh just dropped his cover of The Postal Service “Sleeping In” through all digital markets and streaming sites. This and “House Arrest” released late last year are some of Orion’s strongest work by far and I encourage you to give this song a listen. It’s The Postal Service, it’s a Cover, it’s Orion Walsh, how can you go wrong? Listen below. [Bandcamp]… Continued →

No Lost Cause are back with a brand new version of their song “Where I Stand”, complete with tasty horn parts and loads of SKA. Even a breakdown? Say what? Listen, stream, and download right here. You can also stream below.… Continued →

Mainframe return with a catchy new, most definitely relevant, new song titled “Lockdown”. The band and IVM have released the song through IVM bandcamp right here (For Free) and it’ll be on all digital networks next Friday! It’s an exciting representation of the band, their message, and their experiences living here in the states during our very chaotic times. It’s got a great message and showcases their more punk rock n’ roll sound. Follow them on Facebook here and Instagram: @mainframepunk . Listen to the song, below.… Continued →

A new band, The Jericho Harlot, drop a brand new song titled “Snakes”. It’s a really awesome sounding, very timely, melodic punk rock song and you can watch the lyric video below. The band will release their debut full length on Rottweiler Records very soon.… Continued →

Adam Lohrbach who was a founding member and vocalist for So. Cal. pop-punk band – Home Grown, returns with a deeply personal new pop-punk project titled RadicalRadical. You can learn more at this link here and listen to some studio cuts of NEW songs that’ll be released on his debut album which is out this year. If these song samples are any indication of what’s to come on this debut recording, we are in for one heck of a surprise and quite possibly one of the BEST pop-punk albums of 2021!… Continued →

Chicago area based Hardcore band – 2Minute Minor, return with a very special benefit album, “Back In Our Day”, featuring a ton of classic Cartoon and TV show theme songs done in the band’s classic hardcore style. Songs from classic shows like Ducktales, Thundercats, Veggie Tales, The Jeffersons, Reading Rainbow, Mr Rogers, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and more. All proceeds raised will be donated to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Order physical merch here. Check out the band’s version of The Jefferson’s theme song, below.… Continued →

Punk rock developed somewhere in the 1970s when what had essentially been garage rock bands got louder, snarlier, and started playing shorter, faster songs. While critics argue about the official beginning of the genre (is proto-punk still punk?), it was fully fledged in the late 70s, and had already started giving way to what would become two new genres. New Wave was the poppier extension of punk (that would further develop into synth-pop and electronica). Post-punk was the darker, more introspective branch that would eventually give birth to goth and alternative rock.… Continued →

Sef Idle has dropped a really cool acoustic cover of the Craig’s Brother song “Follow Your Heart” that appeared on “Devils In The Details” in 2019. Check the video out below and make sure to lend a hand to the CB new album campaign here. Sef Idle is also dropping a special “Acoustic Split” that can be bought on Vinyl, Tape, and CD. More info here.… Continued →

August Burns Red just dropped an imaginative and creative new music video for the song “Standing In The Storm” which can be viewed below. Download the “new” song wherever you get your music from, digitally. This is a catchy new song for this metal band and comes up sounding like a cross between A Day To Remember, Killswitch Engage, Gideon, War of Ages, and As I Lay Dying. Love the guitar solo sound. The band also has a special “Standing In The Storm” hoodie and some other merch in their official store right here.… Continued →

Fallstar dropped a really great new song back in mid December that this site over looked (sorry, blame Covid and the Holidays lol). It is an incredible representation of a band here to leave their unforgettable mark on the music scene with a catchy anthem sure to win over even the most skeptical fan. Check out the music video for “Waiting”, below. The new album “Sunbreather” is out February 12th through Facedown Records and is sure to be one of the finest Facedown Records of 2021.… Continued →

The band The Juliana Theory, are back with a brand new song titled “Better Now”. This is a follow up to their surprise come back single, “Can’t Go Home”. As is evidenced in their music videos, the band is now just 2 members – Brett Detar and Joshua Fiedler in what can best be described as a pop-rock duo. “Better Now” is an emotional and inspirational anthem perfect for 2021 about rising up through trauma and overcoming pain. While these 2 new songs may be a departure from their past emo-pop-punk sound of their prior albums that doesn’t necessarily discount their new music any.… Continued →

Craig’s Brother will return this year with their 4th full length release following last year’s “Devils In The Details” EP. After the 5 songs released last year especially the single “Follow Your Heart”, you just know that this collection of songs will be nothing short of extraordinary. Click here to contribute to this new album campaign and help them finish it up. Celebrate 25 year years of legendary melodic punk rock from California’s own, Craig’s Brother. CB for life!… Continued →

I admit, in spite of my wide voray into the annals of endless genres of Christian music, I did not familiarize myself with the progressive, doom or power metal genres until recently. Yes, I liked some songs from what I would later come to realize as these styles such as Fourth Estate’s instrumental Poet’s Lament & Paramecium’s I’m Not To Blame. I have since grown fond of greats such as Theocracy (my personal fave), Narnia, ReinXeed (who do fantastic covers), Golden Resurrection, etc… Sweden’s Veni Domine (Latin for Hear My Prayer, O Lord) plays a mix of the aforementioned genres & there is no denying lead vocalist Fredrik Sjöholm can sing.… Continued →

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Lyrics:… Continued →

Crowdfunding campaigns have a record of being notoriously unreliable; even so, I’d admittedly forgotten about this album I contributed to two and a half years ago. Captain the Sky publicly announced their hiatus years ago it seems, so things have understandably been quiet with a number of side projects taking precedence. But this is most certainly a proper swansong. It’s an eleven-track record of arguably the most upbeat take on post-hardcore you’ve heard in a hot minute. This is a good-vibes album that bridges some of the technical elements of broodier genres with hints of indie pop.… Continued →

Edit: Five Iron Frenzy themselves have posted updated lyrics with corrections made, click here. Also, I left out info on “So We Sing” which is a catchy song in it’s own right but I didn’t mention because it was the first single released a few months back and I assumed most had heard it. Carry on…. Five Iron Frenzy surprised just about everyone by dropping their brand new, electrifying full length album on Friday. It is a complete, total dumpster fire wreck of an album and filled with nothing but pure feces.… Continued →

Oklahoma’s Chaotic Resemblance plays music reminiscent of 80s hard rock/glam metal. This review is in high expectations of their upcoming release which will probably sport their most current single Unto The Lamb which features Stryper’s very own Oz Fox who has undergone some health issues recently but is recovering. Plus, they just have a cool name & my buddy Kelly & I got the chance to see them live a couple years back before this whole Covid hit. They have new pretty cool t-shirts as well on their site: https://chaoticresemblance.com/collections/all… Continued →

Chase Tremaine’s Unfall made mild waves in the independent community in 2020, garnering his upwards of 4,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. That might seem like an insignificant statistic, but I’d willingly admit I listen to bands who’ve been at it for years with less visibility. Something definitely clicked with listeners here. Now, for some reason or another, I didn’t actually listen to Unfall from front to back. Maybe it was lack of time. Maybe it was the pressures of the past year. The downside: I can’t comment on how Tremaine has progressed since his last release.… Continued →

Rock & Metal

• Amongst Wolves – Voices
• Ben S Dixon – Born Unto Us
• Chase Tremaine – Developments
• Demon Hunter – Demon Hunter – I Will Fail You / Dead Flowers (Resurrected)
• Fire from Heaven – The Evil Wolf Chronicles
• Five Iron Frenzy – Until This Shakes Apart
• Heliocentric – Ishmael
• Seventh Day Slumber – Unseen: The Lion And The Lamb (Deluxe Edition)
• Valleyheart – T.I.K.

Pop & CCM

• Adam Lamb – It Had to Happen
• Alive City – Lay ‘Em Down (Acoustic Version)
• Armor Amor – Hold My Heart
• Apollo LTD – Acoustic Sessions (EP)
• Audrey Assad – Eden (Live)
• CAIN – Rise Up (Lazarus)
• Crowder – Good God Almighty
• Freedom Heart – Break Through
• Futures – Just So Good
• Haiva Ru – Oh, But Lover
• Joel Vaughn – Details
• Lazuli – HELMET OF HOPE
• Matthew Parker – Anyone
• Sarah Nathalié – 838
• Terrian – Genesis of Terrian (EP)
• Vaughn Owens – In The Middle

Electronic

• Freeg, Simon Miles, Exxoulls – All the Time
• Jaisua – Hero (EP)
• Ruth Lee Resuello, Bro Justin – Only Reason I’m Alive
• Swedish Revolution, LoudWorship – Ludicrous Mode

Folk & Singer/Songwriter

• Benjamin Krogh – Ghost That Haunts
• Charlie Peacock – Skin and Wind
• The Dailys – The Dailys (EP)
• Josh Garrels – His Wings
• Teressa Mahoney – Good Good

Hip Hop & R&B

• Angie Rose– Unstoppable
• Ayomilly – Unstoppable
• Benxiah – Myself Different
• Caleb Gordon – Furnace
• Chris Elijah – Steppin’
• Crowns Down – Who Am I?

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California’s The Beautiful Mistake is one of my faves from The Militia Group label which sports greats such as The Rocket Summer (whom I’ve seen live!), Copeland, Brandtson (whom I’ve also seen live!) & Acceptance, just to name a few. Their most recent 2020 release, EP You’re Not Broken, I Am, continued the post hardcore/emo trend they became known for. They have played a few Christian fests including TomFest back in 2002. The following is my fave from them and I dare say dabbled in the math rock genre.… Continued →

Remember when hardcore was still exciting? Fast loud rules! While hardcore can still be interesting, I find the monotony of some in the genre to be irritating. Here’s the formula: melodic leads, heavy use of breakdowns, some clean singing somewhere, and just enough tempo changes to give the appearance of being innovative. Okay, I’ll stop. I sound as old and jaded as I actually am. I still love the heavy music scene, and hardcore in particular. I just hate the fact that it’s getting harder and harder to tell the bands apart from one another (especially metalcore and deathcore).… Continued →

Ever heard of Deitiphobia? Massivivid is what became of Wally Shaw’s (founder of Deitiphobia) musical endeavours. Likened to Nine Inch Nails, the music is more guitar driven than his previous. I remember hearing Wally’s music back in the mid 90s & loved the song Red Society when industrial was at its peak in the mainstream. My email address back then was even industrial_remixx! Well time has progressed & Massivivid even won a Dove award in the Christian market with 1998s Hard music Album of the Year.… Continued →

Kendra Blethen is one of a host of singer-songwriters I found this past year, and it seems like North Carolina is churning out artist after artist. Blethen brandishes a unique blend of southern grit and spiritual ruminations across Pilgrimage, her debut EP. The core concept came to her during a drive to what I can only assume might be Audiofeed – a reminder that the voyage matters as much as the destination. Or, as Miley Cyrus put it, “It’s the climb”. Admittedly, there’s a certain simplicity here, both in song structure and lyrics.… Continued →

One of my favorite 00’s pop-punk/melodic punk acts – Too Bad Eugene, returns this year with new music. While we await such a magnificent return by Adam Nigh and company, the band has just put up the now classic year 2000 full length, “At Any Rate”, for download and streaming on all digital networks. For the first time in over 20 years you’ll finally be able to listen to this album I’ve been raving about ever since it’s release on CD 20 years ago.… Continued →

Swedish Death Metal band, Pantokrator, are back with a brand new song titled “We The People” off the album “Marching Out of Babylon” due out January 29th via Nordic Mission. Pre-Order the album in several different formats including CD, Vinyl, and Tape, right here. This is quality stuff my friends and showcases a band that straddles the line between the brutally heavy and melodic. It’s like a battle between darkness and light but in music format. Check them out.… Continued →

So this review is partially due to a music review veteran Kevin Crothers’ latest top 10 video for Mortification on his YouTube channel in lieu of his White Throne Metal Radio show.  I myself, have been a die-hard Morty fan since probably circa 1996 when a friend of mine in high school gave me ripped copies of Circle of Dust S/T, Mortification-Best of 5 Years & Sixpence’s This Beautiful Mess. I know, a rather all over the place in genres! I really dug Morty’s sound. At the time, the heaviest stuff I had ever heard (& still pretty darn heavy) was from Living Sacrifice’s Darkened & Crimson Thorn’s Your Carcass.… Continued →

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Lyrics:… Continued →