Tag: song of the day

Galesburg/Monmouth, Illinois is the first place you think of when you think of blackened melodic death metal, isn’t it. But, since 2004, AHTDU has been playing just that. I have seen the band numerous times & even been to a few shows with members of the band in the crowd or playing with other bands, like the southern rock The Comancheros. This is some true headbanging stuff so if you get a chance, check them out live. The band is also cool enough to post videos on YouTube of bass & guitar playthroughs if you’re interested like me.… Continued →

Arizona’s No Laughing Matter were kind of a ‘love ’em or hate ’em’ kind of game. Dark and broody, they didn’t fit in with most CCM at the time. Heck, even the alternative stuff wasn’t quite this dark, for the most part. Scott Roman’s dramatic wail was an acquired taste. The guitars alternated between goth-rock and the occasional nod to funk (see “Helltown”). Of particular interest were the deep bass grooves. They were one of Christian music’s very few, true “post-punk” bands in the proper sense of the term.… Continued →

Headnoise was a band I found while thumbing through one of my friend’s CDs back in the early 2000s. They are most def a true hxc punk rawk band but with a twist, Edie Goodwin’s vocals. She can really belt out this genre of music & has been going since 1994. Think Crashdog, The Distillers, dreads, & mohawks. Life was different back then-Lol! You can find their stuff on Glenn Kaiser’s Grrr records as they were part of the Jesus People USA commune for some time.… Continued →

The 90s were a great time for quirky fun Christian rock music. Believable Picnic is closely related to the Beatles-esque PFR aka Pray For Rain as the frontman was the older brother of PFRs frontman. The lyrics for this SOTD elude to the Biblical viewpoint that Christians are not of this world per John 17:14 & 18:36. Sadly, the band only followed up with one more LP. … Continued →

This band is “Anything But Plain” as their debut released in 2003 & was a modern rock band fronted by a female singer who had a distinct way of singing her vocals with Guardian’s Tony Palacios helming the production. Their name comes from the idea that no one is a plain jane in God’s eyes. One can still find their old Myspace & Soundclick pages & other goodies from the band is The Door & Gravity. … Continued →

Code of Ethics hit on the Christian music scene in 1991 with their brilliant debut Visual Paradox for R.E.X. Music (later re-issued on Forefront), having already released an independent cassette demo a year prior. The album was a synth-pop triumph, taking the best of techno-pop and alternative dance and fusing them into a singular whole that was as danceable as Information Society, but as catchy as Pet Shop Boys or Erasure. I once had a chance to catch the band live, opening for The Prayer Chain.… Continued →

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

Veil of Ashes was a college rock band from Oakland, California, who debuted with the critically-acclaimed album Pain on Graceland Records (an imprint of Frontline) in 1989. While they had started out as a post-punk outfit with goth leanings, most of that influence had faded by the time their debut hit. A second album The Young and the Reckless: The Regression of Veil of Ashes was released on Blonde Vinyl in 1992, but it was actually a retrospective release of earlier demos. That same year the band shortened their name to Veil and released their final studio album (before taking a long hiatus and re-forming in the late 90s) Mr.… Continued →

I’ve got a confession to make. I don’t know a lot about electronica. As much as I love genre-fying musical artists and trying to pinpoint them within their style or scene, I just can’t get my heard around the hundreds of subgenres of electronic dance music. I was never one for going to nightclubs (where the genres and all its cognates developed), and the scene is just too huge to know thoroughly without being immersed in it. However, I do know what I like, and occasionally an artist or album comes along that just sounds good.… Continued →

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

If you turn the Christian indie shaker upside down, not too many psychobilly bands fall out. One of the first and best was The Calicoes, from Texas. They released one fantastic EP called Rumble (the title a contextualized reference to the battle between good and evil), and a full-length named Custom Acceleration. For my money, the EP is the better release song for song. It’s more primitive and raw, which suits the style better in my view. You can’t go wrong with any of those 6 songs, but check out track 5, “Read.”… Continued →

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

In the mid- to late-90s when all of the other Christian hardcore bands were doing new school/chugga chugga style hardcore with increasingly metallic influences, Bakersfield’s Chasm were drawing on earlier inspiration. These influences came mostly from the 80s British hardcore punk/d-beat sound (Discharge, Conflict, etc.), although somewhat ironically this track has elements of early black metal in the guitar riffs (a la Venom or Bathory). Nonetheless it’s still filtered through a hardcore punk sound. The band released one 7″ (Squander, Squander the Bright New Dawn) and one full-length (Gye Nyame, from whence our featured song is taken).… Continued →

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

Is it a bit pompous to call your band “God”? Maybe. But what’s particularly interesting about this band is we know nothing about them. Band members are completely anonymous. Is it even a band, or a solo project? Where are they from? No idea. Because the project is completely designed to “Challenge you to consider Him as well as your life & death through the power of music,” they figured the best way to do that was anonymously. And you know what? I can respect that.… Continued →

Listen: Amazon Music | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Lyrics:  Shut up. Follow: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube… Continued →

So our family discovered this cute little Netflix film called “A Week Away”, which conveys a strong, hopeful message, and plenty of sing-a-long moments (think The Greatest Showman meets High School Musical meets Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist). The film takes cues from familiar Christian stories and uplifting films without getting too overly cheesy. Yes, it’s a family sing-a-long film but kids can stay connected to the story regardless of age(s) and find something meaningful to absorb. I found the film not only brings families together but can also be a great teaching tool for sharing Faith with those that are maybe seeking out greater meaning in this chaotic life we share.… Continued →

While Gospel music to most probably represents tradition and preservation, there is also a strong undercurrent of experimentation and the avant garde. Among faith-filled artists are John Coltrane’s divinely-inspired free jazz, classical composers pushing the envelope of what music should be (Bach, for instance), heck even the first rock and roller (arguably) was essentially a Gospel singer/guitarist who just cranked things up a little louder. I mean, of course, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Add to the list Orlando Greenhill. Greenhill is probably most known for his upright bass playing in Havalina Rail Co.… Continued →

Wow, what a great band, with such potential! Sadly, Beloved released only one EP (originally for Vindicated from the Deep Water and later re-issued by Solid State) and one full length. That first EP rocked my world. I got to see the band live 2 or 3 times in this era and they were rapidly becoming my favourite emo-core band. They had a truly unique take on the genre fusing melodic indie rock with emotional emo and brutal hardcore, all in one go! It was really refreshing.… Continued →

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

Depending on how you define the term, Resurrection Band was arguably the first Christian heavy metal band. While their debut album was released in 1978, their earliest demo recordings date back to as early as 1973. While many fans and critics will argue, “they’re not heavy metal, just hard rock,” this outlook unfortunately judges the past by current standards. Metal has moved on and splintered into a hundred different and more extreme subgenres. However, in the 1970s, their brand of bluesy hard rock would definitely have been considered heavy metal at the time–just as bands like Van Halen, Aerosmith, Kiss and others were.… Continued →

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

4•4•1 burst onto the SoCal new wave scene in 1984, releasing their debut album on Royal Commandment Records (soon to be re-named Blue Collar Records). The band formed in 1983 in Los Angeles County, diligently rehearsing in the garage of bassist/keyboardist Glenn Holland’s parents. They recorded a 4-song demo and subsequently sent out copies to area youth pastors. The unconventional move proved successful as they caught the attention of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, a large church that hosted lots of concerts for Christian new wave and early alternative bands.… Continued →

Today’s Song of the Day post (by me, Brandon) is none other than Value Pac, a short lived and mostly “90’s” exclusive, pop-punk act. The band got their humble beginnings in 1995 here in Orange County, CA. I first heard of the band with a demo tape under their original name, One by One at a show I went to in Tustin, CA. circa 1995. The band played raw (sometimes rough) pop-punk that would please punk purists and pop fans at heart. It was the perfect blend of poppy melodies over a garage-y like sound mixed with the sun soaked beaches and concrete jungle of Southern California.… Continued →

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

Welcome to what is probably the most underrated album in Christian alternative music history. The problem is largely that it just wasn’t heard by enough people. This Pennsylvania band comprised one third of the ‘holy trinity’ of Christian jangle pop, rounded out by Virginia’s The Throes and Minnesota’s The Swoon (coincidentally all band names beginning with the definite article). They released their one and only album, not counting their independent demo cassettes, through Talkingtown (also home of metal band Armageddon) and co-released through R.E.X. Indianland is a real slow-burner of an album.… Continued →

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

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

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

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