Tag: song of the day

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

"Succubus of an insecure safety, I will never bow to your will... To die is gain, our life is our sacrifice, you will not take my pride. Your freedom means more than our safety. Christ is not a filthy word!" RIYL: Sleeping Giant, Madball, Stick to your Guns, and Hatebreed

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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 →

My song for the day is from a newer indie-pop artist by the name of Teddy At Night. Teddy (Boldt) played drums for bands like Wavorly, Family Force 5, and more recently For King & Country, as well as many others. On his first solo endeavor as singer/songwriter, his songs take on more of a pop sheen, sprinkled with a heavy dose of 80’s like synth driven new wave. These are songs for the broken-hearted, the lovers, and the seekers. These beautifully composed pop inspired takes are interwoven with a certain level of professionalism mixed with Teddy’s unforgettable vocal delivery.… Continued →

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En Mi Lugar (In My Place in English) is a Spirit Filled Melodic Hardcore band from Bogota, Colombia. FFO: Venia, Advent, Poured Out, and Atrocities.

Today’s Song of the Day post is all about Arthur Alligood and specifically the song, “Shouldn’t Be That Hard”. This was a criminally underrated song that flew mostly under the radar of most music fans out there. Arthur has been making great Americana/Folk Rock for more than a decade now. He has appeared on a few past free IVM Compilations and was featured here many times over the years. The song “Shouldn’t Be That Hard” appeared on his 2012 full length, “One Silver Needle”. The Americana influenced folk-rock track takes a turn toward artists like The Wallflowers, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Lumineers, The Avett Brothers, and Bob Dylan, while keeping his own style and approach.… 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 →

Another album celebrating it’s 10 year anniversary is “Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place” by the world renown alternative rock band, Anberlin. This Brendan O’Brien produced full length effort (their 5th album by 2010) was a slight departure from the sunny, bright, more upbeat sounds of their commercial break through record, “New Surrender”. One of the stand out highlights from this album was definitely “Pray Tell”, with it’s thundering drum intro and light guitar strumming mixed with Stephen’s unforgettable vocal contributions.… Continued →

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It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since the release of the first Close Your Eyes album on Victory Records – “We Will Overcome”. This album had a ton of great songs including this one called “The Body”, which is a favorite of mine and perfect for this Song of the Day post. Melodic hardcore and punk combine to make a furious blend of energetic singing and screaming all delivered in one healthy dose. “The Body” has inspiring lyrics and a solid message felt through the music.… 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 →

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The song “Silent Streets” appears on the 2nd official (or 3rd if you’re keeping count) album from this punk/hardcore band out of Canada called “Every New Day“. It appeared on the album, “Even In The Darkest Places”. This song was unlike most I’d heard in the genre around that time period. END pieced together hardcore, punk rock, and hard rock to create an explosive mix. Elements of your favorite bands from the 00’s taken to a whole other level and with the sound quality/production most bands only dreamed about.… Continued →

Mad at the World has had a very interesting and diverse career as a band. They started out doing somewhat dark synth-pop on their self-titled debut (in the vein of Depeche Mode, New Order, Clan of Xymox), then added guitars to their new wave sound for Flowers in the Rain. By their third album, they ditched the synths and morphed into a full-fledged alternative rock band with metallic influences. This carried on for three albums (Seasons of Love, Boomerang, and Through the Forest).… Continued →

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After releasing last year’s opus Young in My Head, Starflyer 59 are already back. The veteran indie rock band have just released a new single, “This Recliner” and boy oh boy is it good! Fueled by inspiration from the best of his 80s new wave AND shoegaze influences (The Church, Psychedelic Furs, Jesus and Mary Chain, et. al.), the man truly knows how to write a pop song. Sometimes I think his skill lies in brevity. Rather than dragging stuff out, founder Jason Martin always leaves you wanting just a little bit more.… Continued →

When Extol’s first album came out in 1998, the Christian hard music scene had been dominated by hardcore and the then-developing metalcore sound. This was being spearheaded prominently by labels like Solid State Records (a division of Tooth & Nail), and Facedown Records. Enter Norway’s Extol. No one quite knew what to do with them. Sure, there was still an active underground metal scene, but Solid State had not signed any heavy metal bands yet–only hardcore bands that dabbled in metal. But Burialwas a full-on heavy metal cacophony, bridging subgenres–progressive, black, thrash and death metal–often within one song.… Continued →

As has been the case of late, I am doing a great deal of write ups on little known songs/releases and this one is no exception to that rule. This is one of the better Off The Record songs from their mostly unheard final EP in 2004 titled “Nothing New”. Nothing New was released in 2004 on a west coast punk label called New School Records. The label released albums by 7-10 Split, Off The Record, Twenty2, Not Long After, No Trigger, among many others.… Continued →