Tag: song of the day

One of the few bands in the Christian scene that played in the groove metal style (that slightly slower, but just as intense cousin of thrash) was the Canadian band Erase. I remember when Mental Overload first came out and it made a huge impact on the then-stagnating Christian metal scene. The band’s popularity was, in part, owed to Jason Campbell, the ex-Mortification drummer, who was now pulling double-duties on vocals and guitar. Sadly, they only released one album (for David Villalpando, AKA Burrito’s Morphine Records label) before going their separate ways.… Continued →

Industrial project Bridgeshadows is composed of KL (Kenneth Lemery) who has also been in a few different projects over the years. He has finally signed with Broken Curfew Records that has put out tons of heavy bands ie Abated Mass of Flesh amongst many others. He has recently released several songs like Hidden in the Rust & Razor, but here is his latest & a live goodie from the past.   … Continued →

So I just saw this band last night, June 28th 2024. I know this band isn’t “Christian” at all, but I remember this song being on “Christian” metal playlists back in the day. I also see that they played Furnacefest. They are a great reminder of 2000s metalcore which I always have had a fond taste for. And they did say they will be releasing new music here soon. … Continued →

I only discovered this band a few months ago when I acquired a huge box of Christian metal CDs. Sáwol come to us from Finland, which is no surprise considering that nation has the highest number of metal bands per capital out of all the countries in the entire world. For some reason I missed out on them, even though their debut was released in 2010 through Bullroser Records, whom I was familiar with. The CD I acquired was actually their 2007 debut, which I enjoyed immensely.… Continued →

Not so much a new band, as a continuation of a previous one, Famous Names was essentially the same line-up as Writz. The core of the band is husband-wife duo Steve and Bev Fairnie. They had begun earlier in the 1970s as Fish Co. doing folk-pop not too dissimilar to a lot of Jesus Music of the day, before heading into a distinct punk/new wave direction in the late 70s as Writz. However, they had to change their name due to an American pop group of the same name.… Continued →

Eyes of the Defiled was a deathcore band (death metal + metalcore) from Maryland. Information about the band is scarce, but it appears that they formed in the early 2010s, putting out their debut EP in 2012 before signing with Vision of God Records, for 2016’s Distant Tellings album. They were also involved in almost every installment of the Christian Deathcore compilations on Bandcamp. The band’s sound focused on traditional deathcore–heavy riffs, often in a breakdown style, the occasional melodic lead guitar, and lots of pig squeal-type vocals that are associated with the genre.… Continued →

Lugnut was a hardcore punk band from Northern Florida, only active for a few short years in the late 90s/early 00s. Their sound was somewhat melodic, but they were way too intense and too fast to be pop-punk. Some have called this sound skate punk or new school punk. They only released one full-length album entitled . . . Like the Dickens and a split release with fellow JCHC punk Officer Negative. Both releases were on Screaming Giant Records. In the band’s ashes, members went on to play in a number of other acts.… Continued →

Alright, you’re gonna need to buckle up for this one. For two reasons: 1) Koinonia has a somewhat lengthy history, and the band’s members are/were probably more connected than any other band ever in contemporary Christian music; and 2) they were a jazz fusion band, which is probably not a genre most IVM readers are astutely familiar with. The band formed in 1980 and were active throughout that decade before disbanding in 1991. While the members were Americans, several of whom were of Latin/Hispanic descent, their music was more widely-known in Northern and Western Europe where they often played to sold out crowds.… Continued →

One of the “Big Three” in Christian ska, The Insyderz formed in Detroit, MI in 1995 out of their Salvation Army worship band. Like their counterparts in The O.C. Supertones and Five Iron Frenzy, the band featured a mix of third wave ska, punk rock tempos, and worshipful lyrics. Unlike their counterparts, The Insyderz were the first of the group to release an entire album dedicated to ska-core worship songs. For their second album, the aptly-titled Skalleluia!, the band assembled a setlist of mostly modern praise and worship songs and turned them into ska anthems.… Continued →

Truth be told, heavy metal was my entry point into any kind of independent Christian music. I mean, I started out on Petra, Amy Grant, and Russ Taff as a young teenager, but it wasn’t long before Jerusalem, Whitecross, and Sacred Warrior were taking up my listening space. One of the pioneers of Christian metal was Swedish band Leviticus. The band formed in 1981 in the town of Skövde. They recorded 4 albums, plus an alternative/Swedish language version of their debut, before breaking up in the early 90s.… Continued →

SoCal rapper Peace 586 (born Rene Vasquez) has been hitting the hip-hop game hard since the late 80s (first as M.C. Peace), as a member of the seminal and innovative Freedom of Soul, and through numerous collaborations with artists like S.F.C., Jon Gibson, Scott Blackwell, J.C. and the Boyz, and many others. He went solo following the break-up of Freedom of Soul and released his first solo album in 1996. As impressive as that is, what’s even more impressive is the fact that he’s still been active as recently as 2023, releasing a full-length solo album on his own label.… Continued →

Impossibly difficult to categorize into any nice, neat genre, Norway’s Drottnar originally formed as Vitality, in 1996. They began playing death metal, but changed names when their sound shifted towards black metal. The band’s sound continued to evolve more and more, incorporating progressive and technical elements into something more avant-garde over time, while still retaining elements of black metal, death metal, and other extreme sounds. It is this level of experimentation and excellence that both sets them apart from their peers musically, and simultaneously makes their music less accessible to the general populace of listeners–even amongst fans of heavy music.… Continued →

Glen Galaxy is perhaps best known for his work in two different San Diego-based experimental indie rock bands: Trumans Water and Soul-Junk. The former was a non-religious noisy indie rock band in the proper sense of the term. Soul-Junk was a truly experimental band dabbling in a dozen different genres with lyrics filled with Scripture. On the one hand, you never knew what you were going to get musically (would it be hip-hop or noisy punk?). On the other hand, you knew that each and every album or 7″ EP was going to be chock full of quirky scriptural renditions and psalms of praise.… Continued →

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. -Matthew 28:6

Clonek aka Cleiton Ferreira is an EDM artist from Brazil. Check out this catchy dance track. … Continued →

Paradigm Shift was an electronica duo based in the Dallas, TX metroplex. They released one full-length album (for N-Soul/Velocity) and a 4-song CD EP. Unfortunately, very little is known about the group despite lengthy web searches. And the common group name doesn’t help! The one and only full-length album was self-titled and featured some of the most creative electronica the Christian scene ever produced. In contrast to the over-saturated techno/rave scene as well as the popular praise-house genre (that often tended towards the generic), Paradigm Shift featured a creative take on house/breaks that featured both funky retro and forward-leaning/futuristic sounds.… Continued →

Saw this band on the Scream the Prayer tour many years ago. I have always dug their metalcore sound which was very prevalent at the time. Unfortunately, the sound oversaturated the scene and its hard to find many decent metalcore bands these days. Check these 2 gems out. … Continued →

Pop punk Cities & Saints released 2 catchy EPs in 2010 & 2012. They were from Michigan. Check this SOTD out & Again Again if you like this one. … Continued →

This track is off the Osmotic Fusion compilation released by LowRoof Records. I have always had a special place in my heart for dance music and have accumulated tons of it over the years. This artist is from the Netherlands and released a 2005 LP Influence. “My Savior my Healer My Friend”   … Continued →

Cleveland’s Six Feet Deep were instrumental in the advent of “new school” hardcore that was emerging in the early- to mid-90s. They were one of the few Spirit-Filled Hardcore bands that didn’t end up on Tooth & Nail or Solid State (No Innocent Victim was the other major example). After an independent demo cassette aptly titled Self in 1992, they released two fantastic metallic hardcore albums: 1994’s Struggle and 1996’s The Road Less Traveled. The debut issued on Christian indie stalwart R.E.X. Music and the sophomore on Flying Tart/R.E.X.… Continued →

This singer/songwriter wrote a lot of worship songs that also talked about missionary work. He released his 1st LP in 1974. Read his Wikipedia page to find out more. He has an extensive discography, but here are 2 of my faves. Thank mom for introducing me to these songs so many years ago. … Continued →

I found this hardcore band at a Christian bookstore right after they had released No Compromise. They created some great music over the years including these 2 heavy hitters. My Beliefs is about standing up for Jesus in the hxc scene and Raping the Mind is about the cold hard truth of what lust can do to your mind.   … Continued →

This deathcore band is comprised of 2 friends from high school. Hailing from Indiana, I have had the privilege to talk with Ryan Miller for the show I produce on Ripper Radio. This song also reminds me of the metalcore band Context whom I saw live a couple years ago. Listen to this song loud and follow this band as they are working on releasing the full length Over Goshen. Some of the lyrics reference 1 John 1:9. … Continued →

As you’ve undoubtedly already read elsewhere, and seen all over the chrindie corner of the internet, Michael Knott died earlier this week. Much has been written about the man, the music, the iconic artist, so I don’t intend to re-tread any of that ground here. This is a Song of the Day post after all. Nonetheless it does seem fitting to use this week’s SOTD column to feature more of Knott’s work. He wrote and recorded so many incredible albums from the 1980s through the 2020s that it’s hard to pick a “best” or even a “favorite.”… Continued →

While much of the music we cover here has its origins–or at least its influence–in the music scenes that developed in the 80s and 90s, there was independent Christian music long before that. I won’t get on that soapbox once again, as I’ve written about it multiple times elsewhere. All I’ll add for now is that there was some incredible and influential faith-oriented music in the 1970s. One such act was Louisville-based quartet Kristyl. The band only released one album, 1975’s eponymous full-length, and then disappeared.… Continued →

While German metal band Chryztyne may have formed in 1990, their sound is pure 80s! Traditional heavy metal with touches of glam/melodic metal abound in their material. The band formed in Karlsruhe in SW Germany in 1990, and released a 5-song demo cassette in 1992. Shortly thereafter, they signed with Pila Music, one of the larger Christian music labels from their home country. Their one and only full-length Tales of Paradise released in 1993 on the label, and featured 11 tracks of pure 80s metal. This, of course, proves the rule that although heavy metal had gone by the wayside–in the wake of grunge and alternative rock–in the United States, it was alive and well in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe.… Continued →

Caustic Eminence was a raw, fast, hardcore punk band from Marion, IN. The band formed when they met as students at Indiana Wesleyan University. They released 2 demo cassettes before issuing the fabulous Another Day, Another Dollar 7″ through Cling Recordings in 1996. Not much else is known about the band other than their recorded output. Their take on punk was fast and furious, raw and lo-fi, contrary to the gamut of pop-punk bands that were popular at the time, which were moving towards more sophisticated sounds and production techniques.… Continued →

I had fully intended to cover something punk today, when I began listening to some old traditional Gospel for a project at work (I’m an associate pastor at a diverse, inner-city church). I was reminded of a Gospel song I first heard in the early 1990s when I was a member of a Gospel choir at my college. Yes, little ol’ white boy me, metalhead/punk rocker. In fact at one point in time I had a 4-inch mohawk while I was in this Gospel choir, but I digress.… Continued →

This is Mike Musick’s band.  If you want to more on him specifically, check out his bio on the indie on the move site. Mike’s solo career had some songs chart including Funk#5 & This Town. Also looks like he wrote a bunch of song for mainstream country artists. This modern rock song is pretty catchy so check it out. … Continued →

The Ohio band Pits are a band whose roots started in Panama. They are a hard band to list genre-wise, but I would say emo-pop punk-alternative esque. Appears they only released 1 full length & an 8 song EP on Angryson Records. This was the same label who released music from Neshamah & Aftertaste. The short lived Mono vs Stereo label picked up this SOTD for their The Revolution Will Begin in the Blink of an Eye 2nd comp. Check this catchy song out & try not to sing along the 2nd time!… Continued →