ALL REVIEWS BY: Brian Morrissette

Beautiful Eulogy is a Portland, OR based rap super group. Some of the names involved are Braille, Courtland Urbano, and Odd Thomas. Rap usually isn’t my forte, but I saw that this album, Satellite Kite, was up for free on Humble Beast Records. I thought that I would tr... (read more)

Great White Whale is probably one of my favorite albums of all time. It was released by a band called Secret & Whisper back in 2008, ever since I picked it up I can't put it down. They were a post-hardcore band that was truly revolutionary. The only comparison I can re... (read more)

I have never been a huge fan of rap music, and Lecrae is no exception. Immediately I found myself disliking this album. Lecrae mixes slow gospel/R&B with hardcore rap styles, but even with that I soon realized it was really generic and boring. It had no real hook to it that made ... (read more)

What started out as a side-project of Francesco Montesanto and Brand New touring guitarist Derrick Sherman Sainthood Reps has turned into a full time gig. Sainthood Reps is not to be confused with the likes of Lecrae or Trip Lee. No, Sainthood Reps is a flashback to the 90s grunge ro... (read more)

The Letter Black is back! With their sophomore album on the verge of getting released they have given their fans a snippet of what is to come in “Sick Charade”. This song brings to mind the old Letter Black, but mixes in a bit darker heavy rock than past material. They st... (read more)

There are more than a few Christian female-fronted rock bands out there. Battlelion (Battle Lion) is one of the unknown ones and another husband-wife duo. They have been around for a surprisingly short time. They are similar to Skillet or even Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Boston....the list ... (read more)

Being from Oregon I like to cover local bands like Falling Up. Falling Up being from Albany, OR. I have been following them ever since I got into Christian music back in 2008. Since then they went from being a Christian rock band to being an independent experimental rock collective. ... (read more)

When last years Black Friday sales went live on AmazonMP3 the week of Thanksgiving, I bought about 5 or 6 albums at dirt cheap prices. One of those albums was Flyleaf's latest effort New Horizons, which looks to be the last with Lacey Mosley as lead singer. It marks the end of an... (read more)

After Hands' beautiful release last year I thought their popularity would only increase. Sadly, they ended up breaking up earlier this year. Shane Ochsner (front-man of H... (read more)

Well, it looks like the zombie craze is catching on in the “Christian” music scene. First, I think it was Family Force 5 or Grave Robber. Now, it is indie pop artist Gayle Skidmore with her new EP, Zombie Heart. Gayle ... (read more)

When House of Heroes unveiled they were working on a new album set to release this summer, I had one question: would it stand up to past efforts? After they came out with two amazing albums and one very good one, I didn’t know what to expect from Cold Hard Want. I thou... (read more)

For a while now worship artists have been popping up out of California. They have a distinct style to them, mostly consisting of a guitar, piano, and vocals. One of the newer ones to come from there is Josiah James. He has released a couple albums before this, gaining him a name arou... (read more)

Wayfarer started out as a side project of secular Sherwood, a San Luis Obispo, California-based alternative rock band, member Dan Koch. His main goal in starting this project was to recreate old-style hymns for a new gen... (read more)

Ruth has been a summertime favorite for me since I discovered this band a few years back, right after they released Anorak. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty bummed when they kind of broke up a year or so ago. But now the ind... (read more)

The group sosaveme has been floating around in the indie scene for more than a few years now, but have never exploded...that was, until they released their latest album, The Garden. This effort has garnered a... (read more)

When I first got an email from a band called Lancaster, I immediately thought of a local mall, and then when they said they were from Portland, OR, I was pretty shocked I had never heard of them before. I thought I had heard of most of the good “Chr... (read more)

Attalus's bio on Facebook says this: “The music is original. The message isn't.” I skipped over this when I first checked out these guys a few months. It wasn't until I got an email from on... (read more)

Like so many genres the female-fronted rock band side of things is packed full. Currently, you have Flyleaf, Fireflight, and Icon For Hire, among many others. The question that was raised in my mind when I took on the task of reviewing... (read more)

Kaitlin Boyd’s story is one of triumph and heartache, but it is a story most of us can learn from if we will take a moment to listen. In 2010 Kaitlin was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Instead of letting this weigh her down, she decided to help out with clean water progr... (read more)

When Facedown first announced they were bringing up the little Christian metal band The Burial from Strike First Records, I took no real notice, except to maybe log it away for safe keeping. The same thing happened a few weeks ago when I was sent their new album, Lights and ... (read more)

I can't even remember when I first heard about a band formerly called Sons of God, but I know it must have been when they released a mind-blowing EP on Come&Live!. After launching a successful kickstarter, Sons of God went quiet, hardly updating on anything except that they w... (read more)

Facedown Records has been mighty quiet lately, but that ends now.... This is where Leaders comes in. They are a hardcore band out of Hollister, CA. On March 27 they will be releasing their debut album on Facedown Records called Now We Are Free. Before I go any further, I wan... (read more)

There hasn't been too much coming out of the Come&live! camp recently until...they signed the independent worship band Home is Calling out of Boston, MA. So of course, like everybody else on the label, their music is up for free on C&L's website. It seems like Come&am... (read more)

Stillfire is a hard-rock band out of Salem, OR. They are in the same genre of female-fronted Gothic metal as Evanescence, We Are The Fallen, and Lacuna Coil. They have released one album in 2009 entitled Here Lie The Wounded. I was introduced to these people back in 2010 whe... (read more)

Last year there were so many metal releases by Facedown Record that I had forgotten to review a couple. One of these releases was Altars' EP Opposition. Altars are a hardcore band out of Colorado Springs, CO. They signed to Facedown’s imprint label Strike First Rec... (read more)

I have decided to start mixing in some older album reviews with the newest and latest band reviews people have come to look for on Christcore.net. This will include old Tooth& Nail, Word, and other '90s and early '00s bands. This brings me to Dakoda Motor Co., a '90s ... (read more)

Comrades are one of the latest signings to the independent music label Blood & Ink Records. They are a passionate post-rock band out of Richmond, VA. Their music is in the veins of Deadhorse, Emery, and The Sleep Design. Like most post-rock bands, their music is almost all instru... (read more)

“Sinai Vessel who?” would had been my answer if you would have asked me five or six months ago about this band. Yeah, I had maybe posted something on Christcore's Facebook page about how they were giving away their music for free, and I mi... (read more)

Pioneer (formerly called News From Verona) is a self-defined American rock n' roll band. Immediately I thought, “I'll be the judge of that!” I'll get back to that later on. For now, I'll fill ya in on how Pioneer came about. In... (read more)

There seems to be a ton of new indie rock bands popping up lately. This can be good or bad. One of these bands is Brave Season, who, if they hadn't emailed me, I probably never would had heard of.  That would have been a shame. The music that the... (read more)

Horror punk seems to be a dead genre, pun intended. The sole active Christian band of this genre is Grave Robber.  One reason, perhaps,  why there isn't a large Christian Horror punk scene is that it is a strange genre. This doesn't stop... (read more)

Not many bands get together the way the The Attending did. They started out as a outlet for former Life In Your Way band member Corey Stroffolino. He then began working with producer Greg Thomas (Shai Hulud, Hosta... (read more)

Broken Voice is My Epic's third release on Dreamt Music/Facedown Records. When My Epic released there second amazing record, Yet, last year I didn't think t... (read more)

There are so many female pop singers out there that many become overlooked or neglected. One of these artists is singer/songwriter Brooke Waggoner. One of her better albums is Heal for the Honey, which was released by Swoon Moon Music back in 2008. Brooke’s music styli... (read more)

Red Cord Records' newest signing, Mercy Screams, has recently released their first full-length record, Broken Mirrors. Mercy Screams is a heavy worship/metalcore band. T... (read more)

Deathcore bands are a dime a dozen nowadays. It is extremely hard for bands in this genre to stand out. Behold the Kingdom is another band trying to get people’s attention in a overstuffed genre. They recently signed to punk rock/hardcore start-up label Rottweiler Records. On R... (read more)

I usually don’t listen to, or for that matter enjoy, pop/rock music very much. It might be because I’m more of an indie and folk rock fan. On those occasions when I do take a listen to pop/rock, I will pick up this record from Careo. I’ll be talking more about why I... (read more)

It has been four long years since Blindside has released anything. Most people had given up on them for dead. But to the applause of fans, Blindside is back! Earlier this year Blindside launched a brand new album entitled With Shivering Hearts We Wait. Since then they have s... (read more)

Ravenhill is a small blues/R&B band out of the Midwest that has been making a name for themselves by opening for such big name indie acts like Company of Thieves and The Whigs, among many others. They released a demo early last year called Ladies and Gentlemen, I Present to Y... (read more)

Alternative rock has become quite mainstream lately and not so “alt” as it used to be. It seems like we've even forgotten what the word alternative exactly means. It means for something to be different or not conforming to what the majority thinks is cool. Well, lucki... (read more)

Dime Store Heist is a relatively new alternative ska band hailing from Winfield, WV. I usually don’t listen to ska, but I thought that I would take a stab at reviewing this album. I don't dislike ska; I just didn’t grow up listening to it. Why?  I don’t kno... (read more)

The Colourful (now Stay the Shores) is a pop/rock band with an interesting spin of rock n’ roll added in. They could easily be compared to bands such as One Republic, Anberlin, and Tenth Avenue North. The funny thing is that description encompasses three distinct and wide genre... (read more)

Hands is considered a postmetal/hardcore band, which is even a stretch considering they really don’t fit into any genre. They have quietly released one more album on Facedown records, Give Me Rest. Creator, their first album, was received well by music c... (read more)

I usually like to plan out when I’m going to be reviewing different albums, but today I felt like just writing something about one of my favorite albums ever. This album is A New Grip with Tired Hands by this small indie rock band hailing from Denton, TX, called The Ca... (read more)

Ever heard of a New Zealand-based band called Parachute Band (Integrity Media)? Well, this guy, Luke Parker, wrote some songs for their latest album, Love without Measure, which has garnered a lot of praise from the CCM media. Well enough about them--back to why you’re... (read more)

Dynasty is the second of many new artists that are getting signed to Facedown/Strike First Records this year. They fit comfortably into the old school hardcore genre. They have a sound similar to Overcome and Wrench in the Works but without Overcome’s more polished production a... (read more)

Stitched is a Dallas, TX-based melodic rock band. They are in the same vein as Skillet, Disciple, Decyfer Down, and Echoes the Fall. Their sound also has this Newsboys ambiance that I can’t seem to pin down. Now I know what you’re probably already thinking: they aren&rsqu... (read more)

Ark of the Covenant is the newest band on Facedown Record’s sub label, Strike First Records. Ark of the Covenant's musical style fits into hardcore genre moderately well. Like most new bands now, Ark of the Covenant’s first major label release is an EP entitled Se... (read more)

I’ve been reviewing way too many metalcore/hardcore bands lately for my own good, so I have decided to review something that is a lighter fare. That’s where Not Even Death’s The Truth comes in. Not Even Death is a female-fronted nu metal band out of Ottawa,... (read more)

The Disease & The Cure are a small, new hard/metalcore band. They have recently released their debut EP, Grasping The Concept Of Life, which this review will cover. “Core” bands are a dime a dozen, nowadays, with them all sounding the same, and at times TDATC... (read more)

It appears all I’ve been reviewing recently have been a bunch of different metal bands. Well, I hope you haven’t gotten tired of them yet because here’s another one. Hope for the Dying is a newer progressive metal band that has released two records on Facedown Recor... (read more)

From Tomorrow is an independent metalcore band that released their second full-length album, The Fear of Forever, in April 2010. They have done shows with some big name Christian acts like Underoath, A Plea For Purging, and The Devil Wears Prada. Their sound could be describ... (read more)

Do you remember being a kid and always wanting the newest and greatest toy, and then after you got it, another even better toy came out? Well, that’s what it was like when I first got Gideon’s album Costs and soon after that I then got Onward To Olympas’s n... (read more)

Sometimes when I turn on the radio and go to a Christian radio station, all that is playing is simple, cookie-cutter praise and worship music, which gets really boring. So if you’re like me and still like worship music but feel that it needs to be a little bit more or... (read more)

Gideon is a hardcore band new to the major league scene and is the newest signing to one of the top Christian metal record labels, Facedown Records. When I got this album to review, I thought it was just another plain old, over-played, hardcore band, but when I clicked on it in iTune... (read more)

Don’t Wake Aislin is a small female–fronted alternative rock band out of Dallas, Texas. They have been making music since 2004 and have slipped under the radar of most big name Christian music sites. I’ve known about Don’t Wake Aislin for a couple of years now... (read more)

Josiah James is an up-and-coming worship leader who has been leading worship and doing other concerts across mainly the west coast for a couple of years. Oceans is the second “EP” in a series of three based on three different elements: wind, water, and fire. Josi... (read more)

Ravenhill is a small “old time music” band that started out as a dream of one Mr. Joshua Clifton about ten years ago. He and his friends wanted to create old time R&B mixed with classic southern gospel music, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is a glimpse into how Raven... (read more)

Lybecker is a pop/rock group out of Seattle, Wa. Lybecker has slowly been gaining popularity in the indie music scene and has toured almost nonstop to make a name for themselves in this big music scene.  Until We Feel Alive is Lybecker’s first full-length album an... (read more)

John Ball has been playing bass for The Sleep Design for years, and now he has put out his first album, Found Among The Broken. His music could be described in many ways, but I think the genre it fits best is indie rock/worship. Worship albums are usually unoriginal copy cat... (read more)

Kye Kye is a smaller Indie/electronic pop band from Camas, WA. They released one previous s/t album under their original name, “Paper Rings,” in 2008, and now they’re back for more with a new band name and a more mature sound. Kye Kye’s music could be describe... (read more)

When I listen to albums that I think are going to be super good, I usually get let down.  This is what happened with The Clearing when I first listened to it. When this happens, I usually have to dislike the album; then by some weird mind trick after about five lis... (read more)

You probably never heard of this small independent R/B, soul, blues, and old time rock-n-roll band out of Seattle, WA, called Garage Voice. With nine years of playing together, two LP’s, and two EP’s under their belts, they have decided to come out with a live EP cal... (read more)

The Frozen Ocean is an experimental one-man rock band out of Connecticut, and that one man is Dave Swanson. The Frozen Ocean released its S/T album in 2008 to good reviews.  Now Dave, with an assist from some friends (Matt Griener of August Burns Red and Andy Nels... (read more)

Anvue is an up and coming acoustic indie/pop band out of Los Angeles, Ca. Their sound can be described as a cross between Company of Thieves and The Arrows and many other bands of the same genre. Anvue has garnered some attention in California by winning the 2008 Mavric Award for bes... (read more)

SONSOFDAY is an alternative/acoustic rock band from Portland, OR. SONSOFDAY consists of three brothers that look like “The Monkees” and some other family members that only play on the albums. They have released two albums, one in 2008 called Fragile People and th... (read more)

The incredible indie rock band named My Epic will blow you away with deep lyrics, beautiful bass playing, shrieking lead guitar lines, and raw vocals that shock the listener with their honesty and... (read more)

The Ember Days is a New Zealand-based indie worship band that has a unique sound to it that at times has a heavier guitar and then a nice piano.

"Hope" starts things off with a sound like a morning sunrise that blossoms into a beautiful day, as Jason Belcher&rsqu... (read more)

Now people may have heard of the metalcore band Underoath, but others may not have heard of  Underoath’s former drummer Aaron Gillespie's side (now full time) project The Almost. Monster Monster, which mix’s alt, punk, and southern rock togethe... (read more)

Chances are you have never heard of Sons of God, a small indie rock band that has signed to Come&Live and released their first album, The Genesis Prologue EP. When you think of the indie rock scene, there are two sides:  one is happy go-lucky, and the other sid... (read more)