The guys over at Indie Vision Music are known for putting together huge samplers filled with known and unknown bands. Last year they unleashed their first all “heavy” sampler called Songs To Slay Dragons Too, and this weekend the sequel to that sampler hit the net. The tracklisting will speak for itself, but if you want to know what is going on in the heavy Christian music scene, do yourself a favor and download this sucka!

1. Phinehas – I Am the Lion
2. Messengers – Judge (Courtesy of Facedown/Strike First Records)
3. With Life In Mind – King of Frauds (Courtesy of CI Records)
4. Close Your Eyes – The Body (Courtesy of Victory Records)
5. Gnashing of Teeth – Separate (Courtesy of Sancrosanct Records)
6. Hundredth – Desolate (Courtesy of MediaSkare Records)
7. Called to Arms – Vintage Pharisee (Courtesy of Tragic Hero Records)
8. The Gun Show – The Adegan System
9. Strengthen What Remains – Pathetic (Courtesy of On The Attack Records)
10. Where the Ocean Meets the Sky – We Are But Instruments (Courtesy of CI Records)
11. Fallstar – Hunters (Courtesy of Come & Live!)
12. Silence O Israel – Beware: Alexander the Coppersmith
13. Righteous Vendetta – The Dawning (Courtesy of Red Cord Records)
14. Centuries Apart – Malachi (My Messenger)
15. Cast Them To Ruin – Ocean Straight
16. I Am Alpha and Omega – The Bride (Courtesy of Come & Live!)
17. ForChristSake – Sleep
18. As Bold As Lions – Face of Reality
19. The Brigade – Teeth and Crowns
20. As Bold As Lions – Moving Forward
21. Mercy Screams – Thief In the Night
22. As Bold As Lions – The Anthem
23. Dependency – Fragile (Courtesy of Blood & Ink Records)
24. Sovereign Strength – Deliverance (Courtesy of MediaSkare Records)
25. Thin Ice – You Were There (Courtesy of Blood & Ink Records)
26. Sovereign Strength – Heartless (Courtesy of MediaSkare Records)
27. Debtor – Escape (Courtesy of Blood & Ink Records)
28. Sovereign Strength – The Suffering (Courtesy of MediaSkare Records)
29. Not One Is Upright – And They Were Likened Unto Dogs
30. Inlow – Ecclactide
31. Senseless Beauty – Fear and Loathing in Iowa City
32. Moshe Dayan – Arms of Desolation
33. Every Man For Himself – Te Mana Whakahaere (Autonomy) (Courtesy of Deadboy Records)
34. Divide the Sea – In Knowing, Triumph (Courtesy of Blood & Ink Records)
35. Milosny – Battle Line (Courtesy of Red Cord Records)
36. Awake the Suffering – Purities Walk Through The Vines (Courtesy of Raging Storm Records)
37. Before There Was Rosalyn – The Warrior (Courtesy of Victory Records)
38. Corpus Christi – Monuments (Courtesy of Victory Records)
39. Creations – Boom (P.O.D. Cover)
40. Clear Convictions – Justice From Heaven (On The Attack Records)
41. Saving Grace – Oaxaca (Courtesy of Deadboy & Strike First Records)
42. Second Thief – Perfection (Courtesy of Darkslate Records)
43. Auburn – Weary Bones and Watering Eyes (Demo) (Courtesy of Blue Duck Records)
44. Parallels – Patterns

Download Songs To Slay The Dragons Volume 2:PT 1
Download Songs To Slay The Dragons Volume 2:PT 2

New Releases For September 27th, 2010

The Mystery Of Iniquity
Clear Convictions
On The Attack Records
Hardcore

New Releases For September 28th, 2010

Home
August Burns Red
Solid State Records
Metal
Buy NOW:
Amazon (CD/DVD)

Ocean
Bebo Norman
BEC Recordings
Pop/Contemporary
Buy NOW:
Amazon

The Rising
Charlie Hall
sixstepsrecords
Worship/Progressive
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Coffey Anderson
Coffey Anderson
Dream Records
Rock/Pop
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Beyond My Reach
Daniel Doss Band
Mission House Music
Contemporary/Worship
Buy NOW:
Amazon MP3
iTunes

As Stowaways In Cabinets Of Surf, We Live-Out In Our Members A Kind Of Rebirth
Half-Handed Cloud
Asthmatic Kitty
Progressive/Indie
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Sweet Exchange
Heather Payne
Stylos Records
Contemporary
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Christmas
The Isaacs
Chordant Music Group
Christmas Music
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Because It’s Christmas
Jason Crabb
Spring Hill Records
Christmas Music
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Rehab
Lecrae
Reach Records
Hip-Hop
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Real Life
Lincoln Brewster
Integrity Music
Pop/Contemporary
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Lifted Hands EP
Me In Motion
Centricity Music
Pop
Buy NOW:
Amazon MP3

Wonder
Michael W. Smith
Reunion Records
Contemporary
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Armistice Live
MUTEMATH
Warner Bros. Records
Progressive Rock
Buy NOW:
Amazon (CD/DVD)

Winter, Fire & Snow
Orla Fallon
Spring Hill Records
Christmas Music
Buy NOW:
Amazon [+digital booklet]

Bringin you guys the metal on this one! The Brigade is a 5 piece progressive metalcore band out of Austin, TX., and they recently made their demo EP, entitled There Is No Justice up for free over at Indie Vision Music. the band had this to say about their EP:

The EP was recorded live in one day with Andrew Hernandez at Premium Studios in Austin Texas. These were recored months before we ever played a show, and two of the members that performed on this record have since moved on, but we feel The Brigade is stronger than ever. We are currently in the process of fine-tuning our songs for a proper recording, and as we do this we wanted to give you guys a taste of what it is to come.

The songs on this EP deal with warning and declaration. As a band, we dont feel that our music is overtly about ministry, but more about honesty. This is the world that we see everyday, and hopefully you can understand where we are coming from.

Enjoy the songs, and realize this is only the beginning

Download There Is No Justice EP by The Brigade

Outta Space Love
Group 1 Crew
Fervent Records
Hip-Hop
Buy NOW:
Amazon
iTunes(Deluxe Version)

Hymns Volume III
JG Hymns
Independent
Worship/Folk/Progressive
Buy NOW:
Amazon MP3
iTunes

Safe In Arms EP
Steven Curtis Chapman
Sparrow Records
Contemporary
Buy NOW:
iTunes (only)

New Releases For September 27th, 2010

Humanity
Strengthen What Remains
On The Attack Records
Hardcore
Buy NOW:
(available through On The Attack Records’ webstore)

Below is the latest music video from Canadian emcee Shad with the song “We, Myself, & I”. This is the third video to come from Shad‘s latest album, TSOL, which was released in Canada earlier this year and will hit stateside October 5th, 2010.

I watch and listen to a ton of hip-hop and rap for this website, and admittedly I dont post alot of it. I am a huge fan of the genre, and since its core element is words, the potentially for this music to be used for the Kingdom is staggering. However, more often I see artists trying to make their songs into pop, turn the focus inward, or worse yet not utilize their music as an art form rather than a formula. That last sentence may be a little convoluted, but if you are reading this and listen to hip-hop the way I do I think you will understand.

The point is that I see none of these trappings in Shad. He is fun, honest, socially aware, intelligent, and most of all seems to not be confused with his role as a believer and a rapper. Shad‘s stuff is not ministry focused, but rather he just speaks earnestly about the world around him, and lets God shine through. Enjoy!

We Myself, & I

as a bonus I decided to post the other two music videos from Shad‘s upcoming TSOL, in the hopes that you will go pick it up on October 5th!

Rose Garden

Yaa I Get It

For the 3rd week in a row I am sending you to the Come&Live! roster for your free downloading needs, but I cant help it. This week I am especially excited to share this album by progressive worship band Ascend The Hill, who made our “best of the year” list in 2009 with their debut (self-titled) full-length.

In 2010, they have released Hymns: Take The World But Give Me Jesus. It is exactly what it sounds like, Ascend The Hill have taken their powerful style of worship and reimagined a few of the hymns you sang as a kid. In typical fashion for the band, the songs build slowly, and add layer upon layer of atmospheric guitars, soaring vocals, and driving drums. What makes this album so cool is that the songs that they have chosen feel so relevant to my generation even though some of the songs have existed since my grandparents were children. Ascend The Hill have bridged the gap between the two schools of thinking in worship music by successfully creating deep and beautiful worship music that is 100% focused on Christ and 100% musical.

This is one of my favorite worship albums I own, and I am glad that I can present it to you in this manner.

As with the downloads from The Ember Days and I Am Alpha And Omega, the link below will take you to a download page that will give you give you the option to download the album fro free or make a donation. I encourage you to pray about contributing to this band, and the many other artists on Come&Live!, so that their ministries can grow and they can continue to keep blessing us with this incredible music.

Download Ascend The Hill-Hymns: Take The World But Give Me Jesus

Light Up The Sky
The Afters
INO/Columbia Records
Pop Rock
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Hymns: Take The World, But Give Me Jesus
Ascend The Hill
Come&Live!
Worship
(download for free at comeandlive.com)

In Jesus’ Eyes
Ed Bruce
Varese Fontana
Country
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Raising Up The Dead
Caedmon’s Call
Independent
Progressive/Folk
Buy NOW:
(available only at www.caedmonscall.com)

The Anatomy Of Broken
Chris Sligh
Fervent Records
Contemporary
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Stages
Dave Santos
AudioSketchBook
Hip-Hop
Buy NOW:
Amazon MP3

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
Disciple
INO Records
Hard Rock
Buy NOW:
Amazon

One
Jason Eaton
JEM Records
Pop
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Better Days
Jonathan Nelson
Integrity Music
Gospel/R&B
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Real
J Soul
Psalms Group
R&B
Buy NOW:
Amazon

Love Enough
Laura Kaczor
Life Thirst Records
Contemporary
Buy NOW:
Amazon

The Dream is Ended; This is The Morning
Tim Mann
Independent
Worship
Buy NOW:
Amazon MP3

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting some of the guys from I Am Alpha And Omega at Cornerstone Festival. I think my wife and I ended up talking to vocalist Donnie about everything under the sun for almost an hour after their show. This band is ONLY making music and touring because they 100% believe that Christ has called them to it. They arnt out for anything else but that fact.

They play a passionate form of melodic hardcore deeply rooted in a maturity not seen in many bands in this scene today. They dont go for the quick fix, but instead allow songs to build so you can properly understand the message behind the noise. Any fan of aggressive music with a clear message will love The Roar And The Whisper instantly.

The link below gives you opportunity to donate to their ministry or download the album for free. Help support these guys and what God is doing through them.

Download I Am Alpha And Omega-The Roar And The Whisper

The Agreement
Lakes
Independent
Rock
Buy NOW:
iTunes

New Releases For September 5th, 2010

The Roar And The Whisper
I Am Alpha And Omega
Come&Live!
Melodic Hardcore
Buy NOW:
iTunes

New Releases For September 7th, 2010

Dark Is The Way, Light Is The Place
Anberlin
Universal Records
Rock
Buy NOW:
Amazon MP3( $3.99 TODAY, Sept. 7th, ONLY!)
iTunes

Midnight Sun
Sarah Kelly
Independent
Pop/Folk
Buy NOW:
Amazon MP3

Thinking Out Loud
Young Joshua
Cross Movement Records
Hip-Hop
Buy NOW:
Amazon
iTunes

So at SXSW in 2009, Chuck and I were able to witness Wovenhand live for the first time, and have forever since been singing the band’s praises. Alot of our friends have been asking us what their live shows were like, and while we could find a soing here and a song there, we could never really point to somethiong that demosntarted the experiance that we raverd about.

Until now.

The video below is a full set (over and hour) from Wovenhand at Musiques en Stock Festival in what appears to be France. Many of the songs, especially in the beginning of the set, come from the band’s latest release, The Threshingfloor, which became available just a few months ago. Watch the video, go buy the album, and then go check out the band on tour! Enjoy