For those of you who have not heard, HXCChristian.com will have a comp album due out around March 16th.  Special thanks to our pals at Thumper Punk Records who helped with all the heavy lifting on the comp.  “We at HXCChristian.com are really excited for this comp album to be released,” says Josh of HXCChristian.com, “not only did a ton of great bands step forward to contribute to the album, but the proceeds will help HXCChristian.com to continue to have a great presence at music festivals such as Cornerstone.”  While HXCChristian.com keeps it overhead low by a pure DIY ethic, we really like to do it up at Cornerstone.  Last year, we had an official generator tent where we were able to have bands do “meet-and-greets” with all the folks who attend Cornerstone.  Leroy – lead singer for War of Ages, Andy – lead singer of A Plea For Purging, and the guys from Debtor, all came out to answer questions about the band, life on the road, and how God has used them to reach out to people at shows.  We also had a pancake breakfast with Call to Preserve, and a free spaghetti dinner where we must have fed 200 people.  We look forward to doing it bigger and better at Cornerstone this year.  So, by purchasing a download of this comp, or buying the disc will help support our efforts.

Enough about us…..Who is on the comp?  Well, we had 25 bands volunteer to put a song on the comp.  It is just short of a full disc of music.  There are two sides of the comp, hardcore vs. punk.  Here is the track listing:

Side A (Hardcore Side)
1.   Welcome to Hardcore Christian Radio
2.   “Familyhood,” In Shepherds Arms, Armor of God
3.   “Nineteen Eleven,” Braveheart, Speak to These Bones, 1981 Records
4.   “Pale Rose,” Messengers, Anthems, Facedown Records
5.   “Keep On Smiling,” Gorilla Warfare, Keep On Smiling
6.   “Big Question,” Carrying The Fire, Demo (2011)
7.   “Lazy Sunday,” Those Who Fear, S.O.T.S. Demo (2009)
8.   “The Seed,” Killing Years, Demo (2010)
9.   “Control Freaks Who’ve Lost Control,” Divinity Theory
10.  “Bare Heights,” Debtor
11.  “Voids,” Strengthen What Remains, Humanity, On The Attack Records
12.  “Season of the Starved Wolf,” A Hill To Die Upon, Infinite Titanic Immortal, Bombworks Records

Side B (Punk, Oi! and Ska Side)
13.  Welcome to Hardcore Christian Radio
14.  “Old Rugged Cross,” False Idle, Hymns of Punk Rock Praise, Thumper Punk Records
15.  “Revolution,” True Liberty, City of the One, Wounded Records
16.  “Walking Dead,” The WAY, The Fight Is Ours, Thumper Punk Records
17.   “Lost Cause,” The Kings Kids, Thumper Punk Records
18.  “Take Me Away,” The Rekoning, The Road Less Traveled, Facedown Records
19.  “They Hate You” (originally performed by FBS), Grave Robber, Exhumed, Rottweiler Records
20.  “Standoff,” FBS, Live Grenade
21.  “Mad At The Girls,” Lust Control, This is a Condom Nation, Captive Thought Publishing
22.  “You Forgot Something,” Unshackled, Overcoming Years, Thumper Punk Records and Caustic Fallout
23.  “Another Day Gone,” The Hoax, Stumbling Through, Thumper Punk Records and Caustic Fallout
24.  “Boxcutter,” Skamikaze!
25.  “10,000 Ladders,” Send Out Scuds, High Score
26.  “I Wanna Let You Out of the Box,” Destroy Nate Allen, Until My Ankle’s Better
27.  “Hope, UniSEF,” Can These Bones Live?

AND….for the big reveal, we have been teasing folks with what the album cover would be.  I am big fan of the punk DIY style and lifting an existing design or album cover.  SO…we were huge fans of the Christian Aerobics album that was released many years ago.  And we thought, what a better way to honor such an interesting piece of Christian art/Americana than to update it to “Hardcore Aerobics?”  After all, anyone who has ever been in a pit knows that it is a real work out!  Folks that buy the physical album will also get some cool info on the insert including an exclusive on the how and why the site was started.

How much? Digital downloads will be available and will be priced at $5, physical copies of the CDs will be $10 plus shipping ($2.50).  Also, we should be able to take orders on this site or from Thumper Punk Records.  So check back often before the 16th for more details.

Thanks for your support, thanks to the great folks at Thumper Punk Records, Caustic Fallout, Seth from False Idle, and all the fantastic bands that have contributed to the album!  See you at Cornerstone 2011 and God bless!

Clear Convictions - “The Mystery of Iniquity”

This is Clear Convictions sophomore album (for those in Rio Lindon, that means their second album).  I do not have their first album, so I can’t compare it to their first album.  Here is what is cool about the this album.  There are two tracks on the album that are dissertations on the bible.  Cool stuff, the background music on the tracks is a little out of place, but the biblical teachings on those tracks is really cool and reaffirms our beliefs as Christians.  What I like about the album.  The musical style is somewhere between hardcore and metal.  With strong hardcore riffs and a bit of metal mixed in between, the album is heavy, so heavy in fact that the bass drum seems to drown out the rest of the instruments at time, but I love drums, so I don’t mind.  The vocals are pretty guttural as well and lend a primal sound to the album.  In all their are 10 musical tracks, and the songs roll into one another, I could imagine going to a Clear Convictions show and hear them play all 10 tracks off this album, one after another with no breaks.  The album is a great album overall, if you like Clear Convictions, then pick it up.  You can go and buy the album from On The Attack Records for $8.  Well worth it and would make a great stocking stuffer.

Messengers - “Anthems”

I was able to get a hold of some older Messenger material, before they were signed to Strike First records.  I love their old stuff, and their new stuff is equally as good.  Hailing from Texas, which seems to be a growing area for Hardcore, particularly Christian hardcore, these guys are keeping the hardcore tradition alive.  If you like Thin Ice and Dependency, then I think you will like Messengers.  They mix a solid hardcore sound with a little bit of metal edge (I think it is a Texas thing) with driving hardcore style chug riffs.  The best song with the most awesome lyrics on the album is “Judge” with the chorus that rings out “Who are you to judge what I put my hope in? Who are you to judge? Who died and made you judge? You’ll never get the best of me, because you can’t take, what’s left of me.”  Gets me so fired up in their particular brand of breakdown.   I highly recommend this album and it can picked up from Strike First records for $6.99, and, check out the cool Messengers T-shirt done up with the “Not Man” from Anthrax style!

Destroy Nate Allen – “Until My Ankle’s Better”

I did a review of Destroy Nate Allen’s last album “Perfect Recipe for a Smile” featuring the dynamic duo Nate and Tessa.  I LOVE Destroy Nate Allen.  If you like folk punk, you will love Destroy Nate Allen.  This album is a little bit different than the last, seems like Nate does a lot of the vocals on this album.  It is also a bit cleaner in production value, but you still don’t lose any of the campiness of DNA.  What I love about DNA is the self deprecating humor of Nate.  With songs like “Math, I Will Defeat You.”  I can totally relate.  You can go download “Until My Ankle’s Better” from the Destroy Nate Allen Download page.  You can name your price for the album.  I suggest giving something $5, $10, whatever you can for the album, it is worth it, promise.  Also, you can catch DNA on tour still, they still have some shows while they are making their way back to Oregon, check out tour dates on the DNA website, and go and see them live, they put on a heck of a live show!  (and yes, Tessa does steal the show Nate!!!).

Fleas Naughty Dog Vol. 1 – Christmas Compilation

Beside having some really awesome covers of Christmas tunes done by some of our favorite artists, this download is also FREE!  That’s right….FREE.  So just go and download it already!  The good:  True Liberty’s punk cover of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”  True Liberty is amazing, they just keep getting better and better and their cover is just incredible.  Grave Robber does another great cover of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”  crap, it is a Grave Robber, you know exactly what to expect.  Desiring Dead Flesh contributes with “Holidays Suck” and original punk song, DDF is really a band to check out,  pure punk, everything about these guys is punk!  Sef gives us a tease of more False Idle with a cover of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” which might be one of the best songs on the album.  If you still have not gotten the False Idle album full of punk rock hymns, then you need to crawl out from under the rock you are living under.  You can go to Rottweiler Records and download the album for FREE.  The album contains rock, metal, death metal, and some other styles too, overall, it is a pretty cool album.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope that God blesses each and every one of you!

The album I am “reviewing” is “Brotherhood” by True Liberty. A three piece street punk/Oi! band from Richmond, Virginia. The album was actually released in 2008, so I am a little late to review, but I am glad the band reached out to me to introduce themselves. I can tell you that my email conversations with the band have been really positive and that they are all in for Jesus. It shows in their music too. They don’t try to hide the fact that they are Christians, and that they believe in Jesus Christ. The CD starts off really strong, the first two tracks are definitely my favorite tracks. I find myself singing along with “Warriors of God,” and getting pumped up every time I hear the song.  They wind down an aggressive street punk/Oi! sound with “Prodigal Son.”

I really like True Liberty because they are true to their punk roots. You can tell that they draw from their influences that include bands like Cocksparrer (great classic Oi! band), The Business (another great classic Oi! band), The Oppressed (yet another classic Oi! band, I guess you could list every band on Captain Oi! Records), and artists such Social Distortion and Johnny Cash. If you like a great street punk/Oi! sound, then these are the guys for you.

You can go and buy their albums off their website at www.truelibertyrva.com and take a listen on their myspace page. They have a two big shows coming up in the Richmond, Virginia area the weekend of March 13, and a video shoot and concert on the 15th. They are also playing at Cornerstone this year in Bushnell, Illinois. So if you are going, check them out. Support you local Christian punks and go buy their CDs and spread the word.

God Bless!

Josh