Ever feel like life is moving at warp speed and there is nothing you can do to slow it down? That is my life right now. I am sorry that I have not reviewed any great bands lately. My wife gave birth to our second son on May 8th, a healthy 9 lb 10 ounce, 20 and half inch bruiser (he is one ounce heavier than his brother when he was born, but three inches shorter). So, you can say that has taken center stage for the time being.

Having kids really shows you God’s blessings first hand. Looking into your child’s eyes for the first time is such a great feeling and looking at what God created is such a rush. Having kids makes you realize that all the hopes and dreams you have take a backseat to raising your kids correctly and instilling good morals and life lessons in them. They are also a clean slate to share the teachings of Jesus with. As a parent, I would not have it any other way. Growing up with my mom, cause my dad left when I was a kid, really screwed me up. Without the grace of the good Lord, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. I never really had a strong father to teach me how to be a great father. I did have a great step-father, but he never wanted to take

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I decided it was time to order a few CDs and picked up three from Blood & Ink Records. They were having a Spring cleaning sale and were selling a whole bunch of CDs for $4.99 and under (I think the sale is still good through March 31st.) I picked up XLooking ForwardX “What This Means to Me,” Stars are Falling “The Consequence of Revenge,” and Since Remebered “Coming Alive.”

I am a huge fan of XLFX and the “What This Means To Me” album came with a free DVD packed with great stuff. This album does not have as much reference to God as “The Path We Tread”, but regardless, it is still a great album. I really hope to see these guys live one day soon, hope they come to Raleigh.

Since Remembered is a North Carolina hardcore band out of Winston-Salem. I have listened to the disc once already and can’t wait to pop in on my MP3 player to listen to at the gym. These guys are doing something right cause they sound a lot like a lot of the old school hardcore. They almost remind me of a band I used to love called Uniform Choice, great straightedge band out of California.

I am currently listening to Stars Are Falling. I really would not classify these guys as hardcore, more of a crossover type of band. Don’t get me wrong, they are heavy and have a great message.

Continue reading NEW MUSIC WOOHOO!

Well, today is the day. Jesus was crucified for all our sins, for the sins of generations to come. He died for you and me. There are many people that don’t have a personal relationship with Christ, but he still died for them as well.

God is hardcore. He sent his only Son to die for man. The lamb (Christ) was the ultimate sacrifice for man. He was scourged, mocked, beaten, and nailed to the cross for my sake, and your sake, and I am thankful for that. Without God’s mercy and grace, I would be dead to sin and a slave to the flesh, but since Christ died for me and conquered death, it holds nothing over me. After-all, the penalty of sin is death, and if sin has no power over me, then neither does death. I have nothing to fear as I know that Christ paid the penalty in full for me. Christ rose from the dead to show that death had no power over him and set us all free. I am sad that Christ had to experience the worst treatment that man could dish out, but at the same time I rejoice because I know that without this sacrifice, I would have never been saved.

I love Jesus, and I know that he loves me. I aspire to live a good life that is pleasing to him, I hope that when I

Continue reading God is Hardcore

A lot of people ask what is Christian hardcore? Hardcore is a type of music that spawned out of punk rock in the 80′s. A lot of folks were fed up with the loose morals of punk rock and were just plain sick and tired of the scene. Sure, there were a lot of great bands that came out of the punk rock era, but nobody would take punk seriously. Well, along comes hardcore in the mid to late 80′s and early 90′s. It was a different scene. More clean cut, more responsible (I say that loosely), more…sober, with the advent of the straightedge movement (no drinking, no smoking, no sex).

Christian hardcore is a logical offshoot of the hardcore movement. What is hardcore all about? Sticking to your belief system and DIY (Do It Yourself) attitude. So hardcore lent itself to Christianity perfectly. After all, how best to deliver a message to thousands of kids that are yearning to hear the word of Christ (even if they don’t know it), but in a nice little package that they can understand. I have heard people say that Jesus will speak to you in a way you can understand to bring you closer to him. That is exactly what he is doing with Christian style hardcore music. I am so glad that Christ can speak to me in a medium that I can relate to and understand. I

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“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and they say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11

So recently, someone caught wind of our forum, and they didn’t like it. With all things relating to Jesus, man suppresses and gets offended. They revile all that is inspired by Him. This is man’s nature. I am a sinner, we are all sinners and we fall well short of God’s expectations. At least that is what Paul tells us.

Some folks were recently registered on the HXCChristian forum that thought it would be funny to goof on God and Jesus. I hope that one day you can see the light as well. I was once like you as well, until Jesus found me. And yes, he brought you to the HXCChristian.com forum for a reason. Jesus was communicating with you for a reason, to try and get his message through in a way that you can understand. I don’t hold any bad feelings for you (and I think you know whom I am talking about), but I pray for you.

Now to the music, I have been spinning two discs lately. The first is Call to Preserve “Unsikable” The first time I listened to this album, I wasn’t to sure if I

Continue reading Jesus Said There Would Be Days Like This

I always try to check out a band on Amazon.com to see how they sound before I decide to buy their albums. On Amazon, you can write reviews about albums and bands. I have to chuckle cause you can tell when someone is writing a review if they are and old head or a youngster when it comes to hardcore. Here is my logic.

You generally see one kind of review on Amazon for band, I call it “the measuring stick.” Basically, what we see is the reviewer comparing said band to another band, using the latter band as a measuring stick, for example, band XYZ is great, but they sound like a copy of band ABC. When you break it down, there are two types of reviewers. The “old heads” (whom grew up listening to the Hardcore pioneers), and the “youngsters” (whom compare all hardcore against one band).

Ok, so here is my point. I see way to many reviews that compare bands to Hatebreed. I have never owned a Hatebreed album, nor do I intend to. So my questions is, where have all the “old heads” gone?

Right now I am listening to Dodgin’ Bullets “Earn Your Repsect.” (Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/dodginbulletsx) I dig these guys. They got the hardcore thing down in my opinion. Plus, it never hurts to have guest vocalists like Roger Miret on your album. That lends a bit of street cred to your album.

If

Continue reading The Hardcore Measuring Stick