The Free Christian Music Blog

Free Songs from Ocean Is Theory

Free music today from Ocean is Theory – the band is giving away two songs (“Miles Away” & “The Motion, The Feeling”) from their latest EP, In My Blood Again, for free through BandCamp.

The songs seem to have a more aggressive sound then others I’ve heard from the band, in fact, it reminds me a bit of some of Beloved’s old songs, maybe a bit Emery thrown in.  It’s different, but still solid musically.  Also, if the two free songs happen to catch your fancy, word on the street is the other two tracks from In My Blood Again are available on iTunes, so if you’d like to complete your copy, you can do it quickly and easily.  Anyway, check it out!

-Ocean is Theory on BandCamp-

Tags: Ocean is Theory

Summer Slam Volume 3

Remember Indie Vision Music? You know, that site that has brought you songs from artists like MXPX, Project 86, Cool Hand Luke, Chasing Victory, Ever Stays Red, Esterlyn (a lot from them actually), The Glorious Unseen, Forever Changed, Brave Saint Saturn, Stavesacre, and Deepspace 5, not to mention hundreds of great songs from lesser know and up and coming bands?

Well, if you have forgotten, this should serve as a reminder. Indie Vision Music has recently come out with Summer Slam Vol. 3, its newest in a very long line of compilations. In it are 56 free songs, conveniently divided into three discs. While this one doesn’t include any of the big names groups listed above (the biggest on the list is probably Gotee artist I Am Terrified), it does include alot of great groups, including songs from bands like Sleeping Giant, Hands, and Impending Doom on the heavy sampler and songs from groups like All Star United, Sleep For Sleepers, and Ocean Is Theory on the rock discs.

Even if you don’t end up liking most of the songs, the odds are that you will find a new band that you really like. And anyway, its 56 free songs, so I probably don’t need to spend this much time trying to convince you.

-Summer Slame Volume 3 at IVM.com-

P.S. I know that some of those bands that I listed in the first paragraph aren’t as big as they used to be (some are broken up), so some of you may not recognize them, but they are all quality groups. If you haven’t heard of them, go check them out.

Tags: Abel, Advantage, All Star United, ApathyEdge, Ascend The Hill, Awake! Awake!, Beauti, Burn The Ruin, Cannonhands, Dear Future, Delay Trees, Everdown, Facing Binary, For Today, Grave Robber, Great Awakening, Hand Drawn Mountians, Hands, Harmony, Hello Madison, Holding Onto Hope, Hope In The Unseen, I Am Terrified, Ian McIntosh, Impending Doom, Jeanna Krater, Life of Branches, Mrene, Ocean is Theory, Orion Walsh, Orphan Project, Paralysed Force, Red Letter Band, Redemption, Rootdown, Say You Will, Sinai Vessel, Sleep for Sleepers, Sleeping Giant, So Long Forgotten, Storyline, Surrendered, Take It Back!, The Echoing Green, The Ember Days, The Radiance Effect, The Skeleton At The Feast, The Vanity Plan, Theocracy, Thieves & Liars, Through Solace, To Tell, TWENTYFOUR64, Venia, We Set Fire, Wolves Among Sheep

James’ Top 10 Downloads Of 2008

So, it was hard, but I narrowed down my top 10 list. And I only included three of my own posts, unlike Matt, who listed ten of his. Nevermind the fact that I joined him late in the year and only posted one day a week for not even every week til the end of the year…

Anyway, I sorted through the 300+ posts and probably 1000+ songs and ended up with this list of favorites:

10: Tie Between Children 18:3, Children 18:3, and Children 18:3 – So, Matt had a tie at 10th, so I thought it was only fair that I do the same. Children 18:3 was a band I found near the beginning of the year and was the first band that year to show me that pop-punk could be something that I could enjoy if it was done right.

9: Sides of the North – This small band was one of Christian music’s best kept secrets, which is a shame because they were awesome. Six songs by them is definitely an awesome post and worthy of placing in the top 10.

8: Summer Slam Volume 2 – Indie Vision Music has been one of the top sources of free Christian music, and SSV2 is their biggest and best. It gave me free songs from Project 86, Stavesacre, Ocean is Theory, The Dark Romantics, and introduced me to a bunch of smaller bands, especially The Human Flight Committee, with their song “She’s A Car Destroyer.”

7: The Devil Wears Prada – I became a fan of TDWP when I saw them at Warped Tour (and crowdsurfed to them). So I was very excited when I found a free sampler containing “Hey John, What’s Your Name Again?”

6: The Awkward Romance – The Awkward Romance was already my favorite local band before they came out with this CD, This Song Is Writing Me, but this CD caught me by surprise by how well produced it was. And the fact that they gave it away for free was an even bigger surprise.

5: Capital Lights – What Children 18:3 started was reinforced by the introduction to my of Capital Lights. And what we have here with “Can I Get An Amen” is Capital Lights at their best.

4: Stavesacre – Stavesacre is a band that I’d heard of a for a while but never listened to for the longest time. However, once I saw on here that they had a song (“It’s Beautiful Once You’re Out There”) up for download, I decided to give them a listen. I was far from disappointed, and I must say that I have found one of my new favorite bands.

3: mewithoutYou – As I’ve mentioned before, mewithoutYou is my favorite band. The only reason that this isn’t listed higher is that I already had the song long before I found the download that I featured. Still, they are my favorite band.

2: Tooth & Nail Fuel Sampler – Any Tooth & Nail sampler is gonna have awesome songs on it, but this one caught me by surprise with the artists that I enjoyed the most on it. Now, I already had the great songs from Children 18:3 and Showbread, but this sampler introduced me to Capital Lights and Oh, Sleeper plus it gave me amazing songs from Sever Your Ties and my personal favorite on the whole sampler, “Abracadavers” by The Classic Crime, which was a band I had long ago written off.

1: House of Heroes – Sure, I found it before I found this site, but the three free songs, in combination with the ones they streamed on myspace, held me over until their new CD finally came out in September. “In The Valley Of The Dying Son” has been in my collection since March and has yet to ever at any point get old, and neither have any of the others, which is why this places as the number one download of the 2008.

Honorary Mentions:

Everyday Joe’s – This sampler was no longer available by the time that I found this site, but anything that includes Listener Project is awesome.

Christmas Day 12 – Matt put a ton of work into this post, listing something like 2 dozen artists with Christmas songs up for download.

Tags: Capital Lights, Children 18:3, House of Heroes, mewithoutYou, Ocean is Theory, Oh Sleeper, Project 86, Sever Your Ties, Showbread, Sides of the North, Stavesacre, The Awkward Romance, The Classic Crime, The Dark Romantics, The Devil Wears Prada, The Human Flight Committee

Christmas Series: Day 11 – A Very Indie Christmas

Indie Vision Music have created yet another awesome sampler – only this time, it’s a early indie Christmas present.  It’s got some great Christmas songs (most notably MxPx and Esterlyn) plus around 45 all-year-round-tracks from bands like Kiros, Ocean Is Theory, My Epic, Saints Never Surrender, and more.  Totally sweet.  Check it out:

-A Very Indie Christmas from Indie Vision Music-

Tags: A Common Occurance, A Hope For Home, A Moments Notice, Aevory Nash, All Have Fallen, All In, All Or Nothing, Arkeo, Awake! Awake!, Blood and Water, Blue Cadet and the Brave December, Camaria, Cinthia Mejia, Coolfield, Curbsquirrels, Endeavor the Seas, Esterlyn, Failure to Excel, Fayda, Goodnight Caudfield, Grave Robber, Harmony, Hazel and Vine, Hope for the Dying, Jerome Madigan, Just Like Josiah, Kevin and the Octaves, Kiros, Knee Deep in Stereo, Lilly Among Thorns, Main Line Riders, Mendelson, MxPx, My Epic, Now the Nursery, Ocean is Theory, Onelastcall, Out of Hiding, Party or Die!, Push Push Pull, Safe Haven, Saints Never Surrender, The Advantage, The Conception, The Mess, The Molly Chambers, The Rekoning, Theocracy, Tim Serdynski, To Tell, Ursa Robotica, Venia, Yours For Mine

Free Massive Sampler from the French!

Yes, you read right.  The huge, epic sampler James and I have been talking about all week is actually available from the French website Beehave.fr.  It’s massive and awesome, representing hardcore, rock, punk, and indie. The track-listing, featuring all 62 songs:

01. Fireflight – “Unbreakable”
02. House of Heroes – “In The Valley of the Dying Sun”
03. Ocean Is Theory – “Oh Broken Son”
04. Anchors – “Jack Meets John And Paul”
05. Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster – “Dry The River”
06. La Dispute – “Said The King To The River”
07. My Epic – “The Oil Press”
08. Saving Grace – “The Most Beautiful Promise”
09. Nitengale – “Flatline”
10. Day By Day – “A Better Way To Fight”
11. Dalton – “Gabriel”
12. Atmosfog – “J’ai besoin de toi (démo)”
13. Take It Back! – “Standing on the Edge of Hope”
14. Kingston Falls – “Dry Skin (Moz Def)”
15. As I Lay Dying – “Within Destruction”
16. Icon Clan – “BNB”
17. xDEATHSTARx – “The Great Opiate”
18. War Of Ages – “Sleep Of Prisoners”
19. The Winston Jazz Routine – “A Ghost Beneath The Tower”
20. Gwen Stacy – “The Fear In Your Eyes”
21. The Devil Wears Prada – “Hey John, What’s Your Name Again”
22. La Rose de Saron – “Avorté”
23. State Bird – “I Saw The Light”
24. Remove The Veil – “The Revision”
25. All Your Friends Are Dead – “Almost Home”
26. For Today – “Never Lose Sight Of The Goals”
27. Gray Lines of Perfection – “Letting Go”
28. See The Light – “Better Get Used To This Sore Throat”
29. Impending Doom – “My Nemesis” (2:51)
30. Interstates – “Uniforms Forever” (5:13)
31. Simon Says No! – “Shiver” (5:49)
32. Austrian Death Machine – “If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It”
33. Jeroan Drive – “Cheat vs. Clockwork”
34. Kashee Opeiah – “Oh Endless Ocean”
35. Letter To The Exiles – “Eulogy”
36. Means – “What We Seek”
37. NoiZ – “Zemlya Palaje”
38. Recovery – “Not Yet Lost My Faith”
39. Saphena – “Schatten”
40. Source of my Faith – “For You”
41. Thieves & Liars – “The Author Of My Dreams”
42. World To Ashes – “Crown Of Victory”
43. A Hero Remains – “Tuxedo Black”
44. A Plea For Purging – “Sons Of Vipers, How Will You Escape…”
45. Blessthefall – “Guys Like You Make Us Look Bad”
46. Blood Command – “Five Inches Of A Car Accident”
47. Bringing Down Broadway – “Barely There”
48. Corpus Christi – “Starry Nights, Cloudy Hearts”
49. Cottonbomb – “Down There By The River”
50. Deuteronomium – “Fields Of War”
51. Escape From Sickness – “Dreams Are Not To Die”
52. FBS – “Fight Before Surrender”
53. Rapid Rascals – “Till I Die”
54. The Spirit That Guides Us – “Control”
55. Kekal – “Isolated I”
56. Illuminandi – “The Rider (English Version Of “Je?dziec”)”
57. Our Proclamation – “Relapse Recovery”
58. The Closure – “Vacant Hearts”
59. Make Up Your Mind – “The Wind Blows A Lovesong”
60. Triplet – “Breaking Cars, Hearts & Falls”
61. Eastone – “Tout Pour Moi”
62. Sleeping At Last – “Heaven Breaks”
(Source: Indie Vision Music)

There you have it, all 62 songs.  That should pretty much speak for itself.  It looks like hardcore/metal songs form the backbone of the sampler, but there’s enough “normal” music to make it worth while even if screaming isn’t your thing.

Now, there is one small problem.  Like I said, Another Way To Fight Vol. 1 was created by a French website.  So, the site is in French.  Thankfully, thanks to Google’s handy Translator, the rest of us can read it too.  Enjoy!

-Another Way To Fight Vol. 1 on Beehave.fr-

-Translated Version of Beehvave.fr-

Tags: A Hero Remains, A Plea For Purging, All Your Friends Are Dead, Anchors, Atmosfog, Austrian Death Machine, Blessthefall, Blood Command, Bringing Down Broadway, Corpus Christi, Cottonbomb, Dalton, Day By Day, Deuteronomium, Eastone, Escape From Sickness, FBS, Fireflight, For Today, Gray Lines of Perfection, Gwen Stacy, House of Heroes, Icon Clan, Illuminandi, Impending Doom, Interstates, Jeroan Drive, Kashee Opeiah, Kekal, Kingston Falls, La Dispute, La Rose de Saron, Letter To The Exiles, Make Up Your Mind, Maylene & Sons of Disaster, My Epic, Nitengale, NoiZ, Ocean is Theory, Our Proclamation, Rapid Rascals, Recovery, Remove The Veil, Saphena, Saving Grace, See The Light, Simon Says No!, Sleeping At Last, Source of My Faith, State Bird, Take It Back!, The Closure, The Devil Wears Prada, The Spirit That Guides Us, The Winston Jazz Routine, Thieves & Liars, Triplet, War of Ages, World To Ashes, xDEATHSTARx

New Sampler from Indie Vision Music

Indie Vision Music has put out many, many samplers recently, and though many of them are no longer posted online, they have taken the best songs from the seven samplers (sans the heavy stuff, which might be getting its own “best of” sampler) and put them into one. What you get is free songs from Chasing Victory, Project 86, Stavesacre, Ever Stays Red, Esterlyn, and 35 other awesome bands.

I haven’t been able to listen to everything yet, as I have not only been busy but also overwhelmed with this and another even bigger sampler that all of you will probably see in the near future. You might get spoiled this week, thats all I’m saying.

-The Best of IVM Vol. 1-

-James

Edit:  Apparently the wonderful people at IVM are working on another compilation that they hope to put out in time for Christmas.  If you’re in a band and have a quality recording they are interested in possibly using your song in the compilation.

Tags: Amaradio, Amen. The Animal, Arkeo, Avery Pkwy, Blood & Water, Burning Tree Project, Cathy Crescendo, Chasing Victory, Darkroom, Dennis Zender, Dogwood, Erika Soto, Esterlyn, Ever Stays Red, Failure to Excel, Fairgreen, Finchley, Forever Changed, Hands, Kessler, Kings to You, Makeshift3, Man Alive, My Jeremiah, Ocean is Theory, One Hot Minute, Orion Walsh, Paul Wright, Project 86, Quick and the Dead, Say You Will, Send Out Scuds, Sleep for Sleepers, Stavesacre, The Apprentice, The Echoing Green, The Trade, Thrush, Tumbledown, We Shot the Moon

Free Song from Ocean Is Theory

Today I’ve got for you a free song from the band Ocean Is Theory.  They are an up and coming band who are currently unsigned, but have a devoted fan base and professional sounding music.  If I was a record exec at Credential, I’d starting talking with the band about a record deal.  Seriously, don’t be surprised if you hear more of them in the future.

Anyway, the song is “Oh Broken Sun” and its off of their debut EP Into the Mouths of Lions.  It is not what I was expecting when I downloaded it.  Their music way exceeds my expectations.  It very slightly reminds me of stuff I’ve heard from Further Seems Forever, Sullivan, and recent As Cities Burn (the stuff without screaming), but they have their own unique sound.

And I hope I’m not discouraging anyone from listening when I say “unique sound.”  I don’t mean that they have some weird experimental sound, just that they stand out instead of sounding like everyone else.

-Ocean Is Theory on Purevolume-

-James

PS: I’m going to see House of Heroes tomorrow and if you guys want I can give you a concert review.

Tags: Ocean is Theory

Hearts Bleed Passion Vol. 4 – Free Massive Sampler from IVM

YES! I’m finally going to write up Hearts Bleed Passion Vol. 4. I’ve gotten more emails about this then any other sampler in the history of this site. After waiting a couple of weeks before I could download it, and then another week for me to actually listen to enough of it to post (I still haven’t finished it… that’s how big it is!)

Well, like I said, this is one huge sampler. I counted 59 different songs. The full file is around 300 megabytes. Make sure your internet connection can handle it before you try to download it.

I wish I could go through and recommend all of the songs on the sampler, but I don’t have the time to type up a list. I’ll just say that the sampler has some awesome songs, some good songs, and some that just aren’t my cup o’ tea. There’s hardcore, punk, acoustic, rock, pop, and rap, pretty much something for everyone.

-Hearts Bleed Passion Vol. 4 on Indie Vision Music-

PS: I’d love to hear what your favorite song(s) are from the sampler are! Leave a comment and let me know! I’ll even go first.

Tags: Aevory Nash, Agnes the Mother, Ajax Starglider, Amen. The Animal, Aneirin, Avery Pwky, Blood & Water, Braveheart, Broken Scarlet, Cathy Crescendo, Cookbook & Uno Mas, Crimson Thorn, Dennis Zender, Dominic Balli, DrawCard, Escape from Emptiness, Esterlyn, Fairgreen, Falling Tsar, Fellow, Finchley, Freddie Bruno, Goodnight Darling, Hands, Kiven, Lewis Vs. Clark, Mammuth, Mendelson, Michael Sandoval, Morse, My Jeremiah, News from Verona, Nihilo, NoiZ, Now the Nursery, Ocean is Theory, One Hot Minute, Orion Walsh, Our Proclaimation, Paul Wright, Pedestrian X, Photoside Cafe, Poorly Build Parachute, Ready the Way, Rene Velarde, Resting in Fragments, Rootdown, Ryan Brown, Say You Will, Second Thief, Sintax the Terrible, Sleep for Sleepers, Source of My Faith, The Advantage, The All Star Class, The Apprentice, The Dingees, The Mone Raths, The Tug Fork River Bend, This Is Luke, When Only Darkness Remains