Massivivid was a Christian band founded by Wally Shaw and Mark Nash. Their sound was based in industrial rock and electronic pop, but with a hard edge and intensity similar to that of

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

. Massivivid was founded as a live side project to

Deitiphobia Deitiphobia is a Christian industrial, electro and techno band from the United States formed in 1990 consisting of the duo of Wally Shaw and Brent Stackhouse. Known originally as Donderfliegen (translated into band speak as 'darn that fly'), th ...

. They released BrightBlur to critical acclaim, garnering a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

Background

The band was born in 1996 as a project of

Michael Knott Michael Gerard Knott (December 22, 1962 – March 12, 2024) was an American singer-songwriter and frontman for various bands, many of whom performed in the Christian rock genre. He released about 35 albums, including solo albums and a ...

's record label ''Ear Candy''. They produced an EP that year and held their first show at the 1997

Cornerstone Festival Cornerstone Festival was a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around July 4 near Bushnell, Illinois, drawing some 20,000 attendees each year. In a given year, many artists that played at Cornerstone also playe ...

. After producing a demo for the label they were picked up by Tattoo Records and produced their first album, ''BrightBlur''. The name of the album refers to a line in

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

's '' Letters to Malcolm'' where Lewis describes

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

as a "bright blur becoming brighter and blurier". Several other Lewis references appear on the album: to ''

The Space Trilogy ''The Space Trilogy'' (also known as ''The Cosmic Trilogy'' or ''The Ransom Trilogy'') is a series of science fiction novels by British writer C. S. Lewis. The trilogy consists of '' Out of the Silent Planet'' (1938), '' Perelandra'' (1943), ...

'' in "Deep Heaven", and quotes from ''

Mere Christianity ''Mere Christianity'' is a Christian apologetical book by the British author C. S. Lewis. It was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, originally published as three separate volumes: ''Broadcast Talks'' (1942), ' ...

'' in "Unmade". Lyrically ''BrightBlur'' is centered on the struggles faced by humanity, specifically the contrasts that technology introduces to society. The album propelled Massivivid to take the 1998

for "Hard Music Album." The band toured heavily throughout 1999. The follow-up record, ''Dressed To The Nines...Armed To The Teeth'', was released in 2002 on Accidental Sirens, an indie label partially owned by Allan Aguirre of

Scaterd Few Scaterd Few was a Christian punk band originating from Burbank, California. ''CCM'' magazine described their music as "pure punk for dread people," stating that it was a cross between Jane's Addiction and Charlie Mingus. History ''Sin Disease' ...

. A review in ''

HM Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is based in Houston, Texas. Originally published as ''Heaven's Metal'', it was renamed to ''HM'' in ...

'' was heavily critical of the album, stating that its "fuzz-tone guitar based electro industrial" sound had at best the quality of a demo. One of the songs on ''BrightBlur'', Gripped, would appear as one of the songs in the OST for the video game, SCORE International Baja 1000.

Discography

*1999: ''BrightBlur'' (Tattoo Records, Reviews:
Cross Rhythms
', ''

7ball ''7ball'' is a discontinued Christian music magazine, first published in 1995. They focused on rock, hip-hop, and other "alternative" forms of Christian music. The magazine was initially published by the Royal Magazine Group (a division of Thom ...

'', '' YouthWorker'') *2002: ''Dressed To The Nines... Armed To The Teeth'' ( Accidental Sirens, Review: ''HM Magazine'')

Members

*Sheri Shaw *Wally Shaw *Mark Nash *John Hogan *Wil Foster *Tom Wilson *Bob Carlton *Jesse Davis *Jason Scott *Keith Konečnik

References

External links

*
Deitiphobia/Massivivid discography
{{Authority control American Christian musical groups Musical groups established in 1996