I think one band that has remained a constant in my life is Within Temptation . Ever since I discovered them in 2007 I think I’ve been on their hype train. I remember it being a quick turnaround to fandom. As a kid and well into my teen years I watched music video channels on TV—specifically, Kerrang . For you kids out there, it was probably the best way to discover new music before the advent of YouTube, social media and streaming platforms. Even in 2007, two years after YouTube’s release, it was still some of my favourite programming. The level of effort that went into music videos was amazing, you’d get some duds, but for the most part, it was a valued way of presenting your new singles. Being on TV, artists only had a few seconds to grab your attention with their video before audiences chose whether to leave a song on or not. It was like the wild west and I think this is where I started to cultivate my music taste. I distinctly remember sitting in my living room one afternoon and b...
The stand-out band of this year for me has been a small independent southern-rock band from North Carolina called Old Heavy Hands . I found their album Small Fires and instantly fell in love with their sound and it’s been in my rotation a lot this year. Their distinct style drawn from many influences made for a fantastic listening experience. I went back and listened to their first two records and I loved them even more. I wanted to get to know them and take a look under the hood of one of my favourite records of 2024. ( read my full review here ) In this blog, I got to sit down with one half of the dual vocalists, Nate Hall , and talk to him about the new album, his influences, the band's origins and learning to find balance in a busy life. MB: So, this year we had the release of your third album Small Fires , which I completely fell in love with. So, what was the thought process going into this one after Mercy ? NH: Well, we had the time to just write and focus on the songs. So,...