2024 has been a fun year for the music I got to experience. Some acts I thought I’d never get to see and I did, old favourites and interesting discoveries. It’s all been wonderful. Last year, I forwent my usual “favourite albums of the year” list. It just feels so impersonal. I’d rather go over some of my favourites and regale you with some of the best shows I have experienced. I don’t want to do a blow-by-blow, month-by-month recap. I just want to tell you about the year. This year has been a bit of a whirlwind for the blog too. 35 posts to the blog with 12 of those being interviews, the most I’ve ever done in a single year. I won’t lie, I’ve been a little starstruck that I, with my relatively small blog, have gotten to talk to some of the icons of the industry, such as Pasi from Sonata Arctica, Lena Scissorhands from Infected Rain and Peavy Wagner from the grandfathers of power-metal, Rage. I’ve also had the chance to chat with lesser-known names like InnerWish and The Commoners. All of the interviews I’ve done this year have been fun-filled conversations with interesting people and I think I’ve learned a lot about the industry, songwriting and about the people themselves. I just want to thank all the bands that made time for a small-time blogger.
I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself as a would-be music journalist. Some of the articles I’ve written this year have been some of my favourites. It’s been great seeing your reactions and thoughts to my articles this year too. You, dear reader, are the best reason that I love writing so much. The fact you have kept coming back time after time and reading my reviews and interviews, it’s given me so much motivation. If this is your first time reading one of my blogs, then I hope you stick around after this mushy part.
Earlier this year, I wrote an essay about how much I love the band, The Narrative. I mean, they have been a massive constant in my life for over 10 years now. So, naturally, I wanted to pay homage to a band that has given me so much joy. This year they released a new EP, New Anxieties. Let me tell you, this is one that I’ve been going back to again and again this year. This EP is such a lovely listening experience. It’s like the band has grown up with me, in a sense. This record is much more melancholic and downbeat. The electronic elements are dialled up to elven. For me, this is nothing new. As I stated in my retrospective, The Narrative are known for changing styles on a dime, record after record. You can hear the love and passion oozing from all four songs on this record and I would say it’s highly recommended from me.
You never know what you’re going to find walking into a small bar for a gig. This year has been chalked full of them for me. Some of my favourite discoveries have been at these smaller shows. There have been some monster performances in these smaller venues. Be it Bad Heritage at The Boulevard in Wigan, Straight For The Sun at the Zanzibar in Liverpool or Attic Theory at the same venue. These smaller grassroots shows are the lifeblood of the music industry. When I find bands at nights like these it changes the course of my music taste for a while. There’s something about that feeling when the lights go down and a band take the stage to a small but ravenous crowd, hungry for that energy. As for me, it’s the start of a powerful connection to a new possible favourite. Like the night that Manchester heroes, Dekaytah took over the Academy 3 in their home city, bringing with them a fury of up-and-coming support acts.
Is it weird that it’s still so surreal when bands and artists ask me to attend their shows to review them? It is anyway. One show that lives on in my memory was being invited along to Laurence Jones’ show in my hometown of St. Helens. Getting to experience that show to review was something special. Not only was that show a hometown gig for me, but it was for Jones too. You can read my full report here.
Back to albums for the year, there have been some big releases this year. Every year gives me a theme. A genre that I carry for the year. Yet, this year I have flip-flopped somewhat. Mostly, I’ve been sticking to the world of blues rock and southern rock. So many names have put out banger records this year. Caitlin Krisko and the Broadcast, Robert Jon and The Wreck, The Georgia Thunderbolts, The Outlaw Orchestra the list goes on and on. I’ve loved the dulcet tones and mega guitar solos. It’s been one of my favourite things to put on this year. In particular, one album climbed to the top of my rankings. That one is Small Fires by Old Heavy Hands. A band from North Carolina that well and truly captured my heart this year. I even got to talk to one of the members and learned a bit about the production of this record and a bit more about the band themselves. It’s been one of those years. Another band that I’ve fallen in love with this year is The Commoners. Their album Restless has been another highlight. The powerful command of the production and the emotion of the writing were more than enough to keep me invested for the rest of the year.
That doesn’t mean I’ve not been paying attention to the metal scene. Oh, on the contrary, I’ve very much been keeping my ear to the underworld of heavy metal, both big and small names alike. This year saw the return of some big players to the metal world with new releases, like Linkin Park, Exit Eden, Tyr and Rage all came out swinging with insanely good releases that I’ve enjoyed thoroughly. While taking a look at the underground we got some shiny releases from acts like Knightfall, Hart Light, InnerWish and Elvellon. My favourite metal releases this year come from two big hitters that have come back in a big way. Sonata Arctica and Infected Rain. Starting with the former Sonata Arctica’s new album Clear Cold Beyond has been consistently in my rotation throughout the year. It’s a pure return to form to their power metal roots. The fast-paced, high-octane smasher of a record has been one of their most exhilarating ones in a long time. Then you have Infected Rain’s Time. An album that has reinvigorated the band beyond belief with a new sound and a new era for them going forward.
I think this year has given me so many opportunities to experience something new. This year we got something so special here in the UK. The debut UK tour for Greek metalcore monsters, Project Renegade. I attended the Preston show and got to meet the band in person. While there I got acquainted with the support acts that they brought on the road, ChemiQueen and Second Cities both of which left quite the impression. I’ll tell you after discovering Project Renegade in 2023 getting to see them perform gave me some kind of catharsis. Hearing them play with the passion they did made me so happy. It was one of those “at least I was there moments”.
Another special show for me was seeing an old favourite in a new place. Flying to Belfast to see Flogging Molly perform at the Limelight was something else entirely. I’ve seen them before in a variety of cities across the UK, this was my first time in Belfast. Man, I loved it so much. The tiny cramped-out room was filled to the brim with people, the smell of alcohol and sweat in the air, the fact that there was no space to move from one side of the room to the other. It was like another world entirely. Even though I’ve seen them before, this was a new experience. However, I think that’s the best way to judge a city for gigs. Take a band you’ve seen countless times and feel how a different crowd treats them. Flogging Molly isn’t slowing down either, they’re still as chaotic and frenetic as ever. Their songs can still turn a crowd into a raving moshpit in seconds. Armed with an energy that will never get old, you’ve got a recipe for a good night out, no matter where in the world I am.
Looking back through my most-listened-to songs on my YouTube recap, I’ve found some interesting artists this year that I want to mention here. The first of which is a fascinating acapella beatbox group out of South Korea called BeatpellaHouse. I’ve become fascinated with the whole beatbox scene in general. However, I love their musicality and the way they compose their songs. This year they’ve put out a few original compositions with some medleys and I’ve been engrossed by the way they’re able to put the different musical parts together. Another act that keeps appearing in my recommended feed is the talented and versatile rapper, BBNo$. It’s funny, because I’m not usually a fan of rap music, yet his style, flow and lyricism have been more than enough to keep me engaged in whatever he puts out into the world.
One of the most fun days out I spent this year was at the infamous Slam Dunk Festival in Leeds. As a kid, I grew up with the music of my older brother and sister, which was predominantly pop-punk music. This is something that has followed me into adulthood. I think I’m very much in the realm of an elder emo. This festival was filled with established names of yesteryear and fresh up-and-comers. This festival allowed me to see bands that I never had the chance to see perform like: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The All-American Rejects and Boys Like Girls. The big name of the day for me was The Wonder Years. I have been listening to their music since I was 18 years old and I had never been able to catch them live. So, in the evening of the festival on the smallest stage, I finally got to see them perform and they more than lived up to what I had always imagined them to be. Their set was picture-perfect and the crowd was appropriately energetic and wild. I was pumped and it served as a long-lasting memory as I kept blasting their songs for the rest of the year.
Speaking of blasts from the past, there are two that I want to mention in this end-of-the-year wrap-up. One made their way back to the stage after many years away and one was a rediscovery from a chance opportunity. After nearly 10 years, we finally got the chance to welcome back The Blackout, who made a triumphant return to the stage in 2024. In a huge UK tour and performing at the aforementioned Slam Dunk Festival. Getting to see them again after so long was a real treat. They’re still as incredible as ever. They still have that wild, chaotic energy that’s just infectious. I can’t but smile any time I get to see them perform. The second act that was wild to catch live again was the incredibly talented Blues Pills. I went into more in my review for WeShootMusic but just to add onto that it was amazing to watch them do their thing another time. It had been a good while since I saw them last, but they hadn’t missed a step. They’re still captivating performers who earned my respect a long time ago,
Moving back to music releases. One album that I’ve been listening to time and time again over 2024 is What We Fear The Most by Attic Theory. I think the reason it stuck with me so much is because I don’t feel we get many records like this anymore. It’s a solid hard-rock record with cutting riffs, beautifully composed melodies and captivating hooks. I did a full review and I think it was received quite well. Especially by the band who were very gracious in their response to my writing. Which is always a nice feeling.
I think a couple of records that I never got around to writing a full review for, but I loved had an underlining factor. Those records are Let There Be Anarchy by Art of Anarchy and Insanium by Whom Gods Destroy. That underlying factor? That would be the guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal. I’m not sure why I didn’t do full reviews for these albums. But, that’s what this end-of-year sum-up is for. Both records are excellent and shining examples of great songwriting in two different styles, showing the versatility of Bomblefoot. Let There Be Anarchy is more your standard alt-rock tunes and Insanium is a prog-metal masterclass. Two very different albums for two different fanbases. Looking ahead to 2025 Bumblefoot is set to come back for his first solo album in a while too. I’ve always loved his work and I’m excited to see where he goes from here.
I capped off the year with three very exciting shows that I want to quickly go over. The first of them was the nostalgia blast of a tour - Soil, Hed P.E., Nonpoint and The Union Underground. What an insane line-up for a kid that grew up in the 2000s. This show was an immense one to have gone to. The Union Underground were so much better than I was expecting. They only have one record under their belts from the year 2000 and the song, “Across The Nation” (the iconic theme song from WWE Monday Night Raw). They put on an immense show for their first UK tour in over a decade. Finally having the opportunity to see Nonpoint was surreal. They were all that I wanted them to be, chaotic, energetic and they brought all of the banging tunes that I had come to know and love from them. Hed P.E. are always a good night out and finally, Soil played their entire album Scars from start to finish.
For the next show, I travelled to Leeds, again, to see one of my all-time favourite bands, Within Temptation. Now, I’ve already spent over 6000 words expressing my love with them in a previous blog post, so I’ll keep this brief. This was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen from them. The set was picture-perfect and featured songs from all parts of their career. It was my first time at the First Direct Arena too. I loved it in there. Not so much a traditional 360-view arena. It’s more of a giant amphitheatre with so much more room. I think that’s why I loved the atmosphere so much. For such a big crowd it still felt intimate. Speaking of arena shows, my final show of the year was at the hallowed ground of the Manchester Arena. Black Stone Cherry never fails when they perform. I’ve seen them so many times before but they still blow me away. This show was exactly what I needed to close out the year. Seeing them perform brought so many memories back while giving me some new ones.
That about sums it up. This year has been filled with great music and even better memories. Looking ahead to the new year, I already have some new adventures to go on and I’m looking forward to more music. This blog has been my escape from the world. When the world has felt like it’s been on fire, I’ve enjoyed writing this blog. That’s why I’m glad to have you, dear reader. Whether you’ve read one post, two or even this is your first, I’d like to thank you for reading my ramblings. I hope I’ve managed to introduce you to something you wouldn’t have heard before. Ultimately, that’s my goal. Thank you to all of the bands and artists who have given me the chance to work with you in 2024 and hopefully into the future.
Peace out and happy new year!
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