Well, here we are again. It kind of feels like the first half of 2023 was a lifetime ago rather than only six months, it’s been such a busy back end with seemingly every band deciding to pay Australia a visit from October onwards.And 2024 is set to turn it up a notch with some epic shows already on the calendar – after diving into a rabbit hole with 90’s alternative legends Dinosaur Jr earlier in the year, imagine my surprise to hear they’re paying Australia a visit in February. I’m also excited to see Pantera make their way down with Zakk Wylde on guitar duties.But let’s get to 2024 a bit later – for now let’s visit some of my highlights in music for 2023.
TOP 10 RELEASES OF 2023
10 – TRiDENT – Dream Up 9 – Mammoth WVH – Mammoth II8 – Unearth – The Wretched, The Ruinous7 – Mudhoney – Plastic Eternity6 – Polaris - Fatalismhttps://youtu.be/v_XhxONGEJc?si=r_4yLyS1PK6BDA7L5 – Frenzal Rhomb – The Cup Of Pestilence4 – MxPx – Find A Way Home3 – Foo Fighters – But Here We Are2 – BabyMetal – The One1 – Hanabie. – 来世は偉人！(Reborn Superstar!)https://youtu.be/hTuPwVYHc_M?si=X_Z1mNjcfcBOhpnW
TOP 10 SONGS OF 2023
10 – Dragonforce – 'Doomsday Party'9 – blink-182 – 'One More Time'8 – SCANDAL – 'Line Of Sight'7 – The Bouncing Souls – 'Ten Stories High'6 – TRiDENT – 'KICKASS'https://youtu.be/fW-McwiMSHA?si=tsmRvg7MptKQBEzS5 – Foo Fighters – 'Under You'4 – Fall Out Boy – 'We Didn’t Start The Fire'3 – BAND MAID - 'Shambles'2 – MxPx – 'Stay Up All Night'1 – BABYMETAL – 'METAL! (Featuring Tom Morello)'https://youtu.be/hkij4LvACZ0?si=TJlRTsK8iCGD5r1j
BEST MUSIC VIDEO OF 2023
5 - Tom Cardy – ‘H.S’Tom combines space and a tasty jam for some positive reinforcement, all from the comfort of his underground lair – I mean, studio. I’ve said too much, sorry Tom.https://youtu.be/EuRjmzz6qL0?si=h5yRUC_h6T3lGMp84 - MxPx – ‘Cautious Optimistic’MxPx had a great year with the release of the brilliant Find A Way Home and managed to put out a video for all the songs on the album. This one is a stand-out favourite.https://youtu.be/lshIumfdPtc?si=m_Sk2ERVDByBSYG43 - Steel Panther – ‘1987’Steel Panther returned earlier this year with a tribute to one of the best years of the ’80s (to be fair there were a few years in the ’80s. 10 to be exact.)https://youtu.be/HewOSY1XLLQ?si=igb93apj2KnL_w9H2 - Tenacious D – ‘Video Games’The D gave us an ode to the world of video games – mostly Red Dead Redemption 2.https://youtu.be/GNJtPFXUnm4?si=KJ-cF-DGM3SidQdz1 - Hanabie – ‘Pardon Me, I Have To Go Now’Hanabie. kicked off 2023 with a video that went viral across the heavy music world, and by the time they graced the stage for Good Things Festival in Australia Hanabie. had become a force in the world of Japanese metalcore.https://youtu.be/fuFbQ-Mewfw?si=ssDvc_QxKKETT7NH
TOP 3 GIGS OF THE YEAR
1 – Radwimps @ Hordern Pavillion, SydneyThe band themselves were unsure of how their initial tour to Australia would pan out, and even if there would be enough of a demand. Within a week or so of their October dates going on sale they had to upgrade in Sydney to the bigger Hordern Pavillion and add a second date for the Melbourne leg, and even those sold out in record time.To their surprise, the over 5000-capacity Sydney venue gave the Radwimps one of their biggest shows outside of Japan. And what a show it was – the musicianship was incredible, and the band had a ton of fun with a mix of songs across their huge catalogue, including their hits from the Makoto Shinkai films Your Name, Weathering With You, and Suzume. I have a feeling this band will be heading back down here again in the future to a welcoming audience.2 – BabyMetal @ Hordern Pavillion, SydneyAnother gig at the Hordern in Sydney, BABYMETAL finally made it to Australia for a full tour. An incredible night, with Su-Metal requesting the Sydney crowd bring out their camera lights for the song ‘Monochrome,’ which made for a truly beautiful moment for BABYMETAL fans.3 – Unearth/King Parrot @ Crowbar, SydneyI kicked off gigs for 2023 with one of the best metal nights of the year. After having to shelve their 2020 tour, the kings of Metalcore, Unearth, returned to Australia with a new album under their belt and ready to make it up to Australian fans. On top of that, I finally got to catch Aussie Grindcore legends KingParrot, who were so much fun I caught them again later in the year up in Newcastle.
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MUSIC FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR
Good Things Festival not only because it was the only festival I went to this year, but I also had the chance to review it.
NEX BIG AUSSIE ACT TO WATCH IN 2024
Just our local Australian heavy music scene in general. Going off Browny’s coverage of the Europe and UK festivals during the year we seem to be making a lot of noise overseas, and it would be brilliant if the rest of our industry stopped pretending that’s not the case and acknowledged it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ2whDMvH-c
FAV NEW BAND/MUSICIAN DISCOVERED IN 2023?
I’ve mentioned them a few times here and had a chat with them before the Good Things Festival – Hanabie. have become one of my favourite bands out of Japan’s metal scene right now. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next for them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9cC2_V7JwE
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2024?
A few things, mostly new albums I hear are on the way from a few favourites such as Less Than Jake, Dragonforce and J-Rock group SCANDAL. As I mentioned earlier, Knotfest and Dinosaur Jr are on my calendar, along with a few other surprises as well – including marking off a Jerry Seinfeld stand-up show off the bucket list in June.Thanks for reading my stuff this year and see you in 2024!Written by Simon Valentine (@SimonValentineAU)https://youtu.be/TgTJtdn6VjM?si=GG9YvYCEv-qZQFrA
