Review of 2008

Well it's been quite a year. First festival for 20 years, reviewing for Powerplay, and first steps into gig promotion with Millennium of Blood. Thanks list first....

Pink - technical genius and better half, often referred to as the "gig widow".

Bill - gig buddy par excellence and constant source of encouragement, support and common sense!!

Mark, Red and the Powerplay crew - thanks for the opportunity, it's still weird seeing my name in print... but I'm getting used to it!

To all the bands who have played Millennium of Blood, and all the fans, thanks for your support - hope we can work/mosh together soon!

And so to the best ofs....

Album of the year.

1. Opeth - Watershed. Different class, end of.
2. Satyricon - The Age Of Nero. A grower, but once it infuses itself just needs playing again and again.
3. Mencea - Dark Matter, Energy Noir. Stunning debut, a band with enormous potential.
4. Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh. Minblowingly complex and a great live band to boot..
5. Kik - Rock Scar. Diverse, punchy, dynamic; some may say a strange choice, but this has been high on my playlist for months.

Before you start giving me grief I know Enslaved - Vertebrae and Meshuggah - ObZen aren't on the list! Great albums but as I don't own them yet and I haven't played them almost to destruction, it's unfair to include them.


Gig/Performance of the year.

At time of writing (16/12/08) I've been to 66 gigs and seen 163 different bands. Excluding Bloodstock Open Air which was undoubtedly event of the year, I'd nominate the following...

1. Morbid Angel - Wulfrun, Wolverhampton
2. Death Angel - Little Civic, Wolverhampton
3. Opeth - Bloodstock Open Air
4. Satyricon - Barfly, Birmingham
5. Opeth - Academy, Birmingham (November)
6. Meshuggah - Academy 2, Birmingham
7. Gojira - Academy, Birmingham (supporting In Flames)
8. Destruction - JB's, Dudley
9. Iced Earth - Bloodstock Open Air
10. Kik - Eddie's, Birmingham

Modesty prevented me from nominating Millennium of Blood gigs at the Bear - however the September and December gigs were particularly entertaining - thanks to all the bands on both bills.