Reflecting on a year as ridiculous as 2024 means having to find ways to describe it. “Busy” is a word I could use, but given the events of the last 12 months, saying I was merely “busy” is blatant understatement. As every bastard is aware, the live scene took an absolute battering with multiple shows overlapping every weekend with more being announced almost daily. Couple that with an endless onslaught of new music releases, it’s almost gotten to the point where I’m looking for some level of relief from it all, but only briefly because let’s face it, I absolutely love this shit.
So to describe 2024, well kids, it was fucking MENTAL.
For instance, I started my year tattooing Taylor Swift’s road crew. (How the fuckin what?) Thanks to my mate Monkey, legendary roadie and part of Tay Tay’s elite carpentry brigade, I got to meet up with a handful of the best roadies on the planet, hung out for the day and tattooed them in the process. Then Monkey tattooed me. A truly legendary day. Follow that up with meeting my childhood hero Phil Anselmo backstage after Pantera’s Adelaide show, interviews with King Parrot and The Hu at KNOTFEST, a late in the year face to face with Dexter and Noodles in Sydney ahead of their one off Melbourne show, right on through to the Good Things interview onslaught that included chats with Donita Sparks of L7, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins and one of my all time absolute heroes Kerry King of Slayer on the eve of the 20th Anniversary of the passing of his dear friend, the icon Dimebag Darrell Abbott.
Plus I did a shedload of interviews with the likes of
- Ben Ward (Orange Goblin)
- Jake Seymour (Choof)
- Ryan Miller (Black Rheno)
- Tom (Carnal Viscera)
- Dave Lupton (Flaming Wrekage)
- Tony Foresta (Municipal Waste)
- Tim Lancken (Astrodeath)
- Stix Zadinia (Steel Panther)
- Patrick Mameli (Pestilence)
- Fredrick Åkesson (Opeth)
- Brann Dailor (Mastodon)
- Necrobutcher (Mayhem)
This is after closing out last year with interviews with Fletch & Randy of Pennywise and Nergal of Behemoth. Anyways, enough name dropping, on with the lists.
TOP 10 RELEASES OF 2024?
10 – Robot God – Portal Within
9 – Kerry King – From Hell I Rise
8 – Jerry Cantrell – I Want Blood
7 – Flaming Wrekage – Terra Inferna
6 – Job for a Cowboy – Moon Healer
5 – Bloodstain – I Am Death (EP)
4 – Better Lovers – Highly Irresponsible
3 – Sons Of Arrakis – Volume II
2 – Celestial Oath – House Of Chains (EP)
1 – High On Fire – Cometh The Storm
TOP 10 SONGS OF 2024?
10 – Sick Fizz – ‘Hanging Defense’
9 – Frankenbok – ‘Demon Tantrum’ (Adam ‘Hutch’ Glynn returns)
8 – Scour – Insoforium
7 – Amyl and The Sniffers – ‘Jerkin’
6 – Pearl Jam – ‘Waiting For Stevie’
(standout track from their latest LP Dark Matter. Was killer to hear live)
5 -Sanguisugabogg – ‘Permanently Fucked’
4 – Iron Blanket – ‘Mystic Goddess’
3 – Black Rheno – ‘Snake Will Rattle’
2 – Speed – ‘The First Test’ (FLUTE!!!!!)
1 – Judas Priest – ‘Trial By Fire’
TOP 3 YOUTUBE VIDS OF 2024?
The three best all come from the depths of Australia’s burgeoning metal scene and not one of these bands are letting a complete lack of budget get in the way of their creative endeavours.
Third on this list is a special effects extravaganza from Sydney legends Black Rheno with ‘Snake Will Rattle’ who have arisen from the ashes of their stellar Pantera support slot in Adelaide earlier this year.
Making a late charge at the end of 2024 with an homage to great Aussie film Chopper is Choof with this two-track masterpiece ‘Bird Cage’ and ‘Forgotten/Despised
But in the end, it was this testament to fine-art film making that wins this years bout for best in show 2024. With supporting performances by Timmy from Astrodeath, Nano from Black Rheno and an award winning starring role from show stealer Chappo of Mountain Wizard Death Cult fame, the Gold Duane-o Award goes to Flaming Wrekage with ‘Ghosts’
To be fair, I generally don’t spend a great deal of time on YouTube, but I have, since I was a young bugger, collected records on vinyl. While the market has become, in my opinion, largely flooded with overpriced crap with the rest of it just being overpriced, I still love sitting down, dropping the needle and staring at the cover while studying the liner notes.
I come from an age where you would buy an album based solely on the cover. Iron Maiden’s early albums always comes to mind, as does Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne and Slayer. So I thought stuff it. Here’s my…
TOP 9 ALBUM COVERS OF 2024?
Feat. Blood Incantation, Sick Fizz, Robot God, Severe Torture, Better Lovers, Jasta, Job For a Cowboy, Gnome and Vitriol
TOP 5 GIGS OF THE YEAR?
I’ve been to a stack of local and smaller gigs this year, all of which have been insane and an incredible amount of fun. But for the most part, it’s the larger shows that have had the biggest impact on me this year. With the amount of touring that has happened over the last couple of years, it’s not an easy list to whittle down. But here it is.
Pantera @ Adelaide Entertainment Centre w’ King Parrot & Black Rheno
A tour I’d hoped and prayed would make it’s way to Australia and with two of my favourite Aussie bands in support, I wasn’t letting a little geographical inconvenience get in my way. I made the flight from Sydney to the city of churches and thanks to my mate Vicky, was rewarded with a backstage beer with the great man himself, Phil Anselmo. Gig of the century.
Pearl Jam @ ENGIE Stadium, Syd w’ The Pixies & Cosmic Psychos (Review & Gallery here)
Pearl Jam fans are a devoted lot, and with good reason. This, the first of two shows in Sydney and the second last show of their Dark Matter world tour, was a long series of holy moments that, for me, a bloke that fell in love with them the second ‘Alive’ was broadcast to our TV screens back in 1991, will be a show that sits with me for a long time. My only grievance is that I didn’t go to the second Sydney show. Regardless, an absolutely incredible evening.
Parkway Drive @ Qudos Arena, Syd w’ I Prevail (sans The Ghost Inside & Void Of Vision)
Despite the logistical fuck up that cost the fans the chance to see TGI and VOV on this large a stage, the performance put on by the lads in Parkway was insane. To those of you who decided to not see them because you saw them in a youth hall 15 years ago, the loss is entirely yours. Parkway don’t just play to more people now. They put on a stage show worthy of these arenas, a show that’ll see them playing the Olympic Stadium next door in the not too distant future.
Taylor Swift @ Accor Stadium, Syd 25/2/24 (Fuck off. you weren’t there) w’ Sabrina Carpenter (Review here)
Swifties are mental and while I’ll never share their heightened enthusiasm for Tay Tay Kelce, I will give credit where credit is due. This show was incredible. The fanbase turned everything up to 11 for the 3 1/2 hour, 46 song set that Swift impressively performed for. Couple that with getting to hang with some of the road crew earlier in the week, including my mate Monkey, and that’s a show I’ll talk about until I die. Got the bracelet and tattoo to prove it.
Honourable mentions:
– Viscera Infest @ Simo’s Dive on the Harbour, 7/9/24 – Cockroach Mosh. That is all.
– Tenacious D @ ICC, Sydney 14/7/24 – Well that may have been the last ever Tenacious D show ever.
– Infectious Grooves w’ Inspector Cluzo @ The Roundhouse 5/4/24 – Mike Muir, Rob Trujillo and Jay Weinberg all in one band. Epic
– Municipal Waste w’ Neptune Power Federation + The Vee Bees @ Liberty Hall 6/7/24 – They threw a bin at the crowd.
– Astrodeath – @ Elton Chongs, Penrith 25/7/24 – A monster show in a shoebox venue.
– The Congregation (Astrodeath, Mountain Wizard Death Cult, Flaming Wrekage +) @ The Hamo, Newcastle
– Mastodon w’ Kerry King @ The Roundhouse, Sydney
BIGGEST CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN 2024?
The Billy Corgan interview at Good Things Festival in Sydney.
Corgan and his band the Smashing Pumpkins were a massive part of the soundtrack to my high school years. A lot of my friends leaned heavily on his music, especially in times of grief.
On the day, backstage at Good Things, the pressure was on. A friend of mine working the tour said Billy was all but unseen in the artists area, almost as if he was a myth. The great man only did one interview per city and there were tales, both online and backstage, of a failed interview that took place the day before in Melbourne. I was getting advice from everyone telling me what to do and what to definitely not do and I think it’s fair to say that I was feeling the pressure when it came time to interview this all time legend.
So how did it go? Knocked it out of the park. He was a legend, and what started off as an interview finished up as a genuine conversation that included the greatest closing line of all time. Could have seriously talked to the bloke for hours. An all time moment, one I’ll be bragging about for life.
NEXT BIG AUSSIE ACT TO WATCH IN 2025?
King Parrot are playing Wembley. So them I reckon.
King Parrot continue to take on the world with a support slot on the Pantera European tour, a run of shows that will finish at Wembley Arena. With a new album to come in the new year, 2025 will be the year of the Parrot.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2025?
A break, but that seems highly unlikely.
So in lieu of a break…
Tours: Cavalera and Mayhem in January. Knotfest in March. Testament in June. Opeth at the Sydney Opera House in November. Metallica in November – This time around though, I’m gunning to get amongst it as a journalist. I’ve seen them many times over the last 30+ years as a fan (my first time was on the Black Album Tour in ’93). This may be my only chance to do it in this capacity and I’m gunna give it a red hot go. Hetfield or death!!!
But all in all, I’m wondering how I can top 2024.
It was such an epic 12 months that will be hard to beat.
I’m up for it. Lets have it.
Written by Duane James @duanejamestattoo
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