Hi, I'm Ebony and I like Metalcore, Prog and Indie/Alt Rock. You can usually find me in the thick of things at a gig, and I enjoy a cheeky crowd surf now and then. But in all seriousness, this has actually been a monumental year for me - I moved to Brisbane from Adelaide in May and really got stuck into working for the wonderful Browny and Wall of Sound.
I've been to an enormous number of gigs and interviewed some incredible musicians including Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters/Coattail Riders), Cody Quistad (Wage War), Claudio Sanchez (Coheed and Cambria) and Matt Mingus (Dance Gavin Dance). So all in all, I've had a bloody fantastic year! Thanks 2019, see you guys on the flip side.
Top 5 Albums of 2019:
1. Sleep Talk - Everything In Colour
2. Windwaker - My Empire
3. Thornhill - The Dark Pool
4. Dream State - Primrose Path
5. Wage War - Pressure
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPO4GrhdLOw&w=640&h=360]
Top 10 Songs of 2019:
1. Boston Manor - 'Liquid ft. John Floreani'
2. Young Lions - 'Golden'
3. Polaris - 'Masochist'
4. Thornhill - 'Nurture'
5. Slowly Slowly - 'Safety Switch'
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtKr2eiv3QE&w=640&h=360]
6. Windwaker - 'My Empire'
7. I Prevail - 'Bow Down'
8. Sleep Talk - 'Slowfade'
9. The Brave - 'Aura (Reimagined)'
10. Birds of Tokyo - 'Without Me (Like A Version)'
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_4QQ62hftw&w=640&h=360]
Top 5 Video Clips of 2019:
1. Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders - 'I Really Blew It'
2. Polaris - 'Masochist'
3. Don Broco - 'Action'
4. Starset - 'Manifest'
Ocean Grove - 'Junkie$'
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3E5ah6Hj3A&w=640&h=360]
Top 5 Gigs of 2019:
1. Slowly Slowly,Sly Withers and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers - August 9th @ The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
Some of the best support bands I've seen, and oh boy are Slowly Slowly on fire when they perform. Big love to those guys.
2. Beartooth, Thornhill and Windwaker - July 14th @ The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
3. Wither - @ Bigsound 2019
4. Reliqa - @ Bigsound 2019
5. WestThebarton, A. Swayze & the Ghosts and Being Jane Lane - June 21st @ The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
Photo Gallery by Charlyn Cameron. Insta: @chuck_stuff
[gallery ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/West-Thebarton_05.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/unnamed-11.jpg|" type="rectangular"]
Favourite Band Discovered in 2019:
I had no idea who DreamState were when I caught their set at UNIFY 2019 and from that hot and sweaty moment, they had me. I chucked all their songs on my 'running' playlist (lol) and now I hate running a lot less. And how great are CJ's vocals!? Anyway, the moment they're back in the country I'll be there with bells on.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-HxW40mKDU&w=640&h=360]
Next Big Band To Watch:
I've actually been raving about these guys ever since I had the chance to review their debut album earlier this year. Sleep Talk are a phenomenal band from Adelaide (represent!) that are on the rise and Everything In Colour is a fucking stellar debut. I cannot speak highly enough of these guys so if you ever have the chance to catch them in your city, oh man, their live shows are absolutely wild.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WLsd77eqFA&w=640&h=360]
Most Looking Forward to in 2020:
Oh, I am so looking forward to UNIFY 2020. I've said every year that I almost don't care who's on the line up because the experience is just that good. So yeah, can't wait for that and also Polaris' new album, and just a bunch of other bands releasing new music - Young Lions, SlowlySlowly and OceanGrove to name a few. And I would probably die if RATM did an Australian tour.
It's gonna be great.
Words by Ebony Story
