My year in review

I'm not doing a best of 2012 list (not because I'm boring), but because A)I can't decide and B)because like my blog, I like to appreciate the music on it's own merits. However, I thought I'd write a small review of some of what's made this year good for This Noise Is Ours:-

So 2012 was the year that my blog blew up. I re-branded it from Stay Ahead to This Noise Is Ours to make it stand out more from the crowd. I also hit the 40,000 reader mark, which has been a massive milestone for me!

I grew my tape collection, in part thanks to the mighty Church Of Fuck. That label can do no wrong in my eyes and has introduced me to some ace new bands including - Knife Crimes RIP, Swinelord, Esoteric Youth, Iced Out, Trudger, Razoreater, Cholera, Dead Bong, Nigh and Armour of Contempt. The label also releases some great releases by some more familiar bands and are gonna be even bigger in 2013.

I discovered We Came Out Like Tigers through the brilliant Dog Knights Productions. 

I made it out to some really good gigs too, including the North Yorkshire Hardcore Fringe fest all-dayer, where I discovered Farman amongst others. In Leeds, I witnessed my first to gigs at the Royal Park Cellars (I love that venue). I got to see Hexis, This Gift Is A Curse, Black Veins, Razoreater, Lich, Rot In Hell and Moloch. I've not been to that many gigs this year, but they were definitely highlights.

The news that Killswitch Engage were welcoming their original singer back to the fold was a highlight, as I love Alive or Just Breathing.

I've received records/tapes/zines from across the globe, including the Jagernaut/Hello Bastards split tape from Bak at Scull Crasher Records in Greece. I got a copy of the first issue of the zine Hotet Fran Skogarna from Sweden, which featured some great d-beat and hardcore bands. I also received some great ambient/black metal records from my friends in Moloch (UKr) and Deviator (Ukr). This year proved to me that there are no boundaries in metal.

I could have gone on and on with this review and it's probably woefully short, but these were just my highlights.

Needless to say, 2012 has been epic music wise, not just because it's seen the rapid expansion of my vinyl/tape collections, but because it has. 2013 though is shaping up to be much bigger! Stand by!