Top 5 Bands That Got Me Through 2023
2023 has been a bit of a strange one when it comes to releases vs tours. The music industry is still trying to get back on its feet properly since the pandemic. Well, at least it feels like that is what it is trying to do and seemingly successfully. A lot of bands have been touring and touring relentlessly in 2023. This is great to see, however, I am certainly noticing the rise in ticket prices and merchandise plus the fact that more and more bands are moving up in the world and playing bigger venues. This is great for them however not so much for us the fans and gig goers. I'm pretty sure it is because I am that age now but I dont really want to travel to the big cities and venues anymore and the inflated ticket prices do nothing to help this so I found myself staying home more this year than I ever have. This is, of course, my loss entirely but it has meant that I have gone back to more DIY music and music more local to me which not only has been more affordable it has also opened up my ears to a lot of great new music. The internet and sites like Bandcamp have also made music from all over the world more accessible plus internet radio stations deserve a mention as well, if it were not for them a lot would have passed me by. 2023 has been a year of ups and downs, so for me, if it were not for these bands mentioned plus a few more it would've been even more difficult to get through.
1
Alestorm
So, Alestorm, may not have released anything new in 2023 instead choosing to tour their asses off to promote 2022's album "Seventh Rum Of A Seventh Rum". They toured the US, Europe and Australia not to mention playing pretty much every metal festival in the world this summer. These guys just dont stop. Learning that they will soon be on the road again and will be coming to my home town this February plus their new EP "Voyage Of The Dead Marauder" is due out in March is certainly something to be looking forward to!
2
Dance With The Dead
Having rediscovered Dance With The Dead this year after nominating their single "Kiss Of The Creature" as Song of the Day about 5 months ago they have not left my playlist and have got me through some tough times recently. You can't be sad when your imagination is racing thanks to the synthwave feels, 80's vibes and awesome metal induced guitar!
3
Ghost
Another band who have spent the majority of 2023 touring only they did bring us "Phantomime". An EP of epic covers that, as usual brought about the backlash from the haters but once again proved to be a great collection of nostalgic classics that needed a revamp for a new audience. Rumour has it that 2024 promises new original material from Ghost and as always more spectacular arena shows.
4
Pretty With The Lights Out
Nate Laff is the mastermind behind horrorpunk band Pretty With The Lights from Indianapolis. Pretty were featured in Augusts Upcoming Talent here on SPB and as much as I have enjoyed interviewing all the bands for this feature so far, learning all about and chatting to Pretty With The Lights Out was a real highlight for me last year. Pumpkin Spiced Formaldehyde came out in March 2023 and since then we have had a couple of singles plus some live shows and what horrorpunk fan of a certain age can resist joining their fan club and getting a bunch of cool stuff, I know I couldn't and it's well worth it!
5
The Tomb Tones
I had not heard about The Tomb Tones before 2023 and thanks to some top horrorpunk radio shows like Horrorpunk's Not Dead (UK) I got introduced to them via their single "Wormhole" which is just too catchy to ignore. This led me onto discover their debut album Ghost Of Toast which is an eclectic mix of more catchy riffs, spooky tales and a fabulous fusion of 50s style Rock n Roll and modern day punk rock.
The bands mentioned in this list have all helped me through the good times and, more importantly, the bad times in 2023 and if it were not for theses bands I would not be facing 2024 as positively as I currently am. The good thing about this list is that none of the bands featured show any signs of stopping and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us this year!!!
