ALBUM OF THE YEAR: STAFF PICKS – Callum Reid’s Top 10 of 2023



As we barrel down towards the end of the year, we are sharing End of Year lists from staff, bands, and some friends in the business. Check out our esteemed scribe Callum Reid and his picks for the Top Albums of 2023!

 

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Sonic Temple Art and Music Festival, Live at Crew Stadium Part 1


 

Sonic Temple Art And Music Festival returned to Columbus, Ohio for the first time after taking three gap years. 

Let’s begin with a little context. The inaugural instance of Sonic Temple was in 2019. Leading up to the event, festival promoter Danny Wimmer Presents (DWP) had discontinued an arrangement with AEG Presents to jointly produce Rock On The Range, the festival in Columbus, Ohio that Sonic Temple replaced. So, Sonic Temple needed to be different enough from Rock On The Range to dispel any raised eyebrows about the move. DWP also broke off ties at about the same time with AEG for their jointly created Carolina Rebellion festival and started a new one in its place called Epicenter. While those moves might have been sound business decisions, it still turned out to be a tough year for DWP festivals.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Ayron Jones – Chronicles Of The Kid


 

Ayron Jones delivers blockbusting, heartbreaking, beautiful, and bluesy rock ‘n’ roll on Chronicles Of The Kid (Big Machine/John Varvatos Records). “I came for the title,” he sings. “I got a word to my rivals.” The verdict? If it’s a matter of survival, this kid’s still standing.

 

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Aftershock Festival 2023 Books Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Korn Godsmack, Pantera, Incubus, Queens Of The Stone Age, Limp Bizkit


 

The West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival, Aftershock, grows even more in 2023 with its most packed lineup yet offering 95-plus bands over four full days, led by headliners Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, and Korn. The destination event, held at Discovery Park in Sacramento, CA on October 5-8, builds on last year’s record-setting success including an audience of 160,000 music fans and bringing in nearly $30 million to the region. The festival is headlined by Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Godsmack, Pantera, Incubus, Queens Of The Stone Age, Limp Bizkit, with Megadeth, Rancid, Turnstile, 311, The Cult, and many more! Watch the announcement video here and get your tickets and full details at the link below. Continue reading


Rocklahoma 2023 Books Godsmack, Pantera, Rob Zombie, Limp Bizkit, Bush, Chevelle, Corey Taylor, and More!


 

 

Rocklahoma welcomes Godsmack, Pantera, Rob Zombie, Limp Bizkit, Bush, Chevelle, Corey Taylor, and many more top rock acts to America’s Biggest Labor Day Weekend Party, Friday, September 1 – Sunday, September 3 at Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds in Pryor, Oklahoma, just outside Tulsa. The festivities kick off with the Rocklahoma campgrounds opening on Sunday, August 27 and music performances get underway at the official Rocklahoma pre-party on Thursday, August 31. Full weekend passes are on sale now, with single-day tickets available this spring. 

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The Return of Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival Lineup Features Foo Fighters, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, Kiss, Godsmack, Rob Zombie, Puscifer, Jawbreaker, Beartooth, and More


Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival is returning in 2023 for the first time in several years with Foo Fighters, Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, Kiss, Godsmack, Rob Zombie, Queens Of The Stone Age, Falling In Reverse, Chevelle, Puscifer, Beartooth, I Prevail, Jawbreaker, Sublime With Rome, Bullet For My Valentine, The Pretty Reckless, Pennywise, Trivium, Black Veil Brides, and many more. The full lineup is listed below.  

An exclusive Sonic Temple presale for festival email subscribers begins Wednesday, January 11 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Fans who sign up for the Sonic Temple e-mail list before 10:00 PM ET on Tuesday, January 10 will receive a dedicated code providing the first chance to buy festival passes. Fans can sign-up to get first access for the Early Bird presale by going to the link below: Continue reading


Welcome To Rockville 2023 Books Pantera, Tool, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Evanescence, Incubus, Queens Of The Stone Age, Alice Cooper, and More!


 

Pantera, Tool, Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold will headline the 2023 edition of the Welcome To Rockville festival, set to take place May 18-21 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Also scheduled to appear are Deftones, Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Evanescence, Incubus, Queens Of The Stone Age, Alice Cooper, Chevelle, and Coheed & Cambria, among many others. Tickets are on sale now at the link below. 

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Download Festival 2022 Part II


My Saturday at Download began over at the main stage where I caught the retro new wave of classic rock act Those Damn Crows, a band who have amassed a significant following in Wales thanks to appearances at the likes of Steelhouse Festival and other rock-oriented affairs. Possibly one of the smallest acts to perform on the main stage this year, the band spared no expense offering a fantastic wake-up call with some unremarkable if solid hard rock tunes. The day’s proceedings then continued firmly in the rocky territory with a southern, slightly heavier twang with Black Label Society, in their first festival appearance on UK soil since 2015, and with less of Zakk Wylde’s expectedly lengthy and tiresome soloing. Don’t get me wrong, Zakk was still doing his usual thing, but with a much-needed addition of percussion, making the moments of instrumental wankery much more palatable than usual.

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FESTIVAL REVIEW: Download Festival 2022 Part I


After a prolonged absence from the British metal scene courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic (save for a scaled-back pilot event in 2021), Leicestershire’s iconic summer rock, punk, and metal weekender, Download Festival returned to Castle Donnington in a maximalist blaze of glory, packing in a full-scale 5-day experience with some familiar favorites, hotly tipped up-and-comers and some of the best international acts that rock and metal scene has to offer.

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Parkway Drive Announced As Co-Headliner For ShipRocked 2023


Returning to the USA for the first time since 2019, Parkway Drive has been announced as the Co-Headliner for ShipRocked 2023! They join Falling In Reverse atop a bill that includes Nothing More, Skillet, Suicidal Tendencies, Motionless In White, grandson, Ayron Jones, and over a dozen others. The January 22-28, 2023 sailing on Carnival Magic will feature Parkway Drive’s first American performance since spring of 2019.

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