2014. Wow. I can’t believe it. I can’t fucking believe it. Yet another year has just blown past us. I remember doing this same “Looking Back…” article this time last year and as I typed it I remember thinking to myself, “How the fuck will 2014 even come close to topping 2013?” Well, as I type this I’m saying the same goddamn thing: “How the fuck will 2015 even come close to topping 2014?”
2014 was an amazing year for new music here at the Great Southern Brainfart. This year I was pleasantly surprised by the emergence of Pennsylvania beard rockers Crobot by releasing their stellar debut album Something Supernatural along with putting on some of the best shows on the road this year. We also saw the long awaited full length debut album from Swedish psychedelic blues rockers Blues Pills, a new EP from Ohio thrash kings Vindicator, and long awaited albums from Danish prog metalers Anubis Gate and facemelting sophomore release by long time Brainfart favorites Kyng. Hell, even Brave managed to finally deliver some new music in the form of their latest single release, “Surrounds Me.” Let’s not forget that Exodus reunited with the great Steve “Zetro” Souza and released one of the baddest fucking metal album of the year, “Blood In, Blood Out.”
Every year there is a handful of brand new bands that seem to just come out of the woodwork and kick me upside the dome with their megatalent. This year I was truly blown away by Sweden’s own classic metal revivalists Saturn, German occult metal outfit The Oath, and Finland’s 7 piece occult rock masters Jess and the Ancient Ones.
This year also had its share of low points. Queensryche vs. Queensryche came to a bloody, gnarly end with Geoff Tate leaving the moniker behind to form Operation: Mindcrime, LA boogie rockers Gypsyhawk parted ways with each other, The Oath broke up before I could even finish listening to the album (ok, that’s an exaggeration but they did break up fast), and overnight ½ of Megadeth just up and quit leaving Mustaine and Ellefson scrambling for replacements. Worst of all the metal community was dealt a huge blow with the death of GWAR frontman Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie. While this news was a huge heartbreak to many, GWAR vowed to honor their fallen leader’s wishes and carry on with former and original Beefcake the Mighty Mike Bishop stepping in as the mighty Blothar to help the band carry the torch.
2014 was also a stellar year for interviews. I had the honor of having one of the most intriguing and interesting phone conversations with Geoff Tate. I bonded with Vic of Vindicator about metal and more metal, and I had easily one of the most hilarious interviews I have ever had with Billy and Johnny of The Admiral Sir Cloudesly Shovell. I had an epic hour and half chat with Rival Sons guitarist Scott Holiday and not once but twice did I get to hang out and chat with Black Star Riders frontman Ricky Warwick. Getting the opportunity to talk to new favorites such as Saturn, Kadavar, and Jess and the Ancient Ones just made this year of interviews even more special and it made me so excited to have the opportunity to share these bands with you all.
On the live front I got to see some amazing shows. I was proven totally wrong by Judas Priest who proved that they are still very capable of delivering the goods. Skid Row proved once again that life after Sebastian Bach is very, very good. Geoff Tate put the haters in their place by delivering an absolutely amazing show here in Atlanta and Indiana prog metal kings Draekon made it back to the ATL to rip faces off at the ProgPower Kick off concert. I also had some amazing experiences seeing some of my favorite bands for the first time such as LoNero, Black Star Riders, Kadavar (twice), the legendary King Diamond, and my newest favorite band, Jess and the Ancient Ones.
Most of all, 2014 was an amazing year for me because of you. Yes, you. The one reading this here write up. If you are reading this please pat yourself on the back for me. With every passing year, I see a growth in the number of people coming by the blog. You all read the articles, you argue with me via Facebook, you praise me via Facebook, and you all inspire me to keep doing what I do. I even had the opportunity to meet some of you face to face at the shows. You bought me beers, you took pictures with me, and you all really made me feel fucking awesome. When you tell me you found a new band you love because of this site that right there is what makes all the work worth it.
Thank you all for your loyalty and for the support you have given to The Great Southern Brainfart. This little blog that could is about to head into its fifth year and again, I couldn’t have done it without you all. Thanks again and hey, let’s do this again in 2015. Typos, shitty grammar, and kick ass metal content for all. As Ozzy says, “I love you all.” Well, I really do and I still hate Ghost!
Be good to yourselves and each other.
Don de Leaumont
The Great Southern Brainfart
Atlanta, GA – 2014
About The Author
