Even though we only revived the site a few months into the year, so much has happened since the return of the new and improved NOISE ‘N’ VISUALS publication.

Combining the radio show, the publication and the social media has been a very exciting experience- and while the YouTube channel was not as consistent- I do promise that it will be up and running soon.

Before I jump into a quick little recap, I just wanted to do a quick shout out to the contributors we’ve had this year so far. Connor Lane, gave us his solid review of ANNALYNN‘s ‘Failure Will Find Me‘ EP. We do have some other writers waiting in the wings to contribute in the coming months, so stay tuned for some more unique perspectives. We also had budding photographer Rianna_Pictures lend us her images from the Wacken Metal Battle Philippines, so please show her some love. And the reason why I have not given up on the prospect of a YouTube channel, the incredible Emily Sheehy took my dodgy videography skills and turned it into a great recap video of the Wacken Metal Battle Philippines, which you can find across the NOISE ‘N’ VISUALS social media.

Now we have that out of the way, I will jump into the recap for the year so far by giving you a couple of my favourite things this year.

FAVOURITE EXTENDED RELEASE:
ANNALYNN- FAILURE WILL FIND ME
While many of my favourite bands dropped new music, my favourite extended release is the EP mentioned above. It maybe short, but it’s sweet with all four tracks providing everything you want from a metalcore EP. It’s definitely going to be my contender for release of the year.

FAVOURITE SINGLE RELEASE:
District 105- Sad Melody feat. PK from Prompts
This track gets stuck in my head for days at a time and I fell in love with first listen!

FAVOURITE NEW MUSIC DISCOVERY
A big toss up between Bloom, who I only got into this year and Heavensgate! Both Aussie bands absolutely crushing it this year. Another band I cannot go without mentioning is Arcadia from the Philippines. I am absolutely desperate to see them live again. 

FAVOURITE INTERVIEW
Hands down, it has to be my interview with District 105. Stay tuned for an upcoming podcast!

TOP 5 FAVOURITE LIVES:
I couldn’t narrow it down to one, so here is my top 5.

5. The Gloom In The Corner w/Prompts, Heavensgate & KIN (Jive Bar, Adelaide)
4. Crossfaith & Paledusk, w/Future Static (Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne)
3. Sable Hills, w/Crossfaith (Ebisu Liquidroom, Tokyo)
2. KNOSIS: The Eternal Doom Vol. 2 (Shinjuku Antiknock, Tokyo)
1. The Rite of Passage Tour: Prompts, ANNALYNN, KNOSIS w/Defying Decay (ClubAsia, Tokyo)

WHAT AM I MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR?
Starting from next week, I will be taking NOISE ‘N’ VISUALS back overseas. We will be in Japan covering KNOSIS, Crossfaith, Fragments and a bunch of other events! Also, we will be heading to Thailand to cover ANNALYNN and the Rock Alarm Music Festival. We also have some plans in Vietnam too, but stay tuned for those. I am also looking forward to getting our podcast and YouTube channel off the ground, plus just connecting and discovering music from across the region.

So big things in the works. Over the next two weeks we have some interviews and reviews dropping, covering artists from Australia, Vietnam, Japan and more! 

Lastly, I want to personally thank every single person that has shown love to NOISE ‘N’ VISUALS so far this year. Every like, share and even click has meant so much. So please, keep spreading the word and hope to see you in the pit soon!

On a final note, I wanted to finish off this post with a plea to readers.
ANNALYNN of course are a much loved band of NNV, and frontman Bon has shown us lots of love throughout this year. As you may have seen, he has revealed recently that he is battling stomach cancer is raising funds for a much needed surgery. As GoFundMe is illegal in Thailand, his label Greyscale Records is raising money on his behalf. All I ask is you donate maybe the cost of your next coffee or even just a dollar. Every little bit helps get closer to the goal.

You can donate here.