2024 - Another Metal Year - Izzy Izbourne

How I Burned Bright, Broke Down, and Made It to the Barrier Anyway

It’s a wrap. 2024 is done and over with. And while this blog doesn’t reflect it, it’s been a very metal year for me.

Only 14 articles made it onto Izzy Izbourne, which feels a bit like neglect—but when I went through my calendar and photo roll today, I was actually surprised how much I managed to fit into one year.

The Year Begins With Type O (Of Course)

So, for tradition’s sake, let’s start with Spotify Wrapped: unsurprisingly, Type O Negative reigned supreme. Again. Agalloch was right behind them—my safety blankets. My default mood. The stuff I listen to when I don’t want to choose what to listen to.

Cattle Decapitation in third place gave me pause—but then again, Terrasite was a great album, and I really did listen to it a lot. Finntroll and Strigampire made the list mostly due to my obsessive research phases. No regrets. Mostly.

Stormbringer and the Obsession Era

January 1st: I sewed on my Type O patch. Then I got my nostril pierced—finally. And then, on a bit of a whim, I answered a job ad from Stormbringer Magazine. They needed editors. I figured: what the hell.

They said yes.

That one little “what the hell” kicked off everything. In February, I got my first three metal albums to review. I might’ve—slightly overdone it. Strigampire’s All To Dominate was my very first and I listened to it a gazillion times, determined to get it right.

I wrote six reviews in February. I have never done that again.

Not once.

But I don’t half-ass things. Ever.

Which is how I ended up requesting press accreditation for Skálmöld in Bremen in March. I already had tickets. I just thought, “Photography? That sounds like a reasonable new hobby.” Somehow, it was.

That night is immortalised here on the blog. It defined something.

The pictures with Björgvin and Jón Geir are pinned next to my laptop. Every time I look at them, I remember exactly how exhilarated I felt. I was too nervous to say anything coherent—but meeting them was one of my top moments of 2024.

Concerts, Chaos, and a Camera Strap

March wasn’t done with me.

I took the kids to Heavysaurus. (They didn’t love it as much as I did.)

I went to see Cattle Decapitation in Hamburg—my first ever death metal concert.

I never blogged about that night. I probably should. It was… an experience.

Unforgettable, but also a giant, guttural NOPE. I made peace that night with the fact that death metal, and everything that comes with it, is just not my cup of tea.

April brought Finntroll back into my life. Bremen again.

That show lives in my bones.

I actually managed to take photos I liked. The atmosphere was magic. I left that night a very happy bunny.

In between gigs, I was reviewing albums—some in genres I’d never touched before, some I struggled to wrap my head around. It’s still hardest for me to write about music I don’t love.

I want to understand what the artist meant. I want to do the work. But sometimes, it just… doesn’t land. And sometimes, the music just isn’t that good.

Gigs, Guilt, and Growing Pains

Meanwhile, life wasn’t exactly quiet.

My cat got injured—twice. Vet bills were brutal.

My employer went insolvent.

We demolished the old playhouse in the garden.

My daughter finished primary school.

I turned 39 and went to my 20-year class reunion.

We went to Corfu. I brought metal history books. Read by the pool.

(Discovered I already knew most of it. So hey, this blog has taught me something.)

I started my first Type O tattoo in July.

Then, with the outline still healing, I baked myself at Klash Of The Ruhrpott in 33° heat with no shade, and learned that sometimes even Kreator and Sodom can’t redeem heatstroke.

Festivals and First Times

August was Wacken. Finally. A whole week.

The music was great—but the people were better.

Chris, Marie, Jan-Hendrik: you carried me. Literally and emotionally. Thank you for putting up with my moods, my neuroses, and my glucose levels. I wouldn’t do another festival without you.

Three weeks later: Wini Macken in Handeloh.

My first time there—and I helped co-organise it.

It was a joy. The prep, the chaos, the festival itself.

We’re already planning Wini Macken 2025 and I can’t wait.