We’re back! After some unforeseen technical hitches in the lead up to Christmas, we are here to bring you our annual Rock Sins End Of Year Awards, and 2022’s edition features the help of some special guests. First up is UK post-hardcore favourites and friends of the site, As Everything Unfolds! Their guitarist Adam Kerr marshalled the troops to present AEU’s best bits from the last 12 months, so read on below for Adam’s choices on behalf of the whole band!
Album Of The Year – WILLOW – <COPINGMECHANISM>
We absolutely loved WILLOW’s album <COPINGMECHANISM> it’s redefining what it means to be an alternative artist, and is continuing to solidify the rock and metal community as the inclusive, accepting and genre bending community we know it is. We completely fell in love with curious/furious on the first listen and it’s nostalgic emo vibes, it brought us way back to RIOT! and we can’t wait to see how she blossoms as an artist every year!
Honourable mentions:
Zeal & Ardor – Zeal & Ardor
Nova Twins – Supernova
I Prevail – TRUE POWER
Electric Callboy – Tekkno
Song Of The Year – Nickelback
We were flabbergasted to hear Nickelback had dropped a new single, and we absolutely lost our minds when we heard how nasty, riffy and sheer arena rock this song is. We’re all unapologetic Nickelback fans and this song showcases everything we love about them. There’s a reason this made it onto our van rock bangers playlist!
Honourable mentions:
WILLOW – curious/furious
I Prevail – Body Bag
Spiritbox – Rotoscope
Dream State – Taunt Me
Music Video Of The Year – Spiritbox – Rotoscope
The video for Spiritbox’s Rotoscope is just so beautiful. It’s artsy and poetic, the colours cut so vividly and does everything we love in a video! (it also helps that the song’s sick as well!)
Gig Of The Year – Enter Shikari, Trash Boat, As Everything Unfolds, Middlesborough Town Hall, May 2022
Our gig of the year has to be Enter Shikari’s show in Middlesborough Town Hall! Not only did we lose our minds playing with some of our absolute heroes, but what a show they put on! Something about that show just seemed to have the magic spark and we watched the whole thing from the crowd just soaking in as much as we could!
Festival Performance Of The Year – As Everything Unfolds – Download Festival 2022
As obvious a choice as it was going to be, Download Festival for us was just such an indescribable high point. Being able to play a festival we’d all gone to growing up, on the Avalanche stage no less was so surreal. The crowd gave it their all even in the berserk heatwave! Not to mention having KISS deliver one hell of a performance to end the night, we all knew they were going to put on a show but it was out of this world even from the get go!
Band Of The Year – Holding Absence
Holding Absence without question. Everything they do turns to gold and deservedly so, they’re the nicest guys in the scene with unbelievable tunes, and an ecstatic live show to match. Their sophomore album was such a masterpiece and then their split EP with Alpha Wolf is such a little pocket rocket of bangers! We couldn’t be any prouder of our friends!
Hero Of The Year – Danni Hicks
Danni Hicks our beloved TM and Merch gal extraordinaire is our hero of the year. She does everything with a massive smile on her face and the utmost professionalism! We would be nothing without her wisdom and guidance keeping our touring party glued together, fed and well watered!
As Everything Unfolds are currently on the build up to the release of their second album (full details tbc). They’ve released two banging singles from the album, Felt Like Home and Blossom. You can check out the video for Blossom here:
Be sure to follow them on their socials for the latest updates. Find them on Twitter and Instagram.
