Compliment of the season readers, we hope you and yours the very best of the yuletide. May we all be good, gooder and goodest as we celebrate xmas to the fullest.
In our article around this time last year, on The Journey of Nigerian Rock Music, (So Far), we anticipated and professed a greater glory for the Nigerian rock fans and bands in the year 2014 and beyond. The year has actually turned out to be one where beautiful melodic songs have been churned out from bands and have gone through our ear holes and given us that air of better things to come in less time, and in contrast to what we all anticipated would take at least 10 years to sit well within us. The year did not just start on the right note but on a rather augmented one, with the Metal and Romance rock concert/party which took place in early January in Lagos, then to the #LoveRocks valentine concert in Enugu to the Rock with XTsamurai gig, not to forget the Rock Alive concert which somehow seems to be the biggest that took place. We’ve seen a good number of rock concerts (not the Star trek rock concert featuring Wizkid, Phyno and co) but concerts featuring real rock bands and artists with “No Jollof Music” or “NO Djs” but heavy, overdriven and distorted guitar riffs, growls, drum rolls, screams, all on underlying melodic guitar or piano chords.
If the history of Nigerian rock music is to ever be written, it would be right to say that it actually started from this year. As much as the quality of live rock performance in Nigeria took a step further, the quality and quantity of songs released this year alone is worth setting up an award ceremony for the genre. Almost every song released this year has its own unique flavor, sound, lyrical depth/delivery and unique technicality. We can of-course quite comfortably create a playlist of both foreign and local rock songs and listen to the local songs more often than not which in itself tells us of a genre that is ready to break bounds in the country and stand on the hills of its own creation. We’ve compiled every one of them here for our readers including their download links, if you missed any, find them here and give your ears the perfect xmas present.
*Note: They are not sorted in any order.
**Zainab Sule –Fire Down Below
Download Fire Down Below by Zainab Sule here
**The Rising Rain – Redemption
***Phrance – Ocho -
**Clay ft 1 Last Autograph – Down
Download Down by Clay ft 1 Last Autograph here
**The RisingRain – God Complex
**Threadstone – God Heal Nigeria
**Stage One – Bigger
**FootPrint5 – Need
**FootPrint 5 – Mighty to Save (Hillsong Cover)
Download Mighty To Save by FootPrint5 here
**FootPrint 5 – Back To You
Download Back to You by FootPrint5 here
**Prodegalous ft 1 Last Autograph – Bring Back
Download Bring Back by Prodegalous ft 1 Last Autograph here
With the force all the bands and emerging ones are putting into the music, 2015 will be an even better year. At-least four to five albums will be dropping next year from bands like Threadstone, FootPrint5, The RisingRain, Zainab Sule, and Clay as well as singles from the newly signed band, Nathmac and The Lime and we are all looking forward to all of them.
Finally, this would be the perfect moment to add this. The first ever confluence of almost all the rock bands and artist as well as emerging rock bands in Nigeria will be taking place next year on the 3rd of January, 2015 at the Metal and Romance: Dominance rock party/concert at Bheer and Hugz Lounge, City Mall, Ikeja, Lagos. It’s definitely a concert of its own kind you don’t want to miss. Let’s meet you there.
Thanks for reading and we once more, wish you a merry xmas and a prosperous, rocky and blissful 2015. \m/
Check out for our next post on the Top Ten Nigerian Rock songs of 2014 and please feel free leave your comments of any song(s) you feel we left out or what you think of the list.
Check out for our next post on the Top Ten Nigerian Rock songs of 2014 and please feel free leave your comments of any song(s) you feel we left out or what you think of the list.
