Here we go again! But where does the time go? It's seems like yesterday that we were ringing in 2012! Like last year, we're doing the same holiday-themed countdown of the finest slabs of metal this past year had to offer, voted by the devout scribes here at BraveWords.com! Hence the name The 12 Days Of Metal. What does "slab" actually mean? We're talking studio albums. No compilations, rerecordings, live albums etc… Just pure metal, all killer no filler!

These are the 12 albums (yeah, we still use that old school term!) that you must have in your collection!

Let's rock!

2012 … The 12 Days Of Metal

4) KISS – Monster (Ume)

Whether or not you believe the hype, KISS fans weren't frightened by this Monster as the band's 20th studio album stormed the charts around the world including #2 in Norway and #3 in the US and Canada. It was raw, stripped down and totally analog, with no outside writing influence!

Martin Popoff's take on Monster read as follows:

"What was Gene on about... a cross between Revenge and Destroyer or something like that? Of course that’s hype without barely thinking, and you can never go back, nor would you want to. Do you really think Kiss songs from Dressed To Kill wouldn’t sound like Kindergarten right now? Fortunately, Monster isn’t any of that. Instead, it’s what happens when two dynamic, unique, legendary, signature vocalists (who just can’t help but put you an’ me in a good mood) meet up with a scholar of a classic rock fan in Tommy Thayer (a maker of great mid-‘80s records, but old enough to be an early ‘80s guy), and a superlative journeyman drummer in Eric Singer, BADLANDS never to be bested. Both are long-time KISS members, but more importantly, you get the sense that their ‘80s and ‘90s music brains are complementary and catalytic to Paul’s and Gene’s still goodly songwriting instincts, along with whatever other corporate but wisely tamped collaborations collude to make Monster such a hot rockin’ spread of heavy, arena-grade KISS, start to long-live-the-loud finish. First thing one notices is that the grinding, noisy playing along with the attendant red-line production of the thing make for a more organic and energetic record than the very good Sonic Boom album of three years ago. Impressed with that thing I was, but it’s positively tame compared to the wall of sound (er, sorry, there’s even a song called that) that is Monster."

Read more here.

2012 … The 12 Days Of Metal

12) DYING FETUS – Reign Supreme (Relapse Records)

11) SLASH – Apocalyptic Love (Dik Hayd)

10) RUSH – Clockwork Angels (Anthem)

9) THE CULT – Choice Of Weapon (Cooking Vinyl)

8) ANAAL NATHRAKH - Vanitas (Candlelight)

7) KREATOR - Phantom Antichrist (Nuclear Blast)

6) OVERKILL - The Electric Age (eOne)

5) CANNIBAL CORPSE – Torture (Metal Blade)

4) KISS – Monster (Ume)

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