BravePicks 2012: The 12 Days Of Metal - #2
December 30, 2012, 11 years ago
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!
2) VAN HALEN – A Different Kind Of Truth (Interscope)
You can here the voice from miles away - we're baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Diamond Dave, Eddie, Alex and wee Wolfgang cranking out the comeback of the year, probably the last few years! Sure, some of the material was pulled from the past, but VAN HALEN made it sound fresh, vibrant and most importantly … LIKE VAN HALEN! You know what you wanted and you got it, the first complete album since 1984's 1984! Oh joy, oh bliss!!
"Metal" Tim Henderson summed it up best in his review:
I tell ya, gimme the good ol' days when you heard the single and went to buy the complete album a few days/weeks later. VAN HALEN has been teasing us to no end with all these snippets, taking away the surprise. You'd think an artist would want us to relish in their art from start to finish without interruption. But alas it's the digital era and without question what we hold here is a thrilling surprise. I can still remember to this day when 1984 was released. All the hoopla around the rebellious kid with the smoke, the racy 'Hot For Teacher' video and of course the first single that led off with keyboards! Man, the VH-lads had balls bigger than the state of California. But it worked. And then the Diamond Dave magic was gone. Yup, a tragic loss - kinda like your father vacating for a hooker. Sure, Sammy picked up the ball, but didn't score as many touchdowns as Roth and Co. Then there was smoke in the distance and we all thought the fires were re-lit when The Best Of Van Halen, Vol. I was released with two brand-spankin' new Roth tunes ('Can't Get This Stuff No More' and 'Me Wise Magic'). But someone pissed on the fire. 16 years later here we are again, David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen far from coming to blows, but brothers in arms. First off, A Different Kind Of Truth almost feels like you've been transported back into the flair of the '80s, actually earlier as Roth revealed to the Los Angeles times that some of the material on the album dates back to ideas from the late '70s! Only Van Halen could get away with such an asinine plot. And immediately you begin to reminisce about all those unstoppable tunes from a band that had the world in the palm of their hands, all culminating in a frenzy on stage. Could all this be happening again?
Read more here.
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)
3) ACCEPT - Stalingrad (Nuclear Blast)
2) VAN HALEN – A Different Kind Of Truth (Interscope)
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