Tis the season of giving and 2013 was certainly the year the hard and heavy metal scene gave back! There was an exhausting parade of new releases and tours to boot! Be careful what you wish cuz you just might get it, and this year it came at us from all angles. And these days it seems that the output is tenfold, as bands of all shapes and sizes can easily Protools or GarageBand it-up in their bedroom and release to the masses in numerous forms, mostly digital. But is it quality stuff? Here come the BraveWords scribes to the rescue, who tear their way through the glut and the grit and come up the finest slabs of music the year had to offer. Just one rule: studio recordings only. No compilations, covers, live albums etc…

So after days of compiling, we bring you BravePicks 2013: The 12 Days Of Metal, our nice n' tidy summary of the year that was. Of course we will start with the countdown until New Year's and then the scribes step up with their always popular Brave Embarrassments, Concerts, Thoughts On 2013, Predictions For 2014 and What / Who Needs To Stop In 2014!

So jump in, strap in and grab a cold one!!!

2013 … The 12 Days Of Metal

9) VOIVOD – Target Earth (Century Media)

"I think that everyone who’ll listen to Target Earth will feel at home,” Voivod's drummer, co-lyricist and band artist Michel “Away” Langevin told BraveWords about the band's 13th studio album, which was recorded at producer Pierre Rémillard’s Wild Studios in Quebec and mixed by Sanford Parker. The original art was once again drawn by Away and features color schemes from each one of the band’s previous albums.

“There is no concept on this album,” Away continues. “Although, the other guys asked me to write one involving the Voivod character, for the next album. So, I’m working on that. I think that Target Earth... I mean, there are the reoccurring nightmare scenarios on most Voivod albums happening on Target Earth, like pollution, high-tech weaponry, and destruction of the Earth, in general. I think Snake was very much influenced by the latest events that happened since we started writing the album in 2010. Like, I guess, the Fukushima nuclear disaster, occupy movements, Arab Spring probably. I know that Target Earth originally was meant to be Invasion Of The Earth, from outer space, if I remember well. I suggested to Snake, that it would be interesting to have, like, a hacker taking control of the armed satellites around the planet, you know, in order to blackmail countries, and we took it from there. So, that’s pretty indicative of the subjects on the album.”

Read BraveWords entire chat with Away here and our review of Target Earth at this location.

2013 … The 12 Days Of Metal

12) ANVIL - Hope In Hell (The End)

11) MEGADETH – Super Collider (Tradecraft/Universal)

10) WATAIN - The Wild Hunt (Century Media)

9) VOIVOD – Target Earth (Century Media)

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