BravePicks 2013: The Scribes Speak - Aaron Small
January 9, 2014, 10 years ago
Happy New Year from BraveWords and all the best for a headbanging 2014! To honour tradition, we always follow our annual BravePicks by handing over the pen to our devout scribes and let them speak out about the year that was and the year ahead of us!
So now we present each writer's take on 2013 with the always popular Brave Embarrassments, Concerts, Thoughts On 2013, Predictions For 2014 and What / Who Needs To Stop In 2014!
1) HEAVEN’S BASEMENT – Filthy Empire (Red Bull)
2) CARCASS – Surgical Steel (Nuclear Blast)
3) MOTÖRHEAD – Aftershock (UDR)
4) VOLBEAT – Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies (Universal)
5) AIRBOURNE – Black Dog Barking (Roadrunner)
6) THE WINERY DOGS – The Winery Dogs (Loud & Proud)
7) ALTER BRIDGE – Fortress (Universal)
8) WEDNESDAY 13 – The Dixie Dead (DevCo)
9) CHILDREN OF BODOM – Halo Of Blood (Nuclear Blast)
10) BUCKCHERRY – Confessions (Eleven Seven)
1) FALLING IN REVERSE – Fashionably Late (Epitaph)
Tattoos outweigh talent 1000 to 1.
2) GLORYHAMMER – Tales From The Kingdom Of Fife (Napalm)
Medieval Times dinner theater called, they want their band back.
3) IWRESTLEDABEARONCE – Late For Nothing (Century Media)
And horrible at everything.
1) WEDNESDAY 13 – Rockpile – Toronto, ON
2) BUCKCHERRY / HEAVEN’S BASEMENT – The Phoenix – Toronto, ON
3) DANZIG With DOYLE – Sound Academy – Toronto, ON
Another year of great shows, most notably the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany which will celebrate its 25th anniversary and is already sold out. As well as a slew of amazing albums including new releases from STEEL PANTHER, SEBASTIAN BACH, BLACK STONE CHERRY, and HELLYEAH to name but a few.
The SEPULTURA vs. SOULFLY feud; a reunion is not in the cards so carry on separately.
Without a doubt, the most anticipated release of the year came from BLACK SABBATH. The poorly-titled 13, produced by Rick Rubin, was marred from the onset. The first album in 35 years to feature vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler, and guitarist Tony Iommi, saw original drummer Bill Ward excluded as the trio recorded with Brad Wilk from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. Truthfully, it was a bit of a letdown. The same can be said for The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here from ALICE IN CHAINS, another awkwardly titled album that while far from horrible, failed to impress. 2013 also saw METALLICA issue their 3D feature film, Through The Never. Although the concert footage, filmed entirely in Canada, was superb; the accompanying storyline was pretty pointless. And who would have expected AS I LAY DYING frontman Tim Lambesis to be arrested and charged with felony solicitation for the murder of his estranged wife. Looking back on the year that’s passed, the darkest date in 2013 undoubtedly was May 2nd – the day SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman passed away at the age of 49 from liver failure. Gone but not forgotten, Hanneman’s influence on heavy metal is immeasurable; R.I.P.
