Drum roll please … or maybe a hearty dose of blast-beats! Tis the season to commence the good, bad and ugly of 2014! Of course we’re talking about BravePicks 2014, where all the staff put their collective metal minds together to build the ultimate lists including individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY),  Top 5 Brave Embarrassments, Top 3 Concerts, What/Who Needs To Stop In 2015? and Metal Predictions For 2015.

BravePicks 2014

16) ACE FREHLEY - Space Invader (eOne)

On the follow-up to his well-received Anomaly album of five years ago, Ace raises the stakes, turning in a rumbling, heavy album of warm tones and fire from the underbelly of his past with Kiss.

Says Ace to BraveWords' Martin Popoff, sounding the most articulate and upbeat he ever has down the line, no doubt in large part due to his years of sobriety, “When I read reviews of Anomaly, and I talk to fans, a lot of them say they like the record, and thought most of the songs were good. But one of them major complaints was it wasn’t heavy enough, maybe, and there wasn’t enough guitar work. So I strived to do more guitar work, throw in some heavier tracks, and also tried to recapture some of the sounds from my ’78 debut, which a lot of fans cite as being their favourite Ace record.”

Responding to the more than favourable press Space Invader is getting compared to what Kiss is up to these days, Ace says, “Well, I’ve read some reviews that say that. I just do what I do—and people review it. You know, but I was a big part of Kiss, and a big part of the sound of Kiss in the ‘70s. And I know Tommy Thayer’s been trying to copy me since he got in the band. But Gene Simmons said in his acceptance speech at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame: ‘Often copied but, but never duplicated.’ Something to that effect.”

Read more at BraveWords.

BravePicks 2014 Top 30

16) ACE FREHLEY - Space Invader (eOne)

17) MASTODON — Once More ’Round The Sun (Reprise)

18) EDGUY – Space Police: Defenders Of The Crown (Nuclear Blast)

19) THE DAGGER – The Dagger (Century Media)

20) PRIMORDIAL – Where Greater Men Have Fallen (Metal Blade)

21) UNISONIC - Light Of Dawn (earMusic)

22) PRIMAL FEAR – Delivering The Black (Frontiers)

23) DEVILMENT – The Great And Secret Show (Nuclear Blast)

24) MR. BIG - ...The Stories We Could Tell (Frontiers)

25) EYEHATEGOD – Eyehategod (Housecore)

26) STEEL PANTHER – All You Can Eat (Open E)

27) CALIFORNIA BREED – California Breed (Frontiers)

28) TESLA – Simplicity (Tesla Electric Co.)

29) PRONG – Ruining Lives (SPV/Steamhammer)

30) GAMMA RAY – Empire Of The Undead (EarMusic)