Now that we have completed the BravePicks Of 2014 countdown - which Bloodbath triumphed (see the entire list here) - it is time now to shine the spotlight on the people that actually helped to build our mountain of metal! It was a massive task, as BraveWords was flooded with hundreds and hundreds of releases in 2014, showcasing the fact that the scene is as vibrant as ever! Each day, the BraveWords scribes will spout off their good, bad and ugly for 2014 and thoughts on the coming year! We’re talking 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 - The Scribes Speak!

AARON SMALL

Top 20 Of 2014

1) SLASH – World On Fire (Dik Hayd / Universal)

2) BLACK LABEL SOCIETY – Catacombs Of The Black Vatican (eOne)

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

4) PRONG – Ruining Lives (SPV / Steamhammer)

5) BLACK STONE CHERRY – Magic Mountain (Roadrunner)

6) GOATWHORE – Constricting Rage Of The Merciless (Metal Blade)

7) ARCH ENEMY – War Eternal (Savage Messiah / Century Media)

8) EYEHATEGOD – Eyehategod (Housecore)

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

10) NASHVILLE PUSSY – Up The Dosage (SPV / Steamhammer)

11) CANNIBAL CORPSE – A Skeletal Domain (Metal Blade)

12) TESLA – Simplicity (Tesla Electric Co.)

13) CROWBAR – Symmetry In Black (eOne)

14) HELLYEAH – Blood For Blood (Eleven Seven)

15) SIXX:A.M. – Modern Vintage (Eleven Seven)

16) ORANGE GOBLIN – Back From The Abyss (Candlelight)

17) BLOODBATH – Grand Morbid Funeral (Peaceville)

18) WHITE EMPRESS – Rise Of The Empress (Peaceville)

19) MACHINE HEAD – Bloodstone & Diamonds (Nuclear Blast)

20) AT THE GATES – At War With Reality (Century Media)

Top 5 Brave Embarrassments

1) BABY METAL – Baby Metal (Toy’s Factory)

Contrived, commercial crap!

2) JOHNNY SOLINGER – Scrappy Smith (Red River)

Stay with Skid Row, cause this country music is terrible.

3) BODY COUNT – Manslaughter (Sumerian)

“Cop Killer” shocked the world, but 1992 was a long time ago.

4) MUSHROOMHEAD – The Righteous & The Butterfly (Megaforce)

So desperate for attention, they covered Adele – horribly.

5) POWERMAN 5000 – Builders Of The Future (T-Boy)

Spider is still trying to emulate Marilyn Manson, such a pity.

 

Top 3 Concerts

1) THE WINERY DOGS – The Phoenix – Toronto, ON

2) ZAKK WYLDE – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, ON

3) HEART – GM Centre – Oshawa, ON

Thoughts On 2014

AC/DC got all the attention… for all the wrong reasons. Their new album, Rock Or Bust, is adequate at best. Sadly, founding guitarist Malcolm Young is no longer able to play with the band due to his battle with dementia. Then there’s drummer Phil Rudd, who was charged with attempting to procure a murder – which has since been reduced to threatening to kill – as well as possession of methamphetamine and cannabis. This really does seem like the Highway To Hell. Megadeth fans were shocked when drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick both quit the band, leaving Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson looking for new recruits. Gwar fans were saddened by the passing of frontman Oderus Urungus (aka Dave Brockie) who died of a heroin overdose at age 50. On a personal note, Sean Kelly’s book Metal On Ice – which I contributed a piece about Sebastian Bach to – was named to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Library & Archives in Cleveland, Ohio. What an honour! And BraveWords.com received an overhaul. This facelift enabled us to provide all the metal news that’s fit to post in a better looking, easier to read, and more user friendly format. Utmost thanks to each and every one you that visit our site, horns up!

Metal Predictions For 2015

I’m no psychic, and gazing into a crystal ball does me no good, but I’m eagerly anticipating new albums from: Anthrax, Slayer, Tremonti, Cradle Of Filth, Faith No More, Six Feet Under and The Winery Dogs. Quite curious to see what the masters of merchandise, KISS, come up with next? Hoping for a slew of great tours… and an increase in overall CD and MP3 sales as illegal downloading and file-sharing is larcenous, unethical, and incredibly damaging.  

What/Who Needs To Stop In 2015

FOZZY – Six albums of wrestler Chris Jericho pretending to be a rock star is more than enough.

BravePicks 2014 Top 30

1) BLOODBATH – Grand Morbid Funeral (Peaceville)

2) ACCEPT – Blind Rage (Nuclear Blast)

3) JUDAS PRIEST - Redeemer Of Souls (Epic)

4) BEHEMOTH - The Satanist (Metal Blade)

5) EXODUS - Blood In, Blood Out (Nuclear Blast)

6) AT THE GATES – At War With Reality (Century Media)

7) MAYHEM - Esoteric Warfare (Season Of Mist)

8) TRIPTYKON - Melana Chasmata (Century Media)

9) CANNIBAL CORPSE – A Skeletal Domain (Metal Blade)

10) OVERKILL - White Devil Armory (Nuclear Blast/eOne)

11) ARCH ENEMY - War Eternal (Century Media)

12) 1349 - Massive Cauldron Of Chaos (Season Of Mist)

13) SANCTUARY - The Year The Sun Died (Century Media)

14) OBITUARY - Inked In Blood (Relapse)

15) GRAVE DIGGER – Return Of The Reaper (Napalm)

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)