BravePicks 2016 - The Scribes Speak!
"Metal" Tim Henderson

Top 20 of 2016
1) FLOTSAM AND JETSAM - Flotsam And Jetsam (AFM Records)
2) METALLICA – Hardwired... To Self-Destruct (Blackened)
3) METAL CHURCH - XI (Rat Pak Records)
4) ENTOMBED A.D. - Dead Dawn (Century Media)
5) MESHUGGAH - The Violent Sleep Of Reason (Nuclear Blast)
6) DEATH ANGEL - The Evil Divide (Nuclear Blast)
7) WITCHERY - In His Infernal Majesty's Service (Century Media)
8) TESTAMENT - Brotherhood Of The Snake (Nuclear Blast)
9) ANTHRAX – For All Kings (Nuclear Blast)
10) OPETH – Transcendence (Moderbolaget/Nuclear Blast)
11) DARK TRANQUILLITY - Atoma (Century Media)
12) IHSAHN - Arktis (Candlelight)
13) GOJIRA - Magma (Roadrunner)
14) DARKTHRONE - Artic Thunder (Peaceville)
15) TOMBS - All Empires Fall (Relapse)
16) DARK FUNERAL - Where Shadows Forever Reign (Century Media)
17) DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT - Transcendence (HevyDevy)
18) SUMERLANDS - S/T (Relapse)
19) BORKNAGAR - Winter Thrice (Century Media)
20) SPIRITUAL BEGGARS – Sunrise to Sundown (InsideOut)

Top 3 Concerts
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM - State Theater, St. Petersburgh, FL
SUMMER BREEZE 2016 - The fields outside of Dinkelsbuhl, Germany
70000 TONS OF METAL 2016 - Fort Lauderdale, FL to Falmouth, Jamaica to Fort Lauderdale, FL

Top 5 Embarrassments

IN FLAMES – Battles (Nuclear Blast/Eleven Seven)
Don’t be fooled. Now you know why Peter Iwers left. The sad demise continues, misguided by the wrong Sixx, Sixx, Sixx. Stop catering to North America.

MEGADETH - Dystopia (Tradecraft/Universal)
Sorry Dave, I’m just tired of the polish. The endless hours of studio time make most of Dystopia unpalatable, despite the stellar musicianship. Don’t overthink, go back to the garage (days) and unleash the hounds earlier. Mistakes aren’t a bad thing. Being natural is the key.

DENNER SHERMANN - Masters Of Evil (Metal Blade)
The planets were aligned with two guitar legends (Mercyful Fate’s Hank Shermann and Michael Denner) and a killer vocalist (Cage’s Sean Peck), but this isn’t as evil as it should’ve been, led by mediocre production (listen to those weak drums for example) and generic songs. Killer art though!

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES – World Gone Mad (Suicidal Records)
I realize I’m so “alone” on this, but give me less punk/hardcore and a more pristine “rebellion”.

STEVEN TYLER – We’re All Somebody from Somewhere (Dot)
Gives new meaning to being back in the saddle .. but for the wrong musical reasons. This is a horse turd.

Thoughts On 2016

Although I seem to stand in minority, Flotsam And Jetsam easily toppled the competition with a front-to-back, back-to-front metal opus, led by the return of Michael Gilbert and the shining star vocals of Eric “AK” Knutson who easily ranks beside the heavy elite like Freddie, Bruce, Ronnie and Rob. Find the time to soak in the glory of this band, the most under-rated in heavy metal.

So all lights shone on Metallica, Hardwired... To Self-Destruct was the album that we’ve been waiting for for 25 years, despite the edit job it requires. This is their comfort zone, with each member firing on all cylinders. And I can’t thank Lars and James enough for allowing BraveWords to hold the world premiere of the “ManUNkind” video, featuring footage from the upcoming (controversial?) feature film Lords of Chaos.

I cringed at the thought of no Brian Johnson when AC/DC hit the road this past spring, remarkably with Axl Rose. Sure, he held his own, but I’m not falling for it. It was a glorified cover band plain and simple. And it was also sad to see the retirement of Cliff Williams. The AC/DC monolith is crumbling around Angus Young’s shorts. Not sure what the next step should be aside from Brian returning. Maybe scattered final shows around the globe with all survivors (Cliff and Phil) with hopes Malcolm can it for one final show, or at least a song or a wave goodbye to the crowd.

And to see Black Sabbath on their final journey without Bill Ward is a travesty of the highest order. If he’s not in shape, GET HIM IN SHAPE. For fuck sake’s Sharon, you are worth millions, so buy him a world class trainer and get the job done. It’s ridiculous seeing all these photos of the three-piece, with one major component missing. Maybe that’s why Led Zeppelin has more class in the annals of rock history.  

And why aren’t people talking more about Kurdt Vanderhoof and the return of Mike Howe. Aside from the genius of the first two records, Metal Church XI fits nice ’n comfy beside Blessing In Disguise and The Human Factor. Howe’s voice has never sounded better.

It’s tough to watch the Entombed split. Loved my LG Petrov moment at Summer Breeze, but I couldn’t help dreaming of a full-on reunion, especially with the Clandestine classical moment featuring original members Alex Hellid, Uffe Cederlund and Nicke Andersson.

And sorry, this Ghost phenomena scares me. And earning a Grammy ain’t much of a feather in your cap.

And while I sat there during Lemmy’s funeral in early January, hoping that death’s door would be closed of a while, we saw the losses of Nick Menza (Megadeth), Jimmy Bain (Rainbow, Dio), Leonard Haze (Y&T), Rick Parfitt (Status Quo), John Thomas (Budgie), and producers Sir George Martin (The Beatles) and Sandy Pearlman (Blue Öyster Cult, The Clash). And of course rockers like David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Prince, Leon Russell, Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship), Dale "Buffin" Griffin (Mott The Hoople) and bizarrely enough, two-prog rock kingpins Greg Lake and Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake And Palmer) in the same year!

Enough is enough!

What/Who Needs To Stop In 2017

Check out my upcoming Judas Priest interview with the Metal God. He asked me if I thought the Turbo 30 reissue was the right idea. So even the bands are questioning these decisions. We’ve already seen a reissue, so a new one (16 years later) with just a live show added just takes up more shelf space. And I asked Rob, what are you going to do when British Steel and Defenders Of The Faith turn 50. Or 100? Will we get a hologram of the band performing in our living rooms? Seriously, if you keep milking things, the taste just gets weaker and weaker. But playing devil’s advocate, each day a new generation of metal fans arrive and learn about these treasures. And like Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt, I’m always looking into the past to unearth gems and learn more about the roots of heaviness. So if these reissues actually entice a fan to jump into the fire, maybe it’s not all hell broke loose?

The bigger travesty is seeing the vinyl reissue craze go way overboard in terms of price gouging.  

And the constant touring. Sure Guns N’ Roses will lead the charge with the 30th anniversary of Appetite For Destruction, but this is an anomaly. And the declining numbers show. Ask KISS for the attendance records this past summer. Yup, they missed the “ace” in the hole!

Seeing Steven Tyler fumble the ball with his country fetish is so disheartening. And they look to be pulling a Scorpions with a never-ending farewell tour. Aside from the ’70s masterworks, why do I keep craving the angst and youthful fire of Rock In A Hard Place. I guess it’s a hard place to find rock if your heart (and body) is sitting on a horse.

Metal Predictions For 2017

Wow, the year is kicking off just brutally with vicious grooves from Obituary, Kreator and Overkill. All unstoppable!

It appears Hollywood is going to (necro)butcher black metal history with the upcoming feature film Lords of Chaos. Maybe some things should be left “dead” as it were!

As I type this, I’m counting the sleeps to another glorious metal cruise with our valued partners 70000 Tons of Metal, as well another pilgrimage to Germany in August with Summer Breeze and both line-ups are shaping up just headbangingly beautiful! Sad to see Heavy Montréal take a breather this year, but onward and upward in 2018!

Despite the Denner Shermann fumble, methinks a “king” is looming in the wings. That would be the ultimate fate!

Finally a new Dimmu Borgir record is rearing it’s devilish head and perhaps we’ll see some new material announced when Emperor hits the road. My fingers are upside-down crossed!

Read more rants below:

Mark Gromen
Greg Pratt
Carl Begai
Jason Deaville
Kim Baarda
Aaron Small
David Perri
Nick Balazs
Kelley Simms
Martin Popoff
 

Check out our BravePicks 2016 countdown where Metallica reigned supreme here.