BravePicks 2017 - The Scribes Speak! Carl Begai
January 6, 2018, 6 years ago
BravePicks 2017 - The Scribes Speak!
Carl Begai
Top 20 of 2017
1) KREATOR - Gods Of Violence (Nuclear Blast)
2) OVERKILL - The Grinding Wheel (Nuclear Blast)
3) ARCH ENEMY - Will To Power (Century Media)
4) MOONSPELL - 1755 (Napalm)
5) STONE SOUR - Hydrograd (Roadrunner)
6) KOBRA AND THE LOTUS - Prevail I (Napalm)
7) VENOM INC. - Avé (Nuclear Blast)
8) CRADLE OF FILTH - Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay (Nuclear Blast)
9) AYREON - The Source (InsideOut)
10) DANKO JONES - Wild Cat (AFM)
11) ANNIHILATOR - For The Demented (Silver Lining)
12) BODY COUNT - Bloodlust (Century Media)
13) ALICE COOPER - Paranormal (earMusic)
14) CYHRA - Letters To Myself (Spinefarm)
15) SHADOWSIDE - Shades Of Humanity (EMP)
16) FOZZY - Judas (Century Media)
17) OBITUARY – Obituary (Relapse)
18) SANCTUARY - Inception (Century Media)
19) WITCHERY - I Am Legion (Century Media)
20) JEFF SCOTT SOTO - Retribution (Frontiers)
Top 3 Concerts
1) TESTAMENT / ANNIHILATOR / DEATH ANGEL - Löwensaal - Nuremberg, Germany
2) KATAKLYSM - Hirsch - Nuremberg, Germany
3) KOBRA AND THE LOTUS - Hirsch - Nuremberg, Germany
Top 5 Brave Embarrassments
HOUSE OF LORDS - Saint Of The Lost Souls (Frontiers)
The '80s called... they would like their cookie cutters back. And the keyboards. And the stiff pain-by-numbers writing (yes, without the "t"). And the keyboards.
HYDROGYN - Redemption (RFL)
Gotta love them for trying to move forward after losing their original singer, but man...the writing is splattered all over the wall. Please stop, this is painful.
STAHLMANN - Bastard (AFM)
Wearing silver body paint doesn't make you gentlemen any less of a Rammstein cover band. Oh wait, they did that long before you, too....
IN THIS MOMENT - Ritual (Atlantic)
Technology at its worst: sucking the life out of Maria Brink's voice and making her sound like a run-of-the-mill talent-free wannabe pop tart. Shame on you, Kevin Churko.
NOCTURNAL RITES - Phoenix (Century Media)
Returning after ten years away and the only lasting effect this album has on me is inspiring some really lousy jokes about Nocturnal Rites laying an egg, Phoenix crashing and burning, last rites.... please make it stop....
What/Who Needs To Stop In 2018
Gene Simmons. Not in a Rest In Peace way, more of a Please Start Your Own Island Nation Far Far Far Away. Like, on the moon. Just leave the lovely Shannon Tweed with us. You have your ego to keep you company.
Metal Predictions For 2018
BraveWords will continue to thrive, our “competition” will continue to rip us off without due credit, we will remain firm in our mission to not be a crap-ass tabloid.
Thoughts On 2017
A hellish year with only a small handful of bright spots along the way, I’m glad it’s done. Through it all was a massive soundtrack of albums and the magic of live shows that kept me moving forward. Kreator's Gods Of Violence, Overkill’s The Grinding Wheel and Arch Enemy’s Will To Power were the go-to records in the office, while new outings from CyHra and Body Count kept things interesting and at a comfortable level of loud. On the live front, seeing Kobra And The Lotus back on stage was a blast, witnessing Kataklysm crush audiences with the back-to-back assaults of Shadows & Dust and Serenity In Fire played in their entirety was mind-blowing, and watching Annihilator smoke both Death Angel and Testament to a packed house left me speechless (and all three bands were killer that night). It’s only coincidence that Canadian bands rank high on my list of highs this year, but it does make me proud to be a Canucklehead.
Sadly, the death of Warrel Dane (Nevermore, Sanctuary) brought my year to a close under a dark cloud. I’m grateful I had the chance to speak with him and see him perform one last time.
Check out the thoughts of our other scribes:
Check out our BravePicks 2017 countdown where Overkill took the top spot here.
