BravePicks 2018 – ALICE IN CHAINS' Rainier Fog #21
December 10, 2018, 5 years ago
Another gruelling year of heavy metal debauchery is almost over! Killing is our business ... and business is good! And this year the metal scene killed it with a myriad of heavy intrigue! So the votes are in and the compiling is complete! It's time to crown the winners and call out the the disappointments.
So who will be our #1? You’ll find out as we count down the BravePick Of 2018 each day in December! And our devout scribes killed it as well, putting their collective metal minds together to build the ultimate lists including individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY), Top 5 Brave Embarrassments (a fan favorite!), Top 3 Concerts, What/Who Needs To Stop In 2018? and Metal Predictions For 2019. All will be showcased come the New Year!
'Tis the season to commence the good, bad and ugly of 2018! On with the cream of this year's crop!
BravePicks 2018
21) ALICE IN CHAINS – Rainier Fog (BMG)
Impossible to wipe the dampness away with this long play from Alice In Chains. Their first album in 5 years, Rainier Fog is the third stamp with guitarist/vocalist William DuVall, who has successfully stepped into the large shadow cast by Layne Staley. Memorable vocal harmonies, strong riffs and guitar sound, and poetic passages that cut right to the bone; the bleak tunes from the Seattle metal masters are a highlight of 2018.
Rainier Fog marks a few firsts for the band: in addition to being their first album in five years, it’s their first album for BMG and their first time recording in their hometown of Seattle in more than 20 years (worth noting that the album title is a tribute to Seattle). They recorded at Studio X, the same facility where they tracked 1995’s self-titled Alice In Chains album (back when the studio was known as Bad Animals). The Rainier Fog recording process also saw the band spend time at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles and at the Nashville studio of producer Nick Raskulinecz. Rainier Fog is the third straight Alice In Chains album recorded with producer Nick Raskulinecz and engineer Paul Figueroa. The album was mixed by Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Tool).
BravePicks 2018 Top 30
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21) ALICE IN CHAINS - Rainier Fog (BMG)
22) HIGH ON FIRE - Electric Messiah (eOne)
23) MAMMOTH GRINDER - Cosmic Crypt (Relapse)
24) ICARUS WITCH - Goodbye Cruel World (Cleopatra)
25)UNLEASHED - The Hunt For White Christ (Napalm)
26) SATAN - Cruel Magic (Metal Blade)
27) GRAHAM BONNET BAND - Meanwhile, Back In The Garage (Frontiers)
28) MONSTROSITY – The Passage Of Existence (Metal Blade)
29) GRUESOME – Twisted Prayers (Relapse)
30) DIMMU BORGIR - Eonian (Nuclear Blast)