BravePicks 2019 - QUEENSRŸCHE's The Verdict #16
December 16, 2019, 4 years ago
As Dark Angel famously said, “Time Does Not Heal”, but it certainly moves fast and here we are again, staring at our annual BravePicks countdown where the devout scribes at BraveWords get to stand up and shout! 2019, yet another banner year for extreme music, whether you call it heavy metal or not. We do, cuz we wear it on our sleeves! So the votes are in and the compiling is complete! It's time to crown the winners and put the noose around the bands that truly let us down.
So who will be our #1? You’ll find out as we count down the BravePick Of 2019 each day in December!
Everybody has an opinion and it’s time for ours! And stay tuned in January for the writers’ individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY), Top 5 Brave Embarrassments (a fan favorite!), Top 3 Concerts, What/Who Needs To Stop In 2019? and Metal Predictions For 2020. All will be showcased come the New Year!
So let’s commence the good, bad and ugly of 2019! First up, the Top 30 releases of 2019!
BravePicks 2019
16) QUEENSRŸCHE – The Verdict (Century Media)
The rebirth of Queensrÿche has been fascinating. Wallowing in mediocrity with former singer Geoff Tate, his ousting has refreshed and reinvigorated the progressive metallers. Now on their third album with the golden piped Todd La Torre, QR has again unleashed a fierce and wonderfully melodic platter that holds the spirit of their lauded earlier works. Opener “Blood Of The Levant” is destined to be a live staple as the band weaves through philosophical and melancholic themes and deliver eloquent lyrics for the listener to think upon. The Verdict shows Queensrÿche has fully left their brutal past behind and has again established themselves as a can’t miss heavy metal act. The comeback is complete and QR takes its place at the #16 position.
In his review, scribe Ryan Owenson says, “ So, yes, The Verdict is a continuation of Queensrÿche’s rebirth, the effort full of the riffs and leads that made Queensrÿche a force before Empire took the band in a commercial direction. Even on initial listens, tracks like ‘Man The Machine’, ‘Light-Years’, and ‘Launder The Conscience’ showcase a group that has hit a latter-day career peak. Add in the full, dynamic production, and The Verdict might be the best of the La Torre-era albums, and maybe the best since Operation: Mindcrime (though Promised Land, for all its let’s-try-to-fit-in-to-the-‘90s confusion, is still an underrated record).”
BravePicks 2019 Top 30
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16) QUEENSRŸCHE - The Verdict (Century Media)
17) SABATON - The Great War (Nuclear Blast)
18) WHITESNAKE - Flesh & Blood (Frontiers)
19) GATECREEPER - Deserted (Relapse)
20) GRAND MAGUS - Wolf God (Nuclear Blast)
21) DESTRUCTION - Born To Perish (Nuclear Blast)
22) TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION - High In The Saddle (eOne)
23) EXHUMED - Horror (Relapse)
24) DEATH ANGEL - Humanicide (Nuclear Blast)
25) BEAST IN BLACK - From Hell With Love (Nuclear Blast)
26) D-A-D - A Prayer For The Loud (AFM)
27) IDLE HANDS - Mana (Eisenwald)
28) HELL FIRE - Mania (Riding Easy)
29) SOILWORK - Verkligheten (Nuclear Blast)
30) MEMORIAM – Requiem For Mankind (Nuclear Blast)
