BravePicks 2011: The 12 Days Of Metal - #4
December 29, 2011, 12 years ago
Yes, it's finally here! BravePicks 2011. Why so late? Cuz we're cutting to the chase. Normally we countdown throughout December, but this year we've filtered out the mediocre to give all the BraveWords.com faithful the cream of the crop - releases you may actually want to play more than once! So 'tis the season for BravePicks 2011 - The 12 Days Of Metal. We will be counting down until New Year's some of the finest slabs of metal this past year had to offer, voted by the devout scribes here at BraveWords.com! What does "slab" actually mean? We're talking studio albums. No compilations, rerecordings, live albums etc… Just pure metal, all killer no filler!
So let's rock … we've hit the Top Ten!
4) OPETH – Heritage (Roadrunner)
Swedish prog-metal monsters OPETH's new album, Heritage, was released in September and even hit the US Top 20, but it wasn't without a without a wee bit of controversy as some of the band's patented extreme gurgling vocals may be a thing of the past in exchange for more psychedelic meanderings. But Opeth are still geniuses in our book and we will always have faith in them.
Way back in June leader/visionary Mikael Åkerfeldt tried to describe the album to BraveWords.com: "It's all over the place and a fun listen," he overviewed. "It's really challenging and I don't think it's boring. It's very complex with a beautiful mix and a beautiful master. It was mixed by Steven Wilson (PORCUPINE TREE) and myself and mastered by a guy by the name of Peter MEW at Abbey Road Studios in London who has engineered many, many obscure records that I've collected over the years. It was recorded at an old, vintage studio in Stockholm called Atlantis studios, which used to be a record label called Metronome. It's where ABBA did all their albums pretty much. So back to these songs, I don't know how to explain what they sound like. They are all over the place. And one song is not representative of the whole album."
BraveWords.com's Mark Gromen was lukewarm about Heritage. "Åkerfeldt has shelved his gruff/aggressive range for the eight proper songs on Heritage. Snap, crackle, pop… not the sounds of vintage vinyl, on which this probably should have been recorded, but the noises associated with many a “fan’s” record collection, as they toss CDs across the room after hearing their latest purchase. However, this is a disc we should all own, if for nothing more than to play for naysayers who belittle metal musicians as untalented and incapable of anything other than three chord noise and screams."
Read the entire review here.
"Metal" Tim Henderson caught up with Åkerfeldt and guitarist Fredrik Åkesson in the sweltering heat at Heavy T.O. in July. The chat can be viewed below:
12) VALLENFYRE – A Fragile King (Century Media)
11) MEGADETH – Th1rt3en (Roadrunner)
10) MELIAH RAGE - Dead To The World (Metal On Metal)
9) WORLD UNDER BLOOD – Tactical (Nuclear Blast)
8) DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT - Deconstruction (InsideOut)
7) ICED EARTH - Dystopia (Century Media)
6) DEMONAZ - March Of The Norse (Nuclear Blast)
5) EXHUMED - All Guts, No Glory (Relapse)
4) OPETH – Heritage (Roadrunner)
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