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!

2011 … The 12 Days Of Metal

7) ICED EARTH - Dystopia (Century Media)

It's been a helluva year for ICED EARTH mainman Jon Schaffer; dealing with the retirement of vocalist Matt Barlow, finding his replacement in none other than INTO ETERNITY vocalist Stu Block, delivering the band's highest charting album ever, Dystopia and steering them around the planet on one massive world tour that's expected to go well into 2012.

“I felt a lot of chemistry between us, we knocked out a couple of great original pieces of music in no time” said Schaffer about the initial meetings with Block. “He’s very good at coming up with catchy melodies, and will help with lyrical duties as well. There’s no doubt Stu has an amazing vocal range and a lot of energy, but he also has the touring experience, which is a big plus for our plans of performing in all corners of the world.”
“Stu is charismatic and understands the depth and varying emotions in Iced Earth’s music,” Schaffer adds. “So he will embody not only the emotion of our songs, but he will be able to perform them in a dynamic way. I believe fans are in for some incredible records and live shows in the coming years.”

Block concurs: “Iced Earth fans are wonderful, wonderful people,” he said. “The music is so passionate. So they’re passionate, and very loyal to the band. I am, too. I’m a huge fan of Iced Earth myself. So I share that same passion, and I will show it on stage. I think the fans are really going to dig it.”

"I can read people pretty well and certainly recognize talent, when it’s there," Schaffer told BraveWords.com's Mark Gromen this fall about Block's presence. "The biggest thing was this guy has the spirit the band needs. He’s got the melody, the aggression, the passion. Attitude-wise, he was a lot like Matt was in the early days. Very similar attitude and work ethic. His background too. Matt was into acting and drama class in high school. Stu was into that as well, so he understands the story telling aspect, the dynamic of what Iced Earth is. He gets it. I felt there was a loyalty, a commitment, that kind of spirit. You can just feel it. Everything else, we can conquer together.”

Read the entire feature at BraveWords.com.

Check out Mark Gromen's review of Dystopia here.

BravePicks 2011 … The 12 Days Of Metal

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)

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