Tis the season of giving and 2013 was certainly the year the hard and heavy metal scene gave back! There was an exhausting parade of new releases and tours to boot! Be careful what you wish cuz you just might get it, and this year it came at us from all angles. And these days it seems that the output is tenfold, as bands of all shapes and sizes can easily Protools or GarageBand it-up in their bedroom and release to the masses in numerous forms, mostly digital. But is it quality stuff? Here come the BraveWords scribes to the rescue, who tear their way through the glut and the grit and come up the finest slabs of music the year had to offer. Just one rule: studio recordings only. No compilations, covers, live albums etc…

So after days of compiling, we bring you BravePicks 2013: The 12 Days Of Metal, our nice n' tidy summary of the year that was. Of course we will start with the countdown until New Year's and then the scribes step up with their always popular Brave Embarrassments, Concerts, Thoughts On 2013, Predictions For 2014 and What / Who Needs To Stop In 2014!

So jump in, strap in and grab a cold one!!!

2013 … The 12 Days Of Metal

11) MEGADETH – Super Collider (Tradecraft/Universal)

Not gonna lie to you here; the latest slab from Mega-Dave and Co. had its share of controversy, be still garnered enough positive vibes and votes to make it onto our treasured list! And there's something truly addictive about the album, despite the fact that there is nary a thrash element to be heard. One listen to the title track will either make you cringe with anger or rise up a celebrate the harmonies, especially the chorus.

"If I kept doing the same record over and over, I would never feel fulfilled," leader Dave Mustaine told BraveWords recently. "You got to think about it… Like a dog eats the same thing every day, unless he gets a hold of the trash. You know why they get excited about that … no more kibble! It's just like me, I would feel very unfulfilled if I didn't try to do something and merging metal with melody has been really hard. Because again, you have the metal purists, and all they want to hear is real whiny screaming vocals, growling shit and no singing anymore. Some of the people that we most respect in our genre are the people that sing. Like Bruce (Dickinson; IRON MAIDEN) sings, James (Hetfield; METALLICA) sings, I sing. And Rob sings in (JUDAS) PRIEST. And we kind of lost the sight in it. I really admire Phil Anselmo (PANTERA, DOWN); I know he's really had his struggles, but I've always been a fan of him, even when we had our disagreements, but I respected what they did. I always told him that one of my favourite songs was 'Cemetery Gates', and he hates that song, because he sings in it. I said, 'Phil, you got a great voice' and I remember one time as a gift at the end of a tour they played it for me and I was so thrilled. I'm still a big Pantera fan. I think we're in phase with metal music right now and it's coming back to singing. A lot of the new bands … I can't name a bunch of them, but my son is always playing new bands for me. And one time he came up to me and said, 'you got to check this new band called HAVOK, they are like a young Megadeth.' I said 'really, you think so?' When you hear somebody else say that something sounds like you it's kind of like when someone says this guy looks like you and you look at the photo, and you say 'you must be blind!'"

Read more from BraveWords' chat with Dave Mustaine here.

2013 … The 12 Days Of Metal

12) ANVIL - Hope In Hell (The End)

11) MEGADETH – Super Collider (Tradecraft/Universal)

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