BravePicks 2021 - ACCEPT's Too Mean To Die #6

December 25, 2021, 2 years ago

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BravePicks 2021 - ACCEPT's Too Mean To Die #6

As the world continues to battle a virus, we present the ultimate escape! It is time to celebrate our BravePicks 2021! Heavy metal is the ultimate diversion, so let's let the music do the talking. It is time to unveil our annual BravePicks countdown, where the devout scribes at BraveWords cast their votes at the hits and misses of the year! So who will be our #1? You’ll find out as we count down the BravePick Of 2021 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!), What/Who Needs To Stop In 2022? and Metal Predictions For 2022. All will be showcased come the New Year!

First up, the best of the best for 2021 begins NOW!

BravePicks 2021

6) ACCEPT – Too Mean To Die (Nuclear Blast)

Too Mean To Die indeed! German metal institution Accept has been on role since Mark Tornillo joined the group back in ’09. Filling the huge shoes left by Udo Dirkschneider, Tornillo has proved himself time and time again as the right man to handle the job. Elder statesman Wolf Hoffman has been the glue that holds everything together as the lineup has shuffled this past decade, but the one constant has been strong material with meaty riffs and hooks that only Accept has to offer. Too Mean To Die is no different, further cementing their status as a legendary metal machine with a huge metal heart. Too Mean To Die gallops to #6 on our list!

Scribe Mark Gromen penned in his review:

Perhaps the adoption of a guitar trio created the need for more aggression, requiring something of each string-bender in every song. Regardless of the impetus, "No One's Master" is another fleet fingered, flight of fancy, providing interplay amongst all the pickers. It talks about thinking for one's self and not kowtowing to outside influences: political, social, etc. Video cut "The Undertaker" is probably the most commercially accessible of the eleven options, but still a welcome addition.

"Sucks To Be You" is a phrase often uttered during my NJ upbringing. Guess Tornillo (an upstate resident) utilized it, as well. Simple, repetitive and infectious, can see this being an easy-to-mimic crowd favorite/sing-along, even for those who may not have mastered the English language (like many a Jersey knucklehead...I kid, I kid). During the break, Wolf adds a bit of his symphonic solo catalog (snippets of well-known Beethoven compositions) to "Symphony Of Pain". Another stormer!

"The Best Is Yet To Come" is the lone ballad. Some Celtic military beats/drumming starts "How Do We Sleep", another socially conscious look at the world, courtesy of the singer/lyricist. Musically, a decent, locked-in Accept anthem, complete with "whoa whoa" backing chorus. Energetic, albeit super-charged, Bon Scott-era AC/DC inspired blues rocker "Not My Problem" sounds good, a diversion, but its composers still readily apparent. Concluding with instrumental "Samson And Delilah", Hoffmann gets to strut his stuff (again), on a Middle Eastern flavored semi-classical piece.

BravePicks 2021 Top 30

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6) ACCEPT - Too Mean To Die (Nuclear Blast)
7) CARCASS - Torn Arteries (Nuclear Blast)
8) HELLOWEEN - Helloween (Nuclear Blast)
9) MASTODON - Hushed And Grim (Reprise)
10) BEWITCHER - Cursed Be Thy Kingdom (Century Media)
11) TRIBULATION - Where The Gloom Becomes Sound (Metal Blade)
12) SABER - Without Warning (Church Recordings)
13) EXODUS - Persona Non Grata (Nuclear Blast)
14) BAEST - Necro Sapiens (Century Media)
15 EINHERJER - North Star (Napalm)
16) BUCKCHERRY - Hellbound (Round Hill)
17) KHEMMIS - Deceiver (Nuclear Blast)
18) DEE SNIDER - Leave A Scar (Napalm)
19) BLACK LABEL SOCIETY - Doom Crew Inc. (eOne)
20) GOJIRA - Fortitude (Roadrunner)
21) BLAZE BAYLEY - War Within Me (Blaze Bayley Recordings)
22) KONQUEST - The Night Goes On (Iron Oxide)
23) IRON MAIDEN - Senjutsu (Parlophone)
24) CRADLE OF FILTH - Existence Of Futile (Nuclear Blast)
25) DANKO JONES - Power Trio (Bad Taste)
26) DARKTHRONE - Eternal Hails (Peaceville)
27) SMITH/KOTZEN – Smith/Kotzen (BMG)
28) TODD LA TORRE - Rejoice In The Suffering (Rat Pak)
29) KK’S PRIEST – Sermons Of The Sinner (EX1)
30) ASPHYX - Necroceros (Century Media)



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