BravePicks 2021 - The Scribes Speak!
Carl Begai

Top 20 of 2021
1) ACCEPT - Too Mean To Die (Nuclear Blast)
2) EINHERJER - North Star (Napalm)
3) BLAZE BAYLEY - War Within Me (Blaze Bayley Recordings)
4) EXODUS - Persona Non Grata (Nuclear Blast)
5) FLOTSAM AND JETSAM - Blood In The Water (AFM)
6) CRADLE OF FILTH - Existence Is Futile (Nuclear Blast)
7) DANKO JONES - Power Trio (Bad Taste)
8) SUIDAKRA - Wolfbite (MDD Records)
9) HELLOWEEN - Helloween (Atomic Fire)
10) KK's PRIEST - Sermons Of The Sinner (eOne)
11) LEE AARON - Radio On! (Metalville)
12) DREAM THEATER - A View From The Top Of The World (InsideOut)
13) IRON MAIDEN - Senjutsu (Warner)
14) TODD LA TORRE - Rejoice In The Suffering (Rat Pak Records)
15) MANIMAL - Armageddon (AFM)
16) MOONSPELL - Hermitage (Napalm)
17) DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA - Swagger & Stroll Down The Rabbit Hole (Spinefarm)
18) BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE - s/t (Spinefarm)
19) POWERWOLF - Call Of The Wind (Napalm)
20) RICKY WARWICK - When Life Was Hard And Fast (Nuclear Blast)

Top 5 Brave Embarrassments

1) TIMO TOLKKI's AVALON - The Enigma Birth (Frontiers)
Of course it sounds like Stratovarius, and with good reason. It's a pity the guest vocal performances are completely lacking in energy and conviction.

2) FEAR FACTORY - Aggression Continuum (Nuclear Blast)
Dino would have been better off scrapping the album and using the material for a different band / project since Burton chose to jump ship. Same old same old same old....

3) BEAST IN BLACK - Dark Connection (Nuclear Blast)
Remove the 6,500 terabytes of keyboard "enhancements" and you'd have a solid power metal record.

4) YNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Parabellum (Mascot)
Why does this sound like it was recorded through a 5 foot thick wall of bubble-wrap? And that has nothing to do with Mr. Malmsteen's singing; just surprised he'd allow his ridiculously awesome guitar talents to be presented so poorly.

5) GREEN JELLY - Garbage Band Kids (Cleopatra)
A parody of a parody act. Not even fit for Toyah & Robert's Sunday Lunch.

Thoughts On 2021

Another shitshow of a year thanks to COVID-19 and its kin. There was some hope, however, with the slow and careful return of live music. Folks will continue to argue the point as to whether it was too much too soon, but the artists, promoters and respective crews who went that extra dozen miles to try and play by the rules while giving us, the fans, what we want and need should be commended. Here's hoping we're able to sort this out over the next year or so and get back to something resembling normal for our metal community.

As with every year, we mourned the loss of many metal greats including Marsha Zazula (Megaforce Records), Jeff LaBar (Cinderella), Mike Howe (Metal Church), LG Petrov (Entombed), Gerri Miller (former editor of Metal Edge), Joey Jordison (Slipknot) to name only a few, 2021 kicking off with the news that Children Of Bodom / Bodom After Midnight frontman Alexi Laiho had passed away on December 29, 2020. Terrible losses all around, but their contributions to the music allow them to live on forever. Gone but never forgotten, but it never gets any easier saying goodbye to my heroes.

What/Who Needs To Stop in 2022

I've said it before, I'll say it again: with the rise of technology and the advantages it provides when it comes to an artist promoting his / her / their music, attention to detail when it comes to promotion continues to go down the toilet. Whether you're a gazillion-selling internationally successful band or Johnny Ratfuck from St. Catharines, Ontario, take the time to write up a proper press release (Spellcheck is your friend), and offer up more than one photo for any possible press coverage. And not one taken inside the local Second Cup bathroom.

There is nothing more frustrating for press people who WANT to promote your music but have to wade through a mire of Grade 2 grammatical errors and depend on YouTube screenshots to make you look more interesting than you are. Someone on the BraveWords team might love your music; please love us back, just a little.

Metal Predictions For 2022

- Live Nation will find new ways to fumble the ball at the worst of times. And it's not like we could use compassion over greed for a change.

- On the flipside, our beloved band and artists will continue to provide us with livestreams and online interaction while this COVID crap continues to run its course and put the screws to live shows and full-on tours. The fans thank you for that from the bottom of our blackened hearts.
 

More Scribes Speak:
Mark Gromen
Aaron Small

Check out our BravePicks 2021 countdown where Flotsam And Jetsam took the top spot here.