BravePicks 2021 - The Scribes Speak!
Sephora Henderson

Top 20 of 2021
1) FLOTSAM & JETSAM - Blood In The Water (AFM)
2) HYPOCRISY - Worship (Nuclear Blast) 
3) BAEST - Necro Sapiens (Century Media)
4) DARKTHRONE - Eternal Hails (Peaceville)
5) TAAKE - Avvik (Dark Essence)
6) EXODUS - Persona Non Grata (Nuclear Blast)
7) CANNIBAL CORPSE - Violence Unimagined (Metal Blade Records)
8) MORK - Katedralen (Peaceville)
9) MOONSPELL - Hermitage (Napalm)
10) IOTUNN - Access All Worlds (Metal Blade)
11) EINHERJER - North Star (Napalm)
12) ASPHYX - Necroceros (Century Media)
13) GOJIRA - Fortitude (Roadrunner)
14) WOLF KING - The Path Of Wrath (Prosthetic)
15) WARDRUNA - Kvitravn (Norse Music)
16) ACCEPT - Too Mean To Die (Nuclear Blast)
17) TODD LA TORRE - Rejoice In The Suffering (Rat Pak)
18) TRIBULATION - Where The Gloom Becomes Sound (Metal Blade)
19) HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY - Maere (AOP)
20) SOEN - Imperial (Silver Lining)

Top Brave Embarrassments

VOODOO CIRCLE – Locked & Loaded (AFM)
So, so mediocre. Cliche, meaningless lyrics. The second track “Wasting Time” was a warning I wish I heeded! 

CREYE – II (Frontiers)
My first impression was boy-band-meets country. No metal detected.

STEVEN WILSON – The Future Bites (Caroline International)
This sounded like an ad campaign for something I don't want to buy. 

LIMP BIZKIT – Still Sucks (Suretone)
Yes, it is. Yes, it does. 

Thoughts On 2021

There were so many losses this year - beloved artists, shows, revenues, opportunities - what a kick in the teeth 2021 turned out to be. So many bands still managed to release albums, though, as evidenced by the Top 20 BravePicks and every scribe's individual lists.  I'm really grateful once again to participate in this time-honoured tradition at BraveWords. There was a lot of seriously great music released this year. So much of it reflected the anger and anxiety of the world situation, and gave us a way to channel our energies and deal with it. 

What/Who Needs To Stop in 2022

Maybe this goes without saying, but the pandemic and the fear surrounding it needs to stop. Mixed messages and misinformation also need to stop. Stop making band swag in only really big sizes! Make a few on the smaller side, too. The latest Cannibal Corpse vinyl came in 4000 colours but t-shirts are mostly made in size-Corpsegrinder! 

Metal Predictions For 2022

Metal musicians reached out to us all year long during 2021, over the airwaves, giving us hope. If there's one thing I definitely feel, it is hope. I was blown away by the creativity and resilience of metal musicians this past year, and believe that fire will continue to be stoked well into 2022 and beyond. When restrictions are lifted and we can return to proper touring and concerts, all of that pent-up musical fury is just waiting to be released - and I will be right there with all of you to soak it up, horns high and ready to rock!   

More Scribes Speak:
Mark Gromen
Aaron Small
Carl Begai
Greg Pratt
Nick Balazs

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