Where does the time go? 2022 can be called the comeback year of all time, with virtually every band on the planet getting back on track post-COVID. So it was one helluva year for heavy metal as the releases started to pour in and the bands started to hit your town after nearly three years of madness. 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 2022 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 2022 begins NOW! And we begin with the six releases bubbling under our top 30. 

BravePicks 2022

20) KRISIUN - Mortem Solis (Century Media)

 

Krisiun stormed back in 2022 with brutally violent death metal with the mysteriously titled Mortem Solis. Latin for “Death Of The Sun”, only these Brazilian brutes could conjure up violent riffs and rhythms to darken the sky. A model of consistency throughout their 30+ year career, Mortem Solis carries a stronger sense of technicality and memorability than past efforts.

At a tight 44 minutes, the Brazilians throw forth their best effort as it completely slays its competition. Mortem Solis earns spot #20 on our list.Scribe Greg Pratt wrote about Mortem Solis in his review:

“Death metal is getting soft,” one of the Krisiun monsters grumbles in the press material accompanying their twelfth (!) album, Mortem Solis. So it's no surprise that opener “Sworn Enemies” is just barbaric Brazilian DM of the highest order, not that we'd ever expect anything less than that from this band. 

And if we're being honest, as the years have piled on, I don't so much think of individual Krisiun albums as being better or worse than the others, it's just, here's a new fucking Krisiun album, it's going to be savage, it's not going to have a horrible drum production sound like that one did like 10 albums back or whatever, and there's going to be absolutely nothing wrong with it. So, “Serpent Messiah” brings the head-spinning guitar work and caveman tom thumping; “Swords Into Flesh” is a perfect example of that swirling riff thing that only Krisiun does, and they do oh so well; “Necronomica” splits, shreds, destroys necks with its groove.

BravePicks 2022 Top 30

20) KRISIUN - Mortem Solis (Century Media)
21) RAZOR - Cycle Of Contempt (Relapse)
22) MEGADETH - The Sick, The Dying...And The Dead! (Universal Music Group)
23) TONY MARTIN - Thorns (Dark Star)
24) UGLY KID JOE - Rad Wings Of Destiny (Metalville / UKJ)
25) TRIAL (SWE) - Feed The Fire (Metal Blade)
26) SABATON - The War To End All Wars (Nuclear Blast)
27) SCORPIONS - Rock Believer (Vertigo)
28) CORPSEGRINDER - Corpsegrinder (Perseverance)
29) SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS - 4 (Gibson / BMG)
30) NORDJEVEL - Gnavhòl (Indie)
31) WITCHERY – Nightside (Century Media)
32) ABBATH - Dread Reaver (Season of Mist)
33) AMON AMARTH - The Great Heathen Army (Metal Blade)
34) RECKLESS LOVE – Turbo Rider (AFM) 
35) GOATWHORE – Angels Hung From The Arches Of Heaven (Metal Blade)
36) CAVE IN – Heavy Pendulum (Relapse)