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

29) SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS - 4 (Gibson / BMG)

 

In 2022, Slash continued to make a statement as a valuable solo artist with the simply titled 4. Once again with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, 4 lets the music do the talking as the Guns N’ Roses guitarist and Alter Bridge singer created hard charging rock ‘n’ roll.

4 brings the grooves in spades as Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators takes the #29 spot on our countdown.

Myles Kennedy spoke to BraveWords’ Aaron Small in a feature  story – check out an excerpt below:

Normally when a band records an album, all the instruments and vocals are recorded separately, then the producer and engineer mix them together. But for the 4 album, all tracks – including guitar solos and vocals – were laid down live. “That is pretty much correct,” affirms Myles. “With a few moments, most of what you hear is while we were all in the room playing together. I thought, as a vocalist, I assumed they were going to capture the musical part, and then we would go on and do vocals later. It’s funny, there’s a song called ‘Actions Speak’, as I was singing that… or maybe it was ‘Call Off The Dogs’ – probably loads of them. I’m kind of a fidgeter. If they set the monitor situation where I can turn the knobs and set up my own mix, I’m notorious for spending quite a bit of time doing that. As we were tracking those songs, I was still setting up my volume, still setting up the mix, not knowing that what I was singing was going to actually end up being used for the record. It’s kind of funny cause I can hear little moments where – oh, I’m a little flat here, that’s probably when I was adjusting this knob. Little did I know Dave was going to use that tape. And I remember, we would finish tracking – cause I was behind the glass, I was in the vocal room so the music wouldn’t leak, all the drums and whatnot wouldn’t bleed into the vocal mic. Dave would be like, ‘I think we got a lot of the vocals on that take.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? Aren’t we going to recut these vocals?’ But yeah, we used ‘em.”

Their musical talent is undeniable, but did the guys on the other side of the glass - Slash, Todd, Brent, and Frank feel any more pressure than usual? If you’re just laying down a bass track and you hit a wrong note, it’s no big deal to start over. But when all four of them are recording together, everybody’s got to be bang on, or else the whole group starts over. “Yeah, that’s a good question. I’m sure they did probably feel a little bit of, as I like to call it, red light anxiety – meaning the red light of the record button. There would almost be something wrong with them if they didn’t feel that. But to some degree, that actually can benefit an artist sometimes, cause the adrenaline can elevate your performance. It’s really like finding that happy medium where you’re trying to harness the power of that adrenaline and utilize to where you don’t let it totally take control and derail you.”

BravePicks 2022 Top 30

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)