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

25) TRIAL (SWE) - Feed The Fire (Metal Blade)

 

Thrash legends Overkill told us metal heads to Feel The Fire back in 1985. In 2022, traditional metal unit Trial (Swe) are keeping the flames burning with Feed The Fire, lighted by Metal Blade Records. Waiting 5 years to follow the disappointing Motherless, new singer Arthur W. Andersson adds pizazz with his air raid vocals combined with mature songwriting taking on a gothic heir to paint over the trad metal stylings. It’s melodic with swirling, blazing solo sections, but it’s the chorus work that takes Feed The Fire to higher plains. The Swedes take their songwriting to the next level with outstanding, memorable choruses that take their compositions to the next level.

Trial (Swe) once again establishes themselves as one of the best of the newer trad metal acts as Feed The Fire burns to #25.

Scribe Nick Balazs praised the album in his review:

At a crisp nine tracks running 46 minutes long, instrumental “Tria Prima” opens up Feed The Fire in a subdued, melancholic fashion with electrical guitars flashing a sad melody backed by a marching drum beat. It all explodes to magnetic “Sulphery” with blazing guitars and vocals. What carries Feed The Fire to the next level are the choruses and lead guitar work.
Guitar duo Alexander Ellström and Andreas Johnsson work great as a pair.  Sharp melodies and hypnotic guitar work beg for repeated listens along with catchy, memorable chorus work that blends beautifully with the energetic riffing and drumming. The songwriting and playing is inspired without a wasted note.

Trial, who added the (swe) tag in 2017 to differentiate themselves from other bands, meld different moods for a smooth running order. 9 minute closer “The Crystal Sea” rides on the back of a trance like guitar melody while “Snare Of The Fowler” (which features a guest appearance by At The Gates’ Tomas Lindberg) possesses a climatic solo that hits hard. It’s the best track on the album full of great ones. “The Faustus Hood” almost reads like a eulogy with mournful guitars. It’s like if My Dying Bride tried their hand at depressive trad metal. “Thrice Great Path” keeps the pedal to the metal with continued striking guitar work. It’s melodic, power, gothic metal at its finest. “In The Highest” is the most diabolical of the efforts and sounds like an up-beat Portrait / King Diamond song. Title track holds pulsating drumming and mysterious lyrical work.

BravePicks 2022 Top 30

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)