Where does the time go? 2023 seems like a blur as we continued to rebound from COVID, the music industry still struggling to get back on their feet. But metalheads have always been strong survivors and music ruled the day, with countless memorable albums and live shows happening more than ever! 

But lets celebrate! It is that time of the year 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 2023 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 2023? and Metal Predictions For 2024. All will be showcased come the New Year!

BravePicks 2023

20) BURNING WITCHES - The Dark Tower (Napalm)

 

One of the most intriguing names in the scene, Burning Witches break the glass with ear-shattering heavy metal on their fifth full-length The Dark Tower. The Swiss act delivers 15 tracks (including two scorching covers of Ozzy and W.A.S.P. tunes) of diverse, hard-hitting heavy metal with the ladies honing in on their songwriting skills with spellbinding hymns towing the line between trad and power metal.

Burning Witches’ stock continues to rise and The Dark Tower is raised to #20!

Drummer Lala Frischknecht spoke to BraveWords in May The Dark Tower – an excerpt below:

The new Burning Witches album, The Dark Tower - their fifth (!) in seven years, inspired by the legend of Elizabeth Bathory - isn't a record steeped in rocket science. If you like your metal old school heavy, dirty and mean your blackened heart will love it.

"We've had a great response," says Lala, "and we're so happy that people appreciate the effort we made on this album even though we didn't have much time to do it. The album turned out really well."

Something of an understatement given that The Witch Of The North was released in May 2021, and The Dark Tower came out two years less a couple weeks later.

"We're used to doing that (laughs). Since 2017 up to now we've released five albums. Romana (Kalkuhl / guitars) always makes me nervous because she has a lot of ideas and is always asking, 'What do you think about this?' in the rehearsal room (laughs). Last year, we actually had four songs ready for the new album before we did the Latin America tour with Destruction. We came back in the first week of October, and recording started in the first week of November. So, things went very quickly."

"This is just how we work. Burning Witches always works as a team, and we also have help from Schmier from Destruction. He's always here for us during the recordings; we work as a family. If we didn't have that help, I think it would be harder for Burning Witches. It's not easy having an all-female band because of all the critics and people putting us down, but I think this new album is something to be proud of because it gives us the strength and courage to keep moving forward. We're able to just continue doing what we love to do."

BravePicks 2023 Top 30

20) BURNING WITCHES - The Dark Tower (Naplalm)
21) AGELESS SUMMONING - Corrupting The Entempled Plane (Dark Descent)
22) DANKO JONES - Electric Sounds (Bad Taste)
23) DIRTY HONEY - Can't Find The Brakes (Dirt)
24) FROZEN SOUL - Glacial Domination (Century Media)
25) HELLRIPPER - Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags (Peaceville)
26) HITTEN - While Passion Lasts (High Roller)
27) ENFORCER - Nostalgia (Nuclear Blast)
28) GATEKEEPER - From Western Shores (Cruz del Sur)
29) PRONG - State Of Emergency (SPV / Steamhammer)
30) KK'S PRIEST - The Sinner Rides Again (Napalm)