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

23) DIRTY HONEY - Can't Find The Brakes (Dirt)

 

Keeping the pedal to the metal is the name of the game for Dirty Honey as the prove why they are one the hottest names and rising acts in hard. Second full-length Can't Find The Brakes takes the Los Angeles band to a new level with smoky grooves and silky swagger. Dirty Honey once again proves that rock is not dead.

Can't Find The Brakes speeds its way to #23.

BraveWords caught up with vocalist Marc LaBelle and guitarist John Notto in a feature interview – an excerpt below:

BraveWords: Let’s get into some of the songs that comprise Can’t Find The Brakes. “Get A Little High” has a Black Crowes flair to it. In fact, the influence of the Robinson brothers can be heard throughout the new Dirty Honey album. Would you agree with that?

Marc: “I mean, it’s groovy. It kind of harkens to like when The Black Crowes toured with Jimmy Page – if they ever did an original tune together. That’s kind of where it comes from, to me. Kind of a Zep riff, with some Black Crowes melodies stuck in there. Soulful melodies, you know. They’re definitely one of our influences; John and I both love The Black Crowes. And anytime you throw some chicks on some choruses, you’re going to get sort of that Joe Cocker, gospel background. So yeah, that’s definitely an influence for sure. There’s a ton of influences that I can hear and pick out, but hopefully at the end of the day, it all just sounds like Dirty Honey. And like us creatively spreading our wings a little more.”

BraveWords: Dirty Honey’s sound has certainly widened, compared to the EP from 2019 and the debut album from 2021. For example, “Roam” is a time-stopper! What an incredible song.

Marc: “I have to give both of us credit on that one, cause I kind of wrote this acoustic song called ‘Roam’. John really took the reins on turning it into a band arrangement, in Berlin I think it was. He had an idea to try at soundcheck, and we were fortunate enough that the sound guy that night was able to record it. We listened back and it was pretty f*cking good!”

John: “It’s funny how that song just started with an idea of having the bass, drums, and guitar be reverbed, and have like a flatbed. Then I just started thinking of all these… the guitar line that happens in the beginning. I somehow knew how to adorn the song. It just kind of happened, which is cool. It’s a fun thing to do to someone else’s composition.”

Marc: “That song’s been kicking around for a while. When we went to Detroit to record a version of ‘Heartbreaker’, the producer out there really took a liking to the acoustic – that’s the only thing that existed at that time was the acoustic version of the song. He said, ‘That song “Roam” is really good!’ He kept going on about it. And we hadn’t really explored it.”

John: “We hadn’t paid no mind to it. It was sort of like Cinderella – oh, her.”

Marc: “He’d be like, ‘Oh, I like that acoustic one you got.’ We had a couple of others and John was like, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ But it’s a good one. There’s a couple that start like that. ‘Get A Little High’, for instance, was just an acoustic thing. Then it turned into a band arrangement.”

John: “The other one that I got to adorn was ‘Coming Home’. Justin came by my house one day and he had all these riff ideas. I could tell he wasn’t that inspired by them. He was just kind of throwing them out there. In the midst was this acoustic demo. I was thinking Little Martha, Allman Brothers. I put a slide track on it and I think it re-jazzed him about it.”

BravePicks 2023 Top 30

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)