Drum roll please! Of course, it had to be Obituary. Since 2014’s glorious Inked In Blood, the Floridian death metal legends have been non-stop delivering the finest of the genre. And nobody is aging. It’s incredible. So it’s no surprise that Dying Of Everything is our BravePick of the year. The album’s title no doubt a piss take at all the sh*t the world endured during COVID. When one of the greatest death metal bands on the planet has such lyrical fodder like the current state of the planet to work with, you know things will get ugly. And they did. So congrats Obituary for ruling in 2023!

But we aren't finished yet. Everybody has an opinion and it’s time for ours! And stay tuned over the coming days 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

1) OBITUARY - Dying Of Everything (Relapse)

 

The head of the BraveWords ship “Metal” Tim Henderson wrote that Dying Of Everything “sees the band perfecting the groove that they started to lay down with this current line-up on 2014’s Inked In Blood.” An excerpt of his review:

Album number 11, appropriately-titled Dying Of Everything, sees the band perfecting the groove that they started to lay down with this current line-up on 2014’s Inked In Blood. And there is no warning shot. Lead-off track “Barely Alive” will scare the living hell out of you, the Floridians wasting no time to set the tone in 2023 with a death-defying, thrashing twister.

A few years back Donald Tardy told me this story: “We knew when we wrote ‘Visions In My Head’, it was one of the catchiest songs we’ve ever written in our lives. If John's voice wouldn't have scared the world of commercial radio, I think we would've gotten a bite and commercial fans would've liked it.” And Obituary manage to take a stab at commerciality again with “The Wrong Time”. Don’t get me wrong, this is still vicious death metal, but with a groovy twist and chorus that keeps churning in your brain. The title track “Dying Of Everything” is maniacal and menacing as the greatest voice in death metal history delivers his lesson in verbal violence. John kills you as you die of everything.

BravePicks 2023 Top 30

1) OBITUARY - Dying Of Everything (Relapse)
2) IMMORTAL - War Against Hall (Nuclear Blast)
3) KATAKLYSM - Goliath (Nuclear Blast)
4) MARDUK - Memento Mori (Century Media)
5) OVERKILL - Scorched (Nuclear Blast)
6) THEOCRACY - Mosaic (Atomic Fire)
7) EXTREME - Six (earMUSIC)
8) NIGHT DEMON - Outsider (Century Media)
9) CANNIBAL CORPSE - Chaos Horrific (Metal Blade)
10) METAL CHURCH - Congregation Of Annihilation (Rat Pak)
11) HAUNT - Golden Arm (Iron Grip)
12) BLACK STONE CHERRY - Screamin' At The Sky (Mascot)
13) CENTURY - The Conquest Of Time (No Remorse / Electric Assault)
14) GRIDLINK - Coronet Jupiter (Willowtip)
15) KAMELOT - The Awakening (Napalm)
16) MUTOID MAN - Mutants (Sargent House)
17) SOCIAL DECLINE - Beyond The Gates (Autotunes)
18) ANTHEM - Crimson & Jet Black (Reaper Entertainment / Ward)
19) WARMEN - Here For None (Reaper Entertainment)
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)