BravePicks 2024 - INTRANCED's Muerte y Metal #15
December 16, 2024, 5 days ago
In 1994, BraveWords & Bloody Knuckles magazine was born and here we stand 30 years later celebrating the past 12 months of music on our anniversary! What an incredible ride it has been and it's far from over! And during the past three decades, we've literally seen/heard thousands of releases and this is the time of the season when we crown the finest! The BraveWords scribes have spoken, so join us each day this month as we count down to the BravePick of 2024!
Remember, everybody has an opinion and it’s time for ours! Stay tuned at the end of December for BraveWords' writers’ individual Top 20s (new studio albums ONLY), Top 5 Brave Embarrassments (a fan favorite!), What/Who Needs To Stop In 2024? and Metal Predictions For 2025.
BravePicks 2024
15) INTRANCED - Muerte y Metal (High Roller)
Intranced trae el fuego! The new band fronted by former White Wizzard/Holy Grail frontman James Paul-Luna provides a Spanish spice with Muerte y Metal. With two songs featuring Spanish lyrics, Intranced offers ‘70s groove with a modern approach. The result produces sweet, resourceful music that juggles tags of traditional heavy metal, hard rock, and classic metal.
They are unafraid to take chances like with the ‘70s bop of “I Dunno Nothin” as the way Intranced mixes things up keeps the album fresh and exciting. A band already making their stamp on the scene, Muerte y Metal takes #15.
Scribe Mark Gromen rated Muerte y Metal a 9.0, exclaiming the album was “destined to be one of the most exciting releases” of the year. An excerpt of his review:
Wisely, the songs are structured around Luna's smooth (some say Dio-esque) delivery. That said, there's also guitar ear candy within the grooves. Aggressive guitar leaps from the speakers as "Reyes De Las Tinieblas" kicks things off. Ability, for fans, to sing along has always been a hallmark of the scene and the likes of "Switchblade Serenade" hit the mark. Sort of an early MSG vibe, to the guitar, on the otherwise locomotive chug of upbeat "Fantasy".
A throwaway title like "I Dunno Nothin'" belies an airy ‘70s bop with "hoo hoo" vocal accents and a bit of falsetto. Following the title track, which offers both English and Spanish lyrics (alternating every line), the aforementioned "Entra" serves as a palette cleansing intermezzo. With a quick guitar shuffle, "Lady Lightning" is a soaring, fleet fingered romp that channels the best of Blackmore's Rainbow, before they became Americanized. "Pulse" is something of a non-ballad love song.
BravePicks 2024 Top 30
16) KITTIE - Fire (Sumerian)
17) BLACKTOP MOJO - Pollen (Cuhmon Music Group)
19) RIOT V - Mean Streets
20) PORTRAIT - The Host
21) ROTTING CHRIST - Pro Xristou (Season Of Mist)
22)SAXON - Hell, Fire And Damnation (Silver Lining)
23) ULCERATE - Cutting The Throat Of God (Debemur Morti Productions)
24) POWERWOLF - Wake Up The Wicked (Napalm)
25) ENSIFERUM - Winter Storm (Metal Blade)
26) OPETH - The Last Will And Testament (Reigning Phoenix Music)
27) DARK TRANQUILLITY - Endtime Signals (Century Media)
28) MORGUL BLADE - Heavy Metal Wraiths (No Remorse)
29) THE DEAD DAISIES - Light 'Em Up (Independent)
30) MÖRK GRYNING - Fasornas Tid (Season Of Mist)
