BravePicks 2024 - The Scribes Speak!
Carl Begai

Top 20 Of 2024
1) JUDAS PRIEST - Invincible Shield (Columbia / Epic)
2) ROTTING CHRIST - Pro Xristou (Century Media)
3) NILE - The Underworld Awaits Us All (Napalm)
4) FLOTSAM AND JETSAM - I Am The Weapon (AFM)
5) ENSIFERUM - Winter Storm (Metal Blade)
6) KITTIE - Fire (Sumerian)
7) BODY COUNT - Merciless (Century Media)
8) SEBASTIAN BACH - Child Within The Man (Reigning Phoenix)
9) BRUCE DICKINSON - The Mandrake Project (BMG)
10) AMARANTHE - The Catalyst (Nuclear Blast)
11) EVERGREY - Theories Of Emptiness (Napalm)
12) POWERWOLF - Wake Up The Wicked (Napalm)
13) DARK TRANQUILLITY - Endtime Signals (Century Media)
14) CHARLOTTE WESSELS - The Obsession (Napalm)
15) THE END MACHINE - The Quantum Phase (Frontiers)
16) ANVIL - One And Only (AFM)
17) AD INFINITUM - The Abyss (Napalm)
18) IMPELLITTERI - War Machine (Frontiers)
19) DEVIN TOWNSEND - PowerNerd (InsideOut)
20) HONEYMOON SUITE - Alive (Warner)

Top 5 Concerts
ROTTING CHRIST - Hirsch - Nuremberg, Germany
KAMELOT / AD INFINITUM / BLACKBRIAR / FROZEN CROWN - Turbinenhalle - Oberhausen, Germany
IN FLAMES / ARCH ENEMY / SOILWORK - Schleyerhalle - Stuttgart, Germany
DREAM THEATER - Uber Eats Music Hall - Berlin, Germany
DANKO JONES - E-Werk - Erlangen, Germany

Top 3 Brave Embarrassments
EXIT EDEN - Femmes Fatales (Napalm Records)
It didn't work the first time, and the addition of original songs alongside the done-to-death covers isn't a saving grace. Decidedly meh-diocre.

LEAVES' EYES - Myths Of Fate (AFM Records)
If you're a fan the album will check all the boxes, but that's the crux of the matter. Leaves' Eyes has been a test case for just how badly drama and baggage can harm a band, and since firing founding vocalist Liv Kristine in 2016, the diehard fans that gave them a foundation have abandoned ship in droves. At this point its a miracle the music keeps them afloat at all. Change the name, step up your game.

LINKIN PARK - From Zero (Warner)
I'm all for Emily Armstrong's entry into the band - she puts in a solid performance - and From Zero would be a fine tribute to the memory of Chester Bennington if not for the soulless production. The band's trademark sound is intact, but the record is so damn polished that any hint of balls has been smoothed out of existence.

Thoughts On 2024
In late October, I went on a touring vacation through Germany, taking in several concerts (all killer) and meeting up with old music industry friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. During a stop in Essen, I met up with former Sodom guitarist Andy Brings, and we spent a solid four hours on a restaurant patio drinking peppermint tea and talking metal. 

A large portion of that conversation was focused on the majesty of Judas Priest's latest album, Invincible Shield. We were / are both of the mind that it is one of the best metal releases - if not the best - in ages (and it would seem my BraveWords brothers and sisters agree judging by our #1 Brave Pick).  

Invincible Shield is an album that grabs you and takes you on a whirlwind journey, never letting go, never stopping, and your only recourse once it’s over is to hit repeat. It is such an intense and fulfilling experience that it’s easy to forget the previous record, Firepower, was a solid outing. But, in actual fact, it pales in comparison.

Painkiller will forever be the Holy Grail, but if there is one album that left a lasting impression on me in 2024, it's Invincible Shield. Just like the classic Judas Priest albums of old, but on a much higher plane.

Who / What Needs To Stop In 2025
Grant me one wish and it would be to put an end certain ticketing companies. It has taken a while to catch on, but the obscene concert ticket prices that have plagued Canada and the US for the last few years have now migrated to Europe and beyond. The absolute bullshit of service charges on service charges, fees for using a specific ticket distributors, hidden Fuck The Little Guy costs put into play by the Suits & Ties sipping diet kombucha in their corner offices has to stop. 

Sadly, that's where politicians need to get involved and lay down new laws, and we know how that often goes when art and entertainment are in the spotlight. It's an old rant, but I will never understand how things got this far. Whether we choose to blame the ticketing agencies, the promoters, or the artists themselves, the music industry continues to screw itself over by hurting the fans. Don't blame the War Of The Week for rising costs; blame straight-up greed.

Metal Predictions For 2025
- Gene Simmons will make a point of talking about how much money he makes in every interview he does for the new solo phase of his career.
- Some folks will continue to push for a Skid Row reunion. Stop it.
- We will watch as the frightening influence of AI on music continues to grow, and that should scare the hell out of all of us.

Read our BravePicks 2024 countdown where Judas Priest's Invincible Shield conquered the throne at #1 here.

More Scribe Speaks:
Mark Gromen
Aaron Small