Author: fgt

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

16) KITTIE – Fire (Sumerian)

 

A reunion well-worth waiting for. After 13 years of silence, Kittie returned with a burning sensation in Fire. The time away did little to kill their popularity as the rise of streaming enabled them to procure new listeners and in 2024, the passion and energetic spark never left the Canadians. They refuse to live in nostalgia, creating a worthwhile album that stands as one of the best of 2024.

Kittie claws their way to #16 with Fire!

BW scribe Carl Begai caught up with the whole band earlier in 2024 for a feature story, an excerpt below:

BraveWords: Did you dust off any leftover music or ideas for Fire, or is it all brand new material?

Morgan: “We had nothing, but the label said it didn’t matter. The feedback we got was that we looked and sounded like a bad-ass metal band when we were up there playing live. We were 100% unprepared to be offered a record deal, so we had to get into gear and make things happen.”

BraveWords: With that in mind, after a 12 or 13 year break, what was it like getting back to songwriting? Was it an easy process, like falling off a bike, or did you have to find your footing again?

Mercedes: “Some of the first songs we wrote are on the album. It’s not like we had multiple versions of songs; it all happened very quickly. We started writing in January 2023 and finished in October, so it only took us 10 months. We recorded it with Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Danko Jones, Death Angel) in November / December, 2023, and tried really hard to keep things quiet because we wanted to build up speculation.”

Morgan: “The very first song that we did, ‘Eyes Wide Open’, ended up being the first single.”

Tara: “It was also different in that there’s no other Kittie album that was written this way. Every other album has been done with us standing in a room together, but we don’t have that luxury anymore since we live so far apart from each other. The first time we did get into the room together, it was one of those ‘Oh yes’ moments because it’s pretty crazy the way the four of us click. I found that super refreshing. We can play together without having to settle into it first.”

BravePicks 2024 Top 30

16) KITTIE – Fire (Sumerian)
17) BLACKTOP MOJO – Pollen (Cuhmon Music Group) 18) BLOOD RED THRONE – Nonagon (Soulseller)
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)

On December 14, The Kovenant – featuring Nagash, Steinar Sverd Johnsen, Sarah Jezebel Deva, Astennu and Hellhammer – reunited for the first of several scheduled reunion shows at the Eindhoven Metal Meeting 2024. Fan-filmed video from the comeback show can be viewed below.

Sarah has since shared the following message with the fans:

“Seriously, hands down, the most incredible experience ever. So humble, so grateful and so ready for what’s next. I think this morning, I’m on a major come down, as usual I wear my heart on my sleeve and will always say what I feel, and I have to say, not only do I love these guys so much, but the crew also. What a team. I met some old friends and met some new friends that I had only met online and worked with. It’s been a long time since I’ve cried laughing, and I cried a lot…. laughing.. think maybe a bit of wee came out too…. Thank you.”

The Kovenant originally formed as a symphonic black metal act known as Covenant in 1993, but in 1999 were forced to change their name to The Kovenant due to a dispute with a Swedish electronic band of the same name. The band’s name change also marked a change in sound/style, as the band from there on began to focus more on an aggrotech / industrial metal sound heavily influenced by Europe’s EBM scene. Despite their style change, The Kovenant did however later reissue their early albums under The Kovenant name.

The Kovenant’s live schedule is now as follows:

January / February
30-3 – 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise –  Ocho Rios, Jamaica

May
1-3 – Karmøygeddon Metal Festival – Kopervik. Norway

TALENT WE LOST

HEAVY BIRTHDAYS

HEAVY RELEASES

Happy 57th
THE WHO’s Sell Out – December 15, 1967

Happy 51st
STATUS QUO’s Piledriver – December 15, 1972

Happy 29th
SAVATAGE’s Ghost In The Ruins – A Tribute To Criss Oliva – December 15, 1995

Happy 15th
ORCHID’s Through The Devil’s Doorway – December 15th, 2009

Happy 7th
ASKING ALEXANDRIA’s Asking Alexandria – December 15th, 2017
AUTOPSY’s Puncturing The Grotesque – December 15th, 2017

FOR ALL ETERNITY’s The Will To Rebuild – December 15th, 2017

Jack Russell, of Great White fame, passed away on August 7, 2024, at age 63 due to complications from Lewy Body Dementia and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA).

Jack Russell’s longtime friends, iconic guitarist Lita Ford, Joey Allen (Warrant), and Jerry Dixon (Warrant), will perform with Jack’s band, the Great White songs he made famous at the upcoming “Celebrating The Life And Music Of Jack Russell” event, scheduled for Tuesday, January 14 at the world-famous Whisky A Go-Go in W. Hollywood, CA.

Don Dokken, Nate Peck (Firehouse), Terry Ilous (XYZ / Great White), and Andrew Freeman (Great White) have now been added to the bill.

Comedian/actor Hal Sparks (Queer As Folk/ Dude Where’s My Car) joins the lineup to host the celebration of the life and music of Jack Russell. More friends and special guests to be announced in the coming weeks.

“Join us in honor of Jack Russell’s remarkable legacy; friends, family, and fans will come together for a special evening of music and memories at the Whisky-A-Go-Go. This All-Star tribute will celebrate Jack’s immense contributions to rock ‘n’ roll and showcase the vibrant spirit and humor that made him unforgettable.”

Venue:

The Whisky A Go-Go
8901 W. Sunset Blvd
W. Hollywood, CA 90069

Pre-Sale Tickets:

General – $35
VIP Package – $125
VIP Booths – $500 and up, Incls. $100 food/drink credit + more

Show Times:

Doors for VIP 6 PM/ Doors for GA 7 PM/ Show 8 PM

Buy tickets online, here.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to organizations supporting Lewy Body Dementia (www.lbda.org) and MSA (www.defeatmsa.org) research, keeping Jack’s memory alive through support for those affected by these conditions.

Former Pink Floyd bandmates Roger Waters and David Gilmour don’t agree on much these days, but Body Count frontman Ice-T says he got the pair to agree on something thanks to his band’s cover of Floyd’s classic 1979 track Comfortably Numb – and even got Gilmour to play on the track.

Speaking in the brand new end-of-year issue of Classic Rock, the rapper revealed that he approached the two warring ex-colleagues’ camps to get approval Body Count’s version, which features new lyrics from Ice addressing the current state of the world.

“With the new album [2024’s Merciless], I thought why don’t we just do it,” he tells Classic Rock. “My lyrics are saying we fucked up – if God is looking at us we ain’t looking good. We’ve got all this war and tension, and we just scroll through, change the channel. We’re comfortably numb until the pain comes to our front door.”

But changing the song’s lyrics meant the band needed to get permission from both Waters and Gilmour.

“I approached the publishing company, but they said that Floyd don’t clear samples or accept remakes,” explains Ice. “We were defeated. Then our manager got hold of David’s manager, who got it to David, and he loved it. But we had to talk to Roger Waters – and I didn’t know about the situation with Roger and David. We were fucked again. But Roger asked: “Who’s singing it?” “Ice-T.” “Approved!

“The next thing was that David asked to be on it – and be in the video! He gave us more than we could imagine, and it’s got a thumbs up from the listeners. To connect with a little band called Body Count says a lot about David Gilmour, more than the music. God bless him.”

Read the full interview with Ice-T in the new issue of Classic Rock, on sale now. Order it online and have it delivered straight to your door.

Renowned punk-rocker, CJ Wildheart, best known as a founding member of legendary band The Wildhearts, has released his new single, “The Baddest Girl In The World”, giving a raucous taste of his upcoming solo album, Slots.

Scheduled for release in March, Slots marks CJ’s sixth solo studio album and promises ten high-energy tracks, including a potent cover of The Jam’s classic. “In the City”.

CJ is true to his roots as the punk rock heart of The Wildhearts and delivers a dynamic performance in “The Baddest Girl In The World” with his signature blend of thunderous guitar grooves, relentless riffs, and unforgettable hooks. The album Slots follow’s 2023’s Split and demonstrates CJ’s relentless energy, hard work and commitment to the DIY punk ethos that has defined his career over decades.

“Slots is the album I thought I’d never finish. To say I’ve had an emotional year is an understatement. This album is me finding my mojo again and staying true to my punk n’ roll roots. I like this album a lot and can’t wait to play it live.”

The album tells the story of the gambles taken in life and has been produced with long-term collaborator and friend Dave Draper (Terrorvision, They Fell From The Sky), and with Jason Bowld (Bullet For My Valentine) on drums.

The official release date for Slots is March 28, with the album available for pre-order on CD and vinyl here. The digital version of Slots will be available on Bandcamp from December 20. All physical pre-orders of the album will also receive a free digital download.

“The Baddest Girl In The World” is available on all major streaming platforms now. Watch the video for the song below.

Slots tracklisting:

“Another Big Mistake”
“Beg”
“The Baddest Girl In The World”
“Coma”
“The Kids”
“In The City”
“Bent”
“You Got The Best Part Of Me”
“Slots”
“I Don’t Know What It Is”

“The Baddest Girl In The World” video:

CJ Wildheart will tour Japan in March 2025, with UK and European tour dates to be announced.

Spirits Burning is a music collective led by Don Falcone. The band celebrate space, prog, new music, and other genres, and have included input from family members of Blue Öyster Cult, Clearlight, Gong, Hawkwind, Van der Graaf Generator, and many other groups, as well as Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson and British science fiction and fantasy writer Michael Moorcock. Spirits Burning have released 20 albums, featuring almost 300 musicians.

In 2017, Spirits Burning performed live in England at Kozfest. The lineup: Hawkwind family members Richard Chadwick (drums, vocals), Bridget Wishart (vocals, EWI), and Steve Bemand (guitar, vocals), plus Don Falcone (keyboards, vocals), Kev Ellis (Kaoss Pad, vocals), Martin Plumley (guitar, vocals), and Colin Kafka (bass). This was a rare live show, as Spirits Burning have historically been a studio project. With musicians, located across the world from the US to Europe to Russia to Japan, live shows had never been considered, making this a monumental release for the band.

As Falcone explains, “Our first live album! It captures our journey through the Spirits Burning catalog. Launching with a three-song suite with Bridget on lead and EWI and her Chumley Warner Bros partner Martin Plumley on acoustic guitar – the rest of the band providing a weaving space rock landscape. Then two rockers with me on lead vocals, followed by two driving instrumentals that showcase our rhythm section of Richard, Colin and Steve, along with some fiery guitar solos by Steve. Next is a song with Kev on lead vocals, then our cover of ‘Images,’ a song that Bridget, Richard, and Steve performed with Hawkwind on an early Nineties tour. The set concludes with two vocal songs with Kev and Bridget sharing the mic. The album includes two bonus studio tracks, songs that we performed three nights earlier in Bath, and which we didn’t have time for at Kozfest. The full story of our gig and the year leading up to it is covered in a book I’ve written – ‘One Of The Spirits Burning (A Musical Memoir)’ – coming from Stairway Press in 2025.”

This release captures the band in a unique setting and covering tracks from throughout the bands career. A must have for all Spirits Burning and fans of prog rock.

Get your CD here.

Tracklisting:

“Spirit Suite”
“The Unknown”
“The Hawk”
“By Design”
“Snakebite Serum”
“Alien Injection”
“Images”
“Live Forever”
“Stand And Deliver”
“Second Degree Soul Sparks” (Studio Track)
“Crafted From Wood” (Studio Track)

To mark the release of the remixed, remastered and extended Queen 1 boxset, the band have released the fourth episode in their Queen The Greatest Special series.

A message states: “Queen’s reputation for music videos is legendary, but that journey had to begin somewhere, and in this episode we head back to 1973 and revisit the band’s first steps.  And in an exclusive interview, Roger Taylor and Brian May reveal that after a BBC TV show provided the inspiration, the introduction to life in front of the film cameras was far from an enjoyable and rewarding experience.”

Watch the first three Queen The Greatest Special episodes below:

Episode 1:

Episode 2:

Episode 3:

The 6CD + 1 LP Queen I box set (out now) contains 63 tracks with 43 brand new mixes, comprising the original album with its intended running order restored, intimate fly-on-the-wall audio of Queen in the studio, demos, rare live tracks, and previously unheard recordings from Queen’s first ever live performance in London, August 1970. Absent from the 1973 release, the song “Mad the Swine” has been reinstated to its original place in the running order. A 108-page book containing handwritten lyrics and memorabilia accompanies the release.

“This is not just a remaster,” writes Brian May in the CD sleeve insert notes, “this is a brand new 2024 rebuild of the entire Queen debut album, which, with the benefit of hindsight, we have re-titled QUEEN I.”

May continues, “All the performances are exactly as they originally appeared in 1973, but every instrument has been revisited to produce the ‘live’ ambient sounds we would have liked to use originally. The result is “Queen“ as it would have sounded with today’s knowledge and technology – a first.”

“Queen I is the debut album we always dreamed of bringing to you.”

Go to Queen’s official website for further details on the release.

To celebrate an incredible year which has seen David Gilmour’s new album. Luck And Strange, hit the #1 spot in 8 countries and top ten in a further 14, as well as multiple sold-out shows in Rome, London, Los Angeles and New York, Gilmour has today released a very special live version of the first single from Luck And Strange, “The Piper’s Call”.

The Piper’s Call Live Around The World is a digital only release and was recorded at The Brighton Centre, Circus Maximus in Rome, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York and edited together by Gilmour, Charlie Andrew and Matt Glasby to form one seamless track recorded throughout the Luck And Strange tour.

David Gilmour: “On the Luck and Strange tour, I played with the best band I’ve ever had. Their personalities, playing abilities and enthusiasm for my new music have made for a fabulous experience for Polly and me. Romany’s voice really stands out and has its own particular character, she brings a sense of mischief and fun to the live performance, which I think we needed. Thank you to everyone who attended the shows in Europe and America and thank you for buying ‘Luck and Strange’. I hope you found as much enjoyment in the music as we did while performing it.”

Luck And Strange was recorded over five months in Brighton and London and is Gilmour’s first album of new material in nine years. The record was produced by David and Charlie Andrew, best known for his work with alt-J and Marika Hackman. The album features nine tracks, including the singles “The Piper’s Call”, “Dark And Velvet Nights”, and a beautiful reworking of The Montgolfier Brothers’ 1999 song, “Between Two Points”, which features 22-year-old Romany Gilmour on vocals and harp; the lead-off track, “The Piper’s Call”, and the title track, which features the late Pink Floyd keyboard player Richard Wright, recorded in 2007 at a jam in a barn at David’s house. The album features artwork and photography by the renowned artist Anton Corbijn.

The Luck And Strange tour began with two sold-out warm-up shows at the Brighton Centre before moving to Circus Maximus in Rome for six sold-out nights, followed by the same about at London’s Royal Albert Hall before moving Stateside for sold-out evenings at the Intuit Dome and Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles before concluding with five sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Order the album here.

Luck And Strange tracklistings:

Vinyl: Black vinyl, gatefold sleeve and booklet with photography and design by Anton Corbijn

Side One:

“Black Cat”*
“Luck And Strange”
“The Piper’s Call”
“A Single Spark”
“Vita Brevis”*
“Between Two Points”** – with Romany Gilmour

Side Two:  

“Dark And Velvet Nights”
“Sings”
“Scattered”***  

CD: Album plus two bonus tracks. Digipak and booklet with photography and design by Anton Corbijn

“Black Cat”*
“Luck And Strange”
“The Piper’s Call”
“A Single Spark”
“Vita Brevis”*
“Between Two Points”** – with Romany Gilmour
“Dark And Velvet Nights”
“Sings”
“Scattered”***  

Bonus tracks:

“Yes, I Have Ghosts”
“Luck And Strange (original Barn Jam)”*

Blu-Ray – Audio Only: Album in Dolby Atmos and high-resolution stereo mixes plus four bonus tracks. Digipak and booklet with photography and design by Anton Corbijn

“Black Cat*
“Luck And Strange”
“The Piper’s Call “
“A Single Spark “
“Vita Brevis”*
“Between Two Points”** – with Romany Gilmour
“Dark And Velvet Nights”
“Sings “
“Scattered”***

Bonus tracks (In Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res stereo):

“Yes, I Have Ghosts”
“Luck And Strange (original Barn Jam)”*
“A Single Spark (Orchestral)”*
“Scattered (Orchestral)”*

Deluxe LP & CD boxsets will be announced in the coming weeks.

All songs Music: David Gilmour. Lyrics: Polly Samson.

Except:
*Music: David Gilmour.
**Music: Mark Tranmer. Lyrics by Roger Quigley.  
***Music: David Gilmour. Lyrics: David Gilmour, Charlie Gilmour and Polly Samson.

Produced by David Gilmour and Charlie Andrew
Engineered by Matt Glasbey, Charlie Andrew, David Gilmour and Damon Iddins
Mixed by David Gilmour, Charlie Andrew and Matt Glasbey
Additional engineering by Andy Jackson and Luie Stylianou

“Luck And Strange” video:

“Dark And Velvet Nights” music video:

“Between Two Points” lyric video:

“The Piper’s Call” music video:

Rival Sons’ live concert album, Pair Of Aces: Live From Santa Catalina Island (Part 2). is out today on both YouTube and all audio streaming platforms. It features the performance of their 2010 self-titled EP which was recorded by 9x Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb and led to the band first being signed. It includes fan-favorite tracks such as “Get What’s Coming,” “Torture,” “Radio,” “Sacred Tongue,” and “Soul.”

The YouTube premiere will be followed by a live Q&A/afterparty with frontman Jay Buchanan and guitarist Scott Holiday. Watch the live concert premiere, and join in on the afterparty below. Stream the album on your preferred listening platform here.

In June 2021, Rival Sons, delivered two live performances from Catalina Island, CA. They were originally streamed via Veeps to fans at home across the world, many of whom were still in lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both performances are available to stream visually and digitally for the first time. Pair Of Aces: Live From Santa Catalina Island (Part 1) features the full performance of their 2009 album Before The Fire was released in November. Watch the YouTube performance below, and/or stream the album digitally here.

Drummer Michael Miley states: “Night two of our trip to Catalina Island! We set up in the historic Avalon theater and it was like we were transported to another era. The theater has insane old school acoustics. You can hear someone whisper from 90 feet away like they’re directly in your ear; it was nostalgic. And dusting off the EP, especially during a pandemic, was a respite as well as a funky good time!”

Holiday elaborates on both releases: “In recognition of the 10-year anniversary of our first 2 albums, we played each album in its entirety over 2 different nights. One night in the ballroom (in the round!) performing Before the Fire, and the next night we played the self-titled record in the old movie theatre. It was every bit as cool and interesting as I’d hoped. A real honor and pleasure to fill this beautiful place with sound. The director did a great job capturing it for everyone to share in the experience with us and now it will be available to listen and watch anytime you’d like.”

A Pair Of Aces: Live From Santa Catalina Island (Part 1) tracklisting:

“Tell Me Something”
“Lucky Girl”
“Memphis Sun”
“Angel”
“Pocketful Of Stones”
“The Man Who Wasn’t There”
“Pleasant Return”
“On My Way”
“I Want More”
“Flames Of Lanka”
“Nanda Nandana”

A Pair Of Aces: Live From Santa Catalina Island (Part 2) tracklisting:

“Get What’s Coming”
“Torture”
“Radio”
“Sleepwalker”
“Soul”
“Sacred Tongue”

(Photo – Rick Horn)