So people do read my reviews after all! Thanks for the kind words dude! I'm glad the review did what it was intended to do and put them on people's radar. So glad in fact, I might just change my username to Feast OF the Damned from the current one

Pffft, oops! I've been reading that wrong in my head for god knows how long My bad, but yeah, you're super welcome!

Yeah, I read lots of reviews here, sometimes with the album on in the background. I do wish there was a thumbs up system on reviews to give writers a better sense of engagement, but that would probably be a ton of work.

Gotta say, that Savaged album really is up my alley...it's also likely up Iron Demon's, so on top of a potential review, I'll also steer our heroic guitar comrade towards it in hopes of spurring another of his deadly covers. Again, I'm thrilled and amazed a fellow Night Demon maniac does such a "killer" job of covering their songs...(He does so by ear, which is the way to go, however challenging.)

In fact, I'm so inspired that last night I tried to start a Supreme Jerk (i.e. toughest difficulty) playthrough of Wasteland 3 - a highly suggested turn based debacle in post apocalyptic Colorado - while naming my two main characters Iron Demon and...Night Maiden. Unfortunately, I didn't even make it past the prologue, so maybe Ill go back and do the same for a reasonable and less brutal Ranger playthrough...Guitar wise though, said inspiration helped me figure out the first few notes to Night Demon's "Heavy Metal Heat", a glorious anthem for the downtrodden everywhere.

(In other news, our wizardly Dark Drow intimidator and paragonic Bard persuader are finally on the verge of defeating that ole Giant Brain in Baldurland.)

I am also about to take on the final boss, lawful good human paladin. I rolled that because I was making a paladin for irl dnd, not anticipating it would be the most overused build by players. Going evil drow ranger next time

in other news, huge armored saint drop from autothrall today, wonder where he will strike next

Gods, that good stuff! (See what I did there?)...My friend and I today totally cheesed the end by getting an invisible Shadowheart to scoot up the steps - misty stepping and wind dashing with fly - to trigger the cut scene (thus eliminating enemies below, which itself saved us about an hour of gruelling battle); it was a fluke really, as I'd forgotten to re-link her with my Dark Urge, thus giving the opportunity to sneak her in. Long story short, it went much smoother than expected and now we're looking to play a tactical (evil) playthrough...Best of luck, I hope it all goes swimmingly!

Do we have a thread for linking cool covers? I don't want to keep posting them here but it's hard not to when they're so good. Get a load of these high school kids perfectly nailing "Tornado Of Souls", with a charismatic girl singer to boot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKX6-dMuDI0

With, of course, an appropriate (mind blown) reaction video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be6r6kmdo8I

Ho, ho, ho, look what autothrall's cooking up!

SPOILER: JP's Bouclier Invincible rules!!!

Hey, yet another person here dissing mid-era Sepultura like it was some St. Anger-level disaster; we sure needed some more of that: https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... all/216687

Loved the danielG review of Exodus's Fabulous Disaster, a release unfairly maligned for one too many jokes (mostly). Might retool my old deleted review of that, hopefully after 8 years my thoughts will come out less clunky and amateurish

finally submitted my first review in 2 months, and its elvenefris, man that album is weird af, but so enjoyable

New Scanner - The Cosmic Race review incoming. I was suprised on how good the album was despite its minor flaws. Literally, every chorus and vocal melody will stay in your head. Also The Earth Song is an S tier Scanner and power metal song in my opinion!!

https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/ ... tan/410165

But why 96%?

It’s one of 15 death metal album that deserve 100..

Whoopee! Evil Biff nails JP's latest effervesccent essence - good thing too as I don't feel up to competing with my fellows' lengthy spiels, which leaves me time to focus on a pair of heavy hitting doozies, one hailed from the window of my rusty time machine, the other cruising on warm, high altitude winds of modern day coolness.

I'm glad to see you enjoyed the album and that original guitar player Axel Julius carries on Scanner. You're not the first to like that album a lot that I've seen, it might just be my problem that I didn't get into it yet. It might only be a matter of time, though...

I'm kinda confused about the recent flood of reviews on the early DragonForce stuff. JhinPerfection one-two combo on them makes me scratch my head especially hard. First two paragraphs on Inhuman Rampage are spent saying how other reviewers not liking it are biased and echoing the age old sentiment of "if you don't like it then shut up!" Then somehow, he manages to talk about innovations without explaining what his comparison is and what are the actual innovations.

Had I not heard that album before I'd have no idea how it actually sounds, but at least I'd memorize every song title with how it fills out half of his paragraphs. I know we all started somewhere, and God knows my early reviews were equally if not more amateurish, but I think these could have spent a little more time in the oven before being submitted. Now they just sound like he isn’t particularly well read in power metal. Also, kinda curious about that Valley of the Damned album he supposedly wrote and keeps referencing, though I think I know what happened with it.

Have donated a few of my MA reviews to a zine and they're asking me if I can review something new/recent. It's been over 10 years since I last did a on-demand/request review so would love some pointers on reviewing in a short period of time. I get to pick the new release myself but will need to have it done in 2/3 weeks, usually with MA reviews I take as long as I feel.

Probably play the album (or at least a few songs) every day. If nothing else, you'll work out quite fast whether you like it or not.

Expanding on this, I'd also suggest giving a quick spin to other bands you know/think are similar or in the same genre as the one you're reviewing, so you can build up comparisons or contrasts to nail down their style.

Might I add, I think it's perfectly natural that the reviews you write with a deadline will end up feeling a bit more 'rushed' than the others. Good luck avoiding the ever-present "[band X] is a [genre Y] band from [country Z] and [album A] is their n-th album"-type of opening paragraph everyone and their dog is guilty of, every once in a while


Rejected indeed, along with Ultra Beatdown, for inexplicably weird formatting, no less. Although yeah, I was already dubious about accepting those two as well. Might take another look at those.

Thank you both. Funny enough I was hoping to get some advice specifically from you two so that worked very well.
It does seem sort of obvious on how to review etc but sometimes just hearing/reading another person's perspective can help.
I'll probably post the review on MA anway too, it'll be obviously have my name attached to avoid any plagarism concerns.

Uh, lol. Worked like a charm, I'd say.

I'm digging your Ostrogoth review, nightbreaker, and am going to duly check 'em out!

You won't be disappointed. Feelings of Fury is the best pure metal album! There is not even one weak song on it. Also the vocals are killer!

Looking forward to it, as it's cued for perusal sometime today;

...Oh, wait a minute here; according to Vlad's pleasantly surprising The Obsessed review, he actually interviewed Bobby L.? I want to hear all about it!

Same here, give us the link Vlad!!

Gotta shout out danielG once more, who gave World Painted Blood a very reasonable grade, though perhaps I would have been slightly fairer to it because I love a comeback. To me, it's a good album with great moments (and a few meh ones) rather than merely a good album with shitty moments.

Sorry to double post.
This was a thought from a month ago, but I was really digging Morbert's grind reviews. She has gone very in depth with Agathocles and other bands, and then I realized most of them are from like 2007!? She gets very technical, which is different than a lot of her contemporaries who kept it short and sweet. She recently refurbished a few of her reviews (with a few new ones) as I was doing my short grind series and just wanted to shout her out, great reviewer.

Thanks!
I've done a few new ones recently and I am revising some old ones indeed!
You can expect some more Agathocles reviews in the future anyway. I am also busy adding and correcting some flawed data on this site here and there.

Thumbman's Neurosis reviews are on point and really well written. He goes deep and really analyzes them - good to see that stuff.

Demon Fang's recent run of Trivium reviews have been great reads. Neither too critical or praiseworthy, focusing on the music and where/why it hits home or falls short. I definitely get a sense of how the band evolved throughout their career as well.

Cheers man! It's what I love doing about these retrospectives, especially for bands I was into back when I was getting into metal.

I feel honored to have read the very first review on one of my reviews (which is pending again from an edit because of a typo I didn't notice), and from our beloved Orbitball at that! His new Aborted write up is great fun to read in the sense that he spends half of it outraged that I didn't like the record. Other half is him describing what's (supposedly) on it that I didn't hear in a semi-descriptive way. Dictionary example of a counter review and I honestly don't see the reason to be THIS rude about taste differences:

Do better dude...

You're absolutely right about it, it shouldn't have got past the queue. Sending it back to the writer. Here's hoping he won't send me a bullet in my mailbox this time, or whatever else.

The review he wrote for the new Midnight album telling Athenar how to run his own band cracked me up. It’s been going for nearly two decades now, I think the guy knows what he’s doing and the guys he recruits for it no doubt understand the assignment.

Hey twist! I'm glad to catch you here as I believe Nausika's greatly revealing Hebi Katana review demands some accompanied stewardship - as in, the Tokyo dynamo's super nasal and groovy as Hell III album rules, and is right up our collective alley...(hint, hint!)

I’ll have to see about getting a listen in. I’ve been on a reviewing break so far this year and it’s been nice to get more low pressure listening in. I might see about catching up on some stuff but so far the new Bruce has been the only thing I’ve been obsessed with enough to give it the treatment.

Even if we assume some ESL leniency (and getting on in years if her profile age is correct) her reviews usually read like soon-to-be-purged relics from the aughts and that one is no exception. There's also those funny non-sequiturs like: "They've got a pretty big fan base being from Ohio."

Speaking of Midnight, I've some wonderful news! His alma mater Boulder's third and best release, Reaped In Half, is now finally fully streamable, tube side. Killer guitar album for dedicated guitar fiends!
Oh, and I dug this Live Wire feature where Athenar discusses his coming of age, bass wise...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIm9pS0RKNs

Well, it's back to practicing Tank's amazing Turn Your Head Around, as I reached an awesome breakthrough this morning; upon watching its old and grainy video, I realize now the wild intro lick is best played in the middle of the neck instead of high up near the nut, as denoted at Songsterr, where it's impossible to pull the last part of said lick. It really is an exercise in rhythm though, as so far I can barely play it at half speed...(It's also the only Tank track tabbed there; for that, I'm ever grateful!)

That review is fucking terrible. Plays out like a series of one line statements, no flow to it and just horrible to read.
And it finishes with this headscratcher "I'm not sure, but I do know that he's an outstanding musician though maybe difficult to work with."
I'm not sure, but I do know...fuckin el.
Maybe difficult to work with...wtf?
As for the album, if I was in denial with the previous album, then I'm not now, Athenars clearly run outta ideas. I don't think Midnight are capable of releasing a bad album but they're now releasing nonessential albums.

That describes most Orbitball reviews. Check out the Overkill - The Grinding Wheel one.

Great writing by Nattskog7 on Attic's new album, I listened to it today as well. Awesome Teutonic, ritualistic heavy metal with a truly King Diamond-summoning falsetto.

Sanctimonious was my album of the year and I didn't even know this was coming out? Shit on me from a great height, I'm stupid!

Oh wow. That review really is something else.