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Grave_Wyrm
Metal Sloth

Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:55 pm
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:12 am 
 

Great. That's awesome, man. Glad that worked out. Nice work getting approved, too.
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~Guest 193166
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:02 pm 
 

Does anyone have any advice/tips on how I could get this review towards describing the music better? I'm not the best at it, but I'm working on it. Review previously written for allmusician.

Judas Iscariot, previously the one man vocation for Andrew Harris, has surprisingly enough managed to attain success despite what they probably inspired most (next to the early material of Varg Vikernes)-- the one-man 'bedroom' style of black metal that is extremely easy to butcher given it is not executed correctly. This offering (being the debut of the band) has many great qualities and is by far the least dynamic release Harris has proffered. Besides, dynamics seldom matter to many listeners. Despite the bedroom chop-and-screw approach, Akhenaten's material still maintains a highly cherished degree of sustainability among the underground-- Akhenaten manages to wonderfully present a truly rarified form of precious, sometimes romantic black metal in its rawest, purest form.

Although Akhenaten would eventually abandon the peculiarly enrapturing style embraced on his debut, much of these latent qualities in his latter works still remain, albeit in a more roundabout manner characteristic of his later sound (e.g. Heaven in Flames).

From the start, the music on this album is rather mid-paced, dark and gloomy. Akhenaten best managed to pronounce is the atmosphere that is engraved into the production quality. It is the best (if most 'filthy' or 'unrefined' and downright raw) of his currently standing releases. Perhaps the album's greatest asset is its downright whimsical unpredictability, ultimately serving to enhance the overall improvisational mood and approach of the album. The album's wild tempo changes and wholly unexpected blast beat drumming paint a greater picture of what Akhenaten hopes to conjure.

It makes the album what is it. Coldness and aggression are themes that come to the mind to sufficiently describe this; the individual riffs thwart across the surface, endowing the atmosphere with a cold, yet melodic feel.

Some parts need correction, but rather than spur the perfection, I feel they add to the almost extemporaneous feeling and quality that tends to dominate this particular gem.

The track that stands out the most to me would by far be the title track. The ominously dull and slow intro never fails to achieve its most obvious purpose.

Just when the listener believes Akhenaten might be transmogrify the scape in favor of a more assertive and forward onslaught, the individual pacing derived primarily through the riffs and pronounced percussion/drums remains the same. The techniques employed here are extremely effective, never failing to achieve their macroscopic purpose.


Still not done, this is a very, very rough draft at this point. Thanks so much in advance.

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OzzyApu
Metal freak

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:07 pm 
 

^ What's the guitar tone sound like? Or the vocals, what kind of screams are they? How about the mixing? Can you elaborate on a certain song and its quality as a composition? I'm familiar with the album so I know, but I didn't see it coming out in your review. Also try to combine sentences that are related into a paragraph instead of having a couple sentences spaced out.
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Diamhea
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:43 pm 
 

Yes, and this goes to many prospective reviewers. Please structure your paragraphs better, as I am rejecting so many due to poor formatting. It isn't even what you would expect either (wall of text) - it is exactly the opposite. Far too many fleeting sections that should be condensed into fewer, larger paragraphs that maintain some sense of consistency and structure.
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Grave_Wyrm
Metal Sloth

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:58 pm 
 

ksevile, I'd only add a general stylistic note.

Your phrasing ends up blurring your meaning in places and occasionally overextends the sentences. Exercise economy of language without becoming so terse as to leave your paragraphs emaciated, stodgy, or plodding. You're already capable, so I won't give you "line readings." By all means exploit the breadth of your well-stocked vocabulary, but not at the expense of clarity. Reading drafts aloud can expose overwrought phrasing.
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~Guest 193166
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:36 pm 
 

Thanks so much everyone. I didn't have the intention of sending this review in anytime soon, but I'm working on it. I'm definitely going to listen to the album again and try my best to describe the music without rambling (something I am prone to do...).

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~Guest 278040
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 16, 2014 1:40 pm 
 

I've never written a super negative review before, if anyone could give me some feedback I'd really appreciate it.

Spoiler: show
It’s been called the collaboration no one asked for, as well as one of the worst albums of all time. Here on metal archives, it has the lowest ratings I’ve ever seen for an album. While I really don’t care at all for Lou Reed and I wasn’t expecting much from Metallica (especially after seeing an interview with Lars Ulrich saying how much of the material was done in one take), I wasn’t sure at all what to expect. After all, it really couldn’t be that bad could it?

To quote Cinema Snob Brad Jones in his review of the movie of Troll 2, “It’s the perfect bad example, name anything about the movie, anything, and it doesn’t just do it bad, it does it TRAGICALLY.” Lulu is the musical equivalent of a movie like Troll 2, except far worse. Everything present here is in fact an absolute tragedy. Whereas a terrible movie like can sometimes be a humorous train wreck, Lulu is an absolute abomination you wouldn’t recommend onto even your worst enemies. This is something I would send to the US government for use in KUBARK torture on political prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, but even that may be too harsh. I’m surprised the United Nations didn’t try to sweep down on everyone involved with this album and accuse them of crimes against humanity, it really is that bad.

I really don’t know where to begin on this atrocity. Remember all those sweet guitar solos and memorable leads we’ve seen Metallica deliver in the past, even in their worst moments? Well that’s all gone here. The guitar consists of an overly murky tone and that’s just the beginning. Boring riffs drone through repetitive and simplistic songs that are stretched so long you’d think they would break. The guitar playing itself as said, is very simple. The riffs themselves can be played by even an amateur guitarist and I’m being nice. While I don’t mind a straightforward approach, when you repeat the same thing over and over again without any buildup or anticipation, you’ve created something that made me want to smash my head in with the nearest blunt object. When we’re not given riffs that have been done better by nearly every single band ever, we get to hear some sweet shredding. And by “sweet shredding,” I mean absolutely painful fiddling with the higher strings in some poor imitation of the guitar playing we know Kirk Hammett is capable of.

The drums sound over produced and it sounds like Lars is trying to do a bad impression of a typical doom metal drummer. Never once are we thrown an interesting fill or… well anything really. To call it generic would be an understatement. The bass is so buried beneath the mix I had to turn my bass EQ up all the way just so I could confirm it was there. Once I did, I just turned it back down to avoid the boring and monotonous performance which simply follows along with the guitar. Lazy playing absolutely dominates this album; there is nothing exciting or interesting going on ever, and this whole album sounds like a bad warm-up, but good god that’s only the beginning.

If the music itself was the equivalent of someone repeatedly hitting you in the temple with a hammer, Lou Reed’s narration is the nails on the chalkboard. Do you like nonsense poetry? Well then, have fun because you’re getting a lot of that here. I mean Jesus Christ, if I wanted to listen to the ramblings of a senile old man with a mix of syphilis and schizophrenia while showing early signs of Alzheimer’s, I would just go under the nearest bridge and hang out with the homeless people there. Reed’s narration sounds off too, although I don’t think it could ever sound “on” to begin with. This is the absolute cherry on this catastrophe, because HE NEVER SHUTS UP. This really puts the listener in-between a rock and a hard place, because you really don’t want to hear the music, but once Reed starts up you know you’re utterly screwed. James Hetfield’s vocals are almost nonexistent, and when they are there, he tends to just repeat lines from the cesspool that is this album’s lyrics. Oh and he sounds out of tune at parts too, absolutely wonderful.

In such a mess of problems, one of the worst offenders is the sheer length of the songs. There was absolutely no reason this needed to be a double album. Don’t get me wrong, even if this was only around forty minutes it would still be a disaster but it wouldn’t be THIS bad. But no, instead we get over eighty minutes that turns what would be an amusing disaster into this monstrosity. And what the hell is up with the production? It ranges from nearly tolerable, to overproduced, to absolutely dreadful. Some of the calmer acoustic bits in particular are so quiet I could barely hear them (not that you’d want to) without turning the volume up, only to have it blast when everything else comes back. Volume seems to be a reoccurring problem throughout much of the album, as parts of it seem to be quieter than they should be, especially when Reed’s narration is absent, although that might just be the brain damage this album is giving me as it drags on.

I know I sound like a broken record droning on and on, but words truly cannot describe Lulu. I had to actually go to a thesaurus because I was running out of adjectives to describe the album. This is an album so terrible I wouldn’t even use the discs as Frisbees or coasters, for fear of insulting my fingers or drinks. I’m honestly surprised there isn’t some liberation movement dedicated to solely destroying every single copy of this album. No one deserves this, not even the worst kind of people.

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Grave_Wyrm
Metal Sloth

Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:55 pm
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 1:26 am 
 

ach.. Lulu. Why can't this mutation be left to rest in peace?

I only switched the order of one sentence, that being the very first one. Other than that, imagine a big red pen. This is pretty much a rant with some check-boxing musical description content. I can only stand reading reviews of this album marginally more than listening to the thing itself. It's your life, but I encourage you to spend as little time as possible thinking about this album, even in hate. You've stepped on shit before, right? It's not the kind of thing people opine at length over.

Teivel wrote:
I've never written a super negative review before, if anyone could give me some feedback I'd really appreciate it.

Spoiler: show
It’s been called the collaboration no one asked for, as well as one of the worst albums of all time. Here on metal archives, it has the lowest ratings I’ve ever seen for an album. While I really don’t care at all for Lou Reed and I wasn’t expecting much from Metallica (especially after seeing an interview with Lars Ulrich saying how much of the material was done in one take), I wasn’t sure at all what to expect. After all, it really couldn’t be that bad could it?

Lulu is the musical equivalent of a movie like Troll 2. To quote Cinema Snob Brad Jones in his review of the movie of Troll 2, “It’s the perfect bad example, name anything about the movie, anything, and it doesn’t just do it bad, it does it TRAGICALLY.” Everything present here is in fact an absolute tragedy.Whereas a terrible movie like can sometimes be a humorous train wreck, Lulu is an absolute abomination you wouldn’t recommend onto even your worst enemies. This is something I would send to the US government for use in KUBARK torture on political prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, but even that may be too harsh. I’m surprised the United Nations didn’t try to sweep down on everyone involved with this album and accuse them of crimes against humanity, it really is that bad.

I really don’t know where to begin on this atrocity. Remember all those sweet guitar solos and memorable leads we’ve seen Metallica deliver in the past, even in their worst moments? Well that’s all gone here. The guitar consists of an overly murky tone and that’s just the beginning. Boring riffs drone through repetitive and simplistic songs that are stretched so long you’d think they would break. The guitar playing itself as said, is very simple. The riffs themselves can be played by even an amateur guitarist and I’m being nice. While I don’t mind a straightforward approach, when you repeat the same thing over and over again without any buildup or anticipation, you’ve created something that made me want to smash my head in with the nearest blunt object. When we’re not given riffs that have been done better by nearly every single band ever, we get to hear some sweet shredding. And by “sweet shredding,” I mean absolutely painful fiddling with the higher strings in some poor imitation of the guitar playing we know Kirk Hammett is capable of.

The drums sound over produced and it sounds like Lars is trying to do a bad impression of a typical doom metal drummer. Never once are we thrown an interesting fill or… well anything really. To call it generic would be an understatement. The bass is so buried beneath the mix I had to turn my bass EQ up all the way just so I could confirm it was there. Once I did, I just turned it back down to avoid the boring and monotonous performance which simply follows along with the guitar. Lazy playing absolutely dominates this album; there is nothing exciting or interesting going on ever, and this whole album sounds like a bad warm-up, but good god that’s only the beginning.

If the music itself was the equivalent of someone repeatedly hitting you in the temple with a hammer, Lou Reed’s narration is the nails on the chalkboard. Do you like nonsense poetry? Well then, have fun because you’re getting a lot of that here. I mean Jesus Christ, if I wanted to listen to the ramblings of a senile old man with a mix of syphilis and schizophrenia while showing early signs of Alzheimer’s, I would just go under the nearest bridge and hang out with the homeless people there. Reed’s narration sounds off too, although I don’t think it could ever sound “on” to begin with. This is the absolute cherry on this catastrophe, because HE NEVER SHUTS UP. This really puts the listener in-between a rock and a hard place, because you really don’t want to hear the music, but once Reed starts up you know you’re utterly screwed. James Hetfield’s vocals are almost nonexistent, and when they are there, he tends to just repeat lines from the cesspool that is this album’s lyrics. Oh and he sounds out of tune at parts too, absolutely wonderful.

In such a mess of problems, one of the worst offenders is the sheer length of the songs. There was absolutely no reason this needed to be a double album. Don’t get me wrong, even if this was only around forty minutes it would still be a disaster but it wouldn’t be THIS bad. But no, instead we get over eighty minutes that turns what would be an amusing disaster into this monstrosity. And what the hell is up with the production? It ranges from nearly tolerable, to overproduced, to absolutely dreadful. Some of the calmer acoustic bits in particular are so quiet I could barely hear them (not that you’d want to) without turning the volume up, only to have it blast when everything else comes back. Volume seems to be a reoccurring problem throughout much of the album, as parts of it seem to be quieter than they should be, especially when Reed’s narration is absent, although that might just be the brain damage this album is giving me as it drags on.

I know I sound like a broken record droning on and on, but words truly cannot describe Lulu. I had to actually go to a thesaurus because I was running out of adjectives to describe the album. This is an album so terrible I wouldn’t even use the discs as Frisbees or coasters, for fear of insulting my fingers or drinks. I’m honestly surprised there isn’t some liberation movement dedicated to solely destroying every single copy of this album. No one deserves this not even the worst kind of people.
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Last edited by Grave_Wyrm on Thu Jun 19, 2014 1:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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~Guest 278040
Mallcore Kid

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 1:34 am 
 

Ah thank you. Was trying to avoid the whole ranting but obviously I didn't do too good of a job. And I think I'll stick with albums I like for now. This was just too painful.

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Grave_Wyrm
Metal Sloth

Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:55 pm
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 1:42 am 
 

Honestly, highly positive reviews can be just as redundant as excoriation if the review doesn't really add anything to the body of reviews. Try to develop the body of evidence on an album with your review, regardless of your opinion. It's not a bad thing to talk shit, just talk shit better, if you see what I mean.
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oneyoudontknow
Cum insantientibus furere necesse est.

Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 6:25 pm
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 8:48 am 
 

too short?

Spoiler: show
6:05 to cover … what to write. What to tell a reader about this young and new band from Chile? They offer two songs on this CDr, which is not much, when consider the possibilities. At least they do not attempt to bore the listener. The music is loaded with energy, actually well produced and has a nice touch as well as vibe. It is anything but original, but maybe it is not necessary to stretch this over excess. Speed and Thrash Metal, thrown some amount of punk into it and the direction is quite clear. Old-school stuff to be honest and filled with tons of cliché, but it does not matter that much, because those six minutes and five seconds are are quite enjoyable. They do not last that much and the band is unable to leave much of an impression, but there have been worse early outputs these days. Give them a try I would say.

http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Ha ... ana/416015
only 6:05 long that bloody thing.
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Zodijackyl
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Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:39 pm
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 12:01 pm 
 

oneyoudontknow wrote:
too short?

Spoiler: show
6:05 to cover … what to write. What to tell a reader about this young and new band from Chile? They offer two songs on this CDr, which is not much, when consider the possibilities. At least they do not attempt to bore the listener. The music is loaded with energy, actually well produced and has a nice touch as well as vibe. It is anything but original, but maybe it is not necessary to stretch this over excess. Speed and Thrash Metal, thrown some amount of punk into it and the direction is quite clear. Old-school stuff to be honest and filled with tons of cliché, but it does not matter that much, because those six minutes and five seconds are are quite enjoyable. They do not last that much and the band is unable to leave much of an impression, but there have been worse early outputs these days. Give them a try I would say.

http://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Ha ... ana/416015
only 6:05 long that bloody thing.


Looks good to me.

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BastardHead
Worse than Stalin

Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:53 pm
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Location: Oswego, Illinois
PostPosted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 12:05 pm 
 

I think Zodi is a liiiiiiittle lenient on short reviews :p

I think it could stand to have a little bit more, since I only have the vaguest idea of what it sounds like. I get that it's super short but nobody's asking for crazily in depth analysis, just a bit more substance than three sentences. The music as a whole can probably be explained in a bit more detail than that, regardless of how much is actually present.
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Spiner202
Veteran

Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 3:32 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:59 am 
 

My last review got rejected for formatting reasons. Can anyone provide some guidance on how to fix it? It's not really different in terms of format from any of my other reviews:

Spoiler: show
Modern bands have succeeded in emulating many of the great sounds of the 80’s, but one subgenre that has been largely ignored in present times (like it was in the 80’s) is US power metal. The US part may be a bit arbitrary, as it’s more about the sound, but in any case, newcomers Avalon Steel are from the US, and they play metal in the vein of classic bands like Omen, Manilla Road, and others. Much like those bands, Avalon Steel features a singer who is immediately noticeable as being completely unique. He has a huge bass of a voice, likely influenced by some doom bands or even Peter Steele (Carnivore/Type O Negative). He does have the ability to get into a higher range, but his more natural lower sound is great because it makes everything sound completely epic. He is one primary factor of what sets this EP apart from most modern metal, but there are definitely others as well.

In many ways this release is a rebellion against newer traditional heavy metal bands that have perfect production, soaring high vocalists, and endless shredding. In contrast, “Ascension” has a sound that isn’t excessively clean (though still pretty good sounding), a deeper vocalist, and more tasteful lead guitar playing. The solos are still relatively prominent on this release, but they aren’t simply there to be flashy. Musically, Avalon Steel tends to gallop along at a mid-paced tempo for most of the EP. Both “The Winter King” and “Curse of the Doomwraiths” make plenty of use of that charging sound in their verses, then lay off the gallops into a more melodic chorus. Both songs have enjoyable choruses, but it is the former track that is truly incredible. “The Winter King” is an immediate winner of a song, and you’ll find yourself humming along to the vocal lines after a single listen. This track really manages to capture the epic, majestic feel that a band like Cirith Ungol portrayed. “Curse of the Doomwraiths” is a bit less obvious in its quality, as it took a few listens to get into, but it is still quite a potent track. The final song, “Trapped In A Nightmare”, is largely similar to the other two, but it feels a bit less energetic for most of the track as it doesn’t use any galloping. Nevertheless, it is just as good of a song. The end of the chorus shows the heights of Tommy Parnelle’s vocal range. While this sound is not used often, it is certainly effective. Towards the end of the song, however, the speed picks up, which is pretty much the only time on the EP that things get pretty fast.

Overall, “Ascension” is a unique release in today’s times. They’ve brought back a sound that was under appreciated in its own time, and is still largely ignored by newer bands. If this EP is any indication of the band’s potential, they are going to make an impact in the metal scene. Don’t wait around for an album though; “Ascension” is worth every penny and then some!

Highlights
"The Winter King"
"Curse of the Doomwraiths"

Originally written for Skull Fracturing Metal
http://skullfracturingmetal.blogspot.ca/

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BastardHead
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 12:07 pm 
 

Looks fine to me, except for the love of god get rid of the "highlights" section at the end. I've always hated those. You should be able to convey something like that through the regular text. Otherwise it looks just fine.
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Jophelerx
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 1:16 pm 
 

Hey, just found that Avalon Steel release after seeing your post, pretty cool epic heavy stuff! Cheers, bro! And yeah the review looks pretty good to me. Who rejected it, was it that cunt diamhea? ;)
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Diamhea
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 1:22 pm 
 

I demand: That you remove the 'prime cuts' addendum at the end, as this should be obvious if you describe the music well enough.

I suggest: That you break that massive second paragraph into two smaller ones for more consistent flow and better readability.

I recommend: That you resubmit afterward :)

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Spiner202
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Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 3:32 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 1:30 pm 
 

BastardHead wrote:
Looks fine to me, except for the love of god get rid of the "highlights" section at the end. I've always hated those. You should be able to convey something like that through the regular text. Otherwise it looks just fine.


I keep it in because that's the formatting I use for my 'zine, but if it's frowned upon here, I can get rid of it.

Jophelerx wrote:
Hey, just found that Avalon Steel release after seeing your post, pretty cool epic heavy stuff! Cheers, bro! And yeah the review looks pretty good to me. Who rejected it, was it that cunt diamhea? ;)

:lol:

Your words not mine, but yes.

Also, glad you enjoy it. I've known about those guys for a long time from another metal board but this was the first time I had a chance to hear their material. It's really great music.

Diamhea wrote:
I demand: That you remove the 'prime cuts' addendum at the end, as this should be obvious if you describe the music well enough.

I suggest: That you break that massive second paragraph into two smaller ones for more consistent flow and better readability.

I recommend: That you resubmit afterward :)


I will remove the highlights section, though I disagree that it's obvious if you describe the music well enough. On my recent Cannabis Corpse review (not on MA), I mentioned 6 songs as standouts in the review itself, but narrow it down to 3 in the highlights section.

I'll resubmit it soon though, with the paragraphs broken up. I didn't think I could really alter the review itself if it wasn't originally posted on MA.

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EyesOfGlass
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2012 4:59 pm
Posts: 186
Location: Argentina
PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:40 pm 
 

I just got this one rejected and I made a few corrections, but I want to know if there's still something that I haven't noticed. Thank you.

My first encounter with this band was through the recommendation of a friend. Talking about gigs we had attended, she told me that once she went so see a band named Calvario, and I instantly recognized that name, as I had seen the advertisements about their debut album in several magazines. One day, browsing the CDs of a local store I found it and I took it with me, with quite high expectations about what I was going to hear and a tiny idea of what the band could sound like, having seen the cover art and the album’s title “Infierno Interior” (Inner Hell).

Once I arrived home I went straight to the CD player and put the CD to play, and I was instantly blown-up by an impossing guitar tone and a quite good overall sound, everything backed up by a strong production. Upon further listens, and with a deeper analysis, it was quite obvious that what was being played was nothing new at all, but, however, it was very effective. To put it plain and simple, Calvario come off as a mix of groove metal with some modern tinges in the form of clean-sung choruses, which don’t sound artificial or void of feeling at all given that Sánchez’s voice is devoid of any kind of arrangement that could affect the overall result and the feeling put on the singing. Add to that a guitar playing with influences that range from thrash and the classic British scene, to the melodic lands of Swedish metal. The riffs are strong and groovy when at the same time are melodic, backed up by some Iron Maiden-esque leads accompanying the verses (and also some licks and melodies reminiscent of In Flames) and tight soloing. It’s clear that when the guitarists sit to write their riffs, they hold close to their hearts names such as Pantera or Arch Enemy, while the soloing showcases a big influence of thrash classics such as Metallica and Megadeth (special mention goes to the ones on "Detrás de la Máscara). They even show themselves a bit curious on the slower “Poseído” where the mellow guitar tone and the soft voice of Sánchez slowly build a rather dark atmosphere that explodes into what may be the catchiest and most sing-along chorus out of all the ten songs.

Calvario don’t offer nothing new to the scene, that is crystal-clear, but what is most important about them is that they are good at what they do, and they do it well, and I never found myself bored while listening to the album or thinking of something else while it was playing. The guitarists are armed with good riffs, backed up by strong drumming and a bass that, though present, shows itself a bit shy and don’t contribute much to the final result of what is heard. With the exception of “Envenenándonos” and its breakdown-driven riff and the weird vocal effects, the band, after eleven years of its inception and three demos could finally put out their first full-length release with quality material. If bands such as Machine Head, Pantera, In Flames, Arch Enemy are a common choice in your everyday playlist, then go ahead, “Infierno Interior” is for you. If what you are looking for is some good thrash or death metal, or something that does not resemble the bands that I have just cited, you may want to reconsider your choice and look somewhere else.
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LeMiserable
Milhouse van Houten

Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 7:42 am
Posts: 567
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:50 pm 
 

Quote:
Calvario don’t offer nothing new to the scene, that is crystal-clear, but what is most important about them is that they are good at what they do, and they do it well, and I never found myself bored while listening to the album or thinking of something else while it was playing.


This sentence sucks, it's horribly repetitive.. "they are good at what they do, AND THEY DO IT WELL" The capped bit is totally redundant and just a repeat of everything before it.

And I see alot of errors around, you should speak out your review for yourself, you'll find the errors soon enough, you're not a native English but you'll be fine...
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Spiner202
Veteran

Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 3:32 pm
Posts: 2738
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:45 pm 
 

I'm not an English major, so hopefully my grammatical suggestions are correct.

EyesOfGlass wrote:
Once I arrived home I went straight to the CD player and put the CD to play, and I was instantly blown-up by an impossing guitar tone and a quite good overall sound, everything backed up by a strong production.


Impossing should be imposing.

Quote:
Upon further listens, and with a deeper analysis, it was quite obvious that what was being played was nothing new at all, but, however, it was very effective.

This sentence is awkward. You should remove either "but" or "however".

Quote:
To put it plain and simple, Calvario come off as a mix of groove metal with some modern tinges in the form of clean-sung choruses, which don’t sound artificial or void of feeling at all given that Sánchez’s voice is devoid of any kind of arrangement that could affect the overall result and the feeling put on the singing.

I don't know if people agree with me here, but a band is a singular entity, so your words should be consistent with that. It should read: "Calvario comes off as a mix of groove metal..."

Quote:
(special mention goes to the ones on "Detrás de la Máscara).


Should have a closed quotation at the end of the song name.

Quote:
Calvario don’t offer nothing new to the scene, that is crystal-clear, but what is most important about them is that they are good at what they do, and they do it well, and I never found myself bored while listening to the album or thinking of something else while it was playing.

Same situation as before. It should read "Calvario doesn't offer". Also, the use of "nothing" is strange, and should probably be changed to anything. Also, the first sentence is a comma splice (connecting individual sentences with a comma). I'm not sure how to optimally word it, but the review as a whole has a lot of issues with commas. Many sentences seem to go on beyond a reasonable length. This can be effective at times (after all, reviews don't need to be completely correct grammatically depending on what you are trying to convey), but I don't perceive to be used for that reason in this review.

Quote:
The guitarists are armed with good riffs, backed up by strong drumming and a bass that, though present, shows itself a bit shy and don’t contribute much to the final result of what is heard.

Bass is singular, so it should read: "and a bass that, though present, shows itself a bit shy and doesn't contribute..."

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EyesOfGlass
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2012 4:59 pm
Posts: 186
Location: Argentina
PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:53 pm 
 

Yes, that sentence is horrible. I don't know why, but it made sense in my head. I actually didn't take the time I usually take for writing a review, so I kind of wrote it in a hurry. It seems I comitted a little too many mistakes with this one. Thank you for the feedback!
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Diamhea
Eats and Spits Corpses

Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 7:46 pm
Posts: 9275
Location: At the Heat of Winter
PostPosted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 3:16 pm 
 

Your biggest problem from my estimation is the overuse of choppy, run-on sentences. You use too many commas and honestly don't know when to stop sometimes. One of those was cited in the analysis above.
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EyesOfGlass
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2012 4:59 pm
Posts: 186
Location: Argentina
PostPosted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 2:31 pm 
 

It was just garbage and it was poorly written. I don't know what I was thinking on at the moment of submitting that.
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Occultcannibal
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 7:09 pm
Posts: 48
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 12:32 am 
 

I just got "hired" to write CD reviews for Metalegion Magazine based off a few of my more recent reviews, would one of you guys mind reading over my newer reviews (the old ones aren't that awesome, i'm already aware of that) and let me know if there's anything I should change? Any feedback would be great, I am trying to sound as professional as possible for the reviews i'll be writing in the future, so critique away if you have the time!
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theunrelentingattack
Not yet ready for a custom title

Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2011 5:18 pm
Posts: 1416
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 8:51 am 
 

I'm curious how many people he's contacted - because he asked me as well and I've written maybe 5 reviews for the site.
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putrescent_stench
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:03 pm
Posts: 29
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 11:06 am 
 

I'd like some feedback on this review that got rejected with some pretty harsh comments. I've worked hard to get this in to shape, as it's my first review for the site. One of the reasons for rejection was "poor formatting." I thought that my paragraphs were of appropriate length, but I did cut out some unnecessary sentences, and changed the order of some paragraphs, both of which I hope make it flow better. Another criticism was that I devolve into a track-by-track analysis, which I honestly don't think that I do--I don't refer to every song, only the best and worst ones, and give more attention to the last three, which probably look the most interesting to potential listeners. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong with this; do I need to mention fewer songs, or devote less space to each one? I want to convey the high and low points of the album, but certainly don't want it to sound like a boring checklist either. I'd appreciate any advice on how I might structure or word this better. Thanks!

Iced Earth – The Glorious Burden
After Horror Show, every release by Iced Earth has been a mess. And in retrospect, the albums previous to that release have a lot of flaws, even if they can be fun. The Glorious Burden probably marks the nadir of the band, although I wouldn’t put it past Schaffer to surprise me with something even worse. Iced Earth has shown it can handle epic ideas—the 16+ minutes of Dante’s Inferno, the Suffering trilogy from Dark Saga, and the Something Wicked trilogy are all excellently executed. Some of their best work. The bloodiness of American history set to metal—thrown in with some orchestral moments—could have been sonic gold. Instead, we get flashes of greatness with mostly dull, silly, and pretentious lead. Heavy metal that’s not worth much.

Iced Earth was one of the first metal bands I got into back in the 90s, so I used to have a soft spot for them. Burnt Offerings blew me away, and I listened to it repeatedly. But when I read some interviews with Jon Schaffer in which he came off as arrogant and conservative, and heard about the concept behind The Glorious Burden, I started to get nervous.

I’m neither especially patriotic nor anti-American. But ideology combined with metal doesn’t sit well with me. Napalm Death does a good job from the leftist side, but that’s because the ideas don’t get in the way of the music. Here, the music itself fails to match the intensity of war and national struggle, the themes behind every song. Iced Earth’s sound used to strike me as a combination of power metal and thrash, with the galloping guitar and epic atmosphere of power metal, but with the darker and more aggressive feel of thrash. While this album seems like it wants to continue in this tradition, the rhythms lack the dynamic power metal aspects, and aside from a couple of tracks, lacks the aggressive and darker tones of thrash.

In terms of guitars—riffs, solos, and melodies—there isn’t much to interest the listener. The pacing is very mid-tempo, and the lyrics and music all feel rushed and poorly thought-through. What seems to ruin a lot of The Glorious Burden, for me, is the sense that Schaffer tried to shoehorn his patriotism and obsession with history into epic songs that just don’t work. That’s the downfall of a lot of concept-driven stuff, even though the literature lover in me does get a hard-on from the idea of combining metal and narrative.

Even though I think Matthew Barlow’s vocals best suit this band, I do love Ripper’s voice, and he does a very passable job on here. In fact, his vocals could have worked quite well with the music. Unfortunately he has shitty material to work with. The same applies to drummer Richard Christy, who returns from Horror Show, where he strengthened some of the more lackluster moments (Jekyll and Hyde, for example). Though he does a decent job, the drums never seemed especially important to IE for me, and there’s not a chance for him to do much that’s interesting. The elements were there to make this a solid album, but someone crapped in the pool and muddied the waters here.

Two of the most listenable songs are The Reckoning (Don’t Tread on Me) and Greenface. They have a thrashy feel to them, with Ripper doing some great high notes. Like 90% of IE songs, both get too repetitive, running good sounds into the ground. Greenface also has unfortunate lyrics extolling the green-painted faces of American soldiers hunting out “evil” subhumans in deserts and jungles (I’m not exaggerating, look at the lyrics), yet is catchy for all that.

The worst songs are Declaration Day, When the Eagle Cries, and Hollow Man. Rather than making me love America or headbang to terrorists being gunned down, they make me wish that the British had won the Revolutionary War so that we didn’t have to hear this.

The Gettysburg trilogy, as others have noted, contains some of the more interesting pieces on the album. However, I am not in love with it. The first part, “The Devil to Pay,” starts out with some great energy and a hint of the epic-ness it is supposed to unfold, but putters out by the end of the 12+ minutes this song lurches into. The next song, “Hold at All Costs,” really ruins the atmosphere for me. With ultra-cheesy (even by IE standards) lyrics, it starts out with a melodramatic set-up of a Union soldier lamenting that his best friend is fighting for the South. The music is bland and repetitive. In “High Water Mark,” the cheese stinks worse than Limburger, with some stupid dialogue between Generals Lee and Longstreet. Pretentious orchestration accompanies the mid-tempo guitar that sounds more rock than metal. Another pointless extension into 12+ minutes. A 30-minute long epic about the Battle of Gettysburg done by Iced Earth could have been superb, and there are gleams of what it could have been. The titles of the songs sound promising, but they are about the most rewarding part of this.

Subsequent releases, though not quite as bad, have been pretty forgettable, even with the amazing Stu Block (formerly of Into Eternity) on vocals the last few albums. The problem with IE is that they have great vocalists and ideas, but the execution has gotten more watered down, repetitive, and unimaginative over the years. I give The Glorious Burden such a low rating because of its musical failings, but also because it promises to be so much better than it actually is.

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Occultcannibal
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 7:09 pm
Posts: 48
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 11:53 am 
 

theunrelentingattack wrote:
I'm curious how many people he's contacted - because he asked me as well and I've written maybe 5 reviews for the site.

Thast what i'm saying man, I mean I appreciate the offer of course, but out of the 8 or 9 reviews I have on here, only first five look like they were written by a sane human being.
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severzhavnost
Something Stupid

Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2008 10:16 pm
Posts: 2952
Location: Ottawa
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:54 pm 
 

Occultcannibal, you decided to get on board and write for Metalegion? Cool, I hope it goes well for you guys :) I was invited too, but I just felt I don't have the time to do reviews as more than an occasional hobby, and not a regular output.
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Occultcannibal
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 7:09 pm
Posts: 48
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 3:04 pm 
 

Yeah, I'm going to college for screenwriting so I figured any semi-professional writing I can take up would be solid experience, I've got many albums to review, plus interviews with Hirax and Puteraeon! I'm pretty excited about the whole thing
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severzhavnost
Something Stupid

Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2008 10:16 pm
Posts: 2952
Location: Ottawa
PostPosted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 3:17 pm 
 

Hey 'stench, this is quite a good review, just some fat that could be trimmed where you repeat ideas or put them in weird places that ruin the flow. And slight bit more description, like when you mention some good energy and epic-ness, what instruments do you credit with that?

Spoiler: show
Iced Earth – The Glorious Burden
After Horror Show, every release by Iced Earth has been a mess. And in retrospect, the albums previous to that release have a lot of flaws, even if they can be fun. The Glorious Burden probably marks the nadir of the band, although I wouldn’t put it past Schaffer to surprise me with something even worse. Iced Earth has shown it can handle epic ideas—the 16+ minutes of Dante’s Inferno, the Suffering trilogy from Dark Saga, and the Something Wicked trilogy are all excellently executed. Some of their best work. The bloodiness of American history set to metal—thrown in with some orchestral moments—could have been sonic gold. Instead, we get flashes of greatness with mostly dull, silly, and pretentious lead. Heavy metal that’s not worth much.

Iced Earth was one of the first metal bands I got into back in the 90s, so I used to have a soft spot for them. Burnt Offerings blew me away, and I listened to it repeatedly. But when I read some interviews with Jon Schaffer in which he came off as arrogant and conservative, and heard about the concept behind The Glorious Burden, I started to get nervous. ***Toss this. Maybe move that you like Burnt Offerings up into the opening paragraph, but the rest about personality and ideology has just been complained about so much that noone wants to hear it again.***

I’m neither especially patriotic nor anti-American. But ideology combined with metal doesn’t sit well with me. Napalm Death does a good job from the leftist side, but that’s because the ideas don’t get in the way of the music. Here, the music itself fails to match the intensity of war and national struggle, the themes behind every song. Iced Earth’s sound used to strike me as a combination of power metal and thrash, with the galloping guitar and epic atmosphere of power metal, but with the darker and more aggressive feel of thrash. While this album seems like it wants to continue in this tradition, the rhythms lack the dynamic power metal aspects, and aside from a couple of tracks, lacks the aggressive and darker tones of thrash.

In terms of guitars—riffs, solos, and melodies—there isn’t much to interest the listener. The pacing is very mid-tempo, and the lyrics and music all feel rushed and poorly thought-through. What seems to ruin a lot of The Glorious Burden, for me, is the sense that Schaffer tried to shoehorn his patriotism and obsession with history into epic songs that just don’t work. ***What's that got to do with guitars?*** That’s the downfall of a lot of concept-driven stuff, even though the literature lover in me does get a hard-on from the idea of combining metal and narrative.

Even though I think Matthew Barlow’s vocals best suit this band, I do love Ripper’s voice, and he does a very passable job on here. In fact, his vocals could have worked quite well with the music. Unfortunately he has shitty material to work with. The same applies to drummer Richard Christy, who returns from Horror Show, where he strengthened some of the more lackluster moments (Jekyll and Hyde, for example). Though he does a decent job, the drums never seemed especially important to IE for me, and there’s not a chance for him to do much that’s interesting. The elements were there to make this a solid album, but someone crapped in the pool and muddied the waters here.***beef this up somewhat. Where's the crap in the pool? Non-catchy vocal lines? Plodding lazy pace for the drums?***

Two of the most listenable songs are The Reckoning (Don’t Tread on Me) and Greenface. They have a thrashy feel to them, with Ripper doing some great high notes. Like 90% of IE songs, both get too repetitive, running good sounds into the ground. Greenface also has unfortunate lyrics extolling the green-painted faces of American soldiers hunting out “evil” subhumans in deserts and jungles (I’m not exaggerating, look at the lyrics), yet is catchy for all that.

The worst songs are Declaration Day, When the Eagle Cries, and Hollow Man. Rather than making me love America or headbang to terrorists being gunned down, they make me wish that the British had won the Revolutionary War so that we didn’t have to hear this.
***Highlights/ lowlights stuff is generally not welcome, especially since you do it better in the next paragraph!***

The Gettysburg trilogy, as others have noted, contains some of the more interesting pieces on the album. However, I am not in love with it. The first part, “The Devil to Pay,” starts out with some great energy and a hint of the epic-ness it is supposed to unfold, ***energy and epic-ness, derived from what?***but putters out by the end of the 12+ minutes this song lurches into. The next song, “Hold at All Costs,” really ruins the atmosphere for me. With ultra-cheesy (even by IE standards) lyrics, it starts out with a melodramatic set-up of a Union soldier lamenting that his best friend is fighting for the South. The music is bland and repetitive. In “High Water Mark,” the cheese stinks worse than Limburger, with some stupid dialogue between Generals Lee and Longstreet. Pretentious orchestration accompanies the mid-tempo guitar that sounds more rock than metal. Another pointless extension into 12+ minutes. A 30-minute long epic about the Battle of Gettysburg done by Iced Earth could have been superb, and there are gleams of what it could have been. The titles of the songs sound promising, but they are about the most rewarding part of this.

Subsequent releases, though not quite as bad, have been pretty forgettable, even with the amazing Stu Block (formerly of Into Eternity) on vocals the last few albums. The problem with IE is that they have great vocalists and ideas, but the execution has gotten more watered down, repetitive, and unimaginative over the years. I give The Glorious Burden such a low rating because of its musical failings, but also because it promises to be so much better than it actually is.
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colin040
Metal freak

Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:00 pm
Posts: 7609
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:42 pm 
 

For Runemagick's The Supreme Force of Eternity. This is what I have written so far.

Spoiler: show
Nicklas Rudolfsson barks his way through the album. Like a caged lion he sounds vicious, dominant and not to be messed with – yet he sounds absolutely in control, too, as he knows when to show off with random ‘’oohs’’ and when to let the instrumentals do the talking. Most of the time Nicklas’ roars sound deep. Occasionally he pulls off a more agonizing shriek up that could make your hair stand up at night.

Guitars sound heavy and thick. Despite the downtuning and heavily distortion, riffs themselves are just as clear as one would have hoped for thanks to that giant guitar tone. Sometimes they’re played in a groove-y fashion or tremolo picked but most of the time grind along in a midpaced way and are demonstrated as wall of sound created by simple power chords. Leads themselves are tasteful, mournful and never get into the whammy-bar abused gritty squeak territory one would expect them to.

Keyboards pop up here and there – a risky move, as far as I’m concerned, but Runemagick know exactly what they’re doing here as they never come off forced, overlong or unnecessary and show up just in time, giving certain songs more depth and warmth.

Songwriting wise the /The Supreme Force of Eternity/ flows as good as it could have been. Starting off with the longest track on the end and ending with the shortest? Seems odd for a death metal release, but it definitely works here. Songs such as ‘’At the Horizons End’’ and ‘’The Supreme Force of Eternity’’ seem like every headbangers wet dream with plenty of hammering sludgy riffs to enjoy. The former going through some tempo changes and having most variety to offer as far as songs go here while the latter leaves no mercy for your neck and explodes right away like an volcano that’s about to erupt.

The cover art could be classified as something silly or appropriate. I’d go with the latter. An equipped beast in armor carrying a sword slaying down its enemies? I like that. Runemagick aren’t just about violence as one would think they would be however. Indeed, ‘’The Black Wall’’ does something I did not expect to hear at all the 4 minute track consists of just a few basic palm muted riffs keep repeating itself over and over again without changing mood or pace, slowly setting the listener into a trance. The song is dense, hypnotizing and eerie – yet features riffs that remain perfectly headbang-worthy. The final track is a chilling piece with an acoustic guitar showing up. It’s rather a journey, though, and I wish it was longer because the mysterious, cryptic vibe it conjures is just cool as hell. Way to end an album.

Runemagick have done something magnificent here, creating an album that truly stands on its own. An album that combines pounding aggression with ethereal melody and simply is well written. While some of the other albums by this band that I’ve heard are enjoyable, they just don’t quite tickle my testicles as much as this one does. Get this if you like your death metal slightly out of the box.

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ezekhiel2517
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:53 am
Posts: 6
Location: Argentina
PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:05 pm 
 

Hi everyone, I´m here trying to improve my first review so it gets properly posted. I´m from Argentina and obviously english isn´t my main language. Ok here is my review on Dhak´s album "Furia Demencial", with some corrections I´ve made :

This is an amazing release, an unique masterpiece of music, as good as it is hard to get your hands on! The only way I could find this metal gem was via MP3 download. I wonder where in earth could my first TDK recorded cassettes be...

Dhak is such an amazing band, sadly a fallen under the radar one and not very known worldwide, though I think in Europe it had a good reception.

Now let's talk about "Furia Demencial". This independent production was released in 1992, with Diego Valdéz (voices) Alejandro Roldán (Guitar) Sergio Nieves (Bass) and Alejandro Pereira (drums). The production quality is not the best you will find, but that doesn't get in the way of enjoying this album mostly because of the great musical sense, performance and composition levels.

What you will find here is speed metal, lighting speed metal with beautiful, slow paced, melodic transitions that will make you a first hand witness of every place and situation exposed here. Just in the first track "verdad a conveniencia" (truth by convenience) arriving at the 2:00 you will understand what Dhak is all about. Insane, aggressive speed riffs, with masterful skilled solos, traveling from slow melodic passages that leads to a frenetic struggle of sound and emotions. Damn that solo will rip your skin off. And its just the first one, so get ready.

The vocals by Diego Valdez are fine, and could possible be better on higher production levels. Sometimes they sound like live recorded at a stadium. The vocal range is great, power metal/ thrash style, high pitched but not annoying, reaching really high notes at precise moments. Maybe one thing to criticize here is the fact that lyrics are really hard to understand sometimes, even to someone who speaks the same language.

Sergio Nieves, delivers blasting, beautiful bass lines, not only serving as a launch base and companion to riffs but running along with them and sometimes leading the attack in the front lines, fighting shoulder to shoulder with Roldan's solos. It's incredible how good the bass sounds at this production level, one could only imagine what kind of destructive hurricane could have been unleashed in a top level studio.

Drums keep the pace, and are correct in its execution, but the guitar and bass intensity is such that I get the feeling that this album could be the same even without drums!

The leading force here is Alejandro Roldan, with his awesome insane skills. Not only he delivers teeth crushing riffs, but he travels to other dimensions and carry the listener along with him, with his epic solos. Just listen the track that gives name to this album "Furia Demencial" (Insane Wrath), and you will know what I'm talking about. Depicting the remains of a nuclear wasted earth, Roldan will grab you by your neck and show you the results of human final act of rage, and by the time you hit the 2:10 mark you just wont be able to close your eyes anymore, even when the tour takes you at speed light over the final scorched humanity massive graveyard, or when the view can be so heart wrenchingly sad and emotive that you will only pray for the chance to shed at least a final tear from your dry eyes.

Give this album a chance, you won't regret it!

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Diamhea
Eats and Spits Corpses

Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 7:46 pm
Posts: 9275
Location: At the Heat of Winter
PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:10 pm 
 

Your grammar is above par for an ESL reviewer, but please avoid instrument checklist-styled reviews.
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Leave a steaming, stinking Rotting Repulsive Rotting Corpse = LIVE YOUNG - DIE FREE and move on to the NEXT form of yourself....or just be a fat Wal-Mart Mcdonalds pc of shit what do I give a fuck what you do.

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ezekhiel2517
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:53 am
Posts: 6
Location: Argentina
PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:25 pm 
 

Diamhea wrote:
Your grammar is above par for an ESL reviewer, but please avoid instrument checklist-styled reviews.

Ok thanks! I had to go and look for an ESL definition, :) didn´t know what you where trying to say. I agree with you in the instrument checklist issue, but in this case i felt like it was necessary, because guitars, bass, and vocals are so distinctive in this album. maybe I should erase the drums paragraph because they are pretty regular, nothing outstanding there. Would you say this review is ready now to be published?

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Diamhea
Eats and Spits Corpses

Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 7:46 pm
Posts: 9275
Location: At the Heat of Winter
PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:46 pm 
 

Not quite. The formatting is sort of weird, you need fewer, bigger paragraphs that maintain a coherent flow. I understand you want to mention every instrument, but try and bring them up as they apply to certain sections of a song or something instead of mechanically devoting a paragraph to each.
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Leave a steaming, stinking Rotting Repulsive Rotting Corpse = LIVE YOUNG - DIE FREE and move on to the NEXT form of yourself....or just be a fat Wal-Mart Mcdonalds pc of shit what do I give a fuck what you do.

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ezekhiel2517
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:53 am
Posts: 6
Location: Argentina
PostPosted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:17 pm 
 

Diamhea wrote:
Not quite. The formatting is sort of weird, you need fewer, bigger paragraphs that maintain a coherent flow. I understand you want to mention every instrument, but try and bring them up as they apply to certain sections of a song or something instead of mechanically devoting a paragraph to each.


Ok last attempt, lol the last line in my review is a little over the top isnt it? well it was the mood at the moment. here it goes:

This is an amazing release, a rare masterpiece of music, as good as it is hard to get your hands on! The only way I could find this metal gem was via MP3 download. I wonder where in earth could my first TDK recorded cassettes be...
Dhak is such an amazing band, sadly a fallen under the radar one and not very known worldwide, though I think in Europe it had a good reception.

Now let's talk about "Furia Demencial". The production values of this 1992 release are not the best you will find out there, but that doesn't get in the way of enjoying this album mostly because of the great musical sense, performance and composition levels.
What you will find here is speed metal, lighting speed metal with beautiful, slow paced, melodic transitions that will make you a first hand witness of every place and situation exposed here. Just in the first track "verdad a conveniencia" (truth by convenience) arriving at the 2:00 you will understand what Dhak is all about. Insane, aggressive speed riffs, with masterful skilled solos, traveling from slow melodic passages that leads to a frenetic struggle of sound and emotions. Damn that solo will rip your skin off. And its just the first one, so get ready.

The leading force here is guitarist Alejandro Roldan, with his awesome insane skills. Not only he delivers teeth crushing riffs, but he travels to other dimensions and carry the listener along with him, with his epic solos. Then along side Roldan's performance Sergio Nieves, delivers blasting, beautiful bass lines, not only serving as a launch base and companion to riffs but running along with them and sometimes leading the attack in the front lines, fighting shoulder to shoulder with Roldan's solos. It's incredible how good the bass sounds at this production level, one could only imagine what kind of destructive hurricane could have been unleashed in a top level studio.

Just by listening the track that gives name to this album "Furia Demencial" (Demented Wrath), you will know what I'm talking about. The music is so inspired that you could understand what they are trying to say even without lyrics, or the power/thrash style high pitched vocals by Diego Valdez. Depicting the remains of a nuclear wasted earth, Roldan will grab you by your neck and show you the results of human final act of rage, and by the time you hit the 2:10 mark you just wont be able to close your eyes anymore, even when the tour takes you at speed light over the scorched humanity massive graveyard that earth has become, or when the trip slows down and the view can be so heart wrenchingly sad and emotive that you will only pray for the chance to shed at least a final tear from your dead eyes.

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Diamhea
Eats and Spits Corpses

Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 7:46 pm
Posts: 9275
Location: At the Heat of Winter
PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 1:30 pm 
 

Sorry I didn't even put two and two together. Yeah I approved this earlier, I fixed that minor formatting gaffe at the beginning for you. Otherwise seems fine, and nice to get a review for something as obscure as that!
_________________
nuclearskull wrote:
Leave a steaming, stinking Rotting Repulsive Rotting Corpse = LIVE YOUNG - DIE FREE and move on to the NEXT form of yourself....or just be a fat Wal-Mart Mcdonalds pc of shit what do I give a fuck what you do.

Last.fm

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ezekhiel2517
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:53 am
Posts: 6
Location: Argentina
PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:38 pm 
 

Ok thanks maybe I will edit the review, I like this last edition better. I went into your profile, and I see you like annihilator, overkill, and bands of the kind. You should check dhak`s "furia demencial" if you have the chance. Also I can also recommend you Malon, awesome band from Argentina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVtWUoPJ-5c damn most band here are awesome and have such a unique style (Almafuerte, Hermetica, Horcas etc etc)

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ezekhiel2517
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:53 am
Posts: 6
Location: Argentina
PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:47 pm 
 

damn seems i`ve f**ked it up again. Can I ask you a favor? would you please show me an example of what am I doing wrong and the right way to make it?. I just can see where is the error. Please just copy my wrong paragraph and the corrected one so I can learn the difference. thanks diamhea!

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