I really think its like the review for Evoken's Anithesis of Light. The user didn't like the album getting such high praise so they decided "I am not going to give this a terrible score, but I am going to make a negative review and not give a real reason for my score." I mean that review is a 70, and his main complaint "Every song sounds very similar".

For every famous person there is always a hater, and apparently, Undeadidiot is that hater, that one guy who feels that a great band like Lykathea does not reach the expectations of the other 14 reviews on metal-archives. Such a sad day.

Oddly enough I think I could write a very legitimate negative review of Antithesis.



I think given the overall sonic character of the album the hollow snare really works with it. Just me though and I'm used to hollow snares from listening to slam so much.

If you don't want a stray heretic to screw up your worldview, then you shouldn't base it on averages. If you rank albums based on just the number of 95+ ratings, here are the winners:

15: Cryptopsy - None So Vile
15: Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
15: Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
14: Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt
14: Megadeth - Rust in Peace
13: Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
13: Death - Symbolic
13: Dissection (Swe) - Storm of the Light's Bane
13: Nightwish - Oceanborn
12: Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
12: Dark Angel (USA) - Darkness Descends
12: Primordial - To the Nameless Dead

Or if you go with the number of 90+ ratings, you get:

18: Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
17: Cryptopsy - None So Vile
16: Bathory - Blood Fire Death
16: Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth
16: Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
16: Megadeth - Rust in Peace
16: Nightwish - Oceanborn
16: Ulver - Bergtatt - Et Eeventyr i 5 Capitler
15: Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
15: Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt
15: Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
15: Dark Angel (USA) - Darkness Descends
15: Death - Human
15: Ulver - Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden

Or if we ranked by the total of the squares of all ratings, to do a sort of automatic enthusiasm weighting, we'd get this top 10:

1. Behemoth (Pol) - The Apostasy
2. Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
3. Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God
4. Megadeth - Rust in Peace
5. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
6. Cryptopsy - None So Vile
7. Ulver - Nattens Madrigal - Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden
8. Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth
9. Symphony X - Paradise Lost
10. Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss

And if I spent another half hour at it I could probably come up with 5 or 6 more metrics with different results...

Haha, square-weighting is an outstanding idea!

I'm not a hater. If you would have read my review I've given that album many chances. I honestly tried to like it. It just wasn't something I enjoyed listening to, for the most part. I will delete the review if you guys want, though.

EDIT: It is gone. I just re-read it and saw how horribly written it was.

If you want to take it down because it doesn't meet your current performance standard, that's one thing. But in future cases, don't offer to delete a review just because some whelp threw a candy-ass ad populum cocktail at you. Leperous is the one who ought to be ashamed of himself, not you.

Now Fates Warning's The Spectre Within has 7 reviews with a 99% average.

I can understand why people wouldn't like Elvenefris. The production for the snare is a little much sometimes, but other then that, it seems like a good record. The guitars mesh and intertwine easily, between the soft passages and the brutal death metal sections. The last song is "wat" but I'm not complaining. Also monotone unintelligable vocals similar to Lord Wormy.

I think it's also funny that Tomas Corn's name doesn't get tossed around in the metal community as often as it should.

I agree. It makes no sense whatsoever that metalheads could disagree about anything metal related to the point of NOT LIKING THE SAME BANDS! After all, we are a sacred brotherhood of metalheads united for the collective will of metal and think exactly the same! HEIL HALFORD!

ER!

IST!

DAS PAINKILLER!!

The Spectre Within is rated pretty highly, though I wouldn't be surprised if someone comes along and slaps it with a negative review some time in the near future; in fact, I'm surprised it doesn't have one already, given how many people can't stand John Arch's voice.

I can't see how anyone would write a negative review for that album unless they just didn't understand it or give it enough time to sink in. But there are weirdos everywhere I suppose.

Now off to listen to the Briton Rites debut.

A lot of fans of the newer Fates Warning seem to think it's not "progressive" enough to be good. I'm not kidding. What a stupid reason not to like something.

Also, while John Arch is undoubtedly one of the greatest vocalists in all of heavy metal, I can see why some people would initially be turned off by his vocals, but I think this just falls into the "didn't give it enough time to sink in" category.

Speaking of albums with good reviews, Hour of Penance's The Vile Conception has 7 reviews with an average of 97%.

I was like this. The first time I heard Fates Warning was with the song "The Apparition," where I immediately got a taste of those vocals.


"AHHH HAAAAAAH AHHHH AAAAAAHH!!!"

They were horrible - I wasn't prepared for that kind of nasally singing. It was the only thing holding me back from liking the music. Gave the album on and off rotations for a month, and eventually the music sank in. Now it's one of my favorite songs, though the album overall isn't something I remember a whole lot from.

In fact, without leaving this screen, the only songs I remember from The Spectre Within are "The Apparition," something about "Kerry Elision" (know I spelled that wrong), and a song about pirates (I think).

I've always found Awaken the Guardian more inherently memorable, which is one of the reasons why I consider it the superior of the two. But The Specter Within is a monster of a Power Metal release, too, and grew on me like a leech once I let it.

Awaken the Guardian is catchier, but I find The Spectre Within to be better simply because of how great its atmosphere and theme are. I find that, while Awaken the Guardian is a bit more consistent musically, The Spectre Within's theme is more effectively conveyed in the songwriting; the best example of this is probably Traveler in Time, just listen to how the subject matter of the lyrics is so brilliantly portrayed in the steady march of the riffs. It also helps that the production on The Spectre Within is, to my ears, superior (I've always found the guitar tone on Awaken the Guardian to be a bit weak in comparison).

Both are absolutely brilliant albums, and I might get around to writing a review of Awaken the Guardian sometime soon.

Really? First time I heard that song, at first I was a little surprised at how in-my-face it was, but as soon as I adjusted, I was all like, "Yes, sir!"

I really liked those vocals when I first heard them. It also really helped that the song kicked bucketloads of ass.