As many people on this site do, I hammer out reviews from time to time when bored- I have about 20 total up on this site. However, for not one of those reviews did I ever get 8 points- most of them were consistent 5-pointers. Now, I'm not trying to say that I should be awarded 8 points for my reviews. I'm quite proud of a select few of them, but I know as well as anybody that there are legions of people on this site alone that write far better than I do and I know I can always improve.

It's not that points matter to me- really, I couldn't care less about them- but I DO want to improve my reviews and try to make them the best they can be. So, I wanted to ask the more experienced users/writers on here, what kind of qualities would an 8 point review have? I realize there isn't exactly a concrete standard, because it varies from mod to mod, but I know there's probably one or two things that most 8-pointers have that could stand to be added to any type of review. So mods, regulars, anybody really, help shed some light on my ignorance so maybe I could squeeze out an 8 pointer sometime in the distant future.

Thanks in advance.

Reviews that stand out, bring something new to the table, are well written, and have a personality to them that isn't run-of-the-mill.

Or this... or this...

I quit keeping track of my points long ago, but the two reviews I noticed getting 8 points were my Eluveitie and Five Finger Death Punch reviews. The latter isn't here anymore since the band has been rightfully deleted, but it is on my site (link in sig [/shamelesspromotion]). I may have gotten more but I, like most good reviewers are consistent five pointers. I judge how well my review is mainly by how I feel I did. I'm my own harshest critic, so if I'm proud of what I've written, then it's an eight pointer in my mind.

yeah, I don't really see what's so necessary about getting the big 8 points (got like three of them? maybe?). I haven't checked the points for years. If I get a kick of writing it then I'm satisfied, and if someone mentions it here and/or sends me hate mail then that's just the cherry on top.

Yeah, I don't think they necessarily have to be lengthy, but my only 8 pointer that comes to mind is my one for Amorphis' DVD, which happens to be my longest. So yeah, I'd just say beefy, descriptive, and well written reviews. I wouldn't really worry about it though. This place is like Whose Line is it Anyway - the points mean nothing.

_

As probably known, the reviews aren't all accepted by the same mod in the same neutral stance every hour of every day of every week. So while your three-pointers (if you have them) are probably worse than your five-pointers, your eight-pointers might not be 'better' than your other ones. It might've been given by a mod in a good mood or a more lenient one than the other mod who generally accepts your reviews. Or something or other.

Oh, didn't even know about this 8 point system. I guess I'll have to KEEP TRACK NOW!!!


....you know I'm just kiddin'.

I don't even know how to tell how many points a review gets.

Just curious: why don't the great (8 point) reviews have a sort of indicator to them, like *featured* or something? It doesn't seem like mods give the 8 points too often at all.

Because that's just unneeded. There's no need to showcase or glorify certain reviews with a special status just because of their content; however, users that write great reviews are often given props in the Review Discussion Thread.

How do you know how many points a respective review got, anyway? :V

some folks know exactly how many points they have... and are very anxious of keeping track of their 'progress'.

Zelkiiro, pics are fun occasionally, but let's not overdo it.

There doesn't really seem to be a particular criterion for getting an 8-point, but just to give some examples of ones I've gotten, look up the ones I did for "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" (Darkthrone) and "Vogager" (Manilla Road). I think I've gotten roughly 12 8-pointers, which for writing over 1600 reviews accounts for less than 1% of my material, so I'd say it's rare that they are given out.

Not just rare for you to get them?

As far as I know, I only ever got one 8-pointer (for Earth's Hibernaculum), but nowadays I'm too busy helping out on the site in other ways to keep track of small increments of points like +8 or such.

I have no clue how many points any review of mine has gotten. After veteran there's really no point to tracking them anyway. I probably look at how many points I have every six months or something.

I've received 8 points for two reviews. You can read them here and here. I don't think they're necessarily any better than any of my more recent reviews, so I think it depends on which mod accepts them. I think the Xasthur review is quite good and makes reasonably good analyses of the album (now that I read it, I wouldn't have believed it to be mine ), but the Eluveitie review isn't that good; I have much better 5-pointers.

I generally think it's agreeable to aim for 8 points. Sometimes it's better to write a more concise, to the point review though. Such a review can be far more useful for the occasional reader even though such reviews never get more than five points.

So once again, how exactly do you tell how many points your review got?

Go to main page, then "my profile".

Basically take note of what it was before you submitted your review, and then look when it gets accepted, thats the only way I know how to do it haha.

i got 8 points once and i dont really even like that review anymore...ive done a lot better ones since

Which one, if I may ask?

This one. It's a pretty old review and like I said I ain't too proud of it...too lazy to edit it though

I typically don't notice too often unless I think I got 3 points for one, which makes me reread that so I can see what stupid errors I made at the time. I don't think I have any 8-pointers.

I think my last two reviews were 8 pointers. Don't think I have any others besides those two. The L'acephale review was the longest I've ever done, and the only review that I've ever had to do in two sittings. I talked a lot about the background of the songs and the artwork, so that probably factored in. Here it is: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/L ... /dystopia4

I'm 90% sure my review of Isis's Mosquito Control got 8 points. The funny thing is I wasn't even meaning for it to be that long of a review, I just got really into the EP and got carried away. Like the other one I talked about more than just the music and touched on the lyrics (it has hard to decipher harsh vocals) and the imagery/themes: http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/I ... /dystopia4

Just judging from my own experiences with this, I think length plays a huge factor in getting an 8 pointer (although I'm sure they'd give 8 points to an amazingly written shorter review.) I mean of course it has to be good, but I think having a long length and touching on a lot of different things is important for this.

Length seems to definitely be a factor. That Cannibal Corpse review linked above is awful, but it apparently got 8 points. I'm not saying length is the only factor, but its hard to believe that review is supposed to viewed as an A+ effort aside from the time it probably took to write it.

The daddy zeus review was most likely a mistake on the mod's part. It's not a high quality review by any stretch.

I gave the 8 points to Dystopia, he's a really good writer and I feeled his reviews deserved it. I gave some to Androdion too if I remember correctly. Both top notch reviewers.

Thanks man! Androdion is definitely a good reviewer. Really like his review of the new Process of Guilt.

Used to give 8-pointers out about three or four times a month, sometimes even nine or ten times. I feel like it was around when guys like Empyreal and ANationalAcrobat were really getting good, and there was enough of a volume of stuff that I appreciated the ones that stood out. Also always gave special credit to any review with a score around 50 - 65% that was really strong, because it takes some craft to make those just mediocre album reviews do something special.

Off-topic, but why do I always read Androdion's name as "Auto-Rodian"? I instantly think of Greedo from Star Wars.

My eyes are actually bigger although the ears aren't as pointy, it's hard to be confused with him if you take the whole being green thingy out of the way.

It's really great that my humble writings are getting appreciated, I hope to maintain the quality of the stuff I write and always try to improve my power over the English language.

@ dystopia4 - The coolest thing about the POG review was to see the feedback from the band. Of course they loved the score but more than that, Hugo was baffled at how accurate it was about its concept and execution. When you have someone from the band saying something like "It's the most indicative review of our music that I've read in a long time", then you know you're doing something right.

I know of two hand fulls of 8s. Can't say what makes that grade, as they're all different and sometimes used up the same amount of work as other reviews. If it helps, my editing process usually took longer than the initial rough draft and a share of the time I let it sit to see how it "really" reads. Then again, one was given during a review challenge and then a few in a row. Best advice though is to try not to get anything, ha.

While we're on it, a 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 scale would at least give a true medium scoring and a poor, below average, above average and then a really rare excellent. Not sure if it would make some pay attention more or less.

It'd be nice if there were more scores besides the few that there currently are. I generally receive five points, average, for my decently written three paragraphs long reviews as well as the longer ones that go considerably more in depth. However, that would be ultimately unnecessary, and it'd be difficult for the staff to set clear standards for the amount of points that should be given.

Metantoine gave my recent Vitsaus review eight points, but I rarely have the motivation to write like that.

Sorry, I meant to respond to your post earlier. It seems 5s are easier to give across the board. One part of me is curious, but I guess in another sense it might make more work for the mods, ha. Don't want to punish our volunteers any more. I think two of the 8s I received aren't on the site anymore but the rest are of length and detail like you described. I have some others that read similar but, yeah, it does take some time to put together either way. Not always necessary, but I have to say the more time/thought put into any review--whether long or short--the more it has the potential to stand the test of time.

I read your Vitsaus review and it was meticulously detailed. You thoroughly described its influences and the soundscapes within. I like that even though it had a high score, it gave room to breathe with some reserve in areas. I like the balance. Gives more credibility and less of a divide from the usual heavy-handed, strong-opinion-on-every-sentence reviews.

Lol, have you ever heard about modesty, OzzyApu?

Modesty's a pretty sweet melodic death metal band, you might like 'em, Ozzy.

I posted that over a year ago, but yeah I'm typically not modest when it comes to my shittiness.

Where does the melodic death thing come from? Not even my favorite genre.