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Human666
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue May 09, 2006 11:59 am
Posts: 291
PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 3:24 pm 
 

Gutterscream wrote:
Human666 wrote:
_________________________________________

The main appeal of this demo for me is the atmosphere, the keyboards increase
a grim and evil feeling for the dark guitar riffs and even building some nice interludes
which makes me feel the dark atmosphere of black metal, I wont lie and tell that the
atmosphere is unique for the band, but it still sounds very good...in favor of the
clean and bright production.The singing is sounds just how it has to be done:
typical black metal screams and some clean vocals that fit together very well with the rest of the instruments.The best song in this demo is the last one, "Hel" : it contains
the best riffs in the demo, the best keyboards work and the darkest atmosphere.
The rest of the songs are good too, but "Hel" attracted me more than the others.

Overall, this demo is nice and shows that there are still new good black metal bands out there, let's just hope they aren't gonna stop and they gonna keep up the good work, and even to improve in time.

-------------------------------------------------

Can someone help me with that review ^^?


"The main appeal of this demo for me is the atmosphere. The keyboards increase a grim and evil feeling of the dark guitar riffs and even build some nice interludes that make me feel the dark atmosphere of black metal. I won't lie and say that the atmosphere is unique for the band, but it still sounds very good with its clean and bright production. The singing sounds just as it should: typical black metal screams and some clean vocals fitting together very well with the rest of the instruments. The best song on the demo is the last one, "Hel". It contains
the best riffs on the demo, the best keyboards, and the darkest atmosphere. The rest of the songs are good too, but "Hel" attracted me more than the others.

Overall, this demo is nice and shows that there are still new and good black metal bands out there. Let's just hope they're not gonna stop and keep up the good work, improving with time."

I don't know how many more paragraphs you could've gotten out of that without looking like lonesome sentences, but hey....


Thank you so much dude, you helped me a lot.
I sent it in 7.12 but still no moderator checked this..weird S:

Tnx again!

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Visionary
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2005 3:57 pm
Posts: 1766
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:21 pm 
 

Human666 wrote:
Gutterscream wrote:
Human666 wrote:
_________________________________________

The main appeal of this demo for me is the atmosphere, the keyboards increase
a grim and evil feeling for the dark guitar riffs and even building some nice interludes
which makes me feel the dark atmosphere of black metal, I wont lie and tell that the
atmosphere is unique for the band, but it still sounds very good...in favor of the
clean and bright production.The singing is sounds just how it has to be done:
typical black metal screams and some clean vocals that fit together very well with the rest of the instruments.The best song in this demo is the last one, "Hel" : it contains
the best riffs in the demo, the best keyboards work and the darkest atmosphere.
The rest of the songs are good too, but "Hel" attracted me more than the others.

Overall, this demo is nice and shows that there are still new good black metal bands out there, let's just hope they aren't gonna stop and they gonna keep up the good work, and even to improve in time.

-------------------------------------------------

Can someone help me with that review ^^?


"The main appeal of this demo for me is the atmosphere. The keyboards increase a grim and evil feeling of the dark guitar riffs and even build some nice interludes that make me feel the dark atmosphere of black metal. I won't lie and say that the atmosphere is unique for the band, but it still sounds very good with its clean and bright production. The singing sounds just as it should: typical black metal screams and some clean vocals fitting together very well with the rest of the instruments. The best song on the demo is the last one, "Hel". It contains
the best riffs on the demo, the best keyboards, and the darkest atmosphere. The rest of the songs are good too, but "Hel" attracted me more than the others.

Overall, this demo is nice and shows that there are still new and good black metal bands out there. Let's just hope they're not gonna stop and keep up the good work, improving with time."

I don't know how many more paragraphs you could've gotten out of that without looking like lonesome sentences, but hey....


Thank you so much dude, you helped me a lot.
I sent it in 7.12 but still no moderator checked this..weird S:

Tnx again!


It often takes a while for a review to be accepted, as in multipe days. This is due to mods having to sift through the queue.
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taleskiss on Kiss wrote:
They influenced MOST of the metal bands of our days, and they are not part of this site? This is unacceptable!!!
I would like to know why is that???
Because they are not considered metal? This is not fare!!!

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Warrior of Steel
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:47 pm
Posts: 5
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 6:01 pm 
 

Echoes of Eternity - The Forgotten Goddess [2007]
80%

Echoes of Eternity are the new bet of the big label Nuclear Blast. This band of Los Angeles surprised me by their maturity demonstrated in this debut album...
You all should know that United States of America don't have much gothic metal bands recognized internationally but this band is in a good way, in my opinion.
The production of the album is great and the performance of Francine Boucher as the rest of the elements is awesome.
We have here a band that promises a lot. They're still in the start, I know, and they have still more to evolve but give this band a chance. This album is recommended for fans of Leaves' Eyes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I accept corrections.

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Gutterscream
The Last Old Schooler in Town

Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:59 pm
Posts: 1083
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:46 pm 
 

Soul_of_Darkness wrote:
Echoes of Eternity - The Forgotten Goddess [2007]
80%

Echoes of Eternity are the new bet of the big label Nuclear Blast. This band of Los Angeles surprised me by their maturity demonstrated in this debut album...
You all should know that United States of America don't have much gothic metal bands recognized internationally but this band is in a good way, in my opinion.
The production of the album is great and the performance of Francine Boucher as the rest of the elements is awesome.
We have here a band that promises a lot. They're still in the start, I know, and they have still more to evolve but give this band a chance. This album is recommended for fans of Leaves' Eyes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I accept corrections.


Unfortunately, your review is painstakingly lacking to even begin to smell the victory of acceptance. A little band background can't hurt, describe what you hear as a whole, possibly divulge what the band is or is not doing that others are if applicable, and have fun with your sentences. There are at least a half dozen ways to write a sentence and 10x that many ways to get your point across, and don't let the intricacies of the English language get you down either. Let your mind go and dare yourself to write better.
_________________
"Who's this again?" my brother asks as his exceptional jeep stereo explodes with sound.
"Lair of the Minotaur!", I say loudly.
"Glare of the Minotaur?"
"No, Lair...but that's a pretty damn good name too!".

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Warrior of Steel
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:47 pm
Posts: 5
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 8:40 pm 
 

I know that I have some things to improve but I don't have a lot of inspiration, you know. I just say what I think it is essential.

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DeathForBlitzkrieg
A Dead Man's Robe

Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 1:23 pm
Posts: 784
Location: Pannonia
PostPosted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 9:14 pm 
 

Well, the primary purpose of a review is to the give the reader a clue how the record sounds, but your review does not include a single sentence where you describe the music.

Describing music is one of the most difficult things to do, especially if you don't do it in your mother tongue. What you can do is to read lots of reviews and memorise phrases, methods and structures of doing such and don't write them by hook or by crook. I have written three serious reviews so far and for each it took me half a month to a month, because sometimes I couldn't think of a way to express my thoughts and then the next I'd have a flash of genius. What I also do is after I am satisfied with my work and it is sumbit-ready, I'll let it rest for a day and check it then for mistakes again.
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Warrior of Steel
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:47 pm
Posts: 5
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 10:17 pm 
 

I see. I understand that the review is too small and direct... I will try to do best better reviews. Now that i'm in vacations i'll more time.

Stay Metal, Stay True. :headbang:

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Warrior of Steel
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 12:47 pm
Posts: 5
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 10:20 pm 
 

'I will try to do best better reviews.'

Sorry the mistake, what I wanted to say is: 'I will try to do better reviews.'

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Gutterscream
The Last Old Schooler in Town

Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:59 pm
Posts: 1083
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 5:19 am 
 

Soul_of_Darkness wrote:
'I will try to do best better reviews.'

Sorry the mistake, what I wanted to say is: 'I will try to do better reviews.'


Just do your best. I can't even begin to write a recipe let alone a review in Portuguese.
_________________
"Who's this again?" my brother asks as his exceptional jeep stereo explodes with sound.
"Lair of the Minotaur!", I say loudly.
"Glare of the Minotaur?"
"No, Lair...but that's a pretty damn good name too!".

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astathica
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2002 5:53 am
Posts: 7
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:31 pm 
 

hmm, for some reason quite unknown to me (although i have to say your guidelines leave little space for several personal aspects), this review was rejected just the other minute.

now, seen as this is a feedback thread, i'd like to see what could be wrong and/or improved on this review:

Quote:
Mactatus - Provenance of Cruelty


I can say i've been quite fond of this band since i first bought "Provenance of Cruelty". It was a blend of the atmospheric black metal found on Dimmu Borgir's excellent "Stormblast" with a few bits of Emperor's "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" and "In the Nightside Eclipse". An album that certainly stood out in terms of atmosphere, yet not as such in complexity and/or originality. And quite a surprise it was, when this third album reached me. This was an entire new sound, completely different with the previous one. Surprising? Yes. Disappointing? No, most certainly not.

You see, the main thing with this album is that it's combining a few new elements. The main part is this the black we knew about (and liked heavily, in my case). But new are the more complex (hence the title, i guess) parts and structures. The vocals got more "groove" and less predictable lines. The guitarwork is basic in a way, but the structures depend heavily on it. Thrashier bits are added, and the overall line of the guitars is much more "elegant" than earlier on. The keyboards are much less simple, as they basically played just long single on the previous album. The drums have improved quite a lot, although not everything is played just as tight as could be. But then again, that gives it really a better, less machine-ish feel.

The sound overall isn't bad, although it's produced a bit too "clean" for my taste. A bit of limiters and some reverb here and there could've added quite. The drums are obviously electronic (i think i even recognize some of the Roland TD-6 sounds i use myself), but not overly annoying when it comes to sound. The guitars are built up well enough to create a nice "wall", yet there is enough space left to hear the various details. One of the things that really stands out are the vocals, that lie over the entire mix, probably with a good stereo delay/spreader draped over it. It makes the entire thing easily listenable.

Final point i have, is that i really like some of the lyrics. The utterly blunt "I killed Jesus!" and "Master, i am sick of people who trust in me" (or something in that vein, i couldn't be bothered to look it up) really make it work, and add a bit of bluntness to an "agile"-sounding album. Very nicely done indeed.

Overall, i think this certainly isn't a weak spot on a good band's Curriculum.


thanks in advance.

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erickg13
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 17, 2006 7:46 pm
Posts: 994
Location: The Middle of the Pacific Ocean.
PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:47 pm 
 

astathica wrote:
hmm, for some reason quite unknown to me (although i have to say your guidelines leave little space for several personal aspects), this review was rejected just the other minute.

now, seen as this is a feedback thread, i'd like to see what could be wrong and/or improved on this review:

Quote:
Mactatus - Provenance of Cruelty


I can say i've been quite fond of this band since i first bought "Provenance of Cruelty". It was a blend of the atmospheric black metal found on Dimmu Borgir's excellent "Stormblast" with a few bits of Emperor's "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" and "In the Nightside Eclipse". An album that certainly stood out in terms of atmosphere, yet not as such in complexity and/or originality. And quite a surprise it was, when this third album reached me. This was an entire new sound, completely different with the previous one. Surprising? Yes. Disappointing? No, most certainly not.

You see, the main thing with this album is that it's combining a few new elements. The main part is this the black we knew about (and liked heavily, in my case). But new are the more complex (hence the title, i guess) parts and structures. The vocals got more "groove" and less predictable lines. The guitarwork is basic in a way, but the structures depend heavily on it. Thrashier bits are added, and the overall line of the guitars is much more "elegant" than earlier on. The keyboards are much less simple, as they basically played just long single on the previous album. The drums have improved quite a lot, although not everything is played just as tight as could be. But then again, that gives it really a better, less machine-ish feel.

The sound overall isn't bad, although it's produced a bit too "clean" for my taste. A bit of limiters and some reverb here and there could've added quite. The drums are obviously electronic (i think i even recognize some of the Roland TD-6 sounds i use myself), but not overly annoying when it comes to sound. The guitars are built up well enough to create a nice "wall", yet there is enough space left to hear the various details. One of the things that really stands out are the vocals, that lie over the entire mix, probably with a good stereo delay/spreader draped over it. It makes the entire thing easily listenable.

Final point i have, is that i really like some of the lyrics. The utterly blunt "I killed Jesus!" and "Master, i am sick of people who trust in me" (or something in that vein, i couldn't be bothered to look it up) really make it work, and add a bit of bluntness to an "agile"-sounding album. Very nicely done indeed.

Overall, i think this certainly isn't a weak spot on a good band's Curriculum.


thanks in advance.


heres an example of what i would have done for the first paragraph

" Since buying "Provenance of Cruelty" my fondness for Mactatus has been very bleak. It provides the listener with atmospheric black metal similar to that found on Dimmu Borgir's "Stormblast" with a hints of Emperor's "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" and "In the Nightside Eclipse". "Provenance of Cruelty" certainly stood out in terms of atmosphere, yet not as such in complexity or originality. And when it entered my musical spectrum, i was quite surprised. This was an entirely new sound, not found on anything previous. Surprising? Yes. Disappointing? Not at all. "

since i dont have knowledge of this album i cant help you much more than the actual grammar and some formatting but if you can get rid of some words, and some of the 'i's....

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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
Posts: 4578
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 11:30 pm 
 

just finished a review for Outworld's s/t and I'd appreciate feedback, positive or otherwise.


Outworld - Outworld

title: it slays
score: 95%


"The shortage of reviews for this band is curious. You would think that people would have learned to trust Lord Requiem's judgment of power/progressive releases by now, considering his involvement in Communic's road to (relative) commercial success (not that their music doesn't speak for itself).

Anyway, here we have it. Have what, right? Is this band supposed to ring a bell? The lineup looks rather anonymous. Well, if justice has her merry way, I won't have to answer that question, because Outworld will become a staple in the fabric of metal history. Basically, this album will rip your face off, pubic chin hair and all (for you youngsters out there), and set it on fire with naught but pure guitar shreddery. I hadn't heard of one Rusty Cooley prior to this release, but believe me when I say I am going to search high and low for his solo project after hearing Outworld.

From the get-go, the greatness doesn't let up. There's no filler to be found on the first nine tracks of this self-titled concoction of blazing heavy metal. Everything is divine. The riffs! Oh my wow, the riffs are unadulterated ecstasy. Take Dream Theater's finest moment of guitar wizardry and have Stephen Hawking multiply it by some unimaginable integer, and you might be somewhere close to how catchy, but at the same time, scorchingly uncommercial, Rusty's chops are. And not only the rhythm section; leads and solos are equally rapturous. There's restraint where restraint should be, and fretboard virtuosity where it benefits most.

But wait, that's not all. This isn't Rusty Cooley, this is Outworld. And as awesome as Cooley's playing is, by itself, it doesn't make the band. We have an utterly fantastic bass player, who lends several merciless lines throughout the recording. Just when you think it's safe to start paying full attention to Rusty again, smack! a suitably metal bassline comes out from the woodwork (2:57 of the title track is a good example). I won't say much about the drums or the keyboards, simply because they don't have as much to offer as the other instruments in this particular outing (which isn't necessarily derrogatory, considering the nature of those other instruments). They work, and that's all you need know.

Much has been said already concerning vocallist Kelly Carpenter in Lord Requiem's review, and any attempt to expand on that would probably result in making an idiot of myself, so I'll just try and reinforce what has been presented thus far. The guy can sing. His range and delivery are impeccably metal, and not many men in music period can match his ability to simply grab a note and soar with it. I want your autograph, Kelly.

Some songs are less amazing than others, but in the end, everything is top-notch. Reiteration is stupid. Buy this if you like metal."
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OutlawXanadu
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:18 pm
Posts: 4
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:45 pm 
 

I just finished writing my first review, and I'd love some feedback. The review is for Dream Theater's Scenes From A Memory, no title or rating determined yet.

--------

Reading through the internet on a boring winter day I happened to come across yet another negative review regarding Scenes From A Memory - "boring, error-filled, and overdone." Well, whoever put it in those terms was simply trying too hard to prove a flawed and over-critical point of view; one that has become ever too prominent in the world of prog-rock, prog-metal, and all else unique in our world of music.

Don't get me wrong, Scenes From A Memory is not the greatest album of all time. Scenes From A Memory isn't even Dream Theater's best album. Biased fanboys will argue otherwise, paying reference to the highest points Scenes has to offer (when it's good, it's great). Those critical of the band will argue the album's respectability, paying reference to the lowest points Scenes has to offer (when it's bad, it's downright annoying).

And those naysayers do have a method to their madness. At times. It goes without debate the record is overwhelmingly frustrating. Far too often the listener will find himself raving over, say, an awe-inspiring chorus only to have a big fat blurb jump in the way of perfection. Beyond This Life, appearing after the record's colossal opening of Overture 1928 (the best instrumental in the band's catalogue), Strange Déjà Vu (the perfect introduction of new keyboardist Jordan Rudess, spawning catchy choruses and rockin' riffs), and Fatal Tragedy (carved into shape by perhaps the most insane outro in the history of virtuosic composition, flawlessly paved within the framework of the song) is a prime example of this frustration.

Beyond This Life is a song plagued with needless vocal effects, a "stripper solo" (as John Petrucci referenced), a keyboard solo over-ridden with trumpet patches, and yea, a few other solos to boot as well. What makes the song so annoying is that within the frame of Scenes From A Memory and its concept, our penmanship here is ever-so-important. But the band doesn't seem to care. Beyond This Life brings about the feeling that Dream Theater has focused more on changing musical direction in pursuit of individual wankery than trying to put forth any mildly-inspiring storyline through lyrical display. One might also get annoyed when listening to the overextended outros in Home or Finally Free, and it's easy to see why The Dance of Eternity (musicians will go mad trying to play this) could negatively overwhelm a listener.

Despite these "errors", Home is an incredible piece of work that showcases the best Dream Theater has to offer (forget the porn). The Dance of Eternity serves no point in the scheme of things, but is an enjoyable listen if you're in the mood. We can't forget Through Her Eyes, a ballad that sounds stereotypical enough to grace MTV, but unique enough to please even the most close-minded of fans.

And then we get our three-song conclusion to Scenes; One Last Time, The Spirit Carries On, and the aforementioned Finally Free. One Last Time is yet another perfect example of Jordan Rudess at this best, his piano playing effortlessly guiding the song along while LaBrie provides a melodic chorus to end all melodic choruses. The Spirit Carries On is spine-chilling Dream Theater, yet another flawless vocal performance by LaBrie and one of many spine-chilling Petrucci solos paying tribute to a tear-jerking outro. Finally Free, despite being overextended, is the best closer in Dream Theater's repertoire (save for Octavarium) and provides one of few uplifting lyrical outputs in the band’s catalogue.

This record is just so frustrating because Scenes is so good sometimes it's frightening, but when those annoying blurbs pop up (Beyond This Life, conclusion of Home, The Dance Of Eternity, conclusion of Finally Free) they stall the album as a whole and stop it from picking up enough momentum to surpass the likes of Awake and Images. The lyrical content here is dull, barely getting the job done, and ironically Scenes stands out more song-by-song than as an album as a whole.

But throw away the occasional inconsistency and Scenes is complete gold. I don't believe an album has ever had so many heart-warming components to it, so many moments that send chills up and down my spine. Don't let the opinions of the masses mislead you, because Scenes is not an upper-echelon album in the history of progressive rock. Don't let the opinions of the few mislead you, because Scenes is not deeply flawed by any stretch of the imagination. Scenes is a great album by a great band, an album that will survive the test of time and continue to display its high points in resonating fashion. There's no revolution here, and there's certainly no disappointment, just Dream Theater doing what they do best while getting carried away once in awhile and providing no lyrical effort whatsoever.

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MushroomStamp
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:07 pm
Posts: 395
Location: Helsinki, Finland
PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 4:09 pm 
 

Quote:
Dream Theater review


Try to tone down the overuse of parentheses; there's a shitload of brackets here. Consider either dropping them out or opening them up into full sentences that work on their own. The brackets slow down reading and make the article a bit clumsy.

Overall it's quite okay. In addition to the point about parentheses, polish up the language a bit - the Internet should be capitalized, and introductory clauses have a comma after them:

"Reading through the internet on a boring winter day, I happened to come across yet another negative review ..."

Content-wise very good for a first-timer, especially because it avoids the fanboy approach that is so terribly common.
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Gutterscream
The Last Old Schooler in Town

Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:59 pm
Posts: 1083
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 4:57 pm 
 

I just rewrote my review for Destructor's Maximum Destruction. It deserved way more than that below-par piece 'o crap I wrote for it (as well as the 72% rating it has thanks to Boris, who I think was listening to the wrong album) as one of the first I did for this site. Most of my early ones here are in need of complete reconstruction, or at least a gallon of varnish.
_________________
"Who's this again?" my brother asks as his exceptional jeep stereo explodes with sound.
"Lair of the Minotaur!", I say loudly.
"Glare of the Minotaur?"
"No, Lair...but that's a pretty damn good name too!".

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erickg13
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 17, 2006 7:46 pm
Posts: 994
Location: The Middle of the Pacific Ocean.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:03 pm 
 

Gutterscream wrote:
I just rewrote my review for Destructor's Maximum Destruction. It deserved way more than that below-par piece 'o crap I wrote for it (as well as the 72% rating it has thanks to Boris, who I think was listening to the wrong album) as one of the first I did for this site. Most of my early ones here are in need of complete reconstruction, or at least a gallon of varnish.


join the club, man.....i have alot of my early reviews that really need some sorting out, rewriting and maybe total redoing.....

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OutlawXanadu
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:18 pm
Posts: 4
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:27 pm 
 

Quote:
Try to tone down the overuse of parentheses; there's a shitload of brackets here. Consider either dropping them out or opening them up into full sentences that work on their own. The brackets slow down reading and make the article a bit clumsy.


I cut down most of the brackets, and there are only three sets of them now. Each set is short, and I don't think they slow down the reading too much.


Quote:
Overall it's quite okay. In addition to the point about parentheses, polish up the language a bit - the Internet should be capitalized, and introductory clauses have a comma after them:

"Reading through the internet on a boring winter day, I happened to come across yet another negative review ..."


I added several commas in there, but am still unsure of all the sections I pooped up grammatically. If there are more blatent examples, please point them out.

--------

OK, here's my second draft. Thanks a ton for the initial help, and more would be appreciated by yourself, and anyone else. This will probably be the last time I come to the board for help concerning this particular review.

--------

Reading through the Internet on a boring winter day, I happened to come across yet another negative review regarding Scenes From A Memory - "boring, error-filled, and overdone." Well, whoever put it in those terms was simply trying too hard to prove a flawed and over-critical point of view that has become ever too prominent in the world of prog-rock, prog-metal, and all else unique in our world of music.

Don't get me wrong, Scenes From A Memory is not the greatest album of all time. Scenes From A Memory isn't even Dream Theater's best album. Biased fanboys will argue otherwise, paying reference to the highest points Scenes has to offer (when it's good, it's great). Those critical of the band will argue the album's respectability, paying reference to the lowest points Scenes has to offer (when it's bad, it's downright annoying).

And those naysayers do have a method to their madness at times. It goes without debate the record is overwhelmingly frustrating. Far too often the listener will find himself raving over, say, an awe-inspiring chorus only to have a big fat blurb jump in the way of perfection. Beyond This Life, thrashing in after the record's colossal opening of Overture 1928, Strange Déjà Vu, and Fatal Tragedy, is a prime example of this frustration.

Beyond This Life is a song plagued with needless vocal effects, a "stripper solo” as referred to by John Petrucci, a keyboard solo over-ridden with trumpet patches, and yea, a few other solos to boot as well. What makes the song so annoying is that within the frame of Scenes From A Memory and its concept, our penmanship here is ever-so-important. But the band doesn't seem to care. Beyond This Life brings about the feeling that Dream Theater has focused more on changing musical direction in pursuit of individual wankery than trying to put forth any mildly-inspiring storyline through lyrical display. One might also get annoyed when listening to the overextended outros in Home or Finally Free, and it's easy to see why The Dance of Eternity could negatively overwhelm a listener.

Despite these "errors", Home is an incredible piece of work that showcases the best Dream Theater has to offer. The Dance of Eternity serves no point in the scheme of things, but is an enjoyable listen if you're in the mood. We can't forget Through Her Eyes, a ballad that sounds stereotypical enough to grace MTV, but unique enough to please even the most closed-minded of fans.

And then we get our three-song conclusion to Scenes: One Last Time, The Spirit Carries On, and the aforementioned Finally Free. One Last Time is a perfect example of Jordan Rudess at this best, his piano playing effortlessly propelling the song while LaBrie provides a melodic chorus to end all melodic choruses. The Spirit Carries On is spine-chilling Dream Theater, yet another flawless vocal performance by LaBrie, and one of many spine-chilling Petrucci solos paying tribute to a tear-jerking outro. Finally Free, despite being overextended, is the best closer in Dream Theater's repertoire (save for Octavarium) and provides one of few uplifting lyrical outputs in the band’s catalogue.

This record is just so frustrating because it is so good at times it's frightening, but when those annoying blurbs pop up they stall the album as a whole and stop it from picking up enough momentum to surpass the likes of Awake and Images. The lyrical content here is dull, barely getting the job done, and ironically Scenes stands out more song-by-song than as an album from start to finish.

But throw away the occasional inconsistency and Scenes is complete gold. I don't believe an album has ever had so many heart-warming components to it, so many moments that send chills up and down my spine. Don't let the opinions of the masses mislead you, because Scenes is not an upper-echelon album in the history of progressive rock. Don't let the opinions of the few mislead you, because Scenes is not deeply flawed by any stretch of the imagination. Scenes is a great album by a great band, an album that will survive the test of time and continue to display its high points in resonating fashion. There's no revolution here, and there's certainly no disappointment, just Dream Theater doing what they do best while getting carried away once in awhile, and providing no lyrical effort whatsoever.

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MushroomStamp
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:07 pm
Posts: 395
Location: Helsinki, Finland
PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:48 pm 
 

OutlawXanadu wrote:

, but when those annoying blurbs pop up, they stall the album



After a quick skim through, I've nothing else to add. Just remember to go carefully through the next review as well.
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OutlawXanadu
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:18 pm
Posts: 4
Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:55 pm 
 

Thanks a ton for your feedback. You've been a ton of help, and again, more feedback would be appreciated!

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Human666
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue May 09, 2006 11:59 am
Posts: 291
PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:54 am 
 

I sent this review and i got mail says that the contents of my review are acceptable, but it is poorly formatted and difficult or annoying to read.
Can u help me with that?

Blind Guardian-A Twist In The Myth

2006 was a great year for the metal music, classic bands like : Iron Maiden, Slayer, Sodom, Metal Church etc... showed us they can create amazing music even after career longer than 20 years. But, only Blind Guardian could make the best album of this year and maybe their best album ,ever.

"This Will Never End" has a raw riffs with destructive double bass drumming that introducing to the powerful and epic singing of Hansi Kursch. Hansi sounds incredible, his voice sets somewhere between melodic screams to deep and clean singing and it's fit the songs very well. "Otherland" has such majestic chorus and phenomenal melodies in the verses that will stuck in your mind for a long time, and of course, the best solo I heard in 2006.

The riffs, oh my god, THE riffs are just so catchy and adding so much atmosphere.
First of all, each song has a lot of different and catchy riffs, and I'm not talking about the regular catchy power chords and than some notes repeating it self, most of the songs featuring some of the most majestic and ambitious metal compositions ever recorded. There are powerful riffs [the open track], acoustic and clean picking ["Carry The Blessed Home", "Skalds And Shadows"], hard rock riffs ["Another Stranger Me"], catchy Japanese harmonies["Fly"] and much more that I just can't describe enough well with words. Varied album? of course!

In conclusion: "A Twist In The Myth" is my favorite Blind Guardian's album and one of my favorite metal albums ever! This album is a classic that you must have if you are into metal music or wanna get into it. This is one of those special albums that you won't get bored of them after several listening, I heard this album over than 20 times and I'm actually still love it. each time when you'll take a ride on this masterpiece you will feel the rare shiver from musical excitement in your back
and you probably gonna be amazed for a while by the incredible genius of it
majestic atmosphere.

Highlights: "This Will Never End", "Otherland", "Turn The Page", "Fly", "Another Stranger Me", "Skalds And Shadows", "The Edge"...although I really love all the songs here, I find those i mentioned above are the most brilliance songs.

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DeathForBlitzkrieg
A Dead Man's Robe

Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 1:23 pm
Posts: 784
Location: Pannonia
PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:38 am 
 

Here's better formatting and I also corrected a few eye-catching grammar and phrasing mistakes, if you don't mind. ;)

"2006 was a great year for metal music, classic bands like Iron Maiden, Slayer, Sodom, Metal Church and other old school metal acts showed us that they can create amazing music even after a 20 years long career, but only Blind Guardian could make the best album of this year and maybe their best album ever.

"This Will Never End" has raw riffs with destructive double bass drumming that introduces [in this context the word makes no sense, as far as I know, what do you want to express?] to the powerful and epic singing of Hansi Kursch. Hansi sounds incredible, his voice sets somewhere between melodic screams to deep and clean singing and it fits the songs very well. "Otherland" has such majestic chorus and phenomenal melodies in the verses that it will stuck in your mind for a long time, and of course, the best solo I heard in 2006.

The riffs, oh my god, THE riffs are just so catchy and adding so much to the atmosphere. First of all, each song has a lot of different and catchy riffs, and I'm not talking about the regular catchy power chords and then some notes repeating themselves, most of the songs feature some of the most majestic and ambitious metal compositions ever recorded. There are powerful riffs (the opening track), acoustic and clean picking ("Carry The Blessed Home", "Skalds And Shadows"), hard rock riffs ("Another Stranger Me"), catchy Japanese harmonies ("Fly") and much more that I just can't describe well enough with words. Varied album? Of course!

In conclusion: "A Twist In The Myth" is my favorite Blind Guardian's album and one of my favorite metal albums ever! This album is a classic that you must have if you are into metal music or want to get into it. This is one of those special albums you won't get bored of even after several listening, I listened to this album over than 20 times and I still love it. Each time when you take a ride on this masterpiece you will feel the rare shiver from musical excitement in your back and you probably gonna be amazed for a while by the incredible genius of the majestic atmosphere.

Highlights: "This Will Never End", "Otherland", "Turn The Page", "Fly", "Another Stranger Me", "Skalds And Shadows", "The Edge", although I really love all the songs here, I find those I mentioned above are the most brilliant."

If you answer the question in [] in the second paragraph, I'll be able to help you with that, too, it really makes no sense. :) But all in all not a bad first review for a non-native speaker.
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MushroomStamp
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:07 pm
Posts: 395
Location: Helsinki, Finland
PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 11:49 am 
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma_splice
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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:07 pm 
 

I just submitted this for Narsil's Carcinogenic EP, gave it a score of 81. Thoughts?

Nahsil wrote:
Thundering blast beats, shrill pig squeals, down-tuned guitars. Oh
yes, it's brutal death metal. Typically, when I hear those words, my
stomach churns and auditory visions of vomit being swished around in
the mouth of a bassy vocallist ruin my appetite. Let it be known that
I am no fan of Deeds of Flesh, Liturgy, or Devourment. That brand of
gutteral gory pestilence does nothing but make me wish I was listening
to raw black metal. And I hate raw black metal.

I do make exceptions (or rather, exceptions make me), such as Wormed,
Benighted and Debodified (to lesser degrees), and then Narsil, the
band at hand. When the music is this good, awful vocals won't keep me
away. Narsil are built upon a foundation of brutal death, but every
once in a while you might hear the creeping flourish of something
more. A progressive tendancy!? Have my ears been rendered defunct by
the excessive pig-gurgling of the man with the microphone? The
beginning guitar of "Lugubrious" could easily find its way to an album
such as "Banquet in the Darkness," "Back to Times of Splendor," or
even some long lost melody written by Neglected Fields. It actually
contrasts nicely with the harsh death tones that supercede it.

I like this band. Quality riffs abound, solid drumming, and enough
episodic dashes of creativity to keep my attention. It's a pleasant
surprise when something more hits the table. If this EP is any
indication, I'm betting Narsil will impress, when and if a full-length
comes around.
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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
Posts: 3987
PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 12:32 am 
 

Update on my review of Orthrelm's Norildivoth Crallos Lomrixth Urthiln:

Quote:
http://media.putfile.com/some-stupid-awful-Orthrelm-song


There. Do you hear that? That should be enough to convince you the album that song is from is as ugly and out of place as a vaginal wart on your cute little puppy. It stands out like the World's Ugliest Dog at a beauty pageant, it is disgusting, it revolts you and you wonder for a few hours why it even exists in the first place.


You know, when I originally downloaded this album, I deleted it before even listening to it all of the way. It was that awful. Now, for a while I’ve been silently admonishing myself for not having any seriously negative reviews, but I was scarred for months from my initial encounter with this album, so I opted not to bother. I recently thought I should review it from memory, then realized that’s generally frowned upon. It would appear the scars have yet to heal, as I’m listening to it now and can faithfully say I probably could have just as easily done it from memory. In fact, it would have been beneficial to my health.

You see, this album is the sort of thing that I’m pretty sure could magically shorten someone’s lifespan through repeated use. One of those rare Diet Coke’s of music that have no clinically proven side effects but which has a consistent contingent of consternated listeners who insist they’ve received headaches, herpes, elevated levels of anger and all manner of physical and psychological problems. It’s going to be a long time until I hear an album more diseased than this.

The album’s music is the same as it’s effects---diseased. The reason I checked out these guys in the first place was because of the way a friend of sorts described them to me: “John Zorn taken to the next level,” or something equivalent to the way Luc Lemay described Negativa. Being a fan of Zorn’s work, I was intrigued. Unfortunately for my ears and longevity, he left out a few things. This is similar to Naked City and the like, yes; the manic energy is there, as is the improvisational song “writing.” But there is no jazz., so don’t let the Zorn comparisons fool you for that reason. The music is entirely based on guitar shredding, so don’t let the Zorn comparisons fool you for that reason either. Said shredding is completely atonal, or at least so discordant that it sounds that way. There is no method to the madness either, and as a consequence the music has no melody whatsoever. There isn’t any melody disguised as noise or vice versa; there just simply isn’t any melody at all. Kerry King could make an entire album chock full of his breed of improvised atonal soloing and no riffs, and it would sound about twice as good as Norildivoth Crallos Lomrixth Urthiln. It’s completely unlistenable, in other words.

The best way I can describe the album for you is this: imagine if a wizard cast a spell on two little children who had never played an instrument in their life, and this spell enabled them to play really fast. Then imagine that these two young fops decided to make an atonal shred album. That’s what this record is. Two kids with no knowledge of how to properly use either atonality or tonality playing fast, two kids with no idea how to properly use either dissonance or consonance shredding all over the guitar and drums with no ear for melody at all. Here’s another description for you: if I could play this fast after one month of guitar playing, this is what I would sound like. As I said before, there is no theory here, neither a strict adherence to musical theory nor a rejection of theory in favor of creating their own. This is amateur music of the most painfully embarrassing sort. Sometimes when my brother is playing video games and I want a turn, I find my guitar and purposefully make some of the most annoying, irritating, soulless leads, and that’s EXACTLY what this sounds like: a band intentionally trying to be annoying. A band intentionally trying to suck.


Once again, go Nazi on it.

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Neo139
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2005 2:35 pm
Posts: 5
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 2:13 am 
 

Encyclopaedia Metallum has rejected your submission Inbox Reply


Encyclopaedia Metallum <[email protected]> to me
show details 7:00 pm (4 hours ago)

Sorry Neo139, Encyclopaedia Metallum was forced to reject your review for for Beto Vázquez Infinity - Flying Towards the new Horizon, for the following reason:

The contents of your review are acceptable, but it is poorly formatted and difficult or annoying to read. Please see the following list of possible problems, correct those you find in your review and then resubmit your work.

- The review consists of a single or too few paragraphs and needs to be broken into more manageable parts.
- There are paragraphs, but they have not been properly separated. Make sure you use two enter strokes between the paragraphs, and please note that indents are not supported.
- You have used enter too often, after every sentence or after every line in the submission window, and the formatting has suffered. Only use the enter twice to separate paragraphs, or once to change lines when needed for other purposes.
- There is supposed to be a space after every comma, period and other kinds of punctuation marks.
- You have not capitalized proper nouns or the first letters in sentences. This may include the review title.
- The number of typos and grammar mistakes is too high. We suggest that you either use a spell and grammar checker, or ask a fluent English-speaker to polish the text.

Your review was:

Code:
_________________________________________

BETO VÁZQUEZ INFINITY - FLYING TOWARDS THE NEW HORIZON

Five years have passed for Beto Vázquez (ex-Nepal) to release a second (third in composition) Full-length album. Now the sound of the band is more defined and it seems they have chose a musical direction. The first album was impossible to put it in a genre, as much that here, in Encyclopaedia Metallum figured "Melodic Metal/Rock" as the genre of the band in spite of it was not a valid genre in the Site rules.

This album is less renaissance, more heavier than before, close to a Symphonic Power/Gothic metal sound with some Neoclassical elements. This is the first album that the constant band members (the ones that play in live shows) participated, differently to the first album that only guest musicians and Beto Vázquez participated.

The album starts with "Cardassia and Bajor" the typical intro with classical music sound, epic chorus, and orchestra instruments with a dark atmosphere that reminds to Rhapsody's Intros or Mago de Oz's Gaia II Intro. Follow to this "After the Tempest" the heavier track of the album and one of the highlightings. The album continuous with "Lord of the Sky", a remake, the original song is in "Space Without Limits" album, that will be the next released. (As I said at the beginning of the review, this is the second release, but the third album made, because the second album was delayed because of record company problems.)

"The Tunnel of the Souls" is one of the ballads of the albums with "Secret", if the only thing you are looking is speed, this two tracks will be a point against, you will like more "Time of Reflection" and "She is my Guide" that are the Power metal tracks of the album.

The problem comes with the seventh track, Star Losers, a very simple song that i don't like it at all. Talking with other people that listened the album I found that they favorite track of the album was this track. Beto Vázquez said in an interview that this song was not thought to be included in the album at the beginning since it was made in-joke. So this is one of the tracks that you love it, or hate it.

The album ends with "Tale of the Black Tower", I believe, the best track of the album and the longest of the band until now. This song is an opera rock with lots of mattresses of keyboards and melancholic vocals.

In this album participated more than 15 vocalists so the vocals sounds a bit strange the first time you hear it. Listen it a couple of times to accustomed to them.

Hightlithings: “After the Tempest”, “Soldiers of Hope”, “Tale of the Black Tower”.

Conclusion: Very different to the debut album, this release has more energy, but still conserves the peace and calm in tracks like "Secret" or "The Tunnel of the Souls". Highly recommended for fans of Symphonic, Power and Gothic metal.

I'm not native speaker of English, I’m from Argentina (Hermética & Maradona's country), so I would appreciate your help to fix the typo and grammar and other errors of my review.
That was my first review written.
Thanks
(the score was 90%)

with corrections:
Code:
_________________________________________

BETO VÁZQUEZ INFINITY - FLYING TOWARDS THE NEW HORIZON

Five years have passed, and Beto Vázquez (ex-Nepal) have released their second (third in composition) full-length album. The band's sound is now more defined and it seems they have chosen a musical direction. The first album was impossible to put into a genre, so much that here in the Encyclopaedia Metallum, they were labelled "Melodic Metal/Rock" in spite of the fact that this was not a valid genre in the site rules.

This album is less innovator, heavier than before, close to a symphonic power/gothic metal sound with some neoclassical elements. This was the first album in which their live lineup participated, different to the first album in that only guest musicians and Beto Vázquez participated.

The album starts with "Cardassia and Bajor" the typical intro with classical music sound, epic chorus, and orchestra instruments with a dark atmosphere that reminds to Rhapsody's Intros or Mago de Oz's Gaia II Intro. Follow to this "After the Tempest" the heavier track of the album and one of the highlightings. The album continuous with "Lord of the Sky", a remake, the original song is in "Space Without Limits" album, that will be the next released. (As I said at the beginning of the review, this is the second release, but the third album made, because the second album was delayed because of record company problems.)

"The Tunnel of the Souls" is one of the ballads of the albums with "Secret", if the only thing you are looking is speed, this two tracks will be a point against, you will like more "Time of Reflection" and "She is my Guide" that are the power metal tracks of the album.

The problem comes with the seventh track, "Star Losers", a very simple song that i don't like it at all. Talking with other people that listened the album I found that they favorite track of the album was this track. Beto Vázquez said in an interview that this song was not thought to be included in the album at the beginning since it was made in-joke. So this is one of the tracks that you love it, or hate it.

The album ends with "Tale of the Black Tower", I believe, the best track of the album and the longest of the band until now. This song is an opera rock with lots of mattresses of keyboards and melancholic vocals.

In this album participated more than 15 vocalists so the vocals sounds a bit strange the first time you hear it. Listen it a couple of times to accustomed to them.

Hightlithings: “After the Tempest”, “Soldiers of Hope”, “Tale of the Black Tower”.

Conclusion: Very different to the debut album, this release has more energy, but still conserves the peace and calm in tracks like "Secret" or "The Tunnel of the Souls". Highly recommended for fans of symphonic, power and gothic metal.


Last edited by Neo139 on Thu Feb 01, 2007 3:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
Posts: 4578
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 3:09 pm 
 

Neo139 wrote:
_________________________________________

BETO VÁZQUEZ INFINITY - FLYING TOWARDS THE NEW HORIZON

Five years have passed, and Beto Vázquez (ex-Nepal) have released their second (third in composition) full-length album. The band's sound is now more defined and it seems they have chosen a musical direction. The first album was impossible to put into a genre, so much that here in the Encyclopaedia Metallum, they were labelled "Melodic Metal/Rock" in spite of the fact that this was not a valid genre in the site rules.

This album is less renaissance (old-fashioned, maybe?), heavier than before, close to a symphonic power/gothic metal sound with some neoclassical elements(you don't need to capitalize genres). This was the first album in which their live lineup participated, different to the first album in that only guest musicians and Beto Vázquez participated.


not perfect, and I don't have time to do the entire thing (maybe later), but I hope this helps.
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Neo139
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2005 2:35 pm
Posts: 5
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 4:23 pm 
 

Thanks! of course it helps
I edited my post, and add the review in progress

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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
Posts: 3987
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 1:49 am 
 

:(

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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
Posts: 4578
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:09 am 
 

Earthcubed wrote:
:(


You bashed Orthrelm! You don't deserve constructive criticism! Although I get this nagging feeling that Orthrelm drastically switch their sound from album to album. I should corroborate this by getting one more of their releases.
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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
Posts: 3987
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:12 pm 
 

So you haven't heard that album? Okay, fine. I provided a sound sample from it in my review.

That's what the whole album sounds like.

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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
Posts: 4578
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 7:42 pm 
 

hmm, I think the album I have has much better structure, but if you don't like that clip you probably wouldn't like "Iorxhscimtor"
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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
Posts: 3987
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 8:26 pm 
 

I want to review one with no reviews, so it's gonna be OV.


So can anyone actually give me some constructive criticism of that review or no?

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PriestofSadWings
Bishop of Dark Spaces

Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:29 pm
Posts: 564
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 10:38 pm 
 

I submitted a review of Maiden's Killers and it hasn't been accepted yet.
Here's the review...I spent awhile on it (unusual for me, my reviews are usually spontaneous things). I am usually not worth crap when criticizing my own stuff, so please help.

OOOOOW! YOOOOOOW!
95
This is my first Maiden album, and well, I want more. There are a few songs that don't work on here, but the ones that do are close to perfect.

The individual performances:
Steve Harris is definitely a good songwriter and bassist - many, if not all of his bass lines are awesome. The dueling Thin Lizzy-ish guitars get upstaged, but are nevertheless cool. Clive Burr has a very distinct drumming style and he's an excellent drummer as well. And Paul Di'Anno... he's a strange vocalist, almost a punk singer, but with ability most punk singers just don't have. His raspy growl and piercing upper range is a definite contrast to Bruce Dickinson. And he looks like an extra from the movie "The Outsiders", a real greaser.

The songs take center stage here. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" starts off with one of those boring acoustic intros that the search button was invented for. Once the song starts, though, it hits you with all the force of (insert pretentious metaphor such as "a brick in the stomach" here). Between the pure energy-charged punk verses and the quite catchy chorus, the song is an immediate classic. Another great song is the instrumental “Genghis Khan”, whose military march, pomp and circumstance do recall the famous and infamous Temujin. (Genghis Khan’s real name, for those of you who never paid attention in history class.) Also, there is some nice fast playing on it. Purgatory is a cool proto-speed metal track with some catchy guitar harmonies an even catchier chorus where Paul begs “Pleease, take me awaaaay…”The title track, however, is this albums master piece. It starts off with a foreboding bass pattern and Burr’s hi-hat ominously tapping. And then Di’Anno’s “screams break the still of the night.” This spine-tingling pattern continues for a minute, at which point it breaks into Maiden’s trademark NWOBHM gallop with a Phantom-of-the-Opera-like twist. Di’Anno’s psychotic vocals really define the song, along with Harris’ incredible bass playing and one of Dave Murray’s best solos. If you can’t buy the whole album for any reason, download, steal, burn, get this song however you can. It’s worth it.

Then we have the songs which aren’t life-changing, just good. “Wrathchild” and its pointless intro “The Ides of March” is one such song. The sense of energy is palpable, with the reworked “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” riff, the anthemic chorus and cool soloing. Unfortunately, the song isn’t quite a classic because of its uninspired pre-chorus. “Another Life”, another song that doesn’t quite hit as hard as it should. Whether it’s the repetition of the lyrics, or…I don’t know, with all the burning metal and excellent musicianship on the song, they just forgot to put in anything memorable. The lyrics to “Innocent Exile” are standard Di’Anno, “I’m a rebel and they’re framing me for murder, I didn’t do it, Lord I’m running,” etc. Even though there is no one who plays such characters better, it does seem a little cliche, even if Di’Anno did invent that cliche. “Twilight Zone”, on the other hand, has excellent lyrics. The problem is the music here – not as memorable or as awesome as some of the other songs. Now just because I’ve nitpicked apart all these songs, that doesn’t mean they’re bad songs. It means that they aren’t up to the high standard that the aforementioned classics set.
“Prodigal Son” isn’t bad but… who the hell is “lamia”? Why a ballad, even one this intricate and dark, on an otherwise amazing album? The lyrics are good, but the song just wasn’t a good fit for the album. I think Paul “A bit too intricate for me, I like it rough and ready” Di’Anno would agree with me on this one. “Drifter”, on the other hand has the same problem as “Twilight Zone” – too much rock, not enough metal. It has a very catchy chorus (Sing it along!), but even that just doesn’t stick.

Like few other albums, Iron Maiden’s second knows what makes metal great, and uses it well.
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Mungo
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jan 16, 2006 7:41 pm
Posts: 662
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 1:18 am 
 

^ Sounds alright to me. I would try to have a longer conclusion though, as I don't think one sentence is enough. Apart from that though it's pretty good.

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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 5:08 pm 
 

Earthcubed wrote:
:(

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PriestofSadWings
Bishop of Dark Spaces

Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:29 pm
Posts: 564
PostPosted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 6:33 pm 
 

Mungo wrote:
^ Sounds alright to me. I would try to have a longer conclusion though, as I don't think one sentence is enough. Apart from that though it's pretty good.


Thanks, I'll edit it later when I have the time.
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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
Posts: 3987
PostPosted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:26 pm 
 

Earthcubed wrote:
Earthcubed wrote:
:(

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Nahsil
Clerical Sturmgeschütz

Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:06 pm
Posts: 4578
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 8:18 pm 
 

Earthcubed wrote:
Earthcubed wrote:
Earthcubed wrote:
:(


Lol, whenever I have some free time I'll check it out.
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Human666
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue May 09, 2006 11:59 am
Posts: 291
PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:51 am 
 

Ok, I sent a review on "Anthrax-Fistful Of Metal" and I really worked a lot about this one...and then my review has been rejected because the same reasons as my BG review rejected at first [" The contents of your review are acceptable, but it is poorly formatted and difficult or annoying to read"] !
Can anyone tell me whats the problem here? I can't find anything wrong...but well, it's just me S:
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The first time I heard Anthrax was with their 3rd full length album "Among The Living", that in my opinion is the second best thrash metal album ever written. So then I really got into Anthrax and I decided that I must know all their stuff, and there isn't a better way to know a band from their first album, right?

At first, I noticed the different vocals, it's Neil Turbin who sings here, and although Belladonna was the best anthrax's vocalist, Turbin may be the second! He actually screams the lyrics instead of really sings and it's really fits the songs very well, as "Fistful Of Metal" is maybe the most aggressive and the most dirty album of Anthrax. The lyrics usually got to do with violence, death, driving fast and more of this pretty cool stuff.

Now let's talk about the music it self! Most songs on this album have a fast guitar riffs and really cool solos. "Deathrider" has such a kick ass main riff that will really get you into the mood of headbanging till your neck breaks, and with insane high pitched screams and catchy chorus, this is definitely the best song here and one of Anthrax greatest hits. "Metal Thrashing Mad" is a totally amazing classic with a simple and great guitar riffs and outstanding bass line in the solo. The Alice Copper cover is much better than the original version, but it isn't in the level of the original songs here because it's maybe a little bit slower and less interesting. Another outstanding song here is the closing track "Howling Furies", here Turbin really sings and not screaming, even in a calmly way. The riffs are just wonderful and the second solo is the best one in the whole album, just amazing way to close such a great album!

This album is, without any doubt, one of the best albums in the 80's thrash scene. Each song here is good in his way and you won't get bored of this album easily, I have heard it so many times that I can't remember exactly how much months I enjoyed this goddamn album!

Highly recommended for all the "metal thrashing mads" out there!
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BTW, ty DeathForBlitzkrieg for helped me with my BG review (:

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Gutterscream
The Last Old Schooler in Town

Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:59 pm
Posts: 1083
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 9:21 am 
 

Human666 wrote:
Ok, I sent a review on "Anthrax-Fistful Of Metal" and I really worked a lot about this one...and then my review has been rejected because the same reasons as my BG review rejected at first [" The contents of your review are acceptable, but it is poorly formatted and difficult or annoying to read"] !
Can anyone tell me whats the problem here? I can't find anything wrong...but well, it's just me S:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first time I heard Anthrax was with their 3rd full length album "Among The Living", that in my opinion is the second best thrash metal album ever written. So then I really got into Anthrax and I decided that I must know all their stuff, and there isn't a better way to know a band from their first album, right?

At first, I noticed the different vocals, it's Neil Turbin who sings here, and although Belladonna was the best anthrax's vocalist, Turbin may be the second! He actually screams the lyrics instead of really sings and it's really fits the songs very well, as "Fistful Of Metal" is maybe the most aggressive and the most dirty album of Anthrax. The lyrics usually got to do with violence, death, driving fast and more of this pretty cool stuff.

Now let's talk about the music it self! Most songs on this album have a fast guitar riffs and really cool solos. "Deathrider" has such a kick ass main riff that will really get you into the mood of headbanging till your neck breaks, and with insane high pitched screams and catchy chorus, this is definitely the best song here and one of Anthrax greatest hits. "Metal Thrashing Mad" is a totally amazing classic with a simple and great guitar riffs and outstanding bass line in the solo. The Alice Copper cover is much better than the original version, but it isn't in the level of the original songs here because it's maybe a little bit slower and less interesting. Another outstanding song here is the closing track "Howling Furies", here Turbin really sings and not screaming, even in a calmly way. The riffs are just wonderful and the second solo is the best one in the whole album, just amazing way to close such a great album!

This album is, without any doubt, one of the best albums in the 80's thrash scene. Each song here is good in his way and you won't get bored of this album easily, I have heard it so many times that I can't remember exactly how much months I enjoyed this goddamn album!

Highly recommended for all the "metal thrashing mads" out there! (:



Try this -

The first time I heard Anthrax it was with their 3rd full length album "Among The Living" and in my opinion is the second best thrash metal album ever written. I really got into Anthrax and decided to find all their stuff, and there isn't a better way to get to know a band than by starting with their first album, right?

At first, I noticed the different vocals. It's Neil Turbin who sings here, and although Belladonna was the best Anthrax vocalist, Turbin may be the second. He actually screams the lyrics instead of singing them and it really fits the songs well. "Fistful Of Metal" is maybe the most aggressive and the dirtiest album by Anthrax. The lyrics usually have to do with violence, death, driving fast and other pretty cool stuff.

The music itself has fast guitar riffs and really cool solos. "Deathrider" has such a kick ass main riff that will really get you into a headbanging mood 'til your neck breaks, and with insane high pitched screams and a catchy chorus, this is definitely the best song here and one of Anthrax's greatest hits. "Metal Thrashing Mad" is a totally amazing classic with a simple and great guitar riff and outstanding bass line during the solo. The Alice Cooper cover is much better than the original version, but it isn't of the level of the original songs here because it's maybe a little bit slower and less interesting. Another outstanding song is the closing track "Howling Furies". Here Turbin really sings calmly and doesn't scream. The riffs are just wonderful, the second solo is the best one in the whole album, and it's just an amazing way to close such a great album.

This album is, without a doubt, one of the best albums in the 80's thrash scene. Each song here is good in its own way and you won't get bored of this album easily. I have heard it so many times that I can't remember exactly how many times I've enjoyed this goddamn album.

Highly recommended for all the "metal thrashing mads" out there.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

No miracles here, but cleaned up.
_________________
"Who's this again?" my brother asks as his exceptional jeep stereo explodes with sound.
"Lair of the Minotaur!", I say loudly.
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"No, Lair...but that's a pretty damn good name too!".

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