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Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
https://forum.metal-archives.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=118097		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Corpus47 [ Mon Apr 17, 2017 3:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
I'm given to a lot of self-doubt, so I apologize if this is an overly pedantic inquiry or is otherwise just a stupid question.

Although I've been an MA consumer for several years now, I've recently started reviewing albums on MA (having been spurred on by the Christmas-time/end-of-year challenge). Earlier, I submitted two reviews for two different albums from the same band (and had both accepted). I just barely submitted a third for a different band. They've all been positive reviews, but I did attempt to be balanced by pointing out things I did not like or could have been better.

So here's where my question comes in. In choosing what to review, I've been looking for albums that I've enjoyed that haven't been reviewed at all yet. Is that approach a problem at all? In other words, I get that MA appreciates and wants high-quality reviews on as many albums as possible, but should I not be focusing on albums that I really like that I think deserve attention? Should I consider reviewing an album I've bought that I did not enjoy and that has no reviews in order to be more balanced, or consider reviewing albums that already have one or more reviews?

Again, I'm a dude given to a lot of self doubt. (If I wanted to be charitable, I'd call it skeptical introspection, I guess.) So I suppose I'm just trying to make sure that I'm not causing problems (even minor ones) with my approach.
Author:  Empyreal [ Mon Apr 17, 2017 4:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
Review whatever you want. Reviewing anything with little or no reviews is always looked at favorably here, no matter what score you give.
Author:  BastardHead [ Mon Apr 17, 2017 7:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
Yeah man, you're doing fine. Reviewing virgins or less reviewed stuff is looked upon favorably as opposed to the squintillionth Metallica/Maiden/Slayer review. Giving out lots of positive scores is fine too as long as you don't wind up like some of our reviewers that give out almost exclusively perfect scores while occasionally dipping down to 95%, purely because that gives readers who follow you or notice you across several reviews any frame of reference towards your taste or standards of quality. Don't overthink it so much, just write what you want and you'll be fine.
Author:  TheStormIRide [ Mon Apr 17, 2017 9:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
Like BH said, you're doing fine. Review what you want, when you want; positive or negative. I tend to review albums I like and find that I can write those reviews more smoothly, but everyone is different in their style. Make sure you try different things, though, to see what your strengths and weaknesses are. Keep writing, keep improving.
Author:  Corpus47 [ Tue Apr 18, 2017 12:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
Thanks for the reassurance, guys. I appreciate it!
Author:  tomcat_ha [ Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
i only review stuff i feel have something to say about instead of just "this is good and that is bad"
Author:  CHAIRTHROWER [ Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
Ah! The classic conundrum of the Overt Enthusiast

Yes, I know your pain! I impulsively and instinctively yearn to let the World know at any given time which album is well, making me want to throw chairs and the like.

As fun as this is - especially for unheard of unreviewed "gems" out there (and there are plenty!) - it creates a rift between the reviewer and most readers (not everyone freaks to the same extent over the same things, and Thank Goodness for that! Who wants censorship? A dictatorship? No thanks.) It sort of makes people think: "Hmm, this guy likes everything." Your writings may still be enjoyable to read, but not given as much street cred or whatever. I know, it's more like : "NO, I review what I LIKE". But life is all about the overall picture and how we market ourselves.

If you want to simply pay homage to the bands you love and thank them by churning in reviews, this effort which parallels , (although to a lesser degree of course) the monumental efforts of these hard-working men and women who repeatedly deliver the straight goods, the heavy metal goods. The right stuff, heavy metal wise. By all means , give 'em all 100%!

But if want to hobnob with some of the more respected and respectable writers on this site anyhow, you (and I both I know!) need to go out on a limb, out of our confort zone,and start reviewing albums which don't tickle us pink quite so or deserve to be proclaimed wide and loud on a pan-global scale. I think straying off the beaten path in regards to genres covered goes a long way too!

Whatever you choose to do though, NEVER give up writing! The pen may not be mightier than the axe (guitar) but it is very well stronger than the proverbial Sword.

CHAIR
Author:  Dembo [ Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
CHAIRTHROWER wrote:
Who wants censorship? A dictatorship? No thanks.

It's a common misconception that censorship is about not providing a platform to anyone who wants it. If a site, MA or any other, would chose any policy of what they're gonna include and exclude on their site, none of it's censorship. For example if they were to decide that only positive reviews are allowed, it's not censoring anyone. However, it would be dictatorship if a site was forced to include stuff it didn't want. And obviously most sites, including MA to my knowledge, never claims democracy. Good thing they don't since millions of nu-metal fans could have effected the site to include tons of non-metal shit.
Author:  BastardHead [ Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Am I using a harmful strategy for choosing albums to review?
Dembo wrote:
CHAIRTHROWER wrote:
Who wants censorship? A dictatorship? No thanks.

It's a common misconception that censorship is about not providing a platform to anyone who wants it. If a site, MA or any other, would chose any policy of what they're gonna include and exclude on their site, none of it's censorship. For example if they were to decide that only positive reviews are allowed, it's not censoring anyone. However, it would be dictatorship if a site was forced to include stuff it didn't want. And obviously most sites, including MA to my knowledge, never claims democracy. Good thing they don't since millions of nu-metal fans could have effected the site to include tons of non-metal shit.


Dafuq are you saying? Did you just skim until you saw "censorship" and then vomited on the keyboard? He's not talking about that at all. I mean, you're right about everything you said but precisely none of it was pertinent.
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