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droneriot
cisgender

Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:17 pm
Posts: 10812
Location: Spahn Ranch
PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 2:07 am 
 

You're not "showing ignorance", you are using a strawman. Very clumsily, at that.
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Transcendent_Logos
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:09 am
Posts: 5
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 2:51 am 
 

Well, yes, but also not really. Read the reviews on previous albums, its full of "Sell out", "Poser", "Not true", "False" and the like.

It may be an assumption of an oppositions view, but a reviews main purpose should be to provide an accurate honest account of your experience with the release.
The straw man approach sets up the likelihood of someone thinking like I had mentioned (and if you read similar reviews, it isn't that wild an assumption). With albums like that (where a bands position means more to people than the actual music) a negative review based solely on that can easily put a lot of people off, especially if they haven't heard it before.

I personally feel its more effective if it can stop people in their usual train of thought (which is usual a Bullshit train going off the rails), and to think of shaping a review based on its sound, not attaching themselves to the common public opinion so they don't get classed as a "poser" by others who share that common opinion.

But then again you are right that I'm assuming their opinion is based on that. But I've certainly noticed a lot of hypocrisy in reviews of people worshipping the sound of one band, whereas a band they'd class as 'gay' would have similar vocals or a similar musical style to the band they'd adore. And its most likely bands that are now popular that a lot of people shun themselves from because its not 'kvlt', so you can probably see where I'm coming from in my approach.

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MushroomStamp
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:07 pm
Posts: 395
Location: Helsinki, Finland
PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:52 am 
 

The piece immediately strikes me as more of a rant than a review; that is, a high proportion of the content is slanting "kvlt kiddies". Now, a rant can be fine if it fulfills some basic criteria:

a) it proves its point(s)
b) sounds intelligent
c) preferably adds some heavyweight musical description, as well.

Starting from a): discussing the point

The major issue at hand seems to be whether DB are sell-outs; the review discusses this with lines like this:

Quote:
How anyone could throw this album away as mere "Symphonic Extreme Metal", is merely an act of petty jealousy, stupidity or immature elitism.


And there you stop, giving no evidence.

Another one:

Quote:
This is far from selling out. A band that sells out would find a working formula and stick to producing that over and over. Dimmu Borgir once again takes their sound to further lengths than before, only this time its certainly for the better. And as no kvlt kiddie likes a band to do that, they're now catagorised as "Symphonic Extreme Metal" and shelved along with Cradle Of Filth. Wow, nice one, folks. You're really proving Black Metal to be intelligent with such stupidity.


This is where the straw man kicks in; like in the previous quote, you give no specific examples and assume the reader agrees with you on that this is the opinion of those who don't enjoy Dimmu's music.

You cried out: "Read the reviews on previous albums, its full of "Sell out", "Poser", "Not true", "False" and the like."

Yes and no. I took time reading through the reviews on Dimmu's previous effort, and while they mostly started with a paragraph touching the sell-out issue and perhaps included a comment on it in the conclusion, they either left out the debate on the subject or gave examples from the music as to whether DB have watered down their music over the years. Your review does neither, resulting in a line of individual wishy-washy comments (see above) that have no overall relevance because they rely on your own assumptions instead of proving them.

Conclusion on A): Failure.

Section B): sounding intelligent

A matter of taste mostly, but if you want to "stop people in their usual train of thought", do you use a sentence like this early on in the review?

Quote:
Now, while every kvlt kiddie with no knowledge of the music business, immediately slates a band on a big label and that isn't underground anymore, ignores the fact that a band has an artistic vision to realise.


Does an ad hominem in the introduction lure the reader into reading more if his initial opinion is opposite from yours? Does it make people "stop [--] in their usual train of thought", or just annoy them and make them ignore the rest of the review?

The festival goes on:

Quote:
The intro riffs remind me instantly of Watain and theres even slow mid-riff breakdowns perfectly reminiscent of Deathspell Omega, but because of the difference in production and the fact you're most likely going to judge this with a "Dummy burger r gay, hhehehe" closed-minded way, you'd miss out on this instantly. If you fail to see the similarities in some riffs, you're obviously too stupid to see past your elistism bullshit.


There! The moment it attaches some musical description go along with the ranting, the review collapses upon itself by adding the thought "if you don't agree, you're a twit", coupled with a delicious typo in writing "elitism".

Section B: Failure, although the musical description that is detached from the ranting is plausible.


Section C): musical description

As I said, not bad, adding some musical vocabulary and all, but at this point, does it matter anymore? The ranting has personally pissed me off even though I am largely indifferent about the whole band. And more: there are reviews that give a similar description without resorting to whining about them evil evil kvlt kiddies.

C: Abstain.
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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 Mar 10, 2007 11:59 am 
 

Written by azucarnegra on March 10th, 2007

Another Memento Mori album and another power-metal gem. This album is even heavier than the first one, but still very selective, distinctive in character and extremely well crafted.

Same line-up guarantees highest quality in both composition, musicianship and sound quality. The Memento Mori style is unique and unmistakable.

Check this out. You won't regret. Guaranteed.

----------------------------
Azucarnegra - if you're reading this thread, please ask someone here why this doesn't quite cut the mustard. It may be leaps and bounds over the first review draft you submitted for the album, but...well, you get my drift. I hope.

At this moment, he's also our newest member, so let's help him out a little.
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PriestofSadWings
Bishop of Dark Spaces

Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:29 pm
Posts: 564
PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:57 pm 
 

I just went Angry Video Game Nerd on Def Leppard's Hysteria. I had a lot of fun flaming the album, but I don't think the review is quite up to par with what I usually do. Any suggestions?

Here's the review:
24%
Energy = Spent

So here we have it. Hysteria. Def Leppard’s best-selling album. Multi-multi-multi-multi platinum. Best album of 1987…blah blah blah.

Yeah, right. This album sucks ass. It doesn’t suck ass because it’s hair metal, or because it’s a sellout album, or because of its awfully overdone production. It sucks ass because… well, the songwriting and lyrics are awful.

Think about all the great albums that came out in ’87. Among the Living. The Ultra-Violence. Dream Evil. Scream Bloody Gore. Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1. Hall of the Mountain King. The Legacy (unless you’re UltraBoris). And yet many of those albums went unnoticed while the mainstream media reverently kissed Hysteria and Appetite for Destruction’s asses.

I can stand hair rock just fine. I’ll admit that I’m a little bit prejudiced against bands like Warrant and Poison, but the first wave of hair rock (Ratt, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, WASP) has done OK against the march of time. So there’s nothing wrong with the type of music that Def Leppard is trying to play here. There is no question they are selling out, but I can tolerate a sellout if the music stays good.

The first thing dragging the album down is its ridiculous production. I didn’t even think that it was possible for production to be masturbatory, but here it is. The electric guitars are thin and un-heavy, the clean guitars echoey and overproduced. The drumming sounds like a drum machine, and the bass sounds like it came pre-programmed with the drum machine. The background vocals are the dominant feature of the production, and well, they suck. We don’t need to hear the rest of the band going “oooh”, we need riffs, goddammit!

One clear indication that you should stay away from an album is that critics are using the phrase “pop hooks” to describe it. Well, what’s a pop hook? A pop hook is a shitty little piece of melody that is 1. sung 2. played on a keyboard 3. played on one string of a guitar. Take the “hook” from opener “Women”, for example. It could have been a great riff, but they decided it would sound better as a “hook”. So instead of an awesome riff, you get a piece-of-fucking-shit “ear candy” hook with no energy to it at all.

Is it possible to explain how fucking horrible the singing is? I’ll take a stab at it. It sounds like Mutt ordered Joe Elliott to tape his bottom lip to his chin and sing the entire album like that. “Gay” is too big a complement for the result. He honestly sounds like ass. But it doesn’t stop there. The background vocals, which are the main aspect of the production, suck worse. Background vocals are good when used for effect, to accentuate a lyric. Background vocals that involve the whole band expressing such sentiments as “whoa” and “oooooh”, on the other hand, are…just…not good.

The instrument playing is very basic, everything in 4/4, nothing special, and the programming on the drum machine is…wait a sec. What the fuck? It says in the album liner that there was an actual drummer on this album! What in Bon Scott’s name is this?

The last thing that annoys the ear on this album, besides the badly written songs and lyrics, which I will get to in a minute, are the dumb sound effects. For example, the unnecessary gibberish, rocket blast-off sounds, and “tribal” toms at the beginning of “Rocket”. Hell, “Rocket”’s entire middle section consists of recycled background vocals and sound effects over those annoying toms for TWO WHOLE MINUTES. No solo, just that crappy middle section.

All this would still be okay, if the songwriting and lyrics weren’t so horrible. The aforementioned “Rocket” is the most annoying example. It starts with the bad intro I talked about before, then goes into a nonsense verse that only the best bands (read: not Def Leppard on Hysteria) can pull off. Then comes the chorus, which is even worse. “I will be your rocket, yeah/ Satellite of love”? Fuck no.

Near the start of the second half of the album, it starts to pick up, though. Armageddon It is stupid fun, Don’t Shoot Shotgun has the potential to be a good song, and Run Riot is okay enough to have been filler on Pyromania. Excitable is also kinda good in that catchy pop junk kind of way.

Really, the only thing that’s left to do is to highlight the shittiest bits of the album – the cream of the crap. So here they are in all their gloriousness.

Women – 4:00 “Hair, eyes, skin on skin. Legs, thighs, what’s that spell? WHAT’S THAT SPELL?” This little breakdown before a chorus is one of the worst things I’ve ever heard. Is this a song or a motherfucking cheerleading routine?

Rocket – 3:24-5:24 See above.

Love Bites – 0:05 “If you’ve got love in your sights, watch out. Love bites.” No, Mutt, we didn’t need to hear your voice on record. Very few producers have ever actually done spoken-word intros to songs, and for good reason. Did you stick a microphone up your ass to record that? It’s where your head is.

The Lyrics to “Pour Some Sugar On Me” – My lord, where to start on this one. I’ll let famous metal critic Martin Popoff say it. “Any anthem about pouring sugar on me is best left unexamined and unexhumed…”

The Entire Title Track – Not only is it only of the biggest examples of the album’s “hook”-oriented direction, it’s also complete fucking garbage. Somebody install a pair of testicles on this song…too late.

But perhaps the ultimate indicator of how much this album sucks is that when I put it into my computer to write this review, iTunes listed its genre as “Metal”. I relabeled it “Pop”.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to find a creative way to dispose of this album, since my copy of it is too scratched up to sell. Coaster? Nah, too cliché. Take a shit on it? Nah, that’s been done. Put holes in it with a nail clipper? Now we’re getting somewhere. Muhahahahaha……
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Caerb
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:29 pm
Posts: 131
Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:44 am 
 

Some review moderator wrote:
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.


I'd like some help on this one. I'm having trouble realizing what may be hard or annoying to read, and found no help in the "following list of possible problems".

I ask you, MA community, to give me a helping hand, since this is my first review :)


Unleashed Power - Quintet of Spheres

The power is indeed unleased. 80%


The first release of Unleashed Power is often overlooked, mainly because it's pretty damn hard to dig up. Bought it for a dollar in the recycle bin, and that's a dollar well spent. This is their trashiest record, but the power influence is obvious. This is actually pretty oldschool, compared to the fact that it's a 1994 release.

Meanwhile the vocals leave much to be desired, the guitar solos and riffs makes up for it. The drumming, while nothing special, gets the job done. The bass is there, but hardly noticable, which is probably the way it's supposed to be.
The sound quality is medium. While it doesn't sound like it was recorded in a garage or a cardboard box, it isn't excellent. Once again, the sound quality is very thrash. Think Kreator's Pleasure to Kill, polished up just a tiny bit.

If you happen to find this release somewhere, do not be afraid of buying it. I wouldn't want to pay more than 12$, but I do not expect anyone will find it at that price.


Download if you must: Blindfolded, Entombed.

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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35180
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:45 am 
 

PAANKSTER wrote:
Some review moderator wrote:
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.


I'd like some help on this one. I'm having trouble realizing what may be hard or annoying to read, and found no help in the "following list of possible problems".

I ask you, MA community, to give me a helping hand, since this is my first review :)


Unleashed Power - Quintet of Spheres

The power is indeed unleased. 80%


The first release of Unleashed Power is often overlooked, mainly because it's pretty damn hard to dig up. Bought it for a dollar in the recycle bin, and that's a dollar well spent. This is their trashiest record, but the power influence is obvious. This is actually pretty oldschool, compared to the fact that it's a 1994 release.

Meanwhile the vocals leave much to be desired, the guitar solos and riffs makes up for it. The drumming, while nothing special, gets the job done. The bass is there, but hardly noticable, which is probably the way it's supposed to be.
The sound quality is medium. While it doesn't sound like it was recorded in a garage or a cardboard box, it isn't excellent. Once again, the sound quality is very thrash. Think Kreator's Pleasure to Kill, polished up just a tiny bit.

If you happen to find this release somewhere, do not be afraid of buying it. I wouldn't want to pay more than 12$, but I do not expect anyone will find it at that price.


Download if you must: Blindfolded, Entombed.

It's not bad but you should go more in depth with it, you didn't say all that much.

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droneriot
cisgender

Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:17 pm
Posts: 10812
Location: Spahn Ranch
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:46 am 
 

Where's the rest of the review?
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Caerb
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:29 pm
Posts: 131
Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:47 am 
 

Empyreal wrote:
It's not bad but you should go more in depth with it, you didn't say all that much.


That I realise, but at last, I was looking for an explanation for what the mod said.

Criticism well appriciated, though.

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ElectricEye
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sun Nov 10, 2002 9:07 am
Posts: 9
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 5:34 am 
 

Hey, PriestofSadWings, 24%? What are you, a fan? ;)

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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: Mon Mar 12, 2007 5:59 am 
 

PAANKSTER wrote:
Some review moderator wrote:
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.


I'd like some help on this one. I'm having trouble realizing what may be hard or annoying to read, and found no help in the "following list of possible problems".

I ask you, MA community, to give me a helping hand, since this is my first review :)


Unleashed Power - Quintet of Spheres

The power is indeed unleased. 80%


The first release of Unleashed Power is often overlooked, mainly because it's pretty damn hard to dig up. Bought it for a dollar in the recycle bin, and that's a dollar well spent. This is their trashiest record, but the power influence is obvious. This is actually pretty oldschool, compared to the fact that it's a 1994 release.

Meanwhile the vocals leave much to be desired, the guitar solos and riffs makes up for it. The drumming, while nothing special, gets the job done. The bass is there, but hardly noticable, which is probably the way it's supposed to be.
The sound quality is medium. While it doesn't sound like it was recorded in a garage or a cardboard box, it isn't excellent. Once again, the sound quality is very thrash. Think Kreator's Pleasure to Kill, polished up just a tiny bit.

If you happen to find this release somewhere, do not be afraid of buying it. I wouldn't want to pay more than 12$, but I do not expect anyone will find it at that price.


Download if you must: Blindfolded, Entombed.


If may have shown up more convoluted when it was submitted than how it looked on your monitor. It happens once in awhile. It does need more meat though.
_________________
"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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nezzmarr
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:41 am
Posts: 9
Location: Czechia
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 7:35 am 
 

hi every one
i would like to ask you for help with my first review, it´s already written, submitted and rejected for following reason:

"This review is okay, but there are some language issues that have to be corrected. I know it's not easy for you considering English is probably a second language, but what you can do it put it in the Review Feedback Forum in the review section of the boards. I'm sure someone there will give you a hand with it. Resubmit it when you're through."

so i would like to ask someone (anyone more english than me :) ) to fix my language issues, or help me fix them

thanx alot, here is the review:

Forteca - ¯o³nierz Polski / S³oñce Wrze�nia (lack of polish letters isnt my fault :))

80% - polish soldiers defending Warszawa

„I would call Forteca heavy metal with some low pitched almost growl vocals. Because the vocals are, i think 60% growlish and 40% normal.“ One my friend said about them.. I have to correct him now, its heavy metal, but with growl vocals, That´s said better. I don't think, there is any real melody in vocals, just some growls. But for music, that they are playing its enough.

They are playing music with lots of ambient noises. Because they are singing about second world war in Poland, you can hear some guns raging, or some other war noises. In one song,, you can hear alarm alarming you, that the dutch are coming. Its the song „Okop“ and its one of the better ones. Other highlights of this album are Bagnet na bron, Orzel bialy, Pamice Golden with some great trumpets, that wont leave your head after you hear this album; and some others songs are good too, one more exemple, song Forteca.
Album starts with intro where you can hear something of history of World War 2 in Poland. Opening track is one of the better ones, it´s called Bagnet na Bron. Typical heavy metal guitar and vocalist is growling something about WW2, but he is doing it very good. Heavy metal drums too, then they add some not very complicated guitar solo and that´s it. Some good heavy music is born. Already noticed song Pamice Golden is final track which starts with trumpets. A very catchy trumpets, i must say. This song also does not bring any innovation to metal scene , but still it´s a kickass. And the trumpets are fucking catchy. Heavy metal guitar, drums, solo. Trumpets. Fast, heavy, awesome. Orzel Bialy is a song when you can hear some screeching eagle, which is a little bit annoying sometimes. Thanks god he disappears for a while, and one start to think he was killed too by Nazi soldiers, but unfortunately he returns. Well, that´s all for the eagle. And one more note, i think that the voice of singer sounds somehow angry. I wonder if he is angry about the Nazis in Polland?? I just have to say, that it´s really heavy music and i think it is worth buying this album. Overall, it is an exceptional album of one polish underground metal band. Well yes, its nothing new to metal scene, heavy metal was always here, but i just like a lot this album . I would give it 8 points of 10.

And one more detail, they are singing (growling?) in polish, so for Slavic metalheads it´s a good lesson of polish history, and you can also learn something about crimes of Nazism and world war too.

thanx alot for help, if someone decide to fix it directly, post it here, or pm me

thx :headbang:


Last edited by nezzmarr on Wed Mar 14, 2007 3:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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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: Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:51 am 
 

Forteca - ¯o³nierz Polski / S³oñce Wrze�nia (lack of polish letters isnt my fault :))

80% - Polish soldiers defending Warszawa

"I would call Forteca heavy metal with some low pitched, almost growling vocals because the vocals are 60% growlish and 40% normal," is what one of my friends said about Maksymilian's singing. I have to correct him now. It's heavy metal, but with growling vocals. That's better. I don't think there is any real melody in the vocals, just some growls, all in Polish, but for music that they are playing it's enough.

They play music with lots of ambient noises. Because they are singing about the WWII in Poland, you can hear some guns raging and some other war noises. The album begins with an intro where you can hear some history of World War 2 in Poland, followed by "Bagnet na Bron", which is one of the better songs with typical heavy metal guitars and the vocalist is growling something very well about the war. The drums are heavy as well, and then they add some not so complicated guitar soloing. Some good heavy music is born.

"Orzel Bialy" is a song when you can hear some screeching eagle that becomes a little bit annoying at times, but thank God he disappears for a while, and one starts to think he was killed by Nazi soldiers as well, but unfortunately he returns. The voice of singer sounds somewhat angry, and I have to wonder if he is angry about the Nazis in Poland?

Other highlights of this album are "Orzel Bialy", "Forteca", and final track "Pamieci Goldena" with some great, catchy trumpets that won't leave your head after they're heard. The song doesn't bring any new innovation to the metal scene, but it still kicks ass. The guitars, drums, and solos are all heavy, fast and awesome.

I just have to say that this is really heavy music and I think it's worth buying this album. Overall, it's an exceptional album from a underground Polish metal band. Yes, it's nothing new to scene, for heavy metal was always here, but I enjoy this album very much. For Slavic metalheads its a good lesson of Polish history and you can also learn something about Nazi crimes and WW2.

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

It's still far from fetching, but better. Anyone want to add to it or correct it some more?
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"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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Xeogred
Thunderbolt from Hell

Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:28 pm
Posts: 7154
PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:21 pm 
 

Thought I'd finally post a review here before I submit. Just wondering what you guys think of my reviews, and so forth? Here's a new one:

Vicious Rumors - Digital Dictator
The Carl Albert Legacy begins --- 95%

With their sound and style completely defined on their previous and nearly perfect album, Soldiers of the Night, Vicious Rumors continue on with yet another outstanding sequel that could go hand in hand with their debut. This is pretty much power metal with actual riffs, and some technical and mindblowing riffs at that with Geoff Thorpe's tremendous skill and incredible songwriting. Moody, upbeat, happy, technical, aggressive, emotional, powerful, everything is here with this release.

The standout here is hands down vocalist Carl Albert (RIP). Although Gary St. Pierre was top notch as well and easily sounds more like Carl than any other vocalist out there, Carl is just something else. Nothing but energy sparks from his every lyric spoken. His wails, shrieks ,and screams move the music more than anything. His aggressive and energetic mid-range performance can easily be matched to Bruce Dickinson and others, if not better. Vicious Rumors were truly out of this world when Carl was with them, this being the flawless beginning of that legacy.

The only other lineup change you'll notice here is the replacement of guitarist Vinnie Moore with Mark McGhee. Regardless, Geoff Thorpe has always been their main guitar monster, and McGhee manages to be an incredible partner for this release. Their leads, once again are completely off the wall and unique. The solo's speak of nothing but virtuosis skill, yet never drag the music away from its substance. Obviously expect some mindblowing shredding. On top of that we see the return of the excellent bassist of Laaz Rockit fame, Dave Star, and the adept drummer Larry Howe who has also stuck with the band for the majority of their career. Each member are all always at the top of their game here.

Musically, this album is very similar to their previous album Soldiers of the Night more than anything else. Its a little more straight forward compared to their later releases such as Welcome to the Ball, or whatnot. But still very diverse and dynamic, and really something of its own kind. Its nearly impossible to pinpoint Vicious Rumors exact sound and style and just throw them in one genre, because you really can't. There's a few speed metal numbers here, a few power, few hints of progessive structures, and even some thrashy parts from time to time. They are their own entity. Standout tracks for me would probably be the self title track, "Minute to Kill", "R.L.H (Run Like Hell)", and "Towns of Fire". The last really being a good example of Carl stealing the show until Thorpe's mesmerizing solo comes into play, while the previous three being their faster and catchy as heck tracks. Then again, this whole album is just great with no real low points at all.

In the end, this is an essential Vicious Rumors album, and often hailed as their finest release. This would easily be a great entry into the band if you haven't heard any of their stuff yet. Its a shame this band doesn't seem to get very much recognition around these parts at MA, as of now (huge lack of reviews). They're such a great band, and there just isn't much at there quite like them at all. If you're a fan of just about any kind of metal, especially the early power metal scene, this album is a hands down must own. Very highly recommended.

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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
Posts: 9311
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:17 am 
 

Xeogred wrote:
Thought I'd finally post a review here before I submit. Just wondering what you guys think of my reviews, and so forth? Here's a new one:

Vicious Rumors - Digital Dictator
The Carl Albert Legacy begins --- 95%

With their sound and style completely defined on their previous and nearly perfect album, Soldiers of the Night, Vicious Rumors continue on with yet another outstanding sequel that could go hand in hand with their debut. This is pretty much power metal with actual riffs, and some technical and mindblowing riffs at that with Geoff Thorpe's tremendous skill and incredible songwriting. Moody, upbeat, happy, technical, aggressive, emotional, powerful, everything is here with this release.

The standout here is hands down vocalist Carl Albert (RIP). Although Gary St. Pierre was top notch as well and easily sounds more like Carl than any other vocalist out there, Carl is just something else. Nothing but energy sparks from his every lyric spoken. His wails, shrieks ,and screams move the music more than anything. His aggressive and energetic mid-range performance can easily be matched to Bruce Dickinson and others, if not better. Vicious Rumors were truly out of this world when Carl was with them, this being the flawless beginning of that legacy.

The only other lineup change you'll notice here is the replacement of guitarist Vinnie Moore with Mark McGhee. Regardless, Geoff Thorpe has always been their main guitar monster, and McGhee manages to be an incredible partner for this release. Their leads, once again are completely off the wall and unique. The solo's speak of nothing but virtuosis skill, yet never drag the music away from its substance. Obviously expect some mindblowing shredding. On top of that we see the return of the excellent bassist of Laaz Rockit fame, Dave Star, and the adept drummer Larry Howe who has also stuck with the band for the majority of their career. Each member are all always at the top of their game here.

Musically, this album is very similar to their previous album Soldiers of the Night more than anything else. Its a little more straight forward compared to their later releases such as Welcome to the Ball, or whatnot. But still very diverse and dynamic, and really something of its own kind. Its nearly impossible to pinpoint Vicious Rumors exact sound and style and just throw them in one genre, because you really can't. There's a few speed metal numbers here, a few power, few hints of progessive structures, and even some thrashy parts from time to time. They are their own entity. Standout tracks for me would probably be the self title track, "Minute to Kill", "R.L.H (Run Like Hell)", and "Towns of Fire". The last really being a good example of Carl stealing the show until Thorpe's mesmerizing solo comes into play, while the previous three being their faster and catchy as heck tracks. Then again, this whole album is just great with no real low points at all.

In the end, this is an essential Vicious Rumors album, and often hailed as their finest release. This would easily be a great entry into the band if you haven't heard any of their stuff yet. Its a shame this band doesn't seem to get very much recognition around these parts at MA, as of now (huge lack of reviews). They're such a great band, and there just isn't much at there quite like them at all. If you're a fan of just about any kind of metal, especially the early power metal scene, this album is a hands down must own. Very highly recommended.


I usually read your reviews when I see them posted. We seem to have similar tastes in cult 80s metal and your writings about Vicious Rumors have encouraged me to finally check out this band. You describe the music well and with enthusiasm and I'd definitely like to see you review a lot more albums.

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Xeogred
Thunderbolt from Hell

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:30 am 
 

This is great news and encouraging. Thanks. :)

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ElectricEye
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sun Nov 10, 2002 9:07 am
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:30 am 
 

I like your reviews too, although I absolutely can't hear the greatness of "Mental reservation". Anyway, keep up the good work, I very much appreciate that someone writes reviews about semi-obscure '80s metal (IMO, there's too much focus on black metal here lately). Just be careful not to rate too many albums 95+, or the high ratings will lose their meaning.

Cheers. :)

Btw, Vicious Rumors rule :headbang:

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Xeogred
Thunderbolt from Hell

Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:28 pm
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:21 pm 
 

ElectricEye wrote:
I like your reviews too, although I absolutely can't hear the greatness of "Mental reservation". Anyway, keep up the good work, I very much appreciate that someone writes reviews about semi-obscure '80s metal (IMO, there's too much focus on black metal here lately). Just be careful not to rate too many albums 95+, or the high ratings will lose their meaning.

Cheers. :)

Btw, Vicious Rumors rule :headbang:

Hah, yeah your review for that album made me scratch my head. Too each his own though, I completely respect your opinion.

I will be honest though, the first time I listened to that album (along with Ball of the Damned), those albums did absolutely nothing for me. A few months later I just found myself going back to it, and the more I listened to it the more I enjoyed it. Sadly, that wasn't the case for Ball of the Damned. Definitely probably Scanner's weakest release.

And yeah, I've hardly touched black metal. So I guess you guys can expect some more obscure 80's reviews from me, though I sometimes feel a bit intimidated attempting to write up reviews along with nobody else but Gutterscream. Heh.

Thanks again. :)

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Gutterscream
The Last Old Schooler in Town

Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:59 pm
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 6:46 pm 
 

Xeogred wrote:
So I guess you guys can expect some more obscure 80's reviews from me, though I sometimes feel a bit intimidated attempting to write up reviews along with nobody else but Gutterscream.


Keep writing. I look forward to 'em, Xeogred.
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ElectricEye
Mallcore Kid

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 2:55 am 
 

Xeogred wrote:

I will be honest though, the first time I listened to that album (along with Ball of the Damned), those albums did absolutely nothing for me. A few months later I just found myself going back to it, and the more I listened to it the more I enjoyed it. Sadly, that wasn't the case for Ball of the Damned. Definitely probably Scanner's weakest release.


Yeah, I bought MR a couple of years ago, when I first got into Scanner. I listened to it several times, but just couldn't find anything to keep me interested. I tried again a few times when writing that review, still no change. I haven't even heard BOTD yet, just because I was so disappointed with MR. :(

But it's always good to have reviews of differing opinions available for any album. Personally, I think "Multiples of black" is a good album. :)

Rock on!

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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:10 am 
 

Gutterscream wrote:
Xeogred wrote:
So I guess you guys can expect some more obscure 80's reviews from me, though I sometimes feel a bit intimidated attempting to write up reviews along with nobody else but Gutterscream.


Keep writing. I look forward to 'em, Xeogred.


Indeed!

And you two are not really alone, though I think Gutterscream succeeds at pulling out the most obscure gems and laughing stocks for his reviews. As for focussing on certain genres, I guess we all have our specialties, but some of us really move around all over the place. I find myself reviewing a lot of black metal albums, but that's not particularly because I prefer it to other genres. There are a couple of Manilla Road albums that still need reviews; maybe I'll do those soon.

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ElectricEye
Mallcore Kid

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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:32 am 
 

I'm gonna concentrate on old-school metal too, though I haven't written much yet. I have the first five Manilla Road albums, I'll get around to writing something about them. You're absolutely right, they need attention!

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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:10 am 
 

ElectricEye wrote:
I'm gonna concentrate on old-school metal too, though I haven't written much yet. I have the first five Manilla Road albums, I'll get around to writing something about them. You're absolutely right, they need attention!


They're my favourite band, and although I am pretty slow with writing reviews nowadays I fully intend to cover a lot more of their discography. I'd like to read what you have to say about them too as I think you're style is a good one that's both amusing and descriptive, even though I'm the reason your "Lonesome Crow" review isn't on the site. :D

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Human666
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue May 09, 2006 11:59 am
Posts: 291
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:41 am 
 

This is my review for Mayhem-Deathcrush:

"Deathcrush" presents us the early Mayhem, which played Thrash combined with the signs of what would become later Black Metal. The production is certainly raw, but you can't miss any notes here as in their earlier demos. Though the production isn't clear, this EP is far away from being a mess and overall the sound is fitting very well the music.

This EP contains 8 tracks, 4 of them are actually songs the band written, 3 are interludes and there is one cover for Venom's song "Witching Hour", which no doubt is a Black Metal song. 8 tracks in 18 minutes is of course too much short, but I prefer it to be an essential short release than a long and tiresome.

The first track is an instrumental intro played only by drums and percussion , it has a short concept which lasts for all the 2 minutes of it, followed by some nice percussion hits. Outstanding in it's way, pretty nice intro. Then the first real tracks begins, "Deathcrush". It's built from ONLY 3 riffs which lasts for over 3 minutes but it really keeps on interest for the whole song because they are fucking catchy in an extremely way, especially the main riff. This is such a catchy and easy song to play that there are more than 100 bands which covered this song, you can even check it here, on this website. "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" is a less kicking ass song than "Deathcrush", but it's a pretty good one. Contains 3 or 4 mid tempo riffs on down tuned guitar and the vocals also are relaxed a bit. Not as brutal as the title track but this is another catchy song. "The Witching Hour" (a cover for Venom song) has the best vocals in this EP. There is an echo which increasing a dark atmosphere for it and "Maniac" doesn't sounds like he being butchered while screaming. "(Weird) Manheim" is a creepy and depressed instrumental by "Necrobutcher" with a slow riff and creepy lead bass. Pretty slowly one and sounds dark a bit.
Now, the outro is fucking weird, more than the previous instrumental. All the band members singing in a silly way a silly text: "All the little flowers are singing,
All the little birds are too, "They are very happy, "and we hope you are to".
They repeats it a bit, each time becoming more aggressive, and in the end they screaming something which I couldn't really identify. Geniuses or silliness? you decide....

Overall it's a pretty worthy release which built most from the catchy and simple guitar riffs by Euronymous. Get it if you find it because this is a pretty brutal and catchy release which you'll dig for a long time. Not their best moment of course, but an important level in the progression of Mayhem till they reached their Black Metal unique style.



I've been told I have a problem with the english here...but I coudln't find it in my self.
Can you help me with that?
Thanks :)

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droneriot
cisgender

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:44 am 
 

I'll let someone better at explaining things help you with the English, just have to mention that Witching Hour was sung by Messiah, and (Weird) Manheim was played by Manheim himself.
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ElectricEye
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sun Nov 10, 2002 9:07 am
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Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:49 am 
 

Abominatrix wrote:
though I'm the reason your "Lonesome Crow" review isn't on the site. :D


No worries, I can see that the review was pretty lacking in musical description. I'm gonna flesh it out later. :)

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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
Posts: 9311
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:04 am 
 

Human666, check your original thread, though indeed I probably should have posted my suggested fixings in here.

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Human666
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue May 09, 2006 11:59 am
Posts: 291
PostPosted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:23 am 
 

Ty dude, it has been aceepted now!

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droneriot
cisgender

Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:17 pm
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Location: Spahn Ranch
PostPosted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:33 am 
 

Your review for Nightwish - Over the Hills and Far Away - 0%

It's pretty hard to do much wrong in Power Metal. It doesn't take much songwriting skill, because it is a genre that works by numbers. Follow your steps and there you are. Hey, I'm not complaining, and it isn't an accusation, because no musician is obliged to reinvent the wheel, and originality isn't everything as long as your songs are good. So if a whole bunch of people want to create a whole genre based on paying tribute to their favourite old eighties band with a modern sound, then hey, why shouldn't they? Some of them do quite well at that. It doesn't even take any real instrumental skills, because we all know there is no underground mentality in Power Metal. It is created by yuppies for yuppies, so obviously a Power Metal band would always have the spare funds to afford lengthy studio time with plenty of takes to get a part right, or overdub everything that came out wrong.

Now, it is definitely far from being my favourite genre, but I don't exactly loathe it either. There are a few classics from around the mid-80s that I would rate quite highly, a few decent clones I would rate above average, and some boring clones that I would rate below average, but it doesn't happen all that often that something really outrages me. Well, how did Nightwish earn their rating of zero percent, then?

There is one simple way to make everything go wrong. Let me think, what is my favourite album? Well, I have a few. Would I still like them if the music on that album was reduced to ten percent of the volume, and the other ninety percent would be nails on a chalkboard? Definitely not. There might be decent music buried very, very deeply under it, but with that irritating, brain-dissolving noise over it, who the hell could enjoy it? Now that's exactly the problem of Nightwish. Nails on a chalkboard, all the time, at a way too high volume. All. The. Time. Actually, to be completely honest, I would probably prefer said nails over what we are forced to endure here. This... <i>thing</i>... an instant cause of tinnitus and by now probably a form of cruel and inhuman corporal punishment in Finland, only used against the most vicious child rapists of all human history, and even then it is followed by massive protests from international human rights groups.

The music might actually be fairly decent, maybe even above average among its genre, even though perhaps too much on the cheesy side, though a more palatable brand of cheese than the "flowery" types among the genre present us. Slightly darker, slightly less cheerful, just a bit too cheesy none the less. However, it is nearly impossible to concentrate on the music here, hell, it is barely possible to pay any form of attention to it, because there is always that brutal audial torturing device punishing us every time we think we have a moment to take a breath and minimally recover.

I don't think there is any way this can somehow be enjoyed, unless you have a really high class equalizer than can drown out the audial equivalent of a week-long vivisection. Well, now that the thing has been removed from the band, there might be hope for them in the future, but as far as their entire discography up to that point goes... save yourself the unnecessarily cruel and inhuman torture and avoid it at all cost.
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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:44 pm 
 

I'm surprised you didn't speak of how the band, or maybe Tarja, specifically, interpreted this 80s pop song. You seem to focus most of your attention on the singing rather than the band .. perhaps a token effort to evaluate the other performers to further justify that 0%? This doesn't top your 0% Finntroll review for sheer well--deserved negative vitriol.

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droneriot
cisgender

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:46 pm 
 

Before someone else told me, I didn't even realize that it was a cover. Not sure if I know the original, I certainly wouldn't be able to recognize it from Nightwish's version, which is just a dentist drill put into a cat's ass, put on full power, and then put into a washing machine.
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Napero
GedankenPanzer

Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 4:16 pm
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Location: Finland
PostPosted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:50 pm 
 

The original is by Gary Moore, for those who didn't know. Personally, I very much prefer the original.
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droneriot
cisgender

Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:17 pm
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 1:57 pm 
 

Well, I just want to know if my review is acceptable. I know it isn't my best, but to add more musical description I'd have to listen to it again, and.... PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME!!!
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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:14 am 
 

droneriot wrote:
Well, I just want to know if my review is acceptable. I know it isn't my best, but to add more musical description I'd have to listen to it again, and.... PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME!!!


I kind of feel picky about 0% reviews. I'll always reject them unless there's real justification for stating that an album has no musical merit whatsoever.

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droneriot
cisgender

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:45 am 
 

Let me add a few sentences then...
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droneriot
cisgender

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 12:48 pm 
 

Your review for Nightwish - Over the Hills and Far Away - 0%

It's pretty hard to do much wrong in Power Metal. It doesn't take much songwriting skill, because it is a genre that works by numbers. Follow your steps and there you are. Hey, I'm not complaining, and it isn't an accusation, because no musician is obliged to reinvent the wheel, and originality isn't everything as long as your songs are good. So if a whole bunch of people want to create a whole genre based on paying tribute to their favourite old eighties band with a modern sound, then hey, why shouldn't they? Some of them do quite well at that. It doesn't even take any real instrumental skills, because we all know there is no underground mentality in Power Metal. It is created by yuppies for yuppies, so obviously a Power Metal band would always have the spare funds to afford lengthy studio time with plenty of takes to get a part right, or overdub everything that came out wrong.

Now, it is definitely far from being my favourite genre, but I don't exactly loathe it either. There are a few classics from around the mid-80s that I would rate quite highly, a few decent clones I would rate above average, and some boring clones that I would rate below average, but it doesn't happen all that often that something really outrages me. Well, how did Nightwish earn their rating of zero percent, then?

There is one simple way to make everything go wrong. Let me think, what is my favourite album? Well, I have a few. Would I still like them if the music on that album was reduced to ten percent of the volume, and the other ninety percent would be nails on a chalkboard? Definitely not. There might be decent music buried very, very deeply under it, but with that irritating, brain-dissolving noise over it, who the hell could enjoy it? Now that's exactly the problem of Nightwish. Nails on a chalkboard, all the time, at a way too high volume. All. The. Time. Actually, to be completely honest, I would probably prefer said nails over what we are forced to endure here. This... <i>thing</i>... an instant cause of tinnitus and by now probably a form of cruel and inhuman corporal punishment in Finland, only used against the most vicious child rapists of all human history, and even then it is followed by massive protests from international human rights groups.

Yes, let me just spell it out for those who didn't get it yet: Tarja Turunen. And it's not just that she sounds so shrill that when you listen to it, all dogs within a kilometer's radius start to wail and all glasses nearby begin to collapse, it's that she is so damned untalented too. I mean, her voice sounds so static and amelodic, I've heard more complexly arranged melodic vocal performances from Cannibal Corpse. What is this? A soprano trying to imitate Tom Araya? So, it's not just awful, it's bad too. But hey, to give Tarja a little credit, the awful far outweighs the bad. She manages to make her voice so painfully unlistenable that most of the time you don't even quite notice how untalented she is. Good job there, got to give her some credit.

The music - as in the instruments - <i>might</i> actually be <i>fairly</i> decent, maybe not above average among its genre, but apparantly somewhat tolerable in a "putting on the most embarrassing 80s records after two bottles of vodka"- way, even though perhaps too much on the cheesy side (way, way, way too many keyboards, cheesy solos, et cetera), though a more palatable brand of cheese than the "flowery" types among the genre present us. Slightly darker, slightly less cheerful, just a bit too cheesy none the less. Well, fairly decent means that it could be listenable, I mean, the instrumental section is rather inoffensive, though it doesn't really accomplish anything either. It's extremely simplistic and even more "by the numbers" than 90% of all other generic Power Metal bands of today would even dare - completely unspectacular. Its function is clear, it simple serves as support for the vocals, the designed gimmick of this band. This makes it nearly impossible to concentrate on what little musical quality there might be hidden here, hell, it is barely possible to pay any form of attention to it, because there is always that brutal audial torturing device punishing us every time we think we have a moment to take a breath and minimally recover.

One funny story is that when I first wrote this review and showed it to a few friends (it was a little shorter than it is now back then), they told me the first song - the title track - was a cover. Well, I had no idea, so I thought I probably didn't know the original. However, I did get curious after a while, and decided to download the original Gary Moore song, and it turned out that I did know the song after all! Nightwish just butchered it so badly that it was completely impossible to recognize. However, I then decided to listen to this EP again, to listen carefully if I maybe could have missed another cover song, and it turned out that the whole thing turned out to be a compilation consisting of cover songs. This surprised me quite a bit, so I decided to check the info for this release on the archives, and it turned that all the other songs besides the title track were actually original Nightwish material, and they just seemed like covers to me because they were that damn unoriginal and unimaginative. Seriously, from a strictly musical standpoint, this whole thing sounds like a Power Metal band doing nothing but covering 80s Pop songs - ranging from Bon Jovi to Erasure. But, as I said before, it is impossible to view this from a strictly musical standpoint, because all the time the music - that is pretty poor anyway - is pushed far, far into the background by a "voice" that sounds like a dentist drill put into a cat's ass, put on full power, and then put into a washing machine.

I don't think there is any way this can somehow be enjoyed, unless you have a really high class equalizer than can drown out the audial equivalent of a week-long vivisection. Well, now that the thing has been removed from the band, there might be hope for them in the future, but as far as their entire discography up to that point goes... save yourself the unnecessarily cruel and inhuman torture and avoid it at all cost.
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Abominatrix
Harbinger of Metal

Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2003 12:15 pm
Posts: 9311
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:10 pm 
 

Oh yes, I daresay that one's ready for a submission now. :D

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droneriot
cisgender

Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 1:17 pm
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Location: Spahn Ranch
PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:12 pm 
 

You mean sadist made me listen to it again, and it helped the flow of hatred. :D
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Dexter
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:01 am
Posts: 626
Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 8:34 pm 
 

hey guys, can you help me out? this is what I got:

Quote:
Very disjointed and the formatting is very difficult to read. Put it in the Review Feedback Workshop in the review forum for some pointers.


MY review:


Figure Number 5/5 !!

I will start with the basic: this is not another classic melodic death album. This is more a melodic death/rock album, so close-minded people that only like the beggining-of-the-90s raw melodic death metal will HATE this.


As an album it is very solid: great guitar riffs, exceptional vocals and synth fills that couldn't be better. Its structure is simply perfect, from the beggining to the end it stays in place not having any weak points. Catchy songs pop up along the way showing the album is full of heavy riffs, melodic and agressive vocals, emotional solos, and of course great drumming. You will sing the whole album along to the last song. The album opens with "Rejection Hole" and, in my opinion, this a great start because it makes you want to listen to the whole thing. I think albums always have to start with a solid and catchy song: a weak beginning leads most of the times to weak album, this song is no exception to my demand. Furthermore we get to "Light The Torch", another hit that will keep you tunned to the album, this time with a more melodic song, but full of great synth leads - another good step for the album. We then come across "Departure Plan". This is the most melodramatic song of the album, it will touch you for sure (the balad of the album). Upon the end we get "The Mindmaker": the headbanging and mosh-pit song, clearly. This is one of thos songs that makes you want to jump all its long. Of course there are more songs, but I won't spoil them for you, listen to them. I ensure you that the rest of the songs are as great as the ones I described.


What makes this album different to other Soilwork albums is that it is probably their more melodic release to date. With "Figure Number Five" you will get people that hate growling vocals start liking them and eventually like the genre, as well as getting into more extreme genres. You have to start with something, this album is a great choice to start with. And if you already like the genre give this album a close listen, pay attention to what you are listening to because this album is different than other melodic death metal albums. But I insist, you have to open your mind before listening to this, if not, don't even bother...

Final note: You either love or hate this album.


Last edited by Dexter on Mon Mar 26, 2007 9:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
Posts: 3987
PostPosted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 11:40 pm 
 

...are you the same dexter_prog that edits at Wikipedia?

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