Giving it a 100%? Don't get me wrong, I like the album, but the programmed drums alone are enough to knock the album down to at least an 85 or so for me.

And while I'm being pedantic about ratings, I might as well ask: what flaws do you see in Cephalotripsy's debut? You gave it a 90 back in the day, but I honestly can't find any errors whatsoever in that album (excluding little fuckups in the drumming, but hell, that's what makes the album what it is) - it's pure, thick, and vicious death metal that simply never lets up on its momentum.

The programmed drums, to me, are completely essential to the overall sound of the band and its conceptual ideals. Much like Mortician, I would consider Catasexual Urge Motivation having a human drummer a misstep. The band themselves stated in an interview that the two-man nature of the project and the employment of a drum machine is a wholly intentional decision, not a fallback. Don't worry, I'll devote a significant block of text explaining how crucial the drum machine is.



I feel that it could have benefited from a stronger production (particularly in the drum department,) Angel's vocals are a bit more croaking and wheezy than I'd like, and the ultra-static nature of the album's style, while part of its charm, can become a bit laborious near the end. That being said, it's still essential slam and a phenomenal album- I rarely give out scores that high these days.

My Catasexual Urge Motivation review is finally complete. I'd like to apologize in advance to the mod unlucky enough to read it. If you'd like to see if you can get through the entire thing, here you go:

http://trialbyordeal666.blogspot.com/20 ... ation.html

To head it off at the pass: yes, I know it's utterly, absurdly long. Yes, it's incredibly self-indulgent. Yes, it's about as impossibly overblown as a review for a goregrind album can be. But I'm okay with all that because it made me happy to finally write it and it was a labor of love. It probably took about ten hours of continuous typing and cross-referencing research, not counting breaks, and yes, drugs played a part. If you hate it or simply refuse to read something that long, I understand and don't begrudge you.

And before anyone asks, I swear on my own life that I did not write it with the objective of making it the longest review on MA. I've started and deleted this review dozens of times over the years, it was and continues to be my favorite album, and hearing it was, in essence, a life-changing experience. Feel free to ignore it; if I was anyone else, I probably would.

(I think that's enough disclaimers.)

EDIT: It just got accepted on MA, so you can read it here instead of going offsite if you like.

EDIT 2: Hah, it got cut off near the end. I think I must have run into some sort of unknown character limit in the review submission form. Not sure what to do about it; guess I'll wait for a mod to say what's up. I ran into a similar issue with Rate Your Music; I wasn't able to properly save the review and was forced to link offsite. If it can't be listed here in its original form, I'll cut it down significantly and resubmit it with a link to the full version at the bottom.

^ when you use 'the band said in an interview' you should have the kindness to offer a reference.

Fair enough, didn't really think about it since all the interviews I'm referring to are from now dead zines from the '90s/early '00s.

Well, then name them ... or if it possible, upload the excerpts in your blog and add the links to them in the review towards the end. It is hard to follow and understand you without some kind of reference and source.

Holy shit, you finally did it Noktorn. I remember asking you about a year ago if you'd ever review that album and you said you'd tried and stopped numerous times. Congratulations. I read the first few paragraphs on your blog but now I have to go eat more roast beef and drink more beer, but I'll finish it either later tonight or tomorrow. I'm interested, because I don't know how anyone could write so much on a goregrind album but, then again, you seem like a pretty fucked up individual.

Alright, after two hours I finally finished it. That was pretty mean of you, opening my mind up to this new ideology of derangement before telling me it's a bunch of hyperbole. Shame, shame. Seriously, though, it was an interesting read, flowed very well, had a plot of its own in a way, and paints an extremely vivid picture of the album for those who haven't heard it. I received the original Deliria pressing as a surprise Christmas gift less than two weeks ago, and that was the first I've heard of the album, but even with my limited range of experience with The Encyclopedia of Serial Murders, I agree with the grand bulk of your points pertaining to the music and the compositional quirks in the album. Perhaps I don't see them in the exact same light, but they are indeed correct and worth notice.

I must also say that that's probably the best way to write a glowing review - if you're going to give out 100s, make them long, thought-out, and psychologically stimulating. In fact, I think I might try to finally write a review for Lykathea Aflame, now that I have a bit of inspiration.

Doe's it beat oneyoudontknow's insane Ulver review in terms of length, though?

Did you even look at it? It's so big it doesn't even fit in the review submission form. On MA, the review ends with "This revelation went further down the line, though. This album proved to me that one could compose b".

Wow! I didn't look at it on here, I saw it on the blog. He outdid himself this time.

Think of those last paragraphs as a sort of response to a lot of the furor over my Deathspell Omega review and a statement of their own. It's about how, ultimately, because art inherently unreal and inherently based on the interpretation of the person viewing it, the value isn't so much in WHAT the art makes you think as THAT it makes you think. The whole philosophical breakdown of the record is sort of like a college term paper: whether you believe what you're writing about or don't, what you're being graded on is the underlying structure, and as art can't have a defined, codified meaning due to the ability for people to interpret it, my analyses of the album's themes are just as valid (and invalid) as any another interpretation or none at all. I don't actually believe in the most real sense that the album is a philosophical statement like I suggested- but the very fact that I was able to come up with that whole idea in response to what the band presented me, that it seemed utterly plausible while writing it, and that the band is able to let me suspend my disbelief to such a degree all signify, in my mind, great art.

Since art is all about the individual's interpretation, I suppose the only measure of art that even approaches objectivity is to examine its impact on the individual who consumes it. "The Encyclopedia of Serial Murders" makes me think, feel, and explore to a degree that no other album has managed to reach; it's with that as my barometer that I consider it my favorite album of all time.

It's a little over 12,000 words. oneyoudontknow's was about 6600 IIRC.

Is there any way a mod can extend the review length? It's kind of a shame that the longest review on the site is shown as incomplete.

yes, it would be nice to have more than 64K characters, because box releases demand an in-depth discussion. Like this

If it doesn't fit it's not really a big deal, I'll just cut out the more extraneous portions and link to the full one offsite.

That's quite a testimonial, I need to hear this album now. I'm really interested in the drum programming, since it is rare to hear drum machines that don't try to replicate the limitations of a human drummer.

Yeah that was a doozy. Totally overblown but still an interesting read, it made me quite curious to hear the album.

I have to say, I enjoyed reading the new review for Maestro Alex Gregory. It reminded me of those reviews for The Great Kat where the reviewer becomes utterly flummoxed at the artist's simultaneous ego and lack of raw talent, like they're unsure if some cruel joke is being played on them or not.

First time I've actually heard of this artist, though. Wonder why.

Yea that's an interesting project. I wonder if that dude is actually serious, thinking he's one of the world's best guitar players.

Gotta say that Catasexual Urge motivation review seems WAY too drawn out. I mean the first several paragraphs read too much like "here's my life story" than an actual review. It then proceeds to give off a very pretentious vibe to me talking about this goregrind band like they are some sort of geniuses who have taken a new and original look at human nature or something. But then again this is from the guy who also has taken to praising Seth Putnam in the past so what could I have expected really?

Out of curiosity, would you have objected to a review of that length and detail if it was on an album from a band like Iron Maiden?

I actually probably would object. Well maybe, it depends on the review, not strictly the length or detail. I personally get annoyed when people start to focus too much on them personally when they review something. Sure a passing mention of nostalgia or a reason why the album affects you personally is fine, but he just went on too long with that for my taste. While he did go in to detail which I do appreciate to a certain degree, he took to this extensive analysis of the band putting them on an extremely high pedestal which I wasn't very taken with. Yeah I know most people do that when they're talking about a band they like and I understand that, but the fact he was reading this deep meaning from a goregrind band annoyed me the same way that people who read very deep meanings into a movie like Conan the Barbarian. To a certain degree that sort of thing is subjective, but there is a limit.

Well the part at the end of the review where he talks about how everything he's said is definitely not true to what the band was actually doing was omitted on this site.

Oh c'mon man, that album changed the guy's life. Can't you cut him some slack this time?

Hey guys, three of my four reviews for Dawn have already been accepted. I've reviewed the content of the Slaughtersun compilation; both albums, their EP and the Apparition demo. The only one that wasn't accepted just yet was the one for their debut. If anyone is willing to read them and give me some feedback it would be cool.

Post in the Review Feedback thread if you want feedback on your reviews.

Will do.

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I'm wondering if I should even cut it down and repost it or just leave it off MA so people don't have to read a hobbled version of it. The part at the end is pretty essential to tying up about a hundred loose threads in the review and not having it could definitely give some wrong impressions of my feelings on the album. It's certainly more essay than review in some ways, primarily about whether art has a distinct purpose and if greatness in art is based on meaning in the art or meaning in the audience.

Honestly I'm extremely surprised by how generally positive the reaction to the review has been. I'm actually working a long entry on Trial By Ordeal which discusses the expansion of the essay-style review format and the role (or perceived role) of the music critic in an era where music is so immediately accessible via the internet. It's fairly self-indulgent in parts, but I'm sure a lot of you who enjoyed the review would find it interesting. I'll post a link here when it's done.

Judging from this, the whole review reeks of utmost redundancy. I will not even begin to read it.

I’d guess that most people who took the time to read it were already familiar and receptive to your writing style. And those who dont like your writing, well, see above post.

Not exactly, but eh, I'm just playing to be fair here. I've never even heard the album and don't have any intention to the immediate future. Mostly I just respect people who can be so eloquent about stuff they like.

The promised writeup about modern metal criticism:

http://trialbyordeal666.blogspot.com/20 ... icism.html

The Kim Jong Il of Black Metal. (I do not find the proper video by Zizek right now)

It's probably his own band.

That guy can't possibly be serious...

As always, there are parts I agree with and others that I don't. However, the whole piece is immaculately written, and the second paragraph in particular is absolutely spot on. Wish I coud show that to some people to set the record straight. Overall, I think it's your best piece yet.

That was an interesting read, as the other guy said, there are parts I agree with, and others I don't. I agree completely that the purpose of a review is no longer to be purely a buyers guide, but I feel some description of the music is a nice touch, otherwise everything kind of comes off as a pretentious one way discussion.

On the topic of your DsO review, my issue isn't with the form, but in your justifications and points, or at least the severity of their effects (The drumming isn't great compared to death metal, therefore it is not worthy of praise for black metal? etc). I could I agree with your points, but they seemed to ignore the actual quality of the music to justify a completely worthless 0%. But then again, that sort of plays into your whole "It's not a review, it's a discussion of thoughts I have on an album, just in a reviews section" point.

Glad you guys liked it, and as always, anyone interested in discussing it is invited to comment if they'd like. We really enjoy interacting with readers who have something to say.

@lordgenghis

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that there shouldn't be any musical description; while I dig abstract, kind of artsy reviews, I think that they should be informative and based on serious observation and understanding on a musical level. Though I've played around with reviews that toe the line of complete abstraction (like my review for "Stormcrowfleet,") those are the exception, not the rule, and not really designed to be more than writing experiments with the album as a focal point. While my idea of the essay form allows for more abstraction, nuance, and credit given to the reader, it should still be lucid, articulate, and meaningful. Your impressions should be grounded in the music itself. The album must remain the core of the piece, not to be used as a launching pad for a discussion only speciously connected.

About the DsO review: that passage and others like it seem to cause a lot of confusion for people, so I guess I fucked up when phrasing it. To analogize: that passage about the drumming isn't to say that the drumming itself is bad, but that it's not particularly technical like many others suggest. It's not a technical display of drumming- it's just death metal technique applied the the drums of a black metal record, which, while more complex than Dark Funeral, doesn't mean that the performance is technical in and of itself. That passage and other, similar ones have less to do with the listenability of the music (which I say in the review isn't abjectly offensive overall) and more to do with what I perceive as the music's a la carte style, which comes off as manipulative and engineered to me- as though instead of crafting something truly unique, the band played Frankenstein and wrote an album that appears new but is actually composed of nothing but old parts.

And you're right about the 0%; ratings are basically arbitrary to me and shouldn't be given any consideration at all. I don't rate any reviews on my blog, and wouldn't on MA if it wasn't required. I think they just lead to unnecessary arguments and rarely communicate anything useful to the reader. In retrospect, rating it any other percentage would likely have cut out half the shit thrown at me; my 0% reviews of others have had basically the same effect, so I'm not sure it's even worth it to use it as a rating. People just put too much significance on the number and often end up losing sight of the content of the review because of it.