FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!! I've just learnt Holy Moses' gig in Moscow with Benediction and Nominon was cancelled. I'm terribly disappointed.

Yeah, I dont really like the rest of that album for that reason, I just love those two songs so much the others dont bother me.

Then if you don't like the rest of the album, why would you vote for it?

Because I irrationally like those songs to that extent.

I'm just starting with depressive/suicidal black metal, and damn, there are some good bands here. I already knew about Leviathan and Xasthur, but Nyktalgia and Shining are fucking incredible! Any other bands I should check out?

Also, I'm getting into the more obscure stuff (as in bands past the ten thousands mark in MA) and have so far found Glorior Belli, Katharsis, and Merrimack. Hell, yes!

That Fastkill video was amazing, I'd love to see them get big enough to come over the States even as an opener that would be awesome.

Fastkill is a very underrated thrash band, let's hope more people learn about them and buy their CDs!

So I rented this new "Batman: Gotham Knight" movie...anyone seen it yet?

I thought it was alright. The last one was probably my favorite, but they were all decent in their own ways. One or two of 'em had some really dumb looking designs, though.

Cool. The art on the back of the box looks amazing, so it's a shame if some of them have dumber designs.

The costume design in the third one just bugged me a bit, but it was mainly the headpiece looking kind of weird.

I can't remember which one it is but there are a couple of amazing shots of Gotham that almost look real. Really well done overall.

Damn straight!

I love how 16 year olds who are probably obese argue about SAS vs SEALs or something similar. I mean their reference points are SOCOM and COD4. REALLY?!

Sorry. Military forums piss me off, because for every good question there are about 5 stupid ones like "SAS vs SEALs? WHOS BETTER!?!" or whatever. Its all very annoying.

This made me chuckle. Electric Wizard are overrated, definitely, but I can hardly see any of there albums getting a zero. Then again, I only own "Witchcult Today", so who knows.

I'm definitely buying the new Keep of Kalessin album today. Any opinions on it, or the band?

They are one of the few bands that really make me cringe. The riffs are boring, the vocals are really really half-arsed, the drumming goes nowhere and lyrics are just rubbish...and they are signed to Nuclear Blast.

Edit: I used to have loads more reasons but I'm sure no one cares enough to hear them...plus i have forgotten them.

lately ive been getting away from metal, been listening to more stoner ska and rock. i cant stop listening to the song closer to the sun by slightly stoopid =)

I really like Keep of Kalessin, it's a more unique and original approach to black metal which I really enjoy. I don't know why everyone criticizes Thebon he's a fucking amazing vocalist!

I like Kolossus but it's not as good as Armada which is their best that I've heard. Saw 'em live with Behemoth/Dimmu Borgir and can't wait to see 'em again with Kataklysm, Dying Fetus, and Eluveitie.

Its horrible is it not? I have got to the point where I just close the windows because I want to punch a wall.

The ongoing war on youtube of U.S. Marine Corps Vs. Royal Marines is probably the worst one I have seen.

the weather here just turned to ASSSSSS, I missed my chance of seeying Anathema today, but somewhere I'm glad I did. or else I could've swam home ha!

I sobered up after 3 days of drinking vodka. Lemme tell you - I can hold my liquor pretty well (being Polish counts I guess...) but those 3 days put my liver to the test. Really hardcore drinking. And headbangin' to Sacred Steel, Motorhead, Priest, Jag Panzer and the like.

It's their worst yet. I didn't hate Armada, but this one's just boring.

I can see the irony in berating someone for giving a 0% but seriously; 'Dopethrone'?! There are an immense multitude of fucking abhorrent albums out there and he choose 'Dopethrone' to denounce?! It's a bit sad because that is quite possibly one of the best albums of all time; that riff towards the end of "Funeralopolis" is fucking fantastic and saying otherwise is pure ignorance.

I suppose not everyone can appreciate a good album when they hear it, eh?

There's a disclaimer before the show stating that some parts are set up for educational effect.

I'm not going to discount a guy who killed and skinned a snake, and then pissed in the snakeskin so he'd have something to drink later.

Besides, which is the manlier name, Les Stroud or Bear Grylls?

Bear Grylls is just all around a real ultra-man.

He's an all around ultra-fake man. The show is LAME.

I find it hard to believe he was born as Bear Grylls. The name is so masculine his mother must have been the bearded lady and his father Paul Bunyan.

And a quick wiki search confirms that he was indeed born with the ordinary name of Edward. Lame.

Looks like I'll have to pick that one up...

I really detest this new fad of throwing out zeroes like crumbs to pigeons. There are few, few albums that truly deserve a zero. In order for that to be EVERYTHING must be repugnant on every level. Bad strings, bad vocals, insipid song structure, terrible production, terrible lyrics etc etc. Of course opinions will always be opinions, but I have yet to read one of the said reviews where the zero is "dedicated" and authentic.

All the 0%s given out to bedroom black metal bands are the ones are are authentic.

I think people are proving my choice to have been a correct one. Say, there is a shitty metalcore album that everybody either doesn't care or hates. What's the point of adding another negative review? Same for those "bedroom black metal" demos.

And while I cannot speak for other reviews, my review is 100% authentic, though whether you believe it or not is up to you.

Can I be contrary and say, get "Alive Without Sense" along with "Gates of Fire"? That live Manilla Road album isn't really that great (it's usually packaged with "Out of the Abyss" nowadays, or at least that's the version I have), but GOF is just huge and awesome in so many respects.

Pretty silly that anybody would give Electric Wizard a 0, though one certainly doesn't have to enjoy them. We may have to do something about this 0 business. I think it is becoming clear to everybody that it has become a flabby method of vindication and attention-pandering. In an effort to justify the nadir of scoring, the reviews usually turn out to be lacking in meaningful substance.

Edit: And Kruel, I agree with you about the pointlessness of giving yet another negative review to some shitty metalcore album .. frankly I'm pretty tired of seeing those, as well. There is a lot of music around that I detest, and maybe, just maybe, if I found something utterly abhorrent enough, I might slap down a 0%, but can you really say that a band like EW is so utterly offensive that it represents the bottom of the barrel when it comes to taste??? Hell, a 0 implies the band wasn't even trying. It almost sounds like you felt the score to be justified because the page is littered with extremely positive reviews. I get the need for counterbalance, and I believe in the authenticity of your comments, but I think you and some other reviewers these days are pushing this a bit too far.

Sterbend is the band you want to check out the most. "Dwelling Lifeless" is an incredible release. Lyrinx is also a band to check out. The "Nihilistic Purity" EP is awesome. Other than that, Anti is a good bet.

I've also seen a lot of people praising Krohm, and I'm starting to like this band as well, even if I couldn't get into them at all at first. "Slayers Of Lost Martyrs" is a solid release, as is "The Haunting Presence".

Also, pretty much the (according to me) only good swedish depressive black metal band, would be early Woods Of Infinity. Although a lot of people are bashing the hell out of this band because of their deviating sexual orientation (they are self-proclaimed pedophiles).

Apart from this, I also quite enjoy Drowning The Light from Australia. This band gets a lot of hate as well, but then again, this doesn't have to mean anything. It is awesome nonetheless.

Just to namedrop a few other bands (that I really dislike myself, but that's an entirely different story), you could also check out Lurker Of Chalice, Hypothermia, Kyla, Twilight, Nortt, Elysian Blaze, Mord (us) and Forgotten Woods.

Lifelover, Coldworld, Thy Light and Trist. They're all very different but they're all amazing in their own way.

I totally agree with this, it's getting kinda old. It seems like most people who start doing this are trying to get attention.

And I think the solos on Pleasure of Kill (album) moved up into my top 3 favorite solos on albums along with Kill 'Em All and Wintersun.

Damn...I need more Jag Panzer CDs. I can't stop listening to Mechanized Warfare. I hate wanting to buy many many CDs and not having the money to, aheh.

I am in accordance with you on that one. I almost got into a car accident while rocking out to the one in Ripping Corpse.

So I just got back from the store, "Kolossus" in hand. I like it, not your overly typical black metal. They need to shorten the song lengths a bit, however.

I suppose I'm very protective to Dopethrone. I don't doubt Kruel's authenticity, I'm sure he hates it. I just think that there is at least one redeeming feature to elevate it above a 0. It's one of my favourites, that and Pentagram's Be Forewarned are my favourites for doom. Hell, if it's anything I'd take it over Darkness Descends and Altars of Madness (though I do love the former). Just we have achieved one of the aims of someone writing a 0% review, it gains controversy (for a much loved album anyway).

Guess that's the thing with metal, extreme genres provoke extreme views. We metalheads tend to be fairly partisan.

Edit: Abominatrix nailed it, Ewizz were at least doing something a little different. You can't deny that Dopethrone has at least something to it. I tend to avoid reviewing stuff I know will be shit, I haven't done any deathcore, for instance and I wrote a Trivium review based on the fact that I enjoyed them as a parody of whatever it is that they play.

I've ordered Thane to the Throne. I heard King for a Price, fantastic stuff. Exactly what I was wanting with power metal, I hope the rest of the album compares favourably to that song.

I don't even think it's that you are protective to it. It's that it is a great example of the genre. If you hate Dopethrone, I think it's quite safe to say you really don't like Stoner/Doom. Now I'm not saying a person can't dislike it, even if you are a Stoner fan, but it certainly doesn't deserve a 0.

Edit:



I have to agree with this.

His review is clearly biased and aren't reviews supposed to be a somewhat objective dissection of the work?

Odd, this statement coming from a member of the AFMF. Fortunately, I can't be accused of such things as I've never written a review.

Well, this is why the scoring system has never totally sat well with me. We have a whole 100-point scale system to play with. That leaves the users with a pretty significant piece of judgment on their hands, and while everyone knows the writing ought to be what's important, realistically some people do value the score quite highly as they read. My feeling goes something like this: since our standards for the literary side of reviews are becoming quite high, the score should be taken just as seriously if they're to be maintained at all. I find it difficult to believe that somebody with knowledge of and a certain amount of belief in the roots and ideals that make up this thing we call metal, which I know Kruel has, could justify giving EW no credit whatsoever as a metal album. I think it goes much deeper than trying to consider whether someone is a fan of stoner/doom or not. In this case, it shouldn't really matter.

I saw a guy (either latino or tanned white) wearing a Mayhem "Deathcrush" t-shirt in the local Pathmark while on the checkout line earlier this afternoon.

His girlfriend/sister/wife/etc didn't look that bad either.

Thats some weird inbreeding.

And its great seeing extreme metal fans around becuase it happens so little.