Yes, I aim to maintain a high standard. During the last months of 2013, I also went back and re-wrote almost all of my standing reviews at the time just to make sure the quality was uniform before I embarked on a huge reviewing spree that saw me scribed in less than a month's time.

Fair enough, nice to keep uniformity. Personally, I like to look at my own evolution as a writer, hence my April and June reviews (before I began regular reviewing, they are substantially different to my current work) shall remain as they are. That said, I went back and adjusted several scores to fit my current scale, since I feel that this doesn't really affect the review.

Also, scribed? Like, your work goes past the moderation stage automatically? Cool!

Yeah I fixed the scores as well, on an "x/20" scale, as I believe it isn't possible to accurately (and objectively) score albums on a 100 point scale.

I use the full 100 points to differentiate albums in the same 5% bracket, but the basic framework is a 20 point scale.

Or at least, that is the idea. There isn't really a mid-zone in my scale as an album either works or it doesn't, hence my scale goes from 0-40 and 70-100 (generally, most of the time, and not even on purpose.) It is rare for me to judge something as completely competent but unengaging, and I hate having to review that kind of music.

I'm really proud of the way I've consistently scored over the years. 50% is a straight equal amount of good and bad, and anything above 85% better be DAMN good. Scoring reviews using that silly US school method of "Anything under mid-60s is basically a failure" is ridiculous, because it truncates the amount of flexibility you have when scoring.

I've never given out 100% either, although there are a few 95s. I want those higher scores to really mean something when coming from me.

Alright, so I'm gonna finish listening to Within Temptation, Incantation and some recs made by Roffle and raspberrysoda and then I'll dive into "Diamhea's forbidden records". As long as there is some black metal once in a while I can see no reason why I wouldn't survive and even find it (overall) enjoyable.

Apparently I got lucky, and got a solid if unremarkable album. Good luck



Case in point, you get something with no grey area like my own scale. Be proud of it man, not many have a logical scale like that. I do wonder what you would call perfect. Given my experience with Delain, it would probably be the most awesome thing ever.

There's more black metal than doom. I can promise that much.

Thanks but... you see, I'm gonna start with "No Way Back" by Norther and finish with "From Glory Towards Void" by Lutece (if he doesn't write any review in the following few months) so the luck would be useless.

Ohh, that sounds great. I love black and like doom (which seems, from the quoted post, to be quite present amongst your reviews) so it might be just great.
Glad I'm done with the "... what band am I going to listen to now, I wonder?" dilemma for following months.

Aww, the whole point is that you blindly pick it by scrolling up the review list and pointing at the screen. That is the fun of it! Hence why I was 'thrown into the pitch black'.

Yeah, I know, but... one day I'll pick a record I've picked before. And then I'll have to choose again and I might pick a record I've picked before. And then I'll have to choose again and I might pick a record I've picked before. And then I'll have to choose again and I might pick a record I've picked before.
I don't think the method is useful when you plan to listen to the whole thing, you know?

PS: Glad you liked into 'pitch black'

Dude... he's reviewed over 600 albums, several of them shit. You're really going to listen to ALL of them? Fucking hell, more power to you. I can't even get through one sitting of Mother Earth.

You guys should just review Black Tribe. Sheesh.

Yeah, I know they're many. But not too many. I'm pretty sure I'll make it.

I'm pretty sure diamhea has no doom reviews as he doesn't listen to the genre at all lol, if you want to discover a random doom band, check out mine instead!

I didn't notice the irony in Diamhea's sentence.
However, my playlist has just reached a number of almost 850 records (619 + 220 = 839, to be more precise). And I'll listen an album from Diamhea's list then an album from yours, Metantoine, and it'll be great.

gasmask_colostomy quietly making a name for himself nowadays. Reliable quality of content ~600 reviews in.

I'm very surprised at seeing this now, after I've just started to write some super-critical reviews. I guess you hate Sepultura too?

Nope, but remember: Somebody is always paying attention.

Now I feel like you're watching all my internet activities. This could be interesting.

Somebody who hasn't been mentioned in this thread is Tanuki. I've been revisiting all the Saxon albums I own and naturally I was reading through some reviews along the way. Tanuki just seems to have a unique and clear perspective on how to make interesting and informative objective reviews. It isn't very often I'd call myself a "fan" of any reviewers, but I'd read Tanuki's Amazon reviews of flip-flops and sunglasses.

Yes, I've always admired his ability to actually tell me what the album is going to be like without me needing any context. He's calm and precise, but not too heavy.

I really hope he's not wasting too much time on flip-flops, though I guess he's only got two ears and that's the same as his number of feet.

Wow, thanks a lot guys! I've been in a bit of a slump lately, so I really appreciate the support

So it's almost 8am est on a sunday. I got bored and figured I'd have a laugh and looked up my username on here for shits and giggles. I don't normally hang here (hence why) and was surprised by the kind words from you and Diarrhea (r.i.p.). Thank you. Just figured I'd chime in about things.

Part of the reason I didn't post much here was a) users would berate me via e-mail, and b) I was writing off-and-on for stereokiller (did NOT part on good terms, don't ask). Around Halloween I wound up in the hospital for a severe m.s. flare-up (neuro refused my meds) and now can't walk. Spent a month at John Heinz, then seven months in an old-folks home for physical therapy and care. My access to the net was limited, plus spirit broken obviously so nothing new went to the site or anywhere, really.

I was told I'd never walk again, but fuck 'em. 15 feet with a walker (don't tell me I can't do something...). Bit of a set back last month but getting better, and am going back to outpatient therapy possibly next month. I've been coping by diving back into gaming/streaming and reviewing stuff sparingly. Pain + depression x insecurities = not that stable a mind to process thoughts or comprehend music properly. A lot of that has passed and I've been diving back into metal a lot more, so I'm going to start doing more (at least try two or three a month to get back into the swing of things) and am willing to post them here as well given my site's traffic has gone downhill since the hospitalization if the interest is still there.

Horns up, my metal brothers and sisters! And don't let anyone ever tell you you can't do something.

I like to think a lot of doctors tell people stuff like that as a reverse psychology method. Or maybe they don't, I don't know any doctors. Either way, glad to hear you're making progress!

Good to here from you, man. I've been following, as best as I can, on Facebook, so it's good to see you're still in good spirits given the shitty hand you've been dealt of late. I really look forward to hearing more from you on here.

P.S. I've never really gotten review hate mail. Now site work, that's a different story.

I don't know if this counts as underrated exactly, but Grizzly Butts has been putting out a consistent stream of very readable reviews for a long time now. They are usually a bit firm with bands who don't do anything new, but his knowledge of the genre is great.

I've avoided this thread. But I will say, I really like this current batch of active reviewers -- particularly those that have participated in the challenge so far (EzraBlumenfeld, CHAIRTHROWER, gasmask_colostomy, EyesOfGlass, etc.). You guys are great! Keep it up!

We aim to serve, oh great Deriking.

I hate to resurrect old posts, but I did feel like I wanted to give some credit to at least one or two people I keep looking at reviews for and getting some chuckles from it.

The two people I can think of for that are gasmask_colostomy and lord_ghengis.

I can safely say that gasmask_colostomy has different reasons compared to lord_ghengis, but both have shown to be incredibly capable and well-written with most of their reviews that I have seen from them. But some of the reasons I like to read gasmask's more intently is because I feel as though I, myself, have begun to cover some of the same grounds he has, album-wise (that could be the 'Accelerated Evolution' review talking, I couldn't tell ya for certain). Some of the ways he writes his reviews help me give myself some faith in my own integrity when it comes to writing them, and I can't respect that more.

lord_ghengis, on the other hand, is fantastic for off-the-cusp kind of reviews in my mind. He has potential to be entertaining and serious about his criticisms at the same time, and I hardcore envy such a thing in others around here. So, you can imagine, my respect for his craft is immense. Alongside, some of his reviews are top tier on the site - and I must cite his 'Time I' review, for that. I almost unironically want to call it "a cinematic masterpiece", with some of the shit in that. It's beautiful.

Both of you have immense range and great taste, and I can't wait to see some of the records you guys got in store next for reviews. Truly some lovely stuff, you guys.

(I apologize if this was a post we were leaving dormant for any particular reason, I just wanted to share my thoughts regardless.)

I don’t think there’s any problem reawakening this thread, it’s a pretty useful one in general. As for your compliment, it’s of course nice to see that my reviews have been helpful in your own process of reviewing, and it’s always very interesting to note who is writing about the same stuff as you.

I read your write-up of ‘Accelerated Evolution’ before I came here, and I think I know what you’re talking about. You especially stressed the “feeling” of listening to Devin’s music, which is quite hard to justify in concrete terms, especially on a diverse album like that. If I can make a suggestion, perhaps some more focus on how some of those songs leave such a special impression would be useful to your readers, since we are more likely to try the album based on musical description than a subjective feeling that others get from it.

However, it’s a good angle to approach from and one that’s not so common on this site anymore. If you want to read a reviewer who was exceptionally good at that, I suggest you look at OlympicSharpshooter’s reviews, perhaps the ones for Dream Theater. He sadly doesn’t use the Archives anymore, but he was really able to describe an album’s emotional qualities without neglecting the music itself.

Ironically, I think I've read a couple of his reviews before. He's definitely got a lot of good stuff along in there. Definitely wish he were still around to review stuff. Can't help but wonder what kind of review he'd write for some of the big albums of the past three years.

That aspect of the review, by the way... I don't happen to know if that deep of a thing occurred to me for that particular review. Although, I have a feeling some of the intense feelings I have getting into albums like 'Accelerated Evolution' (and likely a few albums going forward) will have some similar struggles. Given, it's not like I don't think I can manage it - but... when something feels so good to have at times, it becomes rather nebulous. It's difficult to quantify specification at times when you have a whole realm of belief in your mind.

...I get if that sounds a bit crazy, but it's just how I see things sometimes. Regardless, I believe focusing more on the impression of songs is very much a thing I should actively consider from here on.

This has been extensively fantastic feedback - hardcore thanks for that, my friend.

Having a gander through here for the first time in like five years, and thanks, I'm masturbating furiously.

Omg, it's you! Hello! Hope you're doing well!

Yeah having a bit of general self improvement motivation kick this year so having some looks back over things that used to bring me joy.

Well, this comment was a surprise. Welcome back!