First, formatting: separate your paragraphs, album titles get italicized, song titles get quotations


Genuflexión maybe sound as an unknown entity even for those who are into the South American Black Metal scene. However, this new band has quickly gained recognition and respect not only because of the positive feedback that their debut “Animal Religioso” (Formatting) got, but also because of the fact that the band is formed by veteran members of the scene, who have played in significant Black Metal hordes such as Grima Morstua, Gevurahel, Windfall, Espiritismo among others. (Second sentence too long for own good.)
About the album in question, I could start by saying that (Not necessary) “Animal Religioso” is Black Metal ("black metal" is not a proper noun like a band name is, so it doesn't need capitalization. Like "pink toilet") in its pure vein, with songs portrayed similarly to the ones which can be found in Grima Morstua’s final opus, yet in Genuflexion I can feel a more personal emphasis in the riffs, which can be described as melodic, intricate, highly emotional and cold, reminding me of the Ukranian gods of atmospheric Black Metal; Drudkh. (Misuse of semi-colon. Pretty sure it should be a comma, but that should be looked up. Also, a very long run-on sentence)
The vocals succeed in providing harshness and grimness and if you speak Spanish you’ll be able to understand the lyrics, whose approach seems to be most spiritual, dealing with topics such as the deification of the human being, the true nature of our beliefs and gods, etc, showing a deep understanding of them. (One sentence isn't a paragraph, and this one is a run-on.)
The drum work, done by Funeris (an experienced warrior also member of Windfall, Artes Negras and Horda Profana) is tight and accurate, in (Sentence break) every song he introduces the necessary fills and arrangements which can be heard thanks to a production that is massive and clear, allowing the listener to follow each instrument separately, something not very common when it comes to Black Metal (Rephrase for clarity).
To sum up, Animal Religioso is a great debut album which ("that") places Genuflexión among the most interesting current bands of the genre.
Highlights: “A imagen y semejanza de mis necesidades”, “Esclavo en Templos interiores”, “Universo mental”.

(It's off to a decent start. A straightforward, spare review hitting the minimum points of interest pretty well. Clean up the formatting, simplify the sentence structure and grammar. Please repost new draft here before submitting.)

The Evil Dead - Earth Inferno (2017)

The Evil Dead is a strange creature. Not because their music is overtly out there, nor because they consciously try to weirden up their sound, what’s strange is the way that their vastly different influences mash together so seamlessly. Imagine a band playing Blackfoot songs while using Jon Nodtveidt’s chords and Blue Oyster Cult's melodies, kinda hard to pull off, huh? “Earth Inferno” is one of those rare cases when the concept doesn’t look promising on paper but its really fucking good in execution.

This album feels like a natural step up from their previous work, “Pronounced (the Evil) Dead”, which became a personal favorite. The influences are the same but the way they are used is different, this time we got much more expansive songs that have a sense of grandeur, a lot (and I mean it) of riffs and off beat time signatures. Both the production and the scope of the compositions have improved.

The album starts with “Earth Inferno” and its black metal opening, soon we have the first blast beats accompanied by some really neat twin guitars. Tough the album explores many different genres (for example, the second track “Electric Evil Revisited” is a bluesy heavy metal opus and “Forlorn” sometimes feels like a mix of Megadeth, Maiden and Dissection) the focus remains the same: good hooks and lots of groove. The songs may get darker and faster, but the big and explosive chorus are almost mandatory.

One of my favorite things about this album is the way that it takes inspiration from different sources but avoids being overtly referential, this is not a work of nostalgia nor old school masturbation. There is sincerity within the songs crafted by Ian and Michel Regueiro. “Maragnon” might as well be a lost BOC track with its hard rocking, minor scale riffs and historical lyrics, but it definitely sounds like The Evil Dead and not like a tribute band.

Talking about lyrics, there are a handful of really interesting things in here. Ranging from personal struggles (“The Sulfur Heart”, my absolute favorite track) to outer space deities, from mythological heroes drenched in blood to infernal overlords trapped in the mortal realms of our planet. The Evil Dead’s vocalist and main lyricist Alejandro Regueiro has a knack for mysterious lyrics that tackle very specific topics without being sickeningly explanatory or self indulgent.

“Earth Inferno” is filled to the brim with heavy metal’s ultimate and irreducible element: great riffs. That’s it, that’s the be-all-end-all factor in the realms of distorted music. Of course there are a lot of great solos, twin guitar arrangements and muti-layered leads that spice things up, but these guys understood what truly matters when it comes to heavy metal. As I said at the beginning of this review, The Evil Dead is a strange creature. I have to be honest, for a moment I thought the creature was deceased, but as Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, they just might be “A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." Go get this album.

The Evil Dead is a strange creature, not because their music is overtly out there, nor because they consciously try to weirden up their sound. What's strange is the way that their vastly different influences mash together so seamlessly. Imagine a band playing Blackfoot songs while using Jon Nodtveidt’s chords and Blue Oyster Cult's melodies. Kinda hard to pull off, huh? Earth Inferno is one of those rare cases when the concept doesn’t look promising on paper but is really fucking good in execution.

This album feels like a natural step up from their previous work, Pronounced (the Evil) Dead, which became a personal favorite. The influences are the same but the way they are used is different. This time we got much more expansive songs that have a sense of grandeur, a lot (and I mean it) of riffs, and offbeat time signatures. Both the production and the scope of the compositions have improved.

The album starts with “Earth Inferno” and its black metal opening. Soon we have the first blast beats accompanied by some really neat twin guitars. Though the album explores many different genres (for example, the second track “Electric Evil Revisited” is a bluesy heavy metal opus and “Forlorn” sometimes feels like a mix of Megadeth, Maiden and Dissection) the focus remains the same: good hooks and lots of groove. The songs may get darker and faster, but the big and explosive chorus is almost mandatory.

One of my favorite things about this album is the way that it takes inspiration from different sources but avoids being overtly referential. This is not a work of nostalgia nor old school masturbation. There is sincerity within the songs crafted by Ian and Michel Regueiro. “Maragnon” might as well be a lost BOC track with its hard rocking, minor scale riffs and historical lyrics, but it definitely sounds like The Evil Dead and not like a tribute band.

Talking about lyrics, there are a handful of really interesting things in here. Ranging from personal struggles (“The Sulfur Heart”, my absolute favorite track) to outer space deities, from mythological heroes drenched in blood to infernal overlords trapped in the mortal realms of our planet. (Incomplete sentence, consider revising) The Evil Dead’s vocalist and main lyricist Alejandro Regueiro has a knack for mysterious lyrics that tackle very specific topics without being sickeningly explanatory or self indulgent.

Earth Inferno is filled to the brim with heavy metal’s ultimate and irreducible element: great riffs. That’s it - the be all, end all factor in the realm of distorted music. Of course there are a lot of great solos, twin guitar arrangements and multi-layered leads that spice things up, but these guys understood what truly matters when it comes to heavy metal. As I said at the beginning of this review, The Evil Dead is a strange creature. I have to be honest: for a moment I thought the creature was deceased. But as Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, they just might be “A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." Go get this album.

“A solid and impressive debut” (87%)

The name Genuflexión may sound as an unknown entity even for those who are into the South American black metal scene. However, this new band has quickly gained recognition and respect not only because of the positive feedback that their debut Animal Religioso (Formatting) got, but also because of the fact that the band is formed by (Was formed by? Is comprised of? Features? Depends on what you're trying to say, exactly) veteran members of the scene. Genuflexion (The accent on the "o" is missing here. Standardize) is a trio made up of former members of Grima Morstua, Gevurahel, Windfall, Espiritismo, among others.

Animal Religioso is black metal in its pure vein, with songs portrayed similarly to the ones which can be found in Grima Morstua’s final album, Finis Coronat Opus, yet in Genuflexion I can feel a more personal emphasis in the music. (The length of the sentence makes it awkward. Either split it into different sentences, or rephrase. Either way, work toward clarity) The riffs found here can be described as melodic, intricate, highly emotional and cold, reminding me of the Ukranian gods of atmospheric black metal, Drudkh.

The vocals succeed in providing harshness and grimness, yet I believe some aggression is missing. If you speak Spanish you’ll be able to understand the lyrics, whose approach seems to be most spiritual. Topics such as the deification of the human being, the nature of our beliefs and gods, constantly make their way throughout the album. (I see what you're going for here, but the grammar and phrasing can be worked some more for clarity)

The drum work bears more similarities to De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas than to Transilvanian Hunger, if you get the point. A sense of accuracy and complexity can be heard in the drumming. Such performance is somehow enhanced by a massive and clear production that allows the listener to follow each instrument separately. (I think this paragraph could join the rest of the musical description. I don't think it needs its own paragraph. Placed here, the flow of ideas goes from content back to production, which is a bit jarring)

To sum up, Animal Religioso is a great debut album that places Genuflexión among the most interesting current bands of the genre.

Highlights: “A imagen y semejanza de mis necesidades”, “Esclavo en Templos interiores”, “Universo mental”.


(Good improvement. Much easier to read. The ideas flow much more smoothly, and it's nice to see so many of the notes integrated accurately. I'm not authorized to speak to its acceptability, unfortunately. I can tell you it's much better, and thank you for your investment in applying yourself. I'm not paying much attention to language details at this point other than those grammar notes making reading it somewhat difficult.

This draft walks pretty close to being a check list. I know it's hard to talk about distinct aspects of the music and avoid that. To adapt to that challenge, condense musical description into one paragraph, and vary the length of time you spend on each feature. Separate paragraphs provide space to discuss separate topics, of course, and while vocals and drums are separate topics, they just as easily fall under the single topic of musical description. If each is given a separate paragraph, readers will usually expect each to be discussed more broadly. Another way to avoid a check list is to talk about the musical features in the context of each other as opposed to talking about each one successively. Does that make sense?

In terms of style, more personal reflection would be helpful. Not only does this automatically help break up check-listing, it's a more honest depiction of the music. You mentioned that the band puts a personal emphasis on the music, but didn't explain how they did it or really what "personal" means. That's a point worth expanding on. Considering that one of your themes is how well this debut stands out among its contemporaries, tell us why that is. The current description of the music sounds pretty standard for black metal, but you take the time to mention that there's something special about it -- what sticks with you and why? What grabbed your attention? What came into focus as you listened to it over and over? What are some of the actual personal experiences you had with it? None of that has to be particularly dramatic or life-changing, just true. It's not terribly often that a debut makes a band stand out significantly from its genre. This could be the missing paragraph you're looking for, and will likely strengthen your conclusion.

These are really just suggestions to help you develop your ideas. It's a good improvement. Keep working. This kind of effort is worth it, not only because it helps you write better, but to explore the more difficultly-expressed emotional bond we have with music. Obviously this only works with albums we actually enjoy.)

(Most of the corrections will be pretty obvious. Be sure to read the site rules and make adjustments accordingly. dystopia4 already pointed out several of the glaring errors, so be sure to incorporate his notes.)


Until we die is a one man melodic deathcore band out of Austria, Before the decay of time (Formatting and proper noun capitalization) is their first full length album and quite possibly the best deathcore release of this year. Deathcore as a genre has seen an extreme downfall becoming mostly generic and watered down chugging. Luckily this album really gives me hope that melodic deathcore can take a rise again and make deathcore have riffs again.

The album is 13 tracks long including the bonus track, and around 43 minutes in length. It was released through chugcore around the end of November 2016. It starts off with a nice soothing atmospheric intro and really gets straight to what this album is about. The melodic riffs are absolutely crushing on this album and are some of the best in the genre. Out of most melodic deathcore bands until we die easily has the best riffs. Until we die is really like if And Hell Followed with and the Black Dahlia Murder (Why is the capitalization different when the proper nouns are right next to each other?) had a child and added crushing breakdowns.

The riffs can sound similar throughout the album but its extremely intriguing how they all sound and manage to keep my attention. (Unclear) They really do remind me mostly of the black dahlia murder. The album I would say it the epitome of melodic deathcore, keeping a lot of melodic death metal tendencies and riffs but still keeping brutal breakdowns hence the core. (Unclear)

The vocals are extremely powerful, his lows and monstrous and extremely beefy is the best way I can describe it (This sentence is badly broken). His highs are extremely well.. high, (I'm sure you can do better than this) Reminds me of Orion Stephens of In dying arms at times . There is a lot of range on this album which is a great bonus. Also there is 310 bpm vocals on the song Forsake the Fallen so check that out.

The drums are programmed, but sound very well for being programmed. The production on this album is so crisp and clean, Its really nice to listen too. (Proofread)

This album is great and is really the best deathcore album of 2016. I highly recommend this album for fans of deathcore and melodic death metal.

Favorite songs: King of the dead, forsake the fallen, beherit of life


(Grammar and phrasing clarity need attention. Musical description should be organized according to an outline. Treat this as a first draft, and organize the flow of ideas. Repost in this thread after rewrite.)

Unlike the bands (Possessive apostrophe) previous records, Anathema decided to move away from the death-doom inspired music they once incorporated and evolved into a more straightforward gothic metal sound, with Eternity. (Proofread for grammar errors. The convention here is to write the genre as "death/doom." This whole sentence should be reworked and reformed for clarity.)

To start, musically, the album has a more melodic sound while still attaining the metal part of they're music. The guitar has the typical signature sound that Anathema (Incomplete sentence). It has in fact, become more gloomy, a good example being "Eternity(Part 1)" Its a part of the music that makes me think that you can have atmosphere into Gothic Guitar other than the keyboards (What?). Speaking of the keyboards, with Danny Cavanagh taking keyboard duties, Anathema included a sound of atmosphere that has not normally been heard in Anathema's previous albums. (Redundant.) The keyboard's sounds are so fantastic that it can almost take the listener to another world. For example, as you listen to "Eternity(Part 2)", the song is greeted with hollowing bass (Interesting phrasing. Unclear) playing and melodic keyboards, then later into the song it becomes more spacey, giving the album a high level of soothing atmosphere.

Lyrically, Eternity also shows Anathema becoming more sorrowful and gloomy. As I continued on to the album, what Vincent Cavanagh's Vocal approach and sad storytelling adds to Eternity is sheer melancholy. The lyrical themes tells topics of sorrow and hopelessness, however, Vincent's vocal approach pretty much shows off the lyrical content of Eternity while also being in good unison with the guitar playing.

As a fan of Anathema's early music, listening to Eternity was one album I never got the chance to listen to until now. Before, my favorite album by them was Serenades and Alternative 4 for showing a more gothic approach (Though I considered Serenades a Death-Doom album); Eternity literally blew me away and took me into a whole new world (No it didn't .. not literally). Not only the album was relaxing and atmospheric, it is still a metal album. Eternity would now go down as one of the greatest metal albums i've heard so far, for being as Gothic as any of Anathema's period during the 1990's; as well as the album that would define Anathema in general. If their are a metalhead that is trying to get into Gothic Metal "pink washing machine" isn't a proper noun either), and wonder which Anathema album is good, I recommend this album! Still a shame that they no longer play metal.


(Despite the significant number of grammatical errors, I thought this made a decent first draft. You can embellish on the musical description and lyrical content, but the general shape is pretty good. It's obvious you're trying to keep it simple and to the point, which is good. Keep working on it and be sure to make your points with clarity.)

Firewind is one of the most acclaimed and well-known bands from Greece. The band started their journey in 1998 but only four years after they launched their first album, introducing their own style to the Metal scene. Since then, they became one of the most known bands in the Heavy Power Metal scene and, above all, a very consistent one. After their average album, "Few Against Many" that, not being a bad one it wasn't on the level that Firewind can do, the iconic vocalist, Apollo Papathanasio, left the band. Many fans and admirers around the world thought that it would be (almost) impossible to fill in the boots on Apollo, and still keeping the vocal quality that Firewind has delivered since Apollo entered the band, in 2005. Still, in 2015 a new vocalist was announced: Henning Base, know for his work with Metallium. Base was already a familiar face within Firewind as he had already replaced Apollo in a couple of shows during their 2007 tour and also had worked with Gus in his solo project. Despite that, the million dollar question still was being asked: Could he replace Apollo maintaining the vocal quality?. As soon as he sings the first note in "Hands of Time" the answer is crystal clear: absolutely.

The record's theme, being a semi-concept album, revolves around the battle of Thermopylae, famously know as the battle between Spartans and Persians. The album starts with the already mentioned "Hands of Time", a typical Power Metal hymn: strong melodies, epic choruses, and solos. Then, once the second song starts you know (in case you were in still in doubt) it is Firewind you are hearing. The riffing that is typical of Gus G is present trough all the album although it is more substantial on the second half. Relatively to the first half, "Ode to Leonidas" starting with a narration that builds up the song's atmosphere, is the winner, followed closely by "Live and Die By the Sword". Base has no problems in showing what he is capable of during the album and Gus G delivers crunchy guitar-riffs with an impressive technique and quality through the record. The ballad, "Lady of a 1000 Sorrows" slows things down in a great way by having an emotional melody attached to it. This calmness is then immediately ceased by the instrumental of the album, "Immortals" by the Gus G heavy guitar work. Up until the very last minute of "Visions of Tomorrow", the album maintains the quality that Firewind is capable of, with vicious riffs, strong melodies and the amazing vocal work by Base.

To sum up, if you like the Firewind from the past and you are afraid that with this new vocalist the things have decreased in quality, don't be, they have actually got better. With this album, the metallers from Hellas are now "Back on the Throne" after (almost) falling from it with the 2012 record.

Only four years? Four years to release a debut album seems longer on average, at least to me. Also, "metal" and any of its subgenres don't require capitalization. Finally, I know it's tempting, but including too much of the band's history often isn't necessary. (Unless it's about the vocalist being replaced - that's fine because its relevant.)


I personally like to italicize album titles and put quotes around track titles. There are also some funky commas here. You don't need one after "album", you do need one after "Many", and you don't need either one surrounding Apollo Papathanasio.


I had to reread this a few times to get what you were saying. Do you mean 'Ode to Leonidas' is the winner for most substantial riffs or most built-up atmosphere? Also, grammatically, there's some strange comma-use again. "starting with a narration that builds up the song's atmosphere" is a dependant clause, so it needs to be surrounded by commas.


I would say "the band" instead of "the things". Also, instead of a comma, you'd need a semi colon or hypen after "be", since "they have actually got better" is an independent clause".

---

In general, the second paragraph is a little close to being track-by-track. Describing individual tracks to make an example of your point (like saying "Lady of a 1000 Sorrows" mixes things up by being an emotional ballad) is cool. But make sure you're not just generally describing what happens in every track.

If you wanted to extend the overall length a bit, you could talk about the drummer: does he ever skip beats, is he distractingly loud, too quiet, too repetitive, etc. You could talk about bass lines, if any of those are notable. You could mention the keyboardist and if he adds anything to the atmosphere, rivals the guitarist with any sweet solos, that kind of thing. Finally, watch out for what your spellcheck won't catch, like "famously know" instead of "famously known".

Firewind is one of the most acclaimed and well-known bands from Greece. The band started their journey in 1998 and four years after they launched their full-length debut, introducing their own style to the metal scene. Since then, they became one of the most known bands in the heavy power metal scene and, above all, a very consistent one. After their average album "Few Against Many", that not being a bad one it wasn't on the level that Firewind can do, the iconic vocalist Apollo Papathanasio left the band. Many fans and admirers around the world thought that it would be (almost) impossible to fill in the boots on Apollo, and still keeping the vocal quality that Firewind has delivered since Apollo entered the band, in 2005. Still, in 2015 a new vocalist was announced: Henning Base, know for his work with Metallium. Base was already a familiar face within Firewind as he had already replaced Apollo in a couple of shows during their 2007 tour and also had worked with Gus in his solo project. Despite that, the million dollar question still was being asked: Could he replace Apollo maintaining the vocal quality?. As soon as he sings the first note in "Hands of Time" the answer is crystal clear: absolutely.

The record's theme, being a semi-concept album, revolves around the battle of Thermopylae, famously known as the battle between Spartans and Persians. The album starts with the already mentioned "Hands of Time", a typical Power Metal hymn: strong melodies, epic choruses, and solos. Then, once the second song starts you know (in case you were in still in doubt) it is Firewind you are hearing. The riffing that is typical of Gus G is present trough all the album although it is more substantial on the second half. Relatively to the first half, "Ode to Leonidas" starts with a narration that builds up the song's atmosphere really well, being the best song on the first half, followed closely by "Live and Die By the Sword". Base has no problems in showing what he is capable of during the album with his harsher voice in comparison to the previous frontman, emphasizing the "heavy" part of their style, and Gus G delivers crunchy guitar-riffs with an impressive technique and quality through the record. Also, not only the guitarist and the vocals deserves a praise, the keyboard is also more present through the album than in their other releases, adding another layer of epicness, something that matches quite well with the epic theme of the record. The ballad, "Lady of a 1000 Sorrows" slows things down in a great way by having an emotional melody attached to it. This calmness is then immediately ceased by the instrumental of the album, "Immortals" by the Gus G heavy guitar work. Up until the very last minute of "Visions of Tomorrow", the album maintains the quality that Firewind is capable of, with vicious riffs, strong melodies and the amazing vocal work by Base.

To sum up, if you liked the Firewind from the past and you are afraid that with this new vocalist the band have decreased in quality, don't be; they have actually got better. With this album, the metallers from Hellas are now "Back on the Throne" after (almost) falling from it with the 2012 record.