Controversial opinions on metal

[HamburgerBoy]

If I were to make a list of my top 10~20 metal albums of the last 10 years, I think the majority would still be from bands formed in the 80s. fwiw I'll agree that the last several have been much better than 1998~2006 or thereabouts.

 

[no country for old wainds]

those were kind of the limbo years. you had the early 90s with its underground culture, where there were a lot less bands but a larger portion of them doing something interesting, and then you've got the internet age, where every man and his dog has a metal band but on the other hand, if you go to the right places you can at least hear a lot of the good stuff more easily. in between that, i wonder if there wasn't just as much good stuff as there is now, but people just weren't able to hear as much of it. in that respect, this may well be a better era to be a metalhead.

i tend to think it's overstated how bad those years are mind you, there's a lot of good stuff... but then again, you're right that a lot of it is by bands who grew out of the '80s or early '90s.

 

[SentinelSlain]

The thing is that most modern metal productions, or rather, post mid 90s, annoy me, not only the production in fact, but chugga chugga riffing and the boring trades between harsh and clean singing. All of that shit got as tired as anything could be and people are still bloody doing it.

 

[Dak]

The preponderance of shit to sort through now definitely makes finding the good stuff difficult, as well as a lack of a review medium (outside boards like this), that are willing to give brutally honest and pointed review (sometimes with as little as "sucks").

 

[no country for old wainds]

yeah, it's kind of disgraceful how unwilling most metal publications are to give a negative review for anything.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

Concerning the all positive reviews, most people don't seem too on board with bothering to write beautiful informative essays about something they hated. And you know how fuckin writers are, they're too particular to just say something sucks.

 

[Dak]

Blabbermouth is an excellent example of how worthless the professional reviews can be, and then how half of the reader reviews are just going to be stupidly biased. "I don't like this band/genre, therefore I rate it a 1" is just as useless as the empty praises in the official review. How many times are we going to be informed a new album is "heavier/rifftastic than ever" with "soaring leads" and "crushing drums" or "headbanging riffs".

 

[Onder]

Yeah. For most reviewers it's a hobby and they just like writing about stuff they like. And everyone's like "SVPPORT" and "when cums the splatter vinyl". You rarely see people say that a death metal album is the same as 1000 others and there's really no need to get it.

 

[Pillowphilic Moron]

It mostly depends on how big the band is... regarding the last Massacre... it's shit compared to the original Massacre, but rarely anyone you can reach would ever have the balls to tell that in a review. These guys are bound to the money they get, by doing these reviews.

 

[SentinelSlain]

I get my fucking reviews rejected on M-A lol. Or I did when I bothered to try. I wondered if it was doden's gay, perhaps moderating on there and trying to annoy me.

 

[no country for old wainds]

a few of my MA reviews have stood the test of time. they're pretty goddamn embarrassing but the consolation is they're still somehow better than a lot of the drivel on there.

i will read some professional reviews if they're well written, but when it comes to working out what i'll actually like i tend to use RYM. people are a lot more discerning and honest on there.

 

[waif]

I read autothrall's reviews. We don't agree on everything but he's pretty consistent and no-nonsense and thus useful for buying advice.

 

[SentinelSlain]

yeah he's ok

deathriderdoom is ok from recollection too.

 

[no country for old wainds]

autothrall's writing is outstanding by metal's standards, even if we don't always see eye to eye taste-wise. i was always a fan of nin chan when that dude used to write.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I think my lone M-A review still stands, although it was only a 3-pointer and was basically me cobbling a bunch of forum rants together in order to bring down an album average.

EDIT: Gutterscream is pretty well-established as a strong reviewer too. I tend to prefer reviews for more niche styles even if they aren't always as prolific or in depth. failsafeman and Xeogred had great reviews for rare trad/power and stuff, but I don't think either writes too often these days.

 

[The Ozzman]

a few of my MA reviews have stood the test of time. they're pretty goddamn embarrassing but the consolation is they're still somehow better than a lot of the drivel on there.

i will read some professional reviews if they're well written, but when it comes to working out what i'll actually like i tend to use RYM. people are a lot more discerning and honest on there.

Agreed on RYM. The ratings and reviews seem more balanced

 

[Pitiless Wanderer]

I really don't understand the point of album reviewers in today's day and age, other than for print purposes. I mean, almost every single album that comes out now has teasers or singles, or early leaks on youtube, right? So all you have to do is listen to the fucking thing on your own and see if you like it. Why read someone else's opinion when you can hear for yourself?

 

[tagradh]

autothrall's writing is outstanding by metal's standards, even if we don't always see eye to eye taste-wise. i was always a fan of nin chan when that dude used to write.

Occasionally I come across reviews I presume he either wrote a long time ago, or whilst intoxicated or something, that are a bit crap, though still healthier than 90% of the crap out there which just resembles the insides of a festival toilet.

 

[SentinelSlain]

I really don't understand the point of album reviewers in today's day and age, other than for print purposes. I mean, almost every single album that comes out now has teasers or singles, or early leaks on youtube, right? So all you have to do is listen to the fucking thing on your own and see if you like it. Why read someone else's opinion when you can hear for yourself?

There's that much shit out there that I wouldn't listen to a new metal band by chance, I'd have to already have pushed towards that action by a good review or comment. It's not just now though. There's plenty of shit 80s metal and overrated "classics" and also rans.

 

[0Marty]

I agree that music reviews are unnecessary nowadays. I'd rather spend a few minutes listening to 1-2 songs than reading the article. I read reviews occasionaly, but mostly when I already have my own opinion, to compare it. The biggest problem is that music taste is extremely subjective. In terms of subjectivity, only food taste is more diverse from things I can think of. It hugely depends on mood in my case, but I might dislike the band even when I'm in the mood for genre they're playing but I might like them next time. So yeah, reviews are mostly useless, but I respect them or like them if the review is written interestingly and the reviewer's opinion is backed by something (e.g. good riffs, songwriting, great drumming), not just "blah I don't like it cuz singer is not cute and don't cut himself".