No no no, not at all. I meant overall, not just this album. For example: I remember reading years ago on the BDM thread where V5 was shitting on Internal Bleeding, calling them "first wave deathcore" etc. and the majority of that convo was people who agreed with him, so before I really knew anyone "in the scene", I just assumed everyone hated IB. Now that I'm older and involved in the community, I obviously realize they are a highly respected band within the brutal death community. For me, any opinion on the internet that isn't a Facebook post from people I know, whose opinions hold some credence with me, is worth jack shit. Because of this, I don't really care what the MA or RYM ratings say, or what this forum says about something musically, I don't tend to view it as a majority opinion among death metal fans even when it is something like RYM with 1000+ ratings. I don't know those people or their tastes in death metal. Most of them probably are not similarly minded to myself, in that death metal is really the only type of metal they care about. I don't really base the general consensus of an album on what I see on internet platforms because I don't consider myself similar to those people. Among people like myself, at least the ones that I know (which again is quite a lot), Gallery is generally very well liked. That's what I'm speaking of. I hope that makes sense at all and doesn't come off as arrogant or confusing, I know it's kind of a weird way to look at things.
And I do know a couple people who think similarly now that I think about it, but again, it's people who drastically differ from me in tastes. It sounds weird to say, but I hold much more value in the musical opinions of those who generally have a similar view as myself, I suppose at the risk of creating an echo chamber. Like.....when I read a review that starts with "normally I think brutal death metal sucks BUT...." I automatically stop reading. I want to read a review from someone who fucking LOVES that shit, like I do. I realize I'm terrible at explaining my own mindset with this, but I hope that helps. I also realize you'll probably all think I'm retarded now, but I can live with that.
Also, I've literally never been able to wrap my mind around people who think they sound "average"....please show me another album that sounds remotely similar to Bloodthirst. I've been looking for years and I've yet to find one. Something cannot, by definition, sound "average" when it doesn't sound like something else.