Need help: Metal album review sites

[Belligerent]

Recently www.metal-archives.com has been fucking up and now they resorted to google. Pisses me off cause it was the only one I used for band search and album search. They literally had everything imaginable for underground metal. So who has some GOOD sites you could recommend for my neverending metal research?

 

[Zephyrus]

The Metal Observer is good, but don't use it for NSBM bands because the site is based in Germany.

http://www.metal-observer.com/

And sometimes I use Deadtide.com, but it's not too comprehensive regarding the underground. Good reviews though for what they do.

http://deadtide.com/reviews/albums/index.php


^^^And both of those sites do other cool things such as band interviews and history articles.

 

[unknown]

you know, you can still read the reviews and everything on M-A

 

[Zephyrus]

Yeah, despite the search function compromise, M-A's been pretty stable the past couple weeks. I sure hope it stays that way, and that the search can be restored.

 

[The Ozzman]

http://www.metalreviews.com
http://www.metalreview.com
http://www.metalcrypt.com
http://www.metal-rules.com

 

[s_a_o]

Aye, so NSBM is censored in Germany. Makes sense considering all the censorship that occurs because of the history. Out of curiosity, do they sell the CDs there? Or is it specifically banned because of the known content?

 

[Zephyrus]

Aye, so NSBM is censored in Germany. Makes sense considering all the censorship that occurs because of the history. Out of curiosity, do they sell the CDs there? Or is it specifically banned because of the known content?

All I know is that you can't find any reviews for NSBM bands on that site, and that includes Burzum.

 

[CAIRATH]

I imagine NSBM albums can be sold in Germany as long as the NS part is purely lyrical and not really clearly advertised. You cannot sell things with swastikas or other Nazi symbols on them in Germany though. And they do seem to more strictly censor general racist/nazi/NS related things than surrounding countries do since they're still busy over-compensating for what happened during WWII.

 

[Vossyrus]

I find that metal-archives is a terrible place for reviews anyways. Two-thirds of the reviews aren't worth reading, period. How helpful is a review from an immature person whose sole purpose for writing the review is to bash a band they already dislike? an over-emphatic fanboy who praises albums and gives it a perfect score each time? or a pseudo-intellectual who thinks their opinion matters more? I only use that site for information about a band and their releases.

It's hard to come by a decent place for reviews, metal-observer seems to be pretty consistent and worthwhile. I usually only read reviews to see others' opinions and for something to read not for recommendations.

Magazines are probably the worst for reviews I find. I could care less about how the drumming sounds like a herd of elephants stampeding through a jungle, or how the album boasts a mish-mash of this, dollops of that, an a array of asorted spices sprinkled on for extra seasoning. Useless, meaingless metaphors and cliches. Fuck if I care!

 

[Matt]

Fuck reviews. Don't use someone else's opinion as basis for a potential purchase.

 

[The Ozzman]

Fuck reviews. Don't use someone else's opinion as basis for a potential purchase.

Then what's the point of asking people here what to get?

 

[challenge_everything]

Fuck reviews. Don't use someone else's opinion as basis for a potential purchase.

So you would buy a CD even if you've heard only bad things about it?

Or you would buy a CD having heard nothing at all about it?

What a stupid thing to say. Unless you see a LOT of gigs, I bet a majority of your purchases are based on second hand information you've received about a band.

 

[Hatebreeder]

What a stupid thing to say. Unless you see a LOT of gigs, I bet a majority of your purchases are based on second hand information you've received about a band.

Or perhaps sampling it for one's self...