"Without any prior introduction to Lamentations of the Flame Princess, having only been offered a free zine, I wasn't sure what to expect. Given the exceedingly poetic (even locquacious) title, the cartoonish cover, the mention of an RPG being related to LotFP and the request for critiques, I half-expected some bizarre form of comic book hybrid. Perhaps it was these expectations, lulling me into a relaxed approach, which resulted in me being as shocked as I was at the withering, uncompromising critical analysis which, it seems, is LotFP's fortè.
The Shameless issue opens with the lead writer and editor, Jim Raggi, sequentially segregating his entire audience into precise demographics, before telling each and every one of them, in turn, to fuck off. Three paragraphs in, I decide: I like this guy!
Notwithstanding the classy prologue, it very soon becomes clear that LotFP is no comic, but rather a deadly serious publication which is sharp, highly focussed and clearer than crystal. Raggi briefly dips into some insightful life philosophy, before capping off the issue's introduction by relating his discourse to the art form of heavy metal and setting the dialectical stage for the issue to come.
Raggi's shamelessly abrasive prelude segues into a column by Dave Burns concerning media ineptitude in the heavy metal world. Burns' words genuinely scare me with their analytical description of deep and unjust problems about which I had never stopped to think. Burns' column, for me, was by far the highlight of the issue, and deserves to be one of those columns which becomes widely circulated via email or the like. This is a fairly heavy-hitting article, one of those ones that *really* makes you think, and to be honest has probably been the better part of why this issue made me consider a lot of things in a different light.
Following Burns' column is the meat of the zine: the reviews. The review staff reflect a refreshingly diverse range of tastes in their choice of material. They intentionally are targeting smaller and less-reviewed bands, but nonetheless, numerous sub-genres of metal are included. As in the earlier columns, the writers' analytical skills show first and foremost, and Schiffman in particular demonstrates quite a holistic knowledge of music culture, as well as the ability to apply his knowledge as necessary.
Concurrently, Raggi again demonstrates that he isn't afraid to say it how it is. Perhaps his in-depth panning is excessive sometimes, in that it may do more harm to band's egos than good to the scene in general, but it is refreshing at the least, and amusing nonetheless.
In general, LotFP's reviews are solid, quite well-researched, and fairly free of bias. A paraphrased quote from the zine's website basically sums it up: "Reviews shouldn't be of what a record is, they should be of what a record means".
An in-depth interview with Twilight Odyssey rounds off the episode, with Dave Burns at the helm again. A few issues hinder this interview, though, with Burns often becoming distracted and tangential. A relaxed and casual atmosphere always aids a good interview, but Burns drops his guard too far at times. Having said that, his style does encourage more conversational between the two interviewees, a good thing in by books. The band members end up frequently conversing between themselves, which provides rare insight. One further criticism I could make of Burns's writeup is a touch too much poetic license in the lead-in.
Having reached the end of the magazine, I walk away pondering more than a handful of fairly deep questions about the state of the music which I love. To me personally, the two critical columns at the beginning stood out as the kind of journalism I've never seen in heavy metal media before, and of which I would be eager to see more. Whilst the review section is the obvious format for metal journalism, Raggi's mag appears to have inadvertently conceived something more enjoyable and worthwhile with its unique in-depth opinion pieces. With luck, LotFP's chronic case of intelligence may become contagious, so that we might begin spreading the disease.
Pete Ross, Sydney."
The Shameless issue opens with the lead writer and editor, Jim Raggi, sequentially segregating his entire audience into precise demographics, before telling each and every one of them, in turn, to fuck off. Three paragraphs in, I decide: I like this guy!
Notwithstanding the classy prologue, it very soon becomes clear that LotFP is no comic, but rather a deadly serious publication which is sharp, highly focussed and clearer than crystal. Raggi briefly dips into some insightful life philosophy, before capping off the issue's introduction by relating his discourse to the art form of heavy metal and setting the dialectical stage for the issue to come.
Raggi's shamelessly abrasive prelude segues into a column by Dave Burns concerning media ineptitude in the heavy metal world. Burns' words genuinely scare me with their analytical description of deep and unjust problems about which I had never stopped to think. Burns' column, for me, was by far the highlight of the issue, and deserves to be one of those columns which becomes widely circulated via email or the like. This is a fairly heavy-hitting article, one of those ones that *really* makes you think, and to be honest has probably been the better part of why this issue made me consider a lot of things in a different light.
Following Burns' column is the meat of the zine: the reviews. The review staff reflect a refreshingly diverse range of tastes in their choice of material. They intentionally are targeting smaller and less-reviewed bands, but nonetheless, numerous sub-genres of metal are included. As in the earlier columns, the writers' analytical skills show first and foremost, and Schiffman in particular demonstrates quite a holistic knowledge of music culture, as well as the ability to apply his knowledge as necessary.
Concurrently, Raggi again demonstrates that he isn't afraid to say it how it is. Perhaps his in-depth panning is excessive sometimes, in that it may do more harm to band's egos than good to the scene in general, but it is refreshing at the least, and amusing nonetheless.
In general, LotFP's reviews are solid, quite well-researched, and fairly free of bias. A paraphrased quote from the zine's website basically sums it up: "Reviews shouldn't be of what a record is, they should be of what a record means".
An in-depth interview with Twilight Odyssey rounds off the episode, with Dave Burns at the helm again. A few issues hinder this interview, though, with Burns often becoming distracted and tangential. A relaxed and casual atmosphere always aids a good interview, but Burns drops his guard too far at times. Having said that, his style does encourage more conversational between the two interviewees, a good thing in by books. The band members end up frequently conversing between themselves, which provides rare insight. One further criticism I could make of Burns's writeup is a touch too much poetic license in the lead-in.
Having reached the end of the magazine, I walk away pondering more than a handful of fairly deep questions about the state of the music which I love. To me personally, the two critical columns at the beginning stood out as the kind of journalism I've never seen in heavy metal media before, and of which I would be eager to see more. Whilst the review section is the obvious format for metal journalism, Raggi's mag appears to have inadvertently conceived something more enjoyable and worthwhile with its unique in-depth opinion pieces. With luck, LotFP's chronic case of intelligence may become contagious, so that we might begin spreading the disease.
Pete Ross, Sydney."
