What I now find most interesting about this discussion is how it turned into a debate on reviewing. Had I not been a reviewer making comments about the (lack of) importance or emphasis I put on lyrics, it would not have (d)evolved to this point.
Regardless of my opinion on lyrics, I DO mention them in reviews where lyrics are received or in which they play a prominent factor. I was severely disappointed that the lyrics were not provided for the last Requiem Aeternam album, because their concept was something worth mentioning in the review and I made note of this so that all readers could take note of it as well. I will be reviewing the new Six Feet Under which also has a lyrical concept and yes I will discuss it in the review as I have done with numerous albums in the past.
When I write a review, it obviously has my personal opinion tied into various things that I say, but at the same time, I try to be as objective as possible in the sense that I try to describe what is going on musically (is the drummer spectacular or run of the mill, does the bassist do anything extraordinary or just mimic the rhythm guitar, what's the quality of the leads and riffs, is this song brutal, groovy, melodic and on and on) and I do this in an effort to portray this album in such a way that, regardless of whether I enjoyed it or not, the reader knows whether THEY would.
My opinion on lyrics stems from what I do on my own personal time, and yes, I rarely read lyrics when I buy an album for a number of reasons. As I've stated, I think lyrics can be a great complement and shouldn't be done away with all-together, but I personally believe that they mean little to the musical experience, which to me is the music itself. I don't have as much of a vendetta against lyrics as it appears I do, but they simply don't mean a whole heck of a lot to me as a PERSONAL music listener. When possible, I do address all of the prominent and important aspects of an album as a reviewer, and if this means the lyrics as well, they will be discussed, though they are more often than not, never included with the promo. I think people here are confusing my personal idiosyncrasies with what I do as a critic and that line needs to be drawn. Everything will be taken into consideration when I set out to describe an album to people, whether it has any personal meaning to me or not, in an effort to let people know EXACTLY what they're getting and whether or not it would appeal to them.
Agree with the rest of what you as well, apart from:
