This has to be the only forum on UM...
- Thread starter Jim LotFP
- Start date
The people who got one in their mailbox certainly know about it. But it's a secret. Shhhhh. Can't give an opinion about it.
Obviously, this means my opinions are all profound and without flaw, and the writing is pristine in quality. In the early days, when both had serious problems, I sure heard about it.
Obviously, this means my opinions are all profound and without flaw, and the writing is pristine in quality. In the early days, when both had serious problems, I sure heard about it.
I found some typos; therefore, you suck. ;p
That and I'm only up to the Tholus interview, and a review or so. I'll probably find something to bitch about when I'm done.
That and I'm only up to the Tholus interview, and a review or so. I'll probably find something to bitch about when I'm done.
BenMech
student of the d'eh
I've been at work all week. Barely any time to read.
Puzzled by your Virgin Steele review.
Didn't bother reading through the Norberg interview. Andreas isn't a good enough writer to make it useful.
The Metalfest review was wasted paper. Who cares about any of these unimportant bands?????
Puzzled by your Virgin Steele review.
Didn't bother reading through the Norberg interview. Andreas isn't a good enough writer to make it useful.
The Metalfest review was wasted paper. Who cares about any of these unimportant bands?????
The Norberg interview was good. Some of it was definitely too musically oriented for some (type of interview you might have found in a BAss Player magazine), but some of it that got into Norberg's thoughts on SA's future, and especially his thoughts on music were really interesting.
Dan Berger
Blithering Idiot
Just finished reading the new issue this morning - and am cheered as usual as there are so few places that offer this kind of contemplative writing about metal. The writing crew is terrific. I especially dug Dave Burns piece - anyone who can use "nascent" and "fucking" in the same article is aces by me. The interviews were terrific - and I was so filled with glee that I ordered Gates of Slumber's discs from The End (the first metal discs I've purchased in probably a year).
Really enjoy the technical questions the other dudes were asking, though most of them meant nothing to me as I don't speak music - but it is cool to read musicians "talking shop". Can't say I've ever been particularly wowed by Spiral Architect (the hype around it left me anticipating something that I'd never heard before, and it struck me as stuff that I had heard before) - but I'll dust it off and give it another spin to see if I was distracted by the hyperbole.
Presentation was nice, too - layout and fonts look much better and even the paper seems better. The land of always night agrees with you, Raggi. Nice job and hat tips to all involved - sorry I've got no complaints (though you are getting soft with age - no longer demanding that every band be an innovator - tsk tsk tsk.
Really enjoy the technical questions the other dudes were asking, though most of them meant nothing to me as I don't speak music - but it is cool to read musicians "talking shop". Can't say I've ever been particularly wowed by Spiral Architect (the hype around it left me anticipating something that I'd never heard before, and it struck me as stuff that I had heard before) - but I'll dust it off and give it another spin to see if I was distracted by the hyperbole.
Presentation was nice, too - layout and fonts look much better and even the paper seems better. The land of always night agrees with you, Raggi. Nice job and hat tips to all involved - sorry I've got no complaints (though you are getting soft with age - no longer demanding that every band be an innovator - tsk tsk tsk
.Ben, after reading through most of the Minnesota Mayhem article, I don't think you got the point, or you simply don't care about the point. It isn't just a festival review.
I will take the blame for this. I was so amped about an October release that I rushed the proofreader. Making a big deal about artificial deadlines is admittedly pretty silly, especially when all one has to do is change "October" to "November" on the cover.
In my defense, there wouldn't be any LotFP at all if I wasn't completely overenthusiastic and unreasonable about the whole thing. For many years there was no proofreading at all. I'd finish filling up the space for an issue, many times in the middle of the night, and immediately go to the local 24 hour copy shop.
Still, I'll ease up off the "schedule" thing for awhile. Unless we're down to the end of December 2007 in getting the fifth issue of the Quintology out. Then it's on.
Garth sent me a letter once, in 2001 or 2002, begging me to let him proofread the thing, sending a copy of a recent LotFP that had FORTY typos/errors on one page to make his point. I turned him down then because, get this, I was still committed to the whole weekly thing and having it proofread would throw off the schedule.
So things are much better now, even if they aren't perfect.
Yup. Burns rules. Schiffmann rules. Ginn rules. New possible addition (another musician) that rules as well, but enough about that until he actually submits something.
See, this is what I need to hear to keep the batteries charged. Hopefully you don't wind up thinking they suck.
The album indeed rules. I really haven't heard anything besides Ron Jarzombek studio projects that keep up that kind of insanity over the course of an entire album. And then they claim it isn't technical.
Funny thing about the paper, the past two issues (and all foreseeable future issues) are made at a photocopy place called Multiprint. The paper and print quality are on par with print-on-demand books I've bought from various places (I can't even READ without being underground!
). But it does seem so much sharper than the stuff I used to do at the Small Publishers Co-Op or Kinkos.The font is Arial size 6.5. I've used Arial from the Scum issue forward, although Scum was size 7. Depending on how a couple of interviews go and whether this would help them squeeze into the next issue, The Shameless might be in Arial 6 font. A bit harder on the eyes, but Arial 6 on this paper is still loads and loads easier on the eyes than the old Times New Roman 6 (and 5.5!) I used to do on newsprint.
Nice job and hat tips to all involved - sorry I've got no complaints (though you are getting soft with age - no longer demanding that every band be an innovator - tsk tsk tsk
Writing Scum changed the way I listen to music, and now that I'm back in a review mindset, everything seems different than it was a couple years ago.
I had never heard about October 31 before the fest review. So thanks Dave. Loaded up Rhapsody, and am listening to their live album "Stagefright." It was between this and Meet Thy Maker, and well Stagefright was on top so I decided to listen. I like live albums that feel live, and this one immediately came off as such. Anyhow, definitely enjoy them, and can see what you (Dave) enjoy about them.
Dave also made me feel like less of a noob. When you hang oout in the forum world, you are often swarmed with band names, people quoting influences, past bands of people, their histories, how they drank beers with them, shows, what it was like when they went into the record store and brought that album home, etc. Now I'm not 17 (27), but I've only been into metal for a few years in a serious, self conscious way. I have been into some metal for much of my life, but I had no idea that it was metal. And I was really into punk (not so much anymore. I still listen to what I used to, but the new punk is just commercial shit. You want to talk about true metal... true punk is just beyond rare, and if you want originality in punk? Hah). Both rang true with me. Either way, my point is that Dave's comments about how people shouldn't trash the youngins for not being able to quote song lists off old albums is truth. I do my best to listen to the roots, listen to the bands that people say were great, the albums that people love, etc. Hell, I've gotten into various genres of metal, and became big fans of some groups that way. But, I'm not ashamed to say that I don't have 10 or 20 years of metal background, that I can't tell you about the history of Bruce Dickinson, nor can I tell you when he cut his hair. But I don't need to.
Dave also made me feel like less of a noob. When you hang oout in the forum world, you are often swarmed with band names, people quoting influences, past bands of people, their histories, how they drank beers with them, shows, what it was like when they went into the record store and brought that album home, etc. Now I'm not 17 (27), but I've only been into metal for a few years in a serious, self conscious way. I have been into some metal for much of my life, but I had no idea that it was metal. And I was really into punk (not so much anymore. I still listen to what I used to, but the new punk is just commercial shit. You want to talk about true metal... true punk is just beyond rare, and if you want originality in punk? Hah). Both rang true with me. Either way, my point is that Dave's comments about how people shouldn't trash the youngins for not being able to quote song lists off old albums is truth. I do my best to listen to the roots, listen to the bands that people say were great, the albums that people love, etc. Hell, I've gotten into various genres of metal, and became big fans of some groups that way. But, I'm not ashamed to say that I don't have 10 or 20 years of metal background, that I can't tell you about the history of Bruce Dickinson, nor can I tell you when he cut his hair. But I don't need to.
BenMech
student of the d'eh
Okay, weekend's here, so I have time to look at the issue more.
Btw, the one thing I DID really like was the Gates of Slumber 'view.
Need to hear them though.
And Cheiron - I imagine my first reaction to the Metalfest review was due to my workschedule, and skimming.
Btw, the one thing I DID really like was the Gates of Slumber 'view.
Need to hear them though.
And Cheiron - I imagine my first reaction to the Metalfest review was due to my workschedule, and skimming.
circus_brimstone
Forest: Sold Out
I enjoyed it, too. Here are my specific thoughts:
Likes
Layout, font, graphics, amount of material good for price, in-depth interviews and reviews, band logos used frequently
Dislikes
asides in interviews (Conan in GoS, bass talk in SA, etc.) though it sorta comes with the territory, unstapled issue
Wants
review of Heathen Crusade II
Wary of
A couple issues of the Quintology don't appeal to me at all - topically speaking. I'm afraid I won't be interested in the Lovecraft and Unsigned Bands issues at all. However, I'm willing to give them both a shot.
Here are my specific thoughts:Likes
Layout, font, graphics, amount of material good for price, in-depth interviews and reviews, band logos used frequently
Dislikes
asides in interviews (Conan in GoS, bass talk in SA, etc.) though it sorta comes with the territory, unstapled issue
Wants
review of Heathen Crusade II
Wary of
A couple issues of the Quintology don't appeal to me at all - topically speaking. I'm afraid I won't be interested in the Lovecraft and Unsigned Bands issues at all. However, I'm willing to give them both a shot.
Ah, the unstapledness.
I had planned to staple issue #66 by hand (and it was folded by hand), but the weird staples here were short, stubby, and would not staple correctly when unfolded. That issue was only 4 sheets of paper so I didn't think it was that big a deal, it was just like the old days of LotFP "Weekly".
I just did the same thing for #67 without thinking about it, but I agree, it should be stapled at this size. I think I'm going to spring for the print shop to assemble the booklets from here on out. Mainly because I don't want to get sued if someone picks up a disease from all the pages I get papercuts on while folding the fucking things.
Doubtful. I know I'm not flying to Minnesota for this.
If you're not interested in Lovecraft you're not interested in Lovecraft, but why would you not be interested in the unsigned (and small-label, don't forget) bands issue?
circus_brimstone
Forest: Sold Out
Doubtful. I know I'm not flying to Minnesota for this.
Solicit a freelancer for that shit!
One of the ex-Royal Carnagers would be capable of providing a great write-up as many who plan to attend are good writers. I just prefer reading about bands I'm familiar with. In other words, I usually encounter unsigned bands by happenstance, and enjoy their music being a search field away with the advent of MySpace so I can immediately judge their output and pursue them further. Make sense? Not the best attitude, but whatcha gonna do?
DBB
Member
- Dec 20, 2005
- 370
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It sad really...not you specifically, Mr. Brimstone, but the overall orientation and the lay of the land. Reminds me of Ian Christe answering a challenge to the slant of the coverage of Metal Maniacs by saying "I'm not into creaming over demos."
Speaking of Maniacs, the "Firing Squad" feature which focuses on demos (and bands who have self-released something without a label logo on it--no matter how professional and substantial) has slowly but surely been whittled down over the past few issues and was entirely absent from the last issue.
Room enough for a lame-ass, putrid and insipid travelogue about visiting some of the sites where Friday the 13th was filmed, but not enough room for unsigned bands.
I guess Dave Brenner is too busy now that Earsplit PR is now officially the in-house publicist for Candlelight Records. But any band that dared to play thrash or classic metal met with nothing but disdain from him for not being "ground-breaking" or "forward-looking" when he deigned to devote any time to their work, so maybe less damage is being done in the end....and so it goes.
Terrorizer, of course, recently put together an "Unsigned Edition" of the Fear Candy Sampler, but for the rest of the year these bands will be relegated to the literal margins of the "Cannon Fodder" joke that devotes around 70 words apiece to 8 bands (only room enough for 4 last issue, though).
BW&BK is a little better, since there is an entire page, the "Brave Underground" where Aaron Small fires off short, sharp blasts and snap judgments about bands in a 100 words or less.
Unrestrained! can't be troubled to fool around with demos, but they do have the common decency to review some independent releases in the actual review section--but there is no other option, really.
Why waste any time with all this, there are no promos to follow in a chain-like fashion, readers would rather hear about the latest incestuous and sure-fire-to-shift-units supergroup like I or Chrome Division, gloss over one of the 30 minute interviews slots allotted to a band buried in various writers prose, or Mastodon talking about how major labels are not all that bad for 50th time than about some small insignificant band that is not going to be on everyone's lips and is obviously something unimportant since it is not being covered....and the snake eats its own head to slither along in a closed and circular fashion to cover what is important.
For the upcoming issue, I've spent quite a few hours sifting through all kinds of sites, dead ends, and dreadful stuff--but it has been a real learning experience and I've even been taught a thing or two by being challenged.
"Demo" is almost an archaic term belonging to another age now. I've found numerous, young bands don't even use the word anymore--it is a promo instead of a demo. Whether the difference between demonstrating or promoting something is merely semantic, I can't comment on at length at this point, but language is important and this verbal shift is revealing of larger cultural changes in some ways, I suspect.
Then you have bands with no deals or labels behind them releasing professionally pressed CDs that have more thought and effort put into them than many of the things label churn out and to call these "demos" would be insulting and disgraceful, yet there is still the lingering and unshakable sense among many people that it something less than proper, since it has not been advertised and pushed through the proper channels.
Speaking of Maniacs, the "Firing Squad" feature which focuses on demos (and bands who have self-released something without a label logo on it--no matter how professional and substantial) has slowly but surely been whittled down over the past few issues and was entirely absent from the last issue.
Room enough for a lame-ass, putrid and insipid travelogue about visiting some of the sites where Friday the 13th was filmed, but not enough room for unsigned bands.
I guess Dave Brenner is too busy now that Earsplit PR is now officially the in-house publicist for Candlelight Records. But any band that dared to play thrash or classic metal met with nothing but disdain from him for not being "ground-breaking" or "forward-looking" when he deigned to devote any time to their work, so maybe less damage is being done in the end....and so it goes.
Terrorizer, of course, recently put together an "Unsigned Edition" of the Fear Candy Sampler, but for the rest of the year these bands will be relegated to the literal margins of the "Cannon Fodder" joke that devotes around 70 words apiece to 8 bands (only room enough for 4 last issue, though).
BW&BK is a little better, since there is an entire page, the "Brave Underground" where Aaron Small fires off short, sharp blasts and snap judgments about bands in a 100 words or less.
Unrestrained! can't be troubled to fool around with demos, but they do have the common decency to review some independent releases in the actual review section--but there is no other option, really.
Why waste any time with all this, there are no promos to follow in a chain-like fashion, readers would rather hear about the latest incestuous and sure-fire-to-shift-units supergroup like I or Chrome Division, gloss over one of the 30 minute interviews slots allotted to a band buried in various writers prose, or Mastodon talking about how major labels are not all that bad for 50th time than about some small insignificant band that is not going to be on everyone's lips and is obviously something unimportant since it is not being covered....and the snake eats its own head to slither along in a closed and circular fashion to cover what is important.
For the upcoming issue, I've spent quite a few hours sifting through all kinds of sites, dead ends, and dreadful stuff--but it has been a real learning experience and I've even been taught a thing or two by being challenged.
"Demo" is almost an archaic term belonging to another age now. I've found numerous, young bands don't even use the word anymore--it is a promo instead of a demo. Whether the difference between demonstrating or promoting something is merely semantic, I can't comment on at length at this point, but language is important and this verbal shift is revealing of larger cultural changes in some ways, I suspect.
Then you have bands with no deals or labels behind them releasing professionally pressed CDs that have more thought and effort put into them than many of the things label churn out and to call these "demos" would be insulting and disgraceful, yet there is still the lingering and unshakable sense among many people that it something less than proper, since it has not been advertised and pushed through the proper channels.
Its the issue I'm excited about most. I love the small unsigned bands that show talent. A few here in Atlanta, and more around the US. Outside of the US I don't know so many.
circus_brimstone
Forest: Sold Out
What about all the webzines, DBB, that focus on unsigned bands? Many encourage unsigned bands to send in their records for review - not to mention outlets like MySpace, Metal Archives, and others.
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