Recently, there have been grumblings galore about the relevance of the music review; some say that due to the Internet's facilitation of "listen before you buy," criticism is becoming irrelevant. Obviously, as one that writes for a site named Metal Review, should I have a vested interest in this debate, but I find the argument to be quite absurd. Why? Because I like to read. And I like heavy metal. As long as there are people out there like myself, I don't think job security is an issue.
Our very own Doug Moore addressed this recently when he was interviewed by Noisecreep, and while I don't necessarily partake in his speculation that our trade is becoming obsolete, his assertion that song-by-song breakdowns and name-dropping should be a thing of the past is dead-on. With the vast amount of metal being produced, the "recommended if you like..." style of reviewing is becoming passe. Good criticism should provoke, not pander. However, the sheer volume of metal and its ease-of-access makes criticism all the more important. In a world where things are becoming ultra-specialized and hyper-segmented, it's important to call people on their bullshit, lest we morph into a society where everything should be accepted as valid in it's own right, regardless of quality. A comment in Moore's recent Defeated Sanity review highlights this danger: someone griped that unless a person is a fan of said sub-subgenre, they have no business criticizing it. These people are products of a pussified generation, where everything they do must be validated and gratification is of utmost importance.
To be succinct: Fuck that shit. Criticism is more vital than ever, lest we slide into a morass of mediocrity and then accept it as the norm. Therefore, when half-assed crap like this passes for journalism, it's time to light some fires...
In an era where hard criticism is dying and "music journalism" consists of little more than re-printed press releases and puff pieces, this embarrassing Blood Revolt review shouldn't be all that surprising; but equating the album to "puffed-up cock-rock" and indiciting an entire genre is poseriffic garbage. Granted, this album has been receiving mixed reviews across the board, but America's only extreme print mag should hold itself to a higher standard.
The Acid Bath and Agents of Oblivion vocalist recently released his second (technically fourth) solo record, Say Goodnight to the World, and it's arguably his best effort to date. Bluesy, smoky, and sweltering, it's a welcome oasis from whatever brutal-as-fuck madness you're probably hooked on right now. Also, Rotten Records finally released something decent, a "remaster" (basically, it's louder now) of Acid Bath's classic swansong, Paegan Terrorism Tactics.
Everyone's waiting for the progressive death godfathers to take the kids to school when they drop Jupiter. But the band expected to bring some class back into tech death recently displayed a serious lack of it with their very wordy, very contradictory dismissal of bassist Tony Choy, in which they go to great lengths to marginalize his contributions to the band. Save the passive-aggressive bullshit for your next feature in Decibel.
Peaceville recently launched a microsite for the upcoming CoF platter, entitled...get this...Darkly Darkly Venus Aversa. Thing is, you need to sign up for a mailing list to hear the new song, which kinda defeats the purpose of a microsite. Regardless, the title and cover, combined with the band's track record over the past decade, has fully rendered them little more than a marketing project. Make your money, Dani, but please fuck off when you're done.
The Philadelphia black metal entity is now a fully-fleshed band; their sophomore outing, the excellently-titled Quietly, Undramatically, will see release via Candlelight in October. Despite being hamstrung by a ho-hum production, Quietly should satisfy fans with it's expansion on the blissfully-nihilistic debut, A Spell for the Death of Man. For those unfamiliar, it's time to catch up; expect the hype train to pick up some steam.
Tom Cato Visnes (King ov Hell) continues his descent into crapitude, as the lead single from Sahg III sounds even more neutered and disgustingly-palatable than anything off their sophomore flop. Their first record had a nice, doomy, throwback quality to it (re: "Repent," "Godless Faith"), but it seems that commercial viability is their main goal these days. With King involved, this isn't shocking...it's just a tad disappointing. Wasted potential.
...as if Axe wasn't repulsive enough. Not only are Christcore cumstains Mychildren Mybride hawking their own stank coating, but some opportunistic weasel is selling Sex Pistols cologne, billing it as "The Scent of Anarchy." I'm all for creative merchandising (honestly, who the fuck needs another cheap-ass black t-shirt?), but this is a recipe for both embarrassment and failure--on both ends of the transaction. Be an adult. Buy some real fucking cologne.
Admittedly, this is just an excuse to post this photo, which makes him look like the bastard spawn of Larry King and Krang. But his recent comments equating the Internet to the atomic bomb aren't going to go over well with the "Jack and Diane" fans in Japan. (Trivializing the deaths of 246,000 civilians isn't a wise PR move.) And complaining about being a "footnote" compared to the Beatles and Dylan? Um...face the facts, Cougar.
*apologizes for the sporadic publication of this feature. Still expect bi-weekly action, but with publication on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of Fridays. Thanks for reading.
Posted
Aug 25 2010, 10:20 AM
by
Rev