Metal Reviews

agree with the above post, just because a band is getting more recognition doesn't automatically make it shit. Shadows Fall? the brilliant new Opeth album? Cradle are certainly not a black metal band , just a good bend that creates atmospheric yet heavy music. Hell, it beats the shit outta Korn and Static X! 8)

*band, sorry. Im a horrible typist :oops:

Dismissed...




True. Horseshit might taste better than dogshit but I don't want to eat either of them..

Otherwise I agree (as stated above)

Well, Cradle is not a good band anymore and they don't create atmospheric music anymore, simply because they sold out. Iron Maiden has yet to sell out. But Opeth did with their new album, hell, they are even on roadrunner!! If a band changes their style into a more popular one in order to sell more disks, then they are selling out. Easy. And because it's popular, it doesn't sound as good as their older stuff. Cradle for example sounds ridiculous now compared to Vempire. Dimmu's latest sounds like utter garbage compared to Enthrone Darkness Thriumphant. A band doesn't have to get popular to sell out (take Enter Chaos who sold out but you have never heard of), and they don't have to sell out to be popular (Iron Maiden for example). But for a lot of bands both phenomenons go hand in hand. It's not a matter of opinions, and if is, my opinion is superior to yours.

PS. Shadows Fall is stupid

Agreed with every point!

With an argument like that, how can this discussion go on any further

Please explain how the hell you came to that conclusion.
Sure Roadrunner is a bigger label, but maybe they offered Opeth the best contract (in order for them to actually make a living).

In terms of artistic integrity, I don't think Opeth have 'sold out' in any aspect of their music. Infact I think Ghost Reveries is one of their best albums - I can never choose just one though

What are your opinions of Ghost Reveries in terms of the musical quality (bearing in mind you have labelled them as sellouts)???
Is it infact the music, or mainly the fact that they are now on Roadrunner that allowed you to formulate this exceptional statement????

It's mostly the riff from Grand Conjuration, everything else survived with a little integrity.

PS.. you might want to read every Opeth review thread on the forum, we have a nine page argument every time someone mentions their name..

Fair enough, I'll leave it alone for now.
The whole notion of opeth ever selling out is a bit hard for me to fathom though....
Anyway, back to the COF discussion.... erm Damnation was fairly pants - where the hell are those melodies present on earlier releases? The guitars were mostly really dull on that album, and it was far too long - cutting a few songs of the medicore songs towards the end of the album would have been a good idea.

Yes, it is clearly aimed for metalcore audience.

Opeth is for everyone Let's just leave it there...

I quite liked The Grand Conjuration, different to the usual acoustic stuff. But I like the acoustic stuff anyway, so I'll probably get GR, after some of the earlier ones (Orchid or Morningriser).

I'm not sure if this point was already brought up but...

I've heard that some black metal bands release their albums in limited quantities in order to avoid being labeled a sell-out. Is this true?

I don't think that is their goal, the wouldn't care what they are called. The essential of limiting LP's, tapes and CD's is to ensure the listener that he actually has something of value. For example, I recently got an Aichmophoba tape, number 11 our of 15. The band split up, and this was the only album they released, a damn fine album I must say. It's cool to know that only 15 people have this tape, and that I am one of them. The fun would be all away if every Cradle fan could buy this. The limiting assures that only people who truly want to hear this kind of music are able to get it. It's cool when the band gets more and more popular within the scene (achieves kvlt status) and you have their album. Some legendairy bands' releases go for hundreds and hundreds of dollars, Moonblood being a fair example. It also allows the band to ask a few extra coins, but I do not think that usually is the intention. It kinda bacame a tradition within the true BM scene.

wow, only 15 people have that tape and you've got one of them. How'd you get a hold of it?

After your explanation, I guess having limited releases does make some sense. But can't problems arise if a band's fanbase expands and more people want to get a hold of an original copy?

An example of this is Moonblood, but there are far more. There is not problem really, the unlucky ones are just unlucky and the lucky ones laugh at them. There is always the download option.

True, I guess downloading is an option but I usually like to support the artist by eventually purchasing the actual album. But unless someone's willing to put up a lot of money, I would think the band wouldn't really care if someone dl'ed thier rare material.

making money isnt their goal. to understand you have to let go of common mainstream notions about making music. they dont exist to sell records.

In my opinion, BM bands releasing records in limited quantities is completely pointless. It seems that the majority of bands who do this are just trying to achieve some sort of ridiculous status among kvlt-kiddies.
In the worst cases, it's just about making money. OOP KVLT shit sells for a lot on Ebay. Yes, greed and commercialism exists even in underground metal!
As for Misha's point about how cool it is to own a limited release: i don't need shit like that to make me feel special.

The essence of true BM has nothing to do with how limited your releases are.

When I said I prefer buy a band's material rather than download, that's just because I like to give a band thier due. Otherwise it just feels like stealing no matter how rarre the release is. And making money isn't all that bad, is it? you've gotta put food on the table.