Ramblings of a Rabid Reviewer.
| Written by: | Marcel Hubregtse |
| Published: | May 12, 2007 |
This is my first MS-blog of hopefully many more to come.
Why is it that nowadays even reviewers hide behind nicknames? Has it do with the anonimity of the Internet where people are somehow afraid to use their real name on forums? Okay, I know that I started posting in the forum here on Metal Storm as Ozman, so is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Mmm, I don't think so really, because I changed the Ozman nick to my real name after a couple of reviews. I think it is more honest towards the the artists who have put a lot of effort in their recordings that their work is reviewed by a person of flesh and blood and not just an abstract name. Because does an Internet nickname reflect the reviewer's personality? Nope, I don't think so, but then again neither does the person's real name. For that name is also only given on a whim and born into. But at least the artist can track down the person behind the name if they have any reason to.
Employing the nick Ozman I felt I could hide behind it and be different from the person who I really am if there ever was a need to. But having picked up reviewing after a lay-off of about 14 years I felt it necessary to go back to my own name for that would be more honest towards the bands and also towards the people reading the reviews.
Reviewing, what does it entail? I hear many a person ask. To put it bluntly, nothing much, you sit down listen to the cd or whatever and give your honest objective opinion on it. But is it really that simple? Mmm, not really... for first of all objectivity does not exist and will never exist. Reviewing something from scratch is also nigh to impossible for I for one always want some kind of frame of reference, where is a band coming from in comparison to their earlier work. And if it is a debut: how does band compare to other bands in the same genre? Am I hindered or helped by my broad taste in metal while reviewing? Questions, questions. Are there quick and easy answers to those questions? Maybe my mind works in mysterious ways... but NO there are no quick and easy answers. Take for exqample a broad taste in metal... it can hinder the reviewing for you won't limit yourself to just one genre and therefore will not have heard everything or near to everything in that genre thus holding you back in coparison to peers of the the reviewed band. But having a broad taste can also help you in spotting references in the music which originate from other genres.
So after having established the history of the band, their musical inspirations and references and how the latest work compares to their own back catalogue and to that of their peers within the subgenre and genre at large comes the really hard part... what bleeding rating to give the album?
And this aspect I find even harder. Okay so there are some more or less objective criteria you can judge an album by you owuld think. One of them being production I hear some of you opt. Nope... a crispy clear production with some nice heavy touches might objectively be a good production. But, and this is a very big but such a production not and will never work for bands such as Darkthrone, Xasthur, Leviathan etc. Their music works better with a very grainy almost minimal sort of production whereas that sort of production will have you run away screaming when it is used on a Dream Theater album.
So, as you can see from this simple example.... objectivity is far and away here too, for it also has to do with personal preferences. Even an overal rating is obscured by how one views a band and their work of art and if one knwos the band members personally or if one wants to promote a certain scene.
I for one am almost a bit biased towards thrash, death and doom bands, and especially if they are from The Netherlands. So, if you see a review by me of such a bandd from The Netherlands I think it would be safe to subtract about half a point to get a fairer (more objective?) view of the album.
This about wraps up my ramblings for today.
Don't be shy to comment objectively, subjectively, or flame me on these raving rabid ramblings.
Or pm me with something you want to knwo more about and would want to read about in a future blog of mine.
Cheerz,
Marcel
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Comments: 46
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254  |
well I have always gone by my real name, like you are now.. Baz (or Barry) Anderson and not many others seem to do that.. surname as well.. so hopefully I have never been seen to have been 'hiding'..  but have only started reviewing for the front page since the end of February wheras you will have for longer..ha - but yeh, of course I am going to lean a little towards English bands like you are bands from the Netherlands.. haha
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| Carrion Account deleted |
Carrion
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I don't have my real name as nick, but if go see my profile you can see my real first name there.. Maybe I should add last name too.. But hell, I haven't even done any reviews, but maybe someday  It's true that it is almost impossible to be objective while reviewing a bands work, especially when you're talking about a really well-known band like Metallica or Dream Theater.. I myself usually am more critic for finnish bands when I'm asked of what I'm thinking of their albums. It's like this thing in football for ex. If the son of the trainer is in the team, he will probably have to face harder comments than the others.
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941  |
<-- hides behind an alias Great insight into reviewing. As I delve further into reviewing for MS I have been asking myself a lot of these same questions. If I review a band's 5th album, should I have heard the first 4 in order to write a good review? Is it better that I have NOT heard the first 4? Lots of things like that give me trouble... but at the end of the day you gotta just give your opinion positive and negative. It's nice to see what other reviewers worry about/consider before publishing.
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by [user id=5630] on 12.05.2007 at 21:26 For real names in the profiles... most people don't use them there either. And that is besides the point I was trying to make. Read again and try to understand the point I was making as to why to use your real name when reviewing ;-) As to you considering it an incoherent text... check out the title of this blog... Ramblings of a Rabid Reviewer.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Herzebeth Posts: 5537  |
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Herzebeth on 12.05.2007 at 21:34 I am not saying anyone must... it is up to the individual. I wanted to give people something to think about Another reason for me to change my nick to my real name was that I felt like a stupid kid when introducing myself to some band members as "Hi I am Ozman of Metal Storm." when meeting them face to face. 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Insineratehymn Account deleted |
Insineratehymn
Account deleted Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 12.05.2007 at 21:37 Actually, I liked your nickname of Ozman. It reminded me of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. Is the reason why you changed your nickname because you no longer wanted to be associated with a figure from medieval history?
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| GT Coffee!! Staff Posts: 5101  |
Nice insight on reviewing and some very good arguments against the use of internet-nicks when reviewing. Seems like you've been thinking about the before mentioned subjects for quite some time. Personally have nothing against internet-nicks...if people fell more comfortable using one then fine. I use my initials and well my real name is in my profile
----  Dreams are made so we don't get bored when we sleep
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=5630] on 12.05.2007 at 22:00 Nope, the reason I switched from my nickname to my real name is given in the rambling blog post of mine....
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Insineratehymn Account deleted |
Insineratehymn
Account deleted Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 12.05.2007 at 22:06 Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of the reasons as detailed in your blog post because the text is all compact together and it is hard for me to figure out when a sentence ends and another begins. Perhaps if you put it into an easily readable paragraph form, then maybe I will be able to understand whatever it is you're trying to get across. Until then, I'm clueless.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=5630] on 12.05.2007 at 22:15 I am not editing my text for it to become more readable. Sentences do start and end there as well ;-) I am not dumbing it down :-0 Ever heard of stream-of-consciousness, well my blog is nothing compared to that. Try James Joyce's Ulysses and you'll really be left behind stumped. O btw, paragraphs ARE used in my text.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Insineratehymn Account deleted |
Insineratehymn
Account deleted Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 12.05.2007 at 22:23 I read James Joyce's Ulysses and I could understand it perfectly. If you want incoherent, I'll be incoherent. Case in point: Incoherent spells 1992 upside down Bob Newhart. Bottled fluid milk, yogurts, Red Rock Ginger Ale, vitamin D buttermilk and when did the slippery Yankees subtraction mastery. But grandma failed because my toy train went swimming in the piano. And pixie combs has been in the hands of Brenton James' combs from 2002 to 2006. Pixie sits in the little bed & sits with Kyle from South Park. It may contain references to human history, your mom, Dick Cheney and the speaker system I recently installed in my baby water bottle.
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| Bas Retired Staff Elite Posts: 5591  |
of course reviews are subjective, yet (in most cases of course  ) they are written by people who gave the music a chance and who actually know what they're talking about when they describe how something soundsand i think thats what a reviewer is supposed to do, to not only tell how he likes an album but also to be able to convey how a piece of music sounds in text just my two cents and Insi, i didnt have any problems with reading Marcel's blog
---- BAS - Beautifully Accented Sexiness
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=5630] on 12.05.2007 at 22:57 The paragraphs are clearly defined though, maybe not for your eyes but they are there. The indentation is at the END of the paragraph (also a very common way to do it)
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| wrathchild Staff Posts: 14090  |
I understood everything, and I must say this is exactly what I expect from those "blogs" I could relate to many of the things you wrote here. Since I don't really consider myself a reviewer, I'm keeping my nickname, but if I was to review more albums and more varied albums (say, more black, death or industrial albums) I would consider using my name (or at least my first name) instead of "wrathchild." I understand it may remind the bands and readers of Iron Maiden too much (especially since my avatar is also taken from IM). The fact is that I'm not so much into Iron Maiden now, but I've been using it for so long that I made it my own, without considering its original meaning.
---- La belleza no reside en lo que puedas crear, sino en lo que eres capaz de transmitir Beauty resides not in what you're able to create, but in what you're able to communicate Txus, Mägo De Oz
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| Eddie Retired Mod. Elite Posts: 2617  |
Reviews will always be subjective, no changing that. Ofcourse finding a balance between subjectivity and objectivity is key, but that matter has been discussed a million times before. A little bit of national pride in your reviews won't hurt Just try to find a balance I would suggest, but that comes from a person that doesnt do reviews  Nicknames, you have a point Marcel, but its still just a nickname, if people would behave differently cause of just their nickname Id call them just a lil tiny bit strange and not honest to yourself, but well nonetheless they still roam around haha. So well, ramble away
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| Raiden Down Under Staff Elite Posts: 8292  |
Written by Susan on 12.05.2007 at 21:30 Well I suppose I've never really thought about the whole nickname thing. To me it's not really hiding my name or anything. I'd imagine people would know my name is Will by now (well, some I hope ). I guess usernames provide more of a "nickname" that the user can name themselves by. Not as much of a screen, but a self chosen name that one likes. A nickname could make a person feel good, if they have a powerful type of name. But some people just think it's just boring to have their given name. But like I said I haven't thought too much about it (until now ) though it's an interesting point to bring up.You make a good point about reviewers, though I suppose it isn't that hard to find information about them. Although having your own name puts more of a "stamp" on your review, making it more "signed" by you. This same kind of topic can be applied to band members though. Why do band members "hide" behind aliases? They probably have more reason for their names to be out their than reviewers, but why do they do it too? It's different even from the offline to online world, so why do they do it?
---- "Scream for me Melbourne!!!!" - Bruce Dickinson "I don't see any god up here" - Yuri Gagarin (while in orbit, 1961)
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| Richard Elite Posts: 4862  |
Written by Raiden on 13.05.2007 at 18:27 I suppose it's more of a theatrical thing for certain bands, to help cultivate a certain image to associate with the music. It tends to be Black Metal bands that use aliases more than other genres - and I guess if a guy's real name is Jeremy Pants, then he might think Lord Baphomet may seem more appropriate..!
---- 
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| Insineratehymn Account deleted |
Insineratehymn
Account deleted Written by Richard on 13.05.2007 at 19:03 Oh come on, that's an awesome name for a person! To be truthful, I do use my real name when it comes to writing things such as articles for Metal Storm, but I always place my nickname in between my first and last name, and in quotation marks. My real name is Ethan Mittel, and my nickname is Insineratehymn, so it would appear as Ethan "Insineratehymn" Mittel. This way, people will recognize me if they have seen me on a certain website.
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| Lucas Mr. Noise Elite Posts: 13427  |
Written by Richard on 13.05.2007 at 19:03 And I suppose some members with jobs don't want to be known as a bandmember. Would you want to have the guitarist of Dark Funeral as your dentist? Don't think so!
---- SLUDGE. DOOM. DEATH. Wait, what?  "The reason I'm running for president is because I can't be Bruce Springsteen." - Barack Obama
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| Sunioj Posts: 3894  |
Quote: Best quote I heard about production in awhile
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| jupitreas hi-fi / lo-life Staff Posts: 6659  |
There is no universally good way of producing an album, there are just appropriate ways of doing it. Basically, I agree with what Marcel is saying but I wouldn't call Darkthrone's production crappy, since it isn't. Its actually brilliant production since it is 100% appropriate to the music.
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Staff Posts: 9718  |
I can see where your coming from on the reviews type thing. Luckily I only review old albums and Im not staff, but if I was to ever become a staff member doing reviews Id probably follow your example, very honorable not hiding behind a nickname.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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| Dane Train Beers & Kilts Elite Posts: 8902  |
Written by jupitreas on 15.05.2007 at 02:27 Darkthrone is not crappy production, it is Lo-Fi production.
---- (space for rent)
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