Anathema review

1) I think any album is fair game - and a reviewer's personal taste is bound to creep in. I think that a reviewer should try to put taste into as much of a back seat role as possible, if it is recognised that the music is of high quality despite the fact that you don't like it, or simply justify why you formed that opinion.

2) I agree that the forum is the place for discussion, but I think that reference to another reviewer's comments is OK if the context is justified, ie "Bob says that the vocals are very growly, but in my opinion this suits the music very well" - bad example, but hopefully the point comes across! A direct "attack", however, is unwelcome even in the forums, I would suggest.

3) While I don't believe it is possible to form an incorrect opinion - it's your opinion, so who is anyone to say it's wrong? - I do recognise that a cursory few listens to a form of music you are unfamiliar with can lead to opinions which are not firmly rooted and can thus become unfair.

If you're really not keen on any metal-based music, then is it fair to review a single album and declare it bad because you don't like the genre? I particularly dislike Country and Wetern music, and have only heard one or two pieces of music from the genre that I have even partially liked - so I would not review such music out of courtesy to those who do love and appreciate it. True that might throw the bias of the review into the favour of that genre - but who cares? I won't be buying it because I dislike that style, so why should I be the party-pooper?

However, the above review looks inappropriate to me - more like a direct attack on another reviewer's opinions than a review per se.

Edited by Certif1ed

I'll play devil's advocate here- I think if a band is unquestionably part of a genre, as Dream Theater is to prog, it's pretty fair to compare them to other bands in the genre. Certainly Dream Theater is fair game to be reviewed on a metal site, where they will no doubt harp on the 'progressive' elements of the band. It may sound very strange to you if you have no experience with metal (as Canterbury or Fusion may sound if you have no jazz experience), but it's sometimes good to not have preconceived notions...maybe you'll be in a better position to point out elements that many other people have simply accepted and absorbed.

Not to mention that if i was a fan of a specific style, by definition I'd have a different range of tastes- if I was a bigger fan of prog-metal, for instance, I'd probably be a fan of Dream Theater...so a bit of perspective is a good thing, or you'd only have people who liked something talking about it. A better analogy would be to so-called 'world music'...sometimes we are intrigued or bothered by exotic sounds that are really quite common in different situations. A little time spent educating yourself in other musical styles- even ones you are accustomed to disliking- is always a positive thing, but it's not mandatory.

The forums are definitely better places to work out specific reviewers' contentions (I wish we did it more!), but if there is a specific idea that is commonly shared or represented, it is worth addressing. If everyone mentions how bad a certain song on an album is, and you happen to like it, putting that in a review is definitely warranted. If you hate the sound of someone's singing and everyone else seems to think the singer is a genius, it's also worth noting...

I don't think there's much point in reviewing albums that you dislike and are only 'relatively progressive' or 'progressive- influenced'. However, it's open season on anything that falls definitely in the genre...otherwise how are we reviewers going to keep people from wasting money on what we consider to be bad albums?

Edited by James Lee

Anathema was originally a metal band who became a little bit progressive in the last albums. In opposition, many well known bands were progressive at their beginnings becoming pop bands at the end (Genesis is a clear example). So, if I want to review a pop Genesis' album (knowing the band), why not? The risk is to be a little bit unfair because the style isn't the favorite, but I think all reviews about any music style are interesting from a progressive point of view.

A review can be useful as an orientation to a potential buyer, and I think that most readers come to this site to know about progressive music. So, if a reader see reviews (it doesn't matter the band style) made by progressive fans, it can be more appropriated to decide. In another case, people would go to consult reviews in metal or pop sites.

Finally, I don't like words such "ignorant". "Try to hear the cd again" sounds much better and, IMO, there are not wrong but personal impressions, all they valuable.   

We must maintain some critical honesty and express differences of opinion, or every review you read would be a four or five star review- how helpful would that be? I'd hate to think that someone would come away from this site thinking every prog fan likes every prog album...that would make us look indiscriminate, and I know that's not the case...

There's also a significant number of prog fans (whether you call them ignorant or something else) who seem less likely to have a meaningful opinion...just read some of the reviews! I personally suspect a reviewer who cannot form a complete sentence or go three words without a misspelling; I'll trade that for a negative but articulate review any day. I don't think there's any question that someone who writes "u'r stupid if u dont think this ablum KICKS ASS!!!!" is less helpful to readers than a one or two-star rating by maani, or Peter Rideout, or any number of others who have distinguished themselves in their reviews- even if the reader ends up disagreeing with their positions.

I think the disagreements make better conversation threads anyway :)

All:

My two cents on the three points:

1.  Should reviewers "stay away from" albums or genres they don't like or don't understand?  Not necessarily.  As Easy Livin posits initially, all albums on the site are "fair game" for reviewers if they wish to review them.  That said, I would suggest that a reviewer can listen to an album by a band or in a genre they "don't like or don't understand" and, if they are honest with themselves about their "understanding," they can choose to review it - or not.  That is, there are any number of times that I have listened to an album by a band or in a genre I don't particularly like or understand, and have simply chosen not to review it.  By the same token, if I honestly believe I understand it (even if I don't like it), I feel perfectly comfortable reviewing it.  Of course, this goes without saying for albums that I find myself liking, and thus want to review.  But, ultimately, there is nothing wrong with listening to an album, but not reviewing it.

2.  Are reviews the place to comment on other people's reviews?  Even given Certif1ed's well-intentioned suggestion, as a rule the answer is "no."  And I would support Max's idea of strongly suggesting (though perhaps not making it a "hard and fast rule") that reviewers avoid commenting on others' reviews.  In the few cases in which I have done so, it is always in the "positive" mode; i.e., "I fully agree with Easy Livin's review, which I hope you will read," or some such thing.  I will avoid making such comments in the future.

After all, a review is about an album, not about another person's tastes or opinions.  Let's keep it that way...

3.  Is it possible to have a "wrong" impression of an album or style?  That's a much harder question to answer.  As Certif1ed notes, an opinion can never be "wrong"; it is simply "different" from someone else's.  That said, I suppose there are cases in which one could have a "wrong" impression of an album or style: but this would not make their opinion of that album or style "wrong."  Again, it is a matter of self-assessment and sense of "internal honesty": if a person feels that they simply "don't get it," they can always choose either not to review that album at all, or to note their (possible) "mis-impression" in the review.  Indeed, in some of my less positive reviews, I have begun with either "Am I missing something here?" or "Maybe I just don't 'get it.'"  And this is for genres and/or bands that I am quite familiar with.

Ultimately, I believe that all of us - and especially collaborators - have a special obligation to be thoughtful (consider the true meaning of that word...) and constantly self-assessing in what we choose to review, and how.  If we can do that, we will automatically "know" when we are up against a genre or album that we may want to either "leave alone" or give more time before we review.  In addition, the more thought and self-assessment we do, the better our reviews will be overall.

Peace.

Come on, guys, it is a prog rock site, not metal or whatever else. I think that reviews from " prog rock" point of view are ok and should be welcomed. So if a reviewer thinks that Anathema is far from prog rock, s/he can give a bad review. I mean, that I for example, am not a huge metal fan but after reading some reviews I get interested in some of these bands. Unfortunately, it turned out that people who have "experience/familiarity with the genre" give wrong impression for people like me. Summing up, the more people with different tastes reveiw a particular album the more objective impression you can make of this.

I think that you can refer to previous reviews but not comment on them. I have Forum for that.

As long as people aren't delibarately going out of their way to find albums they don't like and reviewing them poorly, surely it's fair enough to review a CD in a style you aren't familiar with. After all, someone looking for a new band could look on the Anathema page, find no reference to the vocals, and then waste their money on a CD that they don't like due to the vocals... When I'm judging if a band's worth checking out I will always read the negative reviews first, provided they give good reasons why the reviewer doesn't like the album.