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Post by Thomas Eversole on Sept 4, 2015 23:58:58 GMT -6
The "score explanation" is down on their site, but here's how Lords of Metal break down their numbers. The 5th album of Ankou Awaits, Sobrwydd a Disgyblaeth, scored a 77 / 100. www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/reviews/view/id/30352In retrospect - here's a few other albums (past and present) and how they reviewed on Lords of Metal: Slechtvalk - A Forlorn Throne - 90 / 100 Fleshgod Apocalypse - Labyrinth - 89 / 100 Cradle of Filth - Hammer of the Witches - 88 / 100 Carach Angren - This is No Fairytale - 83 / 100 Dragonforce - In The Line of Fire - 78 / 100 1349's Massive Caldron of Chaos - 77 / 100 Dark Funeral - Nail them to the Cross - 77 / 100 Antestor - The Forsaken - 75 / 100 Soulfly - Archangel - 70 / 100 Nachtblut - Chimonas - 66 / 100 A few minor annoyances about the review of my album 1) They misspelled the album name 2) They didn't really go into why they said it was better than the previous Ankou Awaits albums - they just more or less said it was, and that they hope I keep going on this path and that it has better production. I agree with their review, that this is a "pretty much above average release, but not a top one". To me, that's an acceptable assessment of this album, this project and me as a musician in general. ...though they do refer to me as a "prolific artist" in the review. [bees]
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2015 8:19:21 GMT -6
I can't really blame them for misspelling the name. NoSleep misspelled it in his store too. I'd say 77 is something to be really proud of, considering that it's higher than what they gave The Forsaken, which a lot of Christian black metal guys think is one of the greatest albums ever. Edit: I just looked at the article now, and "Disgyblatch" LOL.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Sept 5, 2015 11:42:18 GMT -6
I can't really blame them for misspelling the name. NoSleep misspelled it in his store too. HAHA!!! Oops! I think the next album, I'll have a title of "Sdafhejk Werh Iushi s Sheioh Hernaminonismeshilon" and then I'll have a sub-title of "Don't worry, I need to copy and paste it too." LOL [flying] I'd say 77 is something to be really proud of, considering that it's higher than what they gave The Forsaken, which a lot of Christian black metal guys think is one of the greatest albums ever. Thanks, and I agree. I'm proud of this album and the project in general. I remember a while back about people saying Lords of Metal just don't like Christian bands because they gave A Hill to Die Upon album a 40 / 100. I intentionally posted Sletchvalk's score in case there was anyone else around that had the same assumption. I think its neat how I think I've improved with each Ankou Awaits release, and that's something that Lords of Metal marked as well. Ankou Awaits - Lebor Gabala Erenn 52 / 100 (they said it rages on and on but doesn't go anywhere) Ankou Awaits - Crog Buidhe 72 / 100 (said it has variation, doesn't just rage on and on anymore) Ankou Awaits - Wyllt 76 / 100 (called it captivating and would have given it a score above 80 if it weren't for the drums "sound") Ankou Awaits - Oberour Ar Maro 74 / 100 (call it a great album, but say it hasn't improved since Wyllt) Ankou Awaits - Sobrwydd a Disgyblaeth 77 / 100 (another musical improvement and better production - I did get better equipment the Christmas before) Regarding Ankou Await's future, I'm not sure if there will be other albums. After this release and the cassette re-releases, I'm kind of feeling like I've gone about as high as I can go with this run - unless I make some drastic changes to the formula of how I write the Ankou Awaits music. ...but I haven't completely decided if I'm going to hang up the towel. I'll see how I feel March-May 2016, when my "make an album" feeling usually hits and I'll know more then.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2015 11:54:11 GMT -6
I'm not an AHtDU fan but 40 does sound pretty low. They also gave Veil of Remembrance a 60... www.lordsofmetal.nl/en/reviews/view/id/5155I really don't get this. They basically say that they don't like the band's name and that the melodies aren't good enough, and that's about it for criticism. I don't think that's enough explanation to justify a 60.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2015 11:59:00 GMT -6
I just skimmed through the AHtDU review, and this sentence caught me eye:
"In all honesty, I don't believe that black metal is A Hill To Die Upon's real thing: taking their origin (USA) into consideration and what they display on this album, I think they will feel much more at home in a genre like thrash or progressive death metal, be it with a bit of a dark layer on it all."
Suggesting that a band would do better in another genre is fine, but using their origin country as one of the reasons is ridiculous. What country an artist lives in should not determine what genre of metal they should play.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Sept 5, 2015 17:30:13 GMT -6
Oh, they're definitely biased. I read a review where they said an album was horrible, should get a 0 but they'll give it a 15 because they mailed a CD in. That to me is clear that they distribute (or take away) any amount of points for any reason.
Lords of Metal probably don't know that I'm actually just a few hours South West of where AHTDU are stationed. (or at least where one of the members was stationed at one time)
What kind of spooked me was that they had no idea that I used sequenced drums on the older Ankou Awaits releases until I responded to them saying there wasn't an improvement from Wyllt to Oberour Ar Maro. "Yes there was. I used real drums." (they've since edited the reviews to reflect that - but it was still spooky THEY didn't know)
I know Crimson Moonlight got a lower score than I did (on their make believe scoring scale) but I wish LoM would have gone into detail about my release. Veil of Rememberance, they commended on the music and different parts of the tracks. Sobrwydd a Disgyblaeth, they pretty much said that "its better than the previous releases" without saying WHY.
Still, its not a complete wash. It is a large group of people with a certainly public opinion and 160 issues under their belt certainly accounts for something.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2015 19:09:28 GMT -6
I read these names, and all I can think of is this video:
BTW, congrats on that score!
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Post by kimmo on Sept 14, 2015 11:27:10 GMT -6
Heh, you have so cryptic titles that no wonder people make mistakes with them I was just listening the album, it takes me a while to get into it really, but it might be a good thing. Gonna download it from your Bandcamp sooner or later I guess.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Sept 14, 2015 19:20:28 GMT -6
I think the Lords of Metal review might sum it up for you as well. They thought it sounded like "a mess" until they gave it a couple spins, and then "it all came together". I agree, its a complicated listen. I'll even take it a step further - its WORK to process and listen to it. I mean, two months putting it together, a lot of which has been outlined in this thread, its going to be "a lot". On that note, I fronted a CD to a guy I used to work with, like a few days after the pressing was done. (I always let people have CDs if they want them, even if they don't have the money.) He saw me, kind of freaked out a bit, and actually gave me a $20 and told me to keep the change. (which, I only asked $7 for the CD - which is my "in person" price) He went from "Yeah, its cool." to "I listen to this all the time and the more I listen to it..." Sorry! Not trying to toot my horn but, that's even my own listening reaction to listening to it. The point is, I made a release that I've even spun hundreds of times because I liked it, not because I wanted to criticize it and drive myself crazy with what went wrong.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2015 19:57:14 GMT -6
I think I need to finally buy this album soon.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Sept 15, 2015 21:15:40 GMT -6
I'll save you one. No rush man. I've still got a few copies left.
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Post by kimmo on Oct 2, 2015 9:01:32 GMT -6
Got it now from Bandcamp!
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Oct 2, 2015 10:38:10 GMT -6
Thanks bro!
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