To take in consideration

Written by Mat, December 2005

ver so often we stumble on a reviewer that criticizes the band in question for lack of originality and for sounding too much like band x or y. But let's stop right there for a minute and really think things through. Here we're dealing with a bunch of people in a band who are doing what they love and most certainly put their entire heart, mind and soul into their music and compositions. And it all most certainly also began with them having their own musical favourites growing up and then decided to grab an instrument and start to learn it.

f course this would lead to that when their skills increased they also doubtlessly began playing their favourite bands' songs. Eventually some even formed their own bands and decided to really make a name for them. With this in mind it should of course be a very natural consequence that their own musical direction and compositions will have certain influences from these, more or less evident from case to case. And come on people, we all know that where there are leaders, there are always also followers. And I say as long as those followers don't copycat their role models and compose dead on Xeroxes I think we reviewers should be a little more tolerant on this topic. It feels especially actualized in these days when there are hundreds of metal bands around in a genre quite narrow as it is and it's as good as impossible not to sound like or remind of anything else.

know I am very guilty of this myself but I will for sure at least try to be more tolerant further on, because giving a worse grade only on behalf of this is actually very unfair, a consequence of not seeing the entire picture and also used a little too often to really suit me. Let the bands play what they like because what do you think would happen if the musicians begin to sidestep their own backyards in search for a sound more original just to please some opinion makers?

'm 100% dead sure they would compose way worse music and probably end up not loving what they once did anymore and that's not a situation I think we want. After all it's the music and the songs that are most important and what we should focus the absolute most upon so I urge you other reviewers and also readers to be a little more considerate and more forgiving in this matter in your coming opinions and purchases.

Mat - December 2005