Arkado “Open Sea” Album Review By Constantine

"There is a keen sense of drama in the music of Arkado – from the dramatic baroque keyboard passages to the driving rhythms and precise guitar lines to the emotive vocal delivery of Philip Lindstrand, this band makes an impact."

https://lotsofmuzik.com/arkado-open-sea-album-review-by-banyon-g/

'Atta boy Constantine!

Wow that's so awesome, thanks for posting that FB post.  Often I'm writing these (and I put so much work into them) and I get the feeling hardly anyone is reading them.   And it's always nice to get band reactions, although I try to be fair and honest and constructive, and I don't "cater" to the bands but it's always good if they appreciate the comments when I'm just giving my honest impressions.

scottmitchell74 wrote:'Atta boy Constantine!

Ha!  Thanks.  I'm glad the bands are reading our reviews.
If I were in a band I would read them too.

Constantine wrote:Wow that's so awesome, thanks for posting that FB post.  Often I'm writing these (and I put so much work into them) and I get the feeling hardly anyone is reading them.   And it's always nice to get band reactions, although I try to be fair and honest and constructive, and I don't "cater" to the bands but it's always good if they appreciate the comments when I'm just giving my honest impressions.

Same. 

I'm absolutely terrified of pandering. 

But I don't want to be overly critical in an effort to seem fair/impartial. 

Am I a Leonard Nemoy Vulcan - expertly acted with nuance and subtlety? 

Or am I Jolene Blalock who thought no emotion = angry eyebrows and unnecessary gruffness?

I want to be Nemoy.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

I'm absolutely terrified of pandering. 

But I don't want to be overly critical in an effort to seem fair/impartial. 

It can be helpful to a band if they hear honest feedback.  Like how a listener is perceiving their material and interacting with it. They might not like or appreciate honest feedback in every case, which is understandable.  There are egos involved, hype from record companies, concerns about sales, and of course they likely worked very hard on the recording of the album.  But as you alluded to, there is a way to be subtle and polite and diplomatic about giving feedback or a critique about this or that.

I read other people's reviews when I can and I'm amazed at the writing talent that is out there.  So many impressive writers, wow, I always learn something from every single writer.  

But despite the wordsmithing skills, if the review is just non-stop gushing over the band or the album, I don't feel like I got much out of the essay or that it was useful to read.  I want to hear something deeper than "yeah, this rocks!"  Like, what did you think of the fact that the guitar sound is the same in every song?  Or, doesn't it get boring and tedious for every song to have screaming vocals and 200-mph drums ?  Or, etc.  But, I know not everyone sees things the way I do.  But they should

Ditto!

Right here at our little CMR we have such talent.

But!

Metal is the most thoughtful of genres and Christians are constantly having to "sharpen iron" so it makes sense we have a bunch of thoughtful bright folks here.