This album definitely needed more "Caffeine". A record this mediocre coming from a band as legendary as FNM should be considered "Malpractice" and although this album came "From Out of Nowhere", they should be "Digging the Grave" after this.

Well done. This could have come off as silly, but the placement was masterful

As for the album, it is indeed underwhelming, but I found enjoyment in it. It just lacks that "oomph" factor both in the compositions and production.

This review is a work of art. If the album is anything like how you describe it, this review crushes it by a wide margin.

Omg. Did I write this review?

Seriously though, it's heartbreaking to hear from everyone (so far) that this album is incredibly underwhelming. :c

When I first listened to Angel Dust I was pretty underwhelmed. I was expecting them to pick up where they left off with The Real Thing. I wanted "Epic" or "Surprise You're Dead" part II and didn't get them. Instead I got some immediately accessible tracks like "Everything's Ruined" and "Midlife Crisis", bit the rest was pretty much, "What the %#*@"? Then, after a few spins and a few days to sink in, I thought the album was a masterpiece. Angel Dust has been in my top five albums of all time ever since.

King For Day an Album Of The Year were great but never caught me the same way. I just can't ever find the right mood to sit down and listen to either album all the way through. I like different parts of each album depending on how I feel that day.

Eighteen years later I get to listen to Sol Invictus (I downloaded it but have already paid for my pre-ordered CD and vinyl, so feel okay about doing it). For me, the experience had been very much like Angel Dust. I immediately loved "Superhero", "Sunny Side Up", and "From The Dead". The rest was "What the %#&, how boring and uninteresting".

I really disliked tracks like "Sol Invictus", "Separation Anxiety", Cone of Shame", and "Matador". I was just skipping those tracks after 20-30 seconds.

Then after listening in the car one day it suddenly sunk in. I loved all of it. My favourite tracks ended up being the ones I really disliked. Rather than skip them I was repeating them. The intensity of some parts is amazing ot just wasn't immediately apparent.

That's why I love FNM. They take you on a journey to unexpected places rather than dish out the same old stiff over and over (see Red Hot Chili Peppers for am example of doing that). You get to appreciate different styles that you may not have otherwise experienced.

Sol Invictus is their best since Angel Dust

There is some great stuff on this album but I expected something a little bit more... unexpected. Rise of the Fall, Black Friday and Matador are really great.

Awesome review.

FNM being one of my favorite bands, I had gargantuan expectations for this album. It just may be their weakest one yet. Some tracks bored me, others are average at best, and only a few really had me satisfied.

I didn't expect all that much from this album anyway.
Loved the review though.

I've listened to a song way back and was disappointed.

So, I have left "Faith No More" in this band.

Written by Cynic Metalhead on 04.05.2015 at 18:43

I've listened to a song way back and was disappointed.

So, I have left "Faith No More" in this band.

: Officially killed the joke.

I'll be honest, I've always felt Faith No More to be just decent for the most part, even as a huge fan of some other projects involving Patton. So for me, this album just seems to keep in line with all the rest; a decent 7.

Written by Lethrokai on 04.05.2015 at 18:49

I'll be honest, I've always felt Faith No More to be just decent for the most part, even as a huge fan of some other projects involving Patton. So for me, this album just seems to keep in line with all the rest; a decent 7.

I actually listen more to Tomahawk overall than FNM. He definitely has some much more innovative stuff going on with this probably being his most conventional project.

This is NOT a review, merely a biased opinion of someone immature enough who listened to an album no more than 10 times, and these were possibly with skips. Grow up if u wanna write a review that helps people to form an opinion and give them incentive to give it a listen.

^ The butthurt is big in this one.

Written by matia on 04.05.2015 at 21:10

This is NOT a review, merely a biased opinion of someone immature enough who listened to an album no more than 10 times, and these were possibly with skips. Grow up if u wanna write a review that helps people to form an opinion and give them incentive to give it a listen.

ROFL LMAO gotta love these comments butthurt indeed

Good, good... Let the butthurt flow through you.

Written by matia on 04.05.2015 at 21:10

This is NOT a review, merely a biased opinion of someone immature enough who listened to an album no more than 10 times, and these were possibly with skips. Grow up if u wanna write a review that helps people to form an opinion and give them incentive to give it a listen.

The fact that you think that professional reviewers have to listen to an album more than 10 times before being able to make a competent review shows that you know nothing about review-writing mate. Most professional reviewers wouldn't even have that amount of time on their hand in the first place, seeing as they'd have about 3 more albums at the ready to tackle immediately afterwards.

Unfortunately, it looks like your bias is showing way more clearly than his is.

Written by matia on 04.05.2015 at 21:10

This is NOT a review, merely a biased opinion of someone immature enough who listened to an album no more than 10 times, and these were possibly with skips. Grow up if u wanna write a review that helps people to form an opinion and give them incentive to give it a listen.

this is indeed a review. it conveys the feelings and response the album evoked in me. that is, for the most part, exactly why music is important to people. you listen to "War Ensemble" by Slayer and you want to start air punching things, you listen to "Old Shep" by Elvis and you fight back the urge to shed a tear, you listen to "Life On Mars" by David Bowie and you wish you were transported to the 70s and were a police officer in Manchester.

i did listen to this album about ten times, over the span of two weeks and change. six or seven times straight through, others starting where i left off or revisiting songs. i did this at home by day, by night, and while walking around town on my headphones. i had ample time to let the new factor wear off, or for other tracks to grow on me.

by virtue of listening to it that may times over that many circumstances and settings, i can guarantee you I've given it more listens and more time than the bulk of "pro" reviewers give their albums.

i believe my review is adequate to give people an idea of how it impacted me and what to expect. it is NOT my job to give incentive to listen to an album. not at all. it's my job to give my impressions of an album. as if anyone is going to let my review stop them from checking this out anyhow. FNM are big enough where people will give it a spin whether i score this a 3, a 6, or a 9.

i can respect MikeyJames above who came to a different conclusion than me. he adequately explains to me why the album clicked with him. that's great.

all you did was get your spiked panties in a knot because apparently you like the album far more than i do.

frankly, your comment , and subsequently your opinion, does not merit the attention it has received as it is nothing short of sand-in-the-clit whining devoid of any actual valid criticism or counterpoints to indicate what was good about the album.

i score your one take thusly:

performance: 7 - a bit choppy, and i simply cannot stand people who use "u". at least largely devoid of bad english language trainwrecks, so you have that going for you.
originality: 0 - go visit my Avenged Sevenfold review, you'll see about 15 people posted pretty much the same argument. my recent KOK review got a few more. and that's just me. offhand.
construction: 1 - you really need to brush up on your verbal skills and drop something original on us if you are going to review reviews. most of us who review around here a somewhat competent at expressing ourselves verbally. you might want to spend some time with a dictionary and thesaurus before trying to start a keyboard fight.

overall: 2 - boring. nothing new, nothing of merit, and absolutely zero re-read value.

Now thats better, the first half of your answer can be considered a "true" review, right untill you started your blabbering about me.
Also can you elaborate why should anyone value the opinion of a "professional reviewer"? And what is the difference between a "professional reviewer" and a "professional listener"?

Competence in grammar doesnt give value to your biased opinion.

Lastly a remark. You truly think you can comprehend a work of art in one listen? What kind of mentality is this? So u (you) think its just like measuring the temperature of water. You think reviewing or evaluating music is just something u can "feel" by just putting your hands in... for once maybe try to actually listen to an album, it may take a year or two or sometimes a whole decade to be able to merely understand it.

Grow up kids, dont just repeat history, be better.

Written by matia on 05.05.2015 at 02:27


Lastly a remark. You truly think you can comprehend a work of art in one listen? What kind of mentality is this? So u (you) think its just like measuring the temperature of water. You think reviewing or evaluating music is just something u can "feel" by just putting your hands in... for once maybe try to actually listen to an album, it may take a year or two or sometimes a whole decade to be able to merely understand it.

Grow up kids, dont just repeat history, be better.

He just said he listened to it for two weeks a bunch of times yo.
It doesn't take no two years to fully comprehend an album.
Besides if you don't like this review then write your own.
Also what the fuck is up with that grow up part?
Whatever you're smoking let me know, I'm always looking for good shit.

Written by matia on 05.05.2015 at 02:27

Now thats better, the first half of your answer can be considered a "true" review, right untill you started your blabbering about me.
Also can you elaborate why should anyone value the opinion of a "professional reviewer"? And what is the difference between a "professional reviewer" and a "professional listener"?

Competence in grammar doesnt give value to your biased opinion.

Lastly a remark. You truly think you can comprehend a work of art in one listen? What kind of mentality is this? So u (you) think its just like measuring the temperature of water. You think reviewing or evaluating music is just something u can "feel" by just putting your hands in... for once maybe try to actually listen to an album, it may take a year or two or sometimes a whole decade to be able to merely understand it.

Grow up kids, dont just repeat history, be better.

Alright, firstly, you're coming off as one of the most most pretentious, patronising and pompous people I've ever seen online, and that's saying a lot.

Secondly, you're speaking almost entirely in abstracts, which is even more frustrating considering you seem to consider yourself the ultimate judge on these issues yet can't bring yourself to even talk about them properly without being a condescending prick.

Thirdly, calling someone's opinion "biased" is perhaps one of the most ridiculous arguments I've ever come across in my lifetime. It's that very 'bias' that makes an opinion into an opinion. There's no such thing as an unbiased review, and if it existed, it would take away the one thing that makes a review into a review.

"What's the difference between a professional reviewer and a professional listener?"
1) A reviewer has to put across his arguments clearly and articulately in a way that accurately/concisely represents his/her own views on the album. A listener listens to an album and is done with it.
2) There's no such thing as a 'professional listener'. Listening is not a profession, else almost everyone here would be making millions off of it. Reviewing is a job that takes a focused effort to get right. (Hence why there aren't millions of reviewers crawling down the walls) Listening is a hobby where the effort you put into it has no effect.

"You truly think you can comprehend a work of art in one listen?"
Maybe not entirely, but your first listen of an album is the closest you will ever get to having a raw, untampered reaction, especially if you hold no prior emotions towards the artist(s). Subsequent listens are to develop/change upon what you initially felt, and to explore the depths of what you're listening to, as well as to remove the effects of any initial positive/negative anticipation towards the album. In the right state, you should be able to write a more than competent review following at least 4-5 listens.

Finally, you've still actually pointed nothing wrong out about the review itself. You've just paraded around crying that this is "NOT a review" and "just a biased opinion" without actually demonstrating any knowledge of what even makes a good review in the first place.

You closed with the statement "grow up kids". I believe one should first understand what that entails before addressing such unto others.

Written by matia on 05.05.2015 at 02:27

Also can you elaborate why should anyone value the opinion of a "professional reviewer"? And what is the difference between a "professional reviewer" and a "professional listener"?

Lastly a remark. You truly think you can comprehend a work of art in one listen?

Professional Reviewer vs Listener.

Simple. I have musicians, bands, labels, and promo companies offering me (often early) access to their music, requesting that i review their work. Do you receive 25+ emails a week from bands offering access to their tunes?

As for valuing the opinion of a "professional reviewer", that, too, is simple.

Like an artist has a discography, reviewers will have a body of work. My tastes are all there to be read, beyond just ticking a number to rate an album. Certain users will, over time, notice a similarity in tastes. They might find themselves agreeing with my reviews 8 times of out 10, so they know my preferences and scoring tendencies... and if i rate something highly that will pique their interest.

There are people more often than not I agree with, so if they suggest something, I'll be sure to check it out. Their opinion based upon their track record is worth far more to me than random user or just our album scoring feature.

You valued the opinion enough to waste everyone's time posting here. If you didn't value the opinions of reviewers, why bother reading reviews in the first place? Maybe you just saw the score and came here looking to whinge. That's my guess.

If you had addressed yourself like the aforementioned posted who disagreed with my review but presented cogent points as to why they felt that way, your opinion (why should we care about the opinion of a "professional" listener?) might have merit. Shit, you've still done nothing to state WHY the album is deserving of better.

Finally, in regards to "Lastly a remark. You truly think you can comprehend a work of art in one listen?", Reading comprehension for the win, hoss. I pretty thoroughly laid out for you my listening pattern for this album. Number of times, over how long, in what situations... And on numerous discussions on this site in regards to reviewing, I've made it clear I prefer to listen to something repeatedly, at least six times, over a span of days, to make sure the immediate short run "wow!" factor washes away and albums that are growers have a chance to catch on. It has hurt the amount of reviews I can do for the site... but I feel better about my work. And the artists I have interacted with appreciate the effort even if we don't agree on the final score. See, they, too, are professional.

And a year? decade? to review an album.

Absolutely laughable.

We are provided early access to help promote albums. Create a buzz. Doesn't do the band or the label any good to delay publication a couple Presidential administrations.

a decade?

rotflmfao.

Written by Lethrokai on 05.05.2015 at 02:59

Listening is a hobby where the effort you put into it has no effect.

totally derailing the deserved bashing of what's-his-name-already-? but I disagree with you on that specific part Simply, the more stuff you listen to, the better your judgement on music can become. At the very least it works as far as your tastes and music appreciation are concerned, at best it's the path to be a music connoisseur

Written by Darkside Momo on 05.05.2015 at 03:09

Written by Lethrokai on 05.05.2015 at 02:59

Listening is a hobby where the effort you put into it has no effect.

totally derailing the deserved bashing of what's-his-name-already-? but I disagree with you on that specific part Simply, the more stuff you listen to, the better your judgement on music can become. At the very least it works as far as your tastes and music appreciation are concerned, at best it's the path to be a music connoisseur

Yeah, I get what you're saying about that. I should have probably worded that better, as I'd easily confess to being one of the most obsessive music listeners I know. I'm more than aware of just how far listening can get you, but I meant this particular statement moreso from a "careerist" perspective, where putting in more focus into listening to an album may not always enhance the experience itself. Sometimes it's your lack of focus in listening, and allowance to just get caught up in it that makes the experience better. With writing a review however, that focus on what you're doing is far more necessary to keep you from drifting off topic in review.

Definitely should have worded it better though, in retrospect.

Written by matia on 04.05.2015 at 21:10

This is NOT a review, merely a biased opinion of someone immature enough who listened to an album no more than 10 times, and these were possibly with skips. Grow up if u wanna write a review that helps people to form an opinion and give them incentive to give it a listen.

You seem to be confused about the primary function of a review. It's not to praise what you're reviewing or to tell people to check it out, it's to offer your opinion on it, whether good or bad. If you think otherwise, head on over to Rotten Tomatoes for a good half hour. Also, listening experiences vary on an individual, case by case basis. There's no objective "listen to X album Y times to comprehend it" rule. Granted, some albums are more multi layered and compositionally detailed than others, and may thus require a bit of a more thorough analysis than usual, but the rule still applies, whether we're listening to Cannibal Corpse-rip off death metal or electronic Avantgarde a la Ulver.

Written by matia on 05.05.2015 at 02:27

Competence in grammar doesnt give value to your biased opinion.

Total incompetence in grammar completely destroys any opinion one may try to convey, because it makes that opinion incomprehensible.

Written by matia on 05.05.2015 at 02:27

Lastly a remark. You truly think you can comprehend a work of art in one listen? What kind of mentality is this? So u (you) think its just like measuring the temperature of water. You think reviewing or evaluating music is just something u can "feel" by just putting your hands in... for once maybe try to actually listen to an album, it may take a year or two or sometimes a whole decade to be able to merely understand it.

Something tells me that you should write your own review of "Sol Invictus". Something also tells me that I can guess what it would look like.
I think this review resembles the one you're inevitably going to write to show us, incompetent and blind, how great "Sol Invictus" is:
http://metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=24

Written by matia on 05.05.2015 at 02:27

Grow up kids, dont just repeat history, be better.

Please tell your high horse to go and fuck itself.

Written by Lethrokai on 05.05.2015 at 03:19

Written by Darkside Momo on 05.05.2015 at 03:09

Written by Lethrokai on 05.05.2015 at 02:59

Listening is a hobby where the effort you put into it has no effect.

totally derailing the deserved bashing of what's-his-name-already-? but I disagree with you on that specific part Simply, the more stuff you listen to, the better your judgement on music can become. At the very least it works as far as your tastes and music appreciation are concerned, at best it's the path to be a music connoisseur

Yeah, I get what you're saying about that. I should have probably worded that better, as I'd easily confess to being one of the most obsessive music listeners I know. I'm more than aware of just how far listening can get you, but I meant this particular statement moreso from a "careerist" perspective, where putting in more focus into listening to an album may not always enhance the experience itself. Sometimes it's your lack of focus in listening, and allowance to just get caught up in it that makes the experience better. With writing a review however, that focus on what you're doing is far more necessary to keep you from drifting off topic in review.

Definitely should have worded it better though, in retrospect.

Agreed (but also, as a retred reviewer, I daresay that a "casual" listening, with the "lack of focus" you mention, can also add to a review - anything that can enrich the perspective you have is good, even a "non-pro" listening attitude, whatever that means)

Quote:

Written by flightoficarus on 04.05.2015 at 18:48

I've listened to a song way back and was disappointed.

So, I have left "Faith No More" in this band.

: Officially killed the joke.

Sorry.

I thought it has fire in the rocket. Anyhow, the heat has already taken above.

So let's have fun.

Review is entertaining but damnit if the comments aren't a cut above it

Written by BitterCOld on 05.05.2015 at 03:03


Professional Reviewer vs Listener.

Simple. I have musicians, bands, labels, and promo companies offering me (often early) access to their music, requesting that i review their work. Do you receive 25+ emails a week from bands offering access to their tunes?

psh man I access their tunes all the time, are you boasting with that?

I have been a professional listener since I was born yo, so you've got nothings on me!

I listened so hard once I was the only one hearing the sounds because I sucked in all the soundwaves, that's how pro I am!

People told me that I'm hearing voices and shit but that's because they so jelly..

That's why Sol Invictus 666/10, it's so sinister it just grows on you and possesses your soul!