Top 10 Most Overused Words in Metal Journalism

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Writing about metal is a lot like covering sports. Dozens of releases drop week after week like games stackup during a season. Just like sports writers try to find ways to make a touchdown pass sound like a majorevent, it’s tough to find a novel description for the umpteenth grindcore or black metal album. So the samewords and phrases show up again and again.  Trust me, I’ve used them all.

Here are the worst offenders:

1. Brutal

This word should henceforth be banned from any discussion of metal. It’s been so overused that it hasceased to mean anything. The last time this sounded cool was when The Misfits released Legacy of Brutality.

2. (Enter genre) and add a y

Metal writers need ways to say something doesn’t sound like Motörhead.  The answer is employing phraseslike doomy, bluesy, proggy, stoner-y, Bathory-y, etc.

3. Epic

Denotes a song that is longer than five minutes. Used most often with bands that dress up like extras on theJack Black movie Year One.

4. Blackened

Best describes what should be done to a catfish fillet. Instead, usually describes a band that has a passinginterest in Emperor.

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Page 3: Top 10 Most Overused Words in Metal Journalism

5. Melodic

You can’t have music without melody. This word is nothing more than window dressing. Even the mostprimitive metal has melodic elements.

6. Majestic

Used with music that employs any other instruments than guitar, bass, and drums and often employs afemale vocalist (see Leaves Eyes, After Forever, Nightwish).

7. Any adjective hinting at bodily harm

Metal specializes in songs about harming others, yourself, or religious icons. This extends to the listener’sears. Hence, when writing about metal we get pummeling, bruising, scorching, pounding, wrenching, etc.Can also extend to phrases like artery-ripping and soul-decimating. Can a song really remove a body part?

8. Full-length

We can do away with this one. If it’s not a single or an EP, chances are it’s an album.

9. Fucking

Indicates that the writer is very excited.

10. Lots of adverbs

We don’t like to let musicians speak for themselves. Hence, we see things like “‘This is our greatest album’,Winger said triumphantly”. Chances are he considers it a triumph if he says it’s the best record.

This also extends to a general reluctance to use the word says. Very rarely do metal artists say anything.Instead they exclaim, state, declare, note, emphasize, and add. “‘I’m a kick ass guitarist’, Wingerproclaimed”.

. . .

Now see how it all works together, using Venom’s At War With Satan as an example.

At War With Satan — Rating: Nine Bloody Axe-Hewn Heads

At War With Satan isn’t as brutal as Welcome To Hell, and it lacks the blackened punk aesthetic of their

earlier albums. But the band’s third full-length still berates and pummels the listener with often majestic

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Page 4: Top 10 Most Overused Words in Metal Journalism

sweeps and an epic track. The melodic introductory riff appears throughout the lengthy eponymous song, but

Venom isn’t afraid to slow down to doomy interludes.   “This may be our finest album”, Cronos says

boastfully. “And it shows we aren’t just a joke”, he exclaims. Fucking-a, is he right.  This soul-decimating

album will make you shit your drawers.

Your turn. Any other words you’d like to remove from the metal lexicon?

— Justin M. Norton

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55 Comments

1. salome1pigdestroyerPosted March 18, 2010 at 3:02 AM

Killswitch Engage,As I Lay Dying, Dragonforce, Avenged Sevenfold

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2. David Snusgrop (http://metalbastard.blogspot.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 3:42 AM

Guilty of all ten.

Fuck yeah. \m/

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3. AVERSIONLINE (http://www.aversionline.com)

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#9 is never a problem for me. Not sure what you’re getting at there.

Oh, wait, ummm…

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4. Helm (http://asides-bsides.blogspot.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 4:08 AM

I’d like to see ‘dissonant’ used less often not because dissonance doesn’t occur in extreme music butbecause I get the feeling writers don’t know what a consonance is to begin with. It also doesn’t sayanything about the music itself, if its evocative, if it goes somewhere. Igor Stravinsky made someextremely harrowing music that uses mostly consonant intervals and Sergei Rachmaninoff made a lot ofbeautiful, meditative music that uses dissonant ones. What does the reader gain from reading that apiece of music is dissonant?

Most guilty in reviews of metalcore where guitarists move a finger off from the powerchord to form atritone and go ‘whoa! let’s make five records using this!’

Also I dislike ‘caustic’, ‘chugga-chugga’, mentions of double-bass prowess.

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5. ComstockPosted March 18, 2010 at 4:53 AM

So no speaking about melodic death at all? Seems legit in that case to me. I also find blackened to be adecent shorthand way of explaining a style. If a writer calls something blackened death or blackenedthrash, I feel like I have a better understanding of what to expect from a sound.

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6. floodwatch (http://floodwatchmusic.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 4:55 AM

I’d vote for any suffix that follows the words “Pink Floyd”: “-esque,” “-ian,” etc. Their ubiquity is now onthe level of Black Sabbath’s, so drawing comparisons these days is like calling something “heavy.” Itgives me little impression of what the music sounds like, other than that there may be a melody in there

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somewhere.

A lot of times writers/critics use the word “melodic” when they really mean “catchy.” It’s very possibleto have music without melody; it certainly isn’t what defines music.

Ultimately, though, my biggest peeve (and this extends to non-metal spheres) is “trials and tribulations,”which is usually a clear indication that a writer’s ability never progressed beyond 9th grade. Are wetalking about music or the Lewis and Clark expedition?

I would be really bummed if metal writers gave up the bodily-harm descriptors, actually. They’re usuallythe most entertaining part of a review.

Reply (/2010/03/top-10-most-overused-words-in-metal-journalism/?replytocom=8315#respond)

7. CWPosted March 18, 2010 at 5:00 AM

Anyone else read the lolspeak review of belus doing the rounds, wasnt really an improvement.

Reply (/2010/03/top-10-most-overused-words-in-metal-journalism/?replytocom=8316#respond)

8. Robert (http://secondperiod.tumblr.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 5:23 AM

Interesting that you used “decimating” in your fake review. That word gets on my nerves. It means“reduce by 10%”. When you think about it, leaving 90% of what you’re attacking doesn’t seem verybr00tal.

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9. TomB (http://www.twitter.com/metaltomb)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 7:17 AM

I vote that Helm does a weekly column on technical analysis. I relish the days he gets involved in thecommenting. Do you write anywhere else, Helm?

And, as for my thoughts on this posting, since TRUE (trve) originality is exceedingly rare, I thinkdescriptors like “Slayer-esque soloing” are efficient, accurate, and effective ways to capture a sound onpaper for a reader who’s never heard a band before. I can imagine what that would sound like and

Page 8: Top 10 Most Overused Words in Metal Journalism

better determine whether to seek that music out. Br00tal (especially with the “00s”) can go, though.What does it mean? Heavy? What does that mean? Downtuned? But what if it technically isn’t?Because of its ambiguity, it is meaningless. That is unless you use it to the contrary, describingsomething as surprisingly lacking in brutality (unbrutal? non-brutal?). IMO, it is assumed to be “brutal”unless otherwise stated.

[PS: I note that my dismissal of the “00” variant of brutal may seem in conflict with the “v” instead of “u”substitution I utilized (vtilized?) previously (that’s actually a ‘v’), but I think the “v/u” swap IS kvlt andawesome… so, I’m a hypocrite. Sve me.]

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10. Carm (http://www.visualaggressor.blogspot.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 7:23 AM

Technical death metal, symphonic black metal, and deathcore, in my honest opinion, are the worstgenres to write about.

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11. IgnacioBrownPosted March 18, 2010 at 7:24 AM

Very good. At the same time those are so useful and telling and perfectly easy to catch by the averagemetal fan. They don’t say much in the large context, but they all say so much.

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12. FrancescoPosted March 18, 2010 at 7:34 AM

I dislike seeing reviewers talk about how some band’s “departure” from the more orthodox traditions ofwhatever genre is “bound to piss off the purists”, when it’s clear from the coverage (or lack thereof) insaid magazine/website that they’re not really paying attention to that genre to begin with. see:Nachtmystium, WITTR, Xasthur, Fucked Up. I’m not taking pot shots at these bands mind you, just anaspect of the press they receive from certain quarters. nit picking really…

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13. NekromantisPosted March 18, 2010 at 8:21 AM

The single most annoying word I hate to see in a review is “cheesy”. Not a fan of “dated” either.

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14. glenn mcdonald (http://www.furia.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 8:29 AM

You left out “unleashed”, “run riot”, “complex”, “renowned”, “hellish”, “gore-soaked”, “war”,“murderous”, “ambitious”, “blasphemous”, “demonic”, “truly”, “literally”, “evil”, “wicked”, “lethal”, “priceof admission”, “the balls”, “goosebumps”, “savage”, “Benjamin Disraeli”, “podiatric”, “BermudaTriangle”, “of”, “Tabasco”, “whither”, “wither”, “with her”, “zither”, “else”, “cum loudly”, “sabbatherial”,“Niebelungileedle-dum”, “potato-raping”, “all new”, “pure play”, “leveraged”, “intimate”, “sartorical”,“lipless”, “sub-two-minute atmospheric opener”, “battle-spatula”, “fine milled endpapers”, “limited timeonly”, “mercury poisoning”, “red-shift” and “hesher”.

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15. DavidPosted March 18, 2010 at 8:56 AM

Most Overrated Tag in Metal: “Return to Form”

Reply (/2010/03/top-10-most-overused-words-in-metal-journalism/?replytocom=8331#respond)

16. Smaug The MagnificientPosted March 18, 2010 at 9:03 AM

“Whisky-fueled”

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17. Justin

Page 10: Top 10 Most Overused Words in Metal Journalism

Posted March 18, 2010 at 9:08 AM

We might need to write part two …

@Helm, when you mentioned double bass prowess you got me thinking about Derek Smalls manninghis massive weapon during “Big Bottom.” No doubt this is an evil, wicked performance worth the priceof admission and a return to form for Spinal Tap…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzsWuqNlLK4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzsWuqNlLK4)

Tap also included the best album review, ever. Two words — shit sandwich.

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18. Helm (http://asides-bsides.blogspot.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 9:41 AM

TomB, thanks for your interest. I used to write for a Greek e-zine on the subject of HM but theyimploded. Now I post my comics at http://asides-bsides.blogspot.com (http://asides-

bsides.blogspot.com) and write about them, music, bits about philosophy, heavy metal and my cats. Youcan read the metal-relevant bits by filtering by the tag ‘Heavy Metal’ but try reading the ZX comic I’vebeen making for almost a year now from its beginning, you might like it.

I’d have a second blog for the metal pieces because I’m getting the itch to write more but honestly, Idon’t have the time to maintain two of them. I’ll always be here in the IO commentspace though, or at

least until Cosmo kicks me out

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19. Andy O'Connor (http://www.crustcake.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 9:44 AM

With Satan as my witness, I will shank the next motherfucker who uses “Thinking Man’s Metal.”

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20. FrannyPosted March 18, 2010 at 9:55 AM

Page 11: Top 10 Most Overused Words in Metal Journalism

I think that this article is a little silly. I don’t go reading metal reviews expecting to be blown away by thevariance of their vocabulary. No matter how descriptive a review, you still have to listen to know what aband sounds like. The article just points you in the right direction. Don’t tell me that “brutal” or “doom-y” have no useful connotations, especially in a certain context. You wouldn’t call the new Shrinebuilderbrutal, but you could call it doom-y. You wouldn’t call Wormrot doom-y, but you could call them brutal.But “brutal” and “doom-y” together would work for, say, November’s Doom or a similar band.

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21. RobertPosted March 18, 2010 at 9:59 AM

This post totally slays and/or shreds!

Reply (/2010/03/top-10-most-overused-words-in-metal-journalism/?replytocom=8338#respond)

22. Alex (http://www.theinevitablenose.com/)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 10:09 AM

Henceforth should be banned the word “heavy”. No-one can seem to agree on what it actually meansand most stuff that this word is used to describe isn’t usually remotely it. This includes any derivativesuch as heavy-assed, fuck-heavy and my favorite “crushingly heavy” (what, as opposed to floatinglyheavy?). There are simply hundreds of other words, phrases and metaphors one can employ to illustratewhat you are trying to describe, get some imagination!

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23. FacePosted March 18, 2010 at 11:13 AM

Any descriptions pertaining to an extreme vocalist’s performance. “Cookie monster vocals,” “pukingone’s breakfast,” etc.

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24. JakePosted March 18, 2010 at 11:13 AM

Page 12: Top 10 Most Overused Words in Metal Journalism

I can’t help but to think of sports announcers. Sometimes when I read a review, I read it to myself in thevoice of John Madden or someone else. “He literally ripped his head off!”

Hysterical list Cosmo.

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25. Helm (http://asides-bsides.blogspot.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 11:31 AM

Piece was written by Justin M. Norton

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26. IsorskiPosted March 18, 2010 at 12:46 PM

OK, OK – so those are all the lousy words. What should we use instead? Hybrid words like“metalocalyptic” or “bleedospherous” – help!

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27. SigivaldPosted March 18, 2010 at 1:06 PM

We can do away with this one. If it’s not a single or an EP, chances are it’s an album.

Reign in Blood.

See, sometimes it’s useful.

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28. Helm (http://asides-bsides.blogspot.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 1:14 PM

Isorski, all these words are fine imo, just not to be overused. If you see them in all the reviews someonewrites, it’s possible they don’t know what they’re doing or why.

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29. Jess Blumensheid (http://jblumensheid.blogspot.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 1:26 PM

I never cared for “epic,” especially in everyday use.

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30. Jordan Munson (http://jordanmunson.wordpress.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 1:50 PM

As an amateur metal journalist, I’m glad to know I do not abuse most of the things stated in the article. Istill have my shortcomings, though.

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31. Invisible Oranges (http://invisibleoranges.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 1:56 PM

The problem is partly because writers confuse normative (value judgment) with positive (description)language. Genres are unfortunate things, but a side benefit of them is descriptive ease. I’m not going tothe thesaurus for “bluesy”.

“Floatingly heavy” would be awesome, actually. I saw a Wolves in the Throne Room show that was likethat. Some modern drum ‘n’ bass is, too.

“Decimate” originally meant to remove a tenth, but that usage is now archaic. Now it means to removea lot.

I like “cheesy” and “dated” music and feel no qualms about describing them as such. “Cheesy” is awonderful word for which I need not reference a thesaurus.

“Thinking man’s metal” does need to go.

“Shred”, however, is staying with me until the bitter end.

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32. BrandonPosted March 18, 2010 at 2:18 PM

I think the problem isn’t necessarily the overuse of words. The redundancy of terms is a symptom of theredundancy of bands. We do all know what “brutal”, “shreddy”, or “majestic” means in a metal review.If nothing else, these words serve the purpose of brevity. However, in this day and age, there are somany bands around that they have to end up sounding like each other eventually, so the words used todescribe them end up being used thousands of times.

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33. Adrien (http://abegrand.pitas.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 2:29 PM

I agree with the overuse of the word “fucking”. A writer should be able to express his enthusiasmwithout resorting to profanity. I’ll readily admit I’ve done it a handful of times for effect in the past, butit’s something I try to avoid nine times out of ten.

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34. MiskatonicPosted March 18, 2010 at 3:06 PM

“Hails from…”

A metal band never “comes from” a place. They ALWAYS “hail from” a place.

“Flourishes”When some kind of embellishment is added to a musical trope it’s almost always called a flourish.Please! No more flourishes!!!

“ear piercing”.I think you mean ear DRUM piercing. Wait. You really mean that music made it possible for you to wearearrings?

“beat into submission”.I expect any heavy metal band to treat me like the gimp. I imagine that’s why David Vincent listens to

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brutal music: http://www.deanguitars.com/content/endorsees/evild/evil3.jpg(http://www.deanguitars.com/content/endorsees/evild/evil3.jpg) -or- maybe that’s why he makes brutalmusic…

“Literally”Whenever someone uses the word literally incorrectly, they usually mean to say, “utterly”.

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35. Carm (http://www.visualaggressor.blogspot.com)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 3:44 PM

Not exactly metal, but the word “ROCKSTAR” really needs to die. I’ve noticed in the last few years thatthis word has been greatly abused and misappropriated. Most especially if it’s used in non rock musicrelated words by normal people, ie; “SALES ROCKSTAR”, “ROCKSTAR CHEF”, “ROCKSTAR RETAILMANAGER”, etc. Oftentimes, people who abuse this word don’t even know what being a rockstar reallymeans.

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36. WZAd (http://easymoneywill.blogspot.com/)

Posted March 18, 2010 at 5:20 PM

Hahahahaha guilty as charged. But I totally notice this too.

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37. 206-grindPosted March 19, 2010 at 12:43 AM

I will be sure to use all ten of these in my next review. Maybe I can even use them all in once sentence.

Fucking brutal onslaught of blackened melodies in an epic, nearly majestic six song full-length that willadverb you to bodily harm in that Band-y way that only Band seems to pull off successfully these days.

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38. Nekromantis

Page 16: Top 10 Most Overused Words in Metal Journalism

Posted March 19, 2010 at 6:11 AM

Floatingly Heavy = Xerxes!

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39. englishwaffle (http://englishwaffle.com)

Posted March 19, 2010 at 9:26 AM

the only one i’m not guilty of using is “majestic” but, that might soon change.

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40. Matt from JerseyPosted March 19, 2010 at 1:54 PM

“Post”

Get rid of it.

Post-Dillinger, post-hardcore, post-shoegaze, post-rock.

Anyone who uses these words should be beaten with, well, a post!

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41. gojirasaurusPosted March 19, 2010 at 8:47 PM

heres one: made me (insert adjective for ejaculation here)i dont really want to know what music makes you cum prematurely, nor do i need to know that ithappens every time you listen to music *cough* Metalsucks*cough*

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42. Eric Syre (http://www.thesyre.com)

Posted March 20, 2010 at 7:56 AM

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Let’s not forget that music journalism was there to give us an idea if an album was good or not. Mostjournalists these days forget to let their personal taste and opinions on the side and be a little objectiveabout the albums they review. They have no idea that if they hate an album by band X because theythink their guitar player is an idiot, a hundred of kids reading the review might think band X album isn’tgood and shouldn’t be considered. When you have the possibility to make or break a band to thepeople you should consider the responsability given to you and write accordingly.

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43. RagnarR (http://hordesofhesh.blogspot.com)

Posted March 20, 2010 at 2:35 PM

I write hundreds of reviews of Metal and other genres for KZSU and I’m guilty of most of these cliches.It’s hard to get around at times. Epic I use in the most literal sense – that is, something that’s has a‘story-like’ feel to it going from one point to the other. It works for Moonsorrow, later-era Bathory andthings they influenced like Hunter’s Moon.

Agreed 100% with Carm’s take on Rockstar. That needs to die in fire. I’ve even seen “Rockstarreceptionist” – so they want you to take calls, make copies and do a bunch of blow with groupies?Kick-ass is extremely overused and rarely employed in the proper context.

Also: “simalcrum” and “mimetic parsing” the latter I read in an article on the Poltiics of Black Metal butstill it’s just one of those pointless phrases.

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44. Helm (http://asides-bsides.blogspot.com)

Posted March 20, 2010 at 5:27 PM

What’s wrong with ‘mimetic parsing’, at least it sounds like a human being came up with that, unlike‘die in a fire’ which was given birth to by the Internet or something. It’s easy to scoff at unwieldyexpressions like ‘mimetic parsing’ but there’s occasions where they capture what the writer is trying tocapture better than other words I think. Have you considered that adopting phrases like ‘die in a fire’from the internet is having a secondary effect besides helping you communicate with like-mindeds inlike-minded speak? Perhaps these clichιs (much like the ones discussed in the original post) are ashortcut to communal expression, like some sort of shield from the writer that doesn’t feel comfortableexposing themselves. When the writing seems to be composed of ‘public domain’ phrases, then thereisn’t much of a writer there, right?

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Sorry to grasp at something small to get to something big, I’m not trying to offend you. Just saying, Ithink it’s better to rail against cliches in journalism than against slightly misused big words.

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45. Reginald GillettePosted March 21, 2010 at 10:06 AM

Reduce usage of “GRIM” in Black Metal reviewage.Bring in: peremptory, astringent, acerbic, jejune, stentorian.

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46. JustinPosted March 21, 2010 at 11:01 AM

I’m also guilty of dropping the word “legendary” … thinking it’s best reserved for maybe a handful ofbands, including Black Sabbath.

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47. Jacinto Vitullo (http://speakersforlaptop.net)

Posted March 21, 2010 at 5:36 PM

I don’t normally post to blogs but I enjoyed this post so keep up the good work. -cheers-

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48. Khlysty (http://khlyst.blogspot.com/)

Posted March 22, 2010 at 5:32 AM

@Eric SyreWell, even objectivity is subjective, y’know. Information about anything cannot but be filtered throughthe writer’s ideas and tastes. So, when reviewing a record, a writer will obviously resort to “objective”facts (instrumental prowess, compositional skills, execution, production, etc), but he will also provide hisown views about what he listens to (like or dislike it, finds it original or copying something else, y’know,the works…) and it lies on the writer’s capability to convey meaning and on the reader’s comprehensive

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skills to come up with the conclusion whether the record at hand is worthy buying or not…

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49. VOEGTLINPosted March 22, 2010 at 11:04 AM

Having – and using – a working vocabulary in “metal reviews” does not bode well for the writer. Trustme.

I’d also like to add, “transcends” (as in: “Filosofem has a me-against-the-world, fist-pumping qualitythat ‘transcends’ the xenophobic bog of Vikernes’ beliefs.”) to this list of annoying everyman argot.

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50. Islander (http://www.nocleansinging.com)

Posted March 23, 2010 at 6:01 AM

I really enjoyed this post and all of the thought-provoking comments — and so I decided to write aboutthem here: http://www.nocleansinging.com/2010/03/23/cringing-the-vocabulary-of-metal-criticism/ (http://www.nocleansinging.com/2010/03/23/cringing-the-vocabulary-of-metal-criticism/)

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51. DrakeDarkHunterPosted June 7, 2010 at 6:52 PM

I think words like “death metal” “black metal” “guitar leads” “double bass” “solo” “band” “thrash”“harsh vocals” “clean vocals” “atmospheric” “drum beats” “lyrics” “symphonic” “rythmn” “beat”“melody” “chorus” and many others need to go.

… oh and the word “the” and “metal” and “music” “riff” and “verse” should take a hike too.

I’m sorry I’m trolling like an asshole. I just find some of these suggestions and comments to be ratherstupid.

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52. UngeheuerPosted June 12, 2010 at 4:18 PM

Not all music uses melody, listen to Giacinto Scelsi’s quattro pezzi su una nota sola.

And if I could remove a single word from the metal review canon, it’d be neoclasscial. It’s almostexclusively misused: Contrary to common belief harmonic minor noodling does not constitute clasicalinfluence.

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53. potlaPosted October 1, 2013 at 11:41 AM

Good work, keep it up.

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54. Harald Oimoen (DRI)Posted February 6, 2015 at 7:27 AM

Mr.Norton !! What an eye opening..thought provoking ..TRULY entertaining article you have written here!! (Not to mention the absolutely hilarious rebutt-holes from some of yer readers !!) Having beensomewhat of an occasional writer myself thru the years I found your article to be a very accuratedescription of some long overused cliches….MANY I will admit I have been guilty of (over) using myself!!In fact …I will now reread my piece I wrote in me & Brian’s EPIC thrash metal photo book & see howmany of the aforementioned cliche metal phrases or words I have actually sinned by using !! I’ll get backto ya on that one dude !! GREAT FUCKING Article dude !! (OOPS I did it again without even realizing it!!) Come on lighten up peoples !! HA !!! Love,Harry O…..dontcha know ??

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