In Defense of Heavy Glow's Album Midnight Moan
I was getting ready to review the album Midnight Moan by Heavy Glow, one of my favorite bands. They sent in their EP The Filth and The Fury, which was a great laid back Hendrix sound that he never created because he choked on his own vomit. I was late to do the reviews because some meth head Limp Bizkit fan stole my iPod. (I know that doesn't have to be explicitly said as all meth heads are Limp Bizkit fans and all Limp Bizkit fans have meth teeth).
I can review albums online, but it just takes me forever because I don't really have the time to sit down and listen to the album on the computer. Hell I post this shit using my iPhone.
When I review an album I like to see what my colleagues thought of it. Sometimes they pick up things I may have missed or hear something I skipped. I was late to the review party, as mentioned above, and a few of my "colleagues" blasted the album over production values, vocal mix, and being generally too awesome for their sandy cunts. I know it pretty much sucks to have sand in the cooter and have a thick cock penetrating you scrapping the uterine walls with that coarse granules, but deal with it pussies.
All the negative reviews forced the band to take the album down and therefore negate the review I was going to write. I assume the album is being reworked in light of the overwhelming negative reviews and thus my review would be useless anyway. That's too bad because I liked the album the way it was. Yea, the production wasn't that of Buckcherry, but that's because Buckcherry has a money bin like Scrooge McDuck to dive into. I would suspect Heavy Glow's members actually have legitimate day jobs and are living the rock n' roll dream at night.
We here at Blogs N' Roses get that the bands don't have unlimited resources to spend 10 years in the studio making computers sound like horns (that's an Axl Rose reference). We get a lot of albums and EPs that sound like they were recorded in the manager's office of the Chuck E Cheese, acoustics suck, you can hear kids yelling in the background, and almost smell that delicious pizza. I only point out when the production exceeds my expectations.
The mixing of the album was also criticized, I believe I read in one review Jared's vocals were too up front and not mixed with the band. Yea that was the case in a few songs, but I over look that shit because a quality producer and engineer can balance those elements. And what do producers and engineers want for their time? Yea money.
I judge the album based on the musicality and the songs that were created. Is there great guitar work? Was the lyrical content up to my standard? How were the transitions from A parts to B parts? You know review the ACTUAL music not how much the band spent in the studio tweaking the record.
I can't hold unsigned bands to the same standard that signed bands have because they aren't the same. I feel Midnight Moan was given the Casey Anthony treatment (convicted before it was given a chance). I think if more reviewers understood the break between signed and unsigned they wouldn't be talking about production and mixes and actually review the MUSIC, which they were asked to do in the first place.
Keep on keeping on Heavy Glow because your talent far exceeds what pea brained reviewers can comprehend.
/Sent from my iPhone
I read 3 reviews that didn't paint the album in the best light. None said it was horrible and shouldn't be listened to. I didn't think it was to bad but did suffer from some post production editing. Maybe a little extra time was needed. Overall I liked it.
Reviews written are one person's opinion and should be taken as constructive criticism. Jared seems to have been a baby about the whole thing by pulling the album. If they are in fact going and fixing up, they should at least let everyone know. He needs to take constructive criticism a lot better. Look how much crap Neil Young has put out. Does he stop making music? No! Jared should just brush the negativity aside, maybe keep it in mind for the next set of recordings. Heavy Glow has a shit load of talent and they shouldn't let something like that bring them down.
Reply to this
Bill, the album was pulled because we're in label talks. I do find your "Jared seems to have been a baby about the whole thing by pulling the album"comment amusing. I don't care what you think, Bill, but keep it above the belt.
Reply to this
That's an unrealistic expectation "Keep it above the belt." This site was built below the belt...we are incapable of rising any higher.
Reply to this
Really, Jared? Don't make me quote you. I know you deleted the Facebook status, but I kept record of it because I knew you'd delete the status like you had been doing. You pulled the album because you couldn't handle anything less than a full-on, cock-worshiping blowjob for a review of the album. The best songs on the album are fantastic, and you guys deserve a label deal, but the album fell short of expectations. You should be happy that you guys are held in such high regard and should take away something from the criticism instead of "haters gonna hate". If you're happy with your evolution then that's all that matters, but not everybody is going to agree.
Reply to this
Please DO keep it below the belt. That is why Icome here. If I wanted to read some boring bullshit I would get a subscription to Rolling Stone.
By the way, Heavy Glow may have pulled the album for whatever reason, but it is still on YouTube. I dig the tunes, but what do I know....
Reply to this
Craig, I know of one review that was disappointed in the production is on a blog that is all about independent rock/metal. Nobody said the album should be so polished that it's well over-produced like any mainstream album. Quality DOES impact the overall sound and quality of the album. Though, I agree that it shouldn't be held THAT importantly. Personally, I didn't have any issues with the production. Like you, I look at the music and tend to ignore the production for the most part. Still, even doing so, I found that the album was disappointing. It had a few great songs that were truly fantastic. The others, though, fell flat for me and my expectations. Was the bar set too high? Perhaps, but I don't believe so with the caliber of musicians that they are. If this is what they like and is the direction they're going into, then that's up to them. Still, as long as they're still relevant enough to my tastes, I'm going to have an opinion, and if it's anything less then glowing (no pun intended), I don't see why it's any less relevant than praise.
Reply to this