Can one fairly review an album...

[badtaste]

if they have no care and/or knowledge for the genre in which the album is classified?

This question popped up while I was listening to Converge's "Jane Doe". Hadn't listened to any metalcore music prior to it, or much -core music in general. Didn't think much of the album, but the reviews I have read of it have been very praising and glowing of it. All the positives mentioned seemed to be my negatives.

So I'm wondering if one should have an understanding of a type/genre of music, in order to make a reasonable judgment of it.

There are other cases and scenarios that I could propose, but I'd like to see some initial thoughts about my original question.

[Iluvatar]

A reasonable understanding yes

[RNR]

Yes. If you have good enough objectivity for music. Yes, I know it sounds retarded, but some people are just so enlightened and insightful that they can tell what a "good" and "bad" album is even if they don't care for a genre. Like myself for example.

[Iluvatar]

Is your real name FAIL or something

[Dave de Sylvia]

As long as you can articulate your reaction to it properly I don't really see why not. Converge fans are really precious though, so it's best not to upset them lest they melt your face off or some other overused phrase.

[Iluvatar]

You have no basis for comparison when you haven't heard anything else that sounds like them though, and thats pretty much the BASIS for writing a review.

[Aficionado]

see: The Album Game

[Dave de Sylvia]

You have no basis for comparison when you haven't heard anything else that sounds like them though, and thats pretty much the BASIS for writing a review.
Of course you have basis for comparison. It's not the ****ing Q chord, it's pretty straightforward metal music by any account. It'd be different if he'd never heard anything except Beethoven's Fifth, but clearly he has the rational faculties to process and contextualise the music based on his own experiences. To state it more bluntly, if I've never heard any metalcore before, I want my review to be broken down into terms that I understand. And that doesn't require having listened to a bunch of Botch albums.

[Iluvatar]

To make a difference to anyone who would care about that album, being able to compare them to Botch would be a much better point than comparing them to Motley Crue.

[DFelon204409]

You should do your best to educate yourself but you don't *need* that knowledge though who knows your review may bite it hard.

[Dave de Sylvia]

No, it depends completely on who's reading it. Converge are one of the most consistently praised bands on this site, but the majority of the site's users are unfamiliar with the genre. There's a gap of knowledge there that has to be bridged somehow and it's not going to be done with comparisons to still more bands that most people haven't heard of. There are a million ways to break down an album and it's ridiculous to claim that they all involve a working knowledge of a very particular niche.

[Iluvatar]

Well if you're an idiot and don't understand the point of knowing the music genre you're trying to criticize then maybe you aren't smart enough to be listening to Intelligent Dance Music.

[ilikemusicthatsucks]

I think it can be done, but it is rather difficult. I don't review many metal albums because I don't listen to much metal, but I do listen to it from time to time and have a basic knowledge of the genre; enough, in my opinion, to know what is expected from a good metal album.

That is the way to judge I suppose. If you already hate heavy guitar riffs and fast tempos, clearly, reviewing a metal album is ridiculous. You are completely biased against the genre in general in that case, so you won't be impressed even with what is largely considered high quality. If your tastes are totally incompatible with the genre, then you would do better to write some essay on why metal sucks instead of crashing everybody else's party.

If your reason is less exclusive, though, then hell, why not review a Metallica album if you usually listen to indie?

(Sorry for using metal as the primary example but it was the easiest.)

[descendents1]

You cannot review an album effectively if you have little to no care or little to no understanding of the genre. Fairly is a different story, but your capacity for making good judgement is limited by your lack of understanding of the genre.

The bottom line is that your review will have a really high chance of sounding like a Tribestros punk review.

[Dave de Sylvia]

Well if you're an idiot and don't understand the point of knowing the music genre you're trying to criticize then maybe you aren't smart enough to be listening to Intelligent Dance Music.
This is also true.

[rasputin]

A little background knowledge is useful, and if you don't have it, a little research should be done, but you don't need to be an expert on the genre.

[Iluvatar]

Going from listening to hard rock and 70s rock and trying to review a converge album is a little daunting!

[Dave de Sylvia]

If you think about it, there's only six letters separating CCR and Converge.

[Iluvatar]

A point duly noted

[Dies Irae]

the answer is dont write reviews

[Iluvatar]

stop trolling me!

[Dies Irae]

quit negging me you squirrel!

[Iluvatar]

why are you calling fortress bad i bet you have shitty taste in music like your mom does

[Dies Irae]

balls lick i to you

[badtaste]

Thanks for the comments everyone. All sound very reasonable (except maybe that first reply).

So main points as I see it:
- Basic research of a band and genre is always advisable.
- Measuring sticks (in the form of comparisons) for objectivity are nice.
- Complete bias/incompatability against certain type of music = no review.
- idm is for intelligent people.

I'm guessing the more knowledge and understanding you have of a band and the genre around them, the more valid your review may seem (providing you have reasonable arguments and points).

[Iai]

Are we just arguing about me in this thread now or what

[IAmInsect]

lol converge review

[Iai]

lol butthurt subtledagger

[Aficionado]

The bottom line is that your review will have a really high chance of sounding like a Tribestros punk review.

biting stuff

[cometuesday]

^maybe but close to the truth.