atari, you changed your username!?!

yeah a while ago lol

Couple more things, Atari:

"If you’re a die hard fan of Manilla Road, there are definitely some enjoyable moments to be found throughout the
band’s 16th release"

The comma after Mantilla Road isn't needed.

"Thankfully, despite the disappointing vocals, the drums sound fantastic on most of the album thanks in part to the
improvement in production."

This is a personal preference of mine, so this is totally up to you if you want to change it or not, but I don't like using the
same word (or a different form of the same word in this case) twice in one sentence. You would be fine just using
thankfully or thanks instead of both. There are two alternate ways this could be written:

a) Thankfully, despite the disappointing vocals, the drums sound fantastic on most of the album due in part to the
improvement in production.

b) Despite the disappointing vocals, the drums sound fantastic on most of the album thanks in part to the improvement
in production.

I try to read reveiws twice in case I miss some stuff the first time through.

Alright haha. Still not home but will edit this stuff when I am! I kind of struggle with knowing when to and when not to use a comma sometimes

Yeah, sometimes I do it too. It can be a pain.

sup ecnal. i'll make those edits in a bit but it's my birthday so i'm being lazy ;)

If you're not sure if you should use a comma, you typically should use it. =]

@omaha, yeah that makes sense. am i missing some commas?

"Manilla Road are without a doubt one of the hardest working independent metal acts in existence today."

You could take out quite a few of these words, and make your point more effective. Maybe something like "Manilla Road is one of the hardest working metal acts today." (also, it'd be "is," since you're referring to 'one', etc.)

"Or has it? Well…sort of."

Honestly, you could drop this second tiny sentence and be fine. It should even flow better.

"Although his vocals sound nearly as unique as ever, they feel very dull and uninspired on most tracks and lack the passion and energy found on the band’s best releases."

This is really good description, but it's a little overdone. I typically stick with a single adjective or noun to describe something, so here I'd say something like: "Although his vocals are as unique as ever, they're also often dull, and therefore lack the passion of the band's best releases." And you may be able to find a better way to phrase it than that - just an idea, that's all.

"Thankfully, despite the disappointing vocals, the drums sound fantastic on most of the album thanks in part to the improvement in production. There’s also no shortage of flashy guitar work and songs like the fast paced ‘Stand Your Ground’ or ‘Only The Brave’ are packed with blistering guitar solos while tracks such as ‘Hermitage‘ and ‘Do What Thou Will’ contain the albums most memorable riffs."

Just grammatical stuff here. You need a comma after 'album' and 'work,' and there's a hyphen in 'fast-paced.' Furthermore, an apostrophe's needed in the final 'albums,' so it'd be albums'.

"Mysterium isn’t a terrible album by any means, it’s just a somewhat underwhelming release from a band that is capable of so much better."

The 'by any means' is unnecessary, so you could take that out. Also this is a run-on, so change the comma to a semi-colon.

Also, I love the way your review ends. You're a really good writer, and so all I can do is point out these rather minor grammatical ideas and alternate phrasings. Keep up the great work, man!

Thanks for the input Omaha I really appreciate you taking the time to look at the review. I'm no english major but hopefully as i keep writing and receiving feedback i can continue to improve. : )

I' no English major either, fortunately. I love writing, but I couldn't ever devote my life to it like that, at least with so many other things I'm not passionate about.

When I WAS an English major, it really surprised me how picky I was with classic literature. I respected all of it, but it was often a chore to read. The reason I love writing here is because music's my biggest passion, so reviews come pretty naturally.

Well, happy fucking birthday, Atari! And on this day, you get complimented by a newly appointed staffer of sputnik. Nice.

Also, congrats on the promotion, Omaha. I was rooting for you. That probably means nothing and didn't help you in any way shape or form, but I believe it's the sentiment that counts.

@Omaha,

I know what you mean. I really love writing about music because i'm really passionate about it too but i'd hate writing about something i don't care about.

@Ecnalzen,

thanks man : ) i'm getting old!

Me too. Imma gonna be 27 this year. Time flies by.

it sure does. i wrote a new review if you want to check it out and point out the inevitable errors hehe

A new review, you say? A post hardcore release, no less? I am interested in this.

Ecnalzen, comments like that are a big reason why I keep writing. Just know it's very much appreciated. =]

And damn, I guess I'm the young here (just turned 20).

i would have guessed you were older omaha you come across as mature and professional.

That's good to hear. I've always hoped to be one of the more professional users on the site, but we all have our moments.

I think Paperback has out-matured me, though. Haha, he's so diplomatic and professional.

yeah paperback is such a nice guy. and i've seen you mess around a little bit but not too much. i'm gonna try to just focus on reviewing and getting/receiving feedback more and not dicking around as much.