@postmes I think they were only supposed to send out copies to peeps who bought the EP but they accidentally released it to everyone. I'm guessing they panicked and just deleted the entire page to be safe.

Album Rating: 2.2

Nah, they never, I remeber reading they were streaming for a limited amount of days.

Album Rating: 3.0

brought the average down haha trolled

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

It is not a matter of opinions when one realises that the echo in the vocals throughout the album serves no purpose other than being limiting. Why was a rather acceptable production on the first release tinkered with? Speaking of the first release, originally an intimate bonus track on said release, "Drown All Your Witches" was worked into a song for the album which is reminiscent, but less intriguing at the same time. And while one could refer to a song like "50'000 Kilowatts" as straightforward, clever pop, in truth, it does no justice to the capabilities of the members of this band and feels like material to fill the album. Puzzling.

Album Rating: 4.0

Please stop with the Mars Volta blind-fan propaganda. Purism is unhealthy.

Album Rating: 4.0

Although I disagree with your rating xami you hit it nail on the head about Witches.

Album Rating: 4.0

The general consensus is that "Drown All Your Witches" should've stayed as it was.

Album Rating: 3.5

finally got around to listening to this, pretty sweet.

Album Rating: 3.0

Nice review!

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

@PostMesmeric I see blind fandom where one would praise the album without justified, constructive

criticism, so whom was this directed towards?



@JM18 Coincidentally, I increased the rating by half a point after allowing some time to pass and

having another listen. But I do not think that I would go much further than this. This is a

struggle over simplicity and complexity. The "autistic child" of, well, theirs, which was

referenced some time ago, describes it well. In this sense, I was intrigued to notice the extended

jam in one of the recent live renditions of the song "Providence".

Album Rating: 4.0

It was directed at you, man, because you do not understand media criticism.



You're just trying to make it sound like your opinion is "right", which by definition, is impossible, considering that any form of review or critique is subjective. If you think your view is fact, then you have no business in the review field. You have the imaginary belief that you have the right to determine whose opinion is worth anything, while inflating your own and calling it objective. I'm not saying your opinion is wrong. I'm saying your opinion is not fact.



And you lose all credibility when you say "It is not a matter of opinions...", because by nature, a review is derived from the opinion the writer. Don't be egotistic in saying that your opinion is fact, because that's in no way true. In comparison, neither is mine. It's a review. It's an opinion.



And for the record, I love the Mars Volta, but I'm not letting my adoration for Frances the Mute get in the way of me really loving this album too.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

There are a few things to consider when speaking about this album. It is the first time that

Rodríguez-López and Bixlar-Zavala appear together after their falling out, after it seemed that

this would not happen again. Does this in itself affect how their material is reviewed? I would

say yes it does. And not in a favourable way. In addition, a relatively large portion of the

album, about a third, were made available months before the release. A question could be which

parts of the album were made available and how they relate to remainder of material on the album.



Now, could it be that you are the author of the review above? Taking some of my actual statements

as personal as only an author, under certain conditions, could, while insinuating other statements

I supposedly made, lecturing someone on the nature of media criticism and calling someone out for

supposedly being a blind admirer if one has a critical look at the material. Not only is this

unprofessional, it is unacceptable. Perhaps you will have to realise that this is not a discussion

about your review, as untouchable a case of artistic expression you might find it, it is a

discussion about the album itself. All I say is that complexity fits them exceptionally well. That

temporary simplicity can be refreshing, but it poses risks too. And that their work is naturally

weighed against how consistent, how emotionally captivating it is and how much room it is given.



But if you would like this discussion to be about your review, then let us have a look. Your

reaction omits that you, albeit not in the review itself, state that you were not affected by

"50'000 Kilowatts" (yet that you take it for what it is worth, but what exactly is it worth?) and

that "it is general consensus that 'Witches' should have stayed the way it was". You confirm two

of my main complaints, apart from the more significant aspect of simplicity. Taking something for

what it is worth and looking at something with an isolated view seems to be the key here. Where in

your review do you, apart from trying to describe its contents, justify that you rated the album

to be excellent? You drift into a dispute about blind admiration and the nature of media

criticism, while it ironically seems to apply more to you than to me. Perhaps you have been

affected by compliments about your reviews. Which is something that would not be uncommon on the

internet.

Album Rating: 4.0

You said this:



"It is not a matter of opinions..."



THAT'S unacceptable. That is the antithesis of reviews in general. Media criticism is a community of discussion, not absolutes, and you're treating this like an absolute. I have no problem with any of your criticisms of the album, but the way you presented your opinion was rude and terribly egotistic. I said the "blind-fan propaganda" phrase as a joke, because I think it's silly to condemn a later project simply because it's different from the original, and if you were offended by that phrase, I apologize.



But by saying "it's not a matter of opinion", you're not just insulting me: you're insulting the entire review community and saying that their opinions are not worth anything where they're not shared by you. You're claiming your own opinion to be fact and that's not how media criticism works. It doesn't matter what you think of the album at that point; you're still saying that you're right and everyone who disagrees is wrong. That's not proper etiquette.



"Where in your review do you, apart from trying to describe its contents, justify that you rated the album to be excellent?"



See, that goes back to the idea of reviews being opinions. I didn't "blindly" admire this album. I honestly thought it would've been mediocre. But guess what? It wasn't. I liked it. I described the parts that were good and used positive/negative language accordingly. Everyone reads and writes differently; there's no one right way to review a piece of media. I love The Mars Volta to death, but there's nothing wrong with thinking about an album like this as something worthwhile. You're judging this review on your own scale, and you know what? That's okay, but you need to do so courteously and respectfully, not maliciously.



I would be more than happy to read your review of this album, and I would take your opinion of it with a grain of salt. After all, that's what any good critic should do. Like I said, I'm not denouncing your opinion on this album, but I'm not going to sit here and have someone egotistically debase my character and tell me that my review is "wrong", which is what you've been doing since the beginning of this conversation.



Be more open to others' opinions and just understand that reviews are about sharing viewpoints and experiences, not pushing them down if you disagree with them.

Album Rating: 3.0

This is like a bad acid trip (with decent riffage). : (

dont be srs be hppy

Album Rating: 4.0

I'm sorry, everyone. I really didn't mean to take this whole thing so far down this road. I've had this kind of discussion so many times before (and not just in music reviews) that it just bothers me having to do it over and over again. It's just a pain.



So, I'm just gonna leave it at that and say thanks for reading my review. I'm hoping that Cedric and Omar release this album to the full public very soon, because I think it's great. :P

Keen to see these guys live

I like that this is more of the direction of ATDI but Cedric sounds like a bad karaoke version of himself on here IMO.

Album Rating: 3.5

Really happy I didn't hear about this album on Sputnik, otherwise I'd've skipped right over it. Maybe it's because I'm an old-ass fart as far as Sputnikers go, but this is "hits-the-spot" music for sure. It's not deep, it's not a chore to listen to, it's not abrasive, it's just some simple rock. Good shit, something that I keep coming back to even with all the other good music released this year.



I don't think of the fact that this is Cedric and Omar, just like I don't relate ATDI and TMV together. I listen to and enjoy both of those bands for different reasons, and I listen to Antemasque for other reasons still.

Cedric was on Dean Delray's Let There Be Talk podcast for the 2nd time recently, and shared some good info about the making of this record and the future of Antemasque if anyone's interested. Dean can be overbearing but his friendly enthusiasm makes for a good conversation, and Cedric is cool as fuck. Definitely worth a listen