MY REVIEWS OF DUTCH BLACK METAL RELEASES
Because I have treated bands objectively in The Encyclopedia of Dutch Black Metal, I withheld myself from expressing personal opinions about the bands and their releases... However, the Dutch scene has given birth to some very fine music (and very bad as well). That's why I have taken the liberty to include reviews of releases on this online companion to the book (some published earlier in Black Art Magazine, by the way). Reviews are opinions and they are mine alone; they have nothing to do with the reviewed bands, the fact that I might know these people, or with the content of the encyclopedia...
Every releases is rated in three ways of personal enjoyment: performance, production, and an overall score:
1. The score
for performance has nothing to do with how professional or well
played a release is, but more with the enjoyment of the
performance (are they delivering something worthwhile here,
musicwise, lyricwise, ideologically, etc.).
2. Likewise, the score for production is only partly related to
the sound and its quality and is far more intricate (are the
instruments well balanced for this particular style and way of
playing, are the intentions right for this production, and most
important: what do I feel hearing this?)... A well-balanced
tightly played album could score lower than a very good
rehearsal!
3. The overall score is a final conclusion, purely based on a
basic and primal 'emotional' response.
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Click on the title of
the release to read the review!

If you want your material reviewed on www.nlbme.nl, just send an original demo, single, album, etc. with a written request for a review! This page will be updated, of course. Just keep in mind, if it's shit I will write that it's shit... And logically, only Dutch bands will end up here!