As many of you already have found out, we at RevelationZ Magazine are a bit odd in many ways (That especially goes for Steen "muh" Jepsen).
I can only speak for myself, but I like reviews that are pretty detailed. I think that it is a good thing when opinions are thorough and clear. Many of the reviews on our site share these characteristics.
One thing that is of high importance when you make or read a review, is that you know what should be put in the rating given.
As a devoted Metal fan for many years I have read many magazines and webzines, where I often have wondered about the ratings given.
Commonly the rating systems goes up to 5, 6, 10, 12 or 100. The important thing is that when you read a review you know what a 7/10 or a 10/10 stands for.
I find many magazines and webzines to give many top grades like 8,5/10, 95/100, 11/12 and so on.
I think that when many albums receive from 8/10 and up, it can become difficult to compare ratings with each other, and find out exactly how good or bad the reviewer think this album is. I also find it a big problem that many album reviews are pretty critical and sounding like the album is perhaps a standard release, and then it gets perhaps 8/12, where a 8 goes for good.
At our site the rating system is perhaps the most critical one out there (correct me you think I'm wrong), everything from 5 and up is considered overall good.
We have made it this way because this gives the opportunity to have a broader scale to judge after. Albums come in many different qualities, and it is easier for both reviewer and reader when a "good" album can be weighed differently.
If you have not read our
rating system please do so, I think that you will be surprised to see what explanation there is for the rating 6, just to take an example.
And remember that even though each reviewer goes out from the same system, everybody has ones own interpretation of the explanations.It would be utopia to think that everybody would put exactly the same weight into words. The goal must be to find something that goes fairly well with the words used in or rating system.
So remember that if you think that are ratings are completely out of order at times, it could be that the reviewer has an opinion that is far from yours, or that our rating system is the hardest in the world. That does not mean that 10/10 is unreachable, it just goes for those really magic moments in music history. Again it comes down to what you put into words. I can assure you that it has not been easy to find the right words that describe the explanations for the different ratings, and it can be difficult to find exactly the right rating for the right album, but we try.
Have a good Metal search and please write your comments where you feel that something should be stated.
