splinter

Did I say that a band must have just technical skills on overdrive? Did I say this? DID I SAY THIIIIISSSSS???? DID I SAY THIIIIISSSSS?????

Of course, why not, in fact I love Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation, Riverside, Pendragon, Anekdoten...

DON'T TALK SHIT!!! DON'T SAY THINGS I NEVER SAID!!!

I only said that for me this is not a prog-metal album! It's a great melodic metal album with slight progressive influences! But that's a bit too little for what I usually look for, which is generally much more ambitious!

And anyway, I stand by my belief: people have never understood a damn thing about me!!!

Look, let me explain…

I started by listening to stuff that was more distinctly metal, even thrash metal (which pumped me up like nothing else at the time)... but when I discovered "Images and Words," I noticed that album had something truly different from everything else I was listening to; I had never heard anything before where I could detect a certain artistic flavor... from there began my journey into the genre. However, it’s not true, as you say, that I judge bands solely by their technical proficiency; sure, that has its place, but judging exclusively on that seems excessive to me. The melodies, the structures, the instrumentation, the creativity, the genius, the experimentation—all these things need to strike me as well.

I find "Parallels" to be a 4 rather than a 5 because it is absolutely valid in terms of melodies, and there was a time when I listened to it quite a bit, but I still find it a rather elementary album and tied to elements of the 80s compared to what progressive metal would gift us in the years to come.

APSOG lower???? But if it has certain atmospheres... and has a wealth of technical skills to offer...

And anyway, for me, this is not prog-metal. Just adding some more intricate melodies doesn't mean it’s progressive. Yes, I included it in the definition because there is a bit of prog, but that doesn't change the fact that we can't talk about prog-metal until the following year when IMAGES AND WORDS comes out. Let’s be clear.

I also couldn't get all the licenses; I was thinking about giving up... but then I committed myself and finished everything with my own strength!

The first time, when I really couldn't move forward, I did everything with my uncle's Action Replay using the cheat "Stupid Opponents": as soon as the race began, the timer would stop at 40 milliseconds, and the opponents would go straight off at the first corner, continuing to race just two car lengths away from the edge of the road...

But then I managed to complete it with my own skills, luckily!

And why shouldn't it be considered prog? Just because there aren't long and complex instrumental parts, changes in tempo, and the like? Okay, there might not be much of that, but there is certainly a strong expressive quest and something that goes beyond simple pop-rock... and why not, even a certain sonic experimentation...

And honestly, I have fun making fun of Gigi D'Alessio!

From the comments, I feel the need to reiterate my position: to love the PT, you need to have a heart!!! Clearly, some do not have one! Furthermore, the comparisons of the PT to other bands seem out of place to me; in fact, I believe they are one of the bands with the most personal sound out there! It is precisely with this album that they truly began to make it their own, after several albums where the Pink Floyd influence was more than evident; they almost seemed like clones.

Well, you know, when you like something, you like it—it’s just the way it is! You’d like to give it a lower rating, but you just can’t! Actually, not all the albums by the Threshold are 5s; the last one is more of a 4, Clone is more of a 4 too, but I can’t go lower! As for mediocre albums, I can't give them less than a 3 because the fact that they are part of their discography fascinates me anyway, even though I can perfectly distinguish the best from the slightly inferior ones!

Well, you remember that you said the best Ayreon album is Actual Fantasy, which is a good album but quite more immediate and straightforward compared to works like The Human Equation and Into The Electric Castle, which are two gems!!! And you said that because it aligns with your personal tastes! Objectivity, in my opinion, both exists and doesn’t! It has to be there, and I try to apply it, but the reviewer also needs to include their personal opinion. Otherwise, everyone would say the same thing... and there wouldn’t even be a debate! Reviews and criticism shouldn’t feel like they wrote themselves; the hand and heart of the reviewer must be present!

Because some, for example, criticized verismo? Precisely for that reason!!! Because what the verists depicted seemed to stem more from a standard of reality than from the pen and imagination of the artist!

But look, it's completely normal to have personal tastes; being objective is one of the hardest things, even for an aspiring critic (or a low-level critic) like me, because personal tastes will always come into play. When it comes time to give a rating, one tends to think more about what the work evokes in him than about what is generally said about the group!

Then you talked about sacred monsters because they are the ones who have gained a certain fame and will always be remembered, but it doesn't mean that the most famous, the oldest, or the most talked-about are always the best. This, until proven otherwise, is a common cliché! For example, I find an Ayreon album to be more of an artwork than one by Metallica or Iron Maiden!

Yes, it's true that I tend to snub the classics; in fact, I've only listened to a few examples, but at least in the prog realm, I can recognize what is better or worse! And anyway, whatever comes my way (maybe something a friend or someone else plays), I subject it to a reasoned judgment!

P.S. This debate is great! I'm having fun!

I think that progressive music, along with classical and jazz, is one of those genres where the concept of music as ART truly comes to life, where everything seems really structured in a way that makes it feel like a work of art, placed there with real awareness. In short, when we listen to a progressive piece, we are truly facing a work of art! In other genres, however, I always have the impression that everything is based on immediacy, on hitting the listener right away... That said, I don’t mean to suggest that the music is any less beautiful, but these are the reflections that my mind produces!