Hmmm: On Corrections and Jumping the Gun
I ran the first edition of Hot Take ‘em All yesterday, the new feature in which we react to metal’s bigger releases in something approximating “real time” in a messier, less thought out, more conversational tone. We often joke on the pod that Plague Rages is a slow moving enterprise, but there are reasons for that. There’s your usual stuff like, due to the state of the industry, writing/podding is relegated to a hobby with full-time hours that we Tetris into various day-job commitments. But, as I’ve written before, though I probably buried it under six feet of meta-joke dirt, I’m more interested in getting things right — or at least as right as they feel to me at the time; it’s fine to change your mind — than being on time.
I don’t think I got my portion of Hot Take ‘em All right. Something has been bugging me since it was sent out, the unmistakable toll of cognitive dissonance ringing through my head. It’s not that I’ve had a change of heart and think Senjutsu is a good album. It is not. But, I think in my haste to get that post up, it lacks nuance and direction that would otherwise be there. For instance, I didn’t mean to direct my ire at anyone who likes the album. Enjoy what you want, live your life. Rather, I’m supremely irritated by nothing reviews that seek nothing more than to go unscathed and unseen by the roaming Up the Irons army. I also can’t stand obsequious YouTube comments on Iron Maiden’s channel that are not honest assessments but posted only to be seen by the band and liked by fans. I didn’t make that clear, which made a few of the other jokes not scan like jokes. While the point of Hot Take ‘em All was to be a little more fiery and impulsive, I think the tone of my portion ran counter to some of my core beliefs as a music fan.
Anyway, I’m going to do some tinkering on that one with a clearer head and re-post it with a note. You live and you learn. Thanks for your patience. Here’s a new ÜLTRA RAPTÖR song. May we all become gale runners today. — Wolf Rambatz