This is my face
Many moons ago I used to play in a band called Eaten by Monsters. We had a few reviews, mostly good, some indifferent and a few outright nasty, but we never really took off in the way we had hoped (I have, to this day, yet to headline the main stage at Glastonbury). The band’s not officially dead, and I could well pull something out of the bag any day now, but this website – which began back in 2008 as a university project – has long since become the more successful of the ventures to bear the Eaten by Monsters name, and has thus inherited the prestigious .com domain.
It soon became clear that the blog had outgrown it’s position as an academic exercise when my inbox became pretty much unnavigable due to the volume of submissions from bands wanting me to review their music. It’s never ceased to amaze me that this little blog – which isn’t massively popular compared to many other more ‘pro’ review sites – gets so much attention from new bands looking for reviews. It has always been a privilege to hear the great work that some of you are up to, and to be trusted to impart a public opinion is always flattering. If you make music and want to know how to get your music featured on these pages then head over to my handy guide on getting a review on EbM.
What gives me the right?
My background is music based, first as a player then later as an academic at Westminster University for undergrad. and Goldsmiths College for my postgrad. And being as I’ve been on the other side of the coin – struggling to get reviews, and then seeking therapy (a.k.a. whisky) when I actually got them – I think there lies within me the ability to empathize with those that seek my opinion. I may not always act on that empathy, however, and can at times be rather scathing when pouncing upon flaws in the music of others.
Besides some rather dry qualifications (I’m a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Arts, apparently) the only thing that gives me any authority to write reviews is the simple fact that I do write them and for better or worse people read them. It would be fair to call me a music obsessive, but in a field so subjective who can possibly call themselves an expert?