Hello and welcome to another exciting week of music industry insight and know-how here on the official blog of Haulix. It’s Columbus Day here in the states, and we have admittedly done nothing to acknowledge its occurrence. If you got the day off – consider yourself lucky. The rest of us will have to settle for a bit of escapism by way of our latest Blogger Spotlight column, which yet again focuses on the world of heavy metal. If you have a site or writer you feel deserves time in our spotlight, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your recommendation.
Many of you may have been reading the site featured today for years without even knowing it. For a long time the site we now call Last Rites was known throughout the world as MetalReview, but hoping to carve their own niche the owners thought it best to step out with a more unique name. We’re fans of the new identity, and after today’s feature I believe you will be too.
Zach Duvall, like many of you reading this right now, started out life in the industry as a fan with a desire to tell others about the music that interested him. He had read MetalReview for years, even going as far as to become a regular on their long-running forums, but it wasn’t until a chance meeting with a number of contributors in 2009 that he decided to become a writer himself. Now four years in, Zach has become an integral part of Last Rites, and is one of many team members helping make the site one of the leading outlets for metal news today.
If you would like to keep tabs on everything Zach is working on, make sure you bookmark Last Rites at your earliest convenience. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: For those unaware, please state your name, the company you work for, and your role at said business:
Zach Duvall: My name is Zach Duvall, and I write for a heavy metal blog called Last Rites, which was formerly MetalReview.com. I primarily write album reviews, but provide the occasional editorial or interview, and have started doing more behind-the-scenes work at the site as well.
H: Your site is known for its coverage of metal. Have you been a metalhead since birth? If not, when did you discover the heavier side of music?
ZD: I wouldn’t say I have been a metalhead since birth. My parents barely listened to anything of the “harder” style, so I discovered it through the “bad kids” in elementary school. But really, when I was about 10 a good friend of mine (still a great friend) let me hear Metallica’s …And Justice For All and that changed everything for me. The track “Blackened” completed changed my life.
H: What was the first album you purchased with your own money? Do you still own it today?
ZD: Boy this is tough. Honestly it was probably some 80s pop music. I think I had a Fat Boys hip-hop tape, or maybe Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA. Can’t remember if that was a present or purchase. As for metal, it was surely a Metallica album, possibly the black album, since “Enter Sandman” was the biggest thing on the planet when I was in middle school. And of course I still own it, even if my view of it has changed over the years.
H: Entertainment journalism is not exactly a path many follow in life. What first attracted you to the world of music coverage?
ZD: I have always loved sharing great music with others, and, from what certain friends would tell you, have a slightly strong opinion on things. So it turned out to be a pretty natural hobby for me to take up, and the added bonus has been connecting with bands and labels, and knowing that I’m helping out good people and quality artists.
H: Did you write for any sites before Last Rites (formerly Metal Review)?
ZD: Nope, that was the first, and I was quite honestly pretty intimidated at first.
H: The logical follow-up: Where did you first come across Last Rites, and what lead you to join the team?
ZD: Well, I read the old MetalReview for years before eventually becoming a very active member on the forums. I became “internet friends” with a bunch of the crew and other forum regulars, and the Facebook connections began. I eventually met up with several of them at Scion Rock Fest 2009 in Atlanta, and was told I should think of writing. A few months later half of the team ambushed me on Facebook and told me to join up.
H: Who was the first artist you worked with as a writer? Can you tell us a bit about that experience?
ZD: My first review was of a great German band named Valborg. I had actually won the album in a MetalReview contest just a month or so previously, and knew it would be cool to write about. I look back on it now and laugh at my tentative writing, trying to hard to make some profound point. But little did I know that writing about Valborg would introduce me to an entire great family of bands on the Zeitgeister label in Germany (Owl, Woburn House, and Klabautamann are other great bands on the label), while allowing me to get “internet acquainted” with one of the most active members of those bands. From the very beginning, this hobby was revealing its true worth to me, and those connections have only grown over the last four years.
H: Last Rites is a relatively new name for the site. What were the reasons for the change, and how has your audience changed (if at all) following the move?
ZD: Well, if you search on Google for the words “metal” and “review,” you don’t exactly get great results. There are several sites with some combination of the words in their name, so we didn’t stand out despite having what we felt was a superior product. We needed to develop a brand, something that was distinctive. Other than some forum regulars complaining that their internet world was being destroyed by the brand change, I’m not sure it has affected our audience much at all. If anything it looks way cooler when we see ourselves quoted in a press release.
H: LR is one of the few music sites still using forums, and that is in no way a complaint. Do you feel having a built-in community has helped your site thrive over time?
ZD: I certainly have met some amazing people through the forums, both people on staff and others. Activity on the forums is certainly not what it used to be, and the rise of Facebook, Twitter, and everything else is probably a huge reason for that. At this point, I’m not sure the forums add or take away from the overall site experience, but I do not think the MetalReview/Last Rites readership would have grown as it did over the years without that extra community feel. I probably never would have become involved.
H: I’ve noticed a drop in the number of forums being implemented on younger sites in recent years. Do you feel these web communities are missing something?
ZD: Well, it’s tough to say. Managing a forum is a complete asspain, that’s for sure. There are idiots to moderate, and you have to decide exactly how much you want to police things. Then there is the programming side of it I’m sure, even though I don’t get into it. So in that sense, I feel like newer sites may have decided that their time is better spent on creating content. In the wake of the rise of the Twitterverse, forums may be slowly dying anyway. It’s a bit sad, because it’s far less personal, but I feel as if that is just the reality of the situation.
H: I’ve noticed there is far more original news and written feature coverage than new media content. Do you any plans to expand further into video/photo moving forward?
ZD: Well, we just resurrected our podcast, and one of our guys really wants to keep that going. I wasn’t sure initially if people would actually pay attention to it, but it was extremely well received and I think it’ll be a great feature moving forward. Plus it’s just fun getting on Skype and shooting the shit with the guys. It would also be fun to find a staff member solely dedicated to covering metal shows, and adding photos and video. Because I don’t go to the number of shows I used to, it won’t be me, but if someone else added it, game on.
H: Writing styles change site-by-site these days, and from what I can tell LR strives do produce more long form content than ‘bulletin board’ style. What do you think makes a great news story?
ZD: I think great music makes a great story, if not necessarily news. Sometimes I will push out a shorter review or news blurb (coverage of the new Ihsahn single, for example), just to help out with content, but those long form reviews are what I enjoy the most. The best music makes the gig both fun and easy, and when music really seeps into me, finding words is no problem.
H: There are a number of people who contribute to LR on a regular basis. How big is the team?
ZD: The team is officially about 15-18 people, but some of those are more in a contributor type role. I’d say the regular team is about 10 folks.
H: You, like many in music journalism, make little-to-no money for your efforts. Why do you keep writing?
ZD: All of those reasons stated above. I just love music, and after years of struggling with wanting to actually play it again (after playing in high school), I realized that the writing gig was a great way for me to become involved, and to help out. Plus, it’s a great thing to keep me sane when my 9-5 job becomes mundane or stressful.
H: Some people believe there is no need for critics in the digital age. Do you agree? (Support your response)
ZD: In the age when everything is readily available for free consumption, you don’t necessarily need to read a review to know how to spend your cash, but the act of discussion is still valid in and of itself. Plus, the folks who believe that we don’t need critics are likely spending their time critiquing the critics in some expression of scene politics, which to me just means that they love internet dickishness more than they actually love the music. And that, quite frankly, is sad. Besides, if there wasn’t still a need for critics and promotion, labels wouldn’t constantly be sending me so much free music and begging me to listen to it. For small labels and upstart bands, blogs like Last Rites are still the best way to spread their name.
H: When it comes to receiving music for feature consideration, which services do you prefer and why?
ZD: Without tooting your guys’ horn too much, Haulix and similar services have been the best way. It’s great just having a link in an email. I think it says something that only a few labels are still using ipool or something else you have to log into.
H: There are a growing number of sites competing for attention in the metal realm. What is it about the content offered on LR that separates you from the competition?
ZD: I think we have as good a collection of writing talent as anyone out there. There are times that I feel almost inadequate to be amongst dudes who are not only such great writers, but so informed and insightful about metal and all music. I also feel as if we’d be pretty good evidence against notions that metalheads are dumb, droolin’ troglodytes.
H: What would you say is the most difficult part of this ‘job’ you’ve created for yourself?
ZD: Having to tell an honest, hardworking band that quite frankly they just don’t have it. I always attempt to frame such arguments without sounding like a dick, critiquing in a constructive manner as much as possible, but sometimes it is still difficult. Sure, occasionally I’ll cover an album by guys who are clearly writing trash just to write trash, and I will treat it as such, but if it is a group of hardworking kids that have the fire but not the fuel? That’s tough.
H: If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
ZD: I’m not sure there is anything I would change that would make much of a difference. Economic mechanisms are going to behave as they will, and the music industry certainly fits that model. What I would change, however, if human behavior. The biggest problem for music and art in general is that people just don’t try to find something better. Most people don’t even try a little, and that’s all it takes, trying just a little. If everyone who claims to have an appreciation of great music, film, and human expression would occasionally go out of their comfort zone even the slightest, the appreciation of art worldwide would increase substantially, and deserving artists would thrive.
H: What is your ultimate career goal?
ZD: Honestly, doing it right now. Keep writing about great music. I’m not sure I really have a desire to make money on this, or at least not to make it a career. Besides, I don’t think Last Rites could exactly match the 401K I get at my actual job.
H: Before we let you go, can you tell us a bit about what you have planned in the months ahead?
ZD: I will just keep doing what I do, finding something interesting to write about, and cover it. I try to keep variety going not just for our readership, but for my own enjoyment as well. On the slate over the next couple weeks I have a couple high profile black metal acts and something a little more on the oddball side. As a full site, Last Rites has some big things planned, but I’m not going to spoil that here, sorry. Other than that, year-end-list time is coming up before long, and that’s always a blast. Gives me an excuse to make up fake awards and toss them at deserving recipients.
