In answer to your questions Dan….

When reviewing bands, I don’t request to review anything I don’t think i’ll like. Although I’m often supplied CD’s I didn’t request, mind, so have reviewed albums by dark metal bands like Dew Scented in the past. It’s easier to write about genres you know than those you’re not, and you can only review things by comparing them to the benchmark of their genre.

I don’t think it’s fair to review things you know you’ll hate just to wallow in the fun of slagging them off (The Business excepted).

Yes, sometimes I am consciously aware of how to start a review before i hear it (if it’s someone i know a lot about them already), although more in a stylistic sense than any form of pre-judgement.

I try not to read other people’s reviews before I review someone’s CD’s, just because you’re opinion (and that’s all a review is) inevitably gets influenced by someone elses. That said, I don’t obsess about it, and once you’ve formed the base of the review, it’s useful to read around the band to inject more life into your own stuff.

Pre-conception is inevitably going to influence your  review, whether something has been hyped to death or made by an unsigned band. It’s fairer to be harsh on a hyped act that has spent millions on PR than an unsigned band with low production quality, selling CD’s from a suitcase.

Is that all Withy?