Welcome one, welcome all!

Greetings, dear reader, and welcome to Not The Amp! Here you will find music reviews from the underground scenes, including (but not limited to): Goth, Post-Punk, Cold Wave, Shoegaze, Punk, Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, Metal, and all of their accompanying sub-genres. Basically, if it rocks, or moves me down to my core, you will find it here. What else can you expect here? Positive reviews, and only positive reviews. If you came here looking for someone to talk shit or bash on a band you don't like, you will not find that here. Please believe that there is method to my madness, and that this is actually for a good reason; I do not believe that any press is good press.

Let me give you a bit of backstory and history about me ( I promise it is relevant to the point I'm trying to make). I came up in a tightly knit heavy music scene back in Colorado Springs, CO. The band I was playing for at the time had been around for years prior to my joining, and were mainstay local legends in their own right, as each member had more than paid their dues in the scene by shedding blood, sweat, and tears over countless nights at the local venues. We were given the opportunity to open for a very well known international touring act in what turned out to be a sold out show. We gigged so hard, and rehearsed even harder in the month before the show. And when the time came, we lit the night on fire, pouring our souls out to that audience. But, there was one person in that crowd who just was not impressed. That person turned out to be a music reviewer for the local paper, and he wasted no time in tearing us to shreds in his column. This review was so bad for us, that it adversely affected our ability to book shows for at least half a year after the fact.

And this is why I will not write a bad review for any band or artist that finds its way onto my humble little blog. Because I don't ever want to be the reason that someone can't get a show booked. I don't ever want to be the reason why someone has a hard time in this industry, especially when they are just trying to do what they love. I will only ever promote what I love, and not waste my time or anyone else's by penning a bad review. And most importantly, as a musician myself, I do not believe in artists dogging on other artists. If I should ever get asked to write a review on something that does not float my boat, I promise you that you will not find any negativity spoken about you or your project here. Rather, I will send you a private email with my critique and constructive criticisms as to why I did not enjoy a particular submission. And that will be yours to do with what you'd like.

With that said, this blog is now open! I am looking forward to sharing my insights as well as hearing the art that is so abundant in this world!

-Marshall, but not the amp, Vigil