Man, I don’t ever want to do a magazine if it means sticking three and a half pages of advertising in the first five pages. Luckily, Verbicide does not go the route that most other zines take and just stick ads everywhere in their magazine; in fact, there are only a few ads to contend with this whole issue. So, what’s up with this issue of Verbicide. Kudos has to go to the interview with Armalite, the new act fronted by Atom (from Atom and His Package) and consisting of members of a number of lame 90s emo/hardcore bands (Paint it Black, Kill The Man Who Questions), as well as the cover piece about the politics of positive sexuality (having an interview with a porn star I’ve never heard of named Tera Patrick). The layout to each of the pages in this issue of Verbicide is great and keeps things fresh even though the magazine is so long and uses such a small print, to fit in all the pieces that they receive for each issue. The only problem I have is that the bands that they focus in are largely those that are getting the hell pushed out of them by PR firms and record labels (Band of Horses, Fightstar, Tommy and the Terrors, and Shook Ones). What may just be the best thing in this issue is the spotlight on “independent businessâ€; please, oh please expand this section! Have it be like a scene report, where each issue focuses on independent businesses throughout a city.
Rating: 6.7/10
[JMcQ]
Verbicide #17 / $3.95 / 1:15 / 80M / http://www.scissorpress.com / Reviewed 31 August 2006
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
Beats: Independent Music, PC Gaming & Peripherals, Consumer Tech, Webmaster Tools
Testing & Ethics: All hardware, software, and media reviews are conducted through hands-on evaluation in accordance with NeuFutur’s editorial independence standards; sponsored consideration is strictly excluded from editorial ratings.
Contact: editor@neufutur.com