Reevaluating "Nostalgia Critic's The Wall", 5 Years Later

[@metalheadrailfan]

"Hello, I'm the Metal Meltdown. I listen to it so you don't have to."

[@CoreyArsenault-c8t]

A 6 feet under credit card!

[@EntityofDarkness696]

Five years, that means this album qualifies for Todd in the Shadows' Train-wreckords series.

[@parkers8462]

💀💀💀

[@olm8829]

@@EntityofDarkness696 I hope he does it, because this abomination of an “album” is THE trainwreckord

[@EntityofDarkness696]

@@olm8829 In truth, I don't think he will, he was mostly silent during the ChangetheChannel movement and I feel like he doesn't want to dig up this previous history. Would be absolutely hilarious if he does though, and I would love to be wrong here.

[@SuperStrik9]

Great series. Always love when a new Train-Wreckords drops.👍

[@Jonarbuckle833]

Goddamn, it's actually crazy how much you've changed in 5 years.

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Sometimes I don't recognize myself in those REALLY old videos...

[@MadMike1]

I will say, the NC Wall video reminds me a lot of M Night's Last Airbender movie. Where it was such an epic fail that it made everyone appreciate the source material even more. The Wall itself has almost gotten a second life thanks to Doug's abominable review of it.

[@rattailtony2900]

Can confirm. I wasn't really into the Wall the first time I heard it, but then after NC's review, I gave it a second look and learned just how good it really was

[@pokeythescowlingcat6221]

Ironically he has reviewed that movie and the show

[@extremelynormalperson]

Lol the stereotypical "drinking at the beginning of video essay because I'll be covering something painfully cringe" maneuver. Btw your hair is beautiful

[@wizarddragon]

In the late 90s and early 2000s, I and a couple of others ran a successful Metal chatroom on MSN(The original online Metal community), and a friend and I used to do these cringy drunken skits and send them to others in the community, lol. I had another friend who was into coding and we got him to work on creating a website for us where we could post videos but real life happens and it fell through. The Metal community on KZbin is exactly what we envision then but it makes me a little sad we didn't follow through and get it done. Keep up the good work. Prost \m/

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

@wizarddragon Its never too late bud, give it a shot

[@josephst.george7841]

I just discovered your channel through this video. I too would like to thank Doug for making this review. It reignited my passion for the wall in specific and I’ve been recording covers from it ever since.

[@SuperStrik9]

I honestly wouldn't have guessed a video about The Wall (an album I love) would be the most popular video on your channel. I only found your channel a year or 2 ago. Learn new things every day.

[@KingKrouch]

"So long, oscar bait song! Smoke a bong and it will feel less wrong" is such a terrible line that it's genuinely funny. At least the Nostalgia Critic is somewhat self-aware about the cringe antics he does. That's already better than some musicians.

[@thecinematicmind]

I will never forget when I look at the forums of ThatGuyWithTheGlasses and saw the section declaring what shouldn’t be taken as requests for Nostalgia Critic. One of them was Pink Floyd’s The Wall. People should had listened to that guy who wrote that forum up.

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

I wonder where he is now

[@stuartdunlop8834]

Well, this was a pleasant surprise on a Friday evening. Excellent re-evaluation. Congratulations on 5 years, you wonderful person, and thanks for introducing me to aspects of metal my normie ass had never previously considered.

[@mindful2864]

The worst thing about this album is that on paper it has the potential to be good. Comedy/parody music is a thing and Weird Al Yankovic has made it work. The reason why it works for Weird Al is because not only is Weird Al actually funny and talented, which Doug isn’t; he also doesn’t insult the songs/artists he’s parodying. He takes real world scenarios like gaming, being a surgeon, or being Amish and changes the lyrics around that. If the album was meant to be a critique of the Wall, then it fails even harder because Doug failed to miss the point of it. Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 is not a genetic school sucks anthem, it describes Roger Waters dealing with abusive teachers during post-WW2 Britain. Goodbye Blue Sky isn’t meant to be Oscar bait since the album came out three years before the movie. This album and the shitty review only existed to save Doug Walker’s reputation after the Change the Channel scandal a year before but only ruined his reputation even more.

[@andrewlikesmetal1095]

Weird Al uses comedy that is genuinely funny and usually disconnected from the actual artist or song. Doug was just pointlessly cynical and downright dismissive of anything the album said or represented.

[@theradicalreviewer6053]

Ngl, if it weren’t for that vid, I wouldn’t sub to the channel all those years ago. Cheers man 🎉

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

🍺🍺🍺

[@claudiasolomon1123]

Doug said this "is a love letter to The Wall." Ok Doug, using your logic, Deicide's entire discography is a love letter to christianity.

[@andrewlikesmetal1095]

When NWA released f**k the police it was actually a love letter to the criminal justice system

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Deicide is my favourite Christian metal band

[@claudiasolomon1123]

@@themetalmeltdownofficial LOL!!!!!!

[@andrewlikesmetal1095]

@@claudiasolomon1123 NWA wrote a lot of love letters to the police lol

[@MelomanoAdicto]

It is true! That video was my introduction to The Metal Meltdown. What a drastic change, dude!

[@scaleitback1055]

I can’t believe you reopened THAT door.

[@PerfectCell9]

Great video, great message. Glad for your growth and success dude 🍻🤘

[@fari8034]

It’s ok. I’m very happy l that in my cringe years cameras were a rare sight… Btw … Pyrrhon review incoming?

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Absolutely

[@fari8034]

@@themetalmeltdownofficialhell yea :)

[@sebastianshook6771]

When I Was Watching The NC Review Of The Wall When It Came Out, I Got Bored After A While And Started Reading The Comments. I Clicked Off The Video A While After That. It Should Be Known That I Was 15-16 At The Time (I May Have To Look Up When The Video Came Out).

[@CJJC]

Do you write Andrew W.K.’s lyric sheets?

[@MadMike1]

If it makes you feel any better, I didn't discover you from the Wall vid... ...I actually discovered you from your review of Abyss from Unleash the Archers...

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

yeah that sounds about right actually lmao

[@ErickNWOBHM]

Slipknot + Spongebob = The Wall. Damn! I need a new calculator!

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Apparently same

[@ErickNWOBHM]

@@themetalmeltdownofficial 🤣🤣🤣

[@muertovag4145]

Weird, I was just thinking about your reaction to that video earlier today.

[@NicolasAristizabal-rb3ju]

This is the textbook definition of how stupid comedy can turn into something obnoxiously bad

[@ElliYeetYT]

Corey Taylor And SpongeBob is still the one thing about this album that actually makes me laugh

[@robertsparling917]

SOMEBODY get Hector on the line for an episode of "Is It That Bad"!

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

honestly if he hasn't already done one, I'd be down to hop on

[@robertsparling917]

@@themetalmeltdownofficial Actually, he did have you on early this year.

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

@robertsparling917 yeah I'm aware, I'm saying I'd be down to hop on again.

[@LoneWandererCollin]

I whole heartedly agree with you on this album.

[@MysticMindAnalysis]

I think you nailed everything wrong about Nostalgia Critic's "The Wall". Doug rose to fame through exaggerated riffing on nostalgic nerd properties many of us remember, but don't actually hold up to scrutiny the second you think about it. His style of critiques are made for weird media and adaptations, not high-concept, layered social commentary like The Wall. One of the phrases I have come to use more and more lately is "When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail", AKA the Law of Instrument. He is forcing his clipless review template (used to get around copyright or films that hadn't gotten a home release yet) onto a work that doesn't fit it, and treating it as if it were empty, pretentious nonsense. He never engages with the work on its own terms. But what frustrates me is that he isn't an idiot. He *knows* how to give good criticism and evaluation. I learned a lot of my own analysis skills from his "Old vs. New" or "Raiders of the Story Arc" reviews, because those were the times he was genuinely engaging with what the media was trying to be, while still making the odd jokes along the way. As far as Critic's go, Doug isn't the worst. He isn't an anti-woke grifter or someone like Lily Orchard, who are genuinely horrible people. He blundered his way through a lot of terrible shit as described in during the Change the Channel controversy, but his behaviour *pales* in comparison to the likes of Heel vs. Babyface, who will throw tantrums over even the slightest suggestion of a trans character in a video game (and pronouns). If nothing else, Nostalgia Critic's "The Wall", while terrible, was a conversation starter, and that at least has value in reflecting how not to do film criticism.

[@heyhonpuds]

Cool. A revisit of the video that led me to discover your channel.

[@Remedy462]

You should be proud of your accomplishments with youtube, because I am. I am proud of you Robert, never forget that! 🤘❤️

[@RE-vy4wn]

What we REALLY need is Chompy's interpretation of the Nostalia Critic's interpretation of The Wall! I'll be honest, I've only been with your channel since the start of this year, I found the Project Regeneration Vol 2. review that you did and so I joined up to find out what you were about. The fact that you had done a review like that back in 2019 is good for what it was, but I appreciate this re-review of his shitty take on The Wall. I must admit, though, that I never listened to his album. I think I was spared the pain lol.

[@Chatman666]

Take a shot every time Robert uses the f word during the Corey Taylor segment. 😂

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Oh hell yeah, I'm game if you are

[@Ridiculousman3]

The problem with nostalgia critic and the rest of them, is that youtube evolved and they did not.

[@BrainPollution]

“A mor-ON?” 😂

[@ericaburns8652]

And if you ever change your mind about leaving leaving me behind...

[@brandonschneider3993]

I am not a fan of pink floyd. I don't enjoy the wall. But even as someone that doesn't like the band and album, I can't believe the nostalgia critic made such a shitfuck album. I understand the impact the wall had on music and such whether I enjoy it or not. But to reduce an album down to unfunny digs at the album with no actual knowledge of the material is just idiotic.

[@andrewlikesmetal1095]

Yeah, pretty much this. I'm not the biggest led zeppelin fan, for instance, but I understand their impact and that a vast amount of the music I love wouldn't exist without them. I could never mock someone for being into something groundbreaking that just doesn't do it for me personally.

[@tmamone83]

It's as if Doug Walker forgot that "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" very explicitly says what "Another Brick in the Wall 2" is about. "When we grew up and went to school, there were certain teachers who would hurt the children anyway they could." There it is, right there! Also, when they say none of the cartoon characters in "The Trial" are developed enough for people to care, I'm like, "Um, they're all people from Pink's past. First we get the Schoolmaster, then Pink's wife, and then Pink's mom bursts in. Duh!"

[@Jayagebee]

Tbh, I’ve never even heard about The Metal Meltdown’s review of the Nostalgia Critic’s The Wall.

[@andrewlikesmetal1095]

I'm glad to get a two for one special on mocking Doug's attempt at a "satirical" album. Talk about a good deal! You can't beat value like that!

[@steventalvinzvestal420]

Happy 5 year anniversary to everything wrong in this video.

[@JoshieMadhatt]

The metal review community has come a long way since the days when it was mainly CKN, Blagorath and a few smaller ppls like Runner JMA but now we got BangerTV, Yourself, Questy, Trenches, Forgemaster ( idk if they were around then or not but still ) Also don't be hard on yourself Melty. I really enjoy a good rant sometimes, even if it's a bit cringe. Embrrrace the crrriiiiiinge LOL

[@DashieNegan41]

Happy 5th Anniversary

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

🍺🍺🍺🎉🎉🎉

[@Adnarim00]

Any chance you’ll review the new Officium Triste? 😊

[@messire88]

Thumbs up for the danny sexbang shoutout!

[@blackwaterrust476]

Goddamn, it’s fucking crazy it’s been 5 years…… I feel old, I don’t like that lol. But yeah it was the 1st vid I ever clicked on for you melty. Found your video under a playlist of people talking shit on Nostalgia Critic/Channel Awesome. Seeing you in that video compared now is like Night and Day lmaooo (for the better btw) but I subscribed because I was an dumb edgelord back then and I loved your profanity and anger. Then I found out reviewers like: Questy, Metal Trenches, Forgemaster, Fantano, Myke C Town, Mad Mike. So yeah unironically through that vid I felt like I discovered a Community through that video lol. Awesome vid though it’s really cool to see just how much more mature, intelligent and nuanced your analysis is now compared to years ago. Crazy just how things and people can change in 5 years…..except this album and channel awesome, both still suck. Anyways, off to listen to the actual classic Wall album instead.

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Excellent idea

[@evanheid5336]

0:03 That’s the face I’d make if I had to acknowledge the Nostalgia Critic’s existence in the year 2024.

[@olm8829]

I really have nothing against his existence in 2024, but he definitely should stick to reviewing commercials from the 80-s and some stupid movies.

[@freemonwicher3840]

Dude your original video of this album was how I discovered your channel. Don't be too hard on yourself for being cringe, we've all been cringe in our lives, some of of us still are cringe, but yours is quite benign in comparison to lots and LOTS of other metalheads and people in general who's cringe levels are both severe and have casualties that extend far beyond themselves. You may have a video where you might come off looking a bit immature, but you never did something as full blown cringe apocalypse as say, oh i don't know, becoming a member of a right wing street gang, storming the capital with your face and tattoos showing, bear mace a cop, get arrested, destroy your career and at least 3 bands, get literal shit thrown at you in lockup, and ultimately became a snitch for the FBI for a reduced sentence. so, you know, there's degrees.

[@mattymac1399]

I would rather listen to Meddle or Wish You Were Here, but this Doug individual was definitely wrong regarding The Wall. What a Colin Hunt

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Wish You Were Here has always been my favourite Pink Floyd album. The title track brings me to tears every time, such a beautiful cut.

[@lionlissauer7104]

Only one minute in now... so what's the gin u having? Hey I'm a G&T guy haha

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Aviation, the limited Deadpool edition lmao (as far I can tell it doesn't taste much different though)

[@lionlissauer7104]

@@themetalmeltdownofficial That's actually not a bad gin. Next time mix it with Fever Tree and add sage and licorice root as garnish. And go to town on it! ;)

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Fevertree is actually the tonic water I was using lmao

[@lionlissauer7104]

@@themetalmeltdownofficial Good choice, the stronger the gin (in terms of flavor) the stronger the tonic to counterbalance. There's a G&T bar over here u probably enjoy in case u ever get stranded on the other side of the ocean

[@derekbastien2181]

How much is your liquor bill each week ? lol just curious?

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

Some things are better left unspoken

[@derekbastien2181]

@@themetalmeltdownofficial legendary response lol

[@JoshieMadhatt]

The worst offense of this "album" is Another Brick pt 2 when Critic downplays the school system from back then. It's like my dude he's talking about back in the day. It wasn't just "wah teacher was mean" They used to verbally and physically abuse their students

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

He also just genuinely doesn't understand that song is not about how much American high schools suck or how they're underfunded and just tells Roger in the song 'lol so school sucks, grow a damn pair of balls'. He's downplaying the message while confusing it with a completely different message.

[@JoshieMadhatt]

@@themetalmeltdownofficial I think I was extra pissed off cuz aside from Animals its my fave Floyd album and the one that got me into them in the first place. ( Yes I'm one of those pretentious nerds that think Dark side is overrated just a bit lol)

[@AngusMacThrasherMetalReviews]

I actually don’t know how the hell you managed to listen to this. The first track was enough for me to decide that this album is offensive. I can understand how you got so angry over it in your original video. The album needs to be banned from every social media platform. Pink Floyd definitely should have sued

[@kierenbuckley370]

I respect Doug the nostalgia critic but this was one of his low points

[@Metal.mike89]

Why would you subject yourself to this torture? You might as well do a full video of angelic 2 the core like fantano did next.

[@jesseleavy5841]

The sad thing is I actually really like the Nostalgia Critic. His review of the remake of the Wicker Man had me falling out of my chair with laughter. But this album is absolute trash. I think he's jumped the shark.

[@KatarnCrusader]

Great video. I would only disagree on one thing: Doug Walkers the Wall isn't hilariously bad. Its not "good bad" like movies like The Room or Samurai Cop nor like Corey Feldmans musical outputs -its painful cringe and I would never ever recommend anyone to watch it in its entirety. That would be like telling a friend to drink milk of which I know that its 2 years old, rotten and not white anymore but green. DW The Wall (both album and review) is nothing but a very painful and infiurating experience. Its just so bad - that its sinful, not enjoyable and downright despicable. Its torture! If someone would ask me if would prefer to get waterboarded or listen to one single note of Doug Walkers """""""""""""singing""""""""""""" and to watch a minute from that review again then I would say: Waterboard me twice please and then kick me in the nuts!!!! That said great video and congrats on the fact, that the 5 year old younger you looks older then your 5 years older you. I salute you good Sir!

[@BrainPollution]

I love this video, but considering my affection for The Pink Floyd and the album, THE WALL, I will never, ever give Nostalgia Critic’s THE WALL the time of day. The amount of willful media illiteracy you have pointed out alone leaves me so insulted. It was shocking. Literally jaw dropping. I’m so sorry you had to endure that.

[@DinoSoGreat5000]

So in terms of music...The album is a 0 out of 5 but in terms of historical nostalgic context to the Metal Meltdown, it's a 5 out of 5...Every positive requires a drink lol

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

@@DinoSoGreat5000 I like the way you think

[@korance2808]

The sad thing though? I feel like their are other Nostalgia Critic videos that are even more distasteful and incompetent than The Wall review.

[@tylerhackner9731]

Still crappy

[@no-nowanna]

Doug Walker just isn’t funny. Never understood the hype.

[@__414.88b_]

Still sucks

[@AbrasiousProductions]

you lost me at "non-binary pals" I was expecting a vicious beatdown of walker's idiocy, not wokeness.

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

boo hoo

[@AbrasiousProductions]

@@themetalmeltdownofficial I'm not crying, mildly irritated that wokeness is yet again ruining what could've been a great video, sad to see you blindly accept communism and letting it rot your soul away.

[@themetalmeltdownofficial]

@AbrasiousProductions Yeah nothing says 'communism' quite like acknowledging that non binary people exist lmao

[@MadMike1]

@@AbrasiousProductions You’re so weird

[@AbrasiousProductions]

@@MadMike1 we live in a world where believing in reality is "weird" how does it feel being one of the mindless sheep in a dystopian world? if you sincerely believe there are more than two genders, there is no hope for you.

[@voxextremos22]

Controversial opion Pink floyd is overrated and The wall is pretentious s hell

[@aidanlastname0187]

Pretentious is not a real argument. Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it pretentious.

[@henrygvidonas9573]

What the hell is an "opion"? "The Wall" fails its intended artistic purpose in certain respects. That doesn't mean it's pretentious. One key problem is that Roger Waters included too many different themes that could all fill an entire album, respectively. It's like he tried to squeeze a small library's worth of stories and themes into one big book. David Gilmour always likes to point out that a lot of the tracks on the album are musically really good as individual songs, but the album as a whole doesn't work, in his opinion. I would add that you need to know way too much about the real-life backstories and history to fully understand the lyrics. For example, it's impossible to understand what "Comfortably Numb" is about if you don't know about Waters' nervous breakdown and depersonalisation episode in the Abbey Road Studios cantina (that's what inspired the "there is no pain, you are receding..." part) or the concert on the 1977 "In The Flesh" tour, when a doctor injected him with a tranquiliser, so he could play the show despite being seriously ill and suffering from a high fever and massive stomach cramps. Personally, I think the album just mushroomed into something way too big, complex, and overwhelming for a double LP, in the writing process. But it was an honest attempt at making it all work within one big story, that failed. To me, being pretentious means you dishonestly try to pass off something of little actual substance as something incredibly profound. That's not what happened with "The Wall". They tried to include and condense too much substance into a format that was just too small. As far as the "overrated" thing is concerned, I would need to see the specific "ratings" that refers to. Who rated them when, where and for what? That statement is completely useless to me without a defined frame of context.

[@Hellenicheavymetal]

well i'm not a PF fan but they did influence many of my favorite metal bands so..