The "journalist" was comparing NMA to U2 and The Sex Pistols, Justin to Simon Le Bon, and Robert Heaton to Charlie Watts!...
If I remember correctly, in the documentary "Between Dog and Wolf: The NMA Story," someone says that NMA was constantly mocked by the British music press in the 80s and 90s, that NME magazine didn't like...NMA! I thought it was an exaggeration because I had found press clippings, British reviews favorable to "The Ghost of Cain," "Thunder and Consolation," and "Impurity," but this NME review of "Impurity" seems to support the idea of a band absurdly treated by the British press at the time. Name me some others English Rock bands that have had a loyal following for years and have been regularly criticized by the English music press? I imagine there must be a few?