RESULTS – ROUND 1 (OPEN)So, here we go then. My write ups will be in normal default text, like this. My co-judge’s write ups will be in red, like below, as he is much angrier than me. Our write ups will be short as we’re both reviewing each song, and there are SO MANY OF YOU at the moment.
Hello, I am the mystery judge. To Quote Bilbo Baggins: "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." I've been coming here for my musical fix for a long time. I'm not even much of a fan of the band anymore, but that’s not a huge deal, the band doesn't really come here either. Let’s go.kari: Beach House – Lazuli
Rich 2.5 + Other 2.0 = 4.5Pretty little tune, quite a nice vibe. Doesn’t really grab me massively though, doesn’t really have anything that makes it stand out. Pleasant, but little more.
Let me start by saying that this is a prog metal forum; please consider that when sending me things. Abba2K is not going to cut it. You're lucky you got a 2.Sigz: Portico Quartet – Ruins
Rich 3.0 + Other 2.0 = 5.0I enjoyed this quite a lot. Quite unique instrumentation used very nicely, very cool live feel throughout. Didn’t blow me away though, I guess I was waiting for more of a climax that never seemed to really come.
Again, this is not my thing. When Bill let them use the warehouse for the video did he forget his pair of Weber Grillmaster BBQ's? Why else would they be there for that percussionist to play? And play them he did. I would rather have cooked the saxophone.Marvellous G: Kings of Convenience (ft. Royksopp) – I Don’t Know What I can Save You From
Rich 3.5 + Other 1.0 = 4.5I really, really like this! I love Kings of Convenience, they’re one of my main go-to bands for chillout vibe, but I haven’t heard any remixes of their music before. This was so calming and nice, really lovely atmosphere.
I'll tell you what you can save me from: listening to that again. Was it even Kings of Convenience, or a reinterpretation? Could have been either. I had no idea who they were before, nor will I after this roulette.jingle.boy: Rosewell Six – I Am The Point
Rich 2.0 + Other 3.0 = 5.0Hmm, some nice ideas, but I didn’t feel convinced me. Not sure if it’s the arrangement or the production or what, but it just sounds a bit 2nd tier and amateurish. Not the best performance from The Cheese either. Not bad, but not great.
Well well well, an actual song. I long ago stopped following all of the DT members around like a lost puppy, so I hadn’t even heard of this arrangement of artists. Quite a group! The song over killed with the opera stuff (though probably part of a grander theme) and James has sounded better, but I might actually check it out. So for that alone it gets a 3.Lateralus: maudlin of the well – Birth Pains of Astral Projection
Rich 1.5 + Other 1.0 = 2.5I’ve never been able to get that much into maudlin of the well, and this hasn’t changed my mind as I’ve heard better stuff from them. There were some cool ideas in here, but the song as a whole just feels so meandering.
A score of 1, for making me search the band name, and then sit through more of "that". I had to look up the song name to find out what I was listening to. Then I wiki'd them to find out that their last album was funded by donations from fans. They got what they paid for.orcus116: Meet the Strangers – I Got the Curse
Rich 3.0 + Other 2.0 = 5.0This is quite groovy, nice modern twist on a sort of 60s-70s style. After the first listen I wasn’t really sold on it, but I enjoyed it a lot more on second listen, has a nice build throughout the song. Vocals are a bit of a weak point, but otherwise this is pretty cool.
I liked this style better when the Beatles did it, and did it well. Even the crunchy nugget at the end couldn't save this one. (Side note to Rich, but you can all read - The force isn't strong with this one, probably not round 2 material…) – Only joking, orcus!skydivingninja: Anamanaguchi – Helix Nebula
Rich 2.0 + Other 2.0 = 4.0Afraid to say I just can’t get into chiptune, although I do enjoy some videogame music. I think it’s different in the context of a game though, where it evokes feelings from the story, or whatever. This was pretty enjoyable overall, but not something I feel much desire to listen to again.
You're lucky I'm a bit of a gamer, because really this is as craptastic as some of the onesies. At least it moves along at a decent pace. But at one point in this song I swear I'd heard this as a sitcom theme. Friends maybe?kingshmegland: Slow Motion Reign – Life Simulator
Rich 2.5 + Other 2.5 = 5.0Pretty dark song this, definitely has an interesting and quite intense feel to it. It does drag a bit though, just feels like it doesn’t really go anywhere. I don’t know anything about this band, but I think they have a lot of potential if they could tighten their music a bit.
Well, it was more interesting than most of the others, but that's not saying much. I wound up cleaning gunk out from under my finger nails before it was over, so a resounding "meh".lonestar: The Deadstation – Subsistence Defined
Rich 2.5 + Other 3.5 = 6.0I really enjoyed this at the start, very competent and enjoyable technical metal in the vein of Periphery. But while they’re clearly very talented, there wasn’t anything in the song that really stood out for me, no huge chorus or anything. Good stuff undoubtedly, but just lacking something for me.
I actually turned this one UP. It got overly busy at some points, and the vocals went from big hit to big miss in spots. Hmm, overall I liked, quite a bit. Well done.Nekov: Arena – Bedlam Fayre
Rich 3.0 + Other 2.5 = 5.5This is a very nicely done straightforward prog song. Good song-writing, nice sense of melody and rhythm, very nice song overall. It does border on being overly cheesy though, particularly in the lyrics.
You picked a band I know very well and enjoy quite a bit. You may do well in the next round as well. I won't fault you for sending me a song I already enjoy, but I can't overly reward you for it either. None of you were given much to go on with respect to the mystery. Still, good tune.Ħ: Massive Attack – Angel
Rich 2.5 + Other 2.0 = 4.5Interesting song, atmospheric, nice build up and then down again. Didn’t wow me though – I can’t think of anything wrong with it as such, but I just don’t have that much good to say either. Good song but nothing special.
Bleak song, only familiarity saved it as it has appeared in more TV and movie soundtracks than I can count. It's building to something, and is an interesting creation, but it’s not even music. It's like a theme for an event, if that makes sense.Zantera: The Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight, Tonight
Rich 3.0 + Other 1.5 = 4.5This is a very nice song, one of my favourites by the Smashing Pumpkins, but I know it quite well. I’m capping songs I’m already a big fan of to a score of 3, although that’s probably what I would have given it anyway.
Obviously we weren't going to put every artist in history on the DON'T SEND list. Tut tut Z. This song hasn't grown on me since it first came out. YtseBitsySpider: Judas Priest – Turbo Lover
Rich 1.5 + Other 1.5 = 3.0Sorry dude, I’ve heard a bit of JP before (even seen them live at a festival) and I’ve just never dug them. Like with Lat’s submission, I’m afraid this hasn’t changed my mind. It’s not terrible, a decent hard rock song, but there’s just nothing find very interesting in it.
See Above. We all know Priest. This is the album we all forgot. Heck even Priest fans don't like to acknowledge it exists, so why should I?TheVoxyn: Radiohead – Paranoid Android
Rich 3.0 + Other 1.5 = 4.5I love this song, but again I’m already a big fan of it. You weren’t necessarily to know that, but that’s all part of the roulette. As I said, I’m capping songs I’m already a big fan of to a score of 3, so that’s what you get because this is one of my favourite Radiohead songs.
People, please. Artist and name of the song! Yup, another I had to google the song title to find out who the hell I was listening to. Ten more listens would not have this grow on me. Sorry Mr Voxyn. This one is up-beat, and gets pretty crazy near the midway point. But in reality I had to ask myself, would I ever listen to this again unless I was being paid to do so, and the answer was no.Ultimetalhead: Dog Fashion Disco – The Hitchhiker
Rich 3.0 + Other 2.0 = 5.0And again another song I know very well, and in this case you definitely knew because you asked about it in the thread! Totally insane song, as so much of their music is, and the random lounge jazz in the middle still cracks me up. You get a capped score of 3.
It's demented alright. I don't know. It's not quite as bad as the bottom tier this round but it's not grabbing me like lonestar's or jingle's, so it's something. A bit like Devin Townsend. Except I like Devin.Obscure: Tellus Requiem – Red Horizon
Rich 2.0 + Other 2.5 = 4.5Decent enough prog metal, but I dunno, it just doesn’t excite me very much. Sounds like a lot of stuff I’ve heard before, but not as interesting. There were some good bits, and the band play very nicely, but overall I end up a little underwhelmed I’m afraid.
Alright, it is as you described, mostly. Great hooks, great melodies. But the arrangement is sloppy; it's all over the place just to be, well, all over the place. It suffers from some traditional euro prog metal problems too. It over-does the operatic vocal styles and backing vocals, like spaghetti with too much garlic. I don't know if the keyboardist only uses that tone, but it was finger nails on the blackboard to me, just awful.Heretic: In Colour – All That I've Been Waiting For
Rich 4.0 + Other 2.0 = 6.0YES! Absolutely love this. Great sound, and I like the blend between pop sensibilities and a hard rock vibe. Really great singer as well, draws me right into the music. I had a listen to the other song they’ve released which was also lovely. These two songs have got me excited in anticipation of a full release from them!
I'll have to speak to Rich about updating the no-submission list, I guess it should have included no Duran Duran. Oh wait, that's not who this is, is it? I can tell you what I was waiting for, this song to get good. I guess they'll let anyone pick up instruments these days. Better luck next round.Gorille85: Lorn - Weigh Me Down
Rich 2.5 + Other 2.0 = 6.0This is one hell of a weird song, but then I’ve come to expect that from you.
It has a very cool, dark, gothic vibe to it. I also find it interesting in the way it incorporates the electronic elements, but I’m not convinced they quite work for me, which means a lot of the track ends up feeling a little awkward. Not bad though.
I can't score it low just because I don't like it can I? Yup I can, and I just did. Very much noise to me. Sorry Gorille.The scores after round 1:Heretic - 6
lonestar - 6
Nekov - 5.5
jingle.boy - 5
kingshmegland - 5
orcus116 - 5
Sigz - 5
Ultimetalhead - 5
Gorille85 - 4.5
Ħ - 4.5
kári - 4.5
Marvellous G - 4.5
obscure - 4.5
TheVoxyn - 4.5
Zantera - 4.5
skydivingninja - 4
YtseBitsySpider - 3
lateralus88 - 2.5
Mixed first round, some stuff didn’t work for me, and some I loved! As you can see I’m capping stuff I already know very well, to try and inspire a bit more innovation. Looking at the scores, the people at the top really pleased either me or my co-judge (although there was nothing we both loved), while those at the bottom failed to impress either of us. It’s all very close in the middle though!
Well that was Round 1. I'm mostly very disappointed. The only song I listened to many more times with genuine keenness was lonestar's. I hope you all get out of the fog you're in and hit me over the head with some Champion worthy tunes.Round 2 – KeyboardsThis time we want music with strong and interesting use of keyboards, either throughout the song or as a solo.
I'm not sure about setting a deadline for this, because I go away on holiday on Wednesday for 10 days. If everyone can submit songs very quickly, then we might be able to turn it around before I go, but otherwise the absolute deadline will be the 29th December when I get back.
Poll
Topic: Roulette of Champions - FINAL RESULTS, pg 15! (Read 58673 times)