Surprise! You guys have been waiting long enough, so I did the write-ups today instead of tomorrow. Again, sorry this one took so long.
---ROUND 7 RESULTS---1st Place: Shadow Ninja 2.0
Celldweller - BirthrightThis song instantly reminded me of Pendulum the first time I heard it, and that's definitely a good thing. I really enjoy electronic music when it's done right… the problem is, Pendulum is pretty much the only electronic artist I've discovered that I think is really good. After listening to this, however, I might have to add one more to that list. Like Pendulum, I'd classify this as electronic rock; while the instrumentation is electronic, the composition and song structure is more rock-based, which is pretty much the best of both worlds for me. It starts out with a really kickass bass riff and an awesome buildup in the first minute. The verses in this song are really damn good; they've got a great beat and vocal melodies, and even some cinematic-sounding strings in the background that sound great. Speaking of strings, the symphonic-sounding choruses feel a bit out-of place, but they're interesting and still pretty good; they just aren't my favorite part of the song or anything. The section after the second chorus is great as well, with some great distorted guitar that really showcases the song's great blending of rock and electronic elements. This was a really good song, and I definitely plan on checking out this album eventually, as I'm very happy to find more great electronic rock. Thank you for sending.
2nd Place: Scorpion
The Oracle - The SorcererFirst thing's first; the quiet sections in this song are evil as fuck. The dark atmosphere is incredibly strong and consuming, with creepy-sounding guitars, whispers, and ambient noises that create a hellish, unsettling soundscape. These sections are done so well that the heavy sections feel quite ordinary and lacking by comparison. That doesn't mean they're bad or anything, in fact they're quite good. It's just that if they were as dark and powerful as the quiet sections, this song would be absolutely amazing. As they are though, they've got some great riffs and some very headbang-able rhythms. While they're heavy, they're also quite melodic for the black metal-esque sound, and they have some surprisingly good guitar solos as well. Overall, this song has some amazing parts and some parts that are just good, so that averages out to a pretty great song overall. Could have been better, but still very enjoyable.
3rd Place: Evermind
Pain Of Salvation - Beyond The PalePain Of Salvation. I've obviously heard of these guys before and I see them being praised on here all of the time, and yes, I have heard some of their stuff before; just nothing I really enjoyed. I got Road Salt One as a gift a while back, and Sisters was the only song on that album I liked at all. Last roulette, I got sent Never Learn To Fly, which wasn't that good. That said, I'm aware that nothing above is that representative of their sound as a whole, so my opinion on them is still a relatively blank slate, and this song was pretty solid. Sound-wise it fits in quite well with the more classic-sounding prog metal bands like Dream Theater, but this song has a slightly unsettling vibe to it that helps give it a somewhat more interesting sound. It also has some really memorable progressions and melodies; the keyboard melody a minute and a half in and just before the first chorus is particularly great. The song clocks in at just under ten minutes long, and overall it's very cohesive and has a good flow; the first few minutes in particular have a really fantastic buildup. On the more negative side, I don't really like the heavy section in the middle with the sort-of-growls, and I think the second half of the song could have maybe introduced more new elements and musical motifs, rather than just exclusively reprising sections from the first half. That doesn't really bother me; it just makes the second half a bit less interesting than the first. While this song didn't amaze me or anything, it's definitely the best thing I've heard from these guys yet, and I can now see why they're so popular around here.
4th Place: Sacul
Chimp Spanner - Under One SkyInstrumentals are usually at a disadvantage for me, but this song was very good. It's surprisingly atmospheric; very bright and floaty. It conjures up some vivid mental images, especially during the calmer sections. The synths and lead guitar are very well done, with great melodies and sounds. The low rhythm guitar is actually my biggest problem with the song. It has a weird tone to it, and something about its place in the mix just sounds off to me; I don't think it works very well with the other instruments. It doesn't ruin the song for me or anything, but this song's strength definitely lies in the other instruments. As a whole though, this song has a good amount of energy, great melodies, and a strong atmosphere, so it definitely gets a thumbs up from me.
5th Place: Dr. DTVT
Orphaned Land - Birth Of The Three (The Unification)This is a prog metal piece with a really strong middle-eastern influence, which gives it a pretty unique and interesting sound. While the song has a good intro, the first half of the track didn't do all that much for me. Thankfully, the song greatly improves halfway through when the tempo changes and the energy really picks up, and from that point on it's pretty great. The driving tempo and the Iron Maiden-esque guitar melodies and harmonies are really nice, and the section towards the end with the wordless vocals (or it could just be a different language) is pretty cool. The growls feel a bit out of place with the instrumentation, but it's not a huge issue. As I said before, this song starts out a bit lackluster and gets a lot better halfway through. If it were a bit more consistent in quality it probably would have ranked higher, but I definitely enjoyed it regardless.
6th Place: senecadawg2
Native Construct - MuteI think the greatest strength of this song is definitely its symphonic and classical elements. The orchestra in the intro creates a really huge sound, and it feels like the other instruments are backing the orchestra up, not the other way around. It also really feels like this song's composition was greatly influenced by classical music, not just because it has an orchestra, but more because of the melodies and chord progressions just reminding me a lot of classical pieces. This gives it a strong atmosphere, especially during the fantastic orchestral section four minutes in. On the more negative side though, this song definitely suffers from a weird flow and lack of focus. The song jumps around way too much in the first half, and some of the more weird, proggy sections like the part two minutes in and the very end don't sound that good to me. As such, I didn't find myself enjoying this song as much as I would have liked. It's got some great elements, for sure, but as a whole I'm not too crazy about it.
7th Place: Lucien
Radiohead - OptimisticI don't have a whole lot to say about this one, but I liked it. The main chord progression and vocal melodies are pretty memorable and enjoyable, and the tones and effects of the layered guitars create a really interesting, experimental sound. I also really like the outro, even though it's only like twenty seconds and the song is basically over at that point. This song gets a thumbs up from me in the sound department, which isn't too surprising since Radiohead, from what I've heard of them, seems to be very good at making experimental, unique-sounding music. Composition-wise, though, this song was just okay. There's nothing really bad about it, but nothing that great either. It's just kinda there.
8th Place: mikemangioy
Evile - In Dreams Of TerrorThis song is, unfortunately, the first submission I've gotten from you this whole roulette that I just didn't like. Judging from this song, this band just seems like a worse version of pre-Black Album Metallica. There's nothing special or unique about the generic thrash metal sound, and the instrumentation and composition just feels pretty bland. The riffs are also pretty basic and unmemorable, for the most part. There were a few parts of the song I thought were okay, namely the intro and the section after the second chorus with the lead guitar arpeggios. The rest is just subpar, and the beginning of that guitar solo almost feels like a parody of wanky metal soloing. I hardly ever feel like listening to Metallica any more, so a less-good version of them has pretty much zero appeal to me. Sorry dude.
Artists banned this round: Celldweller
THE SCORE SO FAR:Scorpion: 52
Evermind: 51
Shadow Ninja 2.0: 50
senecadawg2: 47
mikemangioy: 43
Dr. DTVT: 42
Sacul: 42
Lucien: 37
Scorpion is now in the lead, but just barely! Evermind is still hanging out near the top, and Shadow Ninja's third top-ranking song has landed him a spot in the top three! That said, things aren't over quite yet, as it's finally time for...
THE FINAL ROUNDThe final round is going to be another open round. You can send me whatever you like, but there are two things about this round that make it special:
1: I'm extending the maximum length of submissions to 20 minutes. If there's some song you wanted to send me but it was too long, now you might have the opportunity. Nobody took advantage of this the first roulette, but I'm having the option again in case anyone wants to send me something epic.
2: This round will be worth more points than the other rounds. If you're a bit behind, this is your last opportunity to send something absolutely fantastic and win the roulette! The points awarded for this round are as follows:
1st place: 16 points
2nd place: 14.4 points
3rd place: 12.8 points
4th place: 11.2 points
5th place: 9.6 points
6th place: 7.9 points
7th place: 6.3 points
8th place: 4.7 points
If you're wondering why those numbers are so weird, I put decimals in so ties in the final rankings will be impossible. There can only be one winner, after all. And with the extra points, anyone
(except Lucien, sorry) could still potentially win!
Good luck to all of you.