Round 2 Results:LordCost: Vangough – Corporatocracy First Impressions: Okay, I got the right track this time. I see what you mean, the lyrics here are pretty reminiscent of Pain of Salvation’s Scarsick. But the joke’s on you because I am not a huge fan of that album, and the lyrics are overly preachy even in the songs I do like, oops. And it’s a shame you sent this instead of the first one I listened to, because… this doesn’t jive as much for me. It’s pretty cool, in its own right, but… well, you made the comparison yourself, and while it wasn’t very evident in the first song, it’s WAAAY too evident here. There’s some cool rhythms and the instruments have plenty of breathing room, at least, I see myself warming up to this one with relistens since it does kind of fit in with the stuff I’ve been listening to as of late. But I preferred the other track I listened to a fair bit more, I see myself listening to this album in full at some point at the very least, though.
Final Thoughts: Yeah, see… I don’t unconditionally love Pain of Salvation. Scarsick and Road Salt 1 are pretty mediocre all-around, and even when I do listen to Scarsick I tend to skip about half the album because… some of it is really, truly terrible and pretentious. And this is too. This is very pretentious. I really can’t help but find it pretentious when bands, who sell music to make a living, write about capitalism. The funniest thing is that I had to switch browsers to keep listening to this one because bandcamp was going to make me pay to keep listening. But yeah, I really don’t like the lyrics here, they’re kind of groan-inducing.
And the music? Well, it’s alright. Overall pretty fine, not that special. The best part is, literally, stolen from Pain of Salvation, like, sorry, but that’s not a tribute, that’s plagiarism. It’s weird, ‘cause I kind of can’t stand Miss Modern Mother Mary, but the riff here, being lower in octave, is more listenable, and it’s not an entire song of just that riff either, so. I really don’t like the vocal on the chorus though, they’re kind of grating.
The absolute tragedy of the situation here is that… well, I did accidentally listen to a different song from this album first, and… I liked it, a lot more. Easy 8 or 8.5 right there, I did go and relisten to it a few times and it held up. I think, because of that song, I might still give this album a full listen at some point, but solely on the basis of the one I was sent, I almost certainly wouldn’t have. This song is definitely one I liked less and less with each listen, and I almost feel like the score I gave it is too generous, but at the same time anything lower feels too low because, it’s not awful, just… frustrating.
Score: 6/10Shadow Ninja 2.0: Homestuck – MoonsetterFirst Impressions: I guess the instruments are probably real. The piano sounds kind of fake but it probably isn’t. It sounds very… artificial, though, even if it’s real. The strings have plenty of life in them though. The melodies here are nice and the piano chords keep it bright and peppy, and it’s short enough to not get tired of it. Can’t say I have any real problem with this kind of stuff, even if it’s firmly outside of my comfort zone. This is probably happier than 95% of my music library, for one. I appreciate you taking risks with your entries, even if they don’t always work out – I don’t imagine this will be one of the highest scoring tracks this round, but I’m glad I listened to it nonetheless.
Final Thoughts: I think that the strings constantly doing new things is what keeps this from getting too repetitive for me, that and the short length. ‘Cause yeah, I definitely wouldn’t want this to be much longer. It’s a nice, cheery piano and strings piece. I used to read Homestuck but stopped a while back, the music did tend to be fairly decent in it though, not that I remember much of it. I think the score is mostly a result of “this isn’t something I’m going to choose to listen to ever again” but it’s far from awful. I at least get something out of it, which is more than I can say about your last entry. And I really do appreciate the risk-taking, keep it up and you’ll get the .5 bonus every round at this rate, and maybe you’ll find something that really clicks with me. (The self-imposed under three minute challenge might not have been the best idea though.)
Score: 6.5 (+.5 Bonus) = 7/10Sacul: Pure Reason Revolution – Goshen's RemainsFirst Impressions:
It’s weird because it kind of has no intro in the video linked? I mean looking at the album listing it’s the second track, so I assume it just fades in from the previous track. The cleaner guitars on top of the heavier guitars makes it sound very textured, and that’s a full sound that I do like. It’s a bit samey-sounding overall though and I’m finding it hard to say much about this. Far from bad, just… not the most interesting, especially compared to a lot of the other stuff I’ve gotten this round.
Final Thoughts: Not much to say on this one, either, I think. On the whole, I’m perfectly fine with this. It just… never really got past the “being pleasant but not that interesting” phase. I like the vocal melodies/harmonies. I like that it’s nicely textured, it’s a very full-sounding song. There’s absolutely nothing about this I dislike. It’s the right length, there’s no bad additions that drag the song down. It’s a little mellow the entire way through but I think that works in its favor. The bridge near the end with the vocals layering over each other is a pretty cool moment. There’s just not much about this I have to say. I like it. I don’t love it.
Score: 7.5/10Tomislav95: Seventh Wonder – Welcome To Mercy FallsFirst Impressions: I like that the bass is mixed just loud enough that I can hear all the cool stuff it’s doing. And I can appreciate the technicality of the playing. But this isn’t doing as much for me as the other progressive metal stuff this round, at least not yet. It’s just like. Yeah, this is technical, and yeah, it sounds pretty decent. It sounds a lot like Dream Theater to me. It’s awash with lots of different riffs and licks, and a fair bit of soloing, but that doesn’t matter as much when none of it really hooks me in any way. I’m gonna give this a fair chance, though, maybe I’ll warm up to it.
Final Thoughts: There’s just something about this… the song has no breathing room. The guitars are all “GOTTA BE CONSTANTLY DOING SOMETHING” so there’s all these 16th note runs where it should probably be more relaxed, and it doesn’t take very long for them all to sound exactly the same to me. I don’t think this song goes five seconds without a 16th note run on guitar, though, seriously, cool your jets, geez. Sure, some of the riffs are pretty decent, but the need to constantly show off just takes me out of it. The riffs could be cooler if they were more polished.
As well, some of the vocals irk me. The “we all have faith in you line” is just sung in the most grating way, and the chorus doesn’t impress me much either. Totally fine as a singer in general, just not really my type of singer. The instrumental break has some cool bits to it, I’m totally okay with the instruments going crazy for a minute or two at that point.
Like, I wish I could like this more than I do, ‘cause I like me some good prog metal, but this ends up muddled down with the prog mindset of showing off instead of writing a good song, or at least to me it does. I still enjoy it plenty, it’s a fine enough song, but it’s not making me too interested in checking out more from this band. The 30-minute song I listened to from them during 425’s roulette I remember being pretty okay though, I guess. This though, ehh. It’s alright! It’s not that strong though.
Score: 7.5/10FlyingBIZKIT: Susanne Sundfør – The Silicone VeilFirst Impressions: She’s definitely a very good singer, at least technically speaking, though emotionally this is leaving me a bit cold. I think the build at the start of the song takes a bit too long, the song doesn’t really kick in until two minutes in, though it gets more engaging once it does kick in, for sure. The climax near the end of the song is very cathartic, as well, the build there and the addition of the strings combined with her voice make for a very powerful moment. It’s just a shame the first half or so of the song left me cold, but maybe I’ll warm up to it with further listens.
Final Thoughts: Okay, so I warmed up to the vocals. I don’t know why they felt cold to me at first. And it’s probably not too slow to kick in, though maybe it could’ve kicked in a bit sooner. I have no clue what exactly the lyrics are about but they seem pretty heavy-handed, though that fits the mood. The production once the song kicks in is pretty good, has a bit of a pulse and some nice synths and strings. Like I said on my first listen, the climax with the strings is gorgeous.
Still, I’m not hugely sold on this one yet. The ending feels a bit too long, and she’s a good singer but not especially interesting. It’s a very pretty song though. I may check out more from her, I know some people have sent other songs in roulettes and were met with pretty good scores for those entries so maybe there’s something I’m missing.
Score: 7.5 (+.5 Bonus) = 8/10Train of Naught: Shinedown – 45 (Acoustic)First Impressions: Well you’ve got guts sending me an acoustic song after my rating for Tallest Man on Earth last round, that’s for sure. Luckily for you, I feel like it’s going to pay off here, ‘cause goddamn, man, can this guy sing. Technically sound and very powerful as well. I’m probably going to check out the non-acoustic version at some point, I imagine I’ll like it even more than this one, but I’m already pretty happy with this one, as simple as it is. The instrumentation doesn’t even feel too small for how powerful the guy’s voice is, though, which is pretty impressive for an acoustic performance.
Final Thoughts: I did give the normal version of this a listen, and… yeah, the vocals seem stronger on this version, I think I agree with that decision. The vocal performance is what really makes this song. The acoustic accompaniment is good too, it can match the intensity of the singer when it needs to, but it’s not the main attraction. The song is probably about suicide, I guess, it sounds like it. There’s very little I can really say about this, though, just a strong acoustic performance. If I could say anything, I think it did wear on me a little by the fourth and fifth listens, but I still think it’s a pretty powerful song.
Score: 8/10Elite: Jolly – Where Everything’s PerfectFirst Impressions: Nice bright keyboard intro that deceives the actual heavy nature of the song. Though the song really does have a pretty bright feel all-around. Really digging the syncopation of the guitar, bass, and drums on the verses, creates a real punchy sound that fits with the kind of music mood I’ve been in lately. The instrumental break is pretty cool too, a nice bass lick, and delicious 7/8 time, my favorite time signature. I’m just really digging the syncopation, though, that kind of stuff is cool. I think, maybe, the song might drag a bit at the end though, the entire last minute feels like it could be cut entirely.
Final Thoughts: This is the other song this round that wore on me a little by the fourth or fifth listen. It’s perhaps a little repetitive, mostly. But that doesn’t stop me from recognizing that it’s a pretty cool song. The syncopation throughout works well. The bright atmosphere of the entire song is a bit of a change of pace from most metal but here, it definitely works. The 7/8 instrumental break in the middle is also something I quite dig, for sure, cool bass groove and syncopation, a cool heavy moment.
Not sure I care too hugely for the child bit and the sample before the last verse. Really cheesy. I kind of like the heavy outro with the dissonant piano chords but it maybe could’ve been cut down a bit, yeah. It’s a bit out of place with the tone of the rest of the song, too, but what do I know. I like this one a lot, still.
Score: 8/10425: Coldplay – Midnight (Live)First Impressions: I should tell you that I –never- watch videos for songs on youtube (and I’m actually youtube-to-mp3’ing as much as I can so I don’t even have the video) so I hope it’s cool live like you say it is, I might watch it once? I do really like the atmosphere being created here. A bit empty, but not tooooo empty. Okay, maybe a bit too empty. Spending two-thirds of the song feeling like an intro might have been a tiny bit too much. I do see what you mean though, it’s a quiet song and it stays a quiet song, but textured enough to keep a good atmosphere going. Vocoder isn’t my favorite thing ever but it works well enough for this song, also. Mmm. Okay.
Final Thoughts: Yeah… warmed up to this one, for sure. The atmosphere works, very well. And I actually think the vocoder was a good choice for the atmosphere. It fits in. It’s a very haunting, calm song. I actually think the louder parts are probably the weakest, now, but they were probably necessary to keep it from getting monotonous. There’s very little to really say about this but I get why you like it, for sure. Maybe I don’t feel as strongly, but it was one of the better tracks this round.
Score: 8 (+.5 Bonus) = 8.5/10mikemangioy: Destiny Potato – AddictFirst Impressions: I actually listened to one Destiny Potato track before and didn’t like it very much, so maybe putting that on my wishlist was a bit mean, but also not really, ‘cause it sounds like the kind of band I would want to get into. I don’t think it was this track though ‘cause the wackiness of the intro here seems fresh to me. What is that instrument, a sitar I think? Maybe? I dig the crunchy riffs here and, gotta be honest, I don’t think any other djent band has had a singer that fits the music as well here. High-pitched male vocals? Ehh, okay. Bad growls? Heck no. But a good female singer who can match the intensity of the music? Yes, I see exactly why this works so well. I'm surprised more people haven't thought of it. I also dig the instrumental breakdown, mostly because I can’t quite wrap my head around it, but it sounds cool. I think the drums are adding an extra 16th while the rest are keeping a steady rhythm? Or something? Hmm. Oh, okay, there are the token djent growls™. I think that’s a trope that needs to die, my favorite djent stuff has no growls at all (TesseracT, Skyharbor, Cloudkicker etc.)
Final Thoughts: Seriously, this is more interesting than most of the djent stuff I’ve heard solely on the basis of having female vocals instead of the whiny male vocals or horrible growls most djent has. Well, this has the growls for like one section, and that does bring the whole thing down a bit for me, but otherwise. The synths at the start are cool too, a weird darker pop feel to them. And the sitar or whatever, it has good energy and adds a bit of extra flavor to the song. The djent grooves are pretty cool throughout too, the instrumental break has all sorts of fun with rhythm especially. Definitely will check out more from Destiny Potato, not much to complain about and it’s a pretty cool song all-around.
Score: 8.5/10senecadawg2: Circus Maximus – Architect of Fortune First Impressions: I think I might have heard something from this band before, but I’m not sure, and I’ve never really checked them out. The kind of groove this song’s intro has is something I really dig, though. This is definitely a darker tune, so I might be biased to dig it more though. Honestly, songs like this make me remember why I still like prog metal at all anymore, it’s not a show-offy kind of song at all, the band is using time signature changes and technicality to make music that has a cool groove and a nice energy to it. Better damn well believe I’m interested in this album, though, if you’re sending me a ten minute track that I dig this much on first listen.
Final Thoughts: Yeah, the riffs here… they are fantastic. Heavy as hell, I can really get into the rhythm of them. It’s just, this isn’t very show-offy. There are technical bits, but they’re not the entire song, and some of the more technical stuff is really goddamn cool, I love the chaotic bit that first appears right before the first verse. And the atmosphere of the quieter verses is fantastic, the chorus is very big and bright as a counterpoint to the darkness of most of the rest of the song, the vocals aren’t over the top at all, not the best singer but it fits the song very well.
The song refrains from being repetitive, too, the first time the chaotic bit is reprised there’s a bit of a twist on it, so it’s not exactly the same. The guitar provides a nice polyrhythm for the second verse and keeps it more energetic than the first. Gotta love the quiet, atmospheric break in the middle, too. This really flies by for a ten minute song, gosh. The guitar solo has a lot of class too, pretty restrained for the first bit, chaotic for the second, and powerful for the last bit. Goes a lot of places without feeling overindulgent or pointless.
A nice long prog metal song with cool grooves and riffs, tasteful soloing, and tons of atmosphere? Yes, please. Was on the fence between 9 and 9.5, but I think in the end I gotta go with the latter.
Score: 9.5/10Current Standings:Sacul – 17.5
Elite – 17
mikemangioy – 17
senecadawg2 - 17
425 – 16.5
Tomislav95 – 16
LordCost - 14.5
FlyingBIZKIT - 14.5
Train of Naught - 13.5
Shadow Ninja 2.0 - 11.5
Send Round 3! Would like to have these as soon as possible.