Okay, so unlike Tyrias, I'm not copping out.
I used three different point values to score these five songs, and there's a total of a 1.5 point spread. I haven't looked at the scores in a while, so I no idea if I'm affecting who advances beyond this point. I do know that I'm probably helping Mr. Red out by being partially to blame for any changes in score.
Two people who are "mad" at me took first and second for me this round. So they can get over it.
Evermind: Fish - ClichéSo, this prog rock ballad is really, really good. The opening piano-driven section features Fish singing some subtly cool vocal melodies that then kick us into the main part of the song. Fish's voice, of course, takes center stage, being that this is his solo album. He absolutely shines on this track, singing a lot of good melodies with a lot of emotion and power.
The instrumentation is not lacking in any way, either. Those characteristic prog rock keyboards weave their way through the song, producing a lot of good music and being an important component of the way this song builds tension with a quiet section and resolves it with a loud one. You can hear the keyboard parts starting to build up in intensity along with Fish’s voice going into the big, loud sections, and then receding to just piano and backdrop keyboard playing for the quieter parts, like the chorus. I always like it when an artist flips listener expectations by playing a loud verse and a quiet chorus.
There’s also a slight false ending on the line “I love you," which is something else I love, that then leads into a dramatic return.
Really, this is just as strong of a prog rock love song as you can imagine. It embraces some prog rock tropes like those prog rock synthesizer sounds, but uses them to create a really awesome song that builds and recedes. It’s a really good song and my choice for best of the round.
Nekov: Von Hertzen Brothers - Bring Out the SnakesOkay, this was definitely a risky submission. I don’t really know how to describe this song, but it is definitely an unconventional choice.
Unfortunately, this risk will not really pay off where I am concerned.
The song starts with a lengthy spoken-word section that takes up about a quarter of the song and that really doesn’t do anything for me. I don’t know why it’s there and I don’t particularly care for it. It doesn’t really seem to add much to the song as far as I’m concerned.
Fortunately, the main song does have more to like than the intro. It’s by no means a song that I would rate altogether too highly, but there are some good parts. The first half or so of the song seems to wander a bit and not have a clear direction. There are some good vocal parts in the first quiet section, as there are later in some of the more chorus-like vocal sections. The “come on press rewind” section is downright good, and at that point the song really finds a groove and does some stuff that I actually like a fair bit and find pretty memorable.
Is this a good song? Yes. Do I find it enjoyable to listen to? If you cut off the two minutes of “push the friggin' button” at the beginning, yes. But it seems to be somewhat lost for at least half of its runtime and doesn’t really find its way until the last few minutes. It’s a decent song, but it’s not going to cut it.
Sacul: David Bowie - LazarusIn a move unprecedented in this roulette, I’m going to not “meh” two of Sacul’s submissions in a row!
Because how could I “meh” this? This a song with great atmosphere, some really good melodies, tons of emotion and an ability to work with and build tension. His voice is really fitting for this song, and he gives an honest, emotional performance. The melodies played by the guitar and the brass instruments are really nice (though the guitar tone is a little too jagged, that’s not a huge deal here and I get why it is that way here).
There’s a really good build in tension in this song, as well. It starts off being a pretty sparse, sonically and by the climax, it’s build up a ton of tension. He does a lot of that buildup with his voice, just going through sequentially more emotive vocal parts up to the “bluebird" section, when the instrumentation takes over in terms of building intensity. The song reaches a strong climax and then works its way back down, which is all done really nicely.
I like this song quite a bit. There’s a lot to appreciate here in terms of emotional value as well as just good, solid songwriting from the late legend. Rest in peace, Mr. Bowie.
Scorpion: Distorted Harmony - MisguidedThis is one of the heaviest songs of the roulette to this point, which is the type of thing that might make you worry a bit where I’m concerned.
Nope. I really like this song, including how heavy it is. It’s one of those heavy songs that manages to be have some really thick, crunchy, heavy guitars without sacrificing any melody whatsoever. In part, this is because of the subtle but important keyboard presence, but the guitars themselves play melodic riffs, even at their heaviest. The singer also helps—his voice is gentle enough to bring a pleasant sense of melody and compliment the quiet sections very well, and powerful enough to work decently well on the heavier choruses.
This is one of those songs that I like because it has a good sense of tension, and builds and resolves tension alternately at various parts of the song. Actually, all of my top three songs are good at working with tension. This one is the strongest exercise in contrasts, of course, as it works back and forth between some sections of really heavy riffing and some really soft clean guitar parts. The highlight is when the instrumental section ends and the instruments drop in volume briefly before the band launches into the final chrous. That’s a cool moment for sure.
And it’s all tied together by a big anthemic chorus. So what’s not to like? Overall, this is a prog metal song that typifies some of the best elements of the genre without sounding like a Dream Theater or Symphony X clone. It’s not world-shattering or even my favorite song of this round, but it’s a good song and an enjoyable listen.
Btw, Evermind, I feel I know your tastes well enough to tell you that this isn’t djent.
senecadawg2: Neil Young - Like a HurricaneNeil Young is an artist with whom I actually have a slight degree of familiarity—my dad is a fan of his. So I’m sure I’ve heard this song more than once before, but I haven’t heard it recently and don’t particularly recognize it, so that doesn’t affect the scoring.
Like some others, I’ve never been particularly fond of Neil Young’s voice. It doesn’t send me into a blind rage or anything, but there’s something in his tone that comes out sometimes that isn’t exactly the most pleasing thing. Fortunately, 1) the vocal melodies themselves in this song are pretty nice and 2) a relatively small portion of this song’s runtime is vocal parts.
The guitar work in this song is undoubtedly its main attraction, and deservedly so. There are two really good guitar solos in this one, that both display a great deal of virtuosity and feel. I mean, really, he just rattles off two great solos in this one.
So, I really like this one a lot. The mild annoyance of his vocal tone aside, this is a really good song. Melodically, it has good parts, and it has some excellent guitar work as well.
Topic: 2016 Roulette Championship v. THE CONCLUSION (Read 106446 times)
