Round One Results
Just before we get started on results I wanted to give a little legend on what each rating means to me:
5 - Really enjoyed the song. Perhaps the song is just as good as a song ranked 4, but this had some kind of X factor. Will check the band out further for sure.
4 - Great song. Perhaps just as good as a 5 but lacking that X factor. Might check it out further if I feel like it.
3 - Good song. A song I enjoyed listening to but nothing to write home about.
2 - Not my style. Just not the kind of song I'm into. Probably really good at what it's trying to be, but what it's trying to be is not something I like.
1 - What the fuck am I listening to?
With that, here we go:
5 - Thank You Scientist - My Famed Disappearing Act - Sir Walrus Cauliflower
Ohh boy I wasn't expecting to get something I liked this much right off the bat. When the song started I thought I was in for some typical technical metal stuff, but I got a pleasant surprise. There are some definite Coheed and Cambria influences here, which is not that surprising seeing as the band is signed to Evil Ink. This was so cool. Already started checking out their other work.
4 - Native Construct - Mute - Train of Naught
Again I'll mention I expected a typical Prog Metal tune here but was presently surprised. A really interesting blend of styles that I dig, but not quite as cohesive as I normally like. Still, good song.
4 - David Maxim Micic - Where is Now? - Sacul
Once more a pleasant surprise. This song really takes you on a journey, and an enjoyable one. It was surprising to hear scatting in a metal song (assuming that was scatting and not a language I'm not familiar with that happens to sound exactly like scatting), but pretty cool.
4 - Sigur Ros - Svefn-g-englar - Senecadawg2
I have a strange relationship with post rock. I almost always enjoy it when I hear it, but it's never been something I really want to go out of my way to hear. Ultimately it's the same with this track. Enjoyable, mellow, pretty, but not necessarily something I'm going to look into further.
4 - Streetlight Manifesto - The Three of Us - Ultimetalhead
This was cool. Is this ska? I don't know. Definitely a cool song, quite enjoyable to listen to. Not sure what else to say.
3 - The Smiths - A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours - Shadow Ninja 2.0
I've never really heard the Smiths before and this was an interesting introduction. I found the instrumental portion sort of underwhelming but the vocal performance was cool.
3 - Oceansize - Dead Dogs An' All Sorts - Parama
This was a nice little song but it leaves me feeling sort of unsatisfied. It gives the impression of being the intro song to something bigger, and I wish whatever that was was a part of it. Still, this part is enjoyable enough on its own.
3 - Thrice - The Whaler - Scorpion
I'm familiar with a few Thrice songs (specifically Daedalus, which Scorpion originally tried to send in...would have been a 5 if I wasn't familiar with it, and The Artist in the Ambulance) but that's about it. This song was pretty cool but not really inspiring me to check out the rest of their catalogue.
2 - Mahavishnu Orchestra - Meeting of the Spirits - Fluffy Lothario
Alright, so, definitely some impressive instrumentation going on here. The people playing this music are clearly talented. That being said, nothing about this song really grabbed me, even on repeated listens. This sorta stuff just really isn't my style.
2 - Angels and Airwaves - Secret Crowds - Stadler
I am hesitant to use the word emo as a genre, especially because of the negative connotations. Instead I will use the term pop-punk. I'm not really into pop-punk in general unless there's something about it that sets it apart for me. This didn't really have that. The instrumental portions were good, but I just really, really abhor this style of vocals.
Standings:
Sir Walrus Cauliflower - 5
Train of Naught - 4
Sacul - 4
Senecadawg2 - 4
Ultimetalhead - 4
Shadow Ninja 2.0 - 3
Parama - 3
Scorpion - 3
Fluffy Lothario - 2
Stadler - 2
The theme for round 2 will be: Female vocalists. I did a similar round last time and was quite happy with the results. I'll prefer songs with only a female singer, but songs with two singers, one being male, are fine too.
Note: I also moved the banlist to the OP and added a few bands to it.