Round 1 ResultsBeware, the writeups aren't in ascending order from worst to best, they're in an entirely random order.
Twosuitsluke: The Fall of Troy – F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.I remember being slightly shocked when I saw Closure In Moscow change their facebook profile to a touring poster that said they were going to be the supporting act of The Fall of Troy, somehow I always thought TFOT were a somewhat technical prog metal band or something, based on some posts I’ve seen on reddit and stuff. But apparently, they’re touring The Netherlands too, and I love CIM, so if this one turns out well I might just go see them.
I don’t know if you’re consciously basing this on any of the artists and bands that I listen to, but there’s a lot of resemblances to some of my other regulars. For instance, I guess I would call this music At The Drive-In light or something? I don’t really listen to ATDI but I am a big fan of Cedric on TMV so yeah. They sound like a blend of ATDI and Closure In Moscow’s album “First Temple“, and there‘s a considerably lower amount of screams here compared to ATDI. There’s some awesome proggy elements to flavour it up a bit but my favorite moments are probably where they go a bit more ‘chaotic‘, that crazy over-the-top post-hardcore direction. I would say that this is solid in every way at lowest, and some things (chorus for example) are among round 1 standouts. Maybe not a round winner but it’s a very cool song overall and this might just cause an upset amongst the Train Roulette veterans.
Yeah I feel with Closure In Moscow’s First Temple it’s a bit too much of the same thing at times but this is definitely more diverse because of the proggy stuff and even though it’s only a bit short of 4 minutes it takes the listener a lot of places. One second you’re in this punk-rock anthem and next thing you know there’s this post-hardcore breakdown. It’s a bit of a tough one to rate because on one hand everything is solid as fuck but nothing elevates it to that round-winner level like the Arstidir song for example, or the Woods of Ypres, which were my two favorite from first impression.
Well, this may not have been my absolute favorite, but it was always sure that this song was one of the most, if not the single most thing I kept wanting to return to in this round, it’s such a fun song and while that’s pretty much all there is to it, it does the task perfectly and I have to give you props for that. Might just go see this band when they come here soon.
8.0/10Guessed:#1
Placement:#7
Difference:+6
Shadow Ninja 2.0: Nightingale – Shadowman A band name I’ve seen oh so often around, be it reddit, music stores or DTF, I associated them with symphonic metal because the band has ‘Night‘ in its name and so does Nightwish.
And I guess it’s not really symphonic, I guess it’s metal/progmetal or something related. It kicks off with a cool riff and pretty awesome leads. There’s some good moments here and there but after one listen I’m not that impressed, hope it’s a grower. For instance, I like when the song turns acoustic after the first chorus and then again in the end, but it’s only some slim sections. I guess it would’ve been a bit better too if I was more of a fan of this vocalist, there’s a certain something in his voice that doesn’t really win me over. So this song is currently sitting in the “has some good moments but not enjoying it too much as a whole“ category.
I feel bad because apart fom the vocals I can’t really point out exactly what I don’t like about it, it’s just a good-not-great chorus, pretty great acoustic stuff going on a few moments and the rest is just a bit of a blur to me, sorry man. There’s nothing I actively dislike fortunately, so it’s still a decent score.
I guess, after a few more listens in, it’s a bit easier to point out. There’s some very standard riffage throughout the entire song, which I don’t mind on its own. But that’s where the vocals come in, because it makes the song really reliant on that factor, and that was more of a miss with me unfortunately. Still, not a bad song by any means, and that lead guitar riff that’s introduced right away in the intro is pretty sick and quite the earworm, but overall I would mark this song with “just good“
6.5/10Guessed:#4
Placement:#11
Difference:+7
Evermind: Árstíðir - Síðasta kveðjanRuslan is the first person to re-send me an artist of the debut roulette and it’s a submission I really admire. As this was not a cheapshot at sending something off a band I already liked a LOT in my first roulette, but rather trying to show me a very different side of this band, props for that.
I love me some good calm music and this one is no different, everything sounds solid from the first listen, the layered vocals are really beautiful in the climax-building process and once the acoustic guitar comes in the song really starts to feel like an adventure of sorts. I’m really glad how this whole Arstidir situation turned out to be honest because half a year ago I would not have appreciated this kind of music nearly as much as I do now, in terms of ‘beautiful‘ music, this is about as good as it gets. I’m tempted to say the violin solo is good but not great, but it does make for some amazing transitioning into the final climax.
If 425’s EP from the first roulette was any indication, I can dig some intimate piano-driven stuff when it fits with the atmosphere, and that’s definitely the case here too. In my mind the song is divided up into four sections, the first three being introduced by the piano, acoustic guitar and violin respectively, and the final one being the climax/song finale. The thing is, no part outweighs the other, and that’s a fantastic attribute to have in a song of this length if you ask me. It’s one naturally flowing piece with clear “chapters“ and I love all of them. And I think a very essential element of this song is that it would be very tempting to go with an absolutely huge finale in this scenario but they kept it quite modest, and it would probably sound way too forced if they went with an outright ‘epic‘ finale.
If I were to compare Shades to this one, it’s really no contest at all, I had my doubts about the band because upon checking out more of them I couldn’t rate anything higher than “good“, just that. But this song showed me that I was going for the wrong album all along, what a fantastic song this is.
8.5+ (1.0) =
9.5 Guessed:#2
Placement:#1
Difference:-1
Bolsters: Afro Celt Sound System – Deep ChannelDave is trying his luck with a Bolsters‘ staple band in my roulette along with an immediate world music bonus point, with a band name that has me very interested, what the hell is an Afro Celt Sound System?
First thing I notice about this song here is how smoothly this is composed. For instance, I loved Where Is Now? by DMM in my roulette but the different sections didn’t exactly flow smoothly. But here, we go through all sorts of shit and it never feels too sudden. Every solo-section, if you could name it that, fades out with either a cool bassline, fading in cymbals and tribal drums or whatever.
I wasn't sure whether I wanted to include world music as a theme for a long time, it seemed to be a popular choice of theme in recent roulettes but I personally don't own a lot of it and don't know much about it, but I'm glad I did, this is a pretty solid song. I'll leave it at that though. It does really stand out a lot among the other round 1 songs, but it doesn't blow my mind like it would have 1 year ago in terms of experimental stuff. So I'm considering a middle-of-the-road rating, not bad, not amazing, but your bonus point still elevates the overall ranking to #4! You're the only one who guessed it exactly right.
Can’t say I had any expectations as to what this would sound like, but it’s pretty great. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s a standout, but for what it is, an instrumental song with a lot of crazy instruments, it’s one of the better things I’ve heard in quite some time.
7.75 + (1.0) =
8.75/10Guessed:#4
Placement:#4
Difference: NOTHING OMG WE HAVE A WINNER
Tomislav95: Woods of Ypres – I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant CemeteryThis is one I’ve been looking forward to a lot! Firstly, because it’s the only song of this genre I received this round, and secondly, I love the song title.
And first impressions are this is some solid doom metal. The vocals are exactly how they should be, gloomy and not too overtaking. Though I’ll admit right away that I don’t think they’re as great as say, Novembre, where the singer sounds really depressed and it fits the style perfectly. These vocals lean more towards the standard side of doom metal, but that’s not even a bad thing because instruments are mostly what make or break doom for me.
And now, the first 4 minutes have passed and it just became awesome. I assume you thought a lot of people would hate it because of the incredibly distorted guitars? I don’t have a problem with them but I can see where they’re coming from.
And WOW, that guitar solo man! I’m sitting here with my jaw dropped to the floor, I was here like “okay this song is alright but it’s just not a standout“ and then that guitar solo comes in and it’s.. pretty simplistic actually, but the tone is just perfect and they hit all the right notes. Then the climax kicks in with the clean+harsh layered vocals and it’s just epic. I’d say I’m not blown away by those vocal melodies in the end and well, the lyrics aren’t very innovative
but the delivery is very strong and that makes for an extremely strong climax after a mindblowingly great guitar solo so I think this song will sit comfortably at the top of the standards.
Okay, I'm done thinking about it and I wholeheartedly believe this song deserves 8.75, which is the highest score without counting bonuses. It was not the only song of the round that had me constantly wanting to return, but it was the only one where I got immediately interested in this band and where I'm most certainly be buying an album of very soon. I read that Gold commited suicide (?) or at least had a fatal car accident, really sad to see. This band is so depressing and dark that it could only add to the overall feeling of the music, I'm excited.
I’ve come to the conclusion that it takes some figuring out from my side to find out in what way certain types of doom metal vocals fit their instrumentals, and it has become a lot better for me. So it’s not just the ending that makes me love this song. You took a shot in the dark, judging by your PM, and it paid off, have some points!
8.75/10Guessed:#5
Placement:#3
Difference:-2
Home: Maybeshewill – Red Paper LanternsI like when people use my writeups to come to certain conclusions about what I might like, maybe they were helpful after all. So yeah, God Is An Astronaut was a bit tough for me at first. I had a hard time gaining the will to listen to it because an instrumental post-rock album seemed boring to me, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s beautiful background music, and not the kind that you completely lose focus of either.
The only gripe I have here is that, compared to GIAA, the music is a bit more busy at times and certain elements slightly distract me from the main melody. It’s some solid post-rock and I would definitely check out an album filled with this but it’s no certain standout, judging from my first listen.
I’d like to say this song suddenly became PERFECT after giving it a few more listens but that’s really not how it works for me with this kind of song, they offer me a selection of limited amount of variety which is no problem at all for instrumental post-rock, but it has to click kind of. Kinda weird even for me, because I thought God Is An Astronaut had such a simple formula going with their music that would always click with me but apparently it's easier said than done. For me the relistening value lies in the atmospheres, the smooth progressions and epic climaxes, and this has all of that, just not to the same quality as similar stuff I’ve heard. Still a good submission though and I’ll be checking out the album for sure.
I feel 7 is a fine score but like I said in the OP it's one that might trigger me to check out the album but aren't ~amazing~ songs on their own and I feel like that applies perfectly here to my thoughts.
7.0 + (1.0) =
8.0/10Guessed:#3
Placement:#9
Difference:+6
Scorpion: Clint Mansell – Death is the Road to AweSo without too much of a thought process I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the original soundtrack of a movie called “The Fountain“, a movie I probably should know judging by its popularity.
Funnily enough, I barely know anything classical, and the one song I do know and love is also an original soundtrack for a movie, the amazing “Requiem For A Dream“ which is one of my favorite movies ever.
The setup and overall arrangement of this song is exactly how I hoped for it to be, a slow dark gloomy buildup, and then the big climax which is my favorite part of 'epic' songs most of the time. But wait.. this song has 2 climaxes? So I guess this song compares to really good sex. The second one really came unexpected for me which it's probably supposed to.
It’s not the kind of music that usually grabs my interest in spectacular fashion and I guess it’s the same case here. I did like it though, the compositions were really good and the final climax was epic and so unexpected that it made it even more fitting, but I fear the #4 guess will be a longshot unless the others fall into the same, or worse category.
This piece has gotten pretty interesting over time, it’s one I can really immerse into and feel the feels of. Feels good man. I’m in roughly the same mindset as before though, it’s a good piece of music and it’s really immersive, but I’m just not one to go crazy about a song like this. It’s definitely not very short of ‘great‘ and I didn’t expect to get something like this so it was atleast a really cool thing to get in a roulette for a change.
7.25 + (1.0) =
8.25/10Guessed:#4
Placement:#6
Difference:+2
Splent: CHVRCHES – The Mother We ShareOkay so everyone seems to go crazy about churches so I guess I’ll give them a chance.
It’s catchy. These guys sure know how to make catchy music, and that can actually be very hard to achieve, how easy it may look when you listen to the mainstream radio with some of the songs there, this song right here is really tons more innovative, even in its simplicity. This song was very weird for me, because after listening to it I was like “okay this is alright, I don’t think there’s anything special about it though“ but then I just have the random urge to listen to it again and it’s actually damn good!
And so I did, many, many times. Every moment I don’t listen to this song I want to listen to it
I know that if you wouldn’t have sent this someone else probably would have, but that doesn’t make it any worse or less valuable, thanks for this. I guess I haven’t pointed out my favorite part of the song but it’s quite obvious isn’t it? It’s that chorus, hot damn!
I can see why people love this band, and I’ve seen the album art for the album this song is on around here a lot, so I guess it’s deservingly getting some attention around here. I love DTF, is there any type of music no one on here likes?
I will not become tired of this song in a very long time, this is a great submission. Apparently you were starting to lose confidence as we came closer to the results, but your song (without counting any of the bonuses submitted to me by others) would rank comfortably at a tied #5 spot which is pretty good.
8.0/10Guessed:#4
Placement:#8
Difference:+4
Parama: Thy Catafalque - Molekuláris GépezetekSeems like Parama is getting his one 11+ minute song out of the way right here in the first round, and with a (avant-garde?) metalband from Hungary with a rather interesting bandname. Coming in at just over 19 minutes, this song starts unexpectedly sudden but it’s all in good fashion, some great distant growls with heavy distorted riffs.
What I was most interested in was to see where those wood/bass/strings would come in cause everything so far sounds very solid, from the choir-like vocals to the busy drums, it’s all class. I’ll admit that it’s a lot to take in, not even considering the length, but the fact that there’s an awful lot going on in this tune.
Halfway in I feel like I’m listening to an entirely different tune, which is.. odd. Because I was introduced to this band by heavy distorted riffs and strong vocals, and here I am enjoying some peaceful brass and woodwind instruments on top of soothing female vocals. I’m definitely into both of these sections but the transition is a bit awkward. Sufficed to say, a lot of BTBAM songs “suffer“ from disjointedness, though I put suffer between quotes because all it takes for me to appreciate those songs as a whole is just some time, I’m not completely sold on the whole yet but the finale of the song is pretty great and damn epic. Let’s see how this one turns out ~4-5 listens later.
Duh, obviously a song of this magnitude was going to take more listens.
Can’t really say that, after like 3 listens now, I can connect with the music as deeply as I would’ve liked. And it’s not so much about the length as it is structurally pretty complex and hard to capture with limited amount of words. I’m slowly getting into the whole though and it is pretty amazing.
I can’t really compare this to anything I’ve heard before, not because every single idea in here is completely fresh and new, but because all those ideas got combined into one song and it’s an interesting combination at that, to say the least. My favorite part is from around 9 and a half minutes in onward with the trumpets, where the female vocals kick in. It’s great to have one of the outstanding sections placed in the middle of the song, easier to stay interested that way. It becomes even better when they reprise that section right before the finale. The minimalistic piano-driven quiet section inbetween those that drags a bit I feel, and it would’ve been an easier digest without the overall pretty long transitions like the one with spoken words at around 8 minutes in, but there’s probably some musical genius that has a reason for everything. I personally could’ve done with a ~15-16 minute version that cuts out most of those sections. But I hope time can prove me wrong and show me that this’ll be a 10/10 song months later. Regardless, a really strong song, and it goes to show you that Paramacore ain’t always bad. I feel like I’ve ranted on for too long about this song, especially considering I don’t even think it’s remotely bad, this is a great song, just, you know, very long.
8.25 + (1.0) =
9.25Guessed:#1
Placement:#2
Difference:+1