Poll

Did you suffer enough in this roulette?

Yes.
2 (33.3%)
Yes.
0 (0%)
Yes.
3 (50%)
Yes.
1 (16.7%)

Total Members Voted: 6

Author Topic: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (Back From the Dead)  (Read 74845 times)

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Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #140 on: July 29, 2016, 11:14:56 AM »
Oh ok

LoCo sent Symphony X and Scorpion sent Novembre, got it
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Offline Scorpion

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #141 on: July 29, 2016, 11:15:31 AM »
Okay, so now that we've done our work, WHERE ARE OUR RESULTS
scorpion is my favorite deathcore lobster
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Online twosuitsluke

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #142 on: July 29, 2016, 11:22:44 AM »
Anyone expecting more than a 7?

I anticipate most entries to be met with apathy. Judging by previous Parama comments I've seen on various threads :lol

Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #143 on: July 29, 2016, 11:27:27 AM »
I hope I did better than the first round of the first Parama roulette. :lol That was terrible, I honestly don't understand how I didn't end up in last place there.
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

Offline Scorpion

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #144 on: July 29, 2016, 11:31:35 AM »
Yeah, Parama never likes anything, so I'm happy if I'm above a 6, tbh.
scorpion is my favorite deathcore lobster
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Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #145 on: July 29, 2016, 11:32:51 AM »
I'll admit that I'm disappointed in this round but I guess I should have pushed harder that the point is to send the best songs you possibly can (within the time limit ofc) and that entries playing it safe are 1. Really obvious and 2. Likely not going to score great but w/e  :lol

Offline Tomislav95

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #146 on: July 29, 2016, 12:01:39 PM »
my song is at least 8/10 but i expect 6/10 tbh
...the years just pass like trains
I wave but they don't slow down...

Offline Evermind

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #147 on: July 29, 2016, 01:25:20 PM »
I expect 6/10, but I will probably get 4/10, which is no big deal since it's Parama's roulette after all.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Sacul

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #148 on: July 29, 2016, 01:36:19 PM »
my song is at least 8/10 but i expect 6/10 tbh

Offline splent

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #149 on: July 29, 2016, 07:49:25 PM »
Mine is going to be the lowest and I'll be eliminated.
I don’t know what to put here anymore

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #150 on: July 29, 2016, 08:05:49 PM »
Evermind: Phideaux - Gift of the Flame
Bolsters: Amorphis – From Earth I Rose
Train of Naught: Novembre - Umana
Tomislav95: Woods of Ypres – Lightning & Snow
???: The Oracle - The Sorcerer
LordCost: Symphony X - The Eyes of Medusa
Tyrias: Susanne Sundfor - Stop (Don't Push the Button)
twosuitsluke: Crowbar - All I Had (I Gave)
425: Bruce Dickinson - Arc of Space
Sacul: Tim Bowness - Sing to Me
splent: Jean-Luc Ponty - King Kong
home: Fair to Midland - Dance of the Manatee

Technically, nobody has correctly guessed the last one  :corn

Offline Sacul

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #151 on: July 29, 2016, 09:44:10 PM »
The last one must then be... Scorpion  :o


Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #152 on: July 29, 2016, 10:50:22 PM »
i did preliminary rankings after the fourth listen and i'm hardcore going "what the hell none of these rankings look right" so i'm basically screwed, everyone's cut roulette's over gg
srsly tho i know absolutely 100% one person who's going to get cut, 90% sure on a second, and i have no clue who the third is. maybe i'll just cut 2 and make this round 0 so i can prolong the minilette :neverusethis:

Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #153 on: July 30, 2016, 03:28:08 AM »
I mean you could do that, but then youll have to deal with 10 bad songs next round instead of 9
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #154 on: July 30, 2016, 12:02:00 PM »
yeah that's the problem, you'd all kill me with cruddy music by round 4 if i gave an extra round

Offline Evermind

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #155 on: July 30, 2016, 12:03:20 PM »
Here, I'll make it easy for you.

If I somehow survive this round, I'll send you power metal from 80s.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #156 on: July 30, 2016, 07:41:27 PM »
i've done three writeups and i'll try to get the rest done tonight but i'm apparently super slow at doing writeups because i elaborate too much lol, took an hour just to write for three songs

if i don't finish tonight i'll definitely have results up tomorrow though

Offline Scorpion

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #157 on: July 31, 2016, 04:19:47 PM »
its tomorrow

where are my results
scorpion is my favorite deathcore lobster
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Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #158 on: July 31, 2016, 04:22:11 PM »
i have one more writeup to do and then i have to decide between 10th and 9th because i still haven't yet

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #159 on: July 31, 2016, 05:38:19 PM »
okay, i'm legitimately stressing out trying to decide between 8th, 9th, and 10th, i just can't do it, sorry. i may just cut out one of the later rounds? i'll think about it. 7 rounds feels like too much tbh. but yeah, let me polish up the results post, and then it'll probably be like, three posts lol

my ep round results in my last roulette was about 36k characters long, compared to about 32k for this round's results, if you're wondering why it took me so damn long to do writeups lol

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #160 on: July 31, 2016, 05:43:55 PM »
Climbing the Ranks:

#10: home: Fair to Midland – Dance of the Manatee

First Impressions:
Another band I’ve heard of but never really listened to. I thought these guys were like some kind of indie rock thing. And considering the verse they kind of are, actually. That being said there’s a nice groove and a nice amount of atmosphere to this. The really high vocal notes are maybe a bit grating but generally I’m fine with these vocals. Sort of some nu-metal vibes to this too, which, eeehh. I can’t really say this sounds particularly fresh, and there’s some minor gripes I have with it, but it’s a solid song at the very least.

Final Thoughts:
I’m actually fairly certain I gave this album a listen at some point, or one of their albums, because going on the band’s RYM I totally recognize that band photo from somewhere or other and these album names sound a bit familiar too. Anyways that’s a minor aside.

This is… a song that exists, definitely. Uhh. The groove of the guitar during the verse is pretty nice. The vocal melodies in the prechorus are nice. The chorus is okay, there’s a decent amount of power to it, but that high note is… it sounds off, somehow. The heavy breakdown in the middle feels to me like they’re trying to sound like Disturbed, which is not a good band to try to sound like, I quite dislike Disturbed. Granted it also sounds way better than Disturbed ever have, it’s tolerable and okay enough, but still.

When I turn this up loud enough I notice that there’s like, a lot of weird stuff going on in the background. There’s this weird dissonant piano line and what sounds like some off-kilter strings that are both really low in the mix and I’m not sure why they’re there at all, honestly. I don’t know what they add to the song though I don’t think they take away anything either. Maybe a little unsettling to have at all, I suppose.

It’s a fairly simple, straightforward song on the whole, a basic verse-chorus structure with a bridge in the middle. The kind of song where all the individual elements have to be great because they get reused so much. And here, they’re… fine. The intro riff is a little meh, but I like the verse and the chorus for what they are. At the same time this just doesn’t stick out in any real way to me. It’s possibly the most flavorless song of the entire round. There’s nothing here that I feel like I couldn’t get done better in some other song that I’ve probably already heard.

6.25/10



#9: 425: Bruce Dickinson – Arc of Space

First Impressions:
Mmm… this is just coming off as a pretty bog-standard ballad to me. I mean, yeah, Dickinson is a great singer and injects a lot of power into this, but he’s about the only thing making this feel alive. The strings are nice, I suppose. And the acoustic guitar solo, always a fan of that kind of guitar work. This does come to a fairly satisfying climax, but most of the time it feels like the vocalist is outsinging the music here. And it’s a bit too monotonous front to back. I can like songs like this, and maybe this will grow on me, but it’s a bit… generic.

Final Thoughts:
I think what’s most tragic about this song is that, in the context of the album it’s on, it appears to be the quiet closer of a heavier album, and in that context, I bet it works really well. I have no clue, I’ve never heard the album, but it’s definitely a tried-and-tested formula to end an album with a softer ballad like this.

Dickinson is pretty clearly showing that he’s just a generally good singer here, his vocals being the primary focus of the song, and that chorus being quite strong and powerful. The verses are alright too but the first half of the song is pretty clearly just a buildup to the grander second half. I have no real complaints about the vocals on this track, they’re quite good, though I’m sure that’s not surprising.

It’s just… I’m not sure the music can match him, not at any point of the song. The first half of the song is mostly filled with somber acoustic strumming and a solid melodic bassline backing it. And Dickinson is just belting way over the quieter music, his level of intensity is just too far above the restrained rest of the song. There’s just a disconnect for me there. I wouldn’t want the vocals to tone down, though, so I have to call it a failing of the music. The back half adds some layers of strings to sound fuller and more intense, and at the same time Dickinson’s singing gets even more powerful for the choruses, leaving the music trying to play catchup again.

The second chorus does make for a decent climax, but I still feel like it should’ve gone further. Like, at some point, the drums and crunchy guitars should’ve kicked in, and then maybe the music would be able to match the intensity of the vocals, and it would’ve come together for something really powerful and moving. I see the possibility for a really good song here, but what I’m left with is more like, a decent one that misses out on its potential.

I’ll admit that the “acoustic” album or live performance is something I’ve never been much a fan of, either; it’s toning down songs that were meant to be played with more intensity, and in most cases just really takes away the power they have. That’s the same effect I’m feeling here; almost like there was a proper power ballad version of this with the same level of vocal intensity and I’m listening to the acoustic version of that song.

Perhaps I’m fixating on this one thing a lot, because all the elements of this taken separately are pretty good. As I’ve said, the vocals are great, and I really like the inclusion of strings. The two short guitar solos are also very nice, they fit the somber mood of the music well, and I’m never one to complain about a good guitar solo anyways. The rest is musically a bit generic though, just doesn’t stick with me in any way, but most of the rest has vocals over it, so that’s fair enough.

I wish I liked this more than I do, perhaps more here than any other song in this round. Maybe it just hasn’t clicked for me yet, because I definitely do enjoy this song, but it’s a far cry from what I feel it could’ve been, and it’s not particularly unique for what it is, either, just a decent execution of a decent type of song. I think that’s really the biggest issue I have with this, despite my lingering on other things; it’s nothing I haven’t heard before, and I don’t have any personal connection to it, so I don’t find myself getting a ton out of it.

6.25/10



#8: LordCost: #8: Symphony X – The Eyes of Medusa

First Impressions:
The intro riff worries me because it sounds exactly like something I’ve heard a dozen times, but that may be because it’s a solid riff structure, so. I think they’re relying a bit too heavily on “palm-muted chuggy riff” here in terms of guitar work. I can barely even tell the verse and the chorus apart on this one, the first time the chorus happened I wasn’t even aware it was supposed to be the chorus until the next verse started. The symphonic break in the middle is cool, but it kind of just happens abruptly. It’s the only part of the song that particularly stands out, and while I don’t mind the rest, it feels pretty generic and lacking in any sense of dynamics.

Final Thoughts:
Specifically, the intro riff reminds me of part of This Dying Soul, a song that came out after this one, so it’s not like I’m saying it’s a ripoff or anything, just, y’know, not a fairly uncommon riff sound.  I’m also not sure if the riffs are actually all palm muted or if it’s just the really muted guitar tone that’s making them sound that way. I am not a fan of that guitar tone, to say the least. It makes everything sound really muddy and muted.

I think my criticism of “not being able to tell the verse and chorus apart” holds up, because the chorus doesn’t feel particularly bigger or distinct from the verses; but, given several listens of it, I’d say it’s definitely a solid chorus on its own merits. The vocal melodies are certainly interesting. There’s not a ton of power in the instrumentation, though; the muted guitars are all crunch and no punch, and the synthstrings are so buried in the mix that they don’t add any power or atmosphere either. Vocals are good though, certainly.

The obvious highlight of this song is that middle symphonic bit, which is really quite great. The dense strings combined with a mournful guitar lead and the drums providing minimal driving accompaniment, it comes together in a really cool way. I definitely want more of that, and less of the chuggy, fairly generic metal that makes up the rest of the song.

That’s basically it as far as the song goes though, there’s not a ton to talk about here. There’s a short, solid guitar solo in there somewhere, I think, but it’s nothing that special either. I don’t mind this, and I probably wouldn’t turn it off if it was playing, but I’m only particularly interested in one minute of this five-and-a-half minute song, and could probably live without the rest.

6.5/10



#7: Scorpion: The Oracle – The Sorcerer

First Impressions:
Dig the subtle, atmospheric intro for sure. Maybe not so much the harsh vocals on this though. The really raspy style of vocals just isn’t my thing. The production is a bit weird here too, a bit too muddy possibly but then the bass comes through well so I’m not so sure. The one rhythmic riff gets hammered on a bit too much, though it’s pretty solid and groovy otherwise. Definitely a fan of the quieter parts of this more than the heavier ones, and I think the vocals are the biggest factor in why. Still, this is solid enough overall, though probably not a round-winner. I wanna hear whatever song was starting up at the end there too. Sounded like a cool intro to something else.

Final Thoughts:
Black metal vocals, for me, work best as part of the atmosphere. The heavier moments of this song, they don’t really have tons of atmosphere, so there’s no backdrop for the screeching vocals to bleed into, and they’re really raspy even aside from that, which is probably my least favorite style of harsh vocals, aside from maybe metalcore screeches.

The 4-2-4-2-4 riff that a lot of the song is based on is probably not the best base for a song, either. It’s a nice driving rhythm that gets used a lot, and… that’s exactly it, it’s not a particularly fresh musical idea, and while nice in small doses, having good chunks of the song be driven by it means good chunks of the song that don’t particularly stand out.

The moments on this song that are atmospheric, namely the quiet ones, are all quite well done, though. I enjoy the ominous synth intro with the somber vocals, and the really spacey, eerie middle bit with sinister whispering and guitar melodies going on is really quite haunting, I wish it went on for longer. There’s a really intense moment when the song kicks back in after, too, that I quite enjoy, though beyond that the song just repeats ideas from earlier until it hits the segue until the next track.

Looking into this, it seems to be one of those all-the-songs-flow-into-each-other albums, which tends to be something I like a lot, though as a result I’m not really going to consider that last brief bit as part of this song, as cool as it is, because it’s clearly the intro to the next track. On the basis of this song alone, I’m not incredibly enthused about this band, but I like it enough that I’ll probably give the album a spin at some point, for sure.

I feel like I have very little to say about this one, though, it’s just solid in a not particularly unique way; decent riffs, some cool atmospheric breaks, and some raspy vocals that detract a little but not too terribly much. It’s interesting enough and probably the most Parama-targeted song of the entire round, just not really a standout by any means.

7/10



#6: Evermind: Phideaux – Gift of the Flame

First Impressions:
The way this starts is a bit strange, but in a good way. The measures of free time transitioning right into a straight beat. Oh man this suddenly turned into funk with the sax, nice. Oh, so it’s not an instrumental. Why is this song so spastic. The wacky funk bass sound kind of feels a bit out of place during parts of this. The vocals on this are fine, but don’t really do much for me either way, they’re just… there. This song just kinda seems to want to do its own thing, and while that’s fine it makes it a bit hard to ever get into when it shoots off in another direction every ten seconds.

Final Thoughts:
I really love how this song starts, honestly. The free-time guitar line transitioning into a driving, melancholic beat with some nice guitar lines over it. I kinda wish the song stuck to that vibe instead of veering off into random directions like it seems to enjoy doing, because that was a cool vibe they had going that ends up getting interrupted by funk sax and bass bits that are kinda neat but just feel a bit out of place. The more intense build right before the vocals come in is a nice little bit too.

The bass tone aside, I don’t mind the meat of this song despite it not really being a continuation of the parts of the intro I liked. There’s a fun groove and a lot of life to the song, and it definitely doesn’t get boring. The sax and strings are both always welcome additions and add to the bouncy feel of the song, definitely wouldn’t be as enjoyable a listen without them. That really cheesy funk bass tone is still something I haven’t warmed up to, though, it’s not that prevalent and I’m not too bothered by it, but it is there nonetheless.

Honestly my biggest gripe with this song is more a personal thing, “fun” music like this tends not to hit me as strongly as atmospheric music or powerful, intense music, but there’s still a place for it, certainly. And I do wish the driving, darker feel of the opening bit had taken control of the mood of the song, but. Again, a personal thing. While not my favorite of the bunch, it’s certainly a unique song in its own right, definitely stands out for being one of the most colorful songs in the bunch, and I did always look forward to hearing it come on. So, sorry, but you’re definitely not getting cut that easily.

7/10



#5: Sacul: Tim Bowness – Sing to Me

First Impressions:
I get big Steven Wilson vibes off this for some reason. It takes a little bit to get going but it’s nice and pleasant on the way there, at least. Okay, definitely huge Steven Wilson vibes around the four minute mark. I don’t really think the vocalist has enough power in their voice to really sell the climax of the song, though, sounds a bit weak. I can’t find much to say about this except that I like it, and that it’s the kind of song I expect to be a grower on future listens.

Final Thoughts:
I’m not sure this has the same emotional depth or potency as good Steven Wilson ballads. It’s very pretty and there’s a good deal of melancholy, but it’s not trying to destroy me, I don’t feel any agony and I don’t feel my soul dying in any way while listening to this. But I mean, it’s still pleasant in the same ways, at the very least.

I think this takes a bit too long to really get going, there’s not much movement until halfway through when the song really kicks in, but there’s a lot more to it once it does. The chorus gets more powerful, a break for a more somber moment, the incredibly Wilsony la da da bit and a great guitar duet as the song builds up to its climax.

The vocals feel like they let this song down a little though, they are very flat and monotone. There’s exactly the same level of intensity in the quiet opening verses as there are in the climactic last chorus. They’re so unchanging, it almost feels like he just copied and pasted the same chorus bit every time. That’s probably a big reason why the first half fails to grab me as much, the vocals are the primary focus there and they just do nothing for three minutes.

I guess it’s a little unfair to say nothing happens in the first half since really there are a lot of subtle textures and atmospheric things happening, but it’s certainly not enough to keep me interested. And the second half fails to have as much power as it should have due to the vocals letting it down, but musically it’s really nice, for sure. Maybe not the most unique song out there but despite some gripes I still enjoy this on the whole and it’s fairly easy to listen to, it doesn’t feel like it drags and it doesn’t bore me. A pleasant song.

7.25/10



#4: Bolsters: Amorphis – From Earth I Rose

First Impressions:
I’m finding it hard to have much to say about this. I like the huge, grand sound the song has. The vocals are pretty solid, and the song doesn’t seem to stagnate anywhere  I guess what I’m waiting for is something really ear-catching or interesting to happen, but if the song wants to stay at this level the entire way through, I wouldn’t complain either. The synth/guitar dual solo thing going on is pretty solid, I guess. It’s hard to really get enthused about this but it’s a solid track front-to-back, just nothing I haven’t heard done before.

Final Thoughts:
I always get these guys mixed up with Scar Symmetry for some reason, which, I mean, they’re proggy melodeath bands I’ve heard of and never really listened to so I guess it makes sense.

The intro guitar melody is… solid. And there’s some nice heavy instrumentation backing it. I enjoy it. I definitely enjoy it more though when it switches to the 3/4 verse. Something about the guitar line and the drums and rhythm here, it creates a cool sound. The clean vocals aren’t my favorite, a bit too bassy, but they’re fine.

The instrumental section here is pretty nice as well, not really particularly unique, but just, solid. There’s a nice build up to it and a lot of small things going on. Like, I somehow didn’t notice that flute at all the first time, but that’s really cool. The way all the lead instruments come together and are all playing at the same time as it builds, makes for a really grand finale.

The way the song is structured is a bit weird when I stop and think about it though… there’s this heavy intro that’s mostly disconnected from the rest of the song; the guitar melody comes back for a moment later, and most of the growled vocals are here, but... it’s weird in that it seems like the kind of thing they’d eventually return to, but never do. This isn’t really even a complaint, since the intro is probably my least favorite part of the song anyways, just an observation.

While I don’t think I feel really strongly about this song, and it never really hits “great” until near the very end, it’s consistently solid front-to-back and I do enjoy listening to it. I would’ve never pinned this as an album closer, though, which it apparently is, feels far more like an opener to me. Huh.

7.5/10

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 LISTENING)
« Reply #161 on: July 31, 2016, 05:44:55 PM »
#3: Tyrias: Susanne Sundfør – Stop (Don't Push The Button)

First Impressions:
From the string intro alone I already feel like I like this more than the previous song I heard from her. Though I am much less a fan of the buzzsaw synth. Oh, damn, those vocal harmonies are gorgeous. Yeah, that synth is the only really grating thing here, I’m not a huge fan of the seasick percussion but it doesn’t bother me either. And it definitely feels like this song doesn’t have a climax to hit because it peaks too soon and has nowhere to go after that. I’d say this is a song comprised mostly of elements I quite like with one element that I’m not a huge fan of. I don’t think it’s prevalent enough to be a big knock against the song though.

Final Thoughts:
The strings of that intro give this a real cinematic feel. It’s like the opening credits are scrolling right by every time I start listening to this. Basically, it’s a great way to set a mood. I’m still not a huge fan of that synth, and the first time it happens I think the melody is botched too; the second phrase doesn’t start with a lower note like it sounds like it should. It’s not a huge deal though, it’s such a minor element in the song overall.

I’ll freely admit that I have a weakness for layered vocal harmonies like this, but, I mean, who doesn’t? She sounds awesome here, and having so many different voices to listen to, so many layered melodies and rhythms, keeps things interesting. Trying to take everything in, being overwhelmed by it every time. It’s a lovely sound to get lost in.

I was probably a bit quick to comment about the song not being able to hit a climax, as while it sounds like there are less voices in the second louder moment of the song, the instrumentation swells a lot more to compensate. Perhaps it’s more that the song feels like it just ends abruptly, the individual elements peeling back one at a time until there’s nothing left. It’s a very unsatisfying conclusion to what is otherwise a very big and bombastic track.

The instrumentation itself is generally a minor element here, but it does well to give Sundfør’s vocals room to breathe. The stilted percussion and soft synth harmonizing with the vocals, the harpsichord (?) that kicks in when the percussion drops out, creating an empty, somber feeling, all the twinkly layers of melodies accompanying the build at the end, a really gorgeous soundscape there. It’s all clearly not the focus but it all adds quite a lot.

While I do think the awkward ending does detract from this song a decent bit, the lack of a real final punch leaves it feeling weaker than it should, it’s still a plenty enjoyable track on its own, and considering at this point I’ve enjoyed two different tracks from this artist and album, I probably should go ahead and check her out further.

7.75/10



#2: Train of Naught: Novembre – Umana

First Impressions:
Gorgeous intro with some upbeat drums alongside it, that’s definitely my kind of thing. Not particularly sure the growls are warranted here but they don’t bother me, just don’t feel like they fit that well. Transition is a bit clunky but I’m glad that the song does have more to it. Do like how huge the back half sounds. I do like the sound of this in general, but I also feel like it’s a little one-note; I’m not sure it will hold up well on relistens.

Final Thoughts:
I’m reading over my first impressions tidbit and wondering what song I was listening to there, honestly I have no clue what I’m talking about with a lot of that. The growls are perfectly warranted when they come in. The song isn’t really that one-note at all. Dude, you’re stupid.

The atmosphere on this track is the main draw, it’s a constant wall of noise with plenty of layers of guitars, drums that are relaxed but still plenty upbeat, just a lot of warm, pleasant sounds. The buildup from the middle to the heavy ending is really well-executed too, individual elements coming in one at a time and building up the tension until the song really explodes into full force.

I guess my comment about the song being a little one-note is probably in regards to the last minute and a half of the song, which admittedly does feel a little motionless, but it’s not really that long, and it’s a satisfying climax for the rest of the track, even if it maybe overstays its welcome a little.

In regards to the vocals, I quite like the cleans here, this is probably my favorite style of clean metal vocals in general. Not very harsh but not whiny either, just smooth as silk. The harsh vocals are fairly minimal but they’re solid while they’re around, they bleed into the heavier music of the track rather well too, they fit.

What this reminds me most of is Alcest, really, I can’t say there’s any individual moments of this that really pop out at me but the song as a whole is pretty strong, no weaker moments and it’s a nice journey from beginning to end. I always find it hard to compare atmospheric music against more song-oriented tracks, though, I feel I had this problem with both my original top 50 and my 2015 retrospective, where atmospheric albums were a lot harder to talk about and find the high points of than the more song-focused albums and they inevitably ended up ranking lower than the rest, with a few exceptions.

So I’m worried that in the long run I’m underrating this as-is, because I feel like this is probably the one song in the round I’ll want to come back to the most, but it’s not quite my favorite to listen to, either. I’m stuck between two numeric scores for this but they don’t really matter anyways so I’mma just give you the higher one.

8/10



Slipped and Fell

#12: twosuitsluke: Crowbar – All I Had (I Gave)

First Impressions:
Ooh boy, the production on this is… special. Considering I’m not a huge fan of this style of vocals, I really wish they weren’t so high in the mix compared to everything else. The bit that starts at 1:20 is pretty solid. There’s some decent riffs and grooves here, but nothing particularly special, and the vocals are just a bit too offputting for me. I could see myself warming up to this a little on relistens, but I don’t think I’ll be a huge fan either.

Final Thoughts:
Yeah, I just can’t get past the production in this one, first and foremost. It’s really muddy, and the mix is just way too vocal-centric, which is a mistake considering the vocals are easily the weak point of this one. It’s like they’re trying to do the same growly style that got big in the 2000’s, but without any power behind it, so the vocalist ends up just sounding really raspy and unpleasant. Whatever the heck he’s doing at 1:55 especially is eeuugh.

The first half of this song or so is pretty generic and meh, the riffs aren’t anything special, and the high energy feeling clashes with the rest of the song. The drumming here is pretty flat, the bass sounds like it’s just doubling the guitars, and there’s vocals over nearly every second of the first half of the song. If the entire song had been like that, I’d have hated this by the fifth listen.

The breakdown at 1:20 is pretty solid though, the bass starts doing its own thing and I love that kind of tom-heavy drumming. It’s not especially unique, but I don’t mind it. The riff that makes up most of the last minute of the song, though… aww yeah, I can dig that. Really strong sludgy riff right there, heavy and with a good sense of groove. The drums play off the riff well too, and thankfully there’s no vocals in sight. I’d probably get tired of that riff if it went on for too long, and I’ll admit a fadeout is always going to make me disappointed, but on the whole I like the last minute of this song quite a bit.

But on the whole… I really would rather not listen to this, as a song. It gets progressively better as it goes on, sure, but only the last minute really appeals to me in a big way, and it’s still far from the best riff I’ve ever heard. And when it’s both this short, with about half the song being quite unpleasant, unfortunately that means that the bad outweighs the good here.

4.75/10



#11: splent: Jean Luc Ponty – King Kong

First Impressions:
I feel like what you get out of TYS and what I get out of TYS are different things, considering you seemed to particularly like Suspicious Waveforms, my least favorite song on their debut. Pure jazz on its own like this is kind of intriguing, but usually ends up boring me. They’re all talented musicians, but the thing is, it doesn’t really create music I find particularly compelling. I think this is basically the parallel to the Gary Clark Jr. song I got last roulette – sounds fine enough and I can appreciate it on a technical level, but I’m just not too into it, it’s not something I’d ever seek out to listen to.

Final Thoughts:
There’s nothing about this I dislike, no second of this that I find unpleasant, no element I find out of place or awkward. It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, and it doesn’t stay stagnant throughout its entire run. If I judged good as an absence of negative qualities, I’m sure this would score really well.

But as a song I want to listen to… jazz always puts me in a weird place. As music, it’s pretty dang great, and I wish I had half the talent of any of the guys in this band. But as a song? I just… get nothing out of this. It evokes no emotions. It’s a warm white noise that keeps my brain occupied thinking about the technicality of the musicianship, but nothing past that.

I guess, I’m just not the right kind of person to properly critique this kind of music, because I don’t have much worth saying. The horns sound nice, the keys sound nice, the bass sounds nice, the drums sound nice. It’s all very nice. Aside from that repeating motif, though, there’s nothing about this I find memorable, nothing drawing me back into listening to it again. It’s just… not for me.

5.25/10



Standing at the Summit

#1: Tomislav95: Woods of Ypres – Lightning & Snow

First Impressions:
You’re lucky I never got around to checking these guys out after Train liked ‘em. Though this is certainly different than what I expected, I thought it was more like doom metal stuff but this is proggy as heck. And black metal-y too. The frantic drumming is the kind of thing I really love, just creates a great sense of manic energy and driving power. Weirdly, I’m not sure I care for the clean vocals here, but the harsh vocals are pretty solid. That’s probably what’s bothering me the most about this.

Final Thoughts:
The drumming on this song especially is just something I’m really biased towards, always. Rhythmic and driving but frantic and manic. And there’s a cool groove going on during the verses, too. The guitars play off the drum groove well on the verses, too, maybe my favorite bits of the song honestly, just really enjoyable to listen to. Just, no complaints about the rhythm section here, for sure.

I haven’t really warmed up to the clean vocals, though. A bit too bassy and weak. And I dunno, something about the harmonies, just doesn’t sit well with me. Probably the only aspect of this that I don’t like at all, really. The harsh vocals though, they’re pretty good. A rare instance of actually being able to understand the lyrics, for one, but they have a nice amount of power to them.

Oh, actually, I’m gonna complain about the guitar solo too, while I have the chance. It’s completely pointless, honestly. Just a basic tapping pattern that sounds okay but isn’t particularly interesting. If it was trying to add to a frantic mood, maybe it’d make more sense, but no, the rest of the instrumentation is too restrained for that to be the intention.

But then, yeah, everything else works. The ascending triplet motif of the intro that comes with frantic drums and returns twice later, that’s a good thing to reuse, certainly. The classy groove of the verses, always a big fan, reminds me of Enslaved in a good way. The more atmospheric chorus (or prechorus? dunno) that has a strong driving feel to it. And the intense bridge following the guitar solo, just a really strong moment, probably the only point of the song the clean vocals work well for me. Oh and the blastbeat-driven outro is a pretty dang intense way to close off a song, too.

Really, the minor gripes I have with this are far too meager to matter against all the stuff I do like here. It’s not a perfect song, but it’s definitely one I’ve enjoyed on every listen and one that makes me interested in checking out this band further (though I’d already intended to anyways, just never actually got around to it, so!) Good stuff, man, keep it up.

8/10



twosuitsluke and splent are unfortunately eliminated, the rest of you can go ahead and send me round 2.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2016, 05:55:33 PM by Parama »

Offline Sacul

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #162 on: July 31, 2016, 05:57:47 PM »
Well I love Tim's voice but I get your point, I guess listening to him on No-Man biased me  :lol

Also it has SW vibes because 1) it's a reworked demo Stevie and Tim wrote in the 90s, and 2) Wilson colaborated a bit on that track.
 

Offline LordCost

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #163 on: July 31, 2016, 06:38:21 PM »
OMG! I survived this round! :hefdaddy
Yes it's a generic metal song, but I like a lot every part of it (intro, chorus, symphonic break on its own and the way it leads to the final chorus). I'm still discovering the old albums, maybe now I would choose a different song (this week I've listened to Twilight In Olympus).
Tomorrow I will send a song. It's 2:37 AM in Italy, I waited to see the results before going to bed, thanks :lol

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #164 on: July 31, 2016, 06:54:23 PM »
okay yeah if tim bowness has actually worked with SW before like that much then yes, that makes sense lol

and sorry for keeping you up LC omg  :lol

Offline Sacul

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #165 on: July 31, 2016, 07:03:07 PM »
I think Stevie provides some background vocals on the song as well :P

Sent harsh noise.

Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #166 on: July 31, 2016, 08:02:41 PM »
Awesome, didn't expect that after all the teasers to be honest. They remind me a bit of Alcest aswell but I have no idea why, apart from some of the instrumental elements they don't really sound alike. But if you liked the atmospheric elements more I'd start out with their best album, "Materia". The newly released one is really good too though, the one this song is on.

I'll send something today
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

Offline Bolsters

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #167 on: July 31, 2016, 08:03:48 PM »
Sent my second and likely final song.

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #168 on: July 31, 2016, 08:10:54 PM »
Parama, I definitely understand your feeling that Bruce overpowers the music, even if I don't agree with it myself. Bruce is just such a powerful singer that it's tough to put him on a ballad-type song without there being a sense of contrast there. I feel that on this song it works, but I get not thinking that.

You are correct in your guess that this is the ballad at the end of a heavy album. The album it's on, Accident of Birth, isn't crushingly heavy or anything, but it's probably a bit heavier than Iron Maiden on a normal day and Arc of Space is definitely the calmer denouement. It's a pretty cool album, worth checking out if you're interested in straight-ahead heavy metal. I wouldn't call it the best of the genre, but it's pretty good, with some seriously good songs.

In any case, I survived the first cut, so I'll take that in itself as a badge of honor. I'll figure out something else to send within the next 24 hours.
And if spirit's a sign,
Then it's only a matter of time

Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #169 on: July 31, 2016, 08:25:01 PM »
Arc of Space is awesome and almost as good as Umana

sent my second and final song, it has been a good run guys, cya
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

Offline Evermind

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #170 on: July 31, 2016, 10:23:31 PM »
What the hell? How come I'm still in? Parama is apparently getting soft or something.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #171 on: July 31, 2016, 10:30:23 PM »
i just really wanted to hear that 80's power metal

Offline Tomislav95

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #172 on: August 01, 2016, 01:22:58 AM »
Wow I really didn't expect to be first.
Don't know what to send in 2nd round but I'll probably send something different than this round, something poppy or electronic.
...the years just pass like trains
I wave but they don't slow down...

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #173 on: August 01, 2016, 01:26:11 AM »
whatever you send me, make sure it's good

Offline Tomislav95

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Re: Parama's Spontaneous Roulette v1.5 (ROUND 1 RESULTS)
« Reply #174 on: August 01, 2016, 01:30:28 AM »
I never really figured out your tastes but I'll try :P
...the years just pass like trains
I wave but they don't slow down...