Round 5:
Tomislav95: Vanden Plas - Vision 8ight - Misery Affection
9
Great song, the slow build was so nice, the vocal harmonies were great. Excellent lyrics. Is this song representative of this band's material?
Elite: The Devin Townsend Project - Supercrush!
9
One of the top names I seem to see on dtf.org that I have never checked out! I am generally not a fan of the "Wall of Sound" approach, but this song makes it work! Whoa, is that Anneke vanLongname singing? I can't decide if I think she is hot or not! Sometimes she is amazingly beautiful, others she is very pedestrian. Maybe she is a Two-Face #Seinfeld! Anyway, oh yes, the song! I really enjoyed this! A song that is going to bust your balls, but do it with finesse! Note: Twosuitsluke wanted to sbumit this, but Elite came in first!
Stadler: Alice In Chains - Brother
8
Grew up in the birthplace of Grunge (and Heart), but wasn't in to it during its ascendancy. I didn't like eveything that AiC released, and this one eluded me. But when Alice does it right, like they do here, they are the best at what they did. Maybe a 'hot take' here, but Jerry Cantrell is one of the most talented musician/songwriters to come out of the 90s, and for as big as AiC made it, his talents were held back here, he could have gone on to even bigger things.
Jingle.boy: Firewind - Breaking the Silence
8
Nothing particularly memorable about this song, and it didn't do anything to distinguish itself in this round, but it is a rocker and made me want more of this band. A safe pick with me, 88 mph fastball down the middle; but only worth a double, maybe stretched to a triple.
Twosuitsluke: Oceans of Slumber - Winter
8
Note: This is Twosuitsluke's Wild Card. His first submission was Steven Wilson - Pariah. It is also this round's Blake's Brass Balls entry, with the Scott Farrell vocals. Dare I say I liked how they worked in the song, providing a pleasant counterbalance to the powerful female vocals. Great music, soloing, all around great song.
Sacul: Steven Wilson - Routine
8
Beautiful music from SW, Some of the best I've heard from him in my limited experience with his material. I've been critical of his whiny 'Peter Gabriel in Genesis' vocal style, but when it works, it works well, as it does here.
TAC: Alice Cooper - Millie and Billie
7
This made me think of Meat Loaf. Not the food. Nothing makes me think of meatloaf. Thankfully. This song is much more appealing than meatloaf. I get why they closed the way they did, but I thought it could have either ended on a stronger note, or a more cacophonous one. This one ended on a bit of a whimper. Note; TAC's Wild Card was Project Aegis-Angel In The Ashes.
Parama: Bodies of Water - Under the Pines
5
That was an annoyingly jarring keyboard intro. Is Derek Sherinian in this band? Intro was longer than it should have been. Gained momentum after that and got better, unfortunately that was half-way through the song.
Shadow Ninja 2.0: Diablo Swing Orchestra - Voodoo Mon Amour
5
Didn't think I'd make it through the first listen. But did, then came back to it later, and my ill feelings went away. 99 times out of 100 I dislike horns in my rock. This might be the 1 though, they made it work. The vocals were the weak link for me in this song, which hurts on around with a vocal theme.
kingshmegland: Beyond the Bridge - The Struggle
5
What was up with the opening vocals? The gal vocalist came in to help, and turned it in to a good song. The last third of the song it felt like they were singing over each other, instead of with each other. I really liked the music though, and that kept my ears intrigued. I liked the Beyond the Bridge instrumental I got last round much more than this song.
home: Iamthemorning - Lighthouse
4
Piano reminded me of my sister's piano recitals I went to when we were kids. Not a knock on the talent, just not what I want in my music. Really liked the change at 4:00, from there I enjoyed it much more. Up till then it was a little too weak for me.