Ariich's ALBUM Roulette; or, Is The Man Completely Mad? (completed)

[ariich]

UPDATE

Results will be tomorrow evening.

I think I've chosen a winner, but I want to have another listen or two.

[Crow]

 

[Nekov]

[ariich]

FINAL RESULTS

A solid final, I found myself liking both albums more with each listen. Thanks to both of you, and indeed everyone else, for taking part and introducing me to so much good music!


GOLD MEDAL
Nekov - 8/10
Kiev - Falling Bough Wisdom Teeth [2013]
When sending me this, you said you were going with your heart rather than your head. I don't know what the alternative option would have been like, but your victory suggests you made a good call. I really like this! Not even sure how to describe it. Poppy jazzy electro-indie? Right from the first full song (Ariah Being) it offers most what I like about the album. Gorgeous, chilled out down-tempo vibe with some funky jazzy infusions, and great use of saxophones (and possibly other horns). As the album goes on, more of the indie comes to the fore, with hints of Radiohead and Broken Bells and others, all held together really nicely by the production. I liked it on first listen, and even more so as I got to know it. Lovely album!
Standouts: Ariah Being, Drag Bones, Trees are Trees, Be Gone Dull Cage

SILVER MEDAL
Evermind - 7.5/10
Amadeus Awad - Death is Just a Feeling [2015]
After dominating in most rounds, unfortunately you didn't quite do enough in the winner takes all final! Really good album though, wasn't sure what to think on first listen but contrary to your assertion that it's not a grower, it was for me. Some of the proggier sounding sections in particular really stood out to me, Awad creates a great sound at times, like pretty much the whole of Tomorrow Lies which is one of my favourite songs from the whole roulette. Conceptually it's also a pretty emotional, often deep album as well, which is very engaging. Some awesome guest musicians too, though interestingly the one that stood out to me most was the one I hadn't heard of before (Elia Monsef who I presume is singing on Tomorrow Lies). What holds it back slightly for me, and ultimately why I don't rate it higher, is that sometimes the music (or maybe the production) doesn't feel like it does justice to the emotional depth, particularly in some of the heavier moments which don't feel so much like Awad’s forte.
Standouts: Tomorrow Lies, Lonesome Clown


So...

[Nekov]

Did I really pull that comeback?

I don't know what the alternative option would have been like, but your victory suggests you made a good call.

Well, while I like the other albums I was considering, this one was the most varied which I think is what ultimately influcenced the decission.

Altrenatives were:

Yargos - To be or not to be (Prog Metal)
Oh Hiroshima - Resistance is futile (Post Rock)

Anyways, thanks for running this so smoothly, I think none of us though you could pull an album roulette with 1 week rounds but boy were you good at it. I guess it's people like you, who don't do shit at work, that brexiters complain about 

[ariich]

I guess it's people like you, who don't do shit at work, that brexiters complain about 

THAT'S IT I'VE CHANGED MY MIND EVERMIND WINS AFTER ALL

For serious though, I've been mentally busy at work recently, but had plenty of opportunity to listen to music while working (it helps me concentrate). I'm so glad I did this, I've got SO MUCH STUFF to check out now, including all the non-submission suggestions plus other works by most of the bands and artists that WERE submitted. Gonna keep me going for a long time!

[Nekov]

 

[Crow]

Congrats Nekov, you're winner

[Nekov]

Congrats Nekov, you're winner

Interestingly enough, this win breaks my tie with Evermind for total roulette wins.

[Evermind]

Win more rounds then any participant in the competition -> lose in the finals.

Oh well. Congrats Nekov! Honestly, I didn't feel like I deserved to win this anyway. Out of the six albums I've sent, my favourite ones were Vanden Plas and Amadeus Awad, the ones that didn't go that well. I hope you'll check out some bands I've sent you though.

[Nekov]

Win more rounds then any participant in the competition -> lose in the finals.

Well, since this is not the US presidentail elections that actually makes sense 

[ariich]

Win more rounds then any participant in the competition -> lose in the finals.

Hey, I did always say that the final would be a "sudden death" winner-takes-all round.

Bit of an update, I'll be slowly exploring more music that's resulted from this roulette. I'll definitely be exploring more albums by, to be honest, the majority of bands and artists submitted. Plus at some point I'll be checking out artists who were recommended but not submitted (mostly after people had been eliminated, or in one case an album Nekov initially submitted before changing his mind).

I'll post updates here as I have them.

Toehider
Have checked out their other two full-length albums, and they're both great. Maybe not quite as amazing as Creature, but still really excellent. Brilliant discovery, love the quirkiness and some great melodies. They also have a whole bunch of EPs, which I might check out at some point.

Insomnium
Have gone back to the previous album Shadows of the Dying Sun, and while it's not as wonderfully atmospheric as Winter's Gate, it's still fantastic. Another amazing discovery, and I'll continue to go back through their catalog, although as it's broadly within the death metal genre (albeit very melodic) I'm assuming at some point the production values will collapse.

[Evermind]

I really like Shadows of the Dying Sun. I haven't heard the rest of the albums actually, but I just got most of them in the mail. I'll be discovering them soon.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Win more rounds then any participant in the competition -> lose in the finals.

Hey, I did always say that the final would be a "sudden death" winner-takes-all round.

Insomnium
Have gone back to the previous album Shadows of the Dying Sun, and while it's not as wonderfully atmospheric as Winter's Gate, it's still fantastic. Another amazing discovery, and I'll continue to go back through their catalog, although as it's broadly within the death metal genre (albeit very melodic) I'm assuming at some point the production values will collapse.

Actually all of Insomniums albums have pretty good production values, all the way back to their first album. They are also really consistent. My least favorite album of theirs is actually Shadows of the Dying Sun, but even that is great.

[The Walrus]

ariich I hope you don't mind if I steal the full album idea for a roulette in the future

[ariich]

ariich I hope you don't mind if I steal the full album idea for a roulette in the future

Far from it, I'm really pleased someone else wants to do the same thing! My only advice is: keep the number of contestants to a manageable level, and make sure you have time to listen to plenty of music (even it's while doing other things)!

[twosuitsluke]

ariich I hope you don't mind if I steal the full album idea for a roulette in the future

+1

Totally half-inching this

[Crow]

Yeah I'll probably do the same, or at least have an album round in my next roulette

Might be a mini roulette again since doing a full roulette is exhausting 

[coming summer 2018 probably]

[twosuitsluke]

More than anything, I'd like to participate in a roulette like this. It would be really easy to pick out albums to send. It sucks when I think of the perfect band to send in a roulette but can't decide on the perfect song.

[The Walrus]

Cool! Yeah I don't think I could handle 10 albums a week, I'd be able to do 6 or 7 though. Luke, that's exactly why I'd like to hear full albums. Just a single album could contain so many different things.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Cool! Yeah I don't think I could handle 10 albums a week, I'd be able to do 6 or 7 though. Luke, that's exactly why I'd like to hear full albums. Just a single album could contain so many different things.

If you do end up doing one, count me in!

[The Walrus]

Cool! Yeah I don't think I could handle 10 albums a week, I'd be able to do 6 or 7 though. Luke, that's exactly why I'd like to hear full albums. Just a single album could contain so many different things.

If you do end up doing one, count me in!

Sweet. You'll be expected to deliver the goods. 

EDIT: I am creating a RYM page tonight and won't sign up for a roulette until I get that completed.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Cool! Yeah I don't think I could handle 10 albums a week, I'd be able to do 6 or 7 though. Luke, that's exactly why I'd like to hear full albums. Just a single album could contain so many different things.

If you do end up doing one, count me in!

Sweet. You'll be expected to deliver the goods. 

EDIT: I am creating a RYM page tonight and won't sign up for a roulette until I get that completed.

Good idea, I should probably link mine in my signature. In fact I'll do that right now.

[ariich]

EDIT: I am creating a RYM page tonight and won't sign up for a roulette until I get that completed.

I vaguely recall when I first created my profile on there years ago - still now I occasionally find an album I know I heard but never rated.

Anyway UPDATES

Allegaeon - Proponent for Sentience (lonestar)
7.5/10
Strong album - obviously I'd heard the song you sent as part of the tiebreaker, so I decided to check out the album it's from. I dig it. Some of the tracks aren't that exciting and the album is a bit long, but there's some really strong stuff and crunching metal. The Rush cover to close the album off is kinda jarring though, really strange choice.

Anciients - Voice of the Void (lonestar)
7/10
Another good album, solid prog metal but it didn't overly wow me. Some really good moments and some less interesting stuff too. Might give it some more listens at some point and see if it grows on me.

[Sacul]

EDIT: I am creating a RYM page tonight and won't sign up for a roulette until I get that completed.

I vaguely recall when I first created my profile on there years ago - still now I occasionally find an album I know I heard but never rated.

It's become less common but still happens to me sometimes  . Great way of having your music organized anyways.

[ariich]

Continuing in alphabetical order.

Blindead – Affliction XXIX II MXMN (Parama)
7/10
Well, this is a bloody miserable album! It's very dark both musically and conceptually. As such it took a bit of time to sink in for me to appreciate it. It's a very good album, quite emotionally powerful, but I do find it a bit much at times still.

Caligula's Horse – The Tide, the Thief & River's End (Parama)
8.5/10
Very strong prog metal, really enjoyable and dynamic. I thought I'd heard some Caligula's Horse before and not been very impressed, but this is excellent. Will certainly check out more of their stuff.

Jack The Joker – Mors Volta (lonestar)
7/10
Similar to the Anciients album you suggested, there's good stuff all throughout this album, but I don't feel like it holds together especially well. The album drags a bit and it's not consistent enough. There's a lot of really good stuff all over, but I can't see this getting too many listens in future.

The Ocean – Pelagial (Parama)
8/10
This is definitely a grower and some really excellent post-metal. Not everything is killer, but I love the layering of the album, and the way that it starts quite light and delicate to reflect being at the surface, and then the music gets heavier and denser as it descends. Clever concept and really well executed.

[Crow]

nice 
should've sent caligula's horse & i would've made the finals easily 

[ariich]

Right, some more post-roulette thoughts.

Oh Hiroshima – Resistance is futile (Nekov)
6.5/10
Perfectly pleasant, with some very nice moments, but for the most part I'm just not finding this album especially interesting. Feels quite post-rock-by-numbers, for a lot of it, though there are still some really good bits. You did well not to choose this in the final, as you would not have won.

Vasudeva — No Clearance (Nekov)
7.5/10
By contrast, this was your initial submission for round 4 before you quickly changed your mind and sent Lonely Robot instead. And while that was a good call overall as I slightly prefer that one, this is really good too. Post-rock with a bit of a math rock twist. Very dynamic, lots of interesting and engaging stuff going on. The odd dull segment, but mostly very nice stuff.

Wilderun – Sleep at the Edge of the Earth (Parama)
8/10
Don't even really know how to describe this as it seems to bring a lot of different ideas together (folk, metal, prog, etc.) but I like it a lot! Kinda reminds me of Dissona in a couple of places. Great stuff.


Just have a couple more bands to check out that were mentioned but not submitted (Der Weg einer Freiheit by Parama, and Yargos by Nekov) and then I'll get back to exploring more albums by those that were!

[Nekov]

Good for me then 

[ariich]

Final thoughts on the albums that were recommended but not submitted:

Der Weg einer Freiheit – Finisterre (Parama)
7/10
Pretty good stuff, took a couple of listens for it to sink in but there's some great moments and a handful of nice climaxes. Doesn't quite hit the mark for me overall though, I think I'd enjoy it more with a bit more melody and atmosphere, but it's good black metal nonetheless.

Yargos – To Be or Not to Be (Nekov)
6.5/10
Decent enough, but not especially exciting, prog rock/metal. I think I only like it even as much as I do because of Mac's vocals, which were great and which I was not expecting at all as I had no idea he'd been involved in other bands. On my first listen I was thinking "that sounds like Mac... no really that sounds SO much like him... ok that literally has to be him...". Anyway some good ideas but overall this album feels a little run of the mill.

[ariich]

Also an update on Insomnium:

Win more rounds then any participant in the competition -> lose in the finals.

Hey, I did always say that the final would be a "sudden death" winner-takes-all round.

Insomnium
Have gone back to the previous album Shadows of the Dying Sun, and while it's not as wonderfully atmospheric as Winter's Gate, it's still fantastic. Another amazing discovery, and I'll continue to go back through their catalog, although as it's broadly within the death metal genre (albeit very melodic) I'm assuming at some point the production values will collapse.

Actually all of Insomniums albums have pretty good production values, all the way back to their first album. They are also really consistent. My least favorite album of theirs is actually Shadows of the Dying Sun, but even that is great.

You're right, such a great and consistent band. Their first two albums are a bit less engaging in both music and production IMO (still 7/10 albums though) but the other 5 are all great, and Shadows has actually grown on me more - I'm loving how unashamedly melodic it is.

[Nekov]

Well, it seems that for once my judgement was spot on when choosing between 2 albums each time. That has to be a first