Post-roulette Paramarathon part 3: Too... heavy?
A preface to this section, which you called “too… heavy?”. I don't think any of these are too heavy, in the sense that there's nothing on them that makes me think “this is too extreme for me”. But as you know I'm quite picky if there isn't the right balance or level and type of melodic approach in there, and to varying degrees these albums all suffer a bit from not quite doing it for me in that regard.
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Parama: Exist – Sunlight (2013)
Sent after the roulette was over
Well, I don't hate it, but I don't love it either, which is possibly the most disappointing result for you. In a way, I wish I liked this more, because it has some very cool moments. Some of the jazz metal stuff is pretty unique (to me anyway) and there's the odd nice melodic moment. But overall, I'm not a huge fan. A lot of it I just find a little boring, the heavier material in particular just not really doing it for me at all. Even among the stuff I like more, some of the jazzy bits feel like meander too much, and a lot of the melodies are not very interesting.
Score: 6.5
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Parama: Mithras – On Strange Loops (2016)
Sent after the roulette was over
This is good but there's still something lacking. They have an interesting and unusual harmonic approach which I kind of dig, but I don't feel like it really goes anywhere. It's pretty heavy instrumentally and the vocals are all harsh, so generally I need a good sense of melody. And a lot of it is sort of melodic I guess, but I don't really find any of it very tuneful, if that distinction makes any sense. After a while it all kind of blurs into one. I'm not sure it's right to say that I find it “too much”, at least in terms of heaviness, but it does stick pretty relentlessly with one style that never quite does it for me.
Score: 7.0
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Parama: Cryptodira – The Devil's Despair (2017)
Sent after the roulette was over
I'd say this is my favourite of the three. There's a real Opeth vibe in some of the heavy bits, some cool proggy stuff peppered throughout, and some good atmospheric sections. However, while it's pretty consistently solid throughout (certainly once it gets a few tracks in), it never manages to reach greatness territory. The heavy stuff doesn't quite get me headbanging or fistpumping, and most of the melodic and atmospheric stuff lacks the hooks to really grab me. Even my favourite songs here, like Gods of Epicurus and Longing Belonging, are probably an 8/10. So yeah, I like it but I think you're right that it's just outside my wheelhouse, as the phrase goes.
Score: 7.5
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EDIT: Oh yeah, just one more Paramarathon update, then Train of Naught, and then I'll probably provide some thoughts on what I've been digging into in terms of artists' discographies.