uh now!
ok.
Again, this was very even round and better than round 1 which say a lot. You have to stop sending so good songs
I feel like I didn't do justice to some of the songs because I didn't know really what to say but sometimes I like or dislike song for unknown reason, I just feel like it. And scores are still very even but that's how good everything is.
Round 2 ResultsEvermind: The Wishing Tree - SoldierI was really grateful for getting the band I never heard of because this round is full of those I either heard or heard of. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. This song is nice but I can’t say I like it that much. Singer’s voice is just ok to me, I couldn’t get into it, maybe because it’s breathy, I don’t know. Some melodies are actually great but they lost me pretty fast. At the moments, guitar sounds like neofolk which is definitely a plus in my book. However, I can’t say I’m thrilled with it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good but I’m not crazy about it. My biggest problem with the song is that it really feels like a long interlude or fantasy TV show opening.
I’d like to like it more but unfortunately, while I like some parts of it, I really have no desire to listen to it anymore.
6/10Sacul: Sufjan Stevens - John Wayne Gacy JrAnother semi-banned artist. I actually liked his latest album very much but never heard anything else until now. Opening is classic Sufjan Stevens, acoustic guitar and piano. I liked his voice on Carrie & Lowell as well but here he sounds much better, in my opinion. His voice here is much fuller and natural opposed to that other album where he sounds like he’s refraining himself from letting his full voice out. What I absolutely love here is that part with falsetto, you know it
(“…oh my God…”). I have to admit I’m usually not fan of those storytelling lyrics, I’m more of a poetry lover
Another song I feel like I didn’t do justice with my write-up but I don’t know what to say. It’s good, would listen again but it didn’t really grab me like Low Roar from round 1, for example.
7.5/10Parama: The Ocean - Stenian (Mount Sorrow)Another band I heard full album of. I liked them pretty much but I’m not crazy about that album. Beginning sounds almost like swing piano, getting kind of BTBAM vibe. Real thing starts with guitar and bass though, and after that there are strings which blend pretty good with everything else. That’s some intro. After intro, real paramacore starts
I’m never sure if I like these screaming vocals or not, but I know I don’t hate them. Cleans are pretty good. I never expected screaming and strings would work this good. What I find weird are those random blast beats, where did that come from? Again, this reminds me of BTBAM for some reason.
Again, I’m sorry for not giving it more than 7,5. I though it will grow on me but it didn’t really. It is really good but not something I would listen to all day right now. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll like it more.
7.5/10Luoto: Barren Earth - Our TwilightMy first thought was: is this Amorphis?
It really sounds like them. Growls are awesome and those melodic parts underneath are catchy. On the other hand, I think clean vocals are just ok, I’d like if there was more energy in them. Solo sounds just like melodic death metal solo, I don’t find it special. Highlight of the song for me is the part after the solo. Similar melodic riff from the opening is back and paired with those growls it sounds mighty.
Overall, this is very good. My complaint is that it sounds really expected, like something I would imagine when thinking of melodic death metal (I won’t say it’s generic). And this round is very strong so I’m confident with this score. I’ll definitely check this band further though.
7,5/10Shadow Ninja 2.0: Sarah Fimm - OrchidsI remember seeing this cover art somewhere but I had no idea what kind of music it is. It starts with vocals and piano right away, and both sound great. I don’t know what’s that piano sound is called but I love it. Singer’s voice is very warm, natural and emotional. Lyrics are very simple but it works because the song is simple as well. There are also some cello (I think), I wonder how would it sound it they played bigger role, under voice instead of solo section. Unfortunately, I can’t say I think it works that good here.
It’s really hard to describe it because it’s simple song. 7,5 because it starts and ends almost abruptly, I don’t like that. Very good song but it needs
something to be more special to me.
7.5/10Scorpion: Thrice - BeggarsI heard their latest recently and I liked some songs and I heard it’s not really their best so I was excited to hear this. In 100% hearing Thrice or Dustin, he sounded too good. I especially like how his voice gets from clean to gritty, and emotion in his voice sounds honest. When that bass kicked in it overpowered everything else. And I told that in round 1, I like loud bass
Listening for the first time I was expecting it to get more “electric” and it did, with feedback-y guitar in the background. It may seem I love everything about it but even though there’s climax, I miss something to give me a wow factor, dunno.
This song was great and I’m looking forward to exploring them further. As I said, no real complaints, just it doesn’t feel like more than 7,5 to me.
7.5/10Fluffy Lothario: Fleet Foxes - LorelaiI listened to their EP a few times but I remember only the song Mykonos, after that I kinda forgot about them. So I knew what to expect and I got exactly that. There is classic uplifting opening: melodic guitar line and vocal harmonies. Harmonies reminds me of classic pop-rock bands like The Beatles. It is pretty “hippy” music
Singer’s voice is very nice but I knew that before. Overall sound is very folky, maybe even too much in direction I don’t like that much. On first, this sounds like simple song but there are some instruments in background (brass) and it is actually really complex with it, guitar, drums, vocals and backing vocals.
It is another of those songs I have nothing against but still can’t give it higher score
7.5/10Elite: Obsidian Kingdom - Away / AbsentIt’s weird I never checked it out because you send this in every roulette
I think I heard something off Mantiis and all I remember is that it was weird, I didn’t like it very much. Intro sounds like classic post metal, heavy bass, atmospheric guitars and then buried vocals. Drumming is really what stands out on first, I like this kind of fills. Also, bass is great. In one moment it sounds very messy and chaotic, not a bad thing, just I needed some time to get what’s happening. Where it gets super awesome is the middle of the song when it gets calmer, creating thick atmosphere. After that, everything is progressively heavier and heavier and then there’s that classic breakdown, really powerful. What I don’t like is production. I feel it could sound better and I if want to hear everything clearly I need to blast it really loud.
Cool song, it was actually my favorite out of heavy songs on first listen but some others have grown on me more. What I don’t like very much is production and it’s really weird song, don’t know what else to call it
8/10twosuitsluke: Turisas - Miklagard OvertureI heard of them and listened to them before. They didn’t leave great impact on me though, their image seemed silly and it was just too much for me. But this sounds really epic right from the beginning. I’ll probably overuse that word in this write-up but there is no better word than “epic”. I immediately realized singer is not native speaker and that’s why I like growling more than cleans (if that’s same singer at all). But cleans are ok as well. Talking about epicness, “Konstantinopolis” part is
. I like how even calmer parts get heavier and heavier, with electric instead of acoustic guitar. Those trumpets or whatever that is were too much for me at first but I learned to like them and they fit the theme and atmosphere. Whole atmosphere in the middle part is just epic, heavy chuggy guitars, keys, trumpets and what not. And then there’s choir. Epic, again. Me sending Ensiferum in your roulette probably influenced you to send Turisas and while they share similar themes, I don’t hear similarities other than growling style (and I’m glad it’s not that similar). This sound much more progressive than I thought it would be. At the end there’s choir singing “Konstantinopolis” part, I don’t have word to describe that
I feel like I could like this band even though I’m not into this kind of music lately. I think 8,5 is fair score. It is one of the best song I got so far but there are some I liked little more.
8.5/10Scar: Beach House - MythI had no idea what to expect out of this, not even what genre it is. It starts almost like some Christmas song
melodic guitar and something that sound like bells in the background (?). Progressively, drums and bass kick in giving it really full and dreamy sound. Then I realized it has to be dream pop or something like that. Singer’s voice is also very nice, dreamy and smooth. I wouldn’t realize it is female singer if I didn’t check their Wikipedia page
Chorus is absolutely beautiful. And second verse gets even better because of backing vocals which make it more intense. Really simple but it makes it better. Perfect word for this kind of music is bittersweet, and I love that. I feel butterflies in stomach while listening to it
I’d just like it to be little longer.
It was my favorite on the first listen but two others have grown on me very much so there’s that. But I’m looking forward to checking this out.
8.5/10home: Fair to Midland - Orphan Anthem '86I wanted to check this out since forever, I guess now it’s finally time to do it. Atmospheric intro, nice piano, layered vocals, I like all of it and I kinda expected it to sound like it. But I didn’t really expect it to be heavy, more like dredg or something like that. Singer’s voice is very emotional, love it. Now to talk about chorus, it is just perfect, dynamic change over calmer verses and emotion is on point, I love how different vocal styles sound together. Again, I didn’t expect screaming at all. Another thing I like is piano. It’s always there, on both calm and heavy parts. After the song is over I just want to hear it again, especially that chorus, it’s that good. I don’t know what to say about production, it’s raw and while it works, cleaner production may work even better.
I almost gave this 9 but I like song of the round better. Can’t wait to check these guys out!
8.5/10Train of Naught: Soen - SectarianAgain, I heard this band before, they sounded pretty much like Tool but I heard they changed a bit. And yes, they definitely did, intro riff already don’t sound like Tool. However, when singers started singing he reminded me of Mikael Akerfeldt and that’s not bad given how much I like Mikael’s voice. Bass and guitar riffs are heavy awesome and Martin Lopez’s drumming, as always, kicks ass. Too bad everything sound mushed together so I can’t really focus on drumming. There were so many good choruses in this round but this one wins the crown. At first I didn’t realize how great it was but with repeated listens this song got few points more just because of that chorus. Solo has eastern vibe, something we can hear in Opeth these days. And after it there’s Blackwater Park riff
not really but you have to admit there are similarities. Also, I think singer sounds better than on the other songs from them I heard, especially in high end, I don’t think he even tried hitting higher notes on those songs.
Yes, this is definitely their best out of those I heard. I suck at scoring so this gets only 9
it almost got 9,5 to be honest but almost. It needs to be really perfect for 9,5 or 10. I’m looking forward to this album, especially if it’ll sound like this.
You're winner of the round and you get to choose your bonus.
9/10STANDINGS:
1. Shadow Ninja 2.0 - 16 + 1 = 17
2. Train of Naught - 16,5
3. Scar - 16
4. home - 15,5
4. Luoto - 15,5
4. Parama - 15,5
4. Scorpion - 15,5
8. Elite - 15
8. Sacul - 15
8. twosuitsluke - 15
11. Fluffy Lothario - 14,5
12. Evermind - 14