Got your Round 2 results right here, bitches. I'm not entirely happy with a couple of the writeups but they aren't going to get any better.
Shadow Ninja 2.0 vs EliteShadow Ninja 2.0I've seen videos like this before, though whether or not I have seen this guy in particular I do not know. Anyway, these are really cool people to watch play, because they do so much more than just play the gee-tar well - being able to utilise the guitar as a percussive instrument to create a myriad of different sounds while simultaneously playing it takes a high degree of skill, I'd imagine, not to mention needing a good ear to be able to play notes and bend them by rotating the tuners. I also like the overdriven sound - when playing softly the notes are (mostly) clean, but then as he strikes notes harder they become really fuzzy. That sort of control over your dynamics when playing is, again, not something I'd imagine you pick up straight away when you start playing the guitar.
The only caveat to something like this is that, while it has that wow-factor and it's incredibly entertaining to watch (I've even forwarded it to a guitarist friend of mine already), the music itself isn't really entertaining enough for me to want to listen to it. All of the entertainment value is in watching the performance and realising what kind of talent and imagination is necessary to create it. That's not to say I didn't actually like the song: due to the way Jon plays there's some good variety in this song, especially given that it is vocals and acoustic guitar only. I think the mellower parts like the verses where he plays with the tuners are really good. But then there's a lot in the song that is about the performance first, since this is, after all, mostly about the spectacle, and that makes the video more entertaining but brings the song itself down, and although it's a relatively short song and he introduces new sounds as it progresses, the song does drag a bit. Although again, the performance itself doesn't drag or get boring at all.
I'm going to separate the song from the performance and try to base my decision on the song itself only, and so you don't earn a star as a result because I liked Elite's song more. However this was still a good submission, I enjoyed watching it immensely and am glad that you did share it with me.
Elite- Agent Fresco - See Hell
I'd heard of this band before, but I don't think I had ever listened to any of their music. What we have here is an energetic progressive rock song that wastes no time getting started - from the very first second this song establishes itself with a cool riff that involves alternating between two intervals, and is reminiscent of the intro to Bulls On Parade. I'm not a musician, but it sounds like it might be sevenths, which gives the riff an almost dissonant sound and, along with the time signature and changing drum patterns, this creates a nice staccato, almost frantic feel. The keyboard that appears has a pretty original sound for this kind of music which is a plus, because a lot of prog rock (and metal) bands get caught up using the same or very similar sounds. Here, the keys almost sound like something I'd expect more in an ambient electronica track than a rockin' prog track. After the intro things become less frantic and the drums groove more. I like the how the vocal melodies here and in the prechorus jump up in places. This guy has a nice falsetto too, which is showcased especially well in the prechorus and chorus of the song. The stacatto reappears throughout the song, but this time with the vocals, making the "to condemn or to crown" line a particular standout. The thick reverb on everything was an interesting way to close the song, too.
jingle.boy vs Evermindjingle.boy- Seventh Wonder - The Angelmaker
This is another band I tried to get into many years ago, and failed. It is also another band I figured someone would be sending in this roulette (there's been a few already and I have no doubt there are many more to follow
). I know I've heard a few songs from Become, I know I've heard most if not all of Waiting in the Wings, and I know I've heard the title track on The Great Escape. When exactly, I don't really remember. Why I didn't get into this band, I don't really remember that, either.
Listening to this song, I think I might have an idea though. There's nothing bad here, really - as far as progressive metal goes, it's got everything you would want. It's got both heavy and lighter sections. It's got riffs. It's got piano. It's got plenty of synths and even a bit of organ. Vocally it's not bad, you are right I am somewhat familiar with Tommy Karevik and I don't mind his voice. The reason I probably didn't explore these guys further? What you'd expect this song to have, is pretty much all that it has. Don't get me wrong - it's done reasonably well, I did enjoy it, I will bookmark this album and listen to it after the roulette. But there was nothing about this track that really stood out, that made me think "fuck, why wasn't I listening to these guys before? Why aren't I listening to more of it
right now?". I liked this song, but I wasn't excited by it too much; I thought it was a bit on the generic side for the mostpart, and I'm a lot harder to please. You also told me when you sent that these guys write amazing verses, but I'm not really hearing it.
My favourite bits: The bass playing throughout the majority of the song was quite good. The intro was nice before the distorted guitars and synth solo came in, shame it was so short. The final parts of the song with vox were also quite good.
Evermind- Nightwish - Last Ride of the Day
Surprising fact: This is again a band I tried to get into at some point in history, with the album Once...and also the Endless Forms album, which I didn't realise when I asked you to resubmit your Once submission, so I am glad you didn't pick something from that album when you sent a new song or I'd have had to ask you to resend again.
They obviously didn't click at the time, but I've gotten a song from you that I have never heard before, so let's see what happened while I listened to it.
This track makes a
much better first impression than I remember any of the other Nightwish tracks I've heard making. It starts off with the orchestral instrumentation, with some violins playing a riff and what I believe is the cello playing a low, droning, rather ominous note underneath. But this track wastes no time introducing some crunchy as fuck guitar, accented by the drums to give it punch and impact. It takes off completely from there and gets into a really nice, heavy groove accompanied by a choir, singing the same riff as the strings earlier, that cut above the metal instrumentation. The song lets up during the first part of each verse, keeping it simple with a drum beat, softer strings and the lead vox, and its brief instrumental section is on the mellow side aswell, but it's otherwise competely brazen and unrelenting with its balls-to-the-wall attitude. When it comes to the combination of heavy metal music, string sections, and choirs, this is the kind of thing that gets me wet. Vocally, I especially liked how the choir was utilised here, I liked how the male backing vox added a bit of depth to the lead vocals, and the lead singer herself wasn't bad either.
You got a gold star this round, and you got to beat Chad. Don't let him forget it.
Big Hath vs ScorpionBig Hath- Paramore - That's What You Get
I'd heard of this band, but I knew next to nothing about them - so little infact that I actually thought they were an indie rock band.
This song certainly was not that - it was a pretty straight up hard rock song, with a slight punk influence. Truth be told, I'm actually surprised this is something you're into (you do listen to this, right?). But, it was a nice surprise.
The attitude of the vocalist during a lot of this song was probably the thing that most gave this song a slight punk feel - she's got that distinct attitude in her pronunciation that I attribute with those styles. At times she reminded me a bit of Avril Lavigne, as she often employs the same vocal technique in her songs (yes, I listen to Avril Lavigne - her first album though, and certainly not that Hello Kitty bullshit
). I liked the verses especially here, where the song wasn't as upfront and there was more breathing room. The clean electric guitar with wah was a nice addition here, since that is a little atypical for a song like this (as far as my experience goes, anyway). The song itself was a bit straightforward - no real surprises here - but it rocks, it's catchy...I enjoyed it a lot.
ScorpionI should probably just start to copy/paste what I've previously said about bands I tried to get into at the past and how I was pretty sure they would be sent in this roulette. I'm just going to skip talking about what or when I gave this band a chance and just get straight to the point.
Shadow Gallery is a band that always thought of as a straightforward, predictable progressive metal band. They do what they do, they might even do it reasonably well, but they've nothing to offer beyond what I would expect from the genre. I'm afraid that this song hasn't really changed my mind at all. I liked it a bit more than previous things I've heard from them - I think a lot of that has to do with the fact I listened to this song more than once, though, because this track improved with repeated listens. That fact alone is the reason why I will explore Shadow Gallery more after the roulette.
A lot of what I had to say about Chad's submission this round comes into play here, aswell. This song is perhaps slightly more bland, since it doesn't really have as much variety in the dynamics, and the vocals were not as strong. Even after having listened to it about 10-12 times, I still find it largely forgettable. But on to the things I do like; The piano in this song, during the intro and chorus in particular, was more reminiscent of AOR to me than metal which, granted, is at least somewhat unique and created an interesting combination of styles. The chorus was probably highlight of the song, but it was still good, not great. The beginning of the instrumental section before the guitar/synth solos was decent aswell. What I didn't feel so much: The riffage was here, but it was fairly run-of-the-mill stuff and none of it stood out at all. Vocally the song was a bit hit-or-miss (mostly miss) aswell.
I'll check this album out, but you haven't impressed me enough to earn a star this time, I'm afraid.
Parama vs SaculParama- Oceansize - Trail of Fire
I'd heard of this band, but I didn't remember if I ever got around to listening to them. According to my Last.fm I listened to a song called "Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt" more than two years ago, but I don't remember anything about it. So I know at the very least I listened to something, and it didn't click enough at the time for me to explore the band further. Let's see if you changed my mind at all.
The short answer before I elaborate is: Maybe. I've never really been able to get into post-rock, but I'd say this song has done better than any other attempt I've made at making me stop and think "Should I be listening to more of this?" though, so you get some props for that alone.
Having said that, while this can be at times a somewhat beautiful song, for me it's a bit same-y overall (despite having a reasonable number of sections for an 8+ minute song) and I think it drags on for a bit too long. The intro and first verse is quite strong, I like the slightly frantic feel to the riff and the hi-hats. Around the 1:04 mark the guitar takes on a different but similar ostinato which is brought to life with a delay that also bounces it around in the stereo image a bit, to great effect. The song goes on with this for another couple of minutes before it becomes a little more aggressive, but while there are things I like here such as the use of wah and what sounds like a violin, it's probably the least exciting part of the song for me. I like when the cleaner beginnings return for the outro, which is decent. If the song were shorter and had less or none of the aggressive bit in the middle, I'd rate it a lot higher.
So yeah, like almost every submission so far I will definitely check this album out when all is said and done, but outside of maybe finding a couple of songs that I like, I don't have high expectations.
Sacul- Marketa Irglova - Time Immemorial
What we have here is a nice, relaxing singer/songwriter type song with some folk influence. I don't listen to much of this sort of thing, but there's an artist called Mree that I listen to, and this reminds me of what she does quite a bit (have you heard of her?). I wouldn't say I like this more than anything Mree does, but it isn't bad at all.
Instrumentation in this song is good - from the soft piano chords spaced apart that are allowed to sustain and decay, to the slightly energetic broken acoustic guitar chords, the violins that fill up all the empty space in the mix, and the minimalistic, almost marching-band-like snare rolls...this is a well constructed and beautiful sounding folk ballad. Despite liking all of that, I think the highlight here is the vocals - Marketa has a soft, dreamy texture to her voice during the verses, which is isolated and unaccompanied, but she uses harmonies well when more emphasis is needed on her voice. Adding further to that, she layers several of these harmonies in the choruses and latter parts of the track to create a gorgeous sound that spans the stereo image and widens it, making the these sections sound "larger" than others.
I know you were discouraged after the last round, but you have done a lot to redeem yourself. Keep it up.
It was perhaps a little bit more mixed than the first round, but still plenty of solid submissions from you guys. Keep it up. Chad's words when sending his song were "Strength vs strength against Ruslan", but Ruslan managed to fight back and show superior strength. Sacul grabs his first star (of many?) after a rocky start, leaving Parama the only contestant yet to score. But it's still anyone's game at this point, and with 5 more rounds Parama has ample opportunity to stick it to some of you.
Here's how you all ranked against one another for Round 2:
Evermind
Big Hath
Elite / Sacul
jingle.chad
Shadow Ninja 2.0 / Parama / Scorpion
Here is the new and improved scoreboard. People who earned stars in the last round, for the most part, didn't manage to get much of anything here and so things have evened out a little bit. With the first round it was obvious who was winning, but after just one additional round things are starting to look a little unclear, and who is doing better than who is starting to become harder to discern. Well, for you guys that is - I know precisely how many points each of you has and what the ranking is so far.
Round 3: Rumble!Matchups for the third round will be:
Shadow Ninja 2.0 vs
Evermindjingle.boy vs
Big HathScorpion vs
SaculParama vs
Elite