Parama, the funny thing is that all the evidence pointed at you and Seneca sending the same song, but you actually sent the different ones.
Anyway, the (hopefully) long anticipated results!
Round 5: Results
mikemangioy / ErHaO: Elvenking – King of the ElvesWell, when I was saying I really like the folky side of Ensiferum and Eluveitie I didn’t mean this over-the-top intense drumming this song has in the very beginning, which is absolutely awkward, in my opinion. It gets better then, of course, so that’s quite a small complaint. The strained male vocals are questionable to say the least. However, the instrumental side of this song is good enough, and those calm folky breaks like the one at 1:45 represents exactly what I like in those pagan folk metal bands; and the lofty parts are quite appealing too. I also don’t mind when the song strays more into the power metal territory. Overall, nearly all the parts of this tune are nice enough, but I feel like they’re sometimes just crammed together to make a longer song. This is basically my biggest problem with the long songs, if I feel they’re not cohesive, and if they are more like the collection of a few other songs, I can’t give them a good score because I simply don’t enjoy them a lot. The jarring, weird transitions can ruin the song for me, and while it doesn’t happen there, I do think the song is a bit disjointed. Just a bit though. The section at 6:30 – 7:30 with those weird vocals nearly ruins the song for me, but as they say, the darkest hour is always right before the dawn (and with this writeup I’m trying to reach the rather high level of cheesiness this song sustains for the whole 13 minutes
), so when those female vocals appear, this song turns into a total bliss, smoothing a lot of rough edges. This part is so beautiful I want to repeat it over and over. Amazing acoustic and strings arrangement and great Amanda’s contribution to the track. Pity the rest of this tune isn’t that incredible.
7.5/10
Tyrias: Chelsea Wolfe – The Waves Have ComeYou know, I’m looking at my first thoughts now and I wrote “I don’t like the vocals” four times there. Well, I wouldn’t say I was wrong, because I still don’t like the vocals, but not
that much. This song has this kind of slow and not very exciting beginning with this monotonous, depressing piano playing, which doesn’t appeal to me; the strings in the background are brilliant though. While I tried to concentrate on the other aspects on this tune, the strings drew me attention back to them on every listen. On the last listen I started to subconsciously block the vocals until the payoff at 4:45, because I really don’t think they add anything positive and valuable to the song until that point. The part after 4:45 is glorious, though; and this is when all the song’s elements get to shine in the full force, but it’s just a bit too late for me, because buildup didn’t work at all. The first part could use some trimming and maybe even should be an instrumental. For eight minutes, this song has remarkably little amount of something good going on in it, only the strings and this beautiful section in the second half. But those two things were so good I can’t give this song a low score.
6.5/10
Sacul: DJ Shadow – Building Steam with a Grain of SaltI tried to be an open-minded listener, I really did, but when I saw “Here’s an instrumental piece of hip hop” and “Enjoy it.” in description of the same song, I couldn’t help but smile at these sentences. Well, actually, this is not that bad. But at the same time, it’s not that good either, because it has nothing to grab my attention at all. I don’t really like how the sampled drums (they are drums, right?) sound, with that unfitting awkward riff (now it’s the moment for you to say I just like cheesy rhythms, so that’s why this one isn’t up my alley
), and also there are some weird sounds just before the spoken parts I absolutely hated. I liked the sampled keyboard sounds (or whatever it is, I’m never sure with this genre) quite well, but otherwise, I don’t think I like it. Could be a nice stuff to play in the background, but I have this ambient stuff for it. That Ulver song you’ve sent, for example, would fit much better for background music. Or Storm Corrosion. And the fact this song lasts seven minutes doesn’t help either. Sorry.
4.5/10
bl5150: Angel Dust – BleedThis starts off so peacefully that I would be fooled into thinking this is a ballad if I didn’t read your description. Great keyboard riff in the beginning sets the atmosphere nicely, and indeed reminds me of Savatage. The vocalist, on the other hand, reminds me of your Morifade entry, and the whole song is pretty much headbanging heaven during the verses and a bit more melodic side on the chorus. The punchline in the chorus is done very well. Actually, scratch then, the whole chorus is done very well. While this song is incredible instrumentally, I think the vocals could’ve been a bit better though. Yeah, they kind of fit the atmosphere, but something about them puts me off just a bit. The scream in the end is cool indeed, though the calm part before it could’ve been better too. I don’t have a lot more to write about this tune, except that this is another solid entry from you. I guess I know for sure who I should ask to recommend me some good hard rock and power metal now. Also, while this song is quite like that Morifade tune you’ve sent me, I kind of like this one better.
8.5/10
wolfking: Nightingale – On Stolen WingsAfter those – well, not misses, but not quite great songs – in the previous two rounds you’re finally making a sort of comeback with this one. You know, the funny thing, this actually reminds me of that C2C song you’ve sent, the atmosphere is kind of the same, but I love the delivery and the melodies much more. This was a total pleasure to listen to, and while it doesn’t have some sky-high quality moments of awesomeness, nor does it have an overwhelming length like a lot of other songs in this round, this tune just so solid all the way through, and it’s so enjoyable I want to spin this again. I like those gritty, raspy vocals and I’m impressed how this man goes pretty low in his vocal delivery. At first, you was a clear winner of the round, but I think I’m just a bit less excited about this song after five listens, but I still love it nevertheless. I can’t really pinpoint what I love that much about this tune, but I just love it. I mean, I don’t really need to justify these scores, right? Because so far this song is great. I don’t know about how much lasting power this album will have for me, but I’ll buy it right after the roulette, that’s for sure. Guess it really works when you send the songs without considering the other possibilities and without thinking about the consequences. Great tune, man.
8.5/10
Parama: Thank You Scientist – Blood on the RadioI saw you regarding this album quite high in the band’s thread, saying all songs on it warrant at least 8/10. Well, not for me, apparently. The beginning is just great, I’ll give this to you, but when the vocals appear, the song quickly goes from very good to quite average. I like how groovy it is with the bass and drums, but it really could use better vocals, like your entries by Diablo Swing Orchestra or Bodies of Water. And in fact, it’s a pity, because I quite like the wind and string instruments behind the vocals, I guess the song has a lot of potential and I see why someone might like it, but the vocals are just too out there for the most parts of this tune, so it’s not exactly enjoyable. But then around 7:00 it gets more enjoyable indeed and the song is saved by those parts. It also really reminds me of that Headspace song RJ sent me in Round 3, and overall, the song left a positive impression on me. Could be trimmed or maybe the better vocalist is needed, but it’s quite alright.
7/10
Dr. DTVT: Tiles – CheckerboardsAlright, here’s the thing I want to address first. Hahaha, damn, man, what a cover art.
Now we can get to the review of the song itself. You know, five participants sent me songs longer than 10 minutes; two people sent the same song of Elvenking, two other people sent those different songs from Speaking to Stones, and you alone sent something unexpected and really unpredictable. I couldn’t mention it in my regular “first thoughts” thing in the thread itself, but among those long tunes your song was the only one I actually remembered a lot of stuff from. And, well, that’s just great. This whole chorus got stuck in my head after the first listen indeed, those clean, tranquil and confident vocals along with strong vocal melodies left a powerful impression on me, and I just couldn’t help but sing this “scattering checkers on the floo-ooar” line. I love this chorus, and I’m really happy every single time it pops up. I also love the bass on this song, very audible and cool, one of the best things about this track. This is even more like IQ than that Pendragon song, probably because of vocals. The calm part is great, the whole song is great too; the callback to the beginning is a bit clumsy, but still, while I wasn’t sure where to place your song after the first listen (it was 8.5), I’m damn sure now. Somewhere at the very top indeed. You should really prepare to scatter all those checkers on the floor in the next few rounds.
9.5/10
Shadow Ninja 2.0: Kishi Bashi – Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!Alright, dude, what the hell is this? I don’t even know how to describe it properly, and honestly, I don’t even want to know. Some kind of psychedelic pop stuff, I guess? I really appreciate you trying to broaden my musical horizons, but this is like thrash, nearly unlistenable. My hand unconsciously reaches out for this X mark in the upper right corner of my browser when I’m listening to this. Unlike, say, this weird bluesy Steam Powered Giraffe stuff I liked, this has almost nothing of interest for me. I guess the strings and the acoustic stuff was kind of alright, but that’s it. Once again, I like how you’re trying something totally outside my comfort zone, but this song is so much outside it I don’t even know.
3/10
senecadawg2: David Gray – Gathering DustYou know, the thing I’ve found the most difficult in hosting the roulette of my own, and this thing also incredibly disappointed me when I was playing the other hosts’ roulettes, it’s when you’re putting your very soul into your entries, sending out your favourite artist ever, making your description so lush and admiring and full of extensive superlatives you’re stunned by your vocabulary, only to find out the host didn’t like your song. I bet you’ve already got over it because you won quite a huge number of those back in these very days, but I still feel bad criticizing your favourite musician’s song. But I just can’t help it. (Now you should be scared and fear about your score.) His voice is quite ordinary, and while I’ve begun to appreciate it after a few spins, I have one grudge I just can’t drop at all. The way he sings “time” in those “stole my time” lines, you know which ones I’m talking about, well, it’s just infuriating for me and I can’t do anything about it. Stole my taime. All my taime. Stole my taime. Hell, man. You know, I think a lot of those singer-songwriter folks tend to do something I hate in their voice, mostly because their songs are composed only of their main instrument and their voice. I won’t lie, I liked the song on the first listen, and I liked it even more on the subsequent once, but it still could’ve been better. I love Joan Baez songs not only because of her incredible lyrics, but also because of her voice. David Gray, in my opinion, doesn’t have this kind of heavenly voice, but still, he got something else. I can’t say what it is right now, but I’ll be sure to delve into the man’s discography to find out. It’s growing on me with every listen, but as of now, I can’t give it no more than…
7.5/10
It really doesn’t happen that often in the roulettes; I’ve got two songs by one band, both progressive as hell and both are over fourteen minutes. And it was indeed intriguing. I expected something going into the progressive rock realm from RJ, and something heavy and sweeping from Scorpion. And I indeed got it from both of them.
lonestar: Speaking to Stones – EarthEarth to earth, dust to dustAfter a pretty long intro, this song unexpectedly goes into this serene, calm acoustic mood, which indeed did surprise me. You definitely should know I really prefer the quiet, moderately paced, thoughtful and unhurried kind of songs, and when they reach the point where they explode after all the plodding yet exciting things, they’re doing it with so much style I can’t help but be swayed by their beauty; and when the track goes all intense I’m just headbanging along. The chorus was pretty underwhelming under the weight of the whole song, and the acoustic part in the middle is really magnificent, floating into this progressive rock I expected. But you know, even if I didn’t like or maybe didn’t grasp some of this song sections, it all gets unimportant when the actual climax of the song comes in at 11:53. I thought I didn’t really like the chorus before that, but this guitar melody and the actual, real chorus with all the support and the buildup coming in, this is how the long progressive song should be constructed. Incredible ending.
8.5/10
Scorpion: Speaking to Stones – WindInto the eye of the stormIn fact, I would’ve thought that earth should be heavier than wind, but then, earth gives life to the plants, while wind can destroy a lot of stuff. It actually can be seen the other way around too, but I’m sticking to this explanation. The riffing reminds me of your Lost in Thought entry; it’s really just this solid progressive metal. This song enters with the heavy intro too, but then instead of acoustic calm stuff uses this magnificent piano break followed by expert keyboard playing, just incredible. And when the pounding, dark and intense riff with those strained, low vocals enter, well, this is when I’m totally sold on this song. The vocals are also more reckless and soaring, switching to aggressive appearance just when it’s really needed. I really like the verses on this song, pretty simple yet haunting and convincing. Of course, the song can’t go the same for those whole fourteen minutes, so there’s an acoustic break around 7:00 too, and I think I even like it more than Earth’s one. I always thought I prefer the calmer songs to the intense ones, but in case with Speaking to Stones, it seems like they’ve got this ability to capture both moods and paces quite perfectly, yet the intense approach just works a bit better for them. Outstanding song all around.
9/10
Overall, I’m just sure I have to check Speaking to Stones as soon as I can.
Standings with a cut line,
which means those below it will be eliminated after the next round, so it's time to pay the real attention to it (the second post in this thread is also updated):
bl5150 - 44
lonestar - 43
Dr. DTVT - 40
senecadawg2 - 39.5
wolfking - 37.5
Scorpion (with a guest appearance from TAC) - 37
___________
Tyrias - 35.5
ErHaO - 35.5
Parama - 33.5
Sacul - 31.5
mikemangioy - 27
Shadow Ninja 2.0 - 26
Top 6 returns to its usual state. Brent and RJ got the exact same score in this round and continue to wrestle for the lead, Mason leapt one position up with his excellent Tiles entry, Seneca and Kade hold their positions while Scorp regains his place in the safe zone.
Tyrias fell from the upper half with his most riskiest entry yet, and ErHaO tries to keep up with the leaders. It's still 1.5 points separating them from the cut-line, but it's still manageable. However, Parama, Sacul, Mike and Shadow Ninja probably won't get to the leaders in time; there's only one round left. Still, congrats mikemangioy, you're not in the last place anymore!
Sorry again, man.
Additions to the banned list:Elvenking
Angel Dust
Nightingale
Tiles
David Gray
Speaking to Stones
Roll over to see the Round 6 description!