Lonestar: Foreign LanguageAlright alright. Enough already! lolIronbunny-23 8.3Odd verses but everything else is so damn smooth and classicly metal.
Bridear-Ignite 8.5Amazing chorus and solo. Wow!
Aldious-Dilemma 8.5Pretty straightforward but classic elements abound.
Mardelas-Apocalypse 8.8Man, just about a perfect metal song!
Fate Gear-Rose Of Destruction 8.5Really amazed at the Metal sensibilities.
Holy shit! Where do I start? First off, I think you did an amazing job at sending things that appeal to ME. If anyone wants to know what kind of MUSIC I like, they should listen to this EP. The Mardelas is marvelas..lol. What I think is incredible is that these young women in today’s scene have such a great ability to tap into some very classic metal elements, and are able to modernize them. It might be a little between verse noodle or a well timed rest note, or a harmonized outro, but it’s all just so classic, and it’s amazing that somehow female Japanese artists have taken the torch for this style of hard rock and metal.
Lot of hits, lot of misses for both of us in each other’s roulettes, but that’s what makes it fun having someone like you playing.
Exam Grade…8.52
Final Grade...78.25Glasser: TheologyThis EP hits the spot.Evergrey-Nosferatu 8.3I don’t love Tom’s voice, but he hides it well here. This song rocks!
Darkology-Beyond The Grave 8.5This song kicks ass.
Zierler-Darkest Delight 8.5There’s a lot packed into this. Great tune!
Division By Zero-Your Salvation 8.5I was having my doubts until that ridiculous instrumental break.
I felt like this EP was really consistently strong. The Evergrey song rocks, and I can’t stand Tom Englund, but it’s so strong I forget about him. The Beyond The Grave tune is cool as shit and the zierler is as well. Love the drumming in the Zierler tune too. I am all over the Division By Zero album after the roulette. I’ve already dropped the needle on it and it sounds great. Has kind of a cool Gothy influence, but it’s both heavy and progressive. The harsh vocals are kind of cringey but other than that, it’s fantastic.
Tom, thank you so much for being one of the TAC Roulette noobs. I was hoping you’d play in it, and you sent some great stuff, but I think you save the best for last.
Exam Grade…8.45
Final Grade...80.5Nick: GeographyThis is a steady eddie EP. Maybe too steady eddie.Amorphis- The Way 7.8Pretty mundane track, but the solo spot was gorgeous.
Insomnium-One With The Dark 8.0Cool atmosphere.
Darkest Era-A Path Made Of Roots 8.3I really like this and am interested in more.
Lacuna Coil-When A Dead Man Walks 8.0This is nice enough but this EP needed a killer in this spot.
Anathema-Destiny 7.5This feels a bit anticlimactic.
Hmm..I have to say that since you were within striking distance of a win, I expected a stronger EP. This has a playing not to lose feel to it. Maybe you were thinking the Anathema would be a surprise find, but it just didn’t move me. The Darkest Era was the clear high point, especially following two pretty standard trecks, and the Lacuna Coil was kind of a let down after the Drakest era. I thought something that would build upon the Darkest Era was needed here.
Nick, that you so much for playing. I was really anticipating you joining, and while you did pretty good, I have much higher expectations of you next time.
Exam Grade…7.92
Final Grade...84.5Ariich: Foreign LanguageThere’s some great melodic lead playing on this.Haive-Iaton 8.2Opening interlude..but amazing! Think Dave Murray’s intro to Still Life.
Haive-Lapin Kouta 8.6Vocals are pretty rough, but musically, this is amazing.
Gyze-The White Territories 7.8This song was awful noisy.
Haive-Salojen Saari 8.3The harsh vocals to music ratio is a bit high on this one.
Gyze-Dragon Calling 8.2Much better than the first song.
The opening track Iaton is beautiful. Like I said, it reminded me so much of Still Life. I felt like it was developed enough to qualify for a its own score. Lapin Kouta also has an Iron Maiden feel to it a bit with that melodic line. The vocals for Haive are pretty rough, kind of like what you said when I sent you Hwaino. Haive..Hwaino..wtf lol.. Um anyway, the other Haive track starts out with an amazingly, but then it just gets overtaken by the vocals, though for some reason, they’re not as bad as the first song. As far as the Gyze goes, liked both songs..kinda. The White Territories was a bit messy though I think there’s a decent song in there somewhere. Dragon Calling is much more like it.
Rich, as aways, a pleasure to trade music with you. You quietly kept rising here where you had a legit chance to win. I feel like if you picked 4 good Haive songs, you might’ve taken it.
Exam Grade…8.22
Final Grade...87Jingle.Boy: GeographyPretty easy on the ears. Solid.Primal Fear-One Night In December 8.1A little long, but solid as hell with a great instrumental section.
Mercenary-Where Darkened Souls Belong 8.3Easy on the ears for sure. Nice tune. At least it’s shorter than the Primal Fear.
Knight Area-I Believe 8.5This hits the spot for sure. Love the whole feel of this.
Knight Area-For Those Who Fell Not RatedClosing interlude.
I think you knew you were taking a chance with the Primal Fear. I’ve been pretty clear that I am not a Ralf Sheepers fan. Well, that hasn’t changed. The thing about Angra resonating now is that I’ve never said I didn’t like them, but they just have never stuck. Still PF’s music is strong enough to at least push it up to acceptable and then some. The Mercenary definitely hits the spot. The Knight Area (cheesy name lol) was a surprise. It sits right in the pocket that really appeals to me. Reminded me of Hammerfall a bit, and I love me some Hammerfall.
I’m really glad you decided to participate. I think you can fall out of bed and find me music that I like. A lot of what you send, though, is quite safe. Not that that’s a bad thing. You and Wolfking have both won in previous roulettes playing it safe.
Exam Grade…8.3
Final Grade...87Lithojazzosphere: GeographyI think you could’ve trimmed a little fat here.Sister Sin-MMXII Not RatedOpening Interlude.
Sister Sin-End Of The Line 8.0Pretty straightforward and easy one the ears.
Morgana Lefay-Salute The Sage 8.2Old school vibes are strong on this one.
Divinefire-King Of Kings 8.4Big fan of Christian Liljegren.
Mokoma-Hiljaisuuden Julistaja 7.6This was a big time miss.
Anibus Gate-Waking Hour 8.0I like the song, but this band has to have had better material.
Collibus-End Of The Line 8.5Really excellent song. You saved the best for last.
So believe it or not, this EP grew quite a bit on me over the listening period. The Sister Sin rocks big time. I love my music just like this. Her voice is ok, not sure of I love it. The line “I put the fuel to the fire tonight”..the tonight strikes a weird thing for me. The song is cool as shit though. I’ve never heard any Morgana Lefay, but this is great. Sounds like Metal Church big time. Divinefire is really good, but the Mokoma, I wish you’d left off. The vocals are awful, though underneath it does crank. TheAnibus Gate is pretty standard, but the Collibus has me completely interested.
You did quite well zeroing in on my base heavy metal core. Wolfking does the same and you can see how well it serves him. The fact that you made this so tight for the entire roulette, you should be happy with. I know I’m impressed. You have a very perceptive and almost an almost savant like insight. It’s really great having you in my roulettes now, and look forward to more.
Exam Grade…8.12
Final Grade...87.5Wolfking: Current EventsPretty solid blackish metal. Can I live with these vocals?Sworn- A Godless Domain 8.0Maybe a bit long, but the outro grooves.
Sworn- Grand Eclipse 8.4This really develops into something special.
Sworn- Visions Of Fire 8.5This is a great tune.
I think the toughest song to get through was A Godless Domain. It’s a bit long and the vocals throughout the three songs are not great, but I can live with them. Both The Grand Eclipse and Visions Of Fire are spectacular.
Well, you threw all your eggs in one basket and…it proves to be strong enough for the win. This could’ve gone south fast if this turned out to be another Mgla situation. All you had to do was break even with Litho, Ariich, and Nick to win, but you end up beating them in this round straight up.
Exam Grade…8.3
Final Grade...90And here is your Class Valedictorian..