Here are the results. I want to say to everyone, thank you so much for being patient while I have been going though a rough and busy week. In addition to my laptop breaking, there has been a family crisis that has commanded a lot of my attention. This upcoming week, I should be able to focus mo clearly on the roulette.
One good thing about this week, for me, is that you guys sent me a really good batch of songs. The scores are not going to have much spread this time, because even the lowest songs from this round were quite enjoyable. I'm really happy with how everything was.
The downside of that, of course, is that some people submitted good songs this round and are still going to have to be eliminated. It feels weird to me to send someone out on a good song, but I need to continue reducing the numbers so that I can give more attention to each song. I'm just happy that 15 of you were able to participate through half of the roulette.
As you may have noticed, I never posted a third batch of snippets. One of the things that got lost in the craziness. Those songs simply won't have a snippet listed.
Here are the results:
Stadler: The Allman Brothers Band - Nobody Knows
This song feels like an extended live version. It seems like there is a base song with verses and so on, and then a healthy helping of instrumental material on top of that.
I think they definitely make the mesh of the basic material and the soloing/instrumental craziness work pretty well. My preferred part is definitely the instrumental aspect, and it's definitely one of those live performances where the instrumentation just feels so much more exciting than it likely would in the studio.
I really do enjoy this piece all the way through. What keeps me from going higher is that I feel like the base song (the vocal parts, basically) is only good. The meat of the song is what feels like a long, wandering jam session. Which is a lot of fun! But not in itself going to earn the higher scores.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Kattelox: Toto - Rosanna
Snippet: There's a groove on this one just works so well with all the stuff that comes in on top of it.
The other one this round that has a distinct "extended version" feel. And one that makes it work pretty well.
This one just has a really nice groove that it sticks with and layers with a lot of melodic variations (and solos in the later part). The vocal melodies are just catchy in a very good way, and the solos are skillful and melodic. The crowd interaction also helps here. There's a nice healthy crowd noise on this recording, and you can really feel the crowd's excitement at some of the critical moments.
What keeps me from going higher is that, ultimately, the song is a bit repetitive. That makes me less inclined to come back to it than some of the other ones.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Sacul: Ulver - Nowhere (Sweet Sixteen)
I didn't know there was such a thing as live Zantera/Sacul music! But here it is, nonetheless.
This is a piece that really goes for a depressing, spacey vibe, especially on the chorus, where ominous, deep vocals (alternating with high, wailing ones) repeat the refrain "Nowhere... catastrophe."
This style of music, I've made no secret, is not my bread and butter. But this is a well-executed piece that I have come to enjoy pretty well. There's enough of a melodic sensibility to keep me hooked, and the vibe is quite compelling.
Score 8 out of 10
Elite: Pain of Salvation - Handful of Nothing
Snippet: I can respect what they’re doing here and can almost feel what they’re reaching for... but like other things I've heard from them, I'm just not quite feeling it yet.
Yeah, so Pain of Salvation is a band that I've heard a few songs from, and my view of all of them is that they are technically pretty good, but I just don't quite feel them.
My assessment here is somewhat more positive. I think it helps that this is a live performance. Gildenlöw's vocal acrobatics are more obviously impressive, given that he's capable of carrying off this diversity in a live setting, and the whole thing is a bit looser and more lively.
The song has a nice diversity of elements, and it's one where all the pieces feel pretty strong. The chorus really anchors it. That plus a strong performance leads to a nice score.
Score: 8 out of 10
OpenYourEyes311: Genesis - Domino
Snippet: I have no doubt that this is a great performance. The song itself is walking right up to the line of sounding a bit too cheesy, though, and I haven't decided quite how I feel about it yet.
This is definitely the most 80s-sounding of all the 80s material I received this round, which did come with a sound that could be decried as cheesy. And I was really on the fence about that for a little while.
But the fact is that this is a fantastic performance. I'm impressed on the video by the size of the stadium they're playing. I knew Genesis attained mainstream success, but I didn't know it was this much. Either way, aurally speaking, this is a really excellent performance. The instrumentals are completely on point, and Phil Collins just hits all the notes seemingly without breaking a sweat.
As for the song itself, the vocals are definitely the highlight, but I really admire the way the music builds intensity by nearly-imperceptible degrees, making each part feel more powerful than the last.
After all that, it may be my least favorite of the three Genesis pieces sent this round. But that's not a hit on it. A great introduction to a band I should have investigated long ago.
Score: 8 out of 10
Parama and Puppies_On_Acid: Devin Townsend - Deadhead
The song that two people sent comes from an artist who I've kind of admired from afar without checking out too closely aside from a couple of pieces. As Parama noted in his PM, some things that Townsend does do seem to be too far out there for me. This song does not have any of those elements, and instead is just a skillfully done piece of prog metal.
What I most enjoy about this song is the riffs are all of a variety that I call (using cry technical music theory terminology) "mounting." It feels like waves that just keep towing high and higher, and that's cool. It feels a little relentless at times, but that mostly works because it's such an enjoyable style. The riffs are really the center of this one's appeal for me, though it also shares an element of appeal with the Pain of Salvation song: the singer displays a wide diversity of styles in a live setting while making it seem effortless.
Score: 8 out of 10
TAC: Helloween - How Many Tears
Snippet: This is one where I feel like the live performance might be better than the song, and elevates it above what the studio version would probably be. Those are always cool to hear, though, I'm now thinking, a challenge to score.
First of all, no huge concerns here about thrashiness. Yeah, it's speed metal, and some of the riffs could be more melodic, but it didn't detract significantly for me.
The highlight here for me is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Michael Kiske. He hits all these crazily high and fast vocal melodies and makes it feel really easy. I really enjoy his performance here. As for the rest of the band, I am nearly as impressed. This performance has the awesome feel that a lot of Maiden live shows have, where you can tell that the band is playing the song pretty close to as fast and as high-energy as human constraints will allow. It creates this feeling like a high-wire act, where it feels like there's no way they can keep nail in the parts, but they somehow just make it each time.
As the snippet indicates, the song itself is somewhat less impressive than the performance, but I've come to rather enjoy it. The transition out of the quiet middle section is a really good moment, and overall the whole thing has a feel of a faster Iron Maiden, which is some whiting I can get on board with, no problem.
One of the most fun ones of the round.
Score: 8 out of 10
Lethean: Angra - Carolina IV
Snippet: Yeah, this is one of those songs that I enjoy because the band throws in a ton of different elements and makes them all work together.
As the snippet says, I like that this song has a lot of different elements. I was kind of expecting straight-ahead power metal, more or less, and that's not what I got, although there were some (good) power metal elements here. This song instead brings a lot of different stuff, including symphonic elements, some eastern-sounding influences and a very interesting vocal section at the beginning and end that I don't know quite how to describe. Plus a really good guitar solo at the end.
This song immediately intrigued me and made me interested in hearing more from this band. I like music like this that mixes epic-sounding metal with other elements, and I'm interested in hearing more of what they have to offer.
The primary downside for me on this one is that the quality of the recording, while not awful, wasn't the best. It was perceptibly the worst of the round. As a result, I feel like I didn't get as clear a sense of all that's going on musically as I did on some of the others. Still, I enjoyed this one.
Score: 8 out of 10
Topic: 425’s Second Roulette v. Keep your hands upon the wheel (Read 97148 times)
