Here's the rest of the results for round 8!
StadlerGrateful Dead - Terrapin StationFirst Impression - That was much more impressive than I thought it would be
Theme - A band I intensely disliked at one point, but sort of came around to the more "proggy" parts of their catalogue later on. Then, as I dug into live shows of that era, I kind of got forced into being exposed to the earlier more "hippy" stuff and at one point I sort realized that it wasn't necessarily my thing over all, but that there was a hidden genius to a lot of their early work. I give you the paradigm of their most progressive work, and what I think is a fine example of a song that has really grown on me and taken a really special place, after years of being dismissed as "druggie music"I thought I would have a lot to say about this song when the time came to do the write up, given it's length, but I find I don't really. This is not what I thought I would be hearing from Grateful Dead. This is what you would call "the unexpected." It seems to have just the right amount of progginess and jamminess. It has a certain relaxing quality to it. Like I could just chill out to music like this after a long day at work. Overall, much more enjoyable than I thought it would be, if not overly exciting.
8.5/10____________
Grateful Dead - China Cat SunflowerFirst Impression - I'm not exactly feeling this
Theme - A band I intensely disliked at one point, but sort of came around to the more "proggy" parts of their catalogue later on. Then, as I dug into live shows of that era, I kind of got forced into being exposed to the earlier more "hippy" stuff and at one point I sort realized that it wasn't necessarily my thing over all, but that there was a hidden genius to a lot of their early work. I give you the paradigm of their most progressive work, and what I think is a fine example of a song that has really grown on me and taken a really special place, after years of being dismissed as "druggie music"Now this is what I thought I would be getting with Grateful Dead. It leans way more in to the Psychedelic sound and, to me, not in a good way. This just isn't a sound I overly fond of. The song isn't intrinsically bad, but there are a lot of aspects that I don't particularly enjoy. The vocals aren't my thing and the melodies just don't work for me.
5/10
RomdrumsThe Panic Division - FirefliesFirst Impression - For some reason I was thinking this was a different band, glad to know I was wrong
Theme - This song, to me, is something of a companion song to Time Stand Still. Lyrically, it focuses on memories, time passing, and all that. Mix wise, it definitely has a fuller, Power Windows type of mix, but musically, it captures the overall lighter vibe of Hold Your Fire. In particular, I hear a lot of similarities to Time Stand Still, Mission, and maybe a little bit of Tai Shan and High Water. It's a much better song than those two, though! Main man Colton Holliday is a big fan of suspended chords, much like Alex Lifeson, and he sounds a bit like Roland Orzabal from Tears for FearsI totally got this band name confused with Panic! at the Disco.....Oh well.... This is actually pretty awesome. Great hooky melodies. Upbeat happy riffs. I like the twinkly keyboards. The vocals aren't great, but they are serviceable, even good sometimes. The one real issue I have with the song is it's a tad on the repetitive side, but fortunately it doesn't overstay its welcome. I do really like the lyrics, though.
8/10__________
Sleep Parade - 2:09First Impression - This is going to take some more listens to truly grasp
Theme - I was a big fan of their first album Things Can Always Change, which of all the Aussie Prog albums that came out in the first decade of the 2000s, was my second favorite behind Sound Awake. Inside Out was a different animal, and I didn’t get into it the same way as its predecessor. I had a similar experience with Signals as well. Loved MP, but Signals fell flat with me for a long time.I went back and forth on this song a lot while listening through it. At times I thought there was something missing from the sound. Then I thought it sounded like they were trying to emulate latter day Marillion. I think they ultimately end up with a sound that bridges the gap between Marillion and bands like Karnivool or Dead Letter Circus. I think I land more on the positive side with this song. It has lots of elements that I enjoy and I really want to listen to the whole album to get a better sense of the band.
7.5/10
EliteIn Mourning - The SmokeFirst Impression - Yummy
Theme - Free Interpretation' Card, going off 'Signal Fire'This song is going to finally make me put In Mourning on my permanent banned list. I am very familiar with In Mourning's first and most recent albums. The rest I have only heard random songs from them. This not being one of them. This song has a very Opethian sound and vibe to it (circa Ghost Reveries). I don't think it's quite as interesting as anything from that era of Opeth, but not much is. This song is still very good.
8.3/10__________
Enochian Theory - The Fire Around the LotusFirst Impression - This is really cool
Theme - Free Interpretation' Card, going off 'Signal Fire'This is a band that I've been meaning to listen to for a while now. Now's as good a time as any. This song is pretty awesome. It combines a lot of different aspects of Prog music that I like a lot. I hear a bit of Vangough, a bit of Dark Tranquillity, a little late era Sieges Even, and some Dark Suns. The name of the game with these guys seems to be beautiful and catchy melodies and vocal phrasing. Sure there's some technical wizardry here and there, but nothing over the top or out of place. Quite possibly the best song you've sent all roulette....maybe....honestly, I don't remember and I'm too lazy to look
9.5/10
AriichMaribou State - Tongue
First Impression - This is quite lovely
Theme - These two albums mark the edges of the Rush phase that I see as very much more poppy, synth-heavy and kinda groovy, so I'm using that as a bridge to send some really nice downtempo electronicaThis song is very much rooted in the Deep House sound. It has that satisfying jazzy funk sound, but with an evident disco derived EDM heart, albeit toned down to a more relaxing tempo and groove. I love the vocals here. They are emotive and fit the song extremely well. I almost want to complain about the repetitive nature of the song, but that's kind of the name of the game with this style of music, so.....
8.2/10___________
Maribou State - StealFirst Impression - This is quite lovely
Theme - These two albums mark the edges of the Rush phase that I see as very much more poppy, synth-heavy and kinda groovy, so I'm using that as a bridge to send some really nice downtempo electronicaThis song is much more downtempo with a touch of a Post-Dubstep sound. Again I love the vocals here, I guess I should since it's the same vocalist. I don't care for the spoken word stuff, it feels.....misplaced? Other than that, this song may even be slightly more enjoyable than the previous one.
8.5/10
TomislavParadise Lost - Fear of Impending HellFirst Impression - Not the sound I'm used to from this band
Theme - based on theme of fearVery Katatonia meets My Dying Bride sounds here. This feels like the band is pulling their punches a little bit though. It seems to me like there should be much more power here. It's feeling a bit lacking because of that lack of.....I don't know....ooomph! Plus the vocals are even more lackluster than what you generally find in this particular subset of Doomy/Gothic Metal. There is a cool guitar solo at least!
6.9/10__________
Animal Drive - Time MachineFirst Impression -
Theme - I don't think it's really about time or time machines but it contains lyrics 'Time stands still'This song lost it's appeal to me over time. The singer sounds like he wishes he was a cross between Jorn and Dio. He has a bit of both in his voice, but ultimately is no where near as good as either. The lyrics don't help either. They are cheesy and poorly written. I do like some of the throwback power/heavy metal bits. Although it seems like the band is trying a little too hard to sound like they are tough guys.
5.5/10
Scores
Train - 18.5, 19, 16.7, 13, 13.6, 16.9, 17, 17.9 = 132.6
Romdrums - 17, 16.75, 18.7, 16.5, 16, 14, 16, 15.5 = 130.45
Kattelox - 17.5, 14.7, 14.2, 18.9, 14, 16.5, 16.5, 17.8 = 130.1
Cyril - 15.25, 18.25, 16.5, 17, 14, 13, 16.1, 17.5 = 127.6
Ariich - 16.25, 17.25, 12.5, 12, 17.7, 18, 16, 16.7 = 126.4
Elite - 10.5, 16, 17, 18.6, 14.2, 14.5, 16.8, 17.8 = 125.4
Nekov - 17, 16, 14.8, 14.3, 16.5, 15, 12, 16.3 = 121.9
Tomislav - 16, 16, 16.5, 16, 12.5, 15, 16, 12.4 = 120.4
Lethean - 13.5, 16.5, 11, 18.2, 11.6, 14.5, 12.5, 16 = 113.8
TAC - 11, 11, 17.2, 16, 14.5, 11, 17, 15.5 = 113.2
Stadler - 14, 16.3, 14.2, 11, 13.5, 17, 10.5, 13.5 = 110