Alright, here they are.
One thing occurred to me for when you see the scores, especially since two of you played in my roulette: Even though we're doing these out of 10 points, don't think about these scores based on what scores I would have given in my solo roulette. I've made a conscious attempt in this one to be a little more critical and thus the scores here are probably a half point to a whole point lower than they would have been in 425's Overinflated Scores Roulette. The best way to judge my scores for these songs compared to other songs, if you are so inclined, is to compare them to scores I've given in this roulette by multiplying them by either 1/2 or 3/2 to match with scores out of 5 or out of 15.
Beyond that, I have little more to say. This was a good round, but there was a definite third place finisher and a clear favorite as well.
Evermind: Blind Guardian - Wheel of TimeTo my utter shock, Evermind sent an epic power/symphonic metal song in the finals portion of a roulette.
This is really one of those massive songs that I appreciate for its scale and scope, particularly when it executes well. And this one does execute pretty well. The symphonic elements add to the song instead of just serving as ornamentation as they sometimes can do. There are some interesting vocal melodies, particularly in the “response” section of the chorus (the part that isn’t “the grand wheel of time”). And there’s a nice Eastern influence that gives this a somewhat different vibe.
One of my favorite aspects of symphonic metal is that there are sometimes quiet parts where the symphonic part takes the lead, and then it bursts back into the metallic section, and this one has one of those, which I like. Here, there’s kind of a section where the Eastern guitar work takes over, then gives way to a swelling orchestra that then leads back into a full band vocal section. I think it’s pretty cool.
There’s not really anything to dislike here. This is a good, epic track.
Nekov: The Apple Seed Cast - Great Lake DerelictSo here we have a kind of post-rocky guitar-centric rock song. I say guitar-centric because the guitar really is the main attraction on this track. There’s a lot of good and at time unconventional melodic work that the guitarist on this one is doing, particularly in the intro, but really throughout the whole thing.
The vocal parts are good as well, though they aren’t the centerpiece of the song. The singer is a bit nondescript, but his voice is pretty good. There are some good melodies that make this song pretty memorable vocally as well as in terms of guitar work.
The weird part about this song, in my opinion, is the percussion. The drumming is very, very busy, which is something that I’m not really crazy about. It just seems like it’s taken to an unnecessary point at times. However, as I got used to some of the unusual rhythms in this one, it started to make more sense to me. This is definitely the one this round that has most benefitted from a higher number of listens.
Sacul: Florence + The Machine - Seven DevilsSacul needs badly to figure out how to impress me early in a roulette. Both times, he’s had a slow start but really gotten into the groove of what I like towards the end and started putting up good scores. This song won’t break that trend.
Dissonant violins? Who cares, that part lasts like 10 seconds and it’s in the background.
This song is really incredible. Sacul, we may have a lot of musical disagreements, but one area where we can agree, I think, is love of atmosphere. This song has an awesome, dark atmosphere. There’s almost a churchy sense to this one, but in a dark way. It kind of reminds me of the atmosphere of a lot of Susanne Sundfør’s music, really, but a little different—definitely its own thing.
Florence (I assume that’s the name of the singer
) parts on a really impressive and powerful vocal performance in this song. I love the vocal layering that goes on in the chorus and everything else about the chorus as well.
This is just a fantastic song, one of the best you’ve sent in this roulette. And the best of this round, in my opinion.