Alright, so I've warned you, a lot of high scores this round. Seems like you guys start getting a grasp on my tastes, I've enjoyed nearly every song this round. Keep it up!
Round 3: Results
Tyrias: Arstidir – ShadesI don’t think it sounds classical, actually; I think it sounds quite folky instead, which is an awesome thing. I love violin, that’s why I enjoy, say, Ne Obliviscaris. The instrumental intro and outro are simply godlike, with intense use of the violin the music comes off as dramatic and haunting at the same time; and the longing vocals add to the whole ominous picture. While this tune is relatively short compared to the other tracks in this round, it achieves a lot in these four minutes, successfully creating a somber atmosphere. There are some moments in the middle of this tune (around ~2:15) I could live without, but overall this song is nearly excellent. I’ll check this album out.
8.5/10
ErHaO: Circus Maximus – Glory of the EmpireAlright, this is the band I’ve always wanted to check out and somehow I’ve never had a chance to; I’ve seen it being discussed at the great length at DTF, so this entry was probably the most interesting for me. My first impression was that this song indeed sounds a lot like Seventh Wonder, and I like Seventh Wonder, so that’s a great thing. This song is a bliss in the instrumental department, so basically I have exactly two complaints about this song: first, I think it could’ve been a bit shorter, because I felt my attention drift away a few times; second, the vocals aren’t great and probably will take some more time for me to get used to. When the vocalist starts to get to the high notes, he sounds amazing though, accompanied by all the instrumental epicness surrounding his voice. I love the keyboards throughout the song, the quiet intro was also great, and overall the grandiloquent bearing of this song is much exciting. The ending could be more bombastic though, because I think it kind of falls flat after that lot of buildup, but all in all, this is a good one. I’ll definitely check Circus Maximus after this roulette, this song pretty much convinced me to do it. Awesome choice!
8/10
lonestar: Headspace – Die With A BulletYeah, this is indeed far from “ballad shit” as you’ve eloquently put it a few days ago. I’ve heard a mild, soft side of Damian Wilson in the previous round, and I was obviously interested in his ruthless, heavy side. After this song I’ve found out I definitely like this balls-to-the-wall approach much better. If there’s something to be expected from a song named Die With A Bullet, it’s that pounding and relentless approach this song throws at you from the very beginning. The vocal melodies in the chorus are like a hammer driving the countless nails into something. The whole first half of the song is basically a raging battlefield; the second half lowers the energy in the beginning, then continues to build it for the next few minutes gradually; then the song goes totally wild in the end with its stunningly outstanding conclusion. Quite an exhausting listen, but very rewarding. That’s another album to check out, amazing stuff.
9/10
Sacul: Brand New – Sowing SeasonYou know, when I sent you stuff I thought you’d like in your roulette, those rounds turned out to end quite nice for me, I usually got 7.5 + 5 points. I don’t have any special points in my roulette, and since our tastes are quite different from each other, you have to rely only to the strength of the song itself. And the thing is, I actually don’t like most of the alternative rock out there. (ba-dum-tish) And this isn’t much different. I don’t dislike it like thrash, I can listen to it and enjoy it mostly, but it doesn’t have anything exciting in it for me, and this song is no exception. It’s basically a standard fare of alternative rock, and while a standard fare of the genres I love can get a lot of points, this one can only get a few of them.
6.5/10
Scorpion: Lost in Thought – Beyond the FlamesSo, after sending me a 14-minutes long song first, you’ve settled on this one. You know, with all the progressive stuff I’ve got in this batch, I wasn’t even sure what to think after my first listen. However, when I gave each song a few more listens, I think they all grew on me one way or another. Your song isn’t an exception, though it was the one I regarded highly on the first listen too. Some parts of this song totally remind me of Dream Theater. This song channels quite an epic vibe, which is right up my alley; I also enjoy the vocals when they’re not muddled by some weird vocal effects, and the soaring vocal melodies are a big advantage of this song, in the chorus especially. Overall, it’s quite a cohesive song with impressive, daring vocals and solid instrumental parts all the way through. Nothing groundbreaking, but epic and enjoyable, and I have a soft spot for the songs like that. Nice pick.
8/10
Dr. DTVT: Pendragon – EraserheadYeah, I can indeed see why you sent this knowing I’m a big fan of IQ. This is spectacularly similar to their work, and even the mix is quite alike. The funny thing is, IQ is probably the only band playing this neo-progressive rock genre I listen to; I’ve never put any effort into discovering more, because IQ was quite enough for me. However, I’ve already regretted this decision after just a listen to this. The instrumental constituent of this song is flawless for me, while the vocals are a bit underwhelming — this is no Peter Nicholis with his distinctive ringing, melodic voice — but I enjoy mostly blunt approach of Nick Barrett too. His vocals fit the music quite well, and while being nothing spectacular, they sound like they belong there. But for me, this is basically the difference between this and IQ: Peter’s voice elevates the music, bringing it to a higher level of awesomeness, and Nick’s voice adds nothing to the song here for me, but at the same time it doesn’t ruin it too. I liked the song, and I’ll check this band out, but I wish the vocals were more memorable.
7.5/10
bl5150: Morifade – PanopticonIf I will ever need to get some cheesy, yet enjoyable hard rock or power metal, I know I definitely can count on you, man. This is indeed quite technical song; I like how the guitar riffs and drum patterns aren’t that obvious for a power metal. Some bands actually go for an easy way out, bringing that double bass technique for every fast song, but those guys are actually quite creative with those complex yet headbang-inducing parts between the vocal lines. The singer’s voice is a bit raw and quite powerful too, I think it goes well with the whole mood the song tries to create. It reminds me of RJ’s entry, while those two songs are so different, they share a certain theme and the mood really reflects it. I really can use some more bands like this one in my collection, fine power metal right here. The only thing I’m not fond enough of is the mix, it feels a bit lifeless and inanimate; and while I understand it’s probably a part of the whole concept all along, it does take some of enjoyment of this song away from me. Otherwise, it’s an excellent track. I wonder if you’re even capable of sending something I won’t enjoy.
8/10
Shadow Ninja 2.0: Steam Powered Giraffe – Brass GogglesSeriously. This band wins the Most WTF Band’s Name Award for this round definitely, and their name actually suits the music. Strange weird bluesy stuff, which is totally not my thing whatsoever… and I actually like this song a lot. I don’t even know what is so appealing about it, but the whole thing is done explicitly well, with all the harmonies and melodies. The whole awkwardness and bizarreness of this song works incredibly well. The bluesy keyboards work so great with the singer’s voice, which is yet another highlight of the song. It’s not something I would revisit often, but it’s good and interesting enough for me to check the whole album out. I need some weird stuff in my library sometimes, and this is lovely, so why not?
8.5/10
mikemangioy: The Aristocrats – Blues FuckersI’ve heard of this band, of course, because Marco and Guthrie are both quite prominent in Steven Wilson’s solo work, but as it’s the instrumental stuff, I’ve never been bold enough to check them out. The beginning reminds me of Opeth – The Devil Orchard a bit. This is interesting enough, actually, groovy and technical, and I guess it’s an awesome track for the fellow bass players out there, because I’m impressed by this bassline, and I don’t even play it. But the song lacks melody and cohesiveness, and while it’s quite fascinating for the first time, it doesn’t have a lot of lasting power for the subsequent listens, and I’m not sure I’m even prepared to listen to the whole album like that. The bass was definitely a highlight and the groove is impeccable, but that’s about it. Totally better than your previous entries though, I guess you’re getting better at this with each round.
6/10
Parama: Caligula’s Horse – All Is Quiet By the WallAnother long track, and also overly progressive. This one feels like a mash-up of different songs and pieces hastily glued together. Either it’s too much of a grower, or just totally incohesive piece, because after the six listens I still don’t remember how it goes at all. The actual parts are nice enough, with tolerable vocals and good instrumentation, but somehow I just can’t perceive this song as a whole. It sounds like a sample selection from an album. The transitions are too awkward and unexpected for me. The material itself is nice, but this just doesn’t truly feel like a song. The solo in the end is fantastic though.
5.5/10
senecadawg2: RPWL – Unchain The EarthSo, this song is basically the classic progressive rock, and the thing with progressive rock is that while there are some bands and songs I enjoy immensely, there are also some songs that make me go “well, this is pretty much forgettable”. And if it wasn’t for the vocalist, this one would’ve been more like the latter; but the vocalist really saves this one, because his voice appeals for me a lot for some reason. It’s pretty ordinary, but it’s soulful, wistful and longing, and I tend to enjoy those kind of singers quite a lot. I think this song would be nice to listen in spring or summer; it’s uplifting and energizing, and I could use stuff like that in my music collection too. This song lacks something to make it truly great, but it’s a cool relaxed progressive rock. I’m not dying to hear it again, but I don’t mind listening to something like that occasionally. Good one.
7/10
wolfking: Circle II Circle – Heal YouThis pick is understandable, since you know I enjoy Savatage, and in fact I wanted to check this band out for a while. My only expectation for this song was the powerful vocal performance from Zak, and it’s indeed there; the guitarwork and the keyboard touches were also nice; the vocal melodies, though, left me pretty unexcited even with overwhelmingly good Zak’s delivery. The verses were good enough, but the chorus totally fell flat, it was just underwhelming. I guess this song would be nice to jump up at on a live gig, but for the studio version it just doesn’t work. Maybe that’s just the case with this particular song, and the whole album has a lot of great tunes, but this one was kind of not that memorable, sorry. Anyway, it was way better than some things I’ve received in this roulette.
6.5/10
Standings with a cut line,
which will matter after Round 6, so you probably should start worrying about it (the second post in this thread is also updated):
bl5150 - 26.5
lonestar - 25
Scorpion (with a guest appearance from TAC) - 23.5
senecadawg2 - 23.5
wolfking - 23
Dr. DTVT - 21.5
___________
Shadow Ninja 2.0 - 20.5
Tyrias - 20.5
Sacul - 19.5
ErHaO - 19
Parama - 18.5
mikemangioy - 13
Top 6 still stays unchanged, huh. Brent is still in the lead, but he has only 1.5 points more than RJ, who leaped up with his excellent round-winning Headspace entry. Scorp just keeps sending awesome songs and Seneca holds his place firmly while Kade dropped for a few places. Mason keeps his one point lead over the group of pursuers...
...where Parama and Sacul lost their top places to Shadow Ninja and Tyrias (who is on fire, in fact). I know for some of you it may seem hopeless, but even if you're three points behind the cut-line, you still have a chance. It's still three rounds more until the elimination. (Mike, sorry, I have no encouraging words for you right now.
)
Additions to the banned list:Arstidir
Circus Maximus
Headspace
Lost in Thought
Pendragon
Morifade
Steam Powered Giraffe
Now, let's start the Round 4!