Sorry folks... shit hit the fan (work and parenting) this afternoon. Here you go:
Bolsters ($100)
Afro Celt Sound System/
The Silken WhipCeltic vibe (shocking, given the band name!). Overall, it was kinda bland. I found it to be very repetitive, and gave me the same vibe I remember from listening to OSI. I'm not an OSI fan at all.
Bosk ($100)
Epica/
UnleashedDing ding, da ding ding ding! Mystery Band selection #3 from Bosk. It’s like he saw the PM I sent to Jaffa or something!! Wait. Son of a … Oh well. With IT being the (almost) final round and nothing to lose, he ups the wager to the maximum $500. So much powah in Simone's voice, just the way a symphonic female voice should be. This is typical symphonic metal – not that there’s anything wrong with that… there’s only so many variations you can put in this genre.
Elite ($200)
Myrath/
MadnessNothing grabbed me on first listen; second listen much better; third even better. Here’s why you listen to a song multiple times in Roulette’s. Every time I played this, I enjoyed it better than the last.
jjrock ($200)
Shark Island/
Paris is WatchingNice raspy vocals; rhythm section was spot on. The melodies were right on that border of glam but not glam... The good stuff – like White Lion and Winger. Not that it sounded like that, just that this was quality melodic rock in that flavour
kirksnosehair ($100)
Time Grid/
EmptinessTechnically proficient… more than proficient actually. This is a very complex composition, and requires a lot of talent to pull it off. Like trying to speak French in New Orleans... Impressive sure, but what's the point? Felt to me like they were going all technical just because they’ve got the talent to do so.
lonestar ($300)
81db/
A Blind Man's DreamGreat crunchy guitar tone, and I absolutely loved the outro. Not so much on the vocals, though they’re growing on me. Again, you're killing me with the concepts, as I'll bet this works great in the context of the whole album. Like Elite’s submission, it aged better with each listen. Looking forward to taking in the whole album.
Lowdz ($100)
Manowar/
MountainsInstrumental section didn't do anything for me... at all. Much like some of the other older tunes sent this roulette, this would've really appealed to me 20/25 years ago.
nekov ($100)
Dominici/
The CallingMassive Honor Thy Father vibe from the guitar tone/melody. Then I realized it was nothing like Honor Thy Father, because this was really good. Great riffs, great instrumental section, great keyboard accompaniment, and good ole Chuckles sounds great.
TAC ($100)
Heavenly/
EvilThe 1st half, so-so (and I’m being generous); The 2nd half, was really good. The pounding rhythm section in 1st half was painful - would've been so much better to tone that down a little (less can be more). From the instrumental section out, this was great.
Wolfking ($100)
Cloudscape/
Under FireMystery Band #2 this round. Now I know why they are high on my 'check-it-out' list. Damn... Why did I wait! Near perfect melodic metal. Not entirely unique, but (just as in Bosk’s submission) there are only so many variations to this genre... And it doesn't really matter, because this scratches me right where I itch. Song of the round.
Zook ($300)
Blackmore's Night/
Locked Within the Crystal BallAnnette era Nightwish vibe going on here. Really, REALLY good tune, but again these female vocals just miss that ‘oomph’ factor for me.
Birdie – wolfking, Bosk, jjrock, nekov
Par – lonestar, zook, Elite, kirksnosehair
Bogey – Lowdz, Bolsters, TAC
Damn… the leaders mailed it in this round, feeling a little comfortable with their standings?? And Elite, I wrestled hard and long with your submission vs jj’s as to which was going to finish in the money. I almost considered giving a 'win' to 5 people, but I will stick to my ranking method, and he finished just a hair ahead of you this round.
Standings:
Lowdz - $1,800
bosk - $800
wolfking - $800
Bolsters - $700
TAC - $600
------------------------
jjrock - $500
lonestar - $300
nekov - $300
kirksnosehair - $200
Elite - -$500
Zook - -$500
Well, thanks to the random Mystery Band/Daily Double aspect, TAC and Bolsters would’ve been ousted if I’d kept it to 3 finalists.
FINAL ROUNDAnd here’s how the final round will work. Send me one band, up to 20 minutes (ish) of music. You can send however many tracks you’d like, but keep it around 20 minutes. Bet whatever amount you want of your current holdings (I assume you’ll all bet the max – maybe not Lowdz). Here’s the rub…
the bottom two will win nothing (and hold at their current total); middle guy wins his bet; top two will win double their wager. Example - if Bolsters bets his max and finishes top 2, he’ll finish at $2,100 (700 + 700*2). If Bosk bets his max, and finishes 3rd, he’ll end up with $1,600.
So, this is Lowdz’s to win (or lose). So long as he doesn’t finish bottom 2, it’s pretty much his. I want to give everyone a chance to win, but don’t want it to be entirely equal footing, as Lowdz nailed it pretty much every round except the last.
I’m not gonna start listening until Monday… busy Super Bowl weekend.
Thanks to the other 5, you’ve all given me something to explore (and in some cases, purchases have already been made).
I expect that I’ve confused you all with this, so I await your questions.