Do you have any idea how long this took me?
Over 2 months after starting this roulette I finally conclude it with this single post. It's been one hell of a ride during a very busy time for me. You guys have been amazingly patient and great participants. I set myself a time limit for rounds in the first post and I think I only fulfilled ONE of them, while (almost) all of you got their songs in on time. And what an amazing songs you've sent me! I have lots of great stuff to check out and already some of your submissions have been translated to CD's in my rack and there's probably more to come. Thanks everybody for your participation, this last round especially was really tough for me. Lots of good stuff was sent, but also some stuff I didn't really enjoy. The most 'interesting' part of it was the contract choosing; some of you made the right choice, but there's some unfortunately errors here and there where you could have scored more points. Initially I wanted to do a last round with the top 2 scorers on the winning team and the top scorer on the losing team, but it's been long enough already. Besides, the results are quite compelling and there's no way how I could make my idea for this last round work. The whole 'Team Coffee' vs. 'Team Tea' thing didn't turn out as I wanted to it to be. Perhaps for my next roulette (when the time comes in another two years) I'll see if I can set up a real team game, because here my idea didn't really work. It's been a blast, thanks (once again) for joing in on this and being the awesome people that you are. For now; enjoy the results and until next time.
Final Standings before the full last round (including extra points for bands in first half of round 9):
Nekov: 34 points
kári: 30+2+1= 33 points
Zantera: 31+1 =32 points
ReaperKK: 31 points
Xanthul: 26+3+1= 30 points
MoraWintersoul: 28 points
Ravenheart: 25+1= 26 points
Scorpion: 21+3= 24 points
So now, RESULTS! (in alphabetic order)Participant: káriArtist - Song: Kyte - These Tales of Our Stay
Score: 7/10
Artist - Song: Mew - Comforting Sounds
Score: 8/10Artist - Song: Talk Talk - I Believe in YouThis is alright, but nothing more than that. I liked the song, but it's a bit too bland for me, since it doesn't really go anywhere. It's ambient, but without direction and that's the problem with some post-rock; if it doesn't go anywhere it's basically not good.
5/10Artist - Song: This Will Destroy You - ThreadsYou do know how to send awesome post-rock, don't you? This song is just your typical post-rock stuff with not really anything special, but it works for me. The only thing about it is that it's not the best post-rock song I have received in my roulette, let alone in this round.
7/10Total score: (8+7+7)/3=
7,3Contract C with 30 pointsRequired score: 7,2
Contract
FULFILLED, gaining
30 pointsTotal amount of points: 7,3 + 30 =
37,3 points---
Participant: MoraWintersoulArtist - Song: Dissona - Nest
Score: 8/10
Artist - Song: Lunatic Soul - Wanderings
Score: 7/10Artist - Song: Frequency Drift - DeadI've seen these people live at Night of the Prog last summer and like the whole male audience I was amazed at their female singer. The band put on a great show and I recognise this song from their setlist. It's unfortunate the band could capture the same atmosphere in the studio recording (which I hadn't heard up to this point). I enjoyed the band live, but the studio version sounds a bit lacking, unfortunately. Still a good song though, but I can't help but feel it could have been better.
6/10Artist - Song: Chroma Key - On The PageYou said this was (one of) your favourite song(s) and I have to agree that this is absolutely mind-blowingly beautiful. From the frantic piano intro towards the wonderfully constructed verse, Kevin Moore delivers this whole song with a passion that I've from him for years. This man is too underrated for words.
8/10Total score: (8+8+7)/3=
7,7Contract B with 6 pointsRequired score: 6,4
Contract
FULFILLED, gaining
4,2 pointsTotal amount of points: 7,7 + 4,2 =
13,9 points---
Participant: NekovArtist - Song: Moon Safari - Heartland
Score: 9/10
Artist - Song: Aghora - Anugraha
Score: 8/10Artist - Song: Iluvatar - In the EyeHOLY FUCKING SHIT. You said that this was your secret weapon and I am glad that you sent this. I'm a complete sucker for this kind of stuff and you knew it. From front to back, this is an amazing progressive metal song. How do I get the album this song came from? I want it now.
9,5/10. Seriously, it's
that good.
Artist - Song: Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays - OzarkThis is just a completely random piano improvisation meant to show off one's incredible skill. Yeah, the piano player is good, but in this song he shows that he can't really build up a piece or make sense out of the billion notes he plays. I'm not too fond of random instrument wankery and this song is no exception.
4/10Total score: (9+8+9,5)/3=
8,8Contract A with 34 pointsRequired score: 5,8 (<- You could have gone with a higher contract, mister)
Contract
FULFILLED, gaining
17 pointsTotal amount of points: 8,8 + 17 =
25,8 points---
Participant: RavenheartArtist - Song: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Up Jumped the Devil
Score: 8/10Artist - Song: Moonspell - MephistoWhere your first song was awesome in its moderation, this song really fails to capture any mood for me. It's heavy indeed, but the choruses just sound so silly and the vocals are way too harsh for what the song is tryig to accomplish, I believe. The composition is pretty alright, but it's nothing special. In some way the song is quite compelling though and it does keep your attention very well. Repeatedly listen made me appreciate it more, but it has yet to make a real impression on me.
5/10.
Artist - Song: My Dying Bride - The Songless BirdThe same thing applies to this song, only here it's a lot worse. I'm not one to dismiss music easily, but this one didn't do anything to me. The vocals are bad and the mixing is terrible and doesn't really make any sense. The guitar riffs I didn't like and overall it felt like the band was trying to be heavy, but in my opinion they failed. Would not listen again,
3/10.
Total score: (8+5+3)/3=
5,3Contract A with 10 pointsRequired score: 5,8
Contract
FAILED, losing
10 pointsTotal amount of points: 5,3 - 10 =
-4,7 points---
Participant: ReaperKKArtist - Song: Blackmill ft.- Veela - Let It Be
Score: 8/10
Artist - Song: Incubus - Redefine
Score: 6/10Artist - Song: Michael Kelsey - The Free SpiritThis man is an incredible acoustic guitar player, but for some reason he fails to keep my interest for very long. It's like he's dragging out his music to such an extent that it becomes meaningless at some point (if that makes any sense whatsoever). It's not bad at all though, just a bit too long for what it is.
6/10Artist - Song: The Jezabels - Dark StormThe singer is absolutely adorable and she makes the song, which in itself is pretty good as well. The verses are okay, but the chorus is absolutely gorgeous and the end is amazing. Is the rest of their stuff anything like this? Because I will be checking this out, another band to go on my ever-growing list. Thanks!
8/10Artist - Song: Mogwai - Yes! I Am A Long Way From HomeI was expected more from an name I've seen more often. This was pretty much the most bland post-rock song I recieved, apart from the outburst at the end, which I didn't like for the horrible guitar sound. The voices in the beginning and at the end didn't really help in me enjoying this song, I felt like it would be better without them there.
5/10Total score: (8+8+)/3=
7Contract A with 20 pointsRequired score: 5,8
Contract
FULFILLED, gaining
20 pointsTotal amount of points: 7 + 20 =
27 points---
Participant: ScorpionArtist - Song: Judas Priest - Beyond the Realms of Death
Score: 4/10
Artist - Song: Extreme - Midnight Express
Score: 8/10Artist - Song: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Gates to the GardenThis song is really laid-back and to make that work, it will have to grab your attention. This song, like the other song by the same artist I received does this effortlessly. However, the other song I like slightly better, mainly for the groove that one had. All in all, this is not a bad song at all and I really did enjoy it.
7/10Artist - Song: Queens of the Stone Age - God Is on the RadioI'm not really a fan of QOTSA when I tried them in the past and this song shows that to me once again. I didn't really find it interesting to listen to at all, it's repetitive, I'm not a fan of the vocal style, because they seem way too monotonous for me and the riffs aren't all that great. This has basically confirmed me not liking QOTSA, what a shame.
4/10Total score: (8+7+4)/3=
6,3Contract C with 21 pointsRequired score: 7,2
Contract
FAILED, losing
21 pointsTotal amount of points: 6,3 - 21 =
-14,7 points---
Participant: XanthulArtist - Song: Cradle of Filth - The Forest Whispers My Name
Score: 6/10
Artist - Song: Mew - Comforting Sounds
Score: 8/10Artist - Song: Bon Iver - Skinny LoveBon Iver is another artist I've heard more of, both on the forums and outside of them, but I never tried them out, because I didn't feel like they were for me. I have some problems with voice still, but overall this is a fine song. I might try them out more in the future, after I'm done with all the other stuff I got in this roulette.
6/10Artist - Song: God is an Astronaut - ShadowsThis is the best post-rock song I received all roulette and that's not an exaggeration. This song gets really intense in a short amount of time and I really like that. It starts out with a great drum groove backed by a guitar line, before completely exploding into post-rocky goodness. What makes this song very different from most other post-rock tunes is its non-linear build-up and its tempo; the intense sections are
fast. Very, very good and a blast to listen to. I will enjoy this band more when I check out the rest of their stuff.
9/10Total score: (9+8+6)/3=
7,7Contract B with 26 pointsRequired score: 6,4
Contract
FULFILLED, gaining
18,2 pointsTotal amount of points: 7,7 + 18,2 =
25,9---
Participant: ZanteraArtist - Song: Mew - Am I Wry? No
Score: 7/10
Artist - Song: Smashing Pumpkins - Thru The Eyes of Ruby
Score: 5/10Artist - Song: Polkadot Cadaver - Forever and A DayThe song is really weird, but in a good way. I can't really put my finger on the genre of this song, but I think something 'progressive' or 'alternative' would do. The chorus is easily one of the better parts of the song, though the overall thing is pretty amazing in itself, with some unexpected instrumentation and quirky stuff. I have to hear more from these people.
8/10Artist - Song: Pendulum - WatercolourMy roommate two years ago used to listen to drum 'n bass all the time and it drove me crazy. This is unlike anything he ever played though and might well be the best drum 'n bass stuff I've ever heard. That still isn't saying much though, because this song hasn't yet turned me on to the genre, but it has sparked my interest in checking this band out more. Nice!
7/10Total score: (7+7+8)/3=
7,3Contract C with 20 pointsRequired score: 7,2
Contract
FULFILLED, gaining
20 pointsTotal amount of points: 7,3 + 20 =
27,3 points---
FINAL SCORES:kári: 33+37,3= 70,3 pointsNekov: 34+25,8= 59,8 points
Zantera: 32+27,3= 59,3 points
ReaperKK: 31+27 = 58 points
Xanthul: 30+25,9= 55,9 points
MoraWintersoul: 28+13,9= 41,9 points
Ravenheart: 26-4,7= 21,3 points
Scorpion: 24-14,7= 9,3 points
---
So, there you have it. kári, congratulations.
Nekov, as a consolation to you; you sent me the best stuff overall and lots of stuff to hear more from, so thanks a lot.
The rest of the participants; THANKS YOU (for the last time)
Elite's out, goodnight.