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General => Archive => General Music Archives => Topic started by: Jaffa on December 27, 2013, 01:25:33 PM
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Hello there! Let’s get right down to business, shall we? This is going to be a pretty long introductory post, so please, bear with me.
The Theme:
Some of you already know this about me, but for those of you who don’t, I have a confession to make: I know very little prog music. I know a few bands pretty well, but for the most part, I’m limited to scattered songs I’ve heard here and there from various bands. By and large, I am woefully ignorant of the genres. I’ve decided it’s time for me to remedy that a little bit, and that is where you folks come in: I’d like to invite you all (or a few of you, anyway) to take me on a tour of the big wide world of prog.
Thus, this roulette. With your help, I’ll be using this roulette to explore the genres of progressive rock and progressive metal.
The Restrictions:
The following bands are off-limits, either because I’m already familiar with most of their music or because I’m already exploring them on my own:
-Dream Theater
-other groups featuring members or former members of Dream Theater (OSI, LTE, Transatlantic, Jelly Jam, etc.)
-Rush
-Opeth
-Tool
-Pink Floyd
Everything else is fair game. As long as it’s progressive rock or progressive metal.
As I already mentioned, I’ve also heard a few scattered songs from other prog bands. Take Yes, for example – I’ve obviously heard I’ve Seen All Good People, and probably a few of their other songs, as well. But I’m still largely unfamiliar with their music in general, so they’re fair game. If you end up submitting something I’ve already heard, I’ll just let you know and ask you to pick something else. But to be honest, I don’t expect that to happen very much. I really don’t know much prog music, so whatever you send is likely to be new to me.
Basically, go nuts.
The Ten Minute Warning:
One of my concerns going into a prog themed roulette is that I’m going to get overwhelmed with a ton of uberlong songs. To prepare for this possibility, I am issuing a warning: I am only committing to listening to the first ten minutes of each song.
Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t send me something longer than ten minutes. But if you do, you run the risk that I might not actually listen to the whole thing. If I listen to the first ten minutes and like what I hear, I’ll listen to the rest of the song. But if you send me a 30 minute epic and the first ten minutes bore me to tears, I might just give up and stop the song, in which case your submission will be judged based only on the first ten minutes – and that probably won’t bode well for you.
So, if you want to stay on the safe side, it would probably be best to keep your submissions under ten minutes. But if you’re feeling a little daring and you’ve got a long song you’re willing to bet on, feel free to submit it. You never know: I might fall in love with it and listen to the whole thing over and over again. Just be aware that if I hate the first ten minutes, I’m not going to listen to the rest of it.
The Format:
There will be no point scoring system in this roulette. I don’t like rating songs on a scale of one to ten (or one to five, or A to F, or any other scale you might suggest), so rather than scoring each submission individually and then comparing scores, I’m just going to rank the songs against each other each round.
Since there will be no individual scoring system in place, the winner will be determined by process of elimination. You could say I’m running this survival style: each round, one participant will be eliminated. As I said, I’ll be ranking the submissions, so whoever submits the song that ends up in last place for the round will be eliminated. Last (wo)man standing after nine ten rounds will be the winner.
I don’t have a last.fm to post, so the first round will be your chance to get an idea of what I like. Therefore eliminations won’t start until the second round, with everybody getting a pass in the first round.
The Participants:
1. lonestar (the winner!)
2. jingle.boy (eliminated round 10)
3. Dr. DTVT (eliminated round 4)
4. Elite (eliminated round 3)
5. Kingshmegland (eliminated round 6)
6. wolfking (eliminated round 8)
7. Nekov (eliminated round 2)
8. Buddyhunter1 (eliminated round 5)
9. adace (eliminated round 7)
10. SomeoneLikeHim (eliminated round 9)
EDIT: The roster is full, no longer accepting applicants. Sorry!
And just to let you all know, I prefer YouTube links for submissions.
Other than that... well, I think that's about it, actually. I'm still pretty new to roulettes (I've only participated in one and followed a couple), so if I'm forgetting anything, feel free to ask me questions or make suggestions.
So, anybody interested? :)
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In, like I already said.
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I'm in
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How loose is your definition of progressive rock/metal? I feel like it can be an umbrella term for a lot of different styles.
Regardless, I think this would be a good first roulette for me to participate in. Count me in!
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I'll give it a go.
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I'll join. This would be my first roulette and though my musical library is not as vast as some others I think I will find something to send. Especially with such a small bann list. Hopefully I won't suck too bad! :biggrin:
Edit: Dammit, 13 seconds too late!
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... That happened a lot faster than I expected. It hadn't really occurred to me that I might get more than three responses so quickly. :lol I'm just going to accept you all. One extra round won't kill me. You're all in! Thanks for your interest! :)
Just to let you all know, I won't be actually starting the first round until the new year. I'm still busy with general holiday stuff, as I'm sure some of you are as well, so I'm going to wait for things to die down and get back to normal. Plus, Doc's on vacation, and I told him I wouldn't start until he was back home.
In the meantime, any questions?
How loose is your definition of progressive rock/metal? I feel like it can be an umbrella term for a lot of different styles.
To be honest, I don't really have a definition of progressive rock/metal. :lol I'm not going to be very strict about it. If you think it fits, I'll probably accept it.
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Dadgum, too slow. I'll follow this one anyway. :tup
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Let's do this.
I'll send something after work man.
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I'll send something after work man.
Just to let you all know, I won't be actually starting the first round until the new year.
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:lol Yeah, sorry for the inconvenience. I just thought I'd go ahead and start the thread so I could find my participants. Didn't anticipate that it would only take six minutes to fill up the roster. :lol I wouldn't mind starting right away, but I did tell Doc I'd wait for him, so.
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Thanks a bunch, looking forward to it! :)
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I'm still in.
What's the deadline for the first round?
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:lol Yeah, sorry for the inconvenience. I just thought I'd go ahead and start the thread so I could find my participants. Didn't anticipate that it would only take six minutes to fill up the roster. :lol I wouldn't mind starting right away, but I did tell Doc I'd wait for him, so.
No shortage of DTF'rs willing to separate a fellow member's money from their wallet.
Dare everyone to send a 30+ minute first round submission. Drawing the Lines of Mortal Existence coming your way!
jk.
This is a beastly group. I'm afraid. Someone hold me. :hug: And most of my competition has introduced me to a lot of my good roulette ammo. :angry:
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If possible, sign me in :tup
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Thanks a bunch, looking forward to it! :)
Me too! :D
I'm still in.
What's the deadline for the first round?
Haven't really set one yet. Like I said, I told Doc I'd wait for the new year. There won't be a theme for the first round, so you can go ahead and start thinking about what you might want to submit, but don't send yet. Thanks for checking in!
Dare everyone to send a 30+ minute first round submission. Drawing the Lines of Mortal Existence coming your way!
... Eep. :omg: :lol
And it's your own fault if the competition is too tough, since you recommended several of them to me yourself. :lol
If possible, sign me in :tup
Sorry, I'm full. Nothing personal, it's just that this is my first time doing this, and I don't want to get too overwhelmed. If I ever do another one, I'll be sure to contact you! Again, sorry, and I appreciate your interest.
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:'(
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And it's your own fault if the competition is too tough, since you recommended several of them to me yourself. :lol
I know. BTW, a lot of songs I like to use ain't on YT. You ok we me PM'g you a link for you to download the .mp3 from my google drive?
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Yeah, that should be fine. :)
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A prog-themed roulette with so few banned artists...I can see the gloves coming off already. (https://i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o669/bolsters/clapping5B15D.gif~original)
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Will send a song tomorrow!
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Will send a song tomorrow!
I'm still in.
What's the deadline for the first round?
Haven't really set one yet. Like I said, I told Doc I'd wait for the new year. There won't be a theme for the first round, so you can go ahead and start thinking about what you might want to submit, but don't send yet. Thanks for checking in!
Reading previous posts, you suck at it King :lol
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I suck in general! :lol
Alright I'll wait to the new year. :P :biggrin:
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Haha, no worries. I probably shouldn't have posted the thread until it was time to start for real. Sorry about that.
Thread title edited to avoid further confusion. :D
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Ok, so we got a few days, let the shit talking begin....
King may suck, so who's game for swallowing? Chad?
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Ok, so we got a few days, let the shit talking begin....
King may suck, so who's game for swallowing? Chad?
He's Canadian, he's used to eating white stuff.
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Ok, so we got a few days, let the shit talking begin....
King may suck, so who's game for swallowing? Chad?
All I can get.
You're going down like Richard Simmons at a gay bar.
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Ok, so we got a few days, let the shit talking begin....
King may suck, so who's game for swallowing? Chad?
All I can get.
You're going down like Richard Simmons at a gay bar.
You're all gonna get beat worse than the pecker on a nerdy 15 year old.
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Apologies if this has been answered but are we just sending you the youtube link my PM or will you proivde an email?
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Apologies if this has been answered but are we just sending you the youtube link my PM or will you proivde an email?
Well, I was thinking we'd just do it through PM, but I suppose I could provide an email if it's necessary.
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What's your rule on the amount of different submissions we can send from a single band/artist?
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I don't think I'm going to set a concrete rule on that. I mean, I'm looking to explore a variety, so I'd prefer to get a sample of as many different artists as possible, but if you want to give a band another try, I'm not going to hold it against you. Who knows? I might like the second song a lot better than the first and end up falling in love with the band.
So yeah, no specific rule. I'll just play it by ear. Hope that's alright.
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Cool. :)
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I can't join anymore, and I don't think I would have, because I hadn't been very useful participant, since I know only little more prog than you do. :lol Following.
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A prog-only roulette? Interesting idea, even though I wouldn't run (or participate in) a roulette with such limitations. Following!
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Apologies if this has been answered but are we just sending you the youtube link my PM or will you proivde an email?
Well, I was thinking we'd just do it through PM, but I suppose I could provide an email if it's necessary.
If you would prefer not to give out your email, PM's are fine, just make sure you are on top of your inbox and that should be fine. PM ultimately would be easier.
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It looks like Doc is back from vacation, so I'm ready to get this party started! Which means...
Round One is officially underway!
Remember, the first round is a freebie; I won't be eliminating anyone until round 2, so this is your chance to get a little bit of a feel for my tastes. It's also a totally open round, with no themes or restrictions, so send me whatever you want. PM me your submissions as soon as you're ready. :)
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How long have we got to send?
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I think I'll set January 3rd as the deadline for the first round, if that sounds okay with everyone. I want to make sure everybody has at least a couple days to get their submission in, and some people might not be checking this thread until January 1st since I said I wasn't starting until the new year.
So, yeah. Get your songs sent by January 3rd, everybody.
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Works for me.
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I'll send something tonight.
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Sent
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I'll send something tonight.
Ditto for me... maybe tomorrow morning. You might need to tape your socks on, because Ima gonna knock them off!
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Sent something pretty heavy. Nobody's getting eliminated, so I might as well send something I wouldn't normally submit. :P
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Sent. Getting the big guns out of the way before someone *cough cough CHAD cough cough* cock blocks me.
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Sent. :corn
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Sent. Getting the big guns out of the way before someone *cough cough CHAD cough cough* cock blocks me.
Nah... I'm gonna play with some morality and ethics this time. Anything you, Doc, or the two Kings have sent me will stay as yours. Diego didn't have to worry, cuz he's never sent me anything I'd consider re-gifting. :neverusethis:
I'm sent btw.
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Sent.
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Sent. Getting the big guns out of the way before someone *cough cough CHAD cough cough* cock blocks me.
Nah... I'm gonna play with some morality and ethics this time. Anything you, Doc, or the two Kings have sent me will stay as yours. Diego didn't have to worry, cuz he's never sent me anything I'd consider re-gifting. :neverusethis:
I'm sent btw.
:lol
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:lol
Aaaaaaaannndddd SENT!
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Following this.
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So, I've received eight songs so far and listened to each of them at least twice, and I have to say, this is shaping up to be a very impressive first round. I'm glad I don't have to eliminate anybody yet! If this keeps up, I'm going to have some tough decisions to make in the later rounds. (Yes, Chad, you told me so.)
Just waiting on a couple submissions at this point, and then I should have results ready pretty soon.
Also, thanks to the non-participants who are following this. I appreciate your interest. :)
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I sent just now, first time checking this thread since 2014 started.
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Just sent now man. Sorry I didn't get mine in earlier, had a few things come up the last 2 days.
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Sent. Getting the big guns out of the way before someone *cough cough CHAD cough cough* cock blocks me.
Nah... I'm gonna play with some morality and ethics this time. Anything you, Doc, or the two Kings have sent me will stay as yours. Diego didn't have to worry, cuz he's never sent me anything I'd consider re-gifting. :neverusethis:
I'm sent btw.
Same goes for you my friend ;)
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Just sent now man. Sorry I didn't get mine in earlier, had a few things come up the last 2 days.
No need to apologize. The deadline isn't until tomorrow, and anyway, you warned me that it'd be a while before you sent. :tup
Now that I've received everybody's submissions, I'm going to try to have results ready within the next couple days. Stay tuned!
EDIT: I should probably have mentioned this sooner, but I want to warn you guys that I have a habit of rambling. I mention this now because I'm in the process of typing up my thoughts on each of the songs, and some of my write-ups are fairly sizable paragraphs. Is that going to bother anybody? I don't want to bore you guys to tears, so I can try to tone it down if you'd prefer.
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Sent. Getting the big guns out of the way before someone *cough cough CHAD cough cough* cock blocks me.
Nah... I'm gonna play with some morality and ethics this time. Anything you, Doc, or the two Kings have sent me will stay as yours. Diego didn't have to worry, cuz he's never sent me anything I'd consider re-gifting. :neverusethis:
I'm sent btw.
Same goes for you my friend ;)
:-*
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EDIT: I should probably have mentioned this sooner, but I want to warn you guys that I have a habit of rambling. I mention this now because I'm in the process of typing up my thoughts on each of the songs, and some of my write-ups are fairly sizable paragraphs. Is that going to bother anybody? I don't want to bore you guys to tears, so I can try to tone it down if you'd prefer.
That's a good thing! :tup
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EDIT: I should probably have mentioned this sooner, but I want to warn you guys that I have a habit of rambling. I mention this now because I'm in the process of typing up my thoughts on each of the songs, and some of my write-ups are fairly sizable paragraphs. Is that going to bother anybody? I don't want to bore you guys to tears, so I can try to tone it down if you'd prefer.
That's a good thing! :tup
I agree. I want to know exactly what you thought abaut the songs. :tup
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Just sent now man. Sorry I didn't get mine in earlier, had a few things come up the last 2 days.
No need to apologize. The deadline isn't until tomorrow, and anyway, you warned me that it'd be a while before you sent. :tup
Now that I've received everybody's submissions, I'm going to try to have results ready within the next couple days. Stay tuned!
EDIT: I should probably have mentioned this sooner, but I want to warn you guys that I have a habit of rambling. I mention this now because I'm in the process of typing up my thoughts on each of the songs, and some of my write-ups are fairly sizable paragraphs. Is that going to bother anybody? I don't want to bore you guys to tears, so I can try to tone it down if you'd prefer.
It's your thing dude. Post whatever you want, more indepth thoughts about the tracks would be most welcome.
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Yeah, I got no problem either. I'll definitely read the writeup on my song, and depending on my level of curiosity with others, skim/read them.
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Yeah, I got no problem either. I'll definitely read the writeup on my song, and depending on my level of curiosity with others, skim/read them.
You selfish bastard! :lol
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Yeah, I got no problem either. I'll definitely read the writeup on my song, and depending on my level of curiosity with others, skim/read them.
You selfish bastard! :lol
I'm with Chad. Most of the time, I don't read writeups on other peoples submission at all. :P
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I do then check out the song to get an idea. Picking on Chad is fun. We do it to each other all the time.
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Results time!
As I said, these write-ups are pretty lengthy. For my own sake, I’ll probably tone it down a bit from now on (I’m going to be receiving more than sixty songs in this roulette, and typing this much for each of them could be a bit of a hassle :lol). For now, feel free to skim if you don’t want to read it all.
First I’ll post my thoughts on each song in the order that I received them:
Dr. DTVT: Jolly – ‘Firewell’
Between the hard-hitting drums, the driving bass, and the raspy (for lack of a better word) quality of the vocals, this song has a really cool edge to it. The guitar solo kicks all kinds of ass, and the chorus is actually really catchy. I do feel that the song goes on a little longer than it really needs to, and there were a couple short passages where I found myself sort of losing interest. I think it could probably really benefit from just a bit of trimming. Still, overall, this is a pretty awesome song. Definitely gets the adrenaline flowing, and the softer parts provide a great contrast for the edginess of it. I’m not totally in love with it, but it’s got a lot of cool stuff going for it.
Nekov: Subsignal – ‘A New Reliance’
What a fun ride! I don’t know if this will make any sense to anybody, but I feel incredibly free while listening to this song, as if anything could happen. It has a sort of whimsical quality about it. On first listen, it caught me off guard on several occasions, turning in directions that were totally unexpected but that nevertheless felt perfect and natural. I couldn’t wait to find out what was coming next. And even now that I know what’s coming next, after repeated listens, each turn still feels fresh and new and exciting to me. The chorus in particular is fantastic, a breath of fresh air every time I hear it. And the whole thing just has a really unique vibe; I can’t really compare it to anything else I’ve ever heard. In your message, you said this wasn’t a super strong submission. Well, I look forward to hearing your idea of a super strong submission, because I think this song is wonderful. Great rhythms, great flow, great melodies… just, greatness.
Buddyhunter1: Gojira – ‘Oroborus’
This is definitely the heaviest submission I received this round, and I appreciate your taking that risk, but I’m afraid it doesn’t do very much for me. It’s a pretty good song, but not much better than pretty good. I think the vocalist does a great job establishing a unique voice for himself – I often find that harsh vocals tend to all sound pretty similar to me, but this guy stands out pretty well. The main riff is sick, too. And the ending is really cool as well, though it doesn’t really seem to fit with the rest of the song. So there’s good stuff here, and overall I can tell that these guys are talented. And I do like heavy music in general, so I don’t want to discourage you from sending more in future rounds if you want to. This song in particular just isn’t quite clicking with me.
jingle.boy: Avantasia – ‘The Wicked Symphony’
Wow, this song starts off strong. The intro has a really cool atmosphere, sort of an epic fairy tale feeling, and it sets up beautifully for the rest of the song. I love the way the main riff kind of explodes after the lighter intro. Great stuff. Actually there’s a lot of great stuff in this one. In terms of vocals, this is definitely the strongest submission I received this round, featuring awesome performances from multiple talented singers. The vocal melodies are insanely catchy for a song of this style – the chorus has been stuck in my head off and on for a couple days now, and I’m not even complaining about it. I really feel that the vocalists steal the show here. Don’t get me wrong, the song as lot going for it musically as well, but the vocals are definitely the highlight for me.
lonestar: IQ – ‘Frequency’
In your message, you warned me that this group seems to be hit-or-miss for some people. Well, I think you can safely consider me a bullseye, because this song is fucking amazing, plain and simple. Wonderfully atmospheric, with every element – from the smooth vocals to the subtle, dreamlike keyboards – working together in perfect harmony to create a truly beautiful soundscape. Listening to this for the first time, I felt transformed and transported. I don’t know exactly where it took me, but it’s a place I’ve been happy to go back to again and again, as I’ve revisited this song more than any other this round. I keep expecting to get tired of it, but I seem to enjoy it more each time I listen to it. I feel like I could get lost in this song for days. Happily. It blew me away on first listen, and it simply hasn’t stopped blowing me away. I honestly can’t think of enough nice things to say about it. With this song, you’ve set the bar very high for yourself, and I look forward to seeing whether or not you’re able to keep up that high standard.
SomeoneLikeHim: Genesis – ‘Firth of Fifth’
Ah, Genesis. This is probably one of those songs that I really should have heard before now. But, alas, I hadn’t. I’ve heard a few Genesis songs here and there over the years, but I’ve never taken the time to explore them in depth. Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of Peter Gabriel as a vocalist. I know, I know, I’m weird. But I can’t help it; his voice just doesn’t do much for me. Luckily, his vocal contributions are fairly limited on this one, with large portions of the song being purely instrumental. And musically, this song is gorgeous. The piano intro is downright lovely, I love the flute section, and the whole instrumental section is really nice. I would love to hear an instrumental version of this one. As it is, I’m afraid Gabriel’s vocals do hold me back a bit from totally connecting with the song. Nevertheless, the music itself is exquisite.
adace: Threshold – ‘Ashes’
I find I don’t really have a lot to say about this one. For some reason it just doesn’t make much of an impression on me. I enjoy it while I’m listening to it (I’m tapping my feet and headbanging a bit even as I type this), but I just haven’t felt compelled to listen to it much. It’s definitely a solid song, with great drumming, strong vocals, and an awesome guitar solo. Just doesn’t seem to have much staying power for me, unfortunately.
kingshmegland: Enchant – ‘Juggling Knives’
This one has been a huge grower for me. On first listen, I didn’t like it very much at all. Contrary to your hopes, I actually found the singer kind of annoying at first. That was a little discouraging, considering you’d specifically mentioned how much you loved him. :lol But now that I’ve had the chance to get used to his voice, I’ve grown to like it, and I’ve warmed up to the song a lot as a result. In particular, I love the lyrics. I hadn’t paid much attention to them at first, but they’re really, really good. The song also has some really tasty grooves, and the keyboard solo is simply outstanding. So, while I can’t say I love this song, I’ve definitely grown to like it quite a lot.
Elite: Seventh Wonder – ‘Hide and Seek’
Magnificent. In my opinion, this song really embodies the best qualities of progressive music: it goes all over the place, but it always manages to keep a focus on its final destination, and it never seems to take a misstep. It’s always moving forward. Every moment counts. That is really, really impressive for a song with this much going on in it. And it excels on pretty much every level; vocally, lyrically, melodically, technically… homerun performances all around. It’s pretty rare for a song to get everything right, but this one does. Every instrument gets a chance to shine, and there’s never a dull moment. I like the power metal flavors here and there as well, especially in the soaring vocals. Truly a brilliant song. If every song on the album is as good as this one, it’s no mystery to me that you love it so much.
Wolfking: Evergrey – ‘Masterplan’
I was kind of hoping somebody would send me some Evergrey. I’ve been interested in exploring them ever since I first heard A Touch of Blessing (which I absolutely fucking love), but for some reason I’ve never gotten around to it. This one isn’t nearly as good as AToB, in my opinion, but it’s still a damn good song. I imagine it must be amazing live; it has a lot of energy, and the chorus would be a great one for the audience to scream along with. I get chills just thinking about it, actually. I love the drums in this songs; very powerful. I find myself air drumming along with them, even though I know next to nothing about actually playing the drums. :lol Awesome guitar playing, too. This is definitely a band I’ll be checking out more of.
And now, without further ado, the rankings…
1. lonestar
2. Elite
3. Nekov
4. Wolfking
5. jingle.boy
6. SomeoneLikeHim
7. Dr. DTVT
8. kingshmegland
9. adace
10. Buddyhunter1
Ranking these songs was not easy, because, as you can see from my write-ups, I had very positive opinions of several songs, and I didn’t really dislike any of them. In fact, if I was rating them on a scale of one to ten, none of these songs would score lower than a six. But I’m not rating them, I’m ranking them, and that means somebody has to be in last place. Sorry Buddyhunter. But eliminations don’t start until next round, so you’re still in the game!
Congratulations to lonestar for coming out on top in the first round! It was a hard fought victory and a tough decision, but in the end, I had to go with Frequency as the winner. Absolutely terrific song.
And that brings the first round to a close. Thanks for your contributions, everybody; I’ve already discovered some really awesome music, and I’m eager to hear more from all of you. So let’s get round 2 underway, shall we?
Round Two: First Impressions
This round, I’m only going to listen to each song once before ranking them. I’m sure I’ll revisit many of them after I’ve decided on the rankings, but I’ll be making my decisions based only on the first listen. That means it’s your job to come up with a song that makes a strong first impression. How you do that is up to you. You may want to send something with some catchy melodies that’ll get stuck in my head, or you may want to go with a standout solo section or something. Your call.
Submit your songs by January 7th.
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Dead last. :lol
Interesting round theme... I'll have to think about this one.
EDIT: Sent.
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Wow... that's a quality group of 9 songs (I'm not a Gojira fan either). I got no problem coming 5th fiddle to Subsignal, IQ, Evergrey and Seventh Wonder. Guess I can scratch off the thought of using SW or Evergrey! And Ashes is #9!!! Wow. That's a killer track!
I know exactly what I'm sending, and luckily it fits the theme. If I'm going down, I'm going down with the band I always pimp in roulettes. PM forthcoming.
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If you think you got lost in that track, just remember Iq has ten studio albums for you to explore.
Not sure I can top them, they're my favorite band. But I surely have much more quality stuff in my library.
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If you think you got lost in that track, just remember Iq has ten studio albums for you to explore.
I can attest to this.
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Hey lonestar, how would you rank Dark Matter against the rest of IQ's discography? That's the only one I have, and parts of it I like, other parts I'm not so crazy about.
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Strangely enough, it rates at the lower end for me,though a lot of people list it as their favorite. For me, the top albums are Frequency, Ever, Subterrenea, Seventh House, and the Wake.
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Strangely enough, it rates at the lower end for me,though a lot of people list it as their favorite. For me, the top albums are Frequency, Ever, Subterrenea, Seventh House, and the Wake.
This I can attest to.
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Alright, this gives me an insight to your tastes!
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Wow... that's a quality group of 9 songs (I'm not a Gojira fan either). I got no problem coming 5th fiddle to Subsignal, IQ, Evergrey and Seventh Wonder. Guess I can scratch off the thought of using SW or Evergrey! And Ashes is #9!!! Wow. That's a killer track!
Yeah, this really was just a case of tough competition. I was utterly blown away by the number of awesome songs I got in the first round.
If you think you got lost in that track, just remember Iq has ten studio albums for you to explore.
Eep. :lol Any recommendations on which album to start with? Frequency seems like the obvious choice, but I thought I'd check.
Also, an announcement: it occurred to me that with the ranking and elimination system (as opposed to the rating and cumulative score system), there's really no reward for coming in first place. That doesn't quite seem fair, so I've decided that whoever ranks in first place in a round will have immunity from elimination in the following round. That way, the person who sends me my favorite song each round will actually be rewarded for it.
Of course, I'll have to discontinue this near the end (not much point in having a final round if one of the finalists has immunity), but for now, I'm going with it. Since lonestar got first place in round one, he has earned immunity, and will not be eliminated in round two, even if I don't like the song he sends.
Make sense to everybody? Sound fair? Questions? Comments?
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I'm immune to all the old fogies. So in my mind I'm first place all the time.
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Do I get a token or idol or certificate to represent the immunity?
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Erm... sure. Yeah, of course. But it's invisible. And really, really light. You probably won't even notice that you have it, to be honest.
...
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Do I get a token or idol or certificate to represent the immunity?
Here you go. Ribbed just for your pleasure.
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcScxh3GlQ8DsPXBLAVcSP0HlZQJeoylv1qJO65kg0KcnY2SS4t6Hw)
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So, now that I've read thru all the writeups so as to not be a selfish bastard (and since I'm really enjoying my scotch right now), I'm gonna offer some thoughts opinions.
IQ - RJ got me in to these guys too, and I just don't listen to them enough. There isn't a single thing wrong with them. I only have 6 of their albums, but I'm sure I'll round the collection out at some point. Frequency isn't my favorite track, but it's a dynamite album.
Enchant - just getting in to them thanks to my Doc from roulette.
Subsignal - will be making a discography purchase (thankfully only 3 albums) thanks to Diego in my roulette as well. :tup. Probably gonna end up revisiting Sieges Even too (you bastard).
Evergrey - Masterplan is da bomb live. Get that live DVD once you've explored a couple of Evergrey albums. Doc is better suited to make recommendations here.
Threshold - I'm stunned that anyone could rank this 9th. Goes to show how strong the songs you got were this round
Seventh Wonder - go listen to this whole album. Thank Rich endlessly.
The Wicked Symphony - isn't the best Avantasia album, and don't let wolfie tell you it's the Metal Opera. Get The Scarecrow if/when you're ready to explore the godliness of Avantasia.
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Do I get a token or idol or certificate to represent the immunity?
Here you go. Ribbed just for your pleasure.
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcScxh3GlQ8DsPXBLAVcSP0HlZQJeoylv1qJO65kg0KcnY2SS4t6Hw)
:caffeine:
And sent yo...
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Enchant - just getting in to them thanks to my Doc from roulette.
Yeah, the one you booted me from, hose bag.
Evergrey - Masterplan is da bomb live. Get that live DVD once you've explored a couple of Evergrey albums. Doc is better suited to make recommendations here.
Good enough to recommend stuff, Yet not good enough for your roulette. Start with Recreation Day.
Threshold - I'm stunned that anyone could rank this 9th. Goes to show how strong the songs you got were this round
Too be honest, I wouldn't call that a top 5, or maybe even a top 10 Threshold song.
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:corn
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Will these results carry over in some way or do we start from scratch next round again?
Edit: sorry, I missed page 3!
Edit 2: Sent!
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I'm glad you liked it. :smiley: I'll be sending as soon as I get home
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Awesome, glad you liked Seventh Wonder.
Seventh Wonder - go listen to this whole album. Thank Rich endlessly.
I agree with the above^ :)
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Sent.
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Glad you dig the Evergrey. It's funny you mention the drumming, IMO since Patrick Carlsson left after Recreation Day, the band have suffered from it. He is such an amazing drummer and a shame he's not doing anything anymore.
I agree with Mason, get Recreation Day first, then In Search of Truth. Even though you loved A Touch of Blessing, hold off on The Inner Circle until you get these two at least. The Inner Circle is pretty full on and requires a lot of time and listens.
Also, next round sent.
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Alright! I think Chad and RJ know what I'm sending. RJ different song from the same album but I know you were blown away by that other song. BIG GUNS ARE A COMMIN'
Sent!
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If it's what I'm thinking, I think we're all playing for second place this round.
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If it's what I'm thinking, I think we're all playing for second place this round.
Well we'll see. I do know he like's Tool and it's in the same vein. That album is a top 5 album of all time for me. I may do a top 25 or 30 someday.
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Sent
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If it's what I'm thinking, I think we're all playing for second place this round.
Speak for yourself. Just like the fable of the group of guys being chased by the bear, you don't have to be fastest/first anymore, just don't be slowest/last.
But I'm still gonna smoke both of you this round.
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Following.
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I haven't started listening to anything yet (holding off until I receive everybody's submissions, and I'm still waiting on two), but I have to say, I'm definitely excited to check out the songs I've received so far. Several of the submissions are from bands I've been meaning to check out for a while now. If those bands are as good as their reputations around here would indicate, this is going to another round of stellar songs.
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:corn
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(https://replygif.net/i/424.gif)
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I'm stealing that gif
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I know, it's a good one.
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That gif is legit.
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(https://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu138/loveyourmeat/lj-quinnscousin-2legit2quit.gif)
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:rollin
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I'm sorry for the wait, guys, but I've been having some pretty bad headaches the past couple days, so I really haven't felt like sitting down with headphones on to listen to these songs. But I've started listening to them now, and I hope to have results for you guys by tomorrow.
Again, sorry for the wait, and thanks for your patience.
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Headaches suck man, it can be the worst thing sometimes, you after yourself first.
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I'm sorry for the wait, guys, but I've been having some pretty bad headaches the past couple days, so I really haven't felt like sitting down with headphones on to listen to these songs. But I've started listening to them now, and I hope to have results for you guys by tomorrow.
Again, sorry for the wait, and thanks for your patience.
No sweat. And glad you're using headphones... I forgot to mention that was pretty much mandatory for my submission.
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As I said, these write-ups are pretty lengthy. For my own sake, I’ll probably tone it down a bit from now on
... Or I'll somehow end up typing even more for the second round results. :facepalm: Oh well. Deal with it. Feel free to skim, or even just skip to the rankings if you want to.
Keep in mind that as of now I've only listened to each of these songs once. My opinion on some of these songs might change drastically with repeated listens, but for judging purposes, I'm going based on first impressions alone.
As before, I'll start by posting my thoughts on the songs in the order I received them:
Buddyhunter1: Anathema – ‘Untouchable, Part 1’
Well, this is a little bit different than Gojira, isn’t it? :lol Gorgeous song, though! The whole thing had an interesting vibe to it, sort of melancholy and yet sort of uplifting. I’m not sure how a song can be melancholy and uplifting at the same time, but this one did evoke both those feelings for me. Strange, but really nice. And the vocals were lovely. Very passionate, very emotional. Especially during the second half of the song – as you promised, the last three minutes were amazing. A fairly straightforward song, but still great stuff overall!
jingle.boy: Flaming Row – ‘Unearth the Truth’
Again you send me a song with excellent vocals, and again the chorus immediately gets stuck in my head. The female vocalist was seriously impressive. The guy was good too, but the lady had my jaw on the floor. The guitar player was outstanding, too; I’m not someone who typically focuses on a specific instrument much, but the guitar commanded my attention on this one. There wasn’t really one specific riff or melody that stuck with me more than the others, but there were several moments where I was blown away, especially during the instrumental section. The intro was great, too, and I seem to recall that there was a sort of mini-solo pretty early in the song (after the first chorus, perhaps? I’m not entirely sure) that I particularly liked. Cool stuff throughout, really. And the song definitely made me curious to check out the rest of the album and find out more about the story, so, kudos all around.
lonestar: The Deadstation – ‘Subsistence Defined’
Unfortunately, I really didn’t care for the vocals in this one at all. I’m not sure what exactly the problem was, because I usually don’t have anything against this style of singing, but something about this specific singer’s voice just rubbed me the wrong way. I wish I could explain it better, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. All I know is that I didn’t enjoy the vocals, and they kind of dragged the song down for me. I honestly found them so distracting that I had difficulty focusing on anything else, and now I can hardly remember anything about the music itself. Seems like it had a really chaotic style that was actually very cool to me. A solid rocker with powerful, hard-hitting drums and some killer guitar passages. But whatever good qualities it may have had, I just couldn’t get past the vocals. I’ll give the song another chance later to see if I like the singer better the second time around. As of right now, though, based on first impressions, I’m not a fan of this one.
SomeoneLikeHim: Pain of Salvation – ‘Used’
In your message, you said you had no idea how I would feel about this one. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure how I feel about it, either. :lol Kind of a schizophrenic song, isn’t it? I almost felt like it was arguing with itself about whether it wanted to be a heavy song or a soft one, and it ended up just sort of changing channels back and forth. The combination of beautiful clean vocals and somewhat hushed spoken word passages was really interesting, too. It definitely had a lot of contrast to it. It was somewhat disorienting, but the overall effect was… actually really cool. I think. We’ll see how repeated listens pan out, as I certainly haven’t had time to wrap my head around it yet, but my first impression is positive. If nothing else, it has some great riffage. I’m definitely intrigued.
adace: Steven Wilson – ‘Drive Home’
Breathtaking. I actually thought this song was a bit boring at first, but before long I found myself utterly hypnotized by it, and now I feel like an idiot for having ever thought it was boring at all. It was a lot of things – haunting, dreamy, eerie, atmospheric, richly textured, and soulful, to name a few – but it was not boring. Listening to this was a very immersive experience. It had an ethereal beauty to it that drew me in slowly and then held me and refused to let me go. It still hasn’t let go, actually. I’m still hearing the ghostly ‘drive home…’ chants as I type this. And that guitar solo was possibly one of the most emotional I’ve ever heard. I’ve seen so much love for this album that I kind of thought it wouldn’t be able to live up to the hype, but if this song is anything to go by, the album probably deserves every ounce of praise it gets around here.
wolfking: Sieges Even – ‘Tidal’
‘We are, we are…’ Yeah, that bit’s going to be stuck in my head approximately forever. The harmonies there are very nice, and the layered vocals are done really well. Very majestic. Apart from that, though, this song didn’t stand out very much for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was consistently good, but nothing about it really wowed me. And now that it’s over, I feel satisfied with just the one listen; I don’t feel much interest in revisiting it. Not sure why, really, it just didn’t quite grab me. It did have a very cool energy to it, and I can certainly tell that they’re a talented group of musicians. I may end up checking out a couple more of their songs to see if they jump out at me more. When it comes to this one in particular, though, I thought it was good but not great.
kingshmegland: I Mother Earth – ‘Hell & Malfunction’
I can see why you mentioned Tool, because there are definitely some similarities. I was, at times, reminded of Ænema – which is a very good thing for you, because Ænema is one of my favorite songs ever. That being said, the similarities aren’t too obvious or overwhelming, and these guys definitely have their own identity. I’d never even heard of them before now, but I’m impressed. I was a little bit skeptical at first, because I really didn’t care for the spoken word section right at the beginning, but as soon as the music started, my doubts were erased, because the rest of the song was awesome. I loved the guitar tone; it had a dark feel to it, very well suited for the somewhat doom-ish mood of the song. The bass did a great job enhancing that feeling. The lyrics were also a perfect fit, with powerful words delivered powerfully in a strong vocal performance. The middle section was every bit as good as you promised it would be. And, also as promised, the whole song had a lot of depth to it. I didn’t like the spoken word intro, but other than that, this song’s all aces.
Also, this really doesn’t have anything to do with anything, but I have to comment on it anyway: Quicksilver Meat Dream? If this was an album title competition, these guys would have just won the whole thing for you. :lol
Nekov: Frost* – ‘Welcome to Nowhere’
Sorry, but no, I don’t love this song, at least not on first listen. There were certainly things I loved about it. The lyrics were excellent, particularly in the chorus (which was great in and of itself), the vocals were really good, the piano melodies were gorgeous, the soloes were awesome… really, the song had quite a lot of great stuff going for it. But the way all of that great stuff was put together just didn’t work very well for me. I didn’t think it had a very good flow, and the pacing didn’t seem right. It felt very start-and-stop to me, building momentum but never really sustaining it, slowing back down when I felt like it should be speeding up instead. Because of that, I just wasn’t able to get fully into it. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. Maybe I’ll have better luck with repeated listens, but going on my first impression, I’m not into it.
Dr. DTVT: Haken – ‘Cockroach King’
I don’t know what the fuck I just listened to, but I’m pretty sure it was amazing. :lol To be honest, I feel kind of helpless trying to talk about this song after just one listen. It was… quirky, to put it mildly. I’m not sure ‘quirky’ really covers it, though; ‘bizarre’ would probably be the more accurate choice. But bizarre in a brilliant way. I would compare it to Pennywise, the dancing clown from Stephen King’s It: wacky, yes, but also gleefully sinister, with an edge of menace beneath the fun and games. There’s a ton of really neat stuff going on in this song musically, and it’s shockingly catchy – a song this crazy has no right to be as catchy as this one is. I thought the vocalist was a little bit weird, but then, so was the song, so it seemed to fit. All in all, I loved it. I feel slightly insane for loving it, but I loved it. Very fun song.
Elite: Haken – ‘Pareidolia’
So, yeah, I got two songs in a row from the same album. But I’ve been very curious about this album anyway, so I was happy to accept both songs. And I’m glad I did, because they’re both awesome.
After listening to Cockroach King, this one felt incredibly sane by comparison. It was still quirky in its own right – there was a particularly oddball instrumental passage fairly early on (I think) that I especially liked – but overall they definitely seemed to take a more focused and serious approach with this one. Because of that, it didn’t have quite the same charm that the other did for me, but it was still a damn good song. There were great melodies all over the place, and the song had a very nice flow to it, even in the passages where they indulged their wackier side a bit. I like the vocals better in this one than in the other, and I love this band’s harmonies. I’m thinking I’ll definitely be getting this album.
Oh, and by the way everybody, this was the first song I’ve received that went over the 10 minute mark, and I did listen to the whole thing. Of course, it was only an extra 51 seconds, and the song felt much shorter than it was anyway, but still, thought I should mention it.
Round Two rankings:
1. adace
2. Dr. DTVT
3. kingshmegland
4. jingle.boy
5. Elite
6. Buddyhunter1
7. SomeoneLikeHim
8. wolfking
9. Nekov
10. lonestar
In a surprising twist, lonestar strikes out in the second round after hitting a huge homerun in the first. Luckily for him, his first submission was strong enough to earn him immunity here, so he’s still in the race.
Unfortunately, that means game over for Nekov. Sorry dude. I certainly didn’t expect to be eliminating you so early, because I really love that Subsignal song, but I’m afraid your submission this round just wasn’t as strong as the others, in my opinion. Maybe I could have gotten into it if I had listened to it more, but I'm going on first impressions, and it didn't make a very strong one. No hard feelings, I hope! And thank you very much for your participation! I deeply appreciate your time and interest, and I’m sorry to see you go.
In happier news, congratulations to adace! Your song was my favorite this round, and for that, you have earned immunity from elimination in round three. I was pretty sure somebody was going to be sending me something from TRTRTS before this thing was over, and I honestly expected to be underwhelmed by it, but Drive Home blew me away. Great choice, and thanks for sending it.
Once again, thanks for your songs, everybody. I'm thoroughly enjoying this process, and I hope you're all getting some fun out of it too. Let's move on to the next round, shall we?
Round Three: A Joyous Occasion
This round, I want to hear some happy songs. Of course, 'happy' is totally subjective, and I'm not going to be super strict about it ("THIS SONG DIDN'T MAKE ME HAPPY ENOUGH YOU'RE ELIMINATED!"); just try to send something that evokes positive feelings. How it accomplishes that is up to you.
I doubt I'll get results done over the weekend, so I'm going to go ahead and give you guys until the 13th to get your songs submitted.
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W00T!!! :hat
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Yeah, that was an impressive recovery. Ninth place in round 1, top of the pack in round 2. Well played!
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AWESOME!! Will work on a tune in the next few days!!
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I have to say, posting these rankings is kind of tough. I feel legitimately bad for the people who submitted songs I didn't like much. :lol Sorry Nekov! Sorry lonestar! Please don't hate me!
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Not to make it any harder on ya, but the guitarist for that band is a regular here. :biggrin:
Surprising that it was the vocals that killed it for ya, that is one of the stronger points for me. Oh well, taste is taste man. A happy song, huh? Let's see if I can send you something that will have you shooting rainbows out of your ass man.
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... Well, with any luck, he won't read this thread, and I won't have to feel like a total dick.
Yeah, I'm still not sure what the problem is, but I've listened to the song a couple more times now, and while the music is very good, the vocals just rub me the wrong way for some reason. :(
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Don't trip man, he's totally cool, and doesn't post much anymore. Just breaking your balls bud.
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A Steven Wilson song at #1! How incredibly unsurprising. :lol
#6 is still a bit lower than I would like, but I'm glad I'm still in this! Will ponder what to submit for this round and send shortly.
EDIT: Screw it, I know exactly what I'm sending and I'm going to do it momentarily before someone else does. If someone sent a Steven Wilson song, I might as well send something totally obvious as well.
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A Steven Wilson song at #1! How incredibly unsurprising. :lol
I know, right? I honestly never expected myself to join the TRTRTS bandwagon, but fuck, that song is amazing! :lol
EDIT: And yes, everyone should feel free to submit stuff that seems too obvious. There are a lot of artists that I've heard of on this forum but never actually listened to. Of course, there's always a chance you'll submit something I have already heard, but if that happens, I'll just politely ask you to submit something else.
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Yes. Come worship with the rest of us in the SW thread. :lol
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Frost* is out!?!?! :omg: :omg: :omg: Guess I can take them off my potential list too! :jets:
Happy?? Happy?? Why is that a theme so often?? Happy often equals crappy!! :rollin
I'll see what I can dig up. But if Frost* isn't your cup of tea... :wtf:
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eek, my head was close to the choping block. That surprised me actually.
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Frost* is out!?!?! :omg: :omg: :omg: Guess I can take them off my potential list too! :jets:
Happy?? Happy?? Why is that a theme so often?? Happy often equals crappy!! :rollin
I'll see what I can dig up. But if Frost* isn't your cup of tea... :wtf:
:lol Hey, if you want to take a gamble and send another Frost* song, I'm open to giving them another chance. Maybe it was just that particular song. And even then, I did like it musically in a lot of ways, it was just... well, one of the YouTube comments said that the song had "a drastic change from an eerie melody into a rock rush." I agreed, and I thought it was really cool at first, but then it went back to the eerie melody, and then it went back to the rock rush, and the way it kept going back and forth prevented it from building any momentum on either front. Or at least that's the way I felt about it, and repeated listens haven't really changed that. Sorry! Call me crazy! :lol
eek, my head was close to the choping block. That surprised me actually.
Well, for what it's worth, this one I have enjoyed more upon revisiting it.
I feel like such a villain right now.
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I feel like such a villain right now.
I told you that you would regret going with a stack-rank system. ;D
Don't sweat it... Roulette's are the perfect breeding ground for whiny bitches.
eek, my head was close to the choping block. That surprised me actually.
No kidding! Since Subsignal is Sieges Even reincarnated.
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Yeah, and I thought I was cheating by sending them. :lol
eek, my head was close to the choping block. That surprised me actually.
Well, for what it's worth, this one I have enjoyed more upon revisiting it.
I feel like such a villain right now.
That's okay, prog isn't the sort of genre you can count on first impressions. But I forgive you. :tup
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Do I get a token or idol or certificate to represent the immunity?
Here you go. Ribbed just for your pleasure.
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcScxh3GlQ8DsPXBLAVcSP0HlZQJeoylv1qJO65kg0KcnY2SS4t6Hw)
Hey adace, don't forget the immunity token. I kinda washed them.....
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:'(
That song usually does the trick, I'm really surprised you didn't like it. Oh well, good luck to you guys
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:'(
That song usually does the trick, I'm really surprised you didn't like it. Oh well, good luck to you guys
Yeah, you got ripped, Frost are amazing.
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:'(
That song usually does the trick, I'm really surprised you didn't like it. Oh well, good luck to you guys
Yeah, you got ripped, Frost are amazing.
I think it is the first time I've seen Frost* do that poorly in a Roulette. Dem's tastes for ya!
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Should have sent something from Milliontown.
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I feel like such a villain right now.
I told you that you would regret going with a stack-rank system. ;D
Ha, yes, you did. But really, I doubt anyone's self-esteem hangs on how well they do in this roulette, so I don't think I can do too much damage. As long as nobody ends up totally hating me, I'll be okay.
:'(
That song usually does the trick, I'm really surprised you didn't like it.
Well, it seems I'm definitely the odd one out here, so feel free to write this off as me just being a crazy person. :lol At any rate, once again, thank you for participating!
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I was kind of worried there, I knew there was no telling how you would react to "Used"! :lol
Let me know if it grows on you! :)
I'll have to think about the next one.
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So, the song I want to send isn't on youtube. Does anyone have any good tips on how to send it anyway? I could send the link to the whole album on youtube with a timestamp if that's allright with Jaffa.
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Sent yo....
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So, the song I want to send isn't on youtube. Does anyone have any good tips on how to send it anyway? I could send the link to the whole album on youtube with a timestamp if that's allright with Jaffa.
That's fine with me. :)
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ok, then sent!
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Hey! Pareidolia is better than Cockroach King!
And someone already sent Pain of Salvation then. Shit, I'll have to think of something else now.
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Were you considering them for the happy round? :lol
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Hey! Pareidolia is better than Cockroach King!
I'm going to buy the album either way, so does it really matter? :lol
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Song sent.
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Sent.
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Sent ... 2 days ago
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Yeah, what's the status on this one?
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I've received submissions from seven participants so far, but one of them is going to have to pick something else. After that, I'll just be waiting on two.
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I've received submissions from seven participants so far, but one of them is going to have to pick something else. After that, I'll just be waiting on two.
See, another bad thing about eliminating me (other than the fact that Frost* is awesome) is that I'm very timely about sending songs, not like some other people :P
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:lol Well, keep in mind that I set a longer deadline for this round anyway, so it's not like anybody's actually late.
And stop trying to make me feel bad you jerk. :P
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I've received submissions from seven participants so far, but one of them is going to have to pick something else. After that, I'll just be waiting on two.
See, another bad thing about eliminating me (other than the fact that Frost* is awesome) is that I'm very timely about sending songs, not like some other people :P
Nekov: Always the first one in.
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:zydar:
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I'm one of the 2 listening to songs now and in the car and then I'll send later today.
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Sent!
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I'm giving king the chance to pick a new song due to some... amusing coincidences. :lol So there are still a couple songs I have yet to receive, but I have to say, so far, this is going to be a difficult round to rank.
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I'm giving king the chance to pick a new song due to some... amusing coincidences. :lol So there are still a couple songs I have yet to receive, but I have to say, so far, this is going to be a difficult round to rank.
:burns:
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You meatsticks think alike. I set 2 bands and both bands were sent twice!! :lol
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You meatsticks think alike. I set 2 bands and both bands were sent twice!! :lol
That's what you get for taking 3 days to submit! :P
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:P :biggrin:
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Yeah, there are a couple bands that people seem to be gravitating towards for the happy theme. King tried to use both of them, and in both cases, two other participants had already beaten him to the punch. :lol
Which, for the record, I'm really okay with. I don't mind accepting a third song from one of those artists from him. But I'm giving him the opportunity to pick something else if he wants to, since the deadline isn't til tomorrow anyway.
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Third sent and if someone sent it it's because I hooked them on this song and band! :lol
BTW the rest of this album I sent rocks! Ask Chad and RJ!
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I wasn't thinking about it, but I just skunked one of RJ's favorite bands. However, since I was fan of this band for a long time before I heard of DTF, I don't feel too bad.
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And with that, I've received everybody's submissions. I'll try to get the results done today. If not, I'll have them ready by tomorrow at the latest.
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Third sent and if someone sent it it's because I hooked them on this song and band! :lol
BTW the rest of this album band I sent rocks! Ask Chad and RJ!
Fix'd
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You mean I picked a band know one had?! :lol
I know already you pranked me in a pm :lol
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King, you deserve all that crap you got this round for sending MY band in the first round :xbones
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You guys aren't making this easy on me, y'know. I was kinda hoping one of the last songs I received would be terrible so that I'd have an easier time choosing who to eliminate, but no such luck. :lol Now I've got some tough decisions to make.
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You guys aren't making this easy on me, y'know. I was kinda hoping one of the last songs I received would be terrible so that I'd have an easier time choosing who to eliminate, but no such luck. :lol Now I've got some tough decisions to make.
(https://thepoliticalcarnival.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/told-you-so-meter.jpg)
I'm having the same challenges in mine ... at least I'm not eliminating people anymore.
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I wasn't thinking about it, but I just skunked one of RJ's favorite bands. However, since I was fan of this band for a long time before I heard of DTF, I don't feel too bad.
Very curious...
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Yes, Chad, you told me so.
So, I'm almost done with my write-ups, but it's probably gonna take me a little while to finalize the rankings. Would you guys want me to post the write-ups in one post and then the rankings in another a little later, or should I wait until I've got it all ready to post at once? I'll leave it up to you.
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Wait for the rankings.
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King, you deserve all that crap you got this round for sending MY band in the first round :xbones
I saved you the pain. It was just ok by Jaffa's standards. You owe me.
Jaffa, Wait for the rankings!
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Happy?? Happy?? Why is that a theme so often?? Happy often equals crappy!! :rollin
Well, that certainly wasn't the case here. There wasn't a crappy song in the bunch. In fact, I really liked every song I received this round. Which is a bittersweet pill to swallow, of course - it's nice to get so many songs I enjoy, but it also means that I'm going to end up having to eliminate somebody even though they sent something I really like. And that kinda sucks. But, such is life!
Anyway, results.
Buddyhunter1: The Devin Townsend Project – ‘Kingdom’
This is glorious. I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘happy,’ but it does have a generally positive and uplifting vibe to it, especially in the vocal melodies. It’s hopeful, almost inspirational at times. And theme aside, it’s just an extremely powerful song overall. It works on multiple levels: on the surface, it’s so energetic that it makes me want to bang my head and just rock the fuck out, but delving a little deeper, it’s got enough substance and meaning that I could just as easily use it for meditation. Marvelous song.
SomeoneLikeHim: Moon Safari – ‘Yasgur’s Farm’
:D :D :D This is legitimately one of the happiest songs I’ve ever heard in my life. Happy isn’t even a strong enough word; this is blissful. I’m listening to it again right now, and I can’t seem to wipe the damn smile off my face! :lol I feel like the world would be a more peaceful place if everybody just listened to this song. It’s melodically and harmonically wonderful throughout, with more beautiful passages than I care to count. I love how light and carefree it is, and… just… :D
lonestar: Speaking to Stones – ‘Water’
Well, I certainly can’t complain about the vocals this time around. Very majestic, with quite a lot of power. And speaking of ‘power’, you weren’t kidding about the guitar work here, either! Impressive stuff! Again, I wouldn’t exactly call it a ‘happy’ song, but it’s definitely uplifting, with soaring melodies that evoke images of climbing mountains. And I actually think the religious overtones work really well; it’s very spiritual, and it feels almost enlightening. It has a great sense of wonder to it. Very nice.
wolfking: Last Tribe – ‘Wake Up the World’
This seems like it would be a good song to listen while trying to make positive changes in one’s life. There’s a really interesting sense of tension and desperation, but at the same time there’s a lot of hope, and it’s very motivational, very inspiring. To me, the quiet intro feels like taking a deep breath before making the plunge. When the song really kicks in, that’s when you jump over the edge, and then you’re in freefall for a while until you get to the awesome, anthemic chorus and find out you can fly. Very moving.
jingle.boy: Spock’s Beard – ‘The Doorway’
Charming. Listening to this one certainly puts me in a more positive frame of mind. It’s very passionate and very emotional. The melodies are delightful, particularly the piano passages, and Neal Morse has really grown on me as a vocalist, so that’s a definite plus here. The song has a great atmosphere, with a nice whimsical energy and a smooth flow. Lots of cool stuff going on in the instrumentation, and the instrumental ending is absolutely fantastic. Just lovely.
adace: Moon Safari – ‘Mega Moon’
More Moon Safari. These guys must make pretty happy music in general, I take it?
This one’s kind of an oddball. It’s very unpredictable – I’ve listened to it several times now, and there are parts of it that continue to catch me off completely off guard every time, especially the Queen-esque vocal passage right after the first chorus. I feel like it’s toying with me. :lol It feels really playful, almost silly at times. It certainly fits the ‘happy’ criteria, and it’s got some wonderful melodies and a sugary chorus. Overall, I don’t like it nearly as much as Yasgur’s Farm, but it’s still a really fun song.
Elite: Spock’s Beard – ‘Day For Night’
For the record, this was Elite’s second choice. He tried to send The Doorway, but jingle beat him to the punch, so he went with this instead.
I do prefer The Doorway overall, as you said I probably would, but this is a great song, too. I love the intro, and when the full song kicks in, it has a really cool energy with some neat synth sounds. Nice uplifting melodies and cheerful vocals. I find it very soothing. The chorus is lovely, especially near the end, with all the harmonies. This is definitely a mood lifter, the kind of song that helps when you’re having a bad day. I like it.
kingshmegland: Presto Ballet – ‘You’re Alive’
And this was king’s third choice. He tried to send a Spock’s Beard song, and I told him I’d already received two songs from them. So he tried to send a Moon Safari song, and I told him I’d already received two songs from them as well. Poor guy! :lol
This one is quite simple, but it still has some great stuff going for it, and it’s still a really nice tune. Between the comforting acoustic guitar, the pretty vocals, and the life-affirming lyrics, it definitely puts a smile on my face; I don’t think it would be possible to listen to this song and still be in a bad mood afterward. It’s very peaceful, very inspirational, and, as I said, very life-affirming. A great little mood-lifter.
Dr. DTVT: Marillion – ‘Rich’
Sweet. It has a nice pleasant atmosphere with a lot of warmth and color; sort of feels like home. The vocals are a bit on the quiet side, but I do like the sound of them, and they have a way of making the song feel sort of intimate. The intro melody is ridiculously catchy, the type of tune you can’t help but hum along with, especially once the singer starts going along with it later in the song. The lyrics have a nice message, too. Good stuff.
Again, I must emphasize that you all did very well this round, and I really like all of these songs. Ranking them was not easy. In fact, it was very difficult. But a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta go, and, unfortunately, I gotta eliminate somebody. So, without further ado…
Round Three rankings:
1. SomeoneLikeHim
2. Buddyhunter1
3. wolfking
4. jingle.boy
5. lonestar
6. Dr. DTVT
7. adace
8. kingshmegland
9. Elite
Congratulations to SomeoneLikeHim! To be honest, yours might not actually be my overall favorite song this round (it’s a close call), but you absolutely nailed the theme – I asked for happy, and you damn sure gave me happy. This song was a perfect choice for this round, and for that, you’ve earned immunity from elimination in round four. Well done!
Unfortunately, somebody has to come in last place, and in this round, that somebody was Elite. So sorry, buddy. :( Believe me, I’m not happy to be eliminating you. You did really well in the first two rounds – I’ll be getting Mercy Falls thanks to you, and you helped to sell me on Haken as well. And honestly, Day For Night is a great song in and of itself. It’s just that this round happened to be full of great songs, and your second choice didn’t quite stack up against the tough competition. So, I feel like a jerk for this, but I’m afraid you’re out. But thank you so much for participating! No hard feelings, I hope!
Moving right along…
Round Four: Adrenaline Rush
I think the title says it all, really. This time around, I’m looking for songs that get the heart pumping and the adrenaline flowing. Send me something fast-paced, something high-energy, something that will pump me up and get me moving.
Submit your songs by January 16th.
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Screw you, Chad :lol
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:laugh: Glad you liked it. You should totally check out the whole album. Even though it's a double album it's absolutely stuffed with great music!
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Poor Elite. :lol
Wow, 2nd place! That was much higher than I anticipated! :D
I definitely recommend checking out all of Epicloud. You want glorious, positive and uplifting songs filled with bombastic energy and power? That album's full of it.
Will send shortly.
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Also, which Moon Safari song did you try to send, king?
Edit: Sent!
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Cool man, you picked up the exact same vibe I do off that tune!!!
Adrenaline rush? Can I just send the next song of the Speaking to Stones album? :biggrin:
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Sent.
It's two and a half minutes long, but hoooooooly shiiit is it fast-paced and energetic.
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Also, which Moon Safari song did you try to send, king?
Edit: Sent!
Barfly! The whole damn album is uplifting. I also tried to send Gibberish from SB which I love! :lol
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3rd place, good shit.
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Screw you, Chad :lol
Sorry dude. And to think, I was considering sending Day For Night myself, but then at the last second decided to switch to The Doorway. :phew:
Now this is my kinda theme. Will just take a quick perusal of my "Workout" playlist, and send something tonight.
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:laugh: Glad you liked it. You should totally check out the whole album. Even though it's a double album it's absolutely stuffed with great music!
Added it to my list of albums to keep an eye out for. :tup
I definitely recommend checking out all of Epicloud. You want glorious, positive and uplifting songs filled with bombastic energy and power? That album's full of it.
This, too. :tup
Adrenaline rush? Can I just send the next song of the Speaking to Stones album? :biggrin:
Ha, not sure how serious you were about this, but honestly, if you want to do this, it's fine with me. Sounds like it would be a very different side of the band.
And to think, I was considering sending Day For Night myself, but then at the last second decided to switch to The Doorway. :phew:
Wow. Well, good call!
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I brought it. Hard.
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I was kinda kidding, it's an epic tune and all, but at 15 minutes, it's just a bit much for this roulette.
Still thinking.....
Edit: Got the perfect band, will send soon...
Edit 2: and sent yo...
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Had to resend. I went crazy and sent a live version of a cover song. I'll be impressed if anyone can guess it.
Hint: It's fucking awesome, and better than the original, and the covering band's studio version.
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Mmmnnn. Send a cover song of a banned band that is totally different and gets the blood flowing or another ass kicking song.
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Mmmnnn. Send a cover song of a banned band that is totally different and gets the blood flowing or another ass kicking song.
Well, I'm certainly curious about this cover now, so even if you decide not to send it as part of the roulette, you should still tell me what it is sometime. :lol
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Alright! Cover sent!
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Sent. Just took the mother-of-all-risks. I either knocked it out of the park, or gave everyone a free pass to the next round. Not sure there's any middle ground with this one.
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The middle ground is that I already know that song and have to ask you to pick something else, resulting in you wanting to punch me in the face.
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Jaffa, you just backhanded Chad. That bitch deserved it. :lol
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:lol
In fairness, if I didn't already know the song, it would have almost certainly earned him first place this round. So it was a great choice, he just got unlucky.
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Now I'll ask Chad to send me the song so I can hear it in all it's glory........and still backhand that bitch.
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Song sent.
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moi aussi
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moi aussi
I thought you were talking to me for a second. :lol
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moi aussi
I thought you were talking to me for a second. :lol
Sorry, that's pretty much the extent of my bilingualism on display. I may be a cunning linguist (:zydar:), but our bilingual education system requirements failed me.
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You damn Cunuck. I know more French than you.
BTW. DT special concert and a week after the DTF meetup! WOOT!
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I'm having trouble with my write-ups this round, so please be patient with me, but I'll try to have results ready within the next couple days.
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You just have to worry about (aboot) Chad, that bastard.
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You just have to worry about (aboot) Chad, that bastard.
You're the f'r that should worry about the boot!
(https://inkmonster.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ass_kicking_contest.gif)
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:lol
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How much would you guys hate me if I skipped the individual write-ups this round and just ranked the songs? :lol
Nah, just give me a little more time. I'm just struggling to come up with interesting write-ups. Several of the songs I received this round feel very similar to me, and when I try to write my thoughts on them, I find myself basically saying the same things over and over again about each song. But I'm working on it.
Bear with me!
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How much would you guys hate me if I skipped the individual write-ups this round and just ranked the songs? :lol
Nah, just give me a little more time. I'm just struggling to come up with interesting write-ups. Several of the songs I received this round feel very similar to me, and when I try to write my thoughts on them, I find myself basically saying the same things over and over again about each song. But I'm working on it.
Bear with me!
Nothing wrong with the KISS principle. We know every song just made you go all
(https://executiveedits.com/storage/observed/sign3.jpg)
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Take your time, I have this to keep me company! :biggrin:
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcScxh3GlQ8DsPXBLAVcSP0HlZQJeoylv1qJO65kg0KcnY2SS4t6Hw)
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(https://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lufhslz8R41qgixe3.gif)
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Results time!
These write-ups aren’t great, but I’m getting tired of trying to come up with interesting things to say here, so fuck it.
In a nutshell, :metal
SomeoneLikeHim: Symphony X – ‘A Fool’s Paradise’
This is pretty awesome. I’ve heard a couple Symphony X songs before, and I love the symphonic element of their music. Nothing too fancy in this one on that front, but it’s still there, and it adds some nice layers to the song. Gives it some character. The solo section is terrific. And the whole song definitely has a lot of energy. Nice choice.
Buddyhunter1: Mastodon – ‘Blasteroid’
I have a little trouble taking this one totally seriously, because I find the lyrics downright laughable. But aside from that, it’s a great song. It definitely packs a lot of punch; it starts off hard and fast, it hits the ground running, and it never really lets up. I could see myself working out to this. The riffs are awesome, and I actually really like Mastodon’s vocals. Cool stuff.
lonestar: Stargate – ‘Save the World’
This is downright electric. I can’t sit still while listening to it. It also has a pretty unique atmosphere; it feels sort of futuristic to me, like musical science fiction, though I’m not sure what exactly it is that gives me that impression. Whatever it is, it’s really cool. There are some excellent guitar passages, and the drumming is great. Sweet symphonic flavorings here as well, and great vocals. I like it.
Dr. DTVT: Therion – ‘Thor (The Powerhead)’ (Manowar cover, live)
For the record, this was his second choice. He first sent me a Symphony X song that I already know and love.
Sorry, but this really isn’t doing much for me. The song itself feels shallow and artificial to me. I imagine I would feel differently if I was actually there, because it’s certainly a powerful live performance – the vocalist has an impressive voice and a commanding presence, and singing along with those chants would make for an epic concert moment – but sitting at home and watching it on a monitor, I just can’t quite seem to get into it.
adace: Kamelot – ‘Center of the Universe’
This one’s kind of unique in that a lot of the energy seems to come from the keys. Usually fast-paced songs like this one tend to be driven by drums and guitars, and those elements are here, too, of course, but the keyboard passages have a way of really energizing the music in this one. It’s really neat. The slower section in the middle of the song feels a bit out of place to me, but overall, a great song.
jingle.boy: Epysode – ‘Obsessions’
Spectacular. This one is really firing on all cylinders, with awesome guitar work, great keys, solid drumming, and some truly amazing vocals. The back and forth between the two vocalists is done really well. The lyrics are pretty interesting as well; I’m definitely curious about the story of this album. I love the dark, eerie mood of this one. Now, excuse me while I stop typing and rock the fuck out.
wolfking: Symphony X – ‘Set The World On Fire’
Ah, more Symphony X. Not that I’m complaining – this is an awesome song, particularly for the adrenaline rush theme. Makes me feel like going for a run, except I’m afraid I’d probably end up getting seriously hurt while attempting to run and headbang at the same time. The drumming in this one is explosive for sure, and once again, I really enjoy the symphonic element of their music. Plus, I love the chorus. Lots of great stuff here.
kingshmegland: Pagan’s Mind – ‘Through Osiris’ Eyes’
To be honest, I didn’t really get much of an adrenaline rush out of this one. But maybe that’s just because it was the last one I received and I was already burnt out from listening to all the other songs. :lol At any rate, it’s still a very good song. I love the vocalist, especially during the chorus. The guitarist has a great sound, too; very crisp. I was reminded, at times, of Iron Maiden, which is always a good thing. I wasn’t blown away, but I do enjoy it.
(Elite: Firewind – ‘Into the Fire’
Yes, Elite is out of the competition, but he submitted a song anyway, ‘for the hell of it’. I thought that was nice of him, so I decided to go ahead and mention it here, for the hell of it. Now I regret eliminating him, because this song is badass and might very well have won the round if he was still in it.)
Round Four rankings:
1. jingle.boy
2. wolfking
3. lonestar
4. SomeoneLikeHim
5. adace
6. buddyhunter1
7. kingshmegland
8. Dr. DTVT
Sorry, Doc. You said in your message that you were taking a big risk here, and I guess it just didn’t pay off. Truth be told, I’m generally not that fond of live versions in general; I often feel disconnected from them because of the simple fact that I’m not there. That probably played a role in this decision, but even aside from that, I really feel that this song just wasn’t quite what I was looking for here. So, I’m afraid you’re eliminated. I feel especially bad about this, because your first choice would have fared much better if I hadn’t already been familiar with it. If it’s any consolation, I bought Haken’s The Mountain due in large part to your sending me Cockroach King, so you’ve definitely had an impact on me, and I thank you very much for participating. I hope there are no hard feelings.
In happier news, congratulations to jingle.boy! I felt bad when I had to ask you to resend (he initially sent me Nightwish’s Planet Hell, a song which I’m already very familiar with), but it worked out okay, because your second choice was a homerun. For that, you have earned immunity from elimination in round five. Congratulations, and well played!
Round Five: Voiceless
Can’t have a prog roulette without an instrumental round, now can we? This round, I don’t want to hear any vocals. Send me some awesome instrumental songs instead.
Submit your songs by January 20th.
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Sweet, still in this!
Yeah, the lyrics to Blasteroid are pretty silly, but that's part of the song's charm, imo. Not every song needs to be taken super seriously.
I'll send something soon.
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Fair point. The lyrics certainly didn't ruin the song for me, they just added some :lolpalm: in addition to the :metal.
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SomeoneLikeHim... sanitize that immunity idol, and pass that anal toy over here.
:footloose:
I'll give a tip of the feathered cap :hat to Nem for that one. Forever grateful to her for introducing me to that song - it's led to so much more.... Magali Luyten, Virus IV, Beyond Twilight, Rick Altzi. And then the second Epysode release (part 2 of the story; just released a couple months ago) has renewed the love/interest for Borealis and introduced me to Triosphere. It all started with Obsessions.
Now... let me browse on over to my "Instruments of Fear" playlist, and find something.
But later. Right now, I'm doing my own roulette listening.
Oh, and just gotta say that Nils Rue (vocalist for Pagan's Mind) is fuckin awesome. That was a quality list of songs you got this round Jaffa. Only disappointing thing is that I can now cross S-X off my list of potential bands to send.
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I felt slightly unsure about the one I sent since I had another faster song in mind but I'm really glad you liked it. :tup
Will send soon.
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Ah goddammit!!!! I have the perfect song that would slay this round - triumph would be a guaranteed reality. But, I promised to play with integrity and not steal anyone's thunder. But, at least now that Doc is out, I can use his shit!
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That was a quality list of songs you got this round Jaffa.
Yep. You people keep doing that to me. I keep waiting for somebody to send me something I hate so I can eliminate them without feeling bad about it, but so far, no luck. Every song I've received has been at least good.
Of course, now that I've said that, you'll probably send me something awful this round knowing that I can't eliminate you. :lol
I felt slightly unsure about the one I sent since I had another faster song in mind but I'm really glad you liked it. :tup
Still planning on using the faster one in a later round? If not, I'd be interested in knowing what it was. :)
Ah goddammit!!!! I have the perfect song that would slay this round - triumph would be a guaranteed reality. But, I promised to play with integrity and not steal anyone's thunder. But, at least now that Doc is out, I can use his shit!
Ha. Well, I hope I receive whatever it is from whoever you aren't stealing it from, because it sounds good.
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Ah goddammit!!!! I have the perfect song that would slay this round - triumph would be a guaranteed reality. But, I promised to play with integrity and not steal anyone's thunder. But, at least now that Doc is out, I can use his shit!
That's the exact song I was thinking of sending too. :rollin
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This round has me a bit stumped.
I might have to send something I got in my own roulette, thankfully all of my former participants except jingle.boy have been eliminated already. :P
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Ah goddammit!!!! I have the perfect song that would slay this round - triumph would be a guaranteed reality. But, I promised to play with integrity and not steal anyone's thunder. But, at least now that Doc is out, I can use his shit!
Well, shit. Now what am I to send? :P
Edit: Sent something else!
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Sent for round 5 plus the faster song I was thinking of.
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Sent biznitches!!!!
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Ah goddammit!!!! I have the perfect song that would slay this round - triumph would be a guaranteed reality. But, I promised to play with integrity and not steal anyone's thunder. But, at least now that Doc is out, I can use his shit!
Ha. Well, I hope I receive whatever it is from whoever you aren't stealing it from, because it sounds good.
Okay, yeah, lonestar sent it. I thought the 'triumph would be a guaranteed reality' line was a bit odd, but now I understand. :lol Haven't listened to it yet, but thanks to Chad I'm going into it with some pretty high expectations.
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Ah goddammit!!!! I have the perfect song that would slay this round - triumph would be a guaranteed reality. But, I promised to play with integrity and not steal anyone's thunder. But, at least now that Doc is out, I can use his shit!
That's the exact song I was thinking of sending too. :rollin
Yeah, it's all yours. I'll play for second place. Want the immunity anal balls back?
Haven't listened to it yet, but thanks to Chad I'm going into it with some pretty high expectations.
Good, then my job is done. Hopefully your expectations are astronomical, and it falls short (highly unlikely though)
Will send later today.
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I've got some work to do. I think I got one that no one has or will send. I want to listen to it again first.
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This is shaping up to be another very strong round.
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Sent. Not too confident about this one, but we'll see.
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SENT!!
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SENT!!
You gotta act quicker, or people will use your bands!
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Not this one.
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Actually, literally everyone else in the competition already tried that artist this round, king.
... Yeah, I'm lying. You're fine. :D
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Actually, literally everyone else in the competition already tried that artist this round, king.
... Yeah, I'm lying. You're fine. :D
:lol
LIAR!!
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Shit. Meant to send something before I left for the weekend. Sorry Jaffa, will have something within a couple of hours.
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Song sent.
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Shit. Meant to send something before I left for the weekend. Sorry Jaffa, will have something within a couple of hours.
No worries man. I said to submit by tomorrow anyway! :)
Alright, I've received from everybody. Should have results ready later today.
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Shit. Meant to send something before I left for the weekend. Sorry Jaffa, will have something within a couple of hours.
No worries man. I said to submit by tomorrow anyway! :)
Alright, I've received from everybody. Should have results ready later today.
Man, you don't waste anytime! Good for songs that leave a great first impression; not so good for songs that need to age a little. Hope mine is the former.
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Shit. Meant to send something before I left for the weekend. Sorry Jaffa, will have something within a couple of hours.
No worries man. I said to submit by tomorrow anyway! :)
Alright, I've received from everybody. Should have results ready later today.
Man, you don't waste anytime! Good for songs that leave a great first impression; not so good for songs that need to age a little. Hope mine is the former.
Well, just to clarify, I've already listened to most of the songs several times each. I'm just using today to familiarize myself with wolfking's song, and then I'll go back and listen to everything once or twice more to finalize the rankings.
In the first impressions round, I waited until I had received everything before I started listening to anything, but the rest of the time I've just been listening to the songs as I receive them. Might still seem a bit rushed, but rest assured that I'm not just listening to everything once and then making a quick decision. :)
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Results time!
Longer write-ups again. Skim/skip/deal with it.
SomeoneLikeHim: Frost* - ‘Hyperventilate’
Well, I said earlier that I was open to giving these guys a second chance if somebody wanted to take the risk of sending another one of their songs. It took a couple rounds, but SomeoneLikeHim has stepped up to the plate! Ballsy move!
My main issue with the other Frost* song was that I didn’t think it flowed very well, and I certainly can’t say the same here. This one has a great flow to it; it’s not predictable, but it grows organically, with every moment feeling like a natural progression of the one that came before it. So for me this song is a big improvement on that front. The ending is a little abrupt for my taste, but I’m guessing it flows directly into the next song on the album, so I’m not going to dwell too much on that petty quibble. And musically, there’s a lot of great stuff here. The piano in particular is wonderful, with haunting melodies and rich textures. Some awesome guitar passages, too, during the faster-paced sections. And the song as a whole just has a really nice, dreamy atmosphere to it. I’m still not totally sold on these guys, but I like this one.
adace: Scale The Summit – ‘Odyssey’
Outstanding. Obviously the guitars are the central focus here, and that works out well, because the guitar playing is divine, with great tones, a lot of feeling, and a ton of energy. As soon as the song starts, you can tell from the intro that it’s going to be full of tasty guitar parts, and it doesn’t disappoint. Some great bass parts, too. And for the most part, the song is also very well-crafted. I say ‘for the most part’ because I’m not a fan of the ending; it’s a nice enough tune in its own right, but after the soaring guitar driven energy of the rest of the song, it kind of feels to me like it goes out with a whimper. But that’s a minor complaint, and one I can easily overlook in light of the powerful performances of the rest of the song. I say it again: outstanding.
lonestar: Beyond the Bridge – ‘Triumph of Irreality’
… Okay, yeah, this is pretty fucking amazing. Going in, I had very high expectations for this song, and it still managed to utterly blow me away. Repeatedly. Just when I think it can’t get any better, it does. Just when I think the pace has reached a fever pitch, the song changes lanes and accelerates. And when it runs out of lanes, it just leaves the road altogether and flies for a while. It’s a hell of a ride. The build-up is spectacular, and the climaxes are out of this world. I wish it didn’t end so abruptly (feels like a rollercoaster coming to a screeching halt without any warning), but as with the Frost* song, I’m sure it works well in the context of its album, so I’m not going to dwell on it. Instead, I’ll focus on all the wonderful stuff in this song, such as… well, everything in the song. The instrumentation is masterful all around, and it feels incredibly epic for its length. Simply phenomenal.
jingle.boy: Ayreon – ‘Chaos’
‘Chaos’ indeed. This song is pulsing with barely contained energy; it feels like it’s constantly on the verge of exploding out of control. Some of the guitar playing is downright insane, and the drumming is madness, perfectly suited to the chaotic atmosphere. I gather from the spoken-word intro that the concept of the album is that somebody is travelling back in time to the big bang, and this song does a really good job evoking that setting: you can just about picture comets and asteroids flying past, narrowly missing the ship as it journeys back through time and space toward the ultimate explosion. The ending wraps it up very nicely, with the last few notes hitting with a lot of power and then everything descending into tense silence, as if we’ve passed the big bang and arrived at the nothingness at the beginning of time. All in all, the concept is executed brilliantly, and the song is fantastic.
Buddyhunter1: Periphery – ‘Zero’
I’ve listened to this song probably a dozen times just trying to figure out how exactly I feel about it. It’s a style I’m really not familiar with (I’m guessing this is djent? Heard the term, heard it associated with Periphery, never knew what it actually was), so it’s been a little bit of an adjustment for me. At first, I found it a little overbearing, almost oppressive at times. You’ve got these chunky distorted riffs and this machine gun snare, loud and heavy, up front and in your face, assaulting your senses, and it was honestly a bit difficult for me to listen to the first time around. But now that I’ve listened to the song more and gotten a little more used to the style, it’s… actually pretty cool. The song has an interesting layered feel: yes, it has those riffs on the top layer, but if you dig a little deeper, there’s a lot of awesome stuff going on beneath the surface, including some really impressive soloing. Kinda feels like a song within a song, and it’s a neat effect. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it overall, but it’s definitely growing on me.
kingshmegland: Steve Morse – ‘Cruise Missile’
This is another one I had pretty high expectations for. I’m not familiar with much of Steve Morse’s work, but I love Flying Colors, and his playing there is terrific, so I was looking forward to hearing the guitar here, and it didn’t disappoint me. He’s definitely a great guitarist. He’s technically sound, he’s got a nice style, and he plays with a lot of feeling. The bass player is incredible too, as you promised me he would be. As for the song itself, I do think it’s somewhat lacking in the songwriting department; to me it feels more like a jam session than an actual proper song. That being said, it’s still awesome. Great rhythm. The main bassline is excellent, and the guitar playing is top-notch throughout. I think it could be composed a bit better, but overall, great stuff.
wolfking: Yngwie Malmsteen – ‘Far Beyond the Sun’
Damn. He really makes that guitar sing. I’ve heard a lot about this guy, some of it positive and some of it negative, but I’ve never actually taken the time to check him out before now. After listening to this song, I can easily understand why he’s so often mentioned alongside names like Vai and Satriani. I’m not entirely sold on his ability as a songwriter (to me, the song basically feels like a series of guitar solos stitched together), but as a guitarist I’d say he definitely lives up to the title of ‘virtuoso’, and this is some of the best shredding I’ve ever heard. Very impressive.
Round Five rankings:
1. lonestar
2. jingle.boy
3. adace
4. wolfking
5. kingshmegland
6. SomeoneLikeHim
7. Buddyhunter1
Sorry Buddyhunter. You kinda saw this coming and predicted that you might get eliminated this round, and I’m afraid that prediction is coming true. Honestly, though, you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of; this was just a really, really strong round. Truth be told, I’m really intrigued by that Periphery song, and I think I could really get into that style, maybe even grow to love it. But I’m just not quite there yet, and there was too much tough competition this round. So, sorry, but you’re out. But thank you very much for participating (and for getting me started on Devin Townsend; I’ll be picking up Epicloud within the next couple weeks, I hope). I appreciate your time and interest, and I hope you had fun.
Meanwhile, the chef is back on top. Congratulations to lonestar! That song is incredible, and I’ll probably be buying the album as soon as I can get my hands on it. You’ve got immunity in the next round.
And speaking of the next round…
Round Six: Whatever
I’m starting to run out of ideas for themes, so I’m going to be lazy and just call this an open round. Send me whatever you want.
Just so everybody knows, I’m going to be pretty busy this week. I’ll try to find time to spend on this, but to be honest, I may not have results ready until next weekend. Please be patient with me. That being said, feel free to submit your songs whenever you want, and try to get them in by January 24th.
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Do I get bonus points for sending a song with "whatever" in the title?
And I'm glad you enjoyed that, it's a stellar album. As I said in my message, it was my AOTY from last year.
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Triumph of Irreality deserved the win in that round. Amazing song, fantastic album.
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Do I get bonus points for sending a song with "whatever" in the title?
Yes. Of course, I'm not judging this on points, so bonus ones won't really help you at all, but, y'know. Go for it. ;D
And yeah, Triumph of Irreality is fantastic. I'm pretty much planning on buying the album, but before I do, I wouldn't mind checking out a track with some vocals, just to get a sample of that side of their music. Any recommendations?
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Holy crap. Until now I hadn't realized it was an instrumental. :lol
My favorite track is When The Earth And Sky Meet, for what it's worth.
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Well, it has a brief spoken word passage. I guess technically that might count as vocals, but meh.
And thanks for the recommendation.
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Nah, I just always listen to the album all the way through, so I don't know all the individual songs that well.
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Sweet. :hat
Since you liked that one so much, I'd definitely recommend you check out StS' latest album "The Migration." It's pretty much one of the best instrumental albums around.
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Sweet. :hat
Since you liked that one so much, I'd definitely recommend you check out StS' latest album "The Migration." It's pretty much one of the best instrumental albums around.
Already added it to the rapidly expanding list of albums I need to check out. :lol
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Sweet. :hat
Since you liked that one so much, I'd definitely recommend you check out StS' latest album "The Migration." It's pretty much one of the best instrumental albums around.
Already added it to the rapidly expanding list of albums I need to check out. :lol
:tup
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Damn it.
You should totally do a redemption island / consolation thingy where you give the eliminated participants a second chance ;)
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I don't know how that would work exactly, but I'll give it some thought. :D
In all honesty, though, thank you very much for participating.
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It would be pretty simple; you could just have all of the eliminated participants send you something and whoever sends the best one gets back in the game.
And you're welcome, it was fun. :)
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Old Man and the Spirit was also my AOTY for 2012. It's mandatory listening in any prog-metal library. Period. Go and read RJ's review of it over at ladyobscure.com too. You won't regret that. Where the Earth and Sky Meet is a good vocal introduction, although that pretty much is the climax of the album. I like the chorus's and vocal harmonies in The Apparition.
Finishing second in this round is a win in my books.
RJ... you can have the anal immunity all week now!
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It would be pretty simple; you could just have all of the eliminated participants send you something and whoever sends the best one gets back in the game.
I'll think about it. :)
Old Man and the Spirit was also my AOTY for 2012. It's mandatory listening in any prog-metal library. Period. Go and read RJ's review of it over at ladyobscure.com too. You won't regret that. Where the Earth and Sky Meet is a good vocal introduction, although that pretty much is the climax of the album. I like the chorus's and vocal harmonies in The Apparition.
I'll keep all that in mind and maybe check out The Apparition. Thanks.
Also, any tips on which Ayreon albums to start with?
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Old Man and the Spirit was also my AOTY for 2012. It's mandatory listening in any prog-metal library. Period. Go and read RJ's review of it over at ladyobscure.com too. You won't regret that. Where the Earth and Sky Meet is a good vocal introduction, although that pretty much is the climax of the album. I like the chorus's and vocal harmonies in The Apparition.
Finishing second in this round is a win in my books.
RJ... you can have the anal immunity all week now!
Good, my puckerhole is gonna be a bit sore after that game. I got way too many Seahawk friends.
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Also, any tips on which Ayreon albums to start with?
Well, they're all concept albums, and the good ones are double albums... so be ready to sit for a while to digest them. The Human Equation is my #2 album of all time, and features James LaBrie as the central character; Into The Electric Castle was in the 30s. Either of those two would be my suggestion.
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Also, any tips on which Ayreon albums to start with?
Well, they're all concept albums, and the good ones are double albums... so be ready to sit for a while to digest them. The Human Equation is my #2 album of all time, and features James LaBrie as the central character; Into The Electric Castle was in the 30s. Either of those two would be my suggestion.
The Human Equation sounds like a winner to me. I'll keep an eye out. Thanks. :tup
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Question... when does the 'immunity' reward go away?
Also, RJ... would you mind sending in a stinker next round? It really would free up a lot more choices for me. :P You know how many bands I have thought 'ooooh, they'd be good. Nope, fucking chef introduced them to me' :getoffmylawn:
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I was thinking I would keep it up until we got down to the final four. Hope that doesn't bother anybody.
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That was close! I'll have to step up my game with the next one.
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It would be pretty simple; you could just have all of the eliminated participants send you something and whoever sends the best one gets back in the game.
I've been sending Jaffa songs for the past two rounds, even though I was out. I lost in Round 3 and that ended my game here, but there's no need to stop sending him awesome music. I'm personally not into this 'redemption island' thing, to be honest. He set the rules, I lost, you lost and that's it. But that's just me.
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It would be pretty simple; you could just have all of the eliminated participants send you something and whoever sends the best one gets back in the game.
I've been sending Jaffa songs for the past two rounds, even though I was out. I lost in Round 3 and that ended my game here, but there's no need to stop sending him awesome music. I'm personally not into this 'redemption island' thing, to be honest. He set the rules, I lost, you lost and that's it. But that's just me.
Agreed. It would be cool to win but I just love hearing new music and turning people on to other bands.
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Scent.
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... of woman. Hu-wah!!!
I'm in too. Wait... wat :|
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It would be pretty simple; you could just have all of the eliminated participants send you something and whoever sends the best one gets back in the game.
I've been sending Jaffa songs for the past two rounds, even though I was out. I lost in Round 3 and that ended my game here, but there's no need to stop sending him awesome music. I'm personally not into this 'redemption island' thing, to be honest. He set the rules, I lost, you lost and that's it. But that's just me.
I know, it was just an idea.
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... of woman. Hu-wah!!!
I'm in too. Wait... wat :|
Eewwwwww...
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Song sent.
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Sent.
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(https://www.gifsforum.com/images/gif/bump/grand/bump_gut_gif.gif)
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Stop using my gif.
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Stop using my gif.
You WISH you had that little body hair.
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I have too much! It's growing where I don't want it and not where I'd like it. :lol
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Sorry for being so slow this round, guys. As I said, I had a really busy week. I've listened to all the songs, but results might still take a little while, so please bear with me.
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Results time.
SomeoneLikeHim: Circus Maximus – ‘Architect of Fortune’
I feel like this could be used as a defining song for progressive metal; it really has just about everything I associate with the genre. It has the soaring vocals, the intricate instrumentation, the interesting and powerful drums, the beautiful keyboard melodies and rich textures, the great guitar playing with awesome solos, and the unpredictable structure. It’s the whole package. That being said, while all of these elements are there, none of them are particularly outstanding to me. Nothing in this song really blows me away. There’s nothing wrong with it, either – in fact, it’s consistently very good. But for me, it never climbs much higher than the ‘very good’ mark. Still, I thoroughly enjoy it from start to finish. And for a ten minute song, it goes by remarkably fast; it never drags, and it has a great flow.
lonestar: Maestrick – ‘Aquarela’
Beautiful and captivating. This is exactly the kind of musical journey I associate with the word ‘progressive.’ I really feel like this song takes me on a ride, steering me through a variety of moods and feelings while always keeping a focus on moving forward and building higher. It’s a very colorful song, with lots of wonderful little musical surprises and a whimsical structure that holds my interest and keeps me guessing and wondering where it’s going to go next. At times it feels very light-hearted and carefree, but there are also sections where it has a distinct intensity to it, which makes for a really interesting combination. And the vocals have a way of really keeping me on my toes, with some vocal passages that turn in totally unexpected directions. I look forward to getting to know this song better.
jingle.boy: Star One – ‘Human See, Human Do’
Wow. First things first, this song boasts one hell of an ensemble of vocalists. Every one of the singers is on fire here, especially the lady – I’ve seen Floor talked about quite a bit, but this is my first time actually hearing her voice, and… damn. She nails the living hell out of that chorus. But as I said, every vocalist does very well with their role, and the combination of them all provides a very nice variety that keeps the song constantly feeling fresh. Of course, there’s more to it than just the vocalists, and the instrumentation is excellent all around. I particularly love the drummer, and some of the core guitar melodies are awesome. Some terrific work on the keys as well. With a cool concept, a frantic pace, and a hectic style, this song really works on every level. I love it.
wolfking: Vanishing Point – ‘Hollow’
Excellent. Very melodic, but very powerful at the same time. This song starts off strong with a fast pace and a lot of energy, and it never really lets up – loses a bit of momentum during parts of the instrumental section, in my opinion, but it quickly regains control. Driven by awesome drumming and guitar playing with sweet symphonic flavorings in the keys, this one also features a great vocal performance with some wonderful vocal melodies. The chorus in particular is amazingly catchy – even on first listen I found myself singing along with it before the song was over. Great stuff.
adace: Alcest – ‘Autre Temps’
Very nice. Aside from some pretty energetic drumming during certain parts, this song has a really nice laid back feel to it. It’s quite calming, even soothing, with a dreamy, airy atmosphere and lovely vocals that are an absolutely pleasure to listen to. To be honest, though, it doesn’t really hold my attention. When I’m listening to this, my mind drifts off and I find myself thinking about other things. Which could actually be a very good thing in certain circumstances (this could be a great song to have on in the background while writing), but for the purposes of a competition, I’m not sure it really makes a strong enough impression. Still, a very pretty song overall.
kingshmegland: King’s X – ‘Smudge’
Out of all the songs I’ve received so far in this roulette, this one stands out to me as unique. It’s… grunge prog? I’m fairly certain ‘grunge prog’ isn’t actually a thing, and probably you all think I’m an idiot for even saying it, but it’s honestly the closest I can get to describing this song’s distinct and unusual style. Outside of the chorus (which is great, by the way), it has kind of a subdued vibe, slow and hypnotic, with some very nice bass and guitar work and a few moments of explosive heaviness. Interesting vocals, too – I think the vocal style is partially where the ‘grunge’ feeling comes from for me. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it overall. Kind of a strange song, but still pretty cool I think.
Round Six rankings:
1. jingle.boy
2. wolfking
3. lonestar
4. SomeoneLikeHim
5. adace
6. kingshmegland
Sorry, king. I really feel like this song could grow on me over time, but it just hasn’t clicked with me quite yet. I’m afraid you’re out. Thanks very much for taking the time to participate in this; it’s been great having you, and I’ll probably be getting in touch with you to chat a little more about I Mother Earth.
Meanwhile, congratulations to jingle.boy! There was some tough competition, but in the end, your song’s outstanding vocal performances gave you the edge. You’ve earned immunity from elimination in the next round, which guarantees you a spot in the final four. You’re playing very well, so keep it up!
Moving right along…
Round Seven: A Softer Side
I feel like a lot of the songs I’ve been receiving have been fast-paced high energy rockers, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, I’m looking to mix things up a bit this round. I want you guys to send me something a little bit calmer, a little bit more mellow, maybe a little bit more relaxing. As usual, I’m not going to be very strict about this theme; just keep it in mind as a guideline when picking your songs.
Submit your songs by January 31st, and I’ll try to be quicker about results this time around.
Also, after this round, we’ll be down to the final four, which means no more immunity rewards. Chad is protected for now, but once this round is over, nobody will be safe anymore. Get ready to put your best foot forward with each and every submission from here on out.
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I think Tool have made Grunge prog for a while now...
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Guess I should thank SomeoneLikeHim for sending Circus Maximus!
Pass that immunity idol over here RJ. You've had it long enough. I'm sure you wore the ribs right out. :rollin
Mellow huh... well, let me peruse right over to my "Mellow" playlist (yes, I have one titled just that - perfect to listen to while traveling and trying to nod off at a hotel or on the plane).
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Awe sucks. Well thanks for having me and you know I'll be following.
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Sweet!!! Glad you liked that one, be sure to check out the epic from that album, Lake of Emotions. Just a stunner
Now mellow is something I have an ample supply of, I'll send later tonight!!!
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Sweet!!! Glad you liked that one, be sure to check out the epic from that album, Lake of Emotions. Just a stunner
Now mellow is something I have an ample supply of, I'll send later tonight!!!
Wonders what Marillon song RJ will send. :biggrin:
I think I'll still send a song to see if I can turn on Jaffa to this band I have in mind.
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Phew, just made it! :biggrin:
Will try to send the next song tomorrow or Wednesday.
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Just so everybody knows, Pink Floyd are off limits. I'm not extensively familiar with them (the only full albums I've heard are DSOTM and The Wall), but I've heard quite a few songs from throughout their discography, including most of their most popular tracks, and I really don't need an introduction to them. I should have listed them among the banned artists in the first post, but for some reason, I didn't think to.
Chad asked about them, and I told him they were off limits, so I'm telling everyone, because I figure some of you might have been considering them for this round.
Awe sucks. Well thanks for having me and you know I'll be following.
No problem! Again, honestly, thanks so much for participating! You've been a pleasure. :)
And yeah, feel free to send me something this round if you want. Won't get you back into the competition, but I'll still listen to the song.
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And yeah, feel free to send me something this round if you want. Won't get you back into the competition, but I'll still listen to the song.
No, but you can fire his ass a second time!!
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The roulette version of pissing on his grave?
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Hey, top 5 secured! This is going way better than I thought it was gonna go.
Will send shortly.
Edit: sent
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I too have sent.
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Sent yo...
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And yeah, feel free to send me something this round if you want. Won't get you back into the competition, but I'll still listen to the song.
No, but you can fire his ass a second time!!
*Best John Cleese voice* "Or I will taunt you a second time!"
The roulette version of pissing on his grave?
:eyebrows:
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Sent!
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Whoops, forgot I hadn't sent something yet, looking for something now.
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Sent!
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Alright, everybody's in. I'll try to have results ready by tomorrow. :)
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:\
For some reason, YouTube videos aren't loading for me right now. I've listened to all the songs a few times each already, but I typically like to be listening to them while doing the write-ups, which I can't really do at the moment. Hopefully YouTube will be more cooperative in the near future, but for the moment, results are delayed. Sorry.
In the meantime, feel free to talk trash and stuff. :D
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You suck! Get better internetz!!!
Am I doing it right? :lol
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Dammit I should have sent Vanishing Point in round 2!
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Dammit I should have sent Vanishing Point in round 2!
Over Cockroach King? No. Out of all the songs I've received in this thing so far, CK remains one of my absolute favorites. I'm very grateful to you for sending it to me. :)
Anyway, results time!
jingle.boy: Ten – ‘Elysium Fields’
This is a really nice song. On first listen, it didn’t really do much for me, but after giving it a few more chances, it’s grown on me quite a lot. Nice vocal melodies; I love the chorus in particular. The singer nails it. “Puuure melodyyyy…” <3 The guitar solo is really good, too: tasteful and emotional, perfect for the song. Overall, the song as a whole isn’t extraordinary, but it’s quite good, and it fits the theme very well. Very relaxing. I like it. I don’t love it, but I like it.
SomeoneLikeHim: Porcupine Tree – ‘A Smart Kid’
This is pretty much perfect. When I decided on the theme for this round, this was almost exactly what I had in mind. It manages to be soft and mellow without ever being dull or boring; every moment is captivating. It’s very tranquil and very atmospheric, but also very emotional, with a haunting sense of melancholy and longing. I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Every instrument does a great job here, I love the vocals (this is Steven Wilson singing, right? I’m starting to really like this guy…), and the guitar solo is outstanding, dripping with feeling. Excellent song.
Lonestar: Jadis – ‘Wonderful World’
Delightful. This is a little more upbeat than the other songs I received this round, but it still fits the theme pretty well. It’s… peaceful. Listening to it makes me feel calm and content. And theme aside, it’s just a lovely song overall. Nice positive attitude with a lot of hope. Wonderful melodies. There are some sweet guitar and keyboard combinations, as well as a couple outstanding guitar passages. The instrumentation throughout is very nice. The vocal melodies are great, too, especially during the main refrain, and the singer has a beautiful voice. Gorgeous piece of music.
adace: Nightwish – ‘The Islander’
I really like most of the Nightwish songs I’ve heard, but for some reason, none of their softer, slower songs have ever really clicked with me, and I’m afraid this is no exception. Nothing wrong with it, really; in fact, it’s a pretty good song, with strong vocal melodies and a cool folksy vibe. But for some reason it just doesn’t quite capture my attention. If it ever came on a shuffled playlist, I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t think I’d ever actively seek it out as something to listen to.
wolfking: Pendragon – ‘The Voyager’
I would say this song is about half good and half great. The first few minutes and the very end are good, with nice vocals and lovely melodies, especially the keyboard parts. But I wasn’t totally sold on it until the instrumental section kicked in; that’s when it becomes great for me. The keyboard melodies there are haunting, the drumming is great, and the guitar playing is awesome. It has a nice flow to it, and a great atmosphere. I really think that instrumental could be made into its own separate song. As it is, the vocal parts don’t quite live up to the instrumental section, but I’d still say the song is great on average.
(kingshmegland: Slow Motion Reign – ‘Life Simulator’)
Since king is out of the competition already, I’m not going to dwell on this song for very long here, but I did want to mention it, since he was kind enough to send it to me despite being eliminated. And I’m really glad he did, because this is a great song. Thanks for sharing, buddy.
Round Seven rankings:
1. SomeoneLikeHim
2. lonestar
3. wolfking
4. jingle.boy
5. adace
Congratulations to SomeoneLikeHim! You’ve earned… well, nothing, really, since there’s no more immunity. But you should still feel good about yourself, because once again, you nailed the theme. That song is amazing, and I thank you very much for sending it. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Porcupine Tree.
Meanwhile, sorry adace, but you’re out. You actually played very well, and I can totally understand why you would send me Nightwish, because a lot of their music is a perfect fit for me. But as I said, I’ve never quite been able to get into their softer side. Sorry. But again, you played very well, and I’m grateful for your participation. Thanks for playing.
… And with that, we’re down to the final four! Congratulations to all four of you; you’re doing great! I hope you’re all ready for the next round…
Round Eight: Epic
For the most part, everybody has done a good job being mindful of song lengths, with only a handful of songs exceeding the ten minute mark, and even then only by a minute or two. Now that we’re down to the final four, I think it’s time to let you go nuts. So, for one round only, the ten minute warning is off. I’m committed to listening to every song I receive this round from start to finish, regardless of length. If you want to send me an epic without any risk, now’s your chance.
Please note that you don’t have to send me a long song this round. Some songs manage to feel epic and grand in a relatively short amount of time (that Beyond the Bridge instrumental, for instance), so if you want to go that route, feel free. Just know that you can go with a long-form song if you want to.
Submit your songs by February 5th. Good luck!
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Yay! Too bad theres no immunity. Could I still have the, ahem, token? :P
I'll have to think a bit about the next one.
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Yay! Too bad theres no immunity. Could I still have the, ahem, token? :P
If you want. At this point it's probably infected with something, so you can forget about 'immunity', but yeah, go nuts. :lol
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:lol
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That round ended up just as I expected. I knew that Elysian Fields was a middle-of-the-road track, but with Immunity, this was the round to send it.
Yay! Too bad theres no immunity. Could I still have the, ahem, token? :P
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcScxh3GlQ8DsPXBLAVcSP0HlZQJeoylv1qJO65kg0KcnY2SS4t6Hw)
It's all yours. RJ and wore the 'ribs' right out of it. And I don't think there's any soap or sanitizer in the world strong enough to disinfect it now.
As for this round, sending shortly. Was gonna send this tune at some point regardless (fuck the 10 minute rule, you would've listened to the whole thing anyway).
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I was thinking of jingle who killed me in round 2.
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As for this round, sending shortly. Was gonna send this tune at some point regardless (fuck the 10 minute rule, you would've listened to the whole thing anyway).
You're right. I would have. Unfortunately, I already did. :lol Sorry to shoot you down when you're so confident about it, but as I said in my PM, I actually did mention that band as a restricted artist, so I don't feel too bad about this.
But yeah, if I wasn't already familiar with it, that would have been an excellent choice for this round.
I was thinking of jingle who killed me in round 2.
Ah, lol. That makes more sense.
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As for this round, sending shortly. Was gonna send this tune at some point regardless (fuck the 10 minute rule, you would've listened to the whole thing anyway).
You're right. I would have. Unfortunately, I already did. :lol Sorry to shoot you down when you're so confident about it, but as I said in my PM, I actually did mention that band as a restricted artist, so I don't feel too bad about this.
But yeah, if I wasn't already familiar with it, that would have been an excellent choice for this round.
:brainfart: No problem, I'll just go peruse my "Epic" playlist. It's like you're reviewing my playlists to come up with themes!
I was thinking of jingle who killed me in round 2.
Ah, lol. That makes more sense.
Cross thread confusion. Wouldn't have worked Doc, I have all three albums - thanks to wolfking from my first roulette. Unless of course you were going to send me unreleased material :eyebrows:
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Out of curiosity, what's your stance on reusing bands that have already been (successfully) used? I'm assuming that's cheating, but I'm not above doing that.
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I'd say if they've been used successfully, they're probably off limits, yeah. I mean, there's no guarantee that I'm going to like all of a band's music just because I liked one song, but it seems like an unfair advantage.
That being said, feel free to ask me about a specific artist. I may make an exception if it's a band I'm not quite sold on yet.
... I realize that's not a very helpful answer. :lol I'm just kinda playing this by ear. For instance, if you want to send something with vocals from a band that I listened to in the instrumental round, that would probably be okay, since it would be introducing me to a totally new element of the band's sound.
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Nah, I was thinking Symphony X, but given two songs of theirs did the trick, I'll go on to something else. One last question... what about a "suite" of songs? Kinda like Six Degrees... where multiple tracks make up a single song.
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Ah. Yeah, I'd say Symphony X is off limits at this point. Thanks for checking. :)
And yeah, I'm okay with suites for this round. As long as it's sort of meant to be taken as one piece of music. If I wasn't already familiar with Transatlantic's The Whirlwind, I would probably even accept that.
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Sent! Just out of curiosity, what song did jingle try to send?
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Transatlantic - Duel with the Devil.
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Oh, I could see that being a top scorer even though it's not the best epic on the album!
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Hella sweet!!! I knew you'd dig that one.
And I know just the song for this round........
Aaaaaaaaaand sent....
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You seem really confident about this one, lonestar. I'll look forward to checking it out.
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If someone doesn't send The Great Escape, I will be disappointed.
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If you're talking about Seventh Wonder, keep in mind that Elite already wowed me with them in the first round. Even if somebody does send it, I might not accept it as a submission (though I'll definitely check it out at some point here).
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Oh. In that case, listen to it anyway. :D
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You seem really confident about this one, lonestar. I'll look forward to checking it out.
Yeah, I wasn't too subtle in my message, was I? ::)
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You seem really confident about this one, lonestar. I'll look forward to checking it out.
Yeah, I wasn't too subtle in my message, was I? ::)
Subtle as a heart attack?
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:biggrin:
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Nah, heart attacks are more subtle than lonestar's confidence.
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Ohh! Epic battle here folks. I'm going to waste more of your time Jaffa and send another just because turning people onto bands is what I truly love about these roulettes.
That and the smack talking between the old fogies are fun too.
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Nah, heart attacks are more subtle than lonestar's confidence.
:RJ:
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That and the smack talking between the old fogies are fun too.
You should know, you're the oldest of them all.
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That and the smack talking between the old fogies are fun too.
You should know, you're the oldest of them all.
Out if us 3 old farts......... yes!
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I'll bet I can guess what 'epic' King is sending. It's just too bad he wasn't fit enough to survive long enough to send it. :neverusethis:
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:lol
You're mine in March!
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Dare I ask what happens in March? :lol
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We're "hooking up".
Just remember King, I pitch. :-*
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As in a pitcher of beer maybe! :lol
Jaffa, don't worry. Chad and I will send you a picture with a salute.
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I'm terrified that the immunity idol is going to show up in this picture.
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You have seen Chad's picture with whom he meets up with I hope? It's always a one finger salute! :lol
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Oh well. I had fun and I'm glad you enjoyed the songs I sent. Thanks for the opportunity and I hope to participate in your next roulette if you have one.
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Cheers. Once again, thanks very much for participating. Glad you had some fun.
And thanks for getting me started on TRTRTS. :tup
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Good round, and a surprising an interesting pick from Chad from the Twilight Chronicles album.
No idea what I'm gonna send here, I need some time.
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Yeah, I probably wouldn't have gone that route if I didn't have immunity.
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Also... I'm sent. It all comes full circle. Clearly, it was fate for me to send what I did.
Jaffa... since your songs are all (so far) 20+ minutes, I'm ok if you need a bit of extra time to digest/absorb them. You'll need to find time to listen to them all in one setting, so that might not come as easily as hammering out 5-10 minute listens.
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Yeah, you should totally take your time with this one. Lots of these songs are probably growers.
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Thanks for understanding. I do fully intend to take my time with this round, so it's nice to know that you're okay with that. :tup
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I'll send something tonight.
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It's not like it's gonna matter. :neverusethis:
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It's not like it's gonna matter. :neverusethis:
(https://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080212064742/streetfighter/images/archive/5/5e/20080502174233!Sf4-ken_big.jpg)
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I'm disturbingly turned on by that to be honest....
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(https://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080502180055/streetfighter/images/0/00/Sf4-bison.jpg)
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This round is going to melt my brain.
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This is your brain:
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTsotBagwrSmrOP7zgDgYBdQxYuEkcWMWDlgKrWBcCH8KW4O49A)
This is your brain on Epic music:
(https://whatscookingamerica.net/Eggs/EggDone2.jpg)
Any questions?
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This round is going to melt my brain.
Mission accomplished :RJ:
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Just think of it as your average Transatlantic album!
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Just think of it as your average Transatlantic album!
Well, I've already received about 80 minutes of music, and I'm still waiting on wolfking's song. :lol
But it's not the quantity that's boggling my mind, it's the quality. Three excellent songs so far.
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But it's not the quantity that's boggling my mind, it's the quality. Three excellent songs so far.
It's not like it's gonna matter. :neverusethis:
Told ya Kade!
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But it's not the quantity that's boggling my mind, it's the quality. Three excellent songs so far.
It's not like it's gonna matter. :neverusethis:
Told ya Kade!
(https://www.my-favorite-coloring.net/Images/Large/Famous-characters-Troll-face-Troll-face-poker-269483.png)
Shit, forgot to send something, Jaffa, you will have something in 12 hours.
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I don't envy you bro. Rating four epics and having to eliminate one, damn...
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I'm excited for this round; I want to see what everyone sent.
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Alright, I've received everybody's submissions. Haven't listened to wolfking's submission yet (don't really have time at the moment; it's a whopper), but I'll get to it shortly. As Chad suggested, this round is going to take a bit longer to judge than the others have, but I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.
:soon:
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As I said, take your time. I'm looking forward to it! :corn
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:bump:
Ok, we're 10 days since the last round. What's the dealio?
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(https://replygif.net/i/424.gif)
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I think this could be my fault.
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Blame Australia!!
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Blame Australia!!
Blame Blob.
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Yes, blame wolfking, Australia, and Blob. Anybody but me. ... :neverusethis:
Seriously, though, sorry it took me so long this time around. I received a total of about 140 minutes of music this round, which presented a couple of challenges. One of the challenges was simply finding time to listen to everything enough, but of course I knew that would be an issue when I chose the theme. The write-ups were another problem, one which I hadn’t really thought about ahead of time; I found it pretty difficult to listen to 25 minutes (or an hour, as the case may be) of music and summarize my thoughts. It should go without saying that my write-ups ended up even longer than usual this round.
Quality was another issue. Every song I received this round was amazing. Quite frankly, none of you deserve to be eliminated this round. I’d like to just call it a four way tie for first place, but I couldn’t do that, so I had some tough decisions to make. Ranking these songs felt like trying to decide which of my senses are most important to me.
At any rate, my apologies for the wait. Without further ado, here are the results.
SomeoneLikeHim: The Flower Kings – ‘Stardust We Are’
I had kind of a funny experience with this song. At first, it felt kind of incomplete vocally, and I couldn’t figure out why. Eventually, after a trip to Wikipedia, I realized what it was: I kept waiting for Neal Morse to chime in because I’m used to hearing Roine Stolt’s voice as part of the Transatlantic mix. :lolpalm: Anyway, enough about me being a moron. This is an amazing song. In some ways, it reminds me of great fantasy novels. It’s very majestic, and it has a marvelous sense of adventure to it; it takes you on a journey, and every step of the way, you’re eager to find out where the next step will take you, because you feel like you could go anywhere. The song’s imagination is simply wonderful. It evokes in me a sense of wonder, making me feel like anything is possible. Musically, the song is beautifully composed and impressively executed. Roine Stolt’s guitar playing positively sparkles with life, energy, and emotion. His vocals are also very nice, with some great melodies, particularly the refrains of the title later in the song. And some of the keyboard passages are just gorgeous; the section starting around the 15 minute mark is divine. In fact, I’m thinking ‘divine’ is a pretty good word to describe this song overall. I really can’t come up with anything to complain about.
lonestar: Silent Memorial – ‘Retrospective’
Well, you were right to be confident. This song is pretty much mind-blowing. I’d say it’s honestly one of the best long-form songs I’ve ever heard. In the long run, I could even see this potentially giving A Change of Seasons a run for its money (and ACoS is one of my favorite songs ever, so don’t take this comment lightly). I can’t believe how consistent it is. Typically long songs have ebbs and flows to them, and this one does too, in its own way, but it never loses momentum; when it slows down a bit, it just feels like I’m catching my breath before plunging full speed ahead. Its intensity and sheer scope really encapsulate the meaning of the word ‘epic’, and yet it really doesn’t feel long at all. It is twenty-two minutes long, but I get so lost in it that it seems like it goes by in the blink of an eye, which is remarkable. (Incidentally, at 22 minutes, this is actually the shortest song I received this round. That’s kind of insane when I stop to think about it. :lol) It’s extremely powerful, and as you said in your message, it really is the whole package: everybody’s on fire all over the place. I couldn’t single out a weak link if I tried. Just spectacular.
jingle.boy: Dimension Act – ‘Drawing the Lines of Mortal Existence’
This one’s pretty phenomenal too. I don’t know anything about this band, but I already have a lot of respect for them, because I can feel their passion flowing through this music. It almost feels like the music itself is alive, with its own thoughts, its own heartbeat, its own spirit, and its own emotions. As a suite, it manages to achieve a really grand scale, conceptually and structurally as well as musically. There’s a lot of depth to it, and its range is tremendous – as you said in your message, it has a little bit of everything, and it’s all blended together very well. It covers a lot of ground without ever taking a misstep. I love how philosophical it is. Sometimes when music tries to address philosophy, the results are contrived, clumsy, and cheesy, but that is not the case here at all. With this suite, they address huge concepts with grace, power, control, and a subtle sense of mystery, and their passionate vocals and instrumentation inspire a genuine yearning for understanding. And more to the point, the music is just terrific, showcasing an enormous amount of skill from everybody involved. Heck, even if you chop it into pieces, the individual tracks are more than capable of standing on their own; the opening track could have been a strong contender in the instrumental round all by itself, with some stellar guitar playing and some jaw-dropping drumming, and those trends continue throughout the suite. Excellent stuff.
wolfking: Green Carnation – ‘Light of Day, Day of Darkness’
Clocking in at one hour and seven seconds, this was by far the longest song I received this round. In some ways the length is a definite advantage – the song really has time to stretch its musical legs and grow organically, and the build-up is incredible. It draws me in more and more as it moves along, so that by the time it’s over, I’m totally lost in it. The song also has a wonderful atmosphere holding it together; it has a feeling of consistency to it, a certain tone that it never really strays from, yet it never gets boring, either. For such a lengthy song to maintain itself like that is extremely impressive. That being said, the song is not without its faults. There a couple parts I just can’t get into. In particular, about halfway through it, there’s a section of female vocals that just doesn’t work for me – her voice is certainly impressive, but after a minute it seems like she basically just starts wailing, and I feel like it’s supposed to be a huge emotional moment, but it actually kind of hurts my ears. :lol Plus I do feel that the song tends to drag a bit during some of the slower passages. There are a couple points where I always feel like the song is winding down to a close, and I have to remind myself that there’s still a long way to go. Still, this is an excellent song overall. I’m not going to try to break down my favorite parts, but suffice to say that there’s a ton of awesome stuff here. Every instrument gets plenty of chances to shine, the choir parts are outstanding, the string arrangements are very well done, and the vocalist is great. I have very few complaints. Definitely epic.
Again, ranking these songs was absolutely not easy. But at the end of the day, it had to be done, so I did it…
Round Eight rankings:
1. lonestar
2. jingle.boy
3. SomeoneLikeHim
4. wolfking
Sorry, wolfking, but you’re eliminated. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of, though; as I said, there was just some ridiculously steep competition this round. You really don’t deserve to be eliminated for sending such an awesome song, but that’s just the way the ball bounces here I’m afraid. I'll understand if you're bitter, since I sort of kind of talked you into sending this song. :lol At any rate, thank you very much for your time and participation. I hope you've had some fun, because I certainly have; you've sent me some great music, and I'm really grateful.
Meanwhile, the Chef climbs back to the top of the pack again. Congratulations, lonestar. That song is unbelievable. I look forward to seeing what you’ve got left up your sleeves.
And with that, we’re down to three! An interesting mix, I think, with two veteran rouletters and a newcomer vying for spots in the final. At this point, I couldn’t pick a favorite. All three of you have played extremely well, winning at least two rounds each. Any of you would be a deserving winner. That being said, I still have to eliminate two of you, so let’s move on to the next round, shall we?
Round Nine: …
Okay, I’m pretty much out of ideas for good themes at this point. :lol But that works out okay, because now that we’re getting so close to the end, I think you have all earned the right to be unleashed. Open round. Just send me whatever you want.
Do keep in mind that the ten minute warning is now back in effect. You’re still free to try to send a longer song if you want, but if you do, it’s at your own risk.
Since you three have all been very prompt about sending, I’m not going to bother setting a deadline. Just submit your songs as soon as you’re ready.
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Mother fucker!
Did you listen to the first song I submitted before you made me change my mind?
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Great. Now I need to check out the songs Chad and RJ sent.
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Mother fucker!
Did you listen to the first song I submitted before you made me change my mind?
Hey, let's be fair here, I didn't MAKE you change your mind, I just offered to let you. :lol But yeah, sorry about that. I accidentally deleted the message with the first song you sent, so no, I haven't listened to it. If you want to remind me of what it was, I'll check it out, but I'll probably say that I like Green Carnation better just to stop you from killing me. :lol
Great. Now I need to check out the songs Chad and RJ sent.
Yes. You do.
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Green Carnation! :metal
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Mother fucker!
Did you listen to the first song I submitted before you made me change my mind?
Hey, let's be fair here, I didn't MAKE you change your mind, I just offered to let you. :lol But yeah, sorry about that. I accidentally deleted the message with the first song you sent, so no, I haven't listened to it. If you want to remind me of what it was, I'll check it out, but I'll probably say that I like Green Carnation better just to stop you from killing me. :lol
Great. Now I need to check out the songs Chad and RJ sent.
Yes. You do.
:lol That's cool man, I'm just messing, all is good. The first song I initially sent was Riverside - Second Life Syndrome, but I was worried that it might not have been epic enough, you offering me to change just sealed the deal. Knowing my luck it would have beaten Light of Day. :lol
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Oh hell yeah!!!!!!
It's funny you mention Change of Seasons, I was listening to Retrospective yesterday, and had kind of the same thought. Just to beat out Stardust are We is quite an accomplishment, that's an amazing song. The other two I will need to give some attention to.
I will send something later tonight.....
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Just googled Silent Memorial and realised Mike Anderson is the singer. Why the hell don't I know about this band?
Chad's song sounds interesting too.
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Woah, I'll have to check those two songs out ASAP. I've only heard the green carnation one. Really honored to be in the top 3 in this company, I'll send something tomorrow.
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:lol That's cool man, I'm just messing, all is good. The first song I initially sent was Riverside - Second Life Syndrome, but I was worried that it might not have been epic enough, you offering me to change just sealed the deal. Knowing my luck it would have beaten Light of Day. :lol
:lol
Alright, I'll check out the Riverside track at some point. Not right now, though. I've had my fill of long-form songs for the moment. :P
It's funny you mention Change of Seasons, I was listening to Retrospective yesterday, and had kind of the same thought.
That's a strange coincidence. Nothing about it specifically reminded me of ACoS by the way, I just thought it had a similarly high standard of quality. Which, like I said - there really aren't many songs at that level for me.
Seriously, everybody who hasn't listened to Retrospective should do so. You won't be disappointed.
Actually, that goes for all four of the songs. If there's any you aren't familiar with, I strongly encourage you to check them out. They're all amazing. You guys kicked ass here.
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The Riverside is only 15 minutes. :lol
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Oh, right. I was thinking it had been 25. Not sure why.
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Sent. Finals, here I come!!!!
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Will try to send tomorrow night, or Thursday morning, as I'm flying home tomorrow - which will give me time to figure out what to send
Kings... I'll need to PM you, as I don't think you'll find Dimension Act online anywhere (can't remember if they are on Spotify).
Sorry Someone... But this will be an epic fogey roulette showdown. Feel free to send Beardfish or some Steven Wilson shit. It ain't gonna matter.
Kade, you know I luv ya and all, but ...
But it's not the quantity that's boggling my mind, it's the quality. Three excellent songs so far.
It's not like it's gonna matter. :neverusethis:
Told ya Kade!
BOOM!!
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Yup. It's up to you Chad, even you'll agree what I sent should put me in the finals.
See you there bro...
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So, I'm listening to the remaining tracks in my "Jaffa" playlist, and I'm really not sure how I can't send something from my 2013 Album of the Year.
99% sure what I'm sending, but I'll have a listen to this awesome playlist tomorrow anyway.
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Sent, this will probably be a hit or miss but what the hell. I'm still happy with this result!
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Kade, you know I luv ya and all, but ...
But it's not the quantity that's boggling my mind, it's the quality. Three excellent songs so far.
It's not like it's gonna matter. :neverusethis:
Told ya Kade!
BOOM!!
(https://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma7m4vesnz1rdiecno1_400.jpg)
So, I'm listening to the remaining tracks in my "Jaffa" playlist, and I'm really not sure how I can't send something from my 2013 Album of the Year.
99% sure what I'm sending, but I'll have a listen to this awesome playlist tomorrow anyway.
Do it.
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So, I'm listening to the remaining tracks in my "Jaffa" playlist, and I'm really not sure how I can't send something from my 2013 Album of the Year.
99% sure what I'm sending, but I'll have a listen to this awesome playlist tomorrow anyway.
I still feel honored that you have a Jaffa playlist. :D Out of curiosity, how many songs are left on it?
Sent, this will probably be a hit or miss but what the hell. I'm still happy with this result!
It would have been a hit if that band wasn't on the restrictions list. As it is, I'll have to ask you to pick something else. Sorry for the inconvenience. As I said in my PM, it's an understandable mistake; easy to forget that I made some restrictions, since there were so few of them.
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:facepalm:
Sent another one...
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It's funny you mention Change of Seasons, I was listening to Retrospective yesterday, and had kind of the same thought.
a lot of the textures and transitions, especially early on are reminiscent of ACOS.
And I love that little "James Bond" section about 2/3 of the way through!
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So, I'm listening to the remaining tracks in my "Jaffa" playlist, and I'm really not sure how I can't send something from my 2013 Album of the Year.
99% sure what I'm sending, but I'll have a listen to this awesome playlist tomorrow anyway.
I still feel honored that you have a Jaffa playlist. :D Out of curiosity, how many songs are left on it?
Well, to be fair, I've removed several as rounds/themes have past. Right now, there are 47 songs on it, but that includes a bunch that others gave you. You've received such awesome music, I had to create a playlist with the songs I had. I think I've got about 20 possible submissions to chose from. Like I said, I'm 99.9% sure I know what's coming your way.
And I need a backup song in case you've checked it out already. :biggrin:
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Just wanted to say, Jaffa, those were four really good and insightful writeups on the songs. :tup
jingle.boy: Dimension Act – ‘Drawing the Lines of Mortal Existence’
Heck, even if you chop it into pieces, the individual tracks are more than capable of standing on their own; the opening track could have been a strong contender in the instrumental round all by itself, with some stellar guitar playing and some jaw-dropping drumming, and those trends continue throughout the suite. Excellent stuff.
Bingo. I almost sent Pre-spective in the instrumental round.
Just googled Silent Memorial and realised Mike Anderson is the singer. Why the hell don't I know about this band?
Um... yeah. You should be all over that.
Sending PMs in a moment ... to the two Kings, so you can check the suite out. And this round's submission to Jaffa.
:corn
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Just wanted to say, Jaffa, those were four really good and insightful writeups on the songs. :tup
Well, thanks! I appreciate that. I'm trying my best to make them somewhat interesting. :)
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Just to let you know, I've already listened to all three songs multiple times each (it's a bit easier to do that when the average song length is about eight minutes, as opposed to last round's average song length of thirty-five minutes :lol), so I should have results ready within the next couple days. I just need to decide on rankings at this point. One of the songs is definitively my favorite of the three, but the other two are pretty close for me, so I'm not sure who I'm going to eliminate yet.
I'll leave it up to each of you to wonder whether or not you're safe. :lol
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One of the songs is definitively my favorite of the three,
(https://img.pandawhale.com/73641-Truman-Show-take-a-bow-gif-Img-eJlh.gif)
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Please let it not be his. There's nothing more obnoxious than a cocky Chad.
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(https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/c6/9f/30/cock-of-the-walk.jpg)
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So if I post results on Monday, you'll suddenly be really nervous about it?
:P
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Search your feelings Jaffa. You know them to be true. :bosky:
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Please let it not be his. There's nothing more obnoxious than a cocky Chad.
Sounds like a Canadian drink.
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So if I post results on Monday, you'll suddenly be really nervous about it?
:P
Nah, I'll just ignore the hoser.
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So if I post results on Monday, you'll suddenly be really nervous about it?
:P
Nah, I'll just ignore the hoser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f_KJat6_Ys
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So if I post results on Monday, you'll suddenly be really nervous about it?
:P
Nah, I'll just ignore the hoser.
No ignorance will be needed on your part. I won't be posting since I'll be on a boat.
(https://www.wrestlescoop.com/animated_gifs/big_show_suck_it.gif)
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:lol
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Well played chinsplash.
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And speaking of DX crotch chops... [Triple H voice]ARE... YOU... READYYYYYY?[/Triple H voice] [Road Dogg voice]Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages...
D-Generation X Jaffa proudly brings to you, it's WWF Tag Team Champions of the wooooorld...[/Road Dogg voice] the results of round nine.
... Okay, so that was preposterously lame of me. The point is, results time.
SomeoneLikeHim: Riverside – ‘Escalator Shrine’
This song is downright hypnotic. It is very atmospheric, and it does a great job establishing its atmosphere right off the bat with the acoustic intro. With a smooth flow and a great rhythm, it sucks you into its world and never lets you go; as soon as the mesmeric main riff kicked in, I was spellbound. The singer enhances the effect with smooth, dreamy vocals that fit in beautifully with the texture of the music. The bass plays a pretty important role, too; some of the bass playing is just terrific, and it really holds the song together. And then you get to the first little instrumental passage, and the song really comes alive. On first listen, I was actually disappointed when the music slowed back down again, but I’ve come to appreciate the flow the song has as a whole, the way it builds. It’s very fluid, with ebbs and flows and highs and lows, but it always maintains its ambience and its identity. Very impressive. This one doesn’t really have any major standout moments for me, but it’s consistently very good.
lonestar: Kingcrow – ‘The Hatch’
Actually, I would say some of the same things about this one as I said about the Riverside song. This, too, is very atmospheric, with the vocal harmonies establishing a really interesting mood right off the bat, and the music here also has a somewhat hypnotic quality to it. But while the Riverside song feels a little subdued, this one is a lot more explosive and energetic at times, especially during the chorus and some of the heavier guitar passages. And speaking of the heavier guitar passages, I have to give the guitar player a lot of credit; he displays a lot of range in this song, from the softer and lighter playing early on in the song to the crunchy riffs and awesome solos that kick in later. The singer also does a good job adapting his voice as the music progresses. His voice has a unique style to it, and it works just as well during the soaring chorus as it does during the sort of voices-in-your-head harsh-whispers passage a couple minutes into the song. No real complaints, here. At first, some parts of the instrumental passage felt a little out of place to me, but I think they actually fit in pretty well with the somewhat chaotic feeling that underlines the song. Pretty sweet!
jingle.boy: Magnus Karlsson – ‘Not My Saviour’
:metal You and I do seem to be on the same page when it comes to the fast-paced heavy-metal rockers, and this song is no exception. Pretty fucking awesome. I feel like it’s a fairly straightforward song, at least by prog standards; the structure is pretty simple, and there’s very little fluff. It’s concise and lean, taking an aggressive no-nonsense approach that, in my experience, isn’t very common in the genre. Not that it's simple, because it isn't; there are lots of flourishes here and there that keep things interesting. But it’s short and sweet and to the point (again, by prog standards). Driven by pounding drums and superb guitar playing, this one packs a hell of a punch. Definitely would have been a contender in the adrenaline rush round. I’m also really impressed with the vocalist. His voice has a distinct gritty edge to it, but he still sings with a lot of passion and emotion, striking a great balance. Very powerful vocal performance. And I know I already mentioned the guitar playing, but I’m going to mention it again, because damn. The solo in particular is fantastic. He really rips it up. This is a song with a lot of high points and no real low ones. Great stuff all around.
Round Nine rankings:
1. jingle.boy
2. lonestar
3. SomeoneLikeHim
Yes, well done, Chad, ya cocky bastard. :lol Not My Saviour definitively won the round, earning jingle.boy a spot in the final round. Well played, good sir.
After that, the other two songs were pretty neck and neck for second place. Both songs are great, but neither really blew me away. They’re also somewhat similar in ways, in that they’re both very atmospheric pieces of music with distinct moods holding them together. Bottom line, I had trouble picking a clear favorite between the two. In order to make a decision, I ended up taking previous rounds into consideration. When I think about all the songs I’ve received in this entire roulette, Frequency, Triumph of Irreality, and Retrospective are all favorites of mine, and at the end of the day, I just need to see what lonestar has left up his sleeve for the final.
Sorry, SomeoneLikeHim. It was a tough call, but you’re eliminated. I hope you can be satisfied with making it this far, because you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of; you played very well. You’ve sent me some absolutely wonderful songs yourself, and I’m truly grateful. I’m so glad you decided to sign up for this! Thanks so much for participating, and I hope you had fun.
… And then there were two.
Round Ten: The Final
This is it, folks. RJ vs. Chad, lonestar vs. jingle.boy, the Chef vs. the Deceased Dictator. A match-up for the ages.
It comes down to two roulette veterans. A bit boring of me, I guess, but you’ve both earned your places in the final. You’ve played very well, and this should make for a pretty epic showdown. Good luck to both of you.
No theme for the final round. I'll go ahead and discontinue the ten minute warning, too. Just hit me with your best shots, gentlemen.
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Vegetables vs. Bacon!
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Oh, well. I'm really happy with a place in the top 3 and I was running out of bands anyway. :lol
The reason I haven't competed in other roulettes is because of how limited my music library is so I'm really glad I got the chance here. I had a great time and I wish the best of luck to the two finalists! :tup
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The reason I haven't competed in other roulettes is because of how limited my music library is so I'm really glad I got the chance here.
Well, regardless of how limited you library might be, you were able to open my eyes to some incredible music, and that's what matters to me. At the very least, I'll be buying that Moon Safari album as soon as I can find it, and I'll be exploring Porcupine Tree and The Flower Kings more, too. So I think you did great. Once again, I'm very glad you decided to choose mine as your first roulette to participate in. And I'm glad you had fun, too. :)
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Get the Geritol ready. It's old fart on old fart crime.
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Yeah, I couldn't have chosen between Riverside and Kingcrow either, very neck and neck songs for me, but hell yeah to being in the finals.
YO!!!!! Belcher!!! I'm coming for you bro!!!!
And you know what I'm sending, so you better dig deep sister!!!!!
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(https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/c6/9f/30/cock-of-the-walk.jpg)
just wanted to say that I absolutely loved this restaurant
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Dunn. What an appropriate surname... cuz that's exactly what you are - you just don't know it yet. You may have honed in on exactly what to send, because you're arsenal just isn't as fantastic as mine. I still have some choices and options to narrow down. Will send in the morning.
Vegetables vs. Bacon!
Seems like the right time to update my avatar.
Oh, and I also just want everyone to take note of my sig.
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Worrd Chad.
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Chad, I just want to point out the irony in my last post. You'll get it at some point knowing you pulled a "Shmeg".
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Oh, and I also just want everyone to take note of my sig.
"Usually" right doesn't mean always dude.
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Worrd Chad.
It's inevitabre. Inevitabre!!!
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Fuck, this is harder than I thought. Got it narrowed down to three songs, gonna sleep on it and send in the morning.
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Oh, and I also just want everyone to take note of my sig.
"Usually" right doesn't mean always dude.
I only need to be right one more time.
Conducting listening research at this very moment.
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Oh, and I also just want everyone to take note of my sig.
"Usually" right doesn't mean always dude.
I only need to be right one more time.
The story of every married man.
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And sent....
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I found interviews of chef and jingle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pquYAEfbBFM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pquYAEfbBFM)
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:lol
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:lol I don't know why somebody took the time to do that, but I'm so glad they did. :lol
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Sent (finally). Sorry for the wait, had a lot of little things to get done today before leaving tomorrow morning.
First, you ran a top notch roulette Jaffa. Kept everyone involved; kept the pace moving; offered great writeups. :tup all around.
Second, you're going down chef. Faster than a hobo on a Whopper. Too bad I won't be able to bask in your bitter taste of defeat until Saturday. Until then, I got a lot of live music to listen to.
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First, you ran a top notch roulette Jaffa. Kept everyone involved; kept the pace moving; offered great writeups. :tup all around.
Cheers! I wasn't sure how well I was doing at all, so this is nice to hear. And I'm glad I could make it enjoyable for everybody (or at least you; but hopefully everybody).
Too bad I won't be able to bask in your bitter taste of defeat until Saturday. Until then, I got a lot of live music to listen to.
Enjoy your cruise, by the way. :tup
On that note, just so everybody knows, I think I'll hold off on posting results until Saturday. That way, Chad will be back, and both of the finalists will be able to see the results at around the same time. Plus, that should give me plenty of time to sit with the songs and come to a sure decision.
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Chad, always fucking things up. That greedy bastard.
That's just my jealousy shining through about the awesome cruise.
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I think we're all jealous on that point. :lol
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Chad deserved to win the last round. Makes me wonder why I never sent a song from that album. :lol
Jaffa, Magnus Karlsson is also the man behind the band Last Tribe, the band I sent you are few rounds ago. Seems like his work is right up your alley.
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That was a monster round through and through. I don't envy anyone having to judge it.
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That was a monster round through and through. I don't envy anyone having to judge it.
Well, you guys didn't make my life any easier with the final round, I can tell you that right now. :lol
After listening to both songs many times over the past few days, I think I've finally decided on a winner, but I still have to do the write-ups. With only two songs to write about, you wouldn't think it would take too long, but I've been having difficulty summarizing my thoughts. Still, hopefully I'll have results ready to post by tomorrow as I originally intended.
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:caffeine:
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:caffeine:
Yeah, lay it on us dude. I leave in 2 hours.
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Alright, guys, this is it. It all comes down to this. It’s been a hell of a ride, and it ends here.
But before I post the results of the final round, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you again for participating – not just the two finalists, but everybody who was involved in this. Each and every one of you introduced me to some great music. There are a lot of bands I’ve developed an interest in because of this roulette, and I’ll probably spend the next year (or more) trying to explore them all. I made a list of albums that I want to check out, and there are about forty on the list – and that’s no more than one album per artist, for crying out loud! Not even taking into consideration full discographies. This roulette has opened my eyes to a lot of great artists, and I’m truly grateful to all of you. I can’t thank you enough for your time and attention. Truly, I am the winner of this roulette, and the only real loser is my bank account, which is going to be crying in submission sooner than later.
Sincerely, thank you all very much. I’ve had a lot of fun with this, and I hope some of you guys have as well.
Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to bring this thing to a close. Here we go, folks, final round results…
lonestar: Thoughts Factory – ‘Voices From Heaven’
Before I get into a proper review of the song, I want to provide some background information here. I had a different experience with this one than I had with other songs in this roulette, because I pretty much knew what was coming ahead of time. It was no secret that lonestar was over the moon about this album, and he wasn’t exactly subtle about his intention to send me something from it, either – when the album was officially released, he posted a link to the online stream, ‘for everyone except Jaffa.’ :lol So I was pretty sure I was going to be receiving something from these guys here. I didn’t listen to any of it ahead of time, but I did read his review of the album, which was so overwhelmingly positive that it raised my expectations to unsustainable levels, and I was pretty sure I was going to end up being disappointed with his submission.
But I wasn’t. This song lives up to the hype. If anything, I would say it actually exceeded my expectations, and certainly defied them; it was quite a curveball in some ways. After reading the review and learning what the album was about, I was expecting something dark and tormented. What I got instead was a surprisingly positive and uplifting song with a lot of hope and optimism. There are shadows of hurt and loss, but they are tempered by the promise of brighter times ahead. Listening to this, you feel like it’s possible to overcome any hardship, to traverse any darkness and find light on the other side. That being said, it isn’t all sunshine; there’s a distinct sense of desperation running through it, and it certainly has its ominous moments (‘cause these voices… are in my head’). And it ends on a somewhat somber note with a haunting piano passage that leaves me wondering whether or not everything is really going to be okay after all. But the overall feeling is still quite positive. It’s a song about making peace and seeking comfort. It’s a deeply moving piece of music, intensely emotional and very passionate. I feel like the band must hold this subject matter very close to their hearts.
And in terms of sheer musicianship, it’s pretty much a home run. It’s stuffed full of beautiful melodies and lovely harmonies, the vocals are gorgeous throughout, the guitar playing is stellar from start to finish, and the keys are magnificent. It has a great flow, covering a lot of ground with smooth strides and seamless transitions. The slower passages are balanced very well with the more energetic parts of the song, striking a great blend of power and tenderness. The lyrics are both interesting and evocative, the soaring vocal melodies are incredible, and the instrumental sections are terrific, boasting some excellent solos. The whole thing is just… well, heavenly. An absolutely wonderful piece of music.
jingle.boy: Soul Secret – ‘Behind the Curtain’
After that last write-up, it might seem like lonestar has this in the bag, but we can’t count jingle out just yet, because this song is definitely a worthy contender! For a little background information, Chad initially sent me two songs, giving me the option to choose whichever one I wanted for the final round. He compared the two songs by saying that this one would engage lonestar in an all-out prog metal slugfest (it delivers) while the other would have been more of a flanking maneuver. After a little confusion and some back-and-forth discussion, I eventually realized that the other song had JLB on vocals, and since I mentioned DT members as being restricted in the first post, I settled on this one. I had never heard of these guys before this, so I went into it with few expectations and an open mind.
And it pretty much blew me away. This song is instrumentally amazing, featuring masterful performances from everybody involved. The drumming has a ton of character to it, with lots of little intricacies and nuances that add a lot of depth and complexity to the song, and on the whole it just explodes with life and power, holding the music together and driving it at a relentless pace. The keys are all over the place, contributing to the background as well as the main substance of the song; they paint the music with a lot of color, breathing their life into the song with rich textures, vibrant melodies, awesome flourishes, and some absolutely beautiful soloing. And speaking of soloing, how about that guitar solo? Stunning. The guitar player is on fire throughout the entire song, playing with a great tone and a lot of feeling, but that solo is a definite highlight. And when the keys kick back in to join the party, the result is just mind-blowing, a flash of nearly blinding musical splendor. That whole section is simply outstanding. And then there’s the vocalist, whose unique voice and style are put to excellent use as he sings his heart out with an interesting combination of toughness and a sort of vulnerability; a powerful and emotional vocal performance for sure. In this song, every element is of very high quality, and all the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly to form a brilliant whole with a great balance of technical proficiency and soul.
The song also has a really interesting feeling to it. In some ways it is very polished, but at the same time it manages to feel raw and open. I’m not sure how that works, exactly, but it does, and the result is that the song feels deeply personal and very fresh. Listening to this, I really feel like the music is a part of me, and it’s an awesome feeling. Incredible song.
Results: It's a tie!
Since I love both submissions so much, I’m just going to go ahead and call it a tie! =D… … … … … … Don’t worry, I’m kidding. I’m pretty sure both of the finalists would physically attack me if I tried to go that route. :lol Ties are for sissies. This thing needs a winner, and at the end of the day, that winner is…
…
….
……
lonestar!
Congratulations, buddy! It was a hell of a fight, but in the end, you came out on top. And truth be told, there couldn’t be a more deserving winner. While I’ve received a lot of awesome songs in this roulette, if I were to try to rank them all (which I’m not going to actually do, by the way, so don’t ask), four of your submissions would make my top ten. That’s a pretty damn impressive record. I can hardly believe that I almost had to eliminate you in the second round; thank goodness I implemented the immunity rule, because kicking you out that early would have been a travesty, and I would have missed out on some phenomenal music. You set a very high standard for yourself in the opening round, and for the most part, you managed to live up to that standard very well. Excellent job.
And jingle.boy, for the record, you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of either. You played very well yourself, and this was a pretty close call. The gold medal was within your reach, but in the end, the Chef pulled off the win; I hope you can settle for your bright and shiny silver. Congratulations on second place and a hard fought final round. Thanks so much for participating.
Final Rankings:
1. lonestar
2. jingle.boy
3. SomeoneLikeHim
4. wolfking
5. adace
6. kingshmegland
7. Buddyhunter1
8. Dr. DTVT
9. Elite
10. Nekov
Again, thank you all for participating! You all did a great job! Even Nekov; I know I have you in ‘last place’ and you were the first to be eliminated, but that Subsignal song you sent me is fucking fantastic, and the Frost* tune has grown on me some with repeated listens as well. Truth be told, I really don’t think I received a single bad song in this entire thing. Even my least favorite songs were still solid 6/10s.
And again, congratulations to lonestar! :clap: I hadn’t really come up with any prizes for the winner of this thing, but you can rest assured that I’ll be putting some money toward some of the artists you’ve introduced me to. And if you want, you can choose what my sig says or something goofy like that. Not much of a prize, but there it is. :lol
And with that… I think we’re done! It’s been a blast, everybody. Thanks for the opportunity!
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Congrats to Lonestar!!!!!!!
Jaffa, thanks again for having me and I loved hearing some new tune from everybody.
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Jaffa, thanks again for having me
It was my pleasure!
By the way, thanks to everybody for putting up with my unnecessarily long write-ups. I'm not sure how many of you actually read all of them, but still. :lol
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OH. HELL. YES.
Thanks man, reading your write up of the song was reward enough, but rubbing this in Chad's face is just going to be awesome!!!!
Now go listen to the whole album, the only thing better than that song is where it goes to after, such a mind bending ride!!!
Massive props to all, especially Chad, I was truly nervous even though I was sending the best I had. And thanks Jaffa, hell of a class job at running this thing, feel free to do it again, I got more music. I still got the song I was agonizing over sending instead of Thoughts Factory
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I don't know if I'll ever do another roulette or not. Certainly not for a while; I'm a bit worn out of doing write-ups, and anyway, the music I got in this one should last me quite a long time. But if I do decide to do another in the future, you can rest assured that I'll invite you to participate again. :tup
And yeah, I'll be checking out the album soon. I'll probably listen to the online stream first, since it's there, but I'm prepared to pay for it just on the strength of Voices From Heaven. If the rest of the album is anywhere near as good, my money is as good as spend.
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Unfortunately, the first six songs on that Soul Secret album will make you completely lose interest by the time that song rolls around.
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Thanks for running the roulette, I had fun while it lasted. :)
Enjoy Epicloud and Weather Systems!
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And truth be told, there couldn’t be a more deserving winner.
Sure there is... ME!! :biggrin:
I can hardly believe that I almost had to eliminate you in the second round;
Proof it's better to be lucky than good. :P :P
No shame in finishing 2nd in this group of participants, or 2nd to the chef. There's a reason he's won 4 of these, and is the Grand Champion. Truth be told, I knew I blew my load in the semi's with Magnus, and I also knew I wasn't going to be able to beat Thoughts Factory. If only the last round deadline was before the 14th! :rollin
And to think, if I won I was gonna share with you my Lines in the Sand video I took yesterday! Oh well...
Well, at least the USA can beat Canada at something. Now Loney knows how it feels to be a Canadian Olympic hockey player.
Unfortunately, the first six songs on that Soul Secret album will make you completely lose interest by the time that song rolls around.
That album is gold top to bottom Mr. 8th Place.
I'll echo the sentiments again Jaffa... well run roulette with some really thoughtful and all around great writeups. Gonna miss this one.
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And to think, if I won I was gonna share with you my Lines in the Sand video I took yesterday! Oh well...
:lol Nice try, but if you're gonna bribe the judge, probably best to do it before the results are announced... :P
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Unfortunately, the first six songs on that Soul Secret album will make you completely lose interest by the time that song rolls around.
That album is gold top to bottom Mr. 8th Place.
Ouch....
Oh, and Belcher, there seems to be a problem with your avatar.....
Edit- thank you :)
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Yet he keeps sending the same song from it...
Honestly, I've tried several times on that album. When I listened to THAT song only, I noticed it. However, in the past by the time I get to the last two songs, I've mentally checked out. Not every album can be great. Not every album can be good...or ok.
And I'm pretty sure I still have more roulette wins than jingle. So I have that as well.
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Congrats Chef!!
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I just want to say Jaffa did great job with this one, the pace and write-ups were spot on. It was interesting to follow this one. :)
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Thank you for running this Jaffa! And congratulations to lonestar for a well deserved victory!