First off, awesome picks for the open round! I mean...there was some seriously quality music sent to me. It was hard to rank these, and I'm glad I am giving points in groups rather than a literal ranking. And thank you all for following the format when sending them, it'll help me later on when I want to find the full albums to listen to them.
So, here are the rankings!
Top pick:
QuadrochosisSong Name: The Frame
Band: Oceansize
OK, I see why everyone is promoting this band. This song has elements I love. It just goes on and on in a good way...it explores and takes you on a trip. And such tight musicianship. Want more. This seriously impressed me. Knowing that some of the other players love this band, I don't think they'll necessarily disagree with my top choice.
Second Place:
Space InvaderSong Name: The Twyncyn/The Trembling Willows
Band: Pure Reason Revolution
Very nice stuff here! It helps that I love progressive music. The groove this song has is incredible. The vocals were really awesome as well, so melodic and perfectly executed. The lyrics were very weird, what's up with that?
But I'm not knocking the lyrics, I just didn't get them...they seemed to be telling a specific story.
Next 3:contest_sanitySong Name: Laying The Demon To Rest
Band: Theocracy
I have their Christmas song that you sent me a while ago, and this song is another reason why I need to get Mirror of Souls. You definitely played to one of my favorite genres: metal.
RavenheartSong Name: Prologue: Across the Sky
Band: Emilie Autumn
Man. Her voice. HER VOICE! This song is hauntingly beautiful. I loved the instrumentation as well, it was so well suited...it was like, whoever helped compose this song, had all the elements in mind, music, lyrics, vocals, everything. Is the whole CD like this?
ZanteraSong Name: White Horses At Sea/Utopian Daydream
Band: Amplifier
I really liked this song...so many cool elements. The lyrics were very good as well. The very end was funny but didn't take away from the song haha. I love the space rock feel this song has...is the whole album on that level? Very great pick!
Next 3:ariichlolSong Name: He Said He Had a Story
Band: The Dear Hunter
My only pick where I wish I could put it with the above group, but alas, I had to put one of the songs here. This song packs some awesome energy! And his vocals toward the end are awesome, very passionate. Really want to see how this whole story unfolds in the album. The vibe this song gives is very...I don't know...just very fun but serious. Really liked it musically.
YtseBitsySpiderSong Name: Wiseman
Band: Seventh Wonder
I found it fitting that the album art has a spider on it.
I'm not a big fan of power metal, but this had enough progressive elements to keep me in check, and the lyrics were really good. A step above a lot of the other stuff I have heard in that vein, so very nice pick!
kariSong Name: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Band: Vampire Weekend
The first thing that stood out to me was how fun this song was. Also, as a bassist, I loved the bass work in this song! Very nice pick. You could tell this is a fun song for them to play, and it is fun to listen to.
Last 2:Marvellous GSong Name: Good Intentions Paving Company
Band: Joanna Newsom
This was a very cool tune. I really liked the vocals. They were different, but very good. The music was very nice! And the outro was very fun musically. Lyrics were very well-written and executed. I only ranked it lower because the other songs people sent are more of my style, but your gamble was worth it.
Brother HSong Name: Go
Band: Hanson
I must admit, I lol'd when I saw it was Hanson (I grew up when they were a teeny-bop sensation). This song was alright, definitely more mature than their kiddo days. If I was listening to the radio and this song came on, I would enjoy it enough. I don't see myself going out of my way to listen to it again, though.
Ranking:
Quadrochosis - 8
Space Invader - 7
contest_sanity - 6
Ravenheart - 6
Zantera - 6
Ariich - 5
YtseBitsySpider - 5
Kari - 5
Marvellous G - 4
Brother H - 4
ROUND 2 - One thing that made me a huge music fan was Dream Theater's use of instrumentals. Metropolis Pt. 1 still remains my favorite DT song and that is probably halfway due to the instrumental in the middle. So, send me something with no lyrics! I like metal, rock, jazz, electronic, chiptune, prog, ambient (though I would save ambient for the next round), whatever. I am not very picky. GOGOGOGO