Alright, it was a great round for all this last one. Some pretty good songs from almost everyone, and I truly feel both great and sad to see 6 of you go. If I could keep at least 4 of you, I would. I've eliminated the point for the best song of the round considering it wasn't needed, as I gave an extra point to the two people that were tied, thereby making one go to the finals. Well, without further ado:
Lat:
YOB-Quantum Mystic: To be quite blatant and upfront, the song is meh. First, the fucker didn't start until well over a minute into the video, which is aggravating because it just elongates a song that should be shorter in the first place. Now, onto the music, 'twas decent. Sludgey stuff has never been my thing despite the fact that, on paper, it sounds great. I mean, it would be cool if the sludge came from the guitars and not the production, but that doesn't seem to be the case in most bands I know of. Anyway, as I said, the music was decent, but the singer sucked. I mean, he sounded like, well, I don't really know. It just wasn't very pleasant. I dug the Buddha in the video by the way. The singer sounds somewhat like a bad mix between Ozzy and a sore throat. I don't know, this just wasn't my thing, to be honest. Oh, and it was way too long for a song like that. That song could be a good 5 minutes shorter. 3/7
UMH:
Edge of Sanity-Twilight: I have a feeling I'm going to get flamed for what I say about this band: It's like not shitty Opeth. Yeah, that implies Opeth is shitty, whaddya gonna do about it? Seriously though, this was a pretty kickass song. Proggy in the right way, and fucking brutal in the right way too. I could understand what the singer was saying for most of the song, which is important with anything involving Death Metal Vocals. I must say, I saw the title of the song and got a little scared, considering the craze over vampires and the twilight series. But nah, this was pretty badass. I must say though, and I'll get shit on for this too, the singer from Scar Symmetry is still better at the whole growl/scream thing. However, this was pretty good and I definitely think I'll be checking out this band after the roulette is said and done. This might not get a 6, but it definitely deserves a 5. Oh, and fuck you. This song sings about elves and you have a problem with blacksmiths you fucking hypocritical dickface. 5/7
ariich:
The Human Abstract-Antebellum: This was an interesting song. It did a lot right all the while doing a lot wrong, which you don't hear often in songs. First, the music was pretty good in the beginning. It was heavy and pretty cool, but I really disliked the singer, and I disliked him for most of the song. I don't know, his voice seemed too whiny for me. If the singer was a little less whiny, I would definitely like the song more. Now, I have a slight problem with "technical" music. It just seems a little forced to me. I mean, the guitarist(s?) is/are obviously talented but I don't see the point in constantly sweeping the shit out of the guitar. I tend to dislike shred and I think I am one of the few people who really don't like the sound of constant sweeping. Um...a little bit farther on the song, when it got heavier, it sounded cool until the singer started singing again. It sounded like he almost had a touch of the stereotypical "emo" sound in his voice, and I didn't really like that. However, the music was good enough and the highs were high enough to garner this song some merit, so it'll get a 4. 4/7
DTVT:
Queensryche-Eyes of a Stranger: Hmm. Most definitely not bad. I've listened to a few Queensryche songs and none of them did anything to raise my somewhat nonexistent opinion of them. This might not make me want to pursue the band further after the roulette, but the song most certainly doesn't suck. I never liked Geoff Tate's voice. It almost sounds like a lower version of JLBs, and I'm not that fond of his voice. The song's chorus was pretty good and it stuck with me through the whole song, which was good. Um, not really sure what else to say. I mean, to be honest, I dug the song, but I didn't put as much thought into this one as I did to people with higher scores just because I really needed to pay attention to those. This is deserving of a 5, a low 5, but a 5. I mean, I dug Justin's more than this and they'll both get 5s, but since neither song really contributed to the next round, both songs were given about 5 or 6 listens as opposed to the 10+ that some others did. 5/7
Sigz:
Intronaut-Elegy: Hmm. Very very interesting. I didn't know what to make of this for many many listens and I'm not sure I do as of now. I dug the music a lot. It varied between different songs from heavy as balls, to funky, to beautiful, and many places in between. The singer was probably the weakest link in the song. When he growled, it was meh. When he screamsang, if you get what I'm talking about, it was pretty badass. I have to say the entire video could have been better with a little better quality. I mean, it could be youtube, but I doubt it. The mix seemed to muddle together, which was an annoyance. The song was pretty good and would be deserving of a 4 or a 5. To be honest, I don't know exactly what to give it. I mean, any score I give and it really wouldn't matter considering this song is not as good as the other two songs that could possibly put people into the next round. It was good, it just wasn't great. I'll go with a 4, but at this point it doesn't really matter. 4/7
lonestar
Kamelot-Forever: I had a fore with Kamelot a few years ago. At that point, I was looking for something big, grand, and epic, and I though Kamelot would do it for me. They had a few decent songs that I listened to, as did Therion and Nightwish (who are absolutely amazing.) I soon lost my interest in the 3 or 4 Kamelot songs that I dug until now. This song is a lot like the others I've heard. It's pretty big in scope, and theatric which I've come to expect from bands like these. The chorus was pretty good and most definitely made the song. Not much more to say, and as for a score, I'm going to give it a 5. Your song was one of the two that I really struggled to make up my mind with. This truly was a pretty good song. 5/7
Shake:
Tortoise-Glass Museum: I'm going to get massive amounts of shit for this, but to be honest, I didn't give this song my fullest attention. Hell, I didn't give it a quarter of my fullest attention. I listened to it once, said, "Meh, nothing really stands out, and there's no way he's making it to the finals." So, I'll take full responsibility for being a lazy douche on this one. I mean, even on the first couple of listens, I could tell I wasn't going to like it much. I can usually tell when I'll dig a certain type of instrumental and this wasn't it. I mean, I'll give it a 3 because I'm a douche for being lazy, and it really doesn't matter much. 3/7
Ravenheart:
Anathema-Lightning Song: First off, isn't this supposed to be a metal band? Anyways, I really dug this song. Truly dug it. The song grew on me the more I listened to it. The first 30 seconds left me wondering if it was going to turn into a Kelly Clarkson-esque chick ramble, but it didn't. This song has something that I couldn't really put my finger on. Almost an undefinable majestic beauty. The song was built and added on to incredibly well. It went from a beautiful ballad like song to a more grand ballad but it never lost its beauty. I find it odd that I can't type a regarding the song despite listening to it a good 15 times. It's beauty is almost floating along the whole song without every able being able to put your finger on it. I really dug it, and I'd give it a good score, but scores at this point are irrelevant. So, I'll give it a 5 and explain in depth further down. 5/7
So, final scores without any extra points:
UMH-40
Ravenheart-32
lonestar-32
Sigz-31
ariich-30
Lat-27
DTVT-25
Shake-23
Ravenheart and Lonestar:
I truly want to thank both of you for sending some killer songs. The decision between your two songs was incredibly difficult, and I feel sorry to see one of you go. One was epic and upfront about it. Almost cinematic in scope with music that made it's message clear. The other was a lot more subtle and harder to grasp, but just as epic and beautiful in its own way. After listening to each many many times, I've decided that the better song was Ravenheart's, thus, he moves to the finals with Justin.
Now, the finalists are Justin and Zander. You each have to send me the name of an album, and I will procure it on my own. I will listen to the albums as many times as I can in the coming days, and I'll post results whenever I think I have a good enough grasp on each album. The reviews won't be a track by track, but they will be somewhat in depth. Have at it and good luck.
As for everyone leaving, I'd like to say thank you very much. You have all made this an awesome experience and each one of you, oddly enough, has sent a song that I've absolutely adored. I'll go into more detail with thank you's and individual songs and bands once this whole thing is over, but for now, thank you all. You were all awesome participants.