Round 2 Results
Rank #9, 1 point: kári - Modest Mouse - Dramamine - Pretty simple/basic song here, at least to my ears. Not a huge fan of the stripped down indie/alternative sound. Unfortunately this song didn't do much (anything) for me. I've given it multiple tries, but nothing is grabbing me, sorry.
Rank #8, 2 points: Lolzeez - Television - Marquee Moon - Nice groove to this song. But Again, not a huge fan of the punk/indie/alternative sound - a little too stripped down for my tastes, but it's not terrible. There is a great deal of substance here. Singer almost reminds me of a young Mick Jagger. The extended instrumental section has a nice build to a pretty nice climax. If I were into this kind of music, I could definitely see this being a favorite song, but alas, I am not.
Rank #7, 3 points: Onno - The Aristocrats - Louisville Stomp - Nice little instrumental number. Not a huge fan of that rockabilly guitar tone, but he sure is giving that guitar a workout. The mellow section just before the 2 minute mark was really cool. While the guitar performance was definitely smoking, I find the song to be on the lower end for this round.
Rank #6, 4 points: MoraWintersoul - Wintersun - Time - Epic intro - gets me pumped for the rest of the song. The transition to the heavier section was awesome. Enjoy the use of choir and orchestra as a backdrop. But not a huge fan of the vocalist. The harsh vocals are just far enough on the black metal side of things that I don't care for it - but even his clean vocals don't sit quite right with me. Probably would take many more listens of the band and his vocals to get a better appreciation. Was hoping for a little more from the song after that intro, but it was just ok.
Rank #5, 5 points: Scorpion - Wintersun - Winter Madness - The second song from this band in Round 2. The song is pretty busy for my tastes. And again, the vocals are just a touch too far on the shrieking/black side. I do like the strident folky sections after the verses. The more relaxed section from 2:47 to about 3:05 was brilliant (the changing feel in the drums are a plus for me). And that is followed up by a spectacular neo-classical solo. Very close call between this song and the other Wintersun song, but the back-to-back awesomeness of the relaxed section and solo put this one over the top.
Rank #4, 6 points: LieLowTheWantedMan - Buckethead - Soothsayer - Wasn't quite sure what to expect when I saw this was a Buckethead song since I've heard his music crosses over many, many genres. This one has a bit of a classic rock feel to it. Nice transition out of the mellow intro with the slide into the heavy riff - and I really like the staccato turnarounds at 1:15 and 2:07 or so. Really cool, bluesy solos. Even though the main riff basically repeats over and over, I still found interest in what was happening because of the magnificent soloing.
Rank #3, 7 points: Elite - Protest the Hero - Sequoia Throne - Sounds like a fun band to listen to. That vocalist is all over the place. And that active guitar doesn't stop throughout the entire song it seems. Always some crazy technical playing going on no matter what. Pretty crazy song structure as well. It's not the case, but every measure seems to be in a different time sig. Anyway, high energy stuff here. Good entry.
Rank #2, 8 points: Dark Castle - Death - Voice Of the Soul - Like the slightly mysterious opening. Cool contrast between the driving acoustic and the wailing electric guitars. Also like the "explosions" into some of the sections by the electric guitar. For such a short song it goes through several changes and definitely packs a punch. The song seems to contain a lot of emotion, even though there are no lyrics to back that up.
Rank #1, 9 points: jingle.boy - Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall - Not My Saviour - Ok, still waiting for something to happen . . . ah, there it is! Great crunchy guitar tone. Love it. Also appreciate the energy of the song. Nice little flourishes on guitar before the second verse, big fan of that kind of stuff. Solo started off a little mellow compared to the rest of the song, but dang if he didn't start ripping it up soon thereafter. Certainly ends with a nice little explosion of notes as well. Really liked it.
Ranking after Round 2
Elite - 16
LieLowTheWantedMan - 14
MoraWintersoul - 11
Dark Castle - 11
jingle.boy - 10
Onno - 9
Lolzeez - 7
Scorpion - 7
kári - 5
Topic: Big Hath's Roulette The 1st - Final Results! (Read 27810 times)
