Bolsters ($400)
Circle of Illusion/
New AgeTook a long time to get rolling. Great guitar riff, followed by prog metal goodness. Really technical. It felt compositionally challenged; overall, it didn't flow very well together for me... Like the pieces of the songs were haphazardly stitched together. I really enjoyed all the individual pieces, but as a whole, it just left me feeling a little limp.
Lowdz ($200)
Alter Bridge/
Cry Of AchillesGreat track... vocally, there are some moments where I totally get a Lande feel. Musically, I get a circa-2013 Queensryche vibe. Don’t know how to explain it, but it just strikes me that way. Much like Sonata Arctica last round, I’d seen this band’s name bounced around on the board, but never heard anything by them and didn't know what to expect. Now I’m kinda kicking myself if this is what they’re all about.
Nekov ($500)
Bullitts Dominae/
Pure Reason RevolutionThis one was more like the stuff you sent in my first Roulette. Ironic how you said you had a lot of confidence with this one, but had been doing well in the first few rounds without any confidence. Guess you should take the ‘Costanza’ approach – do the exact opposite of every instinct you have
. Things improved 1/2 way thru, but couldn't make up for what I didn't enjoy in the 1st half. The male/female duet didn't quite click for me.
TAC ($300)
Eldritch/
Quiet HopeThis grabs ya with a heavy, raw opening riff – very much old school Metallica. Unfortunately, I’m a huge Metallica fan, and the old school stuff is very hit-and-miss with my tastes. The rest of the song is filled with rapidly changing tempos and structure, which didn't allow me to get in sync with it. Like Bolsters’ song, I liked the individual parts of it, but together as a whole, it was just ok. Reminded me of
Ross playing the keyboard. It seemed to zig-zag all over the place.
lonestar ($400)
Mandroid Echostar/
CitadelsJust like the Mandroid Echostar track you sent me in my first roulette, this was very good. Very polished band. Smooth chops – guitars and vocally. Loved all the different riffs, and licks that permeate the whole song. Fantastic outro. Just a solid, solid track – start to finish.
jjrock ($400)
Virgin Steele/
The Burning of RomeFantastic. This was a perfect mix of everything I love in music - glam, melodic, symphonic and proggy all at once. Why wasn't I listening to this in 1988? At times I get a Maiden (Powerslave-ish) feel. Song of the round.
Zook ($400)
Rainover/
Dust and DawnVERY much like Within Temptation - operatic vocals but no power behind them. That’s my knock against WT and Sharon... there’s just no oomph in her voice for me, and this was the same. Good tune, just not great. And with this competition, good ain’t gonna earn you any dough.
kirksnosehair ($500)
Venturia/
Dear Dead BrideAnother really cool, technically complex song from a very proficient band. No compositional challenges here, as everything seems to slide right into place.
Bosk ($400)
Stryper/
SympathyMystery Band alert. Surprisingly, Stryper was a band I never took the time to enjoy. Heard a lot, and heard that this year’s album was fantastic. This song was that too. All the great elements of a glam band that isn’t really glam... just damned good melodic rock. Great vocal harmonies, straight-forward riffs and drum fills that don’t go over the top, but are more than just keeping the beat.
wolfking ($400)
Bruce Dickinson/
Trumpets of JerichoMystery Band alert #2. And, if you didn’t figure it out from the above description, this was the one that wasn’t up to snuff. At first I didn’t get it at all. More listens (and with headphones) got it to somewhat click with me, just not enough to surpass some of the other songs. There's a certain... I don't know ... about the song and Bruce’s tone that just isn’t floating my boat too much here. Tastes... Who needs 'em?!?
Elite ($500)
Persona non Grata/
Imaginative MindThe vocal moments remind me of Marco from Nightwish; really heavy intro, didn't like that part too much, but when the keys come in for support, that was really nice. Everything from the guitar solo out was wicked. You said you were going down with this song, well, at least it didn’t drag you down any further.
last.fm ($500)
Suspyre/
Distant SkiesPretty good track. The keyboard tone in the main melody is too, weak, soft... almost a nasally quality. Guitar solo was really good, and the rest of the song gave me a Royal Hunt vibe. Not sure why last.fm says they are like Eumeria or Beyond the Bridge. Not even close. It was happy power metal.
Current Results:
February – Lowdz, bosk, lonestar, jjrock
Feb – Bolsters, kirksnosehair, last.fm, Elite
Febtober – zook, nekov, TAC, wolfking
Rankings:
Lowdz - $900
Bolsters - $800
bosk - $600
lonestar - $400
jjrock - $400
Nekov - $200
TAC - $200
wolfking - $0
kirksnosehair - $-200
Zook - $-500
Elite - $-500
last.fm - $-600
Roulettes can be a funny thing. I was chatting with shmegland last night (early this morning really), and said that sometimes you can get right in the zone (as he and I did in Elite’s roulette), or it can be like trying to undo a bra for the first time.
Lowdz is clearly in the zone, going 3-for-3... and he is the only one that still has a $500 bet at their disposal. Bolster’s hit a bit of a roadblock this round; jj and RJ got themselves back into the competition, as did our Sith Lord nailing the audio daily double. Barry.... sorry to put you right on the money cut-line for the 2nd time Barry. The other boys just edged you out again, and wolf erased everything he earned last round.
Round 6 results will come no later than Thursday morning. Fire away!