I’m sorry that these results are in later than I said they would be. Sometimes life can get in the way and that is exactly what happened last Saturday, when I planned to post the results initially, and yesterday, when things did not go as planned at all. Without going too deep into my personal struggles, I'm bringing you the results for round 3. This was without a doubt the most difficult round to rank so far as there weren't really any songs that stood out in a way they did in the previous two rounds. It was a really consistent round, which made the one different track stand out a lot. Here are the results and although I didn't want to kick anyone out this round, I had to since I set up those rules. Again ordered from ‘best’ to ‘worst’.
Through to the next round Participant: Nihil-Morari
Band – Song: B. Dolan – Kate
I have found a huge fault in my ranking system, thanks to this ‘song’. Yes, that’s the word ‘song’ in quotation marks, because this track definitely pushes the boundaries of what can be considered music. So much so, that it almost became impossible to judge the other songs I received this round with this track in mind. Even though this is barely music – because, it is as Nihil-Morari described an ‘avant-garde hip-hop’ track. That basically comes down to spoken-word poetry/rap with soundscapes in the background. I honestly had no idea what to do with this description of the track and decided to just listen to it, in the same playlist I put the other songs in, but this track completely and utterly destroyed my ability to judge all other songs I received this round. I would almost disqualify this track for not being an actual song, if this had not floored me. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was listening to something so intensely and be completely taken away by it, only to be totally demolished by that particular moment in the song (I’m sure Nihil-Morari knows what I’m talking about). There is no real way to describe how I felt after listening to this track. It was the only song I received this round that became stuck in my head, for the sheer fact that I had no idea what was coming. This man’s voice took me away on a journey through his sad story and never let me go. This track is ridiculously powerful and I thank you for sending this. I honestly don’t know whether I would listen to more of his stuff, or maybe even this track, very often, but this was without a doubt the song with the most impact I have ever received in a roulette. Unbelievable, strange, beautiful, haunting and disturbing all at once. Wow.
Participant: Scorpion
Band – Song: Speaking to Stones - Water
Alright, this is just a solid progressive metal song with a very decent build-up and an amazing vocalist. I like the duality of the softer and heavier parts and I think the guitarist has an amazing tone all the way through. In fact, the whole song sounds very crisp and clear. Highlight for me is the guitar solo, which melodically moves through the different parts of the song, remaining interesting all the way through, while also a little flashy. This song’s chorus is nice to song along to, which is quite a feat if you listen to what’s going on in the background. On other tracks I have a lot to say, but here I don’t have much more than this. I would like to hear the full album, but I can’t find it anywhere without paying far too much for it.
Participant: Dr. DTVT
Band – Song: Exovex – Stolen Wings
This is without a doubt the song with the best build-up I received this round. Starting out rather slow and brooding, the song develops into a quite nifty progressive rock/metal piece. The singer's voice is reminiscent of something of a combination between Steven Wilson and Daniel Gildenlöw (or is that just me?) and his vocal lines are easily the highlight of the song for me. One of the longer songs I got in this round, but it didn't feel like that at all. I must ask though: how did you find this band?
Participant: lonestar
Band – Song: Shattered Skies – Aesthetics
Okay, this is just some pure quality progressive metal music. I have heard some of this band’s stuff before, due to them playing at ProgPower Europe, but the day they played is the only day in the past 6 years I wasn’t there (I would have seen them live, if not for family business). So again, I band I knew exists, but never checked out properly. This is a fairly recent track, as what I can recall of them was more djent-riffing oriented, which is not often something I am a fan of. This however, is compositionally great, with a nice build-up. On my first listen, the track was rather boring at the start, but subsequent listens made sure I enjoyed it more thoroughly. Very nice one!
Almost eliminated Participant: senecadawg2
Band – Song: Orden Ogan – Nobody Leaves
One of two power metal songs I received this round and this is the longer one of the two. It's also more cheesy and it's frankly the worst song I received from seneca thus far
However, that’s not really saying much, because this song still rocks very much. Of the two power metal songs I got, this one was far better than the other one. It’s quite high-paced and therefore rather frantic, but it has its calmer moments as well. The different parts of the song are also very distinctive which is a big plus for songs in this genre. Overall I’d say the vocalist could be better as he simply sounds a little weak or raspy on some of the higher and louder notes. Overall a quite solid submission.
Participant: jingle.boy
Band – Song: Subsignal – Feeding Utopia
This song has some very interesting and unique parts. The main riff, combined with the keys is a joy to listen to and I absolutely adore the guitarist’s tone in this track (funny how one always tends to listen for his own instrument). What bugged me though was the vocalist in the chorus. This song has some splendid parts, namely the riffs, verses and solos, but the chorus isn’t all that interesting and actually drags the song down. That said though, the good parts more than make up for it, and the track as a whole sounds fresh, especially for a progressive metal piece. The dichotomy between the heavier parts and the verses with the electric drums is very nice and worked out well. Overall, I think this is a band that I will check out further, even though it had some bad parts, the good parts more than made up for it and barely saved you from elimination.
Unfortunately eliminated I’m sorry to have to eliminate the both of you. I’m sure you could have sent me some more awesome music in future rounds, but the same thing applies to the other contestants. If there’s any more music you’d like to share, I’m always open for stuff!
Participant: Evermind
Band – Song: Serious Black – I Seek No Other Life
The other power metal song I received was considerably shorter, but paced at around the same speed as the other. This song has a very pronounced chorus, which is easily the highlight of the song (although the guitar solos are quite nice too, even though they sound rather standard. While really a solid song, there’s nothing in here that really lifts it to being a ‘great’ track, if you get what I mean. It feels like I’ve heard this before, but it was a fun submission regardless.
If I'm eliminated though, you suck for delaying this.
I’m sorry to eliminate you. This was not a matter of me disliking the song, but you had some strong competition this round.
Participant: Big Hath
Band – Song: Moon Safari – Yasgur’s Farm
This was some bad luck on your part I think. I got the song
Heartland by the same band in a previous roulette and actually enjoyed that one a lot back then, but I never got to check Moon Safari out more. This song just didn’t do anything for me. After listening to all the songs in this round multiple times, it became very easy to pick out one contestant to eliminate, because I didn’t like the song. It sounds dull and became very boring to listen to quickly. I don’t exactly know why, it might be because of the other songs I received this round were all a little heavier than this one. Maybe I should just like this though, but it didn’t work for me at this time. I’m sorry.
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I really feel like an asshole having to kick people out. Know that this is nothing personal and that I appreciated both of you playing in my roulette. The remaining contestant scan all start sending for round 4, of which the results will likely be posted next Monday or Tuesday.