OK, here are the Round 4 results. I think you guys really set the bar quite high in the first three rounds. At one point this week, I pulled out the Round 1 CD for a listen, so that tells you how I felt. I think some of you will be
at your scores, and I appreciate you guys sending me some of your favorites, but if you strayed too far from my comfort zone, it may not have worked.
Anyway..here it is:
Round 4
jjrock88 – Queen City Kids – GirlsThis is a quirky little song. Its chorus is fairly catchy but it’s repeated too often. Has a nice hook. But I think there’s a reason this band is obscure. I’m sure you’ve been listening to this song a long time and have lots of good times attached to it, but honestly, I’m not sure if I heard this in 1982 that I would pay it any attention. Should've sent Blondie!
7.0
senecadawg2 – Ayreon-IsolationAryeon is one of those bands that I see thrown around here quite a bit. I’m glad someone sent me one of their tracks. But I was expecting to be blown away, but I just wasn’t. I liked the instrumental part quite a bit. Pretty Pink Floyd-ish to me. Sometimes too many voices get in the way for me. It did get better on subsequent listens but I found myself trying too hard to get into it. Love James though. It’d be awesome to see him on an Avantasia album.
7.5
Lonestar – Silent Memorial – The Darkest HourThis is a band that I’ve checked on in the past and are on The List. This tune grew a lot over the course of the week. I really started to get the subtleties in this. I am definitely interested in this album. If this is the best song on the album, I might be disappointed, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
8.0
Kingshmegland – Teramaze – TranshumanistRead Lonestar’s write up!
8.0
b5150 – Crystal Eyes – Shadow RiderOn first listen this was the track of the round. In fact, I left it alone for most of the round as I was trying to digest everything else. Classic Maiden inspired metal here. The dual guitars are eerily similar to Maiden, and the nod to Bruce’s Darkside Of Aquarius right before the solo was obvious. Definitely right in my wheelhouse.
8.5
Jingle.boy – Flaming Row – Unearth The TruthWell, I know how much you love this song, so you might want to stop reading here. First, this is a beautifully done song. Very deep and captivating. But it only seemed to work if I sat down and simply tried to lose myself in it. I feel like I need to hear more around it, but as a stand alone song, this isn’t something I’d go back to. Again, I felt like I was trying to hard to like it. I’d be interested to hear something a bit heavier from this album and would certainly follow up any recs you may have.
7.5
Big Hath – Epysode –ObsessionsRead Kingshmegland’s write up!
8.0
Wolfking – Borealis – RevelationThis is the kind of song that is very easy on the ears. Heavy, Catchy, melodic. It grew on me and eventually caught Brent’s song. I looked forward to it when it came on and will look for this album. While it did score well here, I thought it was a pretty safe track from you Wolfie.
8.5
Evermind – The Answer – Raise A Little HellOh Evermind, this just didn’t work with me. I have a hard time with mid tempo plodding rockers unless there is something spectacular going with it, like a great vocal. But this song plods along and doesn’t really do anything else. I did think the harmonica/guitar solo was cool, but that was really about it.
7.0
Updated Standings:Senecadawg2-35.0
Kingshmegland-35.0
Wolfking-35.0
b5150-34.5
Lonestar-34.0
Jingle.boy-34.0
Big Hath-33.5
Evermind-33.5
jjrock88-32.5
Only 2.5 points separate first and last place.