Just wanted to reiterate that I'm grading songs a bit harsher than I have in the past, so if you think you got a really low score, it really isn't that low. There weren't any songs I disliked this round. Just some I liked more than others
ROUND 1 RESULTS
Parama: Kimbra - Settle Down
Yeah, this was a bit of a risky pick, but I encourage risky picks cause that's what makes these fun. This song was pretty enjoyable, but not really my cup of tea. There were a couple of really cool aspects, however. I thought the chorus was great, and definitely my favorite part of the song, and the singer is clearly very talented. I wasn't huge on the verses, though. Definitely not a bad song, and you'll probably think this is a really low score, but this will probably be a fairly common score. I grade hard.
Score: 5.5
Scorpion: Speaking to Stones - My Final Sin
Yeah, I had some trouble finding your first song. Wasn't on YouTube or Spotify or any other streaming service I could find, so had to go with the second song. I really liked the intro of this, and I enjoyed how they threw in those clean guitar parts. I found the rest to be a little generic, though. The guitar solo at the end was impressive, but I didn't really find it necessary, and I think I might've liked the song more if it ended at 7 minutes, instead of coming back in for the last solo. Not a bad song by any means, it just felt kind of ordinary.
Score: 6
Train of Naught: Gojira - The Gift of Guilt
I got a couple Gojira tunes in my last roulette, and I had pretty similar feelings about this one. I have no problem with the heaviness, but I didn't find it all that memorable, and there were times where I struggled to recall how the song went in my head. My favorite part would probably be the chorus, as I found that to be the part that stuck with me the most, especially the guitar line there (and in the intro). Overall, I liked this one a bit more than the ones in my last roulette, but I think a lot of the song just kind of felt like "standard heavy metal song".
Score: 6.5
Sacul: Riverside - Hybrid Times
I'll admit, this was definitely better than most of the prog metal I've heard recently. The first couple of minutes were pretty excellent. Good balance between the instruments/vocals. I felt it kind of drag a bit towards the end, though, especially in the long instrumental section (other than the awesome guitar solo), and there were times where it got a bit predictable. Definitely a lot of things to like in this song, but I didn't think it really stood out that much above most good prog metal.
Score: 6.5
Senecadawg: Susanne Sundfor - Kamikaze
I definitely don't have a problem with you sending some poppy tracks in this roulette. While I still consider myself a "prog" dude, I can enjoy well done pop songs just as much. This song was really catchy. I found myself whistling it at random times throughout the day
. However, I didn't think there was anything about it that really blew me away, and in the end I think it falls somewhere in the dreaded "good but not great" category. The outro also seemed a bit out of place, but the rest of the song was solid.
Score: 7
Tyrias: Azedia - Agony
This song was super interesting. It had a pretty crazy mix of instruments/electronics, and it always kept me guessing as to what will happen next, which I really liked. There were a couple things I wasn't too big on. The vocals were nice, but I wish they were a little more varied and less repetitive. I also wasn't a huge fan of the "I, I, I" parts. Everything from around 4:30 to the end was excellent, though. By far this was the most interesting and least predictable song of the round.
Score: 7.5
Splent: Miles Davis - So What
I've definitely heard the main line in this tune before, but I never listened to it in full. I definitely should have. This was a 9 minute track that felt like 4 minutes. The rhythm section was really solid, and there were a couple top notch solos in there. The only little critique I have is that there were a few too many solos for my taste. In jazz, I tend to prefer the songs that don't have as much improv soloing. Here there really wasn't that many, but just a tiny but much. Great song overall.
Score: 7.5
Shadow Ninja: The White Buffalo - Wish it was True
This song was simple, but very beautiful. Strong lyrics and great emotion in the vocals really set this song apart. I also enjoyed the background strings a lot. This doesn't happen very often, but I don't really have anything to nitpick about
. Best song of the round.
Score: 8.5
STANDINGS
1. Shadow Ninja - 8.5
2. Splent - 7.5
3. Tyrias - 7.5
4. Senecadawg - 7
5. Sacul - 6.5
6. Train of Naught - 6.5
7. Scorpion - 6
8. Parama - 5.5
Time to start getting into some themes, which again will be super basic. I don't want to restrict you guys too much.
Round 2 theme will be anything uplifting/happy. Start sending whenever, and hopefully results shouldn't take more than a week.