Train of Naught Debut Roulette - And the winner is...

[425]

Alright, I definitely like the looks of this.

[Crow]

well, I got a 9.5 or a 10

betting the latter

this will probably be the "best" song i send y- wait i already sent idioglossia, dammit

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

you actually liked my song?? wtf, where did i go wrong

[Tyrias]

well, I guess at least an 8 is pretty good, even though it seems I did a lot worse than amost others here

[Train of Naught]

Don't know if you hate being corrected but Energia got an 8.5 
That said, scores are obviously not set in stone yet.

[Tyrias]

oh yeah, I forgot that you raised my score of The Brothel. (might have to do something with the fact that I'm kind of tipsy and really sentimental / melancholic right now)

[Evermind]

I'm alright with the placement of my song. Seeing how Elite sent his best though, I'm sure I'm not going to take the lead this round.

[Sacul]

Looks like I'm on fire on this one.

[Train of Naught]

Are you kidding me?

[Sacul]

No.

[Bolsters]

Cool, I was actually worried I'd made a poor choice.

[LordCost]

well, I got a 9.5 or a 10

Me too! And I expected no more than a 7.5 

[Train of Naught]

Well by the looks of it, currently everyone has a great score meaning this round won't be a gamechanger in terms of standings. This might be one of the fastest rounds despite the length, because I simply enjoyed it so much.  I'll probably have results up tomorrow.

I'm gonna go ahead and accept round 7 submissions in advance too, because I know it's going to be a busy week for many, this way you'll have more time to think about it and/or notice the thread. On top of that, I don't want to go on for too long, as it would hold up future roulette hosts. I have 10 rounds plus a final round so I have to be a bit ahead of the other current hosts.

P.S.
Round 7: M.I.A.

Was not sure whether I wanted this to be an instrumental round or open, went with the latter as I would probably not enjoy a full instrumental round as much. So anything goes this round, no worrying about themes!

[Bolsters]

I will probably send you an instrumental anyway just because.

[Evermind]

I had a good instrumental waiting for this round, but since it's not an instrumental round, I might want to reconsider what to send.

[Train of Naught]

Themed rounds are marked with '*' by the way, both in the OP and somewhere in the thread the moment I announced it. I think the remaining two themed rounds are pretty obvious though, no real surprise there. Instrumentals are obviously allowed every round, I think the past 2-3 rounds I've gotten an instrumental, but yea it's not obligated.

[Crow]

i sent a thing

i dunno it's really hard to follow up this round but i tried

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Sent, making a note for myself to avoid potential personal crises in the future.

[Train of Naught]

[Crow]

i was going to spell out whahibrido pickingant with thingies but i hit the character limit before i even finished whahibrido, lame

[Evermind]

Well, that's whahibrido pickingant for you.

[Train of Naught]

Make 2 posts, it'll buy me some time

Ok there's three 10/10's, it's raining points!

[Evermind]

I suggest to reduce every 10/10 to at least 9.5/10, because my song is clearly not 10/10.

[Train of Naught]

Round 6 results! 


Tyrias
Mono – Everlasting Light:

Being the only instrumental in this round, this was a very nice breather between all the other epics (of course, I won't take that into account when ranking, but for my 3 hours listening routines it was a nice adjustment). With a pretty slow buildup and a relatively short song overall, though 10 minutes is pretty long for an instrumental, you gotta wonder where they're going with the song when you're about 4-5 minutes in. The second half of the song is amazingly well fitting to the theme of 'epics' though, that's some very huge sounding instruments. This was a great epic for sure, and it's a pretty high score, just.. compared to the other songs this round this one had the least to offer I feel.

8,5/10


Mikemangioy
Between the Buried and Me - White Walls:

It's funny you should send this, I actually listened to Coma Ecliptic the other day and then tried to check out Colors, I didn't last very long. My brother kept telling me I had to listen to White Walls though, as it's supposed to be one of their best, I guess the time has come. Listened to viridian first as everyone recommends it, and it sets the mood quite nicely. The thing that really makes that intro epic is that guitar riff, really huge sound there. The vocals don't scare me off the way I thought they would, when you're used to it they actually sound pretty energetic and even harmonic to a certain extent. Which brings me to the clean part, which oddly, was actually my least favorite part of the song. BtBaM have always been 100% about instrumentals for me, but this song made me appreciate the vocals more (maybe because I was forced to give them more than one listen ). Great epic song!

9/10


Senecadawg2
Enslaved – Roots of the Mountain:

I actually did really dislike the vocals in the intro at first, the chorus however, was great right off the bat, and kept me from disliking the song. Getting into the song more and more on consecutive listens, I started to like how such aggressive vocals mixed with the calm ones ended up working out. That said, most of the instrumentals on here are actually very uplifting, something I wouldn't expect from a song with such an aggressive intro. There have been one or two songs that beat this song in terms of 'epicness', but you're right, the chorus is incredibly epic, I dig that. The best part though, is when the chorus returns one last time with the growls and cleans combined It's not too far from a perfect score, but definitely very great, and I'm glad it started to grow on me quickly.

9/10


425
Transatlantic – Into the Blue:

Two Transatlantic songs, well I've heard a lot of good stuff about them at the "best MP side project album" thread. So I have heard a bit of Neal Morse (one or two songs from his side projects), and of course I have heard MP play before, this should be interesting. Being the longest song along with the other Transatlantic song, I can see that they know their way around the 26 minute epics pretty damn well. The intro, while being pretty long, does not feel like it drags, and introduces us to the main riff, that's like the grooviest thing ever, I was simply blown away by it. Even though the voice just sounds like a standard classic prog voice, it doesn't take away from the music or anything, and the instrumentals are definitely the main attraction of both TA songs I received. Very 'epic' conclusion aswell, kinda reminds me of Octavarium.

9/10


Evermind
Need – Orvam:

Unlike most of the other lengthier songs on this round, this one is pure energy from the beginning of the road all the way to the end. It has both the very happy sounding proggy sections and the dark heavy metal sections. I feel like most heavy metal songs make the songs conclusion sound very big, but when they actually focus on it, it becomes something as powerful as this tune here. And when everything is supposedly said and done, that creepy piano with the spoken words ends the song on a very good note, incredibly creepy, though not as creepy as Devil Doll by a country mile, it's getting there.
 
9/10


Bolsters
Frost* - Milliontown:

Already starts out beautifully with the piano, and man, do they deliver with that intro. Comparing this to the Pink Floyd tune (as it's kinda similar in length and style), I think the intro is slightly less interesting, while still amazing. The instruments get way more interesting as the song progresses though, with a very happy sound.  I can't help to think this band is perfect for making long songs, it's all so well tied together with seemingly no problem. That keyboard solo near the end though, has to be my favorite part of everything, being a great climax to a more than solid epic. Dang, I need more of these guys.


9,5/10


Elite
Transatlantic – Duel With the Devil:

I actually nearly liked both Transatlantic songs the same, this one just got the edge though. Duel With the Devil has more of an epic feel to it and the superior instrumental sections makes it a more enjoyable 26 minutes. I'll go ahead and repeat myself here on a few counts. Neal Morse, I never listened to his music all that much, I've heard a couple of his side project songs but I've always acknowledged his talent. Mike Portnoy goes without saying, phenomenal drummer technically and most of all, creatively. I haven't heard much of the others but I know they're big names, and boy do they make it count on this song, mind-blowing solo sections. Into the Blue, in my opinion, had a superior main riff, I loved the groove on that one and is probably the most memorable thing in this entire round. But yea this song was an easier listen and never felt below that 'excellent' level.

9,5/10


Splent
Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond:

That's THE best intro on this entire round, it's crazy good, both groovy and energetic. That said, it goes on like 9 minutes, which is almost a third of the entire track, pretty perfect for an intro that never at any point feels like it's dragging out the song. I think I've heard bits of this song once or twice on the radio or something, but I never knew it was Pink Floyd, the only song I knew from them was Another Brick in the Wall and it didn't do much for me. Once again though, you give me the right song to convince me those classic bands aren't all that bad. I sure hope they have more of these instrumental-oriented songs, 'cause while I did enjoy the vocals, the instruments were the real treat here.

9,5/10


Sacul
Destrage – Are You Kidding Me? No.

Wow. I'm blown away by this. This does definitely remind me a bit of Protest the Hero, but with a crazier voice, I love it. Probably the only song of this round to not really have an 'epic' intro though, but this still classifies well. What makes this epic song so epic is NANA nununu NANA nununu NANA nununu NANA! Nah, it's the epic trumpets with a very latino-ish touch to them, great to get some of those. These following vocals are very musical-like and remind me of A Little Piece of Heaven, strangely, because it doesn't sound like that at all. As with most of the songs on here, growls didn't turn me off at all, I think I've developed an immunity for it, but they still don't appeal all that much to me either. It's a pretty small portion of the song though, and these vocals do work very well with the music so they actually came out nicely. Whaddya say, does a perfect score sound nice to you? Close enough.

9,5/10


Shadow Ninja 2.0
Devil Doll – Mr Doctor:

I'm just going to state right away how I feel about this: It's so damn gloomy and sinister and that's exactly why I love it so much! The vocals are out of this world (while not being particularly great technically) and actually kind of creep me out. That said, this song would probably even do better in R8 if that didn't have a length limit. You know that Courage the Cowardly Dog episode of The Great Fusilli? That's exactly what came to my mind when hearing this song, and it's creepy as hell. There's one part of the song that I can kinda consider to be metal, and it's pretty cool, with additional chants in the background, but what follows.. I know I said this song kinda creeped me out, but that "Mr Doctor" near the 17 minute mark after all the instruments go silent was actually chilling and really did creep me out. I have no real idea of what Devil Doll is, but I imagine it being similar to this, so it's definitely a band I'd check out some time, now you see what happens when one of your weird songs DOES work out.

10/10




LordCost
The Human Abstract – Antebellum:

Clocking in at 7 and a half minutes, this is the shortest song I've received. Surprisingly, it's one of the most epic songs I've heard, so it's a good fit to the round. Starts off slow, but in the 10 seconds that they take to build up, they cover the 4 minutes that songs with this factor of epic-ness usually take. Again, like pretty much every song that included growls in this round, they weren't repelling at all, they complemented the music, like growls are supposed to. The chorus, which was all clean however, is the thing I kept returning for, and was constantly stuck in my head... in a good way.

10/10


Parama
Ne Obliviscaris – Forget Not:

Starting with a very harmonic guitar thingy, it progresses very smoothly into a very cool violin lead (who woulda thought I'd ever say that) and already gives me the epic feels. I probably wouldn't even care if they just extended those instruments into a 12 minute fully instrumental epic. Though one of the best things of this song is at about 7-8 minutes, where they do incorporate growls, but mix it in the background to accentuate the cleans, that served me pretty damn well. Finally, they do go all harsh, making this song exactly what I expected it to be going into it, constantly escalating tension up to the very end, I love when they do that!

10/10


I really, really enjoyed this round, I'd be surprised if this won't be my favorite round at the end of this. After 6 rounds I think it's pretty fair to make such a statement. Scores ranging from 8.5-10 I would've never imagined before doing this, just take a look at all these songs, they're all excellent.

Anyway I'll be updating the standings shortly, gotta go somewhere real quick so I figured I'd give you the results now.


Current standings:
Elite: 43,5 + 9,5 = 53
Evermind: 43 + 9 = 52
Parama: 42 + 10 = 52
425: 42,5 + 9 = 51,5
Senecadawg2: 42,5 + 9 = 51,5
Sacul: 41,5 + 9,5 = 51
Splent: 41 + 9,5 = 50,5
Bolsters: 41 + 9,5 = 50,5
Tyrias: 42 + 8,5 = 50,5
LordCost: 39 + 10 = 49
Mike: 39 + 9 = 48
Shadow Ninja: 35 + 10 = 45



I'm going to figure out the best way to break a tie without having to delay the roulette ASAP, and make it public to you guys, give me a day max. I'm currently thinking about taking the average of everyone's top three songs after round 10 is over, to have a 2nd score in case of ties, this way, the sheer luck someone could've had with a single 10/10 wouldn't automatically qualify them to win any tie, and it would be more about the participants consistency. Thoughts/ideas?

[Evermind]

Mikemangioy
Between the Buried and Me:

Mike sent the whole BTBAM discography?

And wait what... Duel with the Devil, fine... but you want to say you've never heard Shine on You Crazy Diamond? What the hell. I didn't even think it was allowed, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with that Need song and sent you this perfection of an epic.

Good job Splent.

[Train of Naught]

Mikemangioy
Between the Buried and Me:

Mike sent the whole BTBAM discography?

And wait what... Duel with the Devil, fine... but you want to say you've never heard Shine on You Crazy Diamond? What the hell. I didn't even think it was allowed, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with that Need song and sent you this perfection of an epic.

Good job Splent.

Oops, White Walls by BTBAM 

Yea I had never heard Shine On You Crazy Diamond before.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I'm not actually sure how to react to you liking Devil Doll.

If you're interested in checking out more of their stuff (there isn't much), I'd go for The Girl Who Was... Death next, which I think is their best work.

[Crow]

I'd personally have sent Ashes in the Snow from Mono but they have like, one song total with vocals (and not good ones) so I didn't even consider them for your roulette 
You forgot to put the actual song name but White Walls is definitely one of the best BTBAM songs, yeah.
and I'm really not too bothered by the vocals in Roots of the Mountain anymore, even the opening bit, but 9 is still probably what I'd give it, maaaybe higher dunno, I'll decide when I actually get the album
both Transatlantic songs I'm not that familiar with but heard a few times, i only remember the chorus of Duel with the Devil and nothing else from either of them
evermind's song is the only one i haven't even heard of so i have no comment
i think i listened to that Frost album once but i don't remember a second of it
wow I could've entered Shine On Crazy Diamond all this time? nice.
i'll get that Destrage album too, it'll be overwhelming and i'll hate it, but i'll also love it, and i will get it
i should prob check out devil doll but i'll just have an epic round in my next roulette so shadow ninja can send them to me then
i tried listened to THA some but never got too into them, maybe i'll go check them out again

and yeah, Forget Not is an easy 10/10 song, i'd have been disappointed with anything less really 

[Sacul]

Awesome! But you forgot to mention the amazing guitar solo 


SOYCD is an excellent choice, but it really shines on a live stting


I was about to send White Walls, damn.


Duel with the Devil and Everlasting Light are nice, yup.

[Train of Naught]

Updates results post with standings and (possible) solution to break ties after round 10 is over.

[Evermind]

I don't want to be the one to point it out because it'll cost me my lead, but either I need to stop sleeping for only 4 hours every night or the results are almost all wrong.

Previous standings after the corrections:

Evermind: 43
Elite: 43,5
425: 42,5
Senecadawg2: 42,5
Parama: 42
Tyrias: 42
Sacul: 41,5
Splent: 41
Bolsters: 41
LordCost: 39
mikemangioy: 39
Shadow Ninja 2.0: 35

What we should have now:

Evermind: 43 + 9 = 52
Elite: 43,5 + 9,5 = 53
425: 42,5 + 9 = 51,5
Seneca: 42,5 + 9 = 51,5
Parama: 42 + 10 = 52
Tyrias: 42 + 8,5 = 50,5
Sacul: 41,5 + 9,5 = 51 (you've got this one right)
Splent: 41 + 9,5 = 50,5
Bolsters: 41 + 9,5 = 50,5 (this one seems right too)
LordCost: 39 + 10 = 49 (correct)
Mike: 39 + 9 = 48 (correct)
Shadow Ninja: 35 + 10 = 45 (correct)

And this is what you have in your post:

Evermind: 52,5
Elite: 52,5
Parama: 51
425: 51
Senecadawg2: 51
Sacul: 51
Bolsters: 50,5
Tyrias: 50
Splent: 50
LordCost: 49
mikemangioy: 48
Shadow Ninja 2.0: 45

[mikemangioy]

WHIIIIITE
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL is a great song.

And also, I'm wearing a Destrage t shirt right now, makes my italian self proud.

[Train of Naught]

 


@Evermind you're right, I rushed it and must've taken the pre-corrections standings, on top off that I didn't double check it, so thanks for your honesty. Will still check it to be 100% sure but I trust you've got it right so I'll edit it into that for now.

[Elite]

Evermind sent an entire album?

Also, why the hell was Pink Floyd not on the banned list?

[Train of Naught]

Yes, he sent me the hard copy release with signatures and everything, what a guy!