Here are the round 9 write-ups! Spoiler: There’s hardly any differentiation between songs here point wise, hardly meaning “none at all” in this particular case. Yes, you all got the same score from me. On that 5 point scale there’s just not enough space to differentiate, even though I do have some slight favourites.
senecadawg2 Neil Young - Like a Hurricane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-WMbP1RcC4Whoever mixed this should lose his job. I know it’s pretty old, but come on, why would you think that mixing the guitar that is the most important thing for most of the song almost all the way to the right? Does anyone actually like it that way?
I write above that you’re feeling nostalgic for a time where you weren’t even born yet, and after listening to this song a few times I feel the same, basically. His vocals are nice and all, the drums are really repetitive and simple, but the guitars are just amazing. Must be nice being able to write an 8 minute song that’s 75% messing around on your guitar and having it come out great. The guitar has this really raw and suffering tone to it that I really like, and it’s also pretty clever melody-wise. Nice tune.
Nekov Von Hertzen Brothers - Bring out the snakes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQKF5YG2YiUYou certainly love taking risks, I’m pretty sure this is by far the weirdest song of the roulette so far. I found it interesting from the start, I just wasn’t sure if it was a good kind of interesting or not. The samples at the beginning are really creepy and weird. The whole song is, in fact. It changes between completely different parts all the time, and yet it feels cohesive somehow. I’m not sure how they pulled this off, but they did. And you certainly won’t get a “too repetitive” comment from me on this one. This whole song feels more like an experience than just listening to music, and I really like that. I’m not going to comment on any part in particular, that would just be completely hopeless with how different everything is. I’m not even sure which instruments are on here. But I really like it, so good job.
Evermind Fish – Cliché
So, a love song. You predicted I would “meh” this, but you were only partially right. It’s not absolutely amazing, but still a really good song. The production might sound old, but it’s still really good (my main problem with old production is that microphones back then sucked at picking up bass frequencies and thus it lacked the punch some music needs, e.g. Iron Maidens self-titled).
I feel this would resonate with me at a much higher level if I was in love with someone right now, but it still stands strong without that added bonus. I like how the vocalists goes between a very soft vocal style and a more energetic one, and he sounds really good in general. The overall atmosphere here is very strong, but the highlight are definitely the guitars. I love the guitar tone and the very melodic style of playing. The soloing is nice as well, but not as great as those melodies thrown in all the time during the song (that solo in the middle is pretty strong, though). So, overall, you did quite a bit better than you expected. Congrats.
Sacul David Bowie – Lazarus
It’s quite a coincidence that all 3 judges don’t really know David Bowie, given how he’s so famous and died recently. Doesn’t mean it’s not a great song, though. At first I thought it was pretty mediocre, but it grew on me a lot. The vocals seem really fragile somehow, as if his voice could break apart at a moment’s notice. I love the brass instruments here. And really, I’m having a hard time saying more about this, except that I really liked it.
Scorpion Distorted Harmony – Misguided
This was without doubt the heaviest song this round, and also the one that took the longest for me to enjoy it. At first I thought it dragged a bit, but further listens showed me I was pretty wrong on that account. Evermind would probably call this djent, and I guess he wouldn’t be that far off. It has lots of heavy, great riffs. The chorus is really catchy, the riffs are fantastic, and it keeps me entertained all the way through. Even though you probably won’t make it to the finals, at least you went out in style.
So now it's up to the other judges. I'm curious how it will turn out.