Evermind's Second Roulette v. The Aftermath

[Evermind]

Well I couldn't tell my boss "hey man, I've got them roulette write-ups to do, mind if I leave a few hours earlier today?", so I have only just arrived home from work.

Now I need to cook up something to eat and then I'll sit down to write. I don't want to do the one-sentence-long write-ups too, so I guess the estimated time is 4-5 hours from now on.

[Train of Naught]

Well I couldn't tell my boss "hey man, I've got them roulette write-ups to do, mind if I leave a few hours earlier today?", so I have only just arrived home from work.

Now I need to cook up something to eat and then I'll sit down to write. I don't want to do the one-sentence-long write-ups too, so I guess the estimated time is 4-5 hours from now on.

Priorities: get them right

[Sacul]

I approve of one-sentence write-ups 

[jingle.boy]

I approve of leaving work early for Roulette reporting.

[Evermind]

I approve of leaving work early for Roulette reporting.

Me too, but I still like my work just enough to know better than try something like that. Besides, I've got to get money somewhere to buy all the CDs you folks are introducing me to.

Just finished my final listen. This is such a strong round. Results in 2-3 hours from now on.

[Train of Naught]

[Evermind]

Here are the results. Please don't be offended if you've got a low score, and don't lose hope either, there's plenty of chances anyone will screw up since we've got four rounds ahead of us until we reach the elimination point.

Round 2 Results:

wolfking: W.A.S.P. – The Idol

You know, I've never given W.A.S.P. a fair chance. To be honest, I never gave them any chance. I knew they were among the so-to-say classic heavy metal bands, I knew they had this ridiculous band name, I knew they had those ridiculous album titles like Kill Fuck Die (Consider this question, what are you willing to fuck for?) and gruesome ones like The Headless Children; so I decided I just shouldn't bother. I was sure this band is way off my comfort zone. And it's definitely too early to talk about it, but with this song you might've caused me to do a complete 180° turnaround and managed to convert me into this band. Because this is just fantastic in every way.

I've always said the best way to achieve a perfect score in my roulette was likely through sending a ballad, and this is the best confirmation I can imagine. This song has it all. There's this intro to set you into the story, and then there is this tense, immersive sounds of heart beating faster and faster... and then here it comes, the musical heaven or something. Wonderful acoustic arpeggios with some simple guitar licks, the bass line, the perfect vocal melodies, longing guitar solo and some magnificent guitar fills between the lines, simple yet classy drumming... this song just has it all. Not a single flaw in the whole composition. I have a lot of superlatives for this tune, but I imagine the rest of participants want to see their write-ups too, so I'll try to be concise.

I still can't decide if this song is fabulous or brilliant. It's probably both. This is what everyone should've stuck with if they wanted the highest scores in the round. In fact, there is one other song like this one, with this classic heavy metal ballad vibe... and guess what, you're the winner and that one is the runner-up of the round. I've debated if I should give this a perfect score or not, and I thought, well, what the hell? I love this song so much; I might as well reward you with ten points for this one.

10/10

TAC: Dead Lord – The Bold Move

Well, after this setback with The Paralydium Project you definitely needed something to stay strong in the competition, and you pretty much nailed it with this entry. You didn't win the round, true, but only because Kade knocked it out of the park with his song.

You described this song perfectly in your PM, this indeed reminds me a lot of early Rainbow – which I love – and it does indeed have this distinctive 70s vibe. Truth be told, I find it difficult to believe this was actually recorded just a year ago: this song just gives off this 70s vibe so strikingly. I think I've accidentally made a point while playing in the other people roulettes: I tend to say I send them my favourite ballads and use songs from artists like David Gilmour, Jon Lord, Mark Knopfler... but that's only half of my favourite ballads. Another half is those classic metal ballads like early Rainbow, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Judas Priest – I just don't dare to send them in roulettes, because either the host already knows it, or he will dislike it big time. Last time I've sent When a Blind Man Cries in a roulette, I've got 6/10 or something like that.

And both Kade's song and yours are a great example of those old ballads I'm so fond of. The very first guitar passage in this song had me hooked. Once again, this song has everything I like this much – I've listed those in Kade's writeup – but the main distinction is that this tune, well, isn't strictly a ballad. It does a fine job being a ballad in the first half, but then... then it's like recent Avantasia's Lucifer. In both cases I wonder, did these guys suddenly forget — somewhere in the middle of the song — that they were kind of intending to play a ballad? Because after the three minutes mark this tune speeds up considerably, kicking into full force with this sweeping guitar solo, pounding rhythm guitar riff and bass and drums, repeating the same vocal melody with much more intensity than it did before. And you know what, I said I'm not going to be strict with the themes, and what's more important, I just love this song a lot, so here's this great score for you.

9.5/10

Big Hath: The Mayan Factor – Warflower

You might've thought I didn't care much about your song after I screwed up the band's name while posting the first blurred picture – in this case you were dead wrong. This song is very curious in a way it was fairly unique to this round. I don't think I've heard something like this before, and certainly not in a ballad round – but I like this choice. It's unconventional, but this song certainly feels like a ballad overall.

I would say the band's name has this flavour that aptly describes the song's vibe; I don't know why but I subconsciously connect this song to some older eclectic culture. Might be the acoustic guitars, or maybe those things like tambourines outlined with cymbals (no idea how those are called, but I have a feeling they're featured on this song. I'm probably wrong.), or maybe the strange voice the singer has, a bit raspy, a bit indifferent, yet so persistent and addictive. The vocals are the main reason this song is so appealing to me, I think, it's something different for me yet it's also something familiar and captivating. I should also mention the great mix that emphasizes bass quite a bit.

That wasn't something I expected to get in a ballad round, but it's excellent nonetheless. Nice job.

9/10

bl5150: Midnight & Jon Oliva – Painted Skies

You're known for sending me the fantastic ballads. One could even say the ballads were what allowed you to win the first edition of this roulette, and I wouldn't be the one to argue that. But for all the songs you've sent me earlier, this is something different entirely.

I said Jon's song was unique, and I stand by my words. Yet this song is unique in its way too. It's so eerie and haunting, somber and dark, yet soulful at the same time. The ominous, heavy, low piano notes are setting the mood and the stark voices of both Midnight and Jon Oliva rip the veil apart, somehow both puncturing, slashing the carefully painted picture and yet adding more necessary colour, enhancing it. The vocals on this song are walking the fine line between being annoying (I swear Jon Oliva sounds he's trying to hold the retches somehow) and being fascinatingly fantastic, and I decided that for me it's definitely the latter, but I can see how someone can dismiss this tune because of vocals. I guess being a big fan of Savatage helps on this front. I love when they end the choruses with those soft "You can fly / Fly away" lines.

Like in the write-up above, I really didn't expect to get this kind of song from you. Doesn't make it less great though. I've enjoyed it a lot.

9/10

Dr. DTVT: Lee Abraham – Distant Days

Singer-songwriters are always a bit of gambling with me. I mean, I know it sounds weird because I love some of them and actively promote them in those roulettes, but usually there's no guarantee if the material will click with me or just fall flat. I wouldn't say this song fell flat, not at all, but I also can't see it reaching the four songs above.

As far as most of singer-songwriters go, this one is admittedly in the top half of my list already. The relaxed acoustic guitars, steady vocals, once again a bassline brought forward, everything about this song is pleasant. I like how it's mostly in minor key (I hope it is, because I have little idea what I'm talking about, but it sounds sad, so it should be in minor key.), so it's definitely an improvement over that Xen song you've sent to me in my first roulette. The best part is probably a guitar solo in the middle.

This tune could've scored much better if it had a singer that would appeal to me more. Unfortunately, as it is, it's fifth out of twelve – but with such the competent players, I'd call this a win if I were you.

8.5/10

Tomislav95: The Smiths – Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

Heh, The Smiths. They were another band on my radar that I often intended to check out, but with the amount of music I get here and there – and there's always some recommendations on DTF too – I just hadn't have the chance to see what they were about. Now that you provided me the opportunity I longed for, I was quite eager indeed.

And I've got to say, this song is weird in its own beautiful way. I mean, yes, it's depressing as hell, with beautiful and sad vocals, the simple yet poignant lyrics of a lonely man, but it's also has something quirky I can't quite pinpoint. Well, not counting the two-minutes-long intro with some crowd noises behind it. When the real song kicks in, it gets mostly fantastic, but it still doesn't sound right. Is it some unnatural chord progression or something? I feel I should love this, but something in the instrumental part just keeps me from enjoying it as much as I could. I also think the melodies on the second part could've been better ("Before the last one / before the right one / but it goes on" moments). I gladly admit that the musings in the ending with "it goes on" going all dreamy are fabulous though.

No bonus points for you for the longest song title, but hey, I think you should have enough points on your own.

8/10

lonestar: Mechanical Poet – Clue of a Scarecrow

So yep, sure, I've seen you sending this band in some roulettes and that was one of the reasons why I didn't go ahead and check them out. In fact, I was waiting for you to send them to me in the first edition, but you didn't and maybe that was why you lost? That InnerShine song didn't get you a lot of points in the ballads round back then, you know.

This song is good. It's not like, well, mindblowing good, but it has it's absolutely great moments and it also has some turn-offs. It features a very Blind Guardian-esque view on ballads (reminds me of The Maiden and the Minstrel Knight), if I may say so. It's got this epic power metal feel underneath, sometimes slightly on a generic and cringeworthy side, but on the other hand it has some great vocal melodies, nice unusual instrumentation and fine structure. I like how eerily beautiful and calm this song starts (your description in the e-mail enhanced the beginning a lot), and I love how the singer goes all-out high in the harmonic ending. However, I dislike how he goes into the prolonged "ooooh-oooh-oh-yeah" at 2:15 and when he sounds like he's drunk right on the passage after that ("The coveys of migrants pass out of sight"), well, it doesn't really help the song, in my opinion.

Still, it was quite good. Sadly, no bonus points for you too, Russian band or not.

8/10

Train of Naught: Slipknot – Snuff

Well, it's interesting. That's what I decided after I got around the initial disbelief someone actually dared to send me Slipknot, because, well, while I can put my hands in the air, I can't jump the fuck up – I live at the fifth floor, my neighbours would curse me into oblivion or something. But it's really interesting. First off, the song isn't half as bad as I thought it will be – somewhere deep down, mind you, because I approached it with an open mind – and second, it's funny to see people losing to a Slipknot song in my roulette.

This tune isn't what I expected from Slipknot at all. It's actually a nice ballad with some alternative rock/metal vibe attached, mostly visible (hearable?) due to the vocals style and technique; the acoustic guitars throughout the song add the texture, and the synths kicking in after the intense choruses are elevating the song to another level. The lyrics are somewhat generic, but they don't detract me from enjoying the song – except in one particular instance, and a pretty stupid one too. I guess being a non-native English speaker has something to do with it, but during the line "The air around me still feels like a ca...ge" with this obvious pause during the word "cage" I always think he's going to say "cake". It even makes sense. The air gets thick like a cake and you can't breathe. That makes sense. Yep.

I actually wrote quite a lot about this song – well, 250 words or something – but I really didn't write anything of substance I guess. It's enjoyable, but it's nothing special. I like the overall vibe about this song, and I like how it gets more intense in the end too. But hey, the air around me feels like a cake so I'm going to move on to another song.

8/10

Bolsters: Dave Kerzner – Secret

And you're the first person who lost to Slipknot! Well, that happens.

You've got your tidbit right. This indeed feels like some David Gilmour's supposed-to-be B-side, which didn't make the album because it wasn't quite a bit up to par with the rest of material. The problem is, it sounds much like those rare David Gilmour's songs I don't care about – it's like The Blue mixed with Today, two songs I tend to see at my least favourites from their respective albums. It's got those unimpressive and unappealing vocal melodies from Today mixed with overall forced calmness of The Blue. The first part of this tune was difficult to sit through, even though I enjoyed the small atmospheric additions of lap steel guitar and whatnot. The chorus was the biggest letdown I guess. I was really glad to hear it picking up the pace and quality somewhere around ~3:30. That's where it really started to sound like an interesting song.

I've got to say, this artist has a remarkably similar voice to Gilmour, and I think he nailed the atmosphere Gilmour tends to create almost perfectly. The peaceful, relaxed vibe of this song is something he does a lot. However, he failed to write interesting vocal melodies (not entirely, but mostly), and there are no hooks in the instrumental parts too. It was a good call knowing that I love David Gilmour's stuff, but unfortunately it didn't pay off. The song was good... it just wasn't too good. Sorry to disappoint you once again.

7.5/10

senecadawg2: Sylvan – Not Far From the Sky

This song is curious, too. On one hand, it has this glorious orchestral instrumentation along with piano and other things; on the other hand, it could've existed just fine without the vocals except for one fantastic moment.

I mean, yes, I got chills during "This is a magical and pure and extraordinary time!" passage, but that's about it. The instrumental parts, they're chilling and beautiful. I feel this song is a bit disjointed, and maybe removing the vocals and making the transitions more smooth would've helped it out. I honestly don't know – I'm not a musician – but something about this song felt way off, and it was much more pronounced than that The Smiths song. I liked the orchestra parts, the strings inclusion, the piano... I just can't remember anything about vocals except that small moment I mentioned, and keep in mind I listened to this song nine or ten times, and I was paying attention during those. Guess it's not for me.

7.5/10

ErHaO: Agnes Obel – Riverside

And here's an example of singer-songwriter song that didn't do it for me.

I mean, it's not exactly bad. It's not even average, I liked some parts, but it's not good either. The piano arrangements are good; the vocal melodies are alright too (nothing more though), and the lyrics are quite good, but her voice and her slight accent are way too noticeable for me, and that dampens my enjoyment of the song a lot. It's not like I don't have the accent or something – hell, you witnessed and heard it yourself – but I don't strive to sing too. I'm sorry but I didn't finish watching the video – it had that shaking camera effect that I tend to stay away from, as you warned.

As I said, it's not bad, but it's not too good either. It's a nice little song that could've been something else, but well, it is what it is. If it's any consolation, your statistics in my roulettes say you will send an awesome song next round!

6.5/10

jingle.boy: Slaughter – Fly to the Angels (Acoustic)

Uh, so, Chad... remember when in the preliminary rounds you said I had to grow the balls, pick out the worst songs and just eliminate them? Well, don't hold it against me, I'm just following your own advice here. I can't eliminate "them", but I sure as hell can rate them low. Sorry about that in advance.

You know, after the first two listens I rated this song as 4/10. It kind of grew on me on the next couple of listens, but it's still the weakest of the bunch. Don't get me wrong, musically, this is quite good indeed. But... why does the singer sometimes sound like he's throwing up? I'm thinking how good this song could've been with another singer with less annoying voice, and I'm amazed at all the possibilities, but instead I've got this. I totally get how this song could be personal, especially if you grew up enjoying the band, and I don't want to sound offensive or insolent or disrespectful, but the singer was a major turn-off for me. When he sang with the clean vocals, it was fine, but when he went raspy... well, that wasn't my thing at all.

6/10

Bands added to banned list:

W.A.S.P.
Dead Lord
The Mayan Factor
Midnight & Jon Oliva
Lee Abraham
The Smiths
Mechanical Poet
Slipknot
Dave Kerzner
Sylvan

The scoreboard:

wolfking - 18.5
bl5150 - 18.5
Big Hath - 18
lonestar - 17.5
Dr. DTVT - 17.5
TAC - 17

(the cut-off line, will matter after Round 6)

Tomislav95 - 16.5
Train of Naught - 16
Bolsters - 15.5
senecadawg2 - 15
jingle.boy - 14.5
ErHaO - 13.5

[Evermind]

Round 3: Open

So after you've sent me those depressing, sad and slow songs (or not), it's time for you to get the free reign again. Send whatever you think I'll like.

The time-limit for this round is 10 minutes.

Send your songs!

[Tomislav95]

Now I'm glad I sent The Smiths in the end . I was like: "Should I send song 1 or song 2? Nah, I'll send The Smiths". I will definitely make playlist right now and listen to all songs in round 2, I love ballads.
You can expect my submission today, I'm still not 100% sure should I sent this artist, but I have backup.

[Train of Naught]

Hellz yea, getting Slipknot on the banned list is quite the accomplishment. With the limited amount of ballads I had that fit your tastes I'm pretty happy with another 8. Still in the bottom half of contestants though, time to shape up. Had 2 or 3 more ballad-like songs on my playlist for your roulette but I don't think they'll do as good as this one, so I'll probably stay away from ballads in the future rounds.

I tried some of the songs on here, but I think I will never do a ballads round because it's so hard to find something that speaks to the host just as much as the person who sends, even though the #1 song of my entire roulette was a ballad. 

I think I know what I'm going to send for round 3 but I'll give it some more though anyway.

[Evermind]

Ballad rounds are awesome, I love doing them. If I knew you'd appreciate that David Gilmour song that much, I would've bombarded you with ballads. Maybe next time!

Of course, I don't know how it will turn out in this particular roulette, but in the last one I've received two (mostly) best ballads in Round 7 which was open.

I will definitely make playlist right now and listen to all songs in round 2, I love ballads.

You really should. I think you'll be amazed at the songs' variety in this round.

[jingle.boy]

Well, that's what I get for going with my heart vs my head.  80s Glam is such hit and miss with those that weren't there in its prime.

[Train of Naught]

Ballad rounds are awesome, I love doing them. If I knew you'd appreciate that David Gilmour song that much, I would've bombarded you with ballads. Maybe next time!

Oh  I was actually talking about Arc of Space, that was my favorite, but the Gilmour song was very close, #2 or 3.

And I guess at the end of this roulette I will compile some similar-ish songs if you plan to (at least that's what I did/am doing) check out bands whom you liked the submission from, because you will definitely get lost trying to check out Slipknot on your own, even moreso if you don't have a house in which you can jump the fuck up 

[Evermind]

Well, that's what I get for going with my heart vs my head.  80s Glam is such hit and miss with those that weren't there in its prime.

Yeah, well, I even said this much in the write-up. I'm sure my rating would've been different if I grew up on songs like this one.

But if there's one rule I've learned playing in the roulettes, you should never regret going with your heart picking the song. The important thing is that you love the song. Never send the song you don't like. If the host didn't like your pick, well, that's his problem, because you know the song is awesome.

That resulted in some hilariously low scores for me though.

Oh  I was actually talking about Arc of Space, that was my favorite, but the Gilmour song was very close, #2 or 3.

I know you were. The Gilmour comment was unrelated to your #1 ballad comment, actually. It's just you ranked it 10/10, which means you enjoyed the hell out of it. And that Evergrey song too. Wish I knew that before.

[Sacul]

Indeed 

[lonestar]

Eh, I can live with it. Fuck ballad rounds.

[TAC]

Dammit Wolfking!

[wolfking]

I was quietly confident with the Idol, but you still never know.  I'm glad you love it so much Ruslan, The Crimson Idol definitely needs to be on your to buy list, it's brilliant.  I can see how WASP would be a band that you a wary of.  I was too when all those years ago my guitar teacher mentioned the name.  But, he have me a copy of The Crimson Idol and it changed.  Even then when I fell in love with the album I was still cautious of the other stuff, but now, they are a top 10 band, probably top 5, I don't know.

This was one of the only times in a roulette that once I saw the theme and saw that WASP was not on the banned list, it was instant, and that song came to my head.  I don't think I've ever been so quick and confident to choose, good stuff.

Probably will never ever happen again though. 

[bl5150]

Happy enough - I'm always that focused on finding rare stuff that I sometimes miss what's staring me in the face from some of my favourite bands     Well done Kade.

[wolfking]

Happy enough - I'm always that focused on finding rare stuff that I sometimes miss what's staring me in the face from some of my favourite bands     Well done Kade.

Guilty of that plenty of times mate.

But my boy Blackie has gotten me two home runs in two roulette's.  Arena of Pleasure killed it too in Chad's roulette.  I should probably be paying Blackie royalties! 

[Bolsters]

If it was the calmer beginning that was your least favourite part of the song (which seems to be the case from the writeup), it's probably worth checking out the album eventually - it does have a bit of serene stuff like this but most of it is stuff that has a fuller sound.

Anyway, hopefully I can redeem myself a bit with this next submission.

[lonestar]

Sent. If this one pays off, some peeps are gonna be hella pissed...

[wolfking]

I'll get something in tonight.

[Dr. DTVT]

80s Glam is such hit and miss with those that weren't there in its prime.

To quote Major League,

"Most of these bands never had a prime."

[bl5150]

I'll get something in tonight.

Good to hear

Sent something last night - some "up and comers" in power metal.

[senecadawg2]

I sent the first power metal band I ever got into. It holds a special place in my heart, so stomp on it with maximum care. Hopefully I can make up the two points to survive into the later rounds.

Train of Naught: Slipknot – Snuff

it's funny to see people losing to a Slipknot song in my roulette.

Funny wasn't the first word that came to mind, for me. I shouldn't judge though--I've not heard this song

[wolfking]

I'll get something in tonight.

Good to hear

Sent something last night - some "up and comers" in power metal.

Sounds good.

[Dr. DTVT]

Sent.  Still have plenty of ammo.  I just hope I can keep up my 8.5 clip.

[Big Hath]

alright!  I'm relieved you liked that one.  I was actually worried the most about the vocals on that song, and it seems to have been the standout feature!  It's kind of a Kurt Cobain/Maynard James Keenan mix to my ears.  I agree it's kind of an unconventional song for a ballad round, but I think it works - glad you agree!

[Train of Naught]

The important thing is that you love the song. If the host didn't like your pick, well, that's his problem, because you know the song is awesome.

You're right, I will hook you up with some Gojira for the next open round. 

[Tomislav95]

The important thing is that you love the song. If the host didn't like your pick, well, that's his problem, because you know the song is awesome.

You're right, I will hook you up with some Gojira for the next open round. 

He is missing out a lot for not listening to Gojira. One of my favorute moments in their discography is that "breakdown" : "PLASTIC BAG IN THE SEA! (I'm not kidding)

[Train of Naught]

The important thing is that you love the song. If the host didn't like your pick, well, that's his problem, because you know the song is awesome.

You're right, I will hook you up with some Gojira for the next open round. 

He is missing out a lot for not listening to Gojira. One of my favorute moments in their discography is that "breakdown" : "PLASTIC BAG IN THE SEA! (I'm not kidding)

I would say the same, but some bands aren't cut out for some people, especially when they can't stand harsh vocals. My favorite moment is probably the outro to The Art of Dying, it sounds so creepy and haunting. I always thought the ending represented death and it does one hell of a job.

[Tomislav95]

I would say the same, but some bands aren't cut out for some people, especially when they can't stand harsh vocals. My favorite moment is probably the outro to The Art of Dying, it sounds so creepy and haunting. I always thought the ending represented death and it does one hell of a job.

Yeah, those are not even typical harsh vocals so I can't see anyone who doesn't lik growls to like Gojira.

[wolfking]

Sent.

[Evermind]

The important thing is that you love the song. If the host didn't like your pick, well, that's his problem, because you know the song is awesome.

You're right, I will hook you up with some Gojira for the next open round. 

I don't even know what their music is like, but I already dislike the band's name.

If it was the calmer beginning that was your least favourite part of the song (which seems to be the case from the writeup), it's probably worth checking out the album eventually - it does have a bit of serene stuff like this but most of it is stuff that has a fuller sound.

I'll probably end up checking out most of the stuff that got 7.5 or more points, it's just I won't prioritize this album. Nice to hear that, by the way.

I sent the first power metal band I ever got into. It holds a special place in my heart, so stomp on it with maximum care. Hopefully I can make up the two points to survive into the later rounds.

Train of Naught: Slipknot – Snuff

it's funny to see people losing to a Slipknot song in my roulette.

Funny wasn't the first word that came to mind, for me. I shouldn't judge though--I've not heard this song

I can imagine.