News:

Dream Theater Forums:  Biggest Dream Theater online community since 2007.

Main Menu

Evermind's Second Roulette v. The Aftermath

Started by Evermind, February 09, 2016, 10:34:25 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

senecadawg2

Sylvia, if I'm remembering correctly

And Serious Black is fantastic

Train of Naught


Sacul

Quote from: Evermind on April 17, 2016, 02:11:10 PM"Zantera / Sacul music"
Quote from: home on December 09, 2017, 07:38:24 AMI want your D if it's still up for grabs

Fancy a print? Need pics for your next album's artwork? Send me a PM!

Elite

Quote from: Lolzeez on November 18, 2013, 01:23:32 PMHey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Quote from: home on May 09, 2017, 04:05:10 PMSqu
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Crow

i'm listening to ashes against the grain rn and i'm on the song with growls that seneca sent to evermind and this is going to be so much fun

Sacul

Quote from: Evermind on April 17, 2016, 02:11:10 PM"Zantera / Sacul music"
Quote from: home on December 09, 2017, 07:38:24 AMI want your D if it's still up for grabs

Fancy a print? Need pics for your next album's artwork? Send me a PM!

Elite

I've eliminated half the forum in the first round if I have to believe this thread :lol
Quote from: Lolzeez on November 18, 2013, 01:23:32 PMHey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Quote from: home on May 09, 2017, 04:05:10 PMSqu
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Crow

i'm going to run a roulette where i eliminate everyone in the first round and the other 9 rounds are me listening to my own music

Evermind

Quote from: Elite on April 17, 2016, 01:18:58 PM
I've eliminated half the forum in the first round if I have to believe this thread :lol

No, you eliminated me in the second one!

Alright guys, we're almost there... I think I need fifteen more minutes and we're good to go.

Quote from: Parama on April 17, 2016, 01:17:45 PM
i'm listening to ashes against the grain rn and i'm on the song with growls that seneca sent to evermind and this is going to be so much fun

My write-up for this song is 455 words. Interpret this as you will.
Quote from: Train of Naught on May 28, 2020, 10:57:25 PMThis first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Elite

Quote from: Parama on April 17, 2016, 01:20:07 PM
i'm going to run a roulette where i eliminate everyone in the first round and the other 9 rounds are me listening to my own music

I'll join, it will be fun
Quote from: Lolzeez on November 18, 2013, 01:23:32 PMHey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Quote from: home on May 09, 2017, 04:05:10 PMSqu
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Elite

Quote from: Evermind on April 17, 2016, 01:21:15 PM
My write-up for this song is 455 words. Interpret this as you will.

Jesus Christ, that's almost as long as the write-ups for the albums in my top 50.
Quote from: Lolzeez on November 18, 2013, 01:23:32 PMHey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Quote from: home on May 09, 2017, 04:05:10 PMSqu
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Tomislav95

Quote from: Parama on April 17, 2016, 01:17:45 PM
i'm listening to ashes against the grain rn and i'm on the song with growls that seneca sent to evermind and this is going to be so much fun
Despite growls, Bloodbirds is one of my favorite songs ever. That's why I try to avoid sending sending songs that I love but host could hate for some reason (growls here). It would crush my heart (Evermind, please have mercy :()

Luoto

Well, it's 1,5 minutes of black metal vocals near the end of 12 minutes of music he apparently enjoys, so he shouldn't completely butcher it :D

Evermind

Alright, scores are counted and now I actually know who will win this... we're going forward with the gradual reveal in five minutes.

But first of all, I wanted to thank you all guys for participating in this, taking your time to send me the songs, writing in this thread, keeping it off the second page, being so active and so interested. I wanted this to be an awesome roulette, and all of you who accepted my invites, all of you who decided to play even if you didn't receive an invite, all of you who frequented this thread, you made it more awesome with each post. I loved how it turned out. I won't host another roulette for a while, but I can safely say this was a blast and it was much more than I could hope for. Thank you everyone.

Now fasten your seat belts... the results are coming.
Quote from: Train of Naught on May 28, 2020, 10:57:25 PMThis first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Train of Naught


jingle.boy

Quote from: Jamesman42 on September 20, 2024, 12:38:03 PM
Quote from: TAC on September 19, 2024, 05:23:01 PMHow is this even possible? Are we playing or what, people??
So I just checked, and, uh, you are one of the two who haven't sent.
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid on September 20, 2024, 12:46:33 PMTim's roulette police card is hereby revoked!

wolfking

Quote from: Evermind on April 17, 2016, 01:43:26 PM
Alright, scores are counted and now I actually know who will win this... we're going forward with the gradual reveal in five minutes.

But first of all, I wanted to thank you all guys for participating in this, taking your time to send me the songs, writing in this thread, keeping it off the second page, being so active and so interested. I wanted this to be an awesome roulette, and all of you who accepted my invites, all of you who decided to play even if you didn't receive an invite, all of you who frequented this thread, you made it more awesome with each post. I loved how it turned out. I won't host another roulette for a while, but I can safely say this was a blast and it was much more than I could hope for. Thank you everyone.

Now fasten your seat belts... the results are coming.

Thanks for running it and having me mate, very well done on all counts.

Scorpion

I had more fun following this roulette than quite a couple of others that will not be named here that I played in, so thanks to you for making this one a blast to follow, even despite the fact that I didn't quite meet the threshhold of actually partaking.

Elite

Quote from: Scorpion on April 17, 2016, 01:50:42 PM
I had more a lot of fun following this, so thanks to you for making this one a blast to follow, even despite the fact that I didn't quite meet the threshhold of actually partaking.

Fixed for me. Yeah, I'll just echo this, very well done on basically everything. The next best roulette ever will seriously have to do something with live videos of first impressions or something.
Quote from: Lolzeez on November 18, 2013, 01:23:32 PMHey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Quote from: home on May 09, 2017, 04:05:10 PMSqu
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Evermind

#6: lonestar

Why The Fuck Didn't RJ Send These Bands Earlier?

StarGate – The Wonders of Nature
StarGate – Save the World
Secret Sphere – Wish & Steadiness
Sun Caged – Ashtamangala (The 8 Auspicious Symbols) (cut)
  II. Parasol
  III. Wave the Banner
  IV. Fish Afraid of Drowning
  V. Moebius Knot
  VI. Full Circle
  VII. Let It Wash Away (The Lotus Effect)




StarGate – The Wonders of Nature / Save the World

I know I said if the intro is less than two minutes, I'm going to dump it with the actual song, and if the intro is longer, I'm going to rate it separately, but there was no way to dump it with the actual song, because it's a very pronounced happy guitar intro for the song that will come next. To give it a separate score would be unfair.

This was my favourite song from your EP, no doubt, even with Ashtamangala on the table. (Shit, I'm still having a hard time pronouncing Ashtamangala.) I thought this tune was more or less concise, to the point and enjoyable enough, even thought I found it a bit overwhelming overall. My least favourite parts were the "STORMRAGE!", "JUST WARNINGS!" and such parts on the chorus. I'm also not sure what they're singing in the second chorus – I have a suspicion it's "Ever mice!" or "Clever mice!" Whatever floats their boat, I guess. Still, quite a nice song you've got there.

15.5/20

Secret Sphere – Wish & Steadiness


This song starts out slow – and, in fact, perhaps too slow – and ominous making it seem like it's the second intro part. It picks up the pace later with some exquisite power metal, but sadly I don't think this song was memorable in any way for me. If there was really a candidate for the generic power / progressive metal tune, this is the one, because I just don't see or hear anything special here. There's that problem I've got with Italian power metal, I guess. Your EP got the same number of listens every EP got, and I can legitimately sing every song's chorus on TAC EP, but I'll be damned if I remember anything from this tune except the little part that goes like:

"Hold it tight
A touch that will lead her fingers to the heart"


Don't get me wrong, when I listen to this song, I think I like it, but it's just suffers from that Italian-power-metal-syndrome. It's generic and unmemorable as hell. I feel you just picked this song because you didn't have anything else to fill the EP with – and I suspect you did exactly that – so I'm rating it accordingly. Not that you have anything to lose anyway.

12.5/20

Sun Caged – Ashtamangala (The 8 Auspicious Symbols)


I won't lie, this was probably the most difficult song for me to get into, out of all the tunes I've got in this round. Maybe that's because your EP was still down there in the rotation when I typed this for the tidbits – but I was on four listens to your EP overall back then and I was drawing a total blank on this song. I daresay this isn't a good sign at all...

This is one of the epics I've got in this round, and it's cut since the first 10-minutes track is just gone from the playlist due to the "stupid" rules about the various artists. I definitely felt it would be unfair to allow the EPs being all featuring one song only, so I added that rule about different artists. And since RJ planned to send this full suite to me, that threw a wrench in his fancy plans.

I think this song is too inconsistent, actually. I liked the first (or rather the second) business-like part called Parasol, and I bloody loved the second (or rather the third) part called Wave the Banner (especially when the singer goes really high), and I though the Fish Afraid of Drowning was decent too – nice song title, by the way; but then it just lost me. I think the FAoD -> Moebius Knot transition doesn't work at all, and overall I think it was rather underwhelming in the end, even with this nice piano work and harmonies. But the Parasol – Wave the Banner – Fish Afraid of Drowning sequence is sick in a good way, loved it. Maybe if you didn't cut the first 10-minutes long part the ending would've been more satistying, who knows?

Overall, I've got mixed feelings about this tune. I don't think it's even my favourite from your EP, and that's a rare thing for epics in my roulette.

14/20

EP review:


I think this EP was decent regarding the flow except one thing that bothered me greatly. I can see why this happened, but still, to me it sounds like this EP has two intro tracks, and while the first one is very well-done and fitting, the second one is clearly unnecessary; and it appears after a full-fledged song which makes it even more baffling in regards to the flow. I realize you just threw the first two (three) tracks into the mix since you discovered you have to use different artists, and I think that didn't really work. Both StarGate songs don't flow too well into the Secret Sphere one; and even the epic feels disjointed – as I said, I don't think Fish Afraid of Drowning does a good job with flowing into Moebius Knot. The songs are decent here, but the flow, well, it could've been much better.

Flow points: 3/5

The average songs score: (15,5 + 12,5 + 14) / 3 = 14

The whole EP score: 14 + 3 = 17

Total score: 63,5 + 17 = 80,5
Quote from: Train of Naught on May 28, 2020, 10:57:25 PMThis first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Elite

Quote from: Lolzeez on November 18, 2013, 01:23:32 PMHey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Quote from: home on May 09, 2017, 04:05:10 PMSqu
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Train of Naught


Crow

seneca got at least an 18.5 on his EP  :tup
maybe evermind has finally seen the way of the growl

jingle.boy

Stargate is awesome.  I still remember when RJ shared it with me, and picking my jaw up off the ground - it left a helluva first impression.  It's been a long time since I spun it though.  I'll fix that tomorrow in the air.

Sun Caged... I've had trouble with this suite as well.  It just never stuck with me. 

That SS album is awesome.  Great opening instrumental.

Quote from: Train of Naught on April 17, 2016, 01:58:26 PM
Quote from: Evermind on April 17, 2016, 01:55:28 PM
Why The Fuck Didn't RJ Send These Bands Earlier?
I think I can see why now :lol

:rollin :rollin
Quote from: Jamesman42 on September 20, 2024, 12:38:03 PM
Quote from: TAC on September 19, 2024, 05:23:01 PMHow is this even possible? Are we playing or what, people??
So I just checked, and, uh, you are one of the two who haven't sent.
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid on September 20, 2024, 12:46:33 PMTim's roulette police card is hereby revoked!

Evermind

#5: senecadawg2

Earth, Wind & Fire

Agalloch – Birch Black
Thrice – Come All You Weary
Ludovico Einaudi – Fly
Thrice – A Song for Milly Michaelson
Agalloch – Our Fortress Is Burning... I
Agalloch – Our Fortress Is Burning... II – Bloodbirds




Agalloch – Birch Black

This is my first foray into Agalloch. Let me preface this saying I always intended to get into Agalloch but I also knew they're folky death metal band featuring growls so I just stayed away from them. Some people recommended me The White EP (Tomislav included) and I still never checked it out. Well I guess this just had to happen at one time or another. I guess some people would say my first foray into this band is underwhelming because it's an instrumental, but what the hell, it's still a song, and a good one at that.

I liked this one a lot. Nice drumming and nice acoustic guitar playing, it's all about atmosphere here. I think the electric guitar tremolo (or whatever it is) in the end is a bit drawn-out, but otherwise this track is very enjoyable, and it sets the stage for what's to come just fine.

18/20

Thrice – Come All You Weary


This is my first foray into Thrice as well! Look at you, casually introducing me those bands and making me actually like and be interested in them.

Thrice never were on my radar somehow. I knew they exist and for some reason I lumped them into the "Zantera / Sacul music" category, meaning they were playing some weird music I wouldn't be fond of. There are a lot of well-known bands in that category, like Godspeed You Black Emperor, Swans and so on. I assumed Thrice were one of those, and, hell, apparently I was wrong.

This song is awesome. It's not as awesome as one of the next songs, but I'll be damned, I love this one. The outburst of energy and emotion in the chorus makes this one so memorable and touching, and the calm instrumental parts and verses are so fitting. And coming after Birch Black, this song is even more powerful. I dare to say you achieved something great with this two-songs "Earth" combination. This was one of my favourite sequences in this round.

19/20

Ludovico Einaudi – Fly


Despite being longer than Birch Black, this piece definitely felt like an intro of some kind, or an instrumental prelude. Not to say it wasn't enjoyable, because the piano instrumentals are always enjoyable unless it's the cat walking on piano, meowing and pressing the random notes he manages to get his paws on; but I wouldn't call this particularly memorable either. Don't get me wrong – it is beautiful, it is nice, but it's not something I would go out of my way to listen to.

16.5/20

Thrice – A Song for Milly Michaelson


This is my second foray into Thrice! Okay, fine, I'll get to the song.

I felt that song was quite inferior to Come All You Weary, to be honest. I guess this song might be the reason Fly didn't score too well – I feel like Birch Black score was actually enhanced by the fact I loved Come All You Weary, and I think this time it didn't work in your favour – I was kind of indifferent to this song, and by association Fly got maybe a point less. But this is pointless to argue anyway.

But this song is actually alright, it's just not as memorable as the other Thrice song was. I'm definitely getting a "wind" element feeling from it (I'm going to laugh if it's actually in the other alchemy index on the album, since I don't know the tracklist for that one), and I'm also getting the fatalistic feeling from this song. I really like it, in fact, the careless (not arrogant) attitude the singer is displaying, like he's tired of life, is very appealing here. However, I thought the guitar work here was a bit too repetitive with that one chord playing over and over, and I felt this song had no buildup – which would've been fine if it didn't have those drums doing the buildup only for nothing to actually happen. Those were like a giant tease never getting anywhere.

Still, I liked this one a fair bit. It's my least favourite from your EP, but it was still a good song.

16/20

Agalloch – Our Fortress Is Burning... I


This is my second foray into Agalloch! Alright, I'll stop.

I pondered on what to do with these two a lot, and eventually I decided to separate them. Not only it allowed you to get a higher average score, but I don't see why I should lump these two into one song. After all, the distinctions are there (one song has growls and one doesn't, what else do you need?), so two songs it is.

Well... I think this is fantastic. It seems the folky side of Agalloch is something I already love, because both Birch Black and this tune are awesome. I would say this song is more distinctive and more focused than Birch Black, it doesn't have this annoying guitar technique, it has more pronounced rhythm and as you said, it has more of that fiery, intense mood. The muted electric guitars in the background in the second part are emphasizing it, and overall I thought this song was quite ominous.

19/20

Agalloch – Our Fortress Is Burning... II – Bloodbirds


And as expected, this is a perfect, logical continuation of the first part. I love how those tracks were split. The very first note here takes me into the musical heaven. I mean, the first part was fantastic instrumental-wise, and this part is just heavenly. I just couldn't stop headbanging to it, and everyone at work probably thought I was nuts every time this song came up.

So here's the story I wrote in the tidbit. As I said, it just happened that my first listen of all your EPs was happening at work, and I wasn't quite familiar with any of the tracklists at the moment. When I'm able to listen to the music at work I'm usually quite immersed in what I'm doing, and sometimes if the music itself is dull enough, I may end up not registering anything I've hearing. But when I was listening to this one, I found I'm growing less attentive to what I'm working on; and I've paid more and more attention to this song instead, but I had no idea what I'm listening to. And at some point I thought "wow, this is just fantastic, but when will the vocals come in?" So naturally I checked my phone to see which band was currently playing, and immediately I thought "Oh shit! I take that back! Please don't let the vocals come in!" :lol

And I admit I was wrong here all along.

The growls are fucking perfect on this tune. Not in the kind of "hey, alright, growls aren't bothering me here like on 'The Empty Room' way", but in the kind "I can't imagine this track without growls" way. In the "this is bloody awesome and I wouldn't have this any other way around" way. In a headbanging, fist-pumping and doing the reckless evil face while listening to this song kind of way. I'm sorry for swearing here so casually, but holy fucking shit this is so incredible.

I can't even start describing how great this tune is – alright, I kind of had started it in the previous paragraph, but this is everything I could've wished for, and more. Not only this is way different from everything I've received in this roulette, but it's the single most satisfying payoff in any EP ever. The urgent, frantic instrumentation behind the freaking growls here, punctuated with the desperate, beautiful and destructive lyrics... this is outstanding and this is something I never expected to get. Or, for that matter, to like.

You know what? This deserves a perfect score. This was my favourite song from the whole EP and maybe from the whole roulette. This is what you do when you want to introduce me to the growls, folks. Watch and learn.

20/20

EP review:


Well, despite me not liking A Song for Milly Michaelson as much as the other tracks – which was your fault since you picked all the awesome tracks – I thought this EP was amazing. I mean, this was definitely the oddest EP genre-wise but I like how well-thought out it is. From the certain atmosphere in each section, sticking to the elemental theme, to the interesting decisions regarding the flow and the song lengths (I loved how you made each song longer than the last), it's obvious you put an effort into this, and I think it works – well, I think it's bloody perfect. I definitely thought the elemental parts worked just fine – the warm and enveloping atmosphere on Come All You Weary was perfect for Earth theme, the lightness and calmness of both Fly and A Song for Milly Michaelson were perfect for Wind, and don't even get me started on that pair of Agalloch tunes. Pure perfection for Fire theme here.

Remember how I mentioned it would be nice to have a different EP from all the power / progressive metal ones I had coming my way? Well, obviously I still stand by this, but I just wanted you to know your EP was the one I kept wanting to come back to. I mean, I was spinning all those EPs at work, and – I'm not kidding – I eagerly waited until I could spin yours once again. I think I've listened to Our Fortress is Burning like twenty times. When I had a spare fifteen minutes or so I just thought "screw that EP thing, I'm going for that track once again". And I obviously did headbang, imitated the growly singing and all that. Folks at work certainly think I'm nuts now. But, hey, who cares. I don't know about the whole scoreboard, but you're awesome and your EP is awesome. Neil Young isn't awesome but once again, who cares when you can have Agalloch.

Flow points: 5/5

The average songs score: (18 + 19 + 16.5 + 16 + 19 + 20) / 6 = 18,083(3)

The whole EP score: 18,083(3) + 5 = 23,083(3)

Total score: 62,5 + 23,083(3) = 85,583(3)
Quote from: Train of Naught on May 28, 2020, 10:57:25 PMThis first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Elite

Calling it now: Nelson has the best EP score out of all participants.

Congratulations :tup
Quote from: Lolzeez on November 18, 2013, 01:23:32 PMHey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Quote from: home on May 09, 2017, 04:05:10 PMSqu
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Crow

i mean, there isn't a whole lot above 23/25  :lol

also wow you probably like agalloch more than i do  :lol
though i've only listened to ashes like, two or three times now in total so

Elite

Quote from: Lolzeez on November 18, 2013, 01:23:32 PMHey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Quote from: home on May 09, 2017, 04:05:10 PMSqu
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Tyrias

Wow, I mean that suite is amazing but I'd never have sent you do this, and I was already pretty risky with my submissions in the qualifiers.


senecadawg2

Well I'll be damned  :lol

Not what I was expecting at all but I'm thrilled to see you enjoyed it so much!

senecadawg2

Ironically, I think the Wind section was the least risky of the three.

Can't benlieve I'm saying this but you're going to have to listen to Ashes Against the Grain now :o

Scorpion

Holy shit, I think you're giving that EP more points than I would have, and I love Agalloch. :lol Mainly because I agree on your critique of A Song for Milly Michaelson, but I also find Birch Black to be sorta meh.

seneca, out of curiousity, why didn't you go with Daedalus instead of Milly Michaelson?

Elite

Quote from: Lolzeez on November 18, 2013, 01:23:32 PMHey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
Quote from: home on May 09, 2017, 04:05:10 PMSqu
scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Train of Naught


Evermind

You're probably going to be disappointed, but it is what it is.

#4: Big Hath

Not Quite As Heavy As It Could Have Been EP, aka The Evermind is Awesome (sung to the tune of the Lego Movie song Everything Is Awesome) EP

Balance of Power – Walking on Top of the World
Black Tora – Fuel My Hunger
Dave Matthews Band – Minarets
Soundgarden – Fresh Tendrils
Soulspell – Into the Arc of Time (Haamiah's Fall)
Pyramid Theorem – Another Day Slips By




Balance of Power – Walking on Top of the World

You wanted to start this EP with a powerful song, and I'd say you succeeded here. This is a solid metal song, but the singer here gets it to another level, he does a great job going high on some notes. The title line in the chorus is one of the most memorable parts of your EP, actually, I like how he sings that. I didn't like some of the robotic-sounding parts (like "sleeping deeper" before the chorus), but overall I really dig this tune.

I thought the instrumental part was really well done too, but what finally sold me on this song was the interplay in the end, where the most memorable line from the chorus was alternating with the softer line over some tasteful riffage going on. They've managed to project quite an interesting vibe here.

17.5/20

Black Tora – Fuel My Hunger


This is just a short and sweet hard rock / metal song. It's only three minutes long, but I think it really does it job, being packed full of energy that gets released on the chorus where the singer goes wild with "fuel my hunger!" part sometimes. I also like the somewhat intense ending.

The riff in the middle is pretty cool and the instrumental overall is nice enough. I don't have a lot of comments for this song to be honest, I guess this is another contender for the shortest write-up of the round. Just a nice, solid song here.

15.5/20

Dave Matthews Band – Minarets


Okay, this is going to be really difficult. I know you hoped and thought I will like this one, but truth be told, this is probably my least favourite tune from the whole round. I'm not sure what it is – the singer's voice, the instrumentation, the overall mix or the mood of this tune – I suspect it's everything, but I found this to be bland, drawn-out and boring. Sorry.

This tune is like the guy didn't have any inspiration left but still had to write a song with those eastern influences. There are some decent parts, but overall it feels like he scrambled to find any good material for this tune and fell short of it. I feel like he was going for that sound where the Islamic priests (or whatever they're called) are singing from the top of the actual minarets, and other than that he also went for some sultry, dry Arabic sound too, and I wouldn't say he didn't succeed... it's just I don't really want to hear that. This song just wasn't interesting for me. Once again, I'm sorry for such a harsh write-up. You introduced me to a lot of great music throught this roulette, and this song is one of the biggest reasons for your downfall. It's just, well, that happens I guess.

10.5/20

Soundgarden – Fresh Tendrils


Yeah, the most groove indeed. This song reminds me of something that can be included on the hockey match in the breaks between the actual game. I have no idea what genre is it, but I think I like it more or less.

The septa in Game of Thrones would've been proud of this with the "Shame! Shame!" part before the chorus (or is it included in the chorus? I don't really know.)

Overall, this song is really solid and kind of reminds me of alternative rock I guess, something like Psychopomp I've got from Kade back then; and for the four minutes it goes on, I think it's quite likeable and nice, but not something outstanding. I'm also running out of things to say about your songs. That's not a good sign.

14.5/20

Soulspell – Into the Arc of Time (Haamiah's Fall)


And this is, hands down, the best song on your EP. This song wowed me like a few others did in this round.

What kind of band is this? You said I'll recognize a few Savatage voices on this one; I'm sure I hear Jon Oliva on this, and is Zak also there? I'm not exactly sure. I am sure there are some other voices though, no idea about the singers but they all sound awesome.

Damn, the whole song sounds awesome, very ambitious and heavy and just right up my alley. There's a lot going on in this tune, pace changes, different singers, harmonies in the end, but everything is so accessible and easy on my ears I have trouble to find something I dislike. Indeed, I think this is a great song and I already want to check the album out. Adds a good punch of heaviness to your EP too.

And I like the "Into the Arc of Time" title. Sounds epic as hell.

18.5/20

Pyramid Theorem – Another Day Slips By


Writing that many write-ups in a single day proves to be really difficult, because I'm just running out of things to say, except that I liked that song quite a bit and it's competing with Balance of Power tune for the second place in your EP. A solid progressive metal tune right here. I like how it starts out busy and somewhat heavy, but then turns into a calm one on the verses. And I really enjoy how it naturally progresses to chorus where (I think) the female vocals join up with the male ones, or maybe someone just squeezed the singer's balls and he does this high falsetto squeak.

And then this song goes into a lengthy instrumental section, which is somewhat disjointed with the rest of the song, but still awesome. You mentioned that guitar solo... yeah, I like it a lot. Good choice here.

18/20

EP review:


You know, I felt there were some great songs on this EP (Balance of Power, Savatage-esque band, Pyramid Theorem), and then there were some duds. I felt this EP had a real dip of quality in the middle, and that hurt the flow big time. I've got to say, you nailed the opening song and you nailed the closer, but the tracks you chose just weren't enough to keep the EP consistently awesome. I think all the Black Tora, Dave Matthews Band and Soundgarden tracks are quite inferior to Balance of Power, Soulspell and Pyramid Theorem tracks. The latter group is just in another league whatsoever. Your EP was the only one I wasn't familiar enough with when I wrote the tidbits. It definitely isn't the best in terms of the flow, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing because the competition in that department is ridiculous this time.

So, overall, I don't think this EP worked as well as it could have, but I still enjoyed it for what it is.

Flow points: 3/5

The average songs score: (17,5 + 15,5 + 10,5 + 14,5 + 18,5 + 18) / 6 = 15,75

The whole EP score: 15,75 + 3 = 18,75

Total score: 69 + 18,75 = 87,75
Quote from: Train of Naught on May 28, 2020, 10:57:25 PMThis first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.