Author Topic: Bolsters™ The Roulette, v2 ★ THE CONCLUSION ★ (Read 99309 times)

Tomislav95 · « **Reply #595 on:** March 31, 2016, 03:07:40 AM »

Quote from: Train of Naught on March 31, 2016, 01:17:16 AM

WTF.. The Big Kanye West Project is actually Pineforest Crunch? Damn you Shadow Ninja

Apparently there's black metal in the game? Maybe no coal star for me then

I would be surprised if someting as beautiful as Gallowbraid get coal star $:-\$ especially if Bolsters like Caladan Brood.
I realised that as much as most of black metal sounds awful due to it's production, atmospheric black metal is, to me, among most beautiful genres.

Train of Naught · « **Reply #596 on:** March 31, 2016, 03:21:12 AM »

Yeah, I know, I kid.

If Alcest is any indication of what atmospheric black metal sounds like I bet I'll like Gallowbraid aswell. What I tend to love most about this type of music is when they blend in some acoustic stuff.

Tomislav95 · « **Reply #597 on:** March 31, 2016, 03:23:26 AM »

Quote from: Train of Naught on March 31, 2016, 03:21:12 AM

Yeah, I know, I kid.

If Alcest is any indication of what atmospheric black metal sounds like I bet I'll like Gallowbraid aswell. What I tend to love most about this type of music is when they blend in some acoustic stuff.

Gallowbraid is very folky, not very similar to Alcest.

Scorpion · « **Reply #598 on:** March 31, 2016, 03:40:36 AM »

Gallowbraid is basically 100% Agalloch worship, only not as good, imo.

Also dammit, I just had a song play on shuffle that would have probably been perfect for sending in this roulette. Oh well.

Bolsters · « **Reply #599 on:** March 31, 2016, 06:56:33 AM »

Quote from: Scorpion on March 31, 2016, 03:40:36 AM

Also dammit, I just had a song play on shuffle that would have probably been perfect for sending in this roulette. Oh well.

I'm sure I'll run a v3 eventually.

senecadawg2 · « **Reply #600 on:** March 31, 2016, 07:53:28 AM »

Quote from: Tomislav95 on March 31, 2016, 03:23:26 AM

Quote from: Train of Naught on March 31, 2016, 03:21:12 AM
Yeah, I know, I kid.

If Alcest is any indication of what atmospheric black metal sounds like I bet I'll like Gallowbraid aswell. What I tend to love most about this type of music is when they blend in some acoustic stuff.
Gallowbraid is very folky, not very similar to Alcest.

This is true. Alcest is more shoe gazey, and more recently not very black metal-influenced at all, while Gallowbraid is more folky. Both are really good, I think, but I wouldn't guarantee that fans of one would enjoy the other.

Evermind · « **Reply #601 on:** March 31, 2016, 11:23:25 AM »

So do you guys think I would enjoy Gallowbraid?

Tomislav95 · « **Reply #602 on:** March 31, 2016, 11:28:09 AM »

Quote from: Evermind on March 31, 2016, 11:23:25 AM

So do you guys think I would enjoy Gallowbraid?

No.

senecadawg2 · « **Reply #603 on:** March 31, 2016, 11:34:14 AM »

Quote from: Evermind on March 31, 2016, 11:23:25 AM

So do you guys think I would enjoy Gallowbraid?

Ever listen to anything from Agalloch?

Evermind · « **Reply #604 on:** March 31, 2016, 11:34:44 AM »

Quote from: senecadawg2 on March 31, 2016, 11:34:14 AM

Quote from: Evermind on March 31, 2016, 11:23:25 AM
So do you guys think I would enjoy Gallowbraid?

Ever listen to anything from Agalloch?

No.

senecadawg2 · « **Reply #605 on:** March 31, 2016, 11:55:23 AM »

Let's just say I'm not likely to send Gallowbraid in your roulette

Evermind · « **Reply #606 on:** March 31, 2016, 12:14:23 PM »

Send something from them after the roulette then. I love folky stuff, and I may be tolerant to growls in some rare cases. Gallowbraid were on my radar for a long time, and I remember I wanted to check Stone of Remembrance since I saw people sending it in the roulettes.

Tomislav95 · « **Reply #607 on:** March 31, 2016, 12:47:15 PM »

Quote from: Evermind on March 31, 2016, 12:14:23 PM

Send something from them after the roulette then. I love folky stuff, and I may be tolerant to growls in some rare cases. Gallowbraid were on my radar for a long time, and I remember I wanted to check Stone of Remembrance since I saw people sending it in the roulettes.

I think you'd like Caladan Brood more then

they are more like Summoning, more folky than Gallowbraid (I think). And Gallowbraid really sounds like Agalloch.

Evermind · « **Reply #608 on:** March 31, 2016, 12:52:08 PM »

Well as I said, you're free to send your roulette leftovers to me, the ones you didn't have a chance to send or didn't dare because you thought I won't enjoy it. I will give them a listen after my roulette ends.

jingle.boy · « **Reply #609 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:00:47 PM »

Crow · « **Reply #610 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:01:16 PM »

really eager to get your coal star huh

bl5150 · « **Reply #611 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:02:13 PM »

Crow · « **Reply #612 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:07:06 PM »

whoa, bolsters is giving out two coal stars this round

Bolsters · « **Reply #613 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:11:06 PM »

Nah, their songs just rank two places lower now.

bl5150 · « **Reply #614 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:18:22 PM »

Well at least I know I wasn't last before adjustments anyway

splent · « **Reply #615 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:29:17 PM »

I wouldn't mind seeing the results before I had to go to bed. I'm doing grades right now, so I'm going to check again when I'm done

Sacul · « **Reply #616 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:49:15 PM »

Sent!

splent · « **Reply #617 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:05:23 PM »

Well I sent all my grades. Not to you. All except a first grade class for one school. I'm going there tomorrow so I can look and see where they're at.

I hate teaching between so many schools. So much.

Bolsters · « **Reply #618 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:13:52 PM »

I have three writeups left to do and then I'm done. I'm taking a couple of minutes to procrastinate.

Evermind · « **Reply #619 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:26:29 PM »

Nice, just arrived at work. Now I need to make some tea and I'm ready for the results.

splent · « **Reply #620 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:37:05 PM »

I'm going to bed in a few minutes so I will either be happy or sad when I wake up

Sacul · « **Reply #621 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:38:36 PM »

Quote from: splent on March 31, 2016, 10:37:05 PM

I'm going to bed in a few minutes so I will be sad when I wake up inside

Bolsters · « **Reply #622 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:41:27 PM »

Round One Results

bl5150 - Trail of Murder - Shades of Art

It looks like you might be onto something here, because you've now topped the rankings twice in a row. Hard rock and AOR are something I really like but generally have a hard time finding good stuff in - a lot of it is so generic and boring, and it's like trying to find diamonds () among the rough. This songs is a perfect example of something that resonates with me though; no surprises but well-written, catchy, just the right amount of heaviness, and good production. This song started out in silver star territory but I just kept wanting to bump it up the rankings like I did the Dynazty song. Anyway, I like the riffage in the verses that turns into a guitar harmony, the vocals in general and the harmonies are all great, and I like the guitar solo aswell even though it's not entirely melodic.

jingle.chad - Anthriel - Promised Land

So I've heard of this band name but I'm not sure if I have listened to their album or not. If not, I should have, because I obviously liked this song quite a bit. It did take a bit of time to grow on me - you were slotted to pick up pink at first, but like Brent's submission I found myself bumping this up every now and then. This is the kind of power metal I like, because there's more focus on melody than speed and there's a harder edge to it, but it retains the epic and slight cheesiness (the good kind) that I want from power metal. The buildup to the chorus and the chorus itself are the best things here, infact the chorus kept reminding me of something (especially with that piano ostinato) but I could never put my finger on it. I also like the drumming, where he plays faster in the first and third quarters of the chorus but dials it back for the second and fourth, so he isn't going at it full-on the entire time and gives the chorus some breathing room. Anyway, really good submission, looking forward to checking out this album.

Train of Naught - Lemaitre - Not Too Late

Yes, this sort of electronic pop is scratching me where I itch very nicely. This one leans a bit more towards the mainstream in sound but not in a bad way. The juxtaposition between the densely layered synth-y choruses and the much more serene verses driven by the vocals and piano. The chorus is, of course, the star of the song though, because there's some tasty brass going on which really elevates the song. Infact after this song and the Coheed song Parama sent me, I'm disappointed that I didn't think before the roulette began to put in a bonus star for brass instrumentation.

splent - Tamaryn - Cranekiss

This is some pretty good dreamy synthpop, and another wise choice. I like the interplay between the male and female vocals and how she builds the song up to the chorus, there's tons of reverb here for that nice dreamy effect, and the subtle understated guitar brings back some brightness. Definitely a wise choice for this roulette, so you get one of the first silver stars.

Shadow Ninja 2.0 - Pineforest Crunch - Cup Noodle Song

This song wins the award for strangest band name of the round and strangest song title. Of course there are no bonus stars for either of these things so therefore you get no points from these awards. You do however get a pink star, because I liked this song a lot, and you are only just barely missing out on a silver here - deciding between this and splent's song was one of the harder decisions I had to make this round. This is a really fun bright acoustic track bolstered () by a strong vocalist, interesting male backing vox, and some delectable symphonic elements fleshing out the choruses. The breakdown towards the end of the song is great aswell, I like the more prominent violin and the interplay between the vocalists. Good stuff.

Evermind - Galahad - Empires Never Last

This is a pretty good prog metal track that definitely appeals to me, and I did like it quite a bit. I think there were just a couple of negatives I had that it ended up mired in the lower half of the rankings. Still, you deserve pink, making this the second time you've had to walk away with that star in the first round. Anyway, there was plenty to like, that bass riff that kept reminding me of something I couldn't quite place, I think the laid-back verses are great, the vocalist is not bad either. I think the chorus was okay, but it was definitely one of the reasons your songs doesn't rank higher; it just doesn't have the "wow-factor" and I found a lot of other things in the song to be catchier. The cheesy synth-string stabs kind of brought it down a bit aswell, I thought they were a bit annoying. The other thing that prevented your song from ranking higher was that it goes for 9 minutes and drags a little bit - I wouldn't say I ever get bored of it but it is a little on the repetitive side, it doesn't explore all that many ideas throughout its duration and it follows a rather predictable path.

senecadawg2 - Gallowbraid - Stone of Rememberance

So, you noticed what may be the only black metal band on my banned list and sent me something similar to it. Caladan Brood is something I don't mind but I don't find it to be that exciting; I liked it enough to buy an album and listen to it a few times, and to ban them, but I haven't listened to it in years. However, while there are a lot of similarities to be drawn between that band and this song, I think I actually like this more than any of the Caladan Brood songs that I know. For one the production here is a lot cleaner and more dynamic (the drums pop out above everything well), the song is a little less repetitive than I remember Caladan Brood being, and there's a bit more riffage - the section after the first chorus starting at about 1:49 is great, and somewhat reminiscent of Opeth, in a good way. There's an instrumental section and verse around the halfway mark that is similarly well-placed. The harsh vocals here have quite a bit of reverb on them and they don't sit too high in the mix, which gives them a more layered and smoother sound, which I like. All of this is further enhanced with some acoustic and folk instrumentation; the flutes and pipes in the chorus really elevate the song, and the two folk breakdowns in particular are once again well-placed and bring some variation right when it's needed. dat outro aswell.

I mentioned that I was having trouble deciding where the pink star cutoff would be, and your song was the reason for that. In the end, I decided that I enjoyed this enough to warrant awarding you one.

Tyrias - AWOLNATION - Soul Wars

I was pleasantly surprised by your Muse submission in the qualifiers and I'm guessing that is the reason for sending this song, as it's a very similar synth rock style. I must tell you that I didn't mind this song at all, but it didn't really grow on me all that much and so I found myself ranking the majority of the songs higher. The synth riff in the chorus is very catchy but I found the almost-yelling vocal style here a bit of a letdown. The song is borderline repetitive aswell, the chorus is quite long and repeats, and so even though it shows up only three times it takes up a lot of the song's total duration. So not bad, but not good enough for a pink star I'm afraid.

Tomislav95 - Bon Iver - Skinny Love

I don't mind some simple acoustic guitar songs, and I didn't mind this one, but in order for something like this to rank high it needs that something extra. This song I'm afraid lacked that, so I was forced to rank you 9th overall. Anyway, the guitar playing is decent and I like the very minimal drumming, which I think works well in this song and is much better than simply having vocals and guitar. I'm a bit mixed on the vocalist here, but I like his falsetto. This is the kind of music I don't mind but that I reach for very infrequently.

Elite - Anna Von Hausswolff - Come Wander With Me / Deliverance

And sitting here at the bottom with the first coal star of the roulette is the second-place contestant from my first roulette, fallen from grace. This is the one song I said I had a hard time getting into. On first listen this sounded very promising - the intro is actually very nice, the pipe organ sounds great and it builds up the song very well here along with some strong scat vocals. This all builds up to a rather ominous section with distorted guitar and continued scat. So the first four minutes or so are not bad at all and quite good. However, things start to go downhill after this; the guitar and organ start holding a single chord, the drums stop playing a groove and come in and out almost at random. There's probably thousands of songs that end using this technique, so the first time I listened to the song (and wasn't looking at the screen, hence not knowing the length of the song I was listening to) I actually thought "wait, this is the outro already?" But this song goes for almost 11 minutes so of course we're nowhere near the end. This drone section is doing nothing for me and lasts a solid minute or so before the drums and guitar start building up again, only for the song to devolve into yet another drawn-out droning section for another couple of minutes this time, before once again it starts to build up again and then ends. So for one, these drawn-out droning sections weren't doing it for me, and I think they absolutely destroyed the flow of the song. Secondly, because the song would build up directly to these sections which would then destroy all momentum, it felt like the song was stuck in a constant up/down cycle, but it never actually build up to or descended from anything - the build up merely built itself up to be broken down immediately.

Scoreboard

Okay, so that's the end of round 1. Brent walks away with the first diamond star of the roulette whilst Chad gets the first gold star. Train and splent take the first silver stars and also the first two bonus stars, both aquamarine. I decided where I wanted to draw the line regarding pink stars for the roulette, and Shadow Ninja, Ruslan, and seneca's songs all made the cut. Tyrias and Tom will have to walk away with nothing, except perhaps a better idea of what to send next. Unfortunately the runner-up of my first roulette really missed the mark and so the other Rich has to take the first coal star of the roulette - hopefully his last?

Start sending me your round 2 submissions immediately.

bl5150 · « **Reply #623 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:42:47 PM »

Me and the Chadmeister again

Glad you liked it David.

Evermind · « **Reply #624 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:44:52 PM »

Ah, pink star in the very first round, just like the good old times.

If the previous roulette is any indication, you guys don't have a chance of winning now.

Crow · « **Reply #625 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:47:28 PM »

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #626 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:48:08 PM »

Hooray you liked my song

Also I have sent.

splent · « **Reply #627 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:56:50 PM »

Ok I'll take it. I heard another song this week that I'm punching myself for not sending, but I'm sending now.

jingle.boy · « **Reply #628 on:** March 31, 2016, 11:01:49 PM »

Quote from: bl5150 on March 31, 2016, 10:42:47 PM

Me and the Chadmeister again

Train of Naught · « **Reply #629 on:** March 31, 2016, 11:04:40 PM »

Not bad, not bad. Sadly I don't think there's brass as prominent as in this song on the EP, if at all. I really like it though, one of my favorite releases of the year so far. My favorite Lemaitre release is "Relativity 3".

I'll send in a couple hours probably, first time in a long time where I don't have my song figured out before results are up

News: The staff at DTF wish to remind you all that a firm grasp of the rules of Yahtzee can save your life and the lives of your loved ones. Be safe out there.

Author Topic: Bolsters™ The Roulette, v2 ★ THE CONCLUSION ★ (Read 99309 times)