Train of Naught Roulette II v. MURAMASA... MASAMUNE

[Train of Naught]

Yeah your pessimistic guess really matches the mood of your song I like that. And still, #5 still seems somewhat positive to me, it's just that everyone seemed very positive about their song.

[Tomislav95]

I could've send By the Time You Read This, I Will Already Be Dead
Actually, I almost sent Distractions of Living Alone. That song is so dark, the one I sent seems happy in comparison.

[Train of Naught]

When in doubt, go with the darkest option

I have most of the write-ups done but I'd still like to modify them a bit after work. I just got in my shift and seems like I'll be done around 7 PM, I'll hang out there a bit afterwards and will then head home, though it's a 40 minute bikeride from work to home. So looks like you can expect results at around... 9 PM GMT +1 (roughly 6 and a half hours from now), give or take half an hour.

Oh and apparently I suffer from Parama-syndrome, I couldn't fit the writeups in a single post so we'll have a 2 post-result this time around.

[425]

How come that syndrome didn't get named after me?

[Evermind]

How come that syndrome didn't get named after me?

My thoughts exactly.

[Crow]

because reviewing like 10 EPs is obviously not going to fit in one post (it's like 50 songs), whereas at least once or twice I couldn't even fit normal song writeups in one post 

[425]

Keep in mind that's four posts. And, I mean, there's also my epic round. Which includes this gem:

I would love to just give Parama a 1/10 for being obnoxious

But I guess I never did it on a standard round. So fair enough.

[Crow]

i wish i had that delicious 1/10

[Train of Naught]

Guys, theres a very simple explanation for that. I wasnt even around during that roulette or atleast not following, so I had no idea.

[Train of Naught]

Okay I just got home guys, going to be supporting Albania in an hour or so, of course, and I will aim to post results within 20 minutes from now.



 

Can someone make a "SOON" out of this?

[Crow]

[Train of Naught]

Round 1 Results

Beware, the writeups aren't in ascending order from worst to best, they're in an entirely random order.

Twosuitsluke: The Fall of Troy – F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.

I remember being slightly shocked when I saw Closure In Moscow change their facebook profile to a touring poster that said they were going to be the supporting act of The Fall of Troy, somehow I always thought TFOT were a somewhat technical prog metal band or something, based on some posts I’ve seen on reddit and stuff. But apparently, they’re touring The Netherlands too, and I love CIM, so if this one turns out well I might just go see them.

I don’t know if you’re consciously basing this on any of the artists and bands that I listen to, but there’s a lot of resemblances to some of my other regulars. For instance, I guess I would call this music At The Drive-In light or something? I don’t really listen to ATDI but I am a big fan of Cedric on TMV so yeah. They sound like a blend of ATDI and Closure In Moscow’s album “First Temple“, and there‘s a considerably lower amount of screams here compared to ATDI. There’s some awesome proggy elements to flavour it up a bit but my favorite moments are probably where they go a bit more ‘chaotic‘, that crazy over-the-top post-hardcore direction. I would say that this is solid in every way at lowest, and some things (chorus for example) are among round 1 standouts. Maybe not a round winner but it’s a very cool song overall and this might just cause an upset amongst the Train Roulette veterans.

Yeah I feel with Closure In Moscow’s First Temple it’s a bit too much of the same thing at times but this is definitely more diverse because of the proggy stuff and even though it’s only a bit short of 4 minutes it takes the listener a lot of places. One second you’re in this punk-rock anthem and next thing you know there’s this post-hardcore breakdown. It’s a bit of a tough one to rate because on one hand everything is solid as fuck but nothing elevates it to that round-winner level like the Arstidir song for example, or the Woods of Ypres, which were my two favorite from first impression.

Well, this may not have been my absolute favorite, but it was always sure that this song was one of the most, if not the single most thing I kept wanting to return to in this round, it’s such a fun song and while that’s pretty much all there is to it, it does the task perfectly and I have to give you props for that. Might just go see this band when they come here soon.


8.0/10

Guessed:#1
Placement:#7
Difference:+6



Shadow Ninja 2.0: Nightingale – Shadowman

A band name I’ve seen oh so often around, be it reddit, music stores or DTF, I associated them with symphonic metal because the band has ‘Night‘ in its name and so does Nightwish.

And I guess it’s not really symphonic, I guess it’s metal/progmetal or something related. It kicks off with a cool riff and pretty awesome leads. There’s some good moments here and there but after one listen I’m not that impressed, hope it’s a grower. For instance, I like when the song turns acoustic after the first chorus and then again in the end, but it’s only some slim sections. I guess it would’ve been a bit better too if I was more of a fan of this vocalist, there’s a certain something in his voice that doesn’t really win me over. So this song is currently sitting in the “has some good moments but not enjoying it too much as a whole“ category.

I feel bad because apart fom the vocals I can’t really point out exactly what I don’t like about it, it’s just a good-not-great chorus, pretty great acoustic stuff going on a few moments and the rest is just a bit of a blur to me, sorry man. There’s nothing I actively dislike fortunately, so it’s still a decent score.

I guess, after a few more listens in, it’s a bit easier to point out. There’s some very standard riffage throughout the entire song, which I don’t mind on its own. But that’s where the vocals come in, because it makes the song really reliant on that factor, and that was more of a miss with me unfortunately. Still, not a bad song by any means, and that lead guitar riff that’s introduced right away in the intro is pretty sick and quite the earworm, but overall I would mark this song with “just good“


6.5/10

Guessed:#4
Placement:#11
Difference:+7



Evermind: Árstíðir - Síðasta kveðjan

Ruslan is the first person to re-send me an artist of the debut roulette and it’s a submission I really admire. As this was not a cheapshot at sending something off a band I already liked a LOT in my first roulette, but rather trying to show me a very different side of this band, props for that.

I love me some good calm music and this one is no different, everything sounds solid from the first listen, the layered vocals are really beautiful in the climax-building process and once the acoustic guitar comes in the song really starts to feel like an adventure of sorts. I’m really glad how this whole Arstidir situation turned out to be honest because half a year ago I would not have appreciated this kind of music nearly as much as I do now, in terms of ‘beautiful‘ music, this is about as good as it gets. I’m tempted to say the violin solo is good but not great, but it does make for some amazing transitioning into the final climax.

If 425’s EP from the first roulette was any indication, I can dig some intimate piano-driven stuff when it fits with the atmosphere, and that’s definitely the case here too. In my mind the song is divided up into four sections, the first three being introduced by the piano, acoustic guitar and violin respectively, and the final one being the climax/song finale. The thing is, no part outweighs the other, and that’s a fantastic attribute to have in a song of this length if you ask me. It’s one naturally flowing piece with clear “chapters“ and I love all of them. And I think a very essential element of this song is that it would be very tempting to go with an absolutely huge finale in this scenario but they kept it quite modest, and it would probably sound way too forced if they went with an outright ‘epic‘ finale.

If I were to compare Shades to this one, it’s really no contest at all, I had my doubts about the band because upon checking out more of them I couldn’t rate anything higher than “good“, just that. But this song showed me that I was going for the wrong album all along, what a fantastic song this is.
 

8.5+ (1.0) = 9.5

Guessed:#2
Placement:#1
Difference:-1



Bolsters: Afro Celt Sound System – Deep Channel

Dave is trying his luck with a Bolsters‘ staple band in my roulette along with an immediate world music bonus point, with a band name that has me very interested, what the hell is an Afro Celt Sound System?

First thing I notice about this song here is how smoothly this is composed. For instance, I loved Where Is Now? by DMM in my roulette but the different sections didn’t exactly flow smoothly. But here, we go through all sorts of shit and it never feels too sudden. Every solo-section, if you could name it that, fades out with either a cool bassline, fading in cymbals and tribal drums or whatever.

I wasn't sure whether I wanted to include world music as a theme for a long time, it seemed to be a popular choice of theme in recent roulettes but I personally don't own a lot of it and don't know much about it, but I'm glad I did, this is a pretty solid song. I'll leave it at that though. It does really stand out a lot among the other round 1 songs, but it doesn't blow my mind like it would have 1 year ago in terms of experimental stuff. So I'm considering a middle-of-the-road rating, not bad, not amazing, but your bonus point still elevates the overall ranking to #4! You're the only one who guessed it exactly right.

Can’t say I had any expectations as to what this would sound like, but it’s pretty great. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s a standout, but for what it is, an instrumental song with a lot of crazy instruments, it’s one of the better things I’ve heard in quite some time.



7.75 + (1.0) = 8.75/10

Guessed:#4
Placement:#4
Difference: NOTHING OMG WE HAVE A WINNER



Tomislav95: Woods of Ypres – I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetery

This is one I’ve been looking forward to a lot! Firstly, because it’s the only song of this genre I received this round, and secondly, I love the song title.

And first impressions are this is some solid doom metal. The vocals are exactly how they should be, gloomy and not too overtaking. Though I’ll admit right away that I don’t think they’re as great as say, Novembre, where the singer sounds really depressed and it fits the style perfectly. These vocals lean more towards the standard side of doom metal, but that’s not even a bad thing because instruments are mostly what make or break doom for me.

And now, the first 4 minutes have passed and it just became awesome. I assume you thought a lot of people would hate it because of the incredibly distorted guitars? I don’t have a problem with them but I can see where they’re coming from.

And WOW, that guitar solo man! I’m sitting here with my jaw dropped to the floor, I was here like “okay this song is alright but it’s just not a standout“ and then that guitar solo comes in and it’s.. pretty simplistic actually, but the tone is just perfect and they hit all the right notes. Then the climax kicks in with the clean+harsh layered vocals and it’s just epic. I’d say I’m not blown away by those vocal melodies in the end and well, the lyrics aren’t very innovative but the delivery is very strong and that makes for an extremely strong climax after a mindblowingly great guitar solo so I think this song will sit comfortably at the top of the standards.

Okay, I'm done thinking about it and I wholeheartedly believe this song deserves 8.75, which is the highest score without counting bonuses. It was not the only song of the round that had me constantly wanting to return, but it was the only one where I got immediately interested in this band and where I'm most certainly be buying an album of very soon. I read that Gold commited suicide (?) or at least had a fatal car accident, really sad to see. This band is so depressing and dark that it could only add to the overall feeling of the music, I'm excited.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it takes some figuring out from my side to find out in what way certain types of doom metal vocals fit their instrumentals, and it has become a lot better for me. So it’s not just the ending that makes me love this song. You took a shot in the dark, judging by your PM, and it paid off, have some points!


8.75/10

Guessed:#5
Placement:#3
Difference:-2



Home: Maybeshewill – Red Paper Lanterns

I like when people use my writeups to come to certain conclusions about what I might like, maybe they were helpful after all. So yeah, God Is An Astronaut was a bit tough for me at first. I had a hard time gaining the will to listen to it because an instrumental post-rock album seemed boring to me, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s beautiful background music, and not the kind that you completely lose focus of either.

The only gripe I have here is that, compared to GIAA, the music is a bit more busy at times and certain elements slightly distract me from the main melody. It’s some solid post-rock and I would definitely check out an album filled with this but it’s no certain standout, judging from my first listen.

I’d like to say this song suddenly became PERFECT after giving it a few more listens but that’s really not how it works for me with this kind of song, they offer me a selection of limited amount of variety which is no problem at all for instrumental post-rock, but it has to click kind of. Kinda weird even for me, because I thought God Is An Astronaut had such a simple formula going with their music that would always click with me but apparently it's easier said than done. For me the relistening value lies in the atmospheres, the smooth progressions and epic climaxes, and this has all of that, just not to the same quality as similar stuff I’ve heard. Still a good submission though and I’ll be checking out the album for sure.

I feel 7 is a fine score but like I said in the OP it's one that might trigger me to check out the album but aren't ~amazing~ songs on their own and I feel like that applies perfectly here to my thoughts.


7.0 + (1.0) = 8.0/10

Guessed:#3
Placement:#9
Difference:+6



Scorpion: Clint Mansell – Death is the Road to Awe

So without too much of a thought process I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the original soundtrack of a movie called “The Fountain“, a movie I probably should know judging by its popularity.

Funnily enough, I barely know anything classical, and the one song I do know and love is also an original soundtrack for a movie, the amazing “Requiem For A Dream“ which is one of my favorite movies ever.

The setup and overall arrangement of this song is exactly how I hoped for it to be, a slow dark gloomy buildup, and then the big climax which is my favorite part of 'epic' songs most of the time. But wait.. this song has 2 climaxes? So I guess this song compares to really good sex. The second one really came unexpected for me which it's probably supposed to. It’s not the kind of music that usually grabs my interest in spectacular fashion and I guess it’s the same case here. I did like it though, the compositions were really good and the final climax was epic and so unexpected that it made it even more fitting, but I fear the #4 guess will be a longshot unless the others fall into the same, or worse category.

This piece has gotten pretty interesting over time, it’s one I can really immerse into and feel the feels of. Feels good man. I’m in roughly the same mindset as before though, it’s a good piece of music and it’s really immersive, but I’m just not one to go crazy about a song like this. It’s definitely not very short of ‘great‘ and I didn’t expect to get something like this so it was atleast a really cool thing to get in a roulette for a change.


7.25 + (1.0) = 8.25/10

Guessed:#4
Placement:#6
Difference:+2



Splent: CHVRCHES – The Mother We Share

Okay so everyone seems to go crazy about churches so I guess I’ll give them a chance.

It’s catchy. These guys sure know how to make catchy music, and that can actually be very hard to achieve, how easy it may look when you listen to the mainstream radio with some of the songs there, this song right here is really tons more innovative, even in its simplicity. This song was very weird for me, because after listening to it I was like “okay this is alright, I don’t think there’s anything special about it though“ but then I just have the random urge to listen to it again and it’s actually damn good!

And so I did, many, many times. Every moment I don’t listen to this song I want to listen to it I know that if you wouldn’t have sent this someone else probably would have, but that doesn’t make it any worse or less valuable, thanks for this. I guess I haven’t pointed out my favorite part of the song but it’s quite obvious isn’t it? It’s that chorus, hot damn!

I can see why people love this band, and I’ve seen the album art for the album this song is on around here a lot, so I guess it’s deservingly getting some attention around here. I love DTF, is there any type of music no one on here likes?

I will not become tired of this song in a very long time, this is a great submission. Apparently you were starting to lose confidence as we came closer to the results, but your song (without counting any of the bonuses submitted to me by others) would rank comfortably at a tied #5 spot which is pretty good.


8.0/10

Guessed:#4
Placement:#8
Difference:+4



Parama: Thy Catafalque - Molekuláris Gépezetek

Seems like Parama is getting his one 11+ minute song out of the way right here in the first round, and with a (avant-garde?) metalband from Hungary with a rather interesting bandname. Coming in at just over 19 minutes, this song starts unexpectedly sudden but it’s all in good fashion, some great distant growls with heavy distorted riffs.

What I was most interested in was to see where those wood/bass/strings would come in cause everything so far sounds very solid, from the choir-like vocals to the busy drums, it’s all class. I’ll admit that it’s a lot to take in, not even considering the length, but the fact that there’s an awful lot going on in this tune.

Halfway in I feel like I’m listening to an entirely different tune, which is.. odd. Because I was introduced to this band by heavy distorted riffs and strong vocals, and here I am enjoying some peaceful brass and woodwind instruments on top of soothing female vocals. I’m definitely into both of these sections but the transition is a bit awkward. Sufficed to say, a lot of BTBAM songs “suffer“ from disjointedness, though I put suffer between quotes because all it takes for me to appreciate those songs as a whole is just some time, I’m not completely sold on the whole yet but the finale of the song is pretty great and damn epic. Let’s see how this one turns out ~4-5 listens later.

Duh, obviously a song of this magnitude was going to take more listens.

Can’t really say that, after like 3 listens now, I can connect with the music as deeply as I would’ve liked. And it’s not so much about the length as it is structurally pretty complex and hard to capture with limited amount of words. I’m slowly getting into the whole though and it is pretty amazing.

I can’t really compare this to anything I’ve heard before, not because every single idea in here is completely fresh and new, but because all those ideas got combined into one song and it’s an interesting combination at that, to say the least. My favorite part is from around 9 and a half minutes in onward with the trumpets, where the female vocals kick in. It’s great to have one of the outstanding sections placed in the middle of the song, easier to stay interested that way. It becomes even better when they reprise that section right before the finale. The minimalistic piano-driven quiet section inbetween those that drags a bit I feel, and it would’ve been an easier digest without the overall pretty long transitions like the one with spoken words at around 8 minutes in, but there’s probably some musical genius that has a reason for everything. I personally could’ve done with a ~15-16 minute version that cuts out most of those sections. But I hope time can prove me wrong and show me that this’ll be a 10/10 song months later. Regardless, a really strong song, and it goes to show you that Paramacore ain’t always bad. I feel like I’ve ranted on for too long about this song, especially considering I don’t even think it’s remotely bad, this is a great song, just, you know, very long.


8.25 + (1.0) = 9.25

Guessed:#1
Placement:#2
Difference:+1

[Train of Naught]

Elite: Alarion – A Life Less Ordinary

Richard kicking off the roulette with a band so obscure they're not on youtube nor spotify, and left me wondering, what the fuck does Alarion mean and why does it sound so similar to Ayreon?

Nooo, right away I already feel like I’m going to have to let you down here, sadly. Really missed the bar here. I quickly did a search on whose vocals are on this specific track and seems like it’s Paul, the guy from Ayreon live? His style is really not my type I’m afraid. There’s some pretty cool chord progressions throughout the song and interesting changes of pace here and there but the vocals really make it nothing more than an ‘alright‘ song to me. Perhaps something with Damian Wilson on it would’ve been more fitting for me. Given, I’m not even a huge fan of some of his work on Threshold, but as a singer I definitely prefer him over this guy. This really reminds me of my whole “guest vocals fiasco“ in wolfking’s roulette, where I constantly picked songs of albums with guest vocalists that he wouldn’t enjoy as much as other guest vocalists. It is what it is, and fortunately there’s some saving graces in this song but overall I found it a hard listen and the vocals became somewhat grating after more listens.

I’ve come to not actively dislike the vocals as much as I did before, but they’re still just ‘there‘, nothing I would go out of my way of to listen to. I guess a problem I have is that I don’t mind the ocassional high note, but even his low notes are quite high, in the sense that his vocal technique comes with a bit of an unusual sound.

6 points that’s life for you. Only way to go is up from here though, unless something goes completely wrong. Nearly 3 points difference with the #1 (not counting bonus) is pretty big, but it’s no lost cause.


6.0/10

Guessed:#4
Placement:#12
Difference:+8



Sacul: Portishead – Glory Box

Here we have Saculs attempt at broadening my horizons with some trip-hop (no idea how they came up with that name for this genre). I expected trippy hip hop, but listening to it now, it sounds like some chill lounge music with pretty vocals. Holy shit Sacul sent me something pretty good! This way of minimalistic instruments with quiet vocals and groovy as fuck leads and bass guitars is perfect for this kind of song. The late night chill type music that relaxes me the fuck out. Yeah, I like what I’m hearing, and fortunately so. I once checked out sections of a Portishead song after I saw them being mentioned so often but the full experience is miles better.

The guitar solo sounds like a more stripped down David Gilmour solo or something, in the sense that there’s a very slow progression but every note’s just perfect and is packed with “feels“.

I start to see myself gravitate to a lot of mellow music lately and this is no exception, I’m starting to feel the desire to go listen to a full album of this stuff right now, and not just that, I feel like I’ve been missing out on this entire genre for forever, but I have to resist for now. Keep going out of my comfort zone if it means more stuff of the same quality. I know you complained only getting steady 8’s or scores close to 8 in my first roulette because you still weren’t on the leaderboards, but trust me, a score like this means much more in this roulette, and looking at it right now, you’re one of only 3 people in the top half of the standards without having used a bonus point yet.


8.25/10

Guessed:#4
Placement:#5
Difference:+1



425: The Neal Morse Band – The Call

425 re-enters one of the artists he used in the first roulette securing his spot in the finals and eventually the win, Neal Morse (or: the proggy christian). I’ve always thought of most of his solo stuff as sort of a retro-classic prog band but never gave it much of a try to be honest.

I’ll go right out and say the vocal melodies (mainly in the chorus) don’t really grab me at all right now. It’s on the soft side of the progrock spectrum most of the time, which is fine, but it‘s not in a ‘beautiful‘ or ‘sympathic‘ way if you catch my drift. It’s happy music but not in a way that makes me go all excited about it. For example with Yes, who they sound very similar to at times, there’s a lot of fun stuff going on with very quick switchoffs and tricks but I don’t get that here. Neal’s vocals most of the time gave me kind of a neutral impression, they’re present but not very colorful or something. Of course, all subjective but that’s how I feel.

For an artist that gets a lot of praise and mention everywhere in the prog scene, I had my opinions, of course. I already had a good idea of what the music might’ve sounded like and looks like I was pretty much dead-on. That’s probably the reason I never looked into his music much because it’s a side of the prog world that doesn’t do much for me.

But there’s actually some pretty good stuff in here, I can’t leave this unmentioned: There’s some freaking amazing bass transitions on this song and they definitely make the separate song sections more interesting. This reminds me of all the cool basslines JMX has done on songs like 8vm and BAI. This is all first impression and for a song that goes many places it’s not messy at all, so this could even be a good grower. The finale is actually quite great, so I still have hopes for this one.

Okay, it’s still not doing a lot for me. Everytime I think there’s going to be some wicked shit, like that metal riff about 6 minutes in, there’s a weird keyboard sound that ruins it for me. I found some joy in this, mostly due to the epic conclusion and the intro that reminds me so much of a classic band but I can’t point my finger on which one. Maybe Queen or something. But overall I had some trouble getting through this song, the length didn’t help in that regard either. Unfortunately the good parts didn’t outweigh the whole, and getting me to like a small section or two in a 10 minute prog song is not hard to achieve, as a whole this was not a song I’d care much about when hearing it.

You’re still within reaching distance of the top half but unfortunately you started off on a backfoot here, unlike the first roulette where it was more or less a middle-ground 8/10 with March of Mephisto.


6.75/10

Guessed:#4
Placement:#10
Difference:+6

Standings:

I'm only doing the standings like this in round 1 since it was useful in determining the bonus round winners

#1: Árstíðir - Síðasta kveðjan (Evermind: 9.5)

#2: Thy Catafalque - Molekuláris Gépezetek (Parama: 9.25)

#3: Woods of Ypres – I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Tomislav: 8.75)

#4: Afro Celt Sound System – Deep Channel (Bolsters: 8.75)

#5: Portishead – Glory Box (Sacul: 8.25)

#6: Clint Mansell – Death is the Road to Awe (Scorpion: 8.25)

#7: The Fall of Troy – F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X. (Luke: 8.0)

#8: Chvrches – The Mother We Share (splent: 8.0)

#9: Maybeshewill – Red Paper Lanterns (home: 8.0)

#10: The Neal Morse Band – The Call (425: 6.75)

#11: Nightingale – Shadowman (Shadow Ninja: 6.5)

#12: Alarion – A Life Less Ordinary (Elite: 6.0)

Bolsters: #4 = 0
Parama: #1 = +1
Evermind: #2 = -1
Sacul: #4 = +1
Scorpion: #4 = +2
Tomislav95: #5 = -2
Splent: #4 = +4
Twosuitsluke: #1 = +6
Home: #3 = +6
Shadow Ninja 2.0: #4 = +7
Elite: #4 = +8
425: #4 = +6

Bolsters wins first price for the bonus and Parama + Evermind get a small prize for trying.
Here's all the used bonuses so far, SN2, Sacul, Elite, Luke, Tomislav, 425 and Splent all have all 3 available bonus themes left, the rest has 2 left.

Shadow Ninja 2.0:
Parama: W/B/S,
Bolsters: World music,
Sacul:
Elite:
Twosuitsluke:
Evermind: Foreign lyrics,
Scorpion: Instrumental,
Tomislav95:
425:
Splent:
Home: Instrumental,
Schedule for round 2

This round went rather quickly even though I’ve gotten a 19 minute song and a few 8-10 minute ones. I have quite some free time the upcoming weeks but the amount of free time I spend at home really depends on the weather, right now it’s shitty so I pretty much only go out in the evening or when I do groceries and go to work and that kinda stuff. But as the month progresses I expect to not be home as much and I will be going on roadtrips and vacation and that kinda stuff. On top of that I’m planning on moving to Haarlem () about a month and a half from now. So in short, I want to go as quickly as possible through the first few rounds while I’ll still have all the free time in the world.

^This is not relevant. Submit your round 2 songs in the next 48 hours! I will then have them all in by Friday evening, I will get home from work about exactly when the Spain –Turkey match starts and will not start listening until Saturday earliest, so there’s some leeway. Hoping to have hangman up by Saturday, some teasers on Monday/Tuesday and then results for round 2 one week from now, hopefully on Wednesday.

Oh and like all the other rounds this is an open round of course, you can now send!

[Crow]

yeah, acceptable. I won't send you merzbow, at least.

[Tyrias]

Just dropping by to say that Arstidir has a lot more songs like the one Evermind sent you (as in: calm) than the one I sent you in your last roulette (if I sent you Shades, to lazy to look it up now). If you enjoyed that one, you should enjoy at least 80% of their output.

Also, I'm glad that sending them in pretty much every roulette I play in finally has some pay-off and other people are starting to send them as well. They're so good, but play pretty small crowds most of the time. I wish them all the recognition they can get.

[Train of Naught]

I don't know, I was not too big on that album (Svefns og voku skil) but admittedly, only listened to it once. I will definitely be checking out self-titled now though, no doubt.

[Elite]

[Tyrias]

I don't know, I was not too big on that album (Svefns og voku skil) but admittedly, only listened to it once. I will definitely be checking out self-titled now though, no doubt.

Yeah, that's their worst album imo. I just like to send Shades because it's so amazing, especially in a life setting. I mean, the studio version is intense and really good and everything, but that song live is just mindblowingly awesome. Especially since they usually tend to play it at the end of the set, after a lot of calm and soft songs. Then Shades comes along and it's so much more energetic, loud and holy fuck.

[425]

Yikes. Okay. I think I'll take this as an indication that I need to do a hard reset of my roulette strategy and send something completely different.

And technically that's not me re-entering a previously used artist since last time I sent Transatlantic and this time it was Neal Morse Band. Okay, those two artists share a drummer and a lead songwriter, but it's still not the same because Roine Stolt.

Need to take a look at my list here and figure out something totally different to send that you'll still probably like.

[Tomislav95]

I was reading writeup for my song with big grin on my face I think most people wouldn't like it because it's quite repetitive but it gives certain effect to me, like it is not repetitive because they couldn't think of anything else but they wanted it to be that way, with stylistic change in last part. David Gold died in car accident and, actually, from videos I've seen (there's still his channel on Youtube) he wasn't depressed "for the public", just a normal guy who probably had personal problems and he found it easier to express himself through songs. Maybe he wasn't even depressed or whatever, but though it goes well with this type of music. He really knew how to write mind boggling lyrics about personal issues, society, world etc. I'll be glad to be your guide through their discography
Also, I'm rooting for France, have two of their players in my fantasy team

[Crow]

yeah I need to check out yours it sounds interesting

[Evermind]

Guessed:#2
Placement:#1
Difference:-1

Oh no, fuck this roulette. I'm out.

[Tomislav95]

Guessed:#2
Placement:#1
Difference:-1

Oh no, fuck this roulette. I'm out.

Just be more optimistic

[Train of Naught]

I meant to say musician, I'm aware they're different bands but I was talking about Neal specifically, damn all his side projects it makes things confusing.

I don't know, I was not too big on that album (Svefns og voku skil) but admittedly, only listened to it once. I will definitely be checking out self-titled now though, no doubt.

Yeah, that's their worst album imo.

Oh, you see this is the kind of thing that's good to know before I start checking out stuff on my own

I think I have Payet in my fantasy team but I just love the underdogs. Also one of my friends has gone to france with like 20 people, all dressed as Albanian supporters just for the heck of it. maybe I can spot them

[Crow]

hey train don't count the bonus point in the ranking so that evermind can be #2 instead of #1

[Evermind]

hey train don't count the bonus point in the ranking so that evermind can be #2 instead of #1

Actually, that's right! My song was technically second if you don't count the bonus points!

[Train of Naught]

Yeah but

This could be important regarding the first bonus round. I want to make sure people are aware that I'm ranking the songs by their FINAL score, so that means I include the bonus points people get when they're submitting for certain themes. If you want to change your guess based on this just PM me, it's not closing for atleast a day, depending on when I get the final submission.

[Crow]

yeah but it wasn't your favorite so 

[Evermind]

Yeah but

This could be important regarding the first bonus round. I want to make sure people are aware that I'm ranking the songs by their FINAL score, so that means I include the bonus points people get when they're submitting for certain themes. If you want to change your guess based on this just PM me, it's not closing for atleast a day, depending on when I get the final submission.

I'll be honest, I totally missed that. I think I might've guessed #1 otherwise. Oh well, no big deal.

Anyone willing to send me the "prog in general" topic in exchange for either traditional metal/rock or atmospheric music?

[Elite]

That's what you get for sending a Dutch band apparently. I'll send a better song next round.

[Tomislav95]

Yeah but

This could be important regarding the first bonus round. I want to make sure people are aware that I'm ranking the songs by their FINAL score, so that means I include the bonus points people get when they're submitting for certain themes. If you want to change your guess based on this just PM me, it's not closing for atleast a day, depending on when I get the final submission.

I'll be honest, I totally missed that. I think I might've guessed #1 otherwise. Oh well, no big deal.

Anyone willing to send me the "prog in general" topic in exchange for either traditional metal/rock or atmospheric music?

ban.

We can't use bonuses in this round?

[Crow]

tbh i got nothing out of either tastes writeup I got

[Evermind]

Yeah but

This could be important regarding the first bonus round. I want to make sure people are aware that I'm ranking the songs by their FINAL score, so that means I include the bonus points people get when they're submitting for certain themes. If you want to change your guess based on this just PM me, it's not closing for atleast a day, depending on when I get the final submission.

I'll be honest, I totally missed that. I think I might've guessed #1 otherwise. Oh well, no big deal.

Anyone willing to send me the "prog in general" topic in exchange for either traditional metal/rock or atmospheric music?

ban.

We can't use bonuses in this round?

Yeah, like the fact you could use bonuses in the previous round did you any good.

[Tomislav95]

Yeah, like the fact you could use bonuses in the previous round did you any good.

That's because I wasn't paying attention so I though I can use them in every round

[Train of Naught]

Yea you can send bonus themes in any round, I would use all 3 of them before the cut-off point at round 7 because 3 points can make a big difference.