Round 9 Results
Following hot on Tomi's heels, here are some results....
home: The Pineapple Thief – Remember Us
I’ve heard a bit about these guys and they are certainly on my radar. Pretty sure I read some Dear Hunter comparisons somewhere. This is quite beautiful but I’m not sure it nails the ‘epic’ side of things as well as some of the other songs. This has quite a solemn feel to it and I like the violins (or is it cello’s?) that accompany the singer. There is an instrumental build which starts but cuts off around the 6:00 minute mark. The song loses momentum a bit here for me and I lose interest a little. The song does start to pick up again after a few minutes but I feel as though the previous section could’ve maybe been dropped altogether. They introduce some electronic sounds from this point in the song which doesn’t do a huge amount for me, I must say. I have found that when I have had this song on in the background it is really nice, and I do like it, but when I listen to it intently I find there are some parts that just lose me. It also doesn’t really have an epic ending or climax. It’s just got some tough competition in this round. I feel it could probably be cut down to a really great song if it was trimmed in a few places. The end is really cool for instance and I love the outro, just a shame that bit is cut a little short.
6.5/10
Train of Naught: Cult of Luna – Cygnus
This starts with some female vocals that remind me of Bjork or something, I have no idea who the female vocalist (Julie Christmas) is but this soon gives way to the crushing guitars that follow. There’s a really nice thick sound to this song and I admit that I definitely liked it from the off. The harsh male vocals are the sort that are just fine by me, they don't have as much of a prominent role anyway though. I’m not really one for paying much attention to lyrics (as you all know) and I can’t help but be drawn to the instrumentation. Julie did start to draw me in though and I did feel that I maybe took more notice than I normally would. The middle section really keeps the song flowing along nicely until the climax around the 9 minute mark, it’s good to hear the range of Julie’s vocals at this point as she doesn’t hold anything back. There is definitely a climax to this song and really the whole last third feels like the climax. I love the pounding drums in the background and the layered vocals in what feels like an extended outro. I quite often like contrast in my music and the contrast between vocalists in the last two minutes of this song is the sort of thing I really like, I find myself wanting to sing both parts. It's all a bit hypnotising, in a good way. Yea, it’s pretty cool and doesn’t really feel like a 15 minute song, atmospheric and crushing at the same time. It's not the greatest epic I've ever heard but it's pretty good. This round is difficult anyway as longer songs are always going to take longer to fall for.
7/10
Parama: Inter Arma – The Cavern
Being the longest song (and almost as long as the other three songs combined) this was hard to score. I can’t really go through all the parts that bring this song together or which bits I like and dislike as it would take too long (but I guess I’ll try). I can just do my best to rate it on the whole. There are plenty of comparisons to other bands that I could throw around and I can totally get why you would send this to me. It is of the sludge ilk and starts with some slow heavy riffing, and some doom-y kind of vocals. At the time of writing this I’m on my 4th listen through and will likely fit in one more listen before posting results. I feel like the majority of this has sunken into my memory at this point and I’m starting to remember (and anticipate) the bits I like, which is cool. Due to the style of this song it is in no rush and the first quarter goes by with a lot of repetitive, crushing riffs which I do enjoy, but the vocals mainly leave me cold. The tempo picks up a bit around the 12 minute mark and then there is a shift again around 14 minutes. This part has some Baroness-esque guitar melodies and is probably one of my favourite parts (I was cooking my tea just while listening to this part and it had me air guitaring along so that's always good). This part may also be more appealing to me as it is mostly instrumental and the vocals are pretty few and far between. At around the 21 minute mark the band shake things up again by introducing some strings into the mix. You honestly don’t hear that sort of sound alongside the heavy, sludge riffs very often. As I’m listening now the vocals really remind me of another band but I really can’t place it. My favourite section, vocally, is when we get some cleans over the mellow part around 26 or 27 minutes. I prefer this vastly over the harsher vocals and there is a nice guitar solo as well, it has the most warmth and feeling within the whole piece (to me at least). I’m not sure if this, as an EP, is supposed to represent the journey deeper into a cavern, but if it does this part right here is the depth that I wish to stay at. This is an EP that has distinct sections and could work as multiple songs that flow together but it also works as one long song. It doesn’t have that epic ending but to be honest it does have the great section around the end of the second third of it. Ultimately the biggest let down in this song, for me, are the vocals. They are ok and kind of work with the music but they don't do a lot for me. Secondly is the fact that this song has a pretty good climax and could actually have ended about 8-10 minutes earlier. I think I would've preferred that as I'm not too into the end (especially the last 5 minutes or so). There is plenty that I love about this but that's the risk with a 45 minute song, keeping it consistently awesome! I’ve noticed that these guys are playing in Bristol in the beginning of May so I may actually go see them.
7.5/10
Scorpion: Wilderun - And So Opens the Earth / Hope and Shadow / Bite the Wound / The Faintest Echo
This song is really cool as it blends a few genres throughout its run time whilst also being a folk/battle metal epic, which I haven’t heard many of. I already have this album on a Spotify playlist but haven’t gotten around to it. More than anything this reminds me of ‘The Varangian Way’ era Turisas. They also manage to pull off epic folk/battle metal similar to this. Epic certainly describes this, the guitar sound is really memorable and there is some serious riffing at times (and some great lead guitar). The variety of vocal styles, mix harsh and clean, makes this feel grandiose. The second part of this is acoustic and again has serious Turisas vibes, there are also other string instruments including a harp (or something very similar) which build the sound and help give it a fuller feeling. The ending even ventures into a kind of wild west motif just before the reprise of a heavy section from the first part. The third part starts with a movie score intro, of goose bump inducing proportions, leading into more heavy riffs. Fairly early on in this third part we have some guitar soloing and a fast section with harsh vocals delivered at breakneck pace. Again there are some really interesting guitar leads and this doesn’t feel generic at any point. This really does feel cohesive whilst throwing a lot of styles at you in a relatively short space of time. If the album itself is as good as this suite then I’m in for a treat. The ending of the third part has some great clean vocals and an outro that is clearly leading you into the final (epic) act. The final act isn’t quite as good as the first three in my opinion (especially the first half of it). You finally get a climax that lasts roughly the final 2 minutes and this section sounds great. I really wasn’t expecting something like this for this round but it is really good and fits the round incredibly well, can’t wait to check out the album.
8.5/10
3. Parama - 60.75 + 7.5 = 68.25
3. Home - 61.75 + 6.5 = 68.25
2. Scorpion - 62.25 + 8.5 = 70.75
1. Train of Naught - 64.5 + 7 = 71.5
This round was always going to be a difficult one to score as long songs can take a long time to sink in. I'm very pleased with what you guys sent though as I am going to check out all four bands.
Next up is the EP round then. I will admit that I'm planning to take my time with this round and savour it. I want to give all of these the time they deserve and not rush them. I also need to iron out exactly how I am going to score these. I'll likely do it as I'd posted with the last round results.
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