Twosuitsluke's First Ever Roulette v. Final results are in....

[twosuitsluke]

I have to say, I find Periphery pretty overrated!

I have all but their most recent album. I find them fairly enjoyable but I don't get the big fuss.

[Train of Naught]

It's okay, you're in the vast majority Periphery are.. not a very well received band by the average DTF'er.

New album rox

[twosuitsluke]

It's okay, you're in the vast majority Periphery are.. not a very well received band by the average DTF'er.

New album rox

Well yea, I guess, but I kinda assumed the average DTF'er who didn't like them probably don't like djent on the whole. It seems to me, like djent=like Periphery. That could be my skewed perception of the situation though.

[Sacul]

Dacid Maxim Micic is the only worthy djent artist imo

[Luoto]

I just sent a "djent" song in home's roulette, yet it sounds nothing like Tesseract or other bands with that kind of sound. I'm generally not big on the scene, and when I like a more or less djenty song it's usually thinking outside the box.

[twosuitsluke]

Yea, I don't really consider myself a fan of djent on the whole. I don't see the fuss over Tesseract either for that matter. I listen to them every now and then but they have never really blown me away.

I must admit that I prefer David Maxim Micic's take on djent more than the other big names. I suppose I find standard djent a bit one dimensional.

[Crow]

carligura's hrorsre tho

[Train of Naught]

I don't understand how the classification of djent works to be honest, I never even saw it as a genre. I always thought Periphery was widely disliked because of the over-the-top pop elements mixed with (supposedly) out of place core vocals. Sure, the first album was predominantly djenty, but it is not that big of a factor on any of the later albums.

I guess I have a different definition of 'standard djent' though, because when I think of that, names like Animals As Leaders and Anup Sastry come to mind, and those sound very one dimensional and boring to me the same way other bands do for you.

[twosuitsluke]

I don't understand how the classification of djent works to be honest, I never even saw it as a genre. I always thought Periphery was widely disliked because of the over-the-top pop elements mixed with (supposedly) out of place core vocals. Sure, the first album was predominantly djenty, but it is not that big of a factor on any of the later albums.

I guess I have a different definition of 'standard djent' though, because when I think of that, names like Animals As Leaders and Anup Sastry come to mind, and those sound very one dimensional and boring to me the same way other bands do for you.

I'll admit I'm a little unclear about what is and isn't classed as djent. I always kinda saw Periphery as the poster boys for it though. I think of Animals as Leaders as well to be honest.

Regardless of if they are djent or not, that doesn't really matter, they just don't do a whole lot for me. I still might get their latest album though as I know you've really been loving it.

And Parama, I'm not sure if you are being serious or not? 'carligura's hrorsre' *said in a Kim Jong Il voice in Team America* are really not considered djent though right? I like CH a lot.

[Elite]

You do know that Meshuggah are usually hailed as the 'inventors' of djent, having the guitar sound all those other bands try to emulate. Obviously, it has evolved to a more chugga-chuggah like sound. 'Icarus Lives!' by Periphery is always the guitar sound I think of with djent and while it sounds similar to for instance 'Rational Gaze' by Meshuggah, the rhythmic properties of both riffs are nothing alike.

Meshuggah was the inspiration, Periphery the first 'band' to encorporate that sound into a newer style.

---

EDIT: Just found this one. This wikipedia page is actually quite good too: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djent

[twosuitsluke]

Oh yea, I'm totally aware that Meshuggah are cited as the inspiration for the whole djent thing.

But it was incorporating that sound and essentially forming a genre out of it. Messugah aren't djent though, in my opinion, they just inspired it.

[Train of Naught]

Well yeah I love P3 but if you're indifferent about, say, P2, I wouldn't count on it. The songs are very similar stylistically and structurally, I just feel they were more consistent on this new one. Writeup in The Groove Train coming soon though so maybe that might help. I'm really slacking on that thing but I'm kind of busy.

[twosuitsluke]

Ok, so I've finally got Splent's submission.

I've had a crazy day at work so I'm going to relax, have a beer, give Splent's submission plenty of listens, cook dinner, more listens, finish last few write ups then post results in the next few hours.

But first I'm listening to The Universal Migrator Part I as it's up next in the Ayreon discography thread and it's one of my Ayreon favourites 

Basically tonight is all 

[Train of Naught]

 

[twosuitsluke]

Just finalising scores, within the next hour 

[Sacul]

hype

[twosuitsluke]

hype

Well with a song like yours........

[Sacul]

                                          
                                                                    
                                                       
                                                                      
                                            

[Crow]

[Sacul]

looks good on my pc

[twosuitsluke]

Here we go guys, sorry for the slight delay, rating these songs was harder than I thought 




Scar: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door OST - Rawk Hawk Battle

So this was the weirdest submission of the round. Scar, I'm not sure what you were thinking. This is a really short (2:05) retro style video game, boss battle soundtrack. I mean, I have never played the game so I have no nostalgic connection to the game. Saying that though if I had played  the game I wouldn't have accepted it. It is way too short, doesn't have time to go anywhere and just doesn't have much about it other than being standard video game music. I appreciate you taking a risk, I love video game music, but this doesn't do it for me at all I'm afraid.

4/10


Shadow Ninja: Imagine Dragons - It's Time

So this song is really poppy and very radio friendly. I'm not necessarily against that but I'm not sure this sort of song is really for me. I mean it has 245 Million views on Youtube so they are obviously well known but I've literally never heard of them (should I have?). This feels to me like it is pop that is purposefully trying to be a hit single, whereas the fun. song Parama sent felt like it was pop that was just doing it's own thing but was still pop. That might not make a whole lot of sense but it does to me. I like the kind of oriental sounding strings but other than that it really isn't my cup of tea. I will say that it did grow on me and I have found myself singing it a few times over the last few days, but it still wasn't enough to really increase the score. 

5.5/10


Splent: Kansas - Song For America

Splent is at a slight disadvantage with his song as I only heard it for the first time today. I hope it doesn't affect his score too much though. My only experience of Kansas is the song 'Carry On Wayward Son' thanks to one of the Guitar Hero games. It was a cool song with a classic rock vibe but I never had the urge to listen to anymore. This song is definitely more prog rock and I like that. It  has plenty of instrumental sections but at 10 minutes it doesn't ever get boring. It's hard to write too much when it's all still so new to me.

6/10


Train of Naught: Karnivool - Set Fire to the Hive

I was really looking forward to this band and although they didn't disappoint I'd be lying if I didn't say I was hoping I'd love these songs more. I really love the sound of the bass in this song especially. It's fitting with the song title as, like I said in the tidbits, it literally sounds like a swarm of bees at times. The chorus is really cool but I think I just prefer Roquefort slightly more. I'm sure I will be picking up some of their albums soon but there has definitely been other stuff that has been sent in this roulette so far that I will check out first. It's really solid dude.

6.5/10


WebRaider: Torche - Kicking

Here we have another straight up rock song. They have a bit of a Foo Fighters feel to me at times. Unfortunately I think what lets this song down for me is that it is too short. I like a short song but I think for a short song to work for me it has to be a lot more upbeat than this and say everything it has to say in it's short time. I don't feel this song does that, I feel like it has unfinished business. It's got a really catchy chorus and I enjoy it a lot. Not sure how representative this is of their sound but I'm interested to check out more at some point.

6.5/10


Tomislav95: Red Fang - Prehistoric Dog

This is a straight forward, balls to the wall, scuzzy kinda song. I do like stuff like this and Red Fang do sound like other bands I love. They are like a combo of Baroness, Wolfmother, Barn Burner and Orange Goblin, which is cool. It fits the theme well but is kind of one dimensional. I definitely enjoy it and will check out more by this band in the future.

7/10


Stadler: Panic Channel - Teahouse of the Spirits

On first listen I wasn't massively impressed, although I did kind of like it. It grew on me a lot though. It's a straight up rock n' roll song but it does it really well. It's got a catchy chorus and I could see it going down well in most rock clubs. It's like Velvet Revolver or something like that (but with Dave Navarro instead of Slash). This is definitely not the sort of music I seek out nowadays but it works well for me. I definitely like it, not sure yet if I like it enough to check out a full album.

7.5/10


Elite: Agent Fresco - Howls

I don't really know what I was expecting with this band, as have seen them mentioned a few times, but it was a pleasant surprise. There are times where the vocal delivery reminds me of the guy from Haken, which is cool. It's punchy and fits the theme well. I really like the inclusion of the strings on this song and it certainly  increases my enjoyment of it. I think this song could also have fitted well into round 4 as I've found myself singing along more than once.

7.5/10


Scorpion: Caravan Palace - Dragons

So, as I mentioned to Scorp when he sent this, I have actually seen Caravan Palace live. My girlfriend loves them and dragged me to see them at Boomtown festival last year. I didn't even really know what electro swing was but I danced my ass of. This is great party music and great in a huge live crowd. My girlfriend never really listens to this stuff much at home so I don't really know any of their songs. I find it impossible not to move to this and I love it. This isn't necessarily the sort of music that I would play at home, or pay for, but the next party I have this is on the playlist. The drums in particular sound great and if I'm honest, after having a few drinks tonight, I would love to be back in a huge crowd listening to this. This is a hard one to rank because although I know this isn't the sort of music I would listen to a lot, rating the song on it's own merits alone, it's hard to give it anything but a good score.   

8/10


Home: Karnivool - Roquefort (With Empire Horns)

So another song by Karnivool. This song is groovy as hell and I really love it. The drums and bass sound huge on this and it just hits me. You went with something else which features trumpets, which seems to work out well for you. It's got a great chorus and I like the vocals. It is the groove that sells it to me. I can't really explain any further why I like this, the addition of the trumpets is certainly part of it. I thought it was going to have a really cool guitar solo but it didn't go anywhere.  Yep, groove is all.

8/10


Sacul: Destrage - Are You Kidding Me? No

I've been aware of Destrage for a while and just haven't gotten around to checking out any of their music. This is pretty much exactly what I hoped for with this band. They sound bat shit crazy and they are also clearly very talented to keep all this mayhem cohesive (the drumming is incredible). This reminds me of BTBAM in the way that it is heavy as fuck and goes off in different directions at the drop of a hat. I will say I prefer the vocals in this over BTBAM though, they are kind of screamy but I like them. I love the bit at around 1:35 where you have the vocals "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I'm sorry" then we have a little guitar lick, silence, then the drums kick in hard. The solo is fucking killer and I love that thay have a little mariachi section. I will be getting this album very soon. Good work dude.

9/10


Parama: fun. - Take Your Time (Coming Home)

This was the nicest surprise of the round. This song is massively poppy but I love it. For future reference this is how I like my pop. At times it reminds me of like Van Morrison or something, mainly the vocals, which is great as I grew up listening to Van the Man. I know you have a reputation for the whole Paramacore thing so this was a surprise from you dude, but a welcome one. It has great sing-a-long parts (which would have been perfect for round 4 by the way) and also the whole package works for me. I love the organ, the guitar, the drums, the energy. I don't know if this band are a popular band in the states but I would be surprised if they weren't, they sound great. Love the jam at the end with the guitar solo. At times I thought it might be too long but listening to it now, I don't want it to end. Just right on the money for me, keep 'em coming. Tough call for song of the round and they are so different. A tie obviously.

9/10


Scores

12. Shadow Ninja - 5.5+5.5=                  11
11. Splent - 5.5+6=                                 11.5
9. Scar - 9+4=                                         13
9. WebRaider - 6.5+6.5=                         13
6. Elite - 6.5+7.5=                                   14
6. Tomislav95 - 7+7=                               14
6. Train of Naught - 7.5+6.5=                  14
5. Stadler - 7.5+7.5=                               15
4. Parama - 6.5+9=                                  15.5
3. Sacul - 7+9=                                        16
2. Home - 8.5+8=                                    16.5
1. Scorpion - 9+8=                                   17


This was a hard round to score as I mentioned. I again tried not to score too high as I didn't want to cheapen scores of songs further down the line that could be potentially better.



So the next round is an open round so go for your lives.

Send whenever you are ready 

[Train of Naught]

Meh, I was debating sending Roquefort too it fits better to the theme in any case but Set Fire is my personal favorite

Anyway, sending a band I should have sent, I have no idea why I didn't send it for the party round

Gonna have to listen to that Paper Mario song

[Tomislav95]

7 is ok. Could've been better but. They have better songs but Prehistoric Dog kinda matched this round best for me.
How do you like hardcore punk/old metalcore? I don't usually listen to anything like it so I don't know if any of the band from banned list are labeled as such. I think I found something for one of the latter rounds.
EDIT: I know I asked something similar before but just to clarify: for orchestral round, how prominent strings need to be?

[Crow]

fun has had #1 hit in the states (for like 6 weeks in 2012) but it was off their second album which kinda sucks as a whole 

also I have something even more singalong flavored for round four so no worries there 

[Elite]

Set Fire to the Hive is literally one of the worst songs on Sound Awake, so that score isn't surprising, really. I was hoping you'd like Howls a bit more though. And damn, I should have sent AYKM?N apparently. I have done so before, but that band wasn't one of my contenders this round.

[Crow]

Set fire is the best song on sound awake tbh

[Elite]

Now that is fun.(ny)

[twosuitsluke]

7 is ok. Could've been better but. They have better songs but Prehistoric Dog kinda matched this round best for me.
How do you like hardcore punk/old metalcore? I don't usually listen to anything like it so I don't know if any of the band from banned list are labeled as such. I think I found something for one of the latter rounds.
EDIT: I know I asked something similar before but just to clarify: for orchestral round, how prominent strings need to be?

They don't need to be the main focus but they need to be more prominent than they are in the Agent Fresco song in this round, for instance.

Edit: Sorry Tomi, I realised I didn't answer your question about hard punk/old metalcore. Yes, I do like both. I don't seek out that sort of music much nowadays but it should be a pretty safe bet.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

future Shadow Ninja, you have sent for this round.

[Tomislav95]

Sent.

[Scar]

Sent.

[splent]

I didn't even know the theme for round two but it still works

I'll send tomorrow. Sorry for taking so long. My wife is out of state so it's been crazy this week.

[Sacul]

 

[twosuitsluke]

Meh, I was debating sending Roquefort too it fits better to the theme in any case but Set Fire is my personal favorite

Anyway, sending a band I should have sent, I have no idea why I didn't send it for the party round

Gonna have to listen to that Paper Mario song

Yea, you were unfortunate there dude. I have plenty of faith in you though 

fun has had #1 hit in the states (for like 6 weeks in 2012) but it was off their second album which kinda sucks as a whole 

also I have something even more singalong flavored for round four so no worries there 

I'll get their first album then I guess. Hyped for the singalong round. Maybe I should make a game where I link sound clips of me singing (badly) to the round 4 submissions for you all to try and guess. Not sure how that would work but I might give it a go, if all your eardrums can take my epic range 

Set Fire to the Hive is literally one of the worst songs on Sound Awake, so that score isn't surprising, really. I was hoping you'd like Howls a bit more though. And damn, I should have sent AYKM?N apparently. I have done so before, but that band wasn't one of my contenders this round.

Well if Set Fire to the Hive is the worst song on the album I will definitely like it. I did like Howls a lot but I just couldn't really rate it any higher. I can imagine AYKM?N is a bit of a wild card and a risk, it paid off for Sacul this time.

I think I am realising in this roulette that I am drawn to the more out there/genre splicing songs. Playing it safe could lead to average scores, it's hard to tell though. My tastes are weird and sometimes songs that tick all the right boxes do nothing for me and songs I wouldn't have thought I would like really work 

I didn't even know the theme for round two but it still works

I'll send tomorrow. Sorry for taking so long. My wife is out of state so it's been crazy this week.

It worked for the round regardless 

Don't worry about sending late. It did possibly effect your score a little but I'm just glad you managed to send as I didn't want to have too score you a 0/10. I know life gets in the way so no worries.

  indeed!

Definitely getting this album this week I think.

Edit: 4/12 subs so far. Cheers for being quick off the draw boys 

[Train of Naught]

Set Fire to the Hive is just a very polarizing song among Karnivool fans. Personally cannot say that I am a huge fan of the band overall though.

Definitely give a shot at those sound clip snippets if you can sounds like fun