In third place the participant who was probably the most consistent throughout this thing:
The homeboyhome: EP Title: Stick Your Head Out and Slowly Drift AwayWe Made God - IIThis is pretty cool as an opener. I like stuff like this, with the spoken word sample over the top. What this guy is spouting (who is he by the way?) is really appealing to me and lines up with my view on life and the modern age we live in as well, so that's cool. There are some vocals at the beginning but I don't really pay much attention to this part. My ear is concentrating on what is being said throughout most of this but the music accompanies it really well. It is just a great way to kick this off, good choice.
Score: 7.5/10Solstafir - MidaftannThe transition into this song works pretty well. This song isn't as strong as the other Solstafir song in this round, for me. There is a nice atmosphere that runs through this and it is more piano heavy than I had thought it would be. It fits in well with the feel of the EP but isn't too great as a stand alone song for me. I expect that it fits the same purpose on the album it's from though to be fair.
Score: 7/10Sleep Party People - Changing in TimeI've never heard of these guys but this is pretty cool. Most of this song floats along nicely, the music all fits the vocals well but the best part of the song is the synth (I think) bit which hits a chord for me and just sounds really nice. The song ends just after this though so it may be a little short lived. It's nice and chilled an succeeds in taking the EP in a slightly different direction whilst still fitting in well.
Score: 7.5/10God is an Astronaut - Fireflies and Empty SkiesAnother GiaA song, they are either too large a gap in my library to miss or they are easy to make use of in an EP round (I'm going with the latter). The guitar melodies in this are lush and it flows really well with the rest of the EP to this point. There are some more meaty guitar parts towards the end, which sound great but they fade out to lead into the next song. I'd love to hear what comes next on that album.
Score: 7.5/10Elder - CompendiumNow you get to the heavier section of this album. I've heard these guys mentioned before and I knew they were of the sludge metal persuasion. Musically this sounds like a lot of similar bands that I've heard, which is fine, I suppose this genre breeds that. The vocals have a 'Brent from Mastodon' feel and I know you are a fan so I get this. It's all solid but not a great deal more. I think it's hard when you listen to music of this style to really find something that stands out above the rest. I think it all boils down to thick, heavy riffs. I need some great riffs for this to REALLY work, but it's lacking for me. I love this sound and the riffs aren't bad, it's just not much more than solid. It's a little on the long side too. Not a terrible choice but I think it ultimately effected your EP more than any other song. You should check out Barn Burner as they are fairly similar but a bit more like 'party sludge' (if that's even a thing?).
Score: 7/10Beardfish - Voluntary SlaveryThis song
it's weird to have this featured in two EPs. I love the pounding drums and heavy guitars. I've heard of these guys before but I expected them to sound a bit more classic prog for some reason. The vocals remind me of another band which I can't place. They bring a good slab of metal to this EP which blends a bit of sludge in for good measure. The riffing is great and the drums feel really huge and are off kilter enough to make it interesting. The reoccurring vocal part obviously sticks in your head, especially as it's the title of Train's EP! I can definitely understand why you have chosen this for my EP, I really dig it. The vocals throughout this really work for me, It's pretty infectious to be honest. The climax makes me want to pound my chest in the manliest of ways. It is a close second for song of the round but as I said yesterday, I think I prefer Words in the Water by Thrice slightly more.
Score: 8.5/10God is an Astronaut - Suicide by StarThis is a great end to this EP which combines the similar feel and atmosphere to the first half of the EP whilst still being fairly heavy. It's a pretty nice little outro which is exactly the sort of musical glue that holds EPs like this together. I like when the intense drumming comes in at the end (that's a drum machine though right?). Not a lot more to say, just a great way to round this thing off.
Score: 7/10Average Score: 14.75/20Flow: 4/5Total Score: 18.75/25Grand Roulette Total: 87Honestly, this EP had a great flow and was actually a better EP than the one that won 2nd place. As I said at the beginning of this post I think you have been the most consistent throughout this whole thing. You've also provided me with plenty of good new stuff to delve into. I seriously can't thank you guys enough for sticking with this thing and finding some real gems for me.
So to the EP, I really like the intro and if I ever get to doing one of these things this would be how I'd like to start mine. The way your EP is structured it has a few songs that hold it together and help massively with the flow, that can be said of Midaftann and both GiaA songs. It feels to me as though the main 'feature' of the EP is the two back to back heavier songs, which are more songs in their own right compared to the other songs on the EP. I honestly like both but I feel Compendium is a little long. If you had maybe picked another song that did what Voluntary Memery (I liked that one Parama
) did for me then your outcome could've been different. I feel that Compendium was kind of what lets this down. It's honestly still a great EP and definitely better than what I could come up with. Compendium probably felt like quite a safe bet as it should be something that I love but it just didn't quite do it. The outro is also a great way to end it all.
One last thing, did you and Train actually talk at some point about wanting to send that Beardfish song or was it complete coincidence? Either way, it's good stuff