Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Quick Album Reviews)

[Evermind]

Can't wait for both Parama and secondary judge to spurn my song.

I wouldn't be surprised if your song was 9, it's that good actually, I probably like it more than the song I sent

I would agree that my song is amazing, unfortunately that probably means that Parama will give it 6.5

[Crow]

Round 1 Results

Stadler – Black Sabbath – Psychophobia

First Impressions:
I mean, I am familiar with some Sabbath but I’ve never really given them any kind of in-depth listen. And yeah… honestly between the style of the riff and the different singer this barely sounds like anything I’ve ever heard from them. That chorus is really 80’s pop-y, but it’s an interesting change of pace for sure. This is from 1994 apparently though, so, I don’t even know. There’s that weird contrast going throughout this entire song, where the riffs are rather aggressive & jagged but the chorus is really smooth and kind of atmospheric. It makes for an interesting listen though maybe a bit of a disjointed one as well. It’s alright.

Final Thoughts:
Sorry man, I just don’t care for these vocals. That rough-edged hard rock style isn’t something I tend to find much appeal in even in the best songs, and this one kind of lacks emotional depth to it as well. It’s more of a rocker of a song, with the chorus being a bit of breathing room. Maybe it’s trying to sell some emotional depth but I feel like the vocals can’t sell it.

If there’s one part of this I like more than the rest it’s the bridge right after the second chorus, that part is actually pretty fun and rockin’. I. I actually came to a bit of a realization just now. On the earlier verses it’s not really the vocals that are the problem. It’s that jagged 3/4 groove. It just doesn’t work for me. It’s just not something you can sing over really effectively. Each measure gets punctuated by a chord that kills any flow and the vocals can’t really mix in well when the guitar isn’t giving it room to breathe. Man. Okay, that makes my job a lot easier. Now I know exactly why this doesn’t work for me.

For half the song at least. I do genuinely like the rest, aside from that. Like I said the chorus doesn’t have much emotional presence for me but it does at least have a bright atmosphere with the guitar providing some roaring texture. And that bridge is genuinely pretty good, I can dig that groove that the guitar and vocals provide.

The production is a bit muddy but for a 1994 song from a 1970’s hard rock band I don’t know what I was expecting. It doesn’t really get in the way of the song anywhere but it’s still worth noting at the very least. So yeah on the whole I can’t get behind this song due to how awkward its first half ends up feeling but I still like a decent bit of this.

6.5/10



Bolsters – Lykke Li – No Rest for the Wicked

First Impressions:
I am pretty sure there’s some song of the same name that was used for some movie trailer or something and I was worried that would be this same song but no this is more of a pop song, not that hard rock sound I remember with the similarly-named song. So anyways. She has a loooot of reverb on her voice. That’s the first thing that sticks out here. Especially on the chorus. I’m actually generally not a huge fan of that, drowns out the natural tones of the singer’s voice. Instrumentally this does atmosphere well enough while still having a driving feel to it. I’m trying to find the right word to describe it and failing but it’d be a good word, if I could remember it. It’s not hitting me too hard right away though but it’s nice enough.

Final Thoughts:
A lot of the time I go over my first impressions while doing these write-ups to avoid being repetitive or to tell my past self how wrong they were. I was thinking “man she has a lot of reverb on her voice” and read “she has a loooot of reverb on her voice” at the same time. And yeah. That really genuinely bugs me honestly. I get it. There’s supposed to be a larger-than-life sound to this song. The piano is drenched in reverb too and the production in general feels really spacious. I guess I would prefer that to have been a sound the song natural had instead of having to rely on studio effects to achieve that level of fullness.

It also feels like there’s not enough time between the second and third chorus. It’s a very, very brief bridge and then right back into it, and nothing new happens in the bridge either. It’s just there. Feels pretty pointless.

I don’t really dislike this but that simulated spaciousness is about the only quality this song really has going for it and if it didn’t have that I couldn’t imagine this working well at all. And while it does sound fine enough as is, I don’t really get any emotional punch from this, it’s just, nice.

6.75/10



Luoto – Skein – Rapier

First Impressions:
From the start this sounds kind of familiar but I can’t really say why, so hopefully that’s not a bad thing haha. This is nice so far but really does feel like it’s taking its sweet time to get somewhere. Over three minutes into a 7 minute song and it hasn’t really hit anything that feels like serious rising action. Okay, there it goes. For a bit. It does feel like this song is a bit too restrained in general, like it never really comes alive. I dig that the bass is mixed decently high in the mix on this one, unlike a similar song this round, but at the same time I wish it was playing something more interesting than it is. I think this song is supposed to be carried by the strength of the singer? Which he really isn’t that strong of a singer, sounds fine enough and all but is really lacking in power. Maybe he’s why the song feels like it never comes alive. Oh and, random growls right near the end, I guess there’s at least a decent climax to this song at the very least. Sure.

Final Thoughts:
You and Evermind sent songs that are really quite similar and I think it negatively impacted both of you because I can’t help but compare the two. I like this vocalist more than on The Mayan Factor, he has a smoother tone to his voice that appeals to me more. Musically though this is definitely weaker. The guitar work is just, the bare minimum, it clearly means for the listener to focus on the vocals but if the vocals aren’t especially strong then that kind of backfires a little.

This song also feels like it moves too slow though. Doesn’t really get any swell until around the 5 minute mark but after that there’s a nice build and climax. And the vocals kind of get overpowered by the music as a result. And the growls at the end are okay. Kind of too short to really judge. Seems similar to the growls in east of the wall though so that’s always a plus.

And I… have absolutely nothing else to say about this one. Again it sounds fine enough but there’s just not much here and if it’s lacking emotional punch this kind of song is always going to fall a little flat for me, unfortunately.

7/10


Train of Naught – Batushka - Yekteniya 1

First Impressions:
Hmm. This chanting vocal style… actually works pretty well with this kind of sound, doesn’t it? Nice. Anyways right away I like how this begins. The chuggy riff has plenty of groove & the drums play off it well. And the production is, well, the usual for the genre, but I think it’s at the level of quality to not detract from the song in any real way. I think when it gets to the more traditionally black-metal sounding stuff I’m not quite as big a fan of it, but it’s still enjoyable to be sure. I guess if there’s one thing I can say it’s that it feels like the song runs out of new material after about the halfway point. Not necessarily a bad thing if the material it does have on display is good material, but worth commenting on nonetheless.

Final Thoughts:
I sort of found this one to lack any real lasting impact on relistens and I’m not sure why. Like, I’ve listened to it as much as any of the other songs this round, but it’s the one I have the most trouble remembering anything about, despite that it should be right up my alley. Sure I recognize it right away when I start listening to it again, but. That memorability is a factor I do look for.

I am kind of having trouble saying much else about this one unfortunately. It’s got solid atmosphere to it. And it’s got a good driving feel to it as well. But it really feels like it doesn’t have much happening. Most of the riffs feel like variations of that first chuggy riff. And it’s not a bad riff but it’s not really one to base an entire song around either.

I feel like this sounds really negative but it’s mostly because I don’t have much else to say. I do like how this sounds, yes. I just don’t find it particularly memorable or unique. Just enjoyable in a non-specific way. Ehh.

7/10



Tomislav95 – The Gathering – Broken Glass

First Impressions:
Trip-hop has historically not done so well in my roulettes (see: Sacul throughout half of my first roulette) but we’ll see. I guess it should also be said that I’ve never been hugely a fan of Anneke as a vocalist? She’s alright and she’s generally given good material but I don’t find her voice that distinctive nor especially powerful, but just pretty fine. Okay anyways I guess I should talk about the song itself. I’m not huge on this at the start but it builds up nicely & has enough of a rock edge to it to appeal to my simple mindedness. And by the climax is it genuinely pretty great. I am not sure what else to say about this? It’s pretty simple but effective for what it is, it’s barely even trip-hop really.

Final Thoughts:
I feel like this song takes too long to really get going. The front half is just one long buildup, and while it’s fine to build up to something louder, I don’t really get much from any of the buildup here. Sounds fine enough but there’s no real emotional connection in it for me that this kind of song would really need.

The back half does have a nice payoff to it though, I really enjoy the climax of this song, and there’s a bit right past the halfway mark that’s a pretty nice sign of things to come as well. The peak of the song is very dense and atmospheric though, I get feeling from that guitar work especially & when the rest of the instruments join in to the thick atmosphere right near the end it’s really quite satisfying.

I think, what makes this fail to work better for me is the synth that drives a lot of this song, right from the very start. I don’t really like that sound. That really may be what makes a lot of this not work for me, more than anything else. And yeah Anneke sounds fine here but she doesn’t get to sing over any of the best parts of the song so what even is the point really.

I don’t mind this but ultimately there’s just too much of this song that doesn’t do anything for me and definitely doesn’t make the parts that do work particularly worth it. It’s not bad, certainly, but I don’t think I’d miss it either.

7.25/10



Evermind – The Mayan Factor – Warflower

First Impressions:
This intro feels very much like something Arjen would do, though the acoustic guitar tone is better than how he’d produce it. It feels like the bass is a bit underplayed, when it kicks in, considering there’s not anything heavy going on above it it’s still really quiet which is a shame because it feels like it should be driving some kind of groove here but it can’t. I can’t say I’m particularly impressed by the vocals on this either, at least on first listen. Feels like they’re lacking any kind of power to them and they’re supposed to be the driving element of this kind of song. I dig all the little things going on during the bridge, even if it means they’re not really changing the core sound of the song dramatically for the bridge. Well until that meter change right after, fair enough then. Yeah, I do think this is pretty solid but also feel I would definitely like this more with a better singer, this guy just doesn’t do it for me. And for the amount of substance it maybe feels a touch too long. But ehh.

Final Thoughts:
It takes a bit for that opening guitar bit to pick up some groove but when it does it’s actually a pretty interesting groove. I can tell it’s a constant 16th notes type of thing going on but there’s accentuation on the most important notes and that makes it work better than it would otherwise. Considering that’s one of the more prominent elements of this song too I think it’s important that it works.

I think I figured out what bothers me about the vocals – he really doesn’t enunciate very well. I’d very much expect this guy to not be a native English speaker just from that alone. It’s not a huge dealbreaker for me since I barely care about lyrics at all, and a lot of the vocal melodies he’s working with here are pretty solid.

The bridge is a kind of “neat that they’re doing all these little things but it doesn’t have enough build to it so it just feels like the song staying stagnant” thing going on. I don’t mind listening to it but  I wouldn’t miss it either. The meter change bit is a nice diversion it never goes anywhere and they’re back to 4/4 for the chorus making it feel maybe a bit pointless. I don’t know.

I think this song would’ve been improved by being a bit shorter, because really there isn’t a ton going on here. It’s nice for what it is but a 5 minute cut of this would’ve probably won me over more. As it stands though I can’t say I really dislike it, it has positive qualities to it and no real negatives, just that the positives aren’t so strong. Decent, though. Probably not going to remember it after the roulette.

7.25/10



twosuitsluke – Lesbian – Poisonous Witchball

First Impressions:
Well that’s certainly a band name. Also can’t find any youtube version except a live version so bandcamp it is. From the start this is… certainly heavy. Hopefully it’ll be something else eventually. Okay there it goes, now it’s kind of math-y. I am okay with math-y. The long instrumental stretch of this kind of makes me think of Keelhaul. The vocals make me think of bad vocals though. I don’t like them. This is a bit all over the place but it’s pretty diverse about it, both some chuggy and  technical riffs alongside some cleaner, atmospheric parts & it definitely keeps this from feeling the least bit dull. While there’s a decent amount of it that I wouldn’t say does a ton for me on first listen I feel like relistens will help it for sure.

Final Thoughts:
Maybe that intro could’ve gone on a bit shorter but it’s really honestly not a big deal here. If that riff was a bit more interesting I guess, it wouldn’t be a problem at all. Heck, The Cavern has one riff for like 5 minutes straight but the riff is so good I barely care. So yeah.

The song certainly knows how to keep moving most of the time. That mathy/frantic guitar lead in-between the jagged riffing certainly builds up some intensity though I think it lacks a sense of flow as a result. It feels kind of messy. I like how it sounds but it can be a bit awkward too.  And that’s just one thing it does over the span of the next few minutes, it’s basically impossible for me to keep up with this one when typing. But it doesn’t really feel forced in doing so, just that the song keeps flowing whenever it feels like it’s time to move onto something else.

Anyways on the subject of those growls. These guys do have the exact same problem as Keelhaul, they’d be better as an instrumental band, no doubt. I don’t care for the vocals here. They’re drowned out a lot of the time but they’re just not very pleasant to my ears when they’re more audible. A lot of this is instrumental though at the very least.

And I do like how they can have these cleaner, post-rockish sections in the middle of the more intense metal stuff and not have it feel at all out of place. There’s also a good build about two thrids through where they use this cleaner moment to escalate back into some heavier stuff.

And the production on this is… too muddy, definitely. Makes the song feel a bit too sludgy even for me, the riffs lose a bit of their distinctness, the bass feels a bit drowned out, the drums feel a bit too loud.

While on the whole I would say I do enjoy this, I also really feel that there’s just nothing here that sticks out particularly strongly, and I feel the production is partly to blame for that at the very least. It’s a long string of decent metal that doesn’t really do a ton more for me beyond that. Don’t mind it but I wish I liked it more than I do. And again, those vocals… meh.

7.5/10



home – Sleep Party People – A Dark God Heart

First Impressions:
This starts out with quite the dreamy & ethereal vibe. And then it brings in some strings for a dense atmosphere… then pulls back to a pizzicato string bit with the vocals even more washed out. It’s like. Uhh. Weird. The vibe of this song isn’t one I’d say I generally find myself liking and it sounds more like some soundtrack song for a childr- WHOA HEY THERE THAT GOT LOUD –en’s movie, but it’s a good vibe nonetheless. Until they come and destroy it with a steamroller of a climax which is actually, genuinely, really freaking excellent?? I can see exactly why you sent this now given how well Slowdive did on your EP last roulette. Yeah. This is pretty solid stuff.

Final Thoughts:
This song is actually kind of creepy, but in a good way. It starts off really gentle and kind of lulls you into a false sense of security but the slurred, seasick vocals provide a sense of unease contrasting with the really pretty piano and atmosphere. The atmosphere it builds on this base gets pretty lush and then pulls back for the very stiff strings in the middle with the vocals again providing that sense of unease.

Or maybe I’m just seeing things. I actually get the feeling this isn’t meant to be creepy at all but it sort of is for me, and I don’t mind that at all. The climax near the end certainly makes me think it isn’t meant to be, at least. That’s just a really triumphant and powerful climax that, yes, feels a bit disconnected from the rest of the song aside from being based on the main melody of the earlier bits. So there’s enough there to tie it together.

Honestly I do wish that climax was a bit longer as it’s easily my favorite part of this song, and as with Kwoon last round the quiet parts are nice but sort of pale in comparison to the big climactic moments. Here though they just go all out with it and that’s great. And the calmer moments are certainly very pretty and good at building suspense, though they’re not as enjoyable as the ending.

Overall this is a pretty fine track – one that definitely makes me want to check out at least a bit more from the artist, but not one that really blows me away, except for about a minute of the song near the end. Still, solid stuff for sure.

7.75/10

[Evermind]

Oh well, I should've known better than to trust Parama's tastes for music. I guess 7.25 is good enough though, at least it's not 6.5.

[Crow]

Lordcost – Black Peaks – Saviour

First Impressions:
I didn’t really have much to say about this at the start until it hit upon that cool, jagged and dissonant riff near the middle. That is a cool as heck riff & it completely changes the tone of the song in a good way. It gives room for there to be some kind of contrast going on here as well. Hmm. This started out fine but kind of eehh but built into something pretty cool as it went on. The post-metal-y growls are also nice to have. Honestly? They kind of have a similar vibe to The Hirsch Effekt, though the production is muddier and the song is a bit more atmospheric. But no, this is kind of, all over the place but in a really cool way. Maybe the beginning will grow on me with relistens too but I am currently digging this a lot.

Final Thoughts:
There’s something about the guitar tone at the start that I think really works against the sound they’re trying to go for. It sounds way too clean, it’s lacking any sense of crunch and it makes that opening riff not hit as hard as it needs to. That kind of carries over to the vocal bits following it but it’s not so big of a deal there since the guitars are definitely out of focus.

On the subject of the vocals since I never commented on it before, the clean vocals sound totally fine. Nothing outstanding but they fit the tone of the song. And the growls sound fine too. That’s all I have to say on the subject I guess.

This song doesn’t reeeeally hit its stride until around the 2 minute mark, in which the guitars do actually pick up some crunch for that dissonant, jagged riff I like so much. And what’s really cool is how that riff mixes in with them carrying on the vibe from earlier in the song too, it gives an extra layer of power and density to the already fairly dense atmosphere from earlier in the song.

I also like that this pretty religiously stays in 4/4 even with the riffs being very offbeat and convoluted as the song goes on. What this allows is for the song to really pick up some groove and I can totally get behind that. I like the bit that starts at around 4:30 too, the drums just go crazy and really ramp up the intensity of an already pretty heavy song. And then the guitars go noodly crazy right after. It doesn’t really matter what the individual notes are, it just hammers in this frantic vibe. All in 4/4. That’s great.

You really have to listen all the way through to see it but this song is just like a giant snowball that starts out pretty big and heavy but just keeps getting heavier and picking up more momentum as the song goes on. I think it works to have a fairly basic start with how much complexity the song picks up later on & by the end it’s got so much going on and is so damn satisfying to listen to. This is for sure the kind of metal I’d love to hear more of and easily another favorite of the round.

Also I did listen to the other song you were considering and it didn’t strike me as strongly on first listen so you probably lucked out here and sent a song that fits my tastes more on accident.

8.75/10



Nekov – Dream the Electric Sleep – Elizabeth

First Impressions:
Okay right from the intro and first verse this sounds kind of like something Thrice would do. Even the vocal style is kind of similar. Actually I think that’s most of what’s doing it, musically it’s not quite so in line with Thrice’s style. But it’s got a good drive to it for sure. Man am I a sucker for a good 6/8 vibe. The way this song builds up and the way all its elements come in and out, build upon each other and then collapse again to make way for new ones, is really quite compelling. And it helps that the distinct elements themselves are all pretty good too. This is like, easily the best song in the roulette thus far honestly. I love it. Unless one of the songs I still haven’t listened to in this round is better.

Final Thoughts:
Throughout the entire round this was well and truly the standout track for me. No question about it. Obviously I’m a bit biased as this guy really does sound like Dustin Kensrue quite a bit, and I really like the sound of that man’s voice. And thus I like the sound of this guy’s voice. It’s not technically perfect but it has depth to it, man.

And goddamn does this song just sound pristine. Absolutely fantastic production job on this one, jesus christ. The acoustic guitars sound spacious & deep, the electric guitar tones have nice fuzz and atmosphere to them, the thumping drums are generally pretty simple but sound plenty fine, and the bass is always there in the background chugging away. And when it all combines it’s just a great sound to hear. It barely even matters what’s being played. It really isn’t that special but bringing all these sounds together works for me where it absolutely does not in the similar songs this round.

And the song is dynamic & diverse enough to not get boring. The first half is pretty straightforward with a verse/chorus structure but at the midway point everything pulls back for just one guitar and vocals to really give you a moment to breathe before exploding into an even more powerful climax in the back half. The moment that solo kicks in is probably the highlight, fantastic groove and the solo itself plays off it well enough. Again it barely even matters what’s being played, it just sounds good, man.

If I had to criticize anything, I do feel it runs out of momentum after that. The ending is a bit of a slow burn that doesn’t feel particularly satisfying especially considering what comes before it, though I don’t mind the ambient transition into the next track & that probably works even better in the context of the album. It’s just a bit of a disappointing ending but it’s not enough to bring what is otherwise a really great song down in my books. Easily my favorite track so far and at least on par with the best stuff from my last roulette, if not even better.

9/10



Current Standings:
Nekov – 15.75
Tomislav95 – 15.5
Bolsters – 15.25
Evermind – 15.25
LordCost – 15.25
Train of Naught – 15
Luoto – 14.75
twosuitsluke – 14.5
home -  14.25
Stadler – 13.5

Not really a ton of spread in the scores yet, since a lot of the best scores this round came from people with lower scores in Round 0. How about that 

Go ahead and send for round 2, secondary judge writeups will be up in a moment.

[Crow]

Round 1 Secondary Judge Results – Judge Evermind

Skein – Rapier

Delightfully dark and mellow, this song somehow manages to involve a lot of elements that speak to me in music. The quiet parts are enhanced by wonderful vocal melodies throughout, with subtle and calm acoustic guitar playing beneath them. The song slowly and gradually builds up the tension, and when it finally breaks and erupts to growls it’s just oh so satisfying. This song is all about proper build-up and pay-off, and it does that perfectly. Best song of the round here.

5 points

The Gathering – Broken Glass

First I’ve got this song in my roulette, and now I get it again? 0/10, sorry Tomislav.

- Luke

Okay, no.
This song has one big advantage over others: Anneke makes everything better, and this song isn’t an exception. I know this one, of course, and while I dislike the dubstep-like keyboard sound that sometimes appear throughout the song, the black metal-like guitars and Anneke’s voice both make up for that. Wonderful song, the second best of the round for me. Apparently you’ve won the lottery this time. Congratulations?

3 points

Lykke Li – No Rest for the Wicked

Simple and wondrous, this singer-songwriter song fulfills its purpose successfully, forming a catchy and memorable tune under four minutes mark without any exquisite instrumental support or high notes by the singer. Not as emotional as other singer-songwriters like Tori Amos or Susanne Sundfor, but very good nonetheless. Enjoy the secondary points.

2 points

Batushka – Yekteniya 1

A curious combination of Gregorian-like chants, cut-and-dried black and death metal riffs and So Hideous-like screams, this song mixes the elements that aren’t supposed to go together in music, and does it remarkably well. The song upholds the atmosphere it builds throughout its length. Just missed out my Top 3, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 9/10 from Parama for this song.

The Mayan Factor – Warflower (Judge's Song)

You know, musically, that was quite nice, especially with that prominent bass, natural percussion and adventurous acoustic guitar. However, what kills this song is the vocal delivery, because this guy sounds like he was heavily drinking for the whole month before recording the aggressive vocals for this song, especially during the chorus. All the ingredients for the good song are there, including the vocal melodies, but the singer just murders it in cold blood. It’s amazing how much potential is wasted in this song because of the vocals.

Black Sabbath – Psychophobia

A short, catchy song from the well-known band, I can’t imagine this going too well with Parama. In fact, when I think about it, “Parama” and “Black Sabbath” are about as far apart on the musical map as you can imagine. Nice little song, but I’m not sure if the 90s era of Sabbath was the best one to choose from. If you wanted to expose Parama to this kind of music, you might’ve as well gone with Ozzy or Dio era. Still, this was good enough.

Dream the Electric Sleep – Elizabeth

I’m fairly sure it’s not a coincidence that this band has both “dream” and “sleep” words in their name, because this song is just like a progressive rock lullaby in the beginning. If you can manage to pay enough attention to it, it’s beautiful and emotional, but once your attention slips, it’s difficult to get back into the song. The pace picks up a bit in the second half, making the experience more intense. Still, this is meant to be listened without any distractions, otherwise it’s difficult to keep track of things happening. Overall, it’s a fine progressive rock song.

Black Peaks – Saviour

It’s never a good sign that I can’t recall any vocal melody from the song after five or six listens (except when it’s an instrumental), and this is just the case here. I’m at loss, because I don’t have nearly enough meaningful things to say about this in the writeup. It’s an alright progressive song. That’s about it.

Sleep Party People – A Dark God Heart

Before you read this, remember that I’m only a secondary judge. Perhaps Parama will like this song more. I, unfortunately, can only describe this is “outright boring”. There is nothing that appeals to me in this song. I can see a trend here with the bands that have “sleep” in their name. Even the grand ending with the cymbals isn’t that satisfying. Still, it’s not the worst song of the round, so that’s something, right?

Lesbian – Poisonous WitchBall

While that Batushka song tries to mix the genres up, this song is as straightforward as it gets. I mean, no, it has some quiet and even cheerful parts, but mostly it’s just growling with heavy riffs beneath it. Did I say that Dream the Electric Sleep was difficult to pay attention to? This song takes this notion and turns it to eleven, and not in a good way.

Parama’s notes:
It’s amusing how opposite me and Evermind’s opinions are on the songs this round but that shouldn’t come as anything surprising. And it also makes total sense that Skein is his favorite this round considering the similarities between it and his song.

Current Secondary Judge Standings:
Luoto - 5
Tomislav95 - 3
Bolsters - 2
home - 0
Train of Naught - 0
LordCost - 0
Nekov - 0
Stadler - 0
Evermind - 0
twosuitsluke - 0

[Train of Naught]

Wow, both the bands I was planning to send later got #2 and #1 though I don't know that Dream The Electric Sleep album, should get on that.

I don't know, I personally don't like when music like Batushka would move on to new themes and riffs constantly, I like the more plodding stuff because it moves the attention more to the atmosphere and satanic (even though weird enough they're actually a christian band) feel that it has.

Gonna probably not send Dodecahedron either because apparently you also checked out that new album on top of the Ulsect one, stop checking out new albums damnit. I'll have to think about the next round for a bit.

@secondary judge I'm almost certain who you are, and if I'm right I'm pretty shocked and at the same time glad you liked that Batushka song it's really funny to see that the top 2 songs got bottom tier scores from the second judge too

[Crow]

train i own the dodecahedron album lol. they are already on the banned list. i have been listening to it the past two weeks

[Tomislav95]

7.25 is nice score, I didn't expect more tbh What to send next, hm? Black metal or poppy progressive rock or singer-songwriter? Hm...
And thanks, secondary judge

I love it how Evermind sneaked in between two results posts

[Evermind]

Well, the singer on Warflower is an acquired taste indeed. Still, I'm disappointed by both Parama's score and secondary judge's one. Good taste on The Gathering though, that's a good song indeed.

Sent my next song.

[home]

Wooo, that's better than I though the score will be tbh (especially after rereading what you wrote about the song I put on Luke's EP) 

This song is actually kind of creepy, but in a good way.

It doesn't strike me as that creepy, it's a kinda comforting atmosphere to me actually. But the lyrics "I will cry in love tonight, with a dark god heart I die" do fit a creepy mood better perhaps 

[Evermind]

Now that I have a confirmation in PM with my song accepted, I'm happy to say I have indeed pulled a Stadler in this round.

[Tomislav95]

Now that I have a confirmation in PM with my song accepted, I'm happy to say I have indeed pulled a Stadler in this round.

Rainbow?

[Evermind]

Nope.

[Crow]

Evermind - Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven

what the hell is this crap

0/10

[Tomislav95]

What to send next, hm? Black metal or poppy progressive rock or singer-songwriter? Hm...

Could not decide so I sent something fourth.

[Nekov]

Nice, i'm glad you liked it. I'll be sending something tomorrow

[Bolsters]

Sent.

[Nekov]

Sent

[Crow]

still only have half the songs & have listened to all the ones I've received thus far 

[twosuitsluke]

I'll be sending after work, in at least 15 hours 

Think I know the band, just deciding on song.

[LordCost]

I'm really surprised about the score. The riff that starts at 2 minutes is great, but I was worried that you wouldn't like the rest of the song and I would have been happy with a 7/10 honestly . I had doubts about vocals too because I don't know much your tastes.

Hang 'em High is really powerful even if it's maybe repetitive, but it works really well and I like it more. You're right, I was lucky!
The band was previously called Shrine and they had another song called Closer To The Sun that didn't make the album but you could like it.

I'm sending in 24 hours

[Stadler]

Lot of comments in this thread and I (sort of) get it, but I would respectfully ask that those with the comments try and understand there's a method to the madness in what I'm doing.  Anyone can pull an obscure band that no one has heard of off the internet and flog it.  My take is, if they were really that good, we'd have heard about them already.  Not always true, but...

I'm trying to take a name that everyone has heard - and everyone has their preconceived notions on - and give something new to it.  Something you haven't heard.    Something that isn't played on classic rock radio in rotation.  Isn't the point to open up the listener to something new that isn't in their wheelhouse?  I get it, this usually means I get crushed in these roulettes (I'm not sure I've ever even finished in the top HALF let alone won something) but all I need is even one comment to the effect of "I know [insert fairly popular artist] from [inset overplayed hit], but this was a total surprise!" and I'm happy. 

[Tomislav95]

I know Black Sabbath from pretty much all albums with Ozzy and Dio but I never listened to Martin era albums maybe I should
and that definitely was a surprise

[twosuitsluke]

Sent a bit of a risk this round. This is a band I've sent before in other roulettes and I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to champion them on DTF.

[Crow]

also a band i've heard a few songs from before but i'll accept them 

just waiting on homeboy now

[home]

Just sent some sludge your way. Sorry for being late.

[Crow]

Round 2 First Impressions

This really doesn’t have anything unique to offer for the style of music it is, but it’s plenty competent for what it is too and I can’t really knock it for that.

Is there really anything nice I can say about this, because I’m worried there isn’t going to be. I guess, it’s got a nice energy to it? That’s really all I can think of here.

This is pretty upbeat but not claustrophobically so, I don’t know if these vocals are my favorite style but they don’t sound out of place here.

The individual parts all seem decently interesting and I could see myself digging this. I’m just hoping they’ll start to feel like more than just parts.

And I like that the song stays pretty dynamic throughout, a balancing act between some heavier moments and quieter interludes, without ever really losing momentum either.

This is actually a kind of song I imagine myself digging, it’s just paced well. It’s hard to describe what that means I guess but it’s all over the place in a really cohesive way?

At the very least it’s decently diverse, a mix if chugging metal, dense atmosphere, and some cleaner moments, and by the end I can get into it at least a little.

I do like all the harmonizing that’s going on here, the melodies themselves aren’t that great but the vocals sound better in unison than either do separately.

The instrumental work on this isn’t particularly unique in comparison to a lot of similar-sounding music but it’s, fine enough I guess. Decent level of groove, decent level of technicality.

It leaves me stuck at least enjoying the entire song, but definitely liking some parts more than others, and feeling the way the song moves between those different parts stiff and messy.

I will say that this round feels like the weakest thus far, but some of these might be growers, we'll see. Though there's one song here I found actually really unpleasant. And yes, it's your song specifically.

[Crow]

Round 2 Hangman!!!

: ______ - _________
: _____ ______ - ______ __ ____
: __ _______ - __ ___ ______
: ____________ - ______ __ ____________
: ___ _______ ________ - _____ ___ ___ ______
: _____ - ________
: ________ - ___ ______ _______ _______ ____
: ___ _____ _______ - ________ __ ___ _______
: _______ ______ ____ - ___ _____
: _______ - ______ ___ ____

[Train of Naught]

At the very least it’s decently diverse, a mix if chugging metal, dense atmosphere, and some cleaner moments, and by the end I can get into it at least a little.

This one? It's not one of the more positive ones, I can almost say that for sure

Give me the T?

[Evermind]

Is there really anything nice I can say about this, because I’m worried there isn’t going to be. I guess, it’s got a nice energy to it? That’s really all I can think of here.

Looks like mine!

[Crow]

: ______ - ______t__
: _____ ______ - ______ __ ____
: __ _____t_ - __ ___ ______
: T__________t - ______ __ _____t_____t
: ___ ___t___ ___t____ - _____ __t t__ ______
: __t__ - ___t____
: ________ - ___ ______ _______ _______ ____
: T__ _____ _______ - T_______ __ t__ _____t_
: _______ ______ __t_ - T__ ____t
: _______ - ______ t__ ____

Letters Guessed:
T

Train waits 3

[Luoto]

A

[Tomislav95]

1. Maybe
2. Please no (and it probably isn't, there are bunch of nice stuff about it )
3. No
4. No
5. Could be
6. I don't think so
7. Could be but I don't think that could be called chugging
8. No
9. Maybe
10. No

[LordCost]

The individual parts all seem decently interesting and I could see myself digging this. I’m just hoping they’ll start to feel like more than just parts.

This is actually a kind of song I imagine myself digging, it’s just paced well. It’s hard to describe what that means I guess but it’s all over the place in a really cohesive way?

It leaves me stuck at least enjoying the entire song, but definitely liking some parts more than others, and feeling the way the song moves between those different parts stiff and messy.

It should be one of those three

[Nekov]

About half of those comments would fit my song, I just hope it's not the worst ones 

Also for the hangman: S