Author Topic: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Quick Album Reviews)  (Read 68736 times)

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Offline LordCost

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #735 on: July 27, 2017, 01:26:20 PM »
Come on guys. I had a list of 15 bands to send Parama in this roulette and since my departure none of those have been sent.
Give me one name for one of the next rounds that I have almost run out of ideas :lol

Offline home

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #736 on: July 27, 2017, 01:28:31 PM »
You're not alone, half of my entries are songs I saved from Spotify's Discovery weekly playlists  :lol
Break the mold, let's shake the ground, wreak havoc!

Offline Elite

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #737 on: July 27, 2017, 01:29:21 PM »
Nope. I'll win this roulette with the best EP.
Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
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scRa are the resultaten of sound nog bring propey

Offline Sacul

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #738 on: July 27, 2017, 02:00:38 PM »
Nope. I'll win this roulette with the best EP.

Offline Nekov

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #739 on: July 27, 2017, 02:03:09 PM »
You're not alone, half of my entries are songs I saved from Spotify's Discovery weekly playlists  :lol

 :lol I've done that in other roulettes, haven't gotten there yet but it's surely getting more complicated as it goes
When Ginobili gets hot, I get hot in my pants. 

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #740 on: July 27, 2017, 09:01:58 PM »
???: ____a_a_ - _n __e E_e
Tomislav95: Enchant - Nighttime Sky
???: Me_os_ - __e__e__oa_ds & ___a_e__es
???: A______s - A__o_ea_ S_ee_
???: Jorn Lande & Trond Holter - Queen of the Dead
???: Nerve End - _____e
Stadler: Mother Love Bone - ___oe Dan_e_/__o_n o_ __o_ns
???: ___no_e - A__d M_s_ _omo__o_
home:  Sufjan Stevens, Bryne Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister - Jupiter
???:  With Our Arms to the Sun - Memo__: __e D____

Letters Guessed:
ADEMNOS

Bolsters waits 3
LordCost waits 2
Nekov waits 1

Offline twosuitsluke

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #741 on: July 28, 2017, 01:08:37 AM »
T

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #742 on: July 28, 2017, 01:19:33 AM »
???: ____ata_ - _n t_e E_e
Tomislav95: Enchant - Nighttime Sky
???: Me_os_ - __e__e__oa_ds & ___a_ettes
???: A______s - A__o_ea_ S_ee_
???: Jorn Lande & Trond Holter - Queen of the Dead
???: Nerve End - T____e
Stadler: Mother Love Bone - ___oe Dan_e_/__o_n o_ T_o_ns
???: ___no_e - A__d M_st Tomo__o_
home:  Sufjan Stevens, Bryne Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister - Jupiter
???:  With Our Arms to the Sun - Memo__: T_e D___t

Letters Guessed:
ADEMNOST

Luke waits 3
Bolsters waits 2
LordCost waits 1

Offline home

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #743 on: July 28, 2017, 01:51:03 AM »
In the eye?
Memory: the drift?
Break the mold, let's shake the ground, wreak havoc!

Offline Luoto

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #744 on: July 28, 2017, 02:24:12 AM »
U
Always too soon, always too late, always in between.

Offline Nekov

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #745 on: July 28, 2017, 06:33:23 AM »
Aquilus - Arboreal Sleep

And I see a "something" must tomorrow
When Ginobili gets hot, I get hot in my pants. 

Online Evermind

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #746 on: July 28, 2017, 08:11:32 AM »
Loviatar - In the Eye
Mepost - Whethertoads & Cigarettes
Hypnose - Acid Mast Tomorrow
With Our Arms to the Sun - Memoir: The Djent

I think it's fair to say I have no idea about anything in this hangman. :lol
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Nekov

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #747 on: July 28, 2017, 08:20:03 AM »
 :lol

Those are some fun guesses
When Ginobili gets hot, I get hot in my pants. 

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #748 on: July 28, 2017, 09:03:15 AM »
???: __u_ata_ - In the Eye
Tomislav95: Enchant - Nighttime Sky
???: Me_os_ - __e__e__oa_ds & ___a_ettes
???: A______s - A__o_ea_ S_ee_
???: Jorn Lande & Trond Holter - Queen of the Dead
???: Nerve End - T____e
Stadler: Mother Love Bone - ___oe Dan_e_/__o_n o_ T_o_ns
???: Hypno5e - Acid M_st Tomorrow
home:  Sufjan Stevens, Bryne Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister - Jupiter
???:  With Our Arms to the Sun - Memory: The Drift

Letters Guessed:
ADEMNOSTU

Luoto waits 3
Luke waits 2
Bolsters waits 1

ehh, i filled in all the ones that were "close enough"

Online Evermind

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #749 on: July 28, 2017, 09:29:50 AM »
I'm just sad it wasn't "The Djent".
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Nekov

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #750 on: July 28, 2017, 01:19:13 PM »
Acid Mist Tomorrow?

Give me an R
When Ginobili gets hot, I get hot in my pants. 

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #751 on: July 28, 2017, 01:38:52 PM »
???: __u_atar - In the Eye
Tomislav95: Enchant - Nighttime Sky
???: Me_os_ - __e__er_oards & ___arettes
???: Aquillus - Arboreal Sleep
???: Jorn Lande & Trond Holter - Queen of the Dead
???: Nerve End - T_r__e
Stadler: Mother Love Bone - ___oe Dan_er/_ro_n o_ T_orns
???: Hypno5e - Acid Mist Tomorrow
home:  Sufjan Stevens, Bryne Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister - Jupiter
???:  With Our Arms to the Sun - Memory: The Drift

Letters Guessed:
ADEMNORSTU

Nekov waits 3
Luoto waits 2
Luke waits 1

Forgot to fill in aquillus earlier woops
« Last Edit: July 28, 2017, 02:46:20 PM by Parama »

Offline Nekov

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #752 on: July 28, 2017, 01:59:40 PM »
Acid Myst tomorrow? Come on, it was close enough last time.

And the third one has cigarettes at the end
When Ginobili gets hot, I get hot in my pants. 

Offline Luoto

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #753 on: July 28, 2017, 02:05:30 PM »
He just fails at managing the hangman right now, it's Mist. And it's by Train.
Always too soon, always too late, always in between.

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #754 on: July 28, 2017, 02:46:04 PM »
I tried to update from my phone, this is why I never do  :lol

Offline Train of Naught

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #755 on: July 30, 2017, 03:43:49 AM »
Let's wrap this shit up

Megosh - Checkerboards & Cigarettes --> Luke
Jorn Lande --> Evermind
Hypno5e is actually me, since it has already been guessed I can admit it
With Our Arms to the Sun --> Nekov
Nerve End - Thrive --> LordCost
Aquilus --> Luoto
Some Pop Artist I Don't Know - In the Eye --> Bolsters

results when
people on this board are actual music fans who developed taste in music and not casual listeners who are following current fashion trends and listening to only current commercial hits.

Offline Luoto

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #756 on: July 30, 2017, 06:33:15 AM »
You are not entirely correct.
Always too soon, always too late, always in between.

Offline twosuitsluke

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #757 on: July 30, 2017, 06:34:45 AM »
You are not correct.

But you're also not wrong

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #758 on: July 30, 2017, 06:51:56 PM »
???: __u_atar - In the Eye
Tomislav95: Enchant - Nighttime Sky
twosuitsluke: Megosh - Checkerboards & Cigarettes
???: Aquillus - Arboreal Sleep
Evermind: Jorn Lande & Trond Holter - Queen of the Dead
???: Nerve End - Thrive
Stadler: Mother Love Bone - ___oe Dan_er/_ro_n o_ T_orns
Train of Naught: Hypno5e - Acid Mist Tomorrow
home:  Sufjan Stevens, Bryne Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister - Jupiter
???:  With Our Arms to the Sun - Memory: The Drift

Letters Guessed:
ADEMNORSTU

Nekov waits 3
Luoto waits 2
Luke waits 1

I appreciate that almost every single who sent what guess is wrong
No pop songs in this round btw
i originally said i'd have results tomorrow but i absolutely do not feel like doing any results today so i'll do half tomorow and the rest tuesday alright

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #759 on: July 31, 2017, 09:09:00 PM »
i'm gonna cut to the chase and say that this round has been pretty hard to do writeups for because one of you idiots sent an incredibly memorable song that has dominated the round so hard i can barely remember any of the other songs after four listens and not for lack of proper listening or anything. i'm about halfway done with writeups rn and will try to finish some more tonight so i can wrap up the last few tuesday but i don't feel too confident in my scores or my writeups after the usual amount of listens (except for the one stupid awful song i love) so if i don't post results tuesday you can blame the guy with the highest score this round

Offline LordCost

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #760 on: July 31, 2017, 11:12:43 PM »
Waiting to see the first 10/10 :corn

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #761 on: August 01, 2017, 12:21:25 AM »
it's actually only an 8.75 lol
i maaayyy bump it up to a 9 but yeah

9 is really good btw so

Offline Bolsters

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #762 on: August 01, 2017, 01:29:47 AM »
Waiting patiently for my 6.75.

Offline twosuitsluke

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #763 on: August 01, 2017, 05:03:03 AM »
I'd be really surprised if the song you mentioned is mine, but then again I really didn't expect such a high score for RX Bandits  :corn


Offline Tomislav95

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #764 on: August 01, 2017, 05:38:34 AM »
I'm 99% sure it's not my song :lol I don't think I would give it 9 and it's much more in my style than Parama's
...the years just pass like trains
I wave but they don't slow down...

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #765 on: August 01, 2017, 11:08:26 AM »
If you look at my upcoming score upside down I guess it might be 9.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Nekov

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #766 on: August 01, 2017, 02:07:18 PM »
 :lol I would actually rate my song a 9, which doesn't mean Parama will
When Ginobili gets hot, I get hot in my pants. 

Offline LordCost

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #767 on: August 01, 2017, 02:18:18 PM »
I think and hope mine will be around 7.5...

Offline Crow

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #768 on: August 01, 2017, 10:28:48 PM »
Round 7 Results

Stadler: Mother Love Bone – Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns

First Impressions:
My first impression is that I am not a huge fan of this vocalist. Like I don’t know this style of singing just isn’t really appealing to me at all. Beyond that, this is just… doesn’t really have much going for it yet, at all. It’s got a solid enough chill vibe to it, decent enough power ballad stuff, but the instrumentation is just such a non-presence and I can only assume I’m meant to focus on the vocals… which I don’t care for. The guitar solo near the end is pretty decent & the music behind it definitely gives it decent space to breathe. That’s really about all I can say though, the rest of this just did not do much of anything for me on first listen.

Final Thoughts:
I take it Chloe Dancer is the piano part at the start of the song and Crown of Thorns is the rest of the song after that, correct? Doesn’t really matter that’s just, where I see the split between the two being but it’s tracked the same on the album so I am not exactly certain.

Anyways. Yeah. Just can’t get past the vocalist on this one, just absolutely not my style. I can tell he’s trying to be subtle and emotional during the first part of this to match the (rather thin-sounding) piano, but it just doesn’t work for me. I realize the style is not actually that different from By The Sword but it’s just different enough that there’s something offputting about it. There’s like, some notes he feels off pitch or some syllables overenunciated.

If there’s one positive I didn’t comment on during the first listen, the bassline is often pretty audible and never really mimicking the guitar line, which is something I always like to hear. The bassline itself isn’t exactly impressive but it’s effective enough for the tone the song is going for so I end up enjoying it. And it’s not like the basic music behind the vocals doesn’t have at least some power to it, I do like the swell of the chorus here, it has a nice full sound that makes for an effective climax on its own even ignoring the vocals.

There really isn’t much else to comment on here though. This song basically fails for me to some extent because what the primary appeal of the song is supposed to be is something I find that detracts from the song, and the rest of the elements in the song don’t do enough to salvage it for me. It’s not a miserably bad song or anything, it’s in general pleasant enough to listen to, but replace the vocalist with someone else and while I doubt I’d love it I’m sure I’d like it a fair bit more than I do at the very least.

6/10
 


Tomislav95: Enchant – Nighttime Sky

First Impressions:
Oh boy the quality of both that synth and those drums sounds kind of. Cheap honestly. Apparently this is from 1993 though. So I mean I guess. Fair enough. The early 90’s were basically just an extension of the 80’s. Ooh yeah the vocals are also super 80’s sounding yeah. I’ve probably said this before but the 80’s are definitely not my favorite decade of modern music. Anyways the song itself. So far it’s okay? I don’t know, there’s not really anything yet I can’t say I haven’t heard before, or heard done better. The instrumental break in the middle is just so standard prog it’s almost mindblowing. Except that awful-sounding snare, geez. It’s mostly that it’s just so… loud in comparison to the rest of the drums. The classical guitar solo near the end is a moment that stands out at least, and it’s not like the instrumentation throughout the song is bland in general. It’s just… I don’t know, I’ve just heard too much prog I think, for this to stand out much.

Final Thoughts:
This is one of those unfortunate instances where there are two similar songs dueling for my attention in one round and one of them has to come off looking worse because of it, and, well, this song definitely lost to the other cheesy prog rock song from 1993 that I got sent this round.

The vocals are definitely one of the weaker points for me, I just don’t like this style of singing at all. I’m glad as hell it’s basically dead nowadays. Though being replaced by the high-pitched whinyboy vocal sound a lot of modern rock and metal bands use isn’t a huge step up to be fair. And yeah geez that snare is just. Bad mixing, yo. That’s not even a production issue that’s an intentional decision that isn’t affected by the age of the song or anything.

I also just am not a huge fan of the really sparkly synth used throughout this. It doesn’t really have atmosphere, it doesn’t really have depth, the only thing it really does have is a rather dated sound. Would’ve been improved if they’d just used a piano for all the parts it plays.

I have all these harsh criticisms but in the end I think the song sounds… okay overall? It’s melodically pleasant and while it’s not overly prog the instrumental bit in the middle at least mixes up things a little even if it’s not really particularly memorable in any way. Also why does the song feel like it’s hitting its climax before the 6 minute mark, then keep going on for another three minutes after that? It’s weird. But yeah. Aside from sounding rather dated in all aspects it’s compositionally pretty sound and I don’t hate it or anything.

I don’t know, I don’t have much else to say about this. It’s just caught between not really being my thing and having to be negatively compared to another song in the same round. And with a dash of going on a bit too long too. Ehhh. That’s all.

6.75/10
 


Evermind: Jorn Lande & Trond Holter – Queen of the Dead

First Impressions:
Do I really have to listen to this, we all know I’m gonna hate it, corn corn corn corn corn. But no this is more downbeat power metal type of stuff which, like I said in my last roulette, I tend to be more into. Like, I dig that really groovy riff behind the chorus, I’m all in favor of stuff like that believe it or not. Beyond that I mean, it’s fine. The vocals are solid, I’m pretty sure this guy has been on Ayreon before, he sounds familiar but I can’t pin it down. I think he was on Victim of the Modern Age (the song)? Probably wrong though. Oh man uhh that tapping in the guitar solo I am actually not on board with, I hate that kind of stuff lol. Yeah this solo is doing absolutely nothing for me but the guitar riff behind it is solid. This is… alright, I dunno, mixed feelings but I figure you expected that.

Final Thoughts:
Sorry dude but you’re not landing in the 6/10 tier today. Please don’t send me a worse power metal song though. This is already so awful. Just the worst song I’ve been sent in the entire roulette, aside from all the songs that have scored lower than it so far, as well as all the ones that will score worse in the future.

Anyways the one part of this that definitely sticks in my head is the chorus, with that groovy bluesy guitar line going on in the background and a pretty catchy vocal line. I love that guitar work, honestly, it’s just great & it’s got quite a long loop to it, it’s like a full 8 bars of sweet guitar work. The rest of the instrumentation I don’t really care about at all though, it’s there sure but whatever.

The pizzicato string part before the solo kind of comes out of nowhere but it’s a nice moment to really kick the song in full gear for the ending solo section. I am still not too into that guitar solo itself though, it’s technically impressive and all but a lot of it kind of just sounds like crap honestly.

And yeah anyways I’m not huge on the vocal style here but they’ve got enough power and passion put into them that I at least like them on some level. Cheesy as heck, sure, but so is that guitar riff I really like so you know, whatever.

I end up not really having a ton to say on this one but there’s enough of this I dig to at least make it passable, though I’m far from in love with it. I think if there was like, more than two parts I liked a lot in the song with most of the rest being stuff I’m pretty indifferent to it’d have scored higher but well here we are. Oh well.

7/10



LordCost: With Our Arms to the Sun – Memory: The Drift

First Impressions:
The vocals at the start of this have more texture and atmosphere than the guitars do somehow. Which may be a good thing but maybe a bad thing, possibly both, who knows. When the heavy stuff kicks in I genuinely can’t tell if that’s a violin in the background or if it’s a bagpipe, it’s rather distorted sounding. I think I’m waiting for a moment to be really blown away by but instead I’m finding something that’s just. Solid. There’s no real peaks and valleys here, it’s just enjoyable enough prog metal the whole way through. Which I mean is fine to be, but has the unfortunate side effect of having this not stand out too much, at least upon first listen.

Final Thoughts:
If you had asked me before this writeup what this song sounded like, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you a single thing, honestly. That doesn’t necessarily mean the song itself is bad, more than it doesn’t really have any memorable moments that particularly stand out to me. Because, yeah, this song is… pretty fine. I could basically end my writeup there and say all I honestly have to say about this song but I’ll keep going just to not look too lazy.

I call this prog metal in my first impressions writeup but there’s like, not actually anything prog about this song at all honestly, it’s just an alternative metal song. With some solid atmosphere, sure, and the vocals are pretty fitting for the style, they have decent atmosphere and all. But it really is pretty straightforward as a song, that one clean guitar line at the start is really the jumping off point for the rest of the song and there are echoes and variations of it basically constantly throughout the song. Which is a nice touch, certainly.

The guitar solo near the end is also remarkably solid. Not super into it but I dig it enough, it fills space and sounds pretty nice, not too indulgent or overlong but it’s nice to have it. And the chorus of the song, has a decent enough level of power compared to the rest, makes it stand out just enough. If I had one real criticism I feel like the ending is a bit weird, it returns to the intro and then starts to build up but winds right back down again after rather anticlimactically. I dunno, it’s just a little weird.

And well. I really don’t know what more I can say about this. Is it bad? Not at all. Is it really good? Nah, it’s fine. There’s just nothing here that really pops out, nothing that impresses me, I don’t mind listening to it but it’s an incredibly unremarkable song in every aspect.

7.25/10



Tran of Naught: Hypno5e – Acid Mist Tomorrow

First Impressions:
Has guitars, 0/10. The first thing I’m going to point out is that I don’t like these harsh vocals much at all. Too screamy and angery. The clean bit after is nice though, solid amount of atmosphere and the clean vocals sound totally fine, pretty good really. The heavy riffs have this really janky lumbering feel to them. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing though. The song has this cyclic loop of LOUD PART quiet part going on but it sort of feels like it’s lacking the in-between level of loudness that I actually would prefer having at least sometime. This is one of those weird cases where a band does quieter moments way better than louder moments but still insists on being a metal band when they’d probably be better off as a softer rock band. I mean, the metal stuff is, alright, but the parts I’m finding myself more interested are all the cleaner, acoustic parts with the good vocals. I guess  it’s nice to at least have contrast.

Final Thoughts:
I get why you sent this and I get the impression that people think I think being heavy automatically makes something good which I can assure you is not the case, I actually tend to steer away from mindless heavy stuff like deathcore and meshuggah. Especially meshuggah. And again it’s not like the heavy parts are really that bad. I do not like the vocals at all, that hasn’t changed, but the riffs can be decent at times.

But seriously now, it’s just plain unfair how much better the clean parts of this song are. It’s basically the same phenomenon that I’ve observed with Exotic Animal Petting Zoo, at least on their first album. They are really great at atmospheric and sinister sounding quieter moments but these often get lost in a homogenous mix of uninteresting heavy bits. Granted they can have their solid heavy moments that I dig a lot but that’s beside the point. The point is, I would like this a lot more without any of the heavy stuff.

I don’t even mind the very liberal use of samples throughout the clean bits, they’re in the background and don’t go on for too long. They build tension alright enough. And man, I am serious when I say these clean parts are really quite good, there’s a lot of feels to be had and there’s even a decent sense of dynamics to them, going from more dense moments to more sparse and intimate moments.

And then every time it just cuts right back to something heavy that doesn’t really interest me much. The stuff I dig is when there’s some dissonant guitar melodies going on but a lot of the more monotonous/chuggy parts don’t do much for me at all. There’s also one bit around 8:30 where there’s a really good level of atmosphere going on that makes for a solid climax. But then it cuts to a generic, jagged djenty riff right after and kills any momentum. It’s just a sequence of weird decisions that don’t really work out overall and don’t form a cohesive whole.

Overall I would definitely say I have a love/hate relationship with this – on one hand there’s a lot of parts I do like a fair bit, on the other hand there’s a lot of parts I could do without entirely, though I think the former does outweigh the latter overall. In the end I’m going with what feels like a kind of safe score but ehh it’ll do.

7.5/10



twosuitsluke: Megosh – Checkerboards & Cigarettes

First Impressions:
Having a kind of clunky transition so close to the start of the song isn’t filling me with confidence on this one. The vocals are… hmm. Something, alright. Yeah that intro is just completely disconnected from the rest of this isn’t. I think the instrumentation throughout is pretty solid, I particularly like that guitar solo. And the vocals are certainly enthusiastic if nothing else. I guess I’m just not into the vocalist’s tone, more than anything, I don’t know. And it’s over. This is the shortest song here by over two minutes so I guess I was caught off guard by how quickly it ended haha.

Final Thoughts:
What the heck is up with post-hardcore leaning bands like this to have these intros completely disconnected from the rest of the song? It’s just a weird choice. Instead of developing that idea into its own song it’s just awkwardly shoved at the start of another song that would be perfectly fine without it. It’s like, an okay musical idea, not in love with it but ehh it’s passable.

The main song is better though, for certain. The chorus in particular, I like a lot, even if I’m still not sold on the vocalist. A bit too breathy for my taste. But there’s a lot of power and swell to that chorus, there’s like quiet horns and choir vocals in the background I swear. And the muted guitar and frantic drums give a nice energy to the verses.

Beyond the verses and choruses there’s not a whole lot else to this song except a pretty solid guitar solo played over the instrumentals of the chorus, and then a kind of anticlimactic quiet reprise of the chorus that’s not really a great way to end the track. Yeah it’s a bit short and ends a bit abrupt doesn’t it. Also I have no clue why hotel california is being evoked here.

Basically on the whole I am kind of behind this one, but also not like, super behind it in any way. I like most of it but only feel really strongly about the chorus, and the weird intro detracts a bit for how out of place it is. And it just feels underdeveloped in general. I like it but I wish I liked it more.

7.5/10

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Re: Parama's Confrontational Roulette v2.5 (Round 7 First Impressions)
« Reply #769 on: August 01, 2017, 10:29:25 PM »
Bolsters: Aquillus – Arboreal Sleep

First Impressions:
It’s not pop, whoa. Everything I know is a lie. Right off the bat I am liking how this is starting though. I mean yeah. I’m a few minutes into this and it’s just. Very solid stuff. Good riffs, good clean moments, production is a bit washed out but it doesn’t really harm the song in any way. Though the piano break is going on a lot longer than I’d expect for how early in the song it is. I get the distinct impression this is one of those songs-forming-a-suite kind of album and it feels a lot better in the context of the album. The end result is that the track itself feels a bit all over the place but taking all the parts separately all of it sounds pretty dang good. It just… feels more like a “movement” than a cohesive song. And very little of it has anything to do with metal, relatively, but that’s not necessarily a problem.

Final Thoughts:
On one hand this is a kind of song I really should like, but at the same time… it hardly feels constructed as a “song”. It’s more like a stream of ideas that I’d bet good money on being part of a suite or an album where every song flows in to each other and is meant to be listened to like one big song. I still have no clue whether or not that’s the case though and I’m not going to have it affect my rankings.

Anyways, the early metal parts of this are obviously something I dig. Big and epic, lots of power and atmosphere, the guitar tone is pretty great and the vocal tradeoffs between the harsh and clean vocals is all cool stuff. And I do appreciate that there’s a winding down to the long piano break in the form of a short acoustic guitar section.

On the subject of piano breaks like this, I feel that for me personally they are very hit or miss with a lot more falling into the latter pile. It definitely helps here that the piano has a lot of texture and has some strings backing it up for decent swell. On the hit-miss scale I’d say it’s leaning a bit more towards a hit though I can’t say I’m huge on it either. I don’t mind it at the very least. I’ve heard worse breaks by bands I really like (both Precambrian by The Ocean and Winter by Oceans of Slumber end on very mediocre/pointless piano pieces I have no love for) so.

I can’t really say I find the metal stuff here like, particularly unique in any way but it’s serviceable and I get enough enjoyment out of it that I don’t mind it being a little generic. The ending bit is something that at first I felt was a bit anticlimactic but on relistens, no, it’s quite beautiful and has a fair bit of power behind it despite lacking the metal elements of the song entirely. So yeah, no complaints on that front.

At the end of the day though the biggest weakness of this track is that it barely feels like a song at all and it’s really hard to get into it when there are such abrupt shifts between the four main parts the song has to offer. I think every part is pretty solid individually but the whole feels to be a bit less than the sum of its parts, and I’m not wowed by any part of this in particular anyways. So yeah, it’s an interesting enough piece, might check out the album, but I wish I was into it more than I am.

7.5/10



Nekov: Ilúvatar – In the Eye

First Impressions:
What the hell, another prog rock song from 1993. Well then. This one has better sound quality in general than the other similar song in this round so that’s at least a good start. I am really digging the bouncy groove of the verses here, it’s the rare instance where I can get into something that just sounds really fun all around. The percussion in the middle section is suuuper 80’s sounding but it complements the rest of the instrumentation well. I genuinely don’t know what it is about this song, this should bore me or I should find it generic or something but everything just works well enough that I can’t help but enjoy it. And like, that’s not a bad thing at all of course. Ends rather abruptly though, geez.

Final Thoughts:
I am actually not too into the start of this, it’s a really sparkly and squeaky clean bright sound that, while it sounds pleasant enough, doesn’t really resonate with me in any way. Also it feels a bit overlong that it sticks to this one sound. But anyways once the triplet groove kicks in I’m on board for pretty much the rest of the song so you know whatever.

Believe it or not I do like fun music every once in a while, though I wouldn’t say any of my all-time favorite songs are particularly fun. The vocals are more tolerable here than the very 80’s sounding vocalists on other songs this round, I can’t say I particularly love them but they certainly help add to the fun groove and sound pretty smooth while doing so.

The middle bit has a darker and more laid-back vibe to it that contrasts nicely with the more fun first half of the song but there’s still a nice amount of subtleties going on in the background and it all comes together pretty well. It’s pretty straightforward on the surface but all the little guitar and synth things going on keeps it interesting.

I do feel the last leg of the song lose me a bit though, it’s far from bad but it doesn’t really have the fun groove or the interesting subtleties of the middle of the song. It’s kind of fun sure, and it’s a solid climax for the song, though the abrupt ending makes it a bit less so of one. I dunno. It just doesn’t appeal to me as much.

On the whole though while there are parts here I’m not too hot on, there’s definitely more I quite like than stuff I’m meh on and while the song could serve to be a bit shorter I still enjoy it a fair bit. Especially the triplet groove part of the track, that’s some really good stuff, if this had been just that part it’d probably have scored way higher, It still trumps the other 1993 prog rock song I was sent this round by a decent margin, nonetheless, so.

7.75/10



Luoto: Nerve End – Thrive

First Impressions:
The last song I listened to named Thrive was off that The Contortionist album & I got sent that song in a roulette. I don’t imagine this song is going to be that similar but it sure starts with a somewhat similar vibe, very melodic but also heavy at the same time. The vocals lack presence, I feel, mixed maybe a bit low. Everything being harmonies might not be helping that feeling either, I guess. This sort of hammers on a kind of samey vibe for a while and feels a bit formless as a result. I don’t really know what I can say about this, all the elements that make this up are pretty nice and it has a cohesive enough sound. But maybe too cohesive? It’s nothing I haven’t heard before anyways so that’s not doing it any favors. Maybe a bit heavier on the intense side than similar stuff at least so it has that going for it.

Final Thoughts:
This is definitely one of those cases where I like the general sound of the song a fair bit, an intense and heavy but simultaneously rather ambient and bright sound. But picking out individual parts of this that really stand out is kind of tough. Uhh. The vocalist actually sounds kind of Devin Townsend-y, at least during the harsher side of his vocals. I dig that sound a lot, but he’s also a bit too buried in the mix.

That verse riff is also kind of catchy in its own way. It’s a tight and kind of bouncy groove, despite only being like two notes. And the recurring melody that shows up throughout the song is a nice and pleasant melody. Those are the musical ideas that stick out the most mostly because they’re the ones that show up in the song the most.

I honestly don’t have much else to say about this one. I just vaguely enjoy it in a non-specific way. The vocals work for me, the dense vibe works for me, it’s dynamic enough to not feel too monotonous though it can definitely feel a bit samey. It’s kind of djenty at times too? Not really in a bad way, and not overly so, it’s more an element than the main body.

I dunno what to say man this is a really bad writeup but I like the song so whatever yo. Maybe I’ll relisten to this one and have a better writeup ready after that but I doubt I’ll have the time to do that before posting these results.

I am actually doing a relisten now and I feel like, almost entirely on the basis of the style and the vocals, this is my second favorite track of the round, though not by a ton – it’s just about the only song here that’s consistently enjoyable the whole way through. It’s basically Devin Townsend Djent. That’s how I’d describe this. Now I’m curious as to what a djent album made by Devin would actually sound like, but I also don’t actually want that it’d be bad. But yeah, the intensity of this one is just something I can really throw myself into, even if there’s nothing that particularly stands out, and I definitely want to check these guys out further (though they apparently only have two short EPs as of now, oh well.)

8/10



home: Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly & James McAlister – Jupiter

First Impressions:
I’m so sorry I can only ever think of that Train song when I see “Jupiter” in a musical context. Darn you, Pat Monahan and your wailing dying cat voice. The thumping percussion and atmospheric electronics play off each other pretty well, always a combination that seems to work. The robot vocals are maybe a bit… I dunno, I think they work here but I think it’d work better without all the effects. And suddenly speaker-destroying bass, WELP. I am not so much a fan of that, yeah. This is… interesting on the whole, not really what I was expecting but I didn’t really have many expectations anyways.

Final Thoughts:
I’m actually writing this one first just to get it off my chest because this is a round where the victor is so blindingly decisive and this one song has just overshadowed everything else here so thoroughly. So uhh yeah, it’s good.

The vocal melody during the early verses of the song is something I find really enchanting and endlessly memorable. It’s both kind of sinister and really beautiful sounding, and the vocalist delivering it (I have no clue which of the people here it is) has a voice that complements it really well. It’s a melody and delivery that captures “space” really well. And the music backing it helps a lot too – the atmospheric synths providing both a solid grounding and some more melodic runs for texture. The booming percussion cuts through the mood and gives the song a driving feel as well.

The song does have other parts to it sure, there’s a quieter and more atmospheric bridge in the middle that breaks up the song quite nicely, it’s not as memorable but it does its job well and sets the stage for the back half of the song.

Oh also yeah the robot vocals are… I dunno if this would work better without them but I almost don’t care because, again, that melody is fantastic. And the effects of the vocals make it sound even more otherworldly. It’s a really intense quiet moment. That the really loud bit kind of breaks. I will admit, I am still not a fan of that part much, but it’s really brief and kicks the song back into motion so it’s not a huge detractor. The higher-pitched reprise of the previous melody is cool too though I don’t think it works quite as well the second time around.

It’s sort of hard to keep up with all the miniscule changes and details that go into this song – right after that you get this really bleepy bit that goes right into an orchestral finale that’s a pretty solid climax. But yeah there’s a lot of really small details going on throughout and it adds up to pretty solid instrumentation, though without the vocals I doubt I’d find this as compelling as I do.

Anyways overall this song utterly destroyed everything else this round in my mind and for that alone it deserves a pretty high score, definitely will need to check out this project for myself.

8.75/10



Current Standings:
Nekov – 62.25
Luoto – 62
twosuitsluke – 61.75
home – 60.75
Bolsters – 59.75
Tomislav95 – 59.5
Evermind – 59.25
LordCost – 58.5
Train of Naught – 57.5
Stadler – 54.5

home takes a step towards closing the gap between himself and the top three, while Bolsters falls just short of reaching the cool kids’ 60 point club. The top three also remains really competitive with only a half point spread between the three. Exciting last few rounds, I bet. And sorry for being so slow on results this time, kind of low energy at the moment, I’ll try to be faster next time.