Round 2 Results:
Parama...Fun-Take Your Time
"This band thinks they are some kind of modern Billy Joel"
So this was the first song I heard in this round and I thought, Oh God, WTF is this? This is terrible. It starts off and I'm thinking, is this Paul f'n Simon?? I made may way through the song, and I could hear what I felt like a Billy Joel style ending, meaning, this is the type of track that goes up and down, but is clearly written for the live environment.
By the third listen, I really started to figure this song out, and I really dug it. Honestly, it became the only song in the round that I actually looked forward to hearing.
I youtubed the track to find some live performances, and couldn't believe that this song is over 5 years old, and that the band was so freaking young looking. The singer has a unique style to his voice. I had literally never heard of this band before. Not sure I'd look to discover more, but this song really hooked me. It's a minute or so too long, but this was easily the song of the round.
I expect to catch all kinds of shit from the peanut gallery for this, so fire away assholes! My flame suit is on! And my Heavy Metal Card is locked in a fire proof safe!
8.5
Train Of Naught...The Deer Hunter-Mustard Gas
"I've sampled this band, and this is much better than what I heard"
When I saw The Deer Hunter track, I kind of rolled my eyes a bit. I sampled them a few years ago, and thought it was pretty bad. I must've picked a much lighter track or two, because nothing I ever heard was this heavy. So that kind of surprised me. This song seems to showcase a number of things this band can do. They seem quite versatile. I would certainly be willing to give this band another chance, based on this song, so I'll take recommendations. I thought this song was pretty cool.
While I can generally hear Alice Cooper in everything, I hear him all over this song. Has any of the members cited him as an influence? It really jumps out at me.
7.5
Tomislav95....Paradise Lost-Embers Fire
"Reminds me a bit of The Cult."
So, while I'm sure this is a legit song, I couldn't help feel like this was some sort of SNL Heavy Metal spoof song. Felt very Spinal Tap-ish. The singer sounds like a cross between Glenn Danzig and Tom Araya, playing over Black Sabbath.
Honestly, the song kind of plods along. It's kind of like early 90's plodding Metallica, and this song would be a whole lot better if James Hetfield was singing it.
7.0
LordCost...Leprous-Forced Entry
"I have no idea what I just listened to."
I found this song really challenging to get through. The playing is excellent, but I kept waiting for the "That's it!" moment. At 10:20, it's simply too long for what it offers. I see a lot of Leprous mentions on DTF, so I was very excited to get them. I would be more than willing to try another song. But sometimes I hear music like this, and think it's playing for playing's sake. I just never felt like this song took me anywhere. I think if this song was condensed down by 4 or 5 minutes, it would've been more effective.
7.0
Shadow Ninja 2.0......Beach House-Myth
"I have no f'n clue WTF I just f'n listened to."
Ninja, dude. Hmm.. Ok, well, first off, I made it clear that don't send me something you think I might like. I'd rather everyone send something they like. I'm having this roulette to hear what people, outside of my circle, are listening to. So I deeply appreciate every submission. I mean that.
So, the song. Here's what I liked about it. It has this melancholy feel that is actually quite captivating. I could see this song on a movie soundtrack being played either during the credits, or during some reflective moment. It has a "heavy on the heart" sort of feel to it. But I don't know. It just didn't work for me.
6.0
The Silent Cody...Rage-Twenty One
"It was OK. I was expecting better"
I've sampled Rage before. They are a long running metal band. I was looking forward to this track, hoping for a diamond in the rough.
But other than the Alice Cooper style opening, and the cool drum intro, I struggled to get into this song. The peanut gallery has said that Rage is half killer/half filler. I got the filler, I'm afraid.
7.0
Home...Haken-The Endless Knot
"This is going to take a few listens"
I had heard the first Haken album, and found it kind of loopy. But this song is definitely a lot more solid. But I found it Dream Theater 'lite'. It just didn't have the power or emotion that Dream Theater has. Not sure this track really shows off Haken's musicality. It shows off their playing for sure. And the singer is ok, but nothing that got me going. James Labrie is really one of the main reasons that Dream Theater seperates from the rest. There was really no emotion or range in these vocals. I think it undermined the track a bit, tbh. That said, the song was still one of the better ones of the round, but it still wasn't great.
7.5
Tyrias-Mumford & Sons-Thistle & Weeds
"Hmm..I'm pretty sure this was cool. I'm not sure."
So Tyrias used his Wild Card and submitted Sigur Ros' Svo hljott. One listen. Goodbye Sigur Ros.
So a little known TAC secret is that Nirvana's Unplugged In New York is one of my favorite albums. Thistle & Weeds sounds like it was ripped right off of it. Vocaly it's pretty similar, and the song builds kind of neatly. This was a cool song, and I would love to see it in a live accoustic setting. I did not have a chance, during the round, to search Youtube, but I will. I'm not sure Mumford & Sons is really a TAC style band, and again, I would take more recommendations on them. But for a "moment in time", this song hits the spot.
7.5
Sacul..Riverside-Celebrity Touch
"This band has to have better songs than this"
I sampled Riverside years ago. My biggest issue then was I thought the singer was extremely dull. Guess what. I still do. I think he's the biggest hurdle this band has. For me, anyway. There is nothing that draws me in vocally.
Also, this song has kind of a Morse era Deep Purple (yawn) feel, but it does transition halfway through to a Presto era Rush feel, which is kind of cool. Honestly, that's what saved the song from a 6.5. Riverside has to have better songs, musically, than this. But I feel like, as I said, the vocals will prevent me from truly getting into this band.
7.0
Parama-17.5
Home-16.5
LordCost-15.5
Train Of Naught-15.5
The Silent Cody-15.0
Shadow Ninja - 15.0
Tomislave95-14.5
Tyrias-14.5
Sacul-14.0