ROUND ONE RESULTS
Winner: Elite – 8.5/10
Toehider – What Kind of Creature Am I? [2014]
Parama was sort of onto something when he noticed that this was the first album I went to for a second listen. It wasn’t my favourite at the time, in fact I didn’t really know what to think. But I was intrigued and felt like I needed another listen to get my head around it. And I did indeed, and it’s excellent! Kinda reminds of me of Devin Townsend with some post-hardcore influences thrown in here and there. Quirky, theatrical and bonkers at times, but also with enough sincere moments to prevent it becoming too “out-there” (at least for me, as someone who isn’t put off by the quirks). I know this definitely wouldn’t be for everyone and it took me a few listens for it to sink in, but what an excellent discovery for only the first round! The last track is kind of annoying and brings it down slightly, but as it’s right at the end, I can just ignore it.
Standouts: Whatever Makes You Feel Superior, What Kind of Creature am I, Under the Future We Bury the Past, Meet the Sloth
Nekov – 8/10
Papadosio – Pattern Integrities [2016]
The only non rock/metal album of the bunch, and I dig it loads, as I did on the very first listen. A great fusion of rock, jazz, electronica, all with a lovely chilled out vibe. The album achieves a really nice balance whereby it has enough going on (jazzy chords, etc.) to make it interesting for a proper listen, while at the same time it creates a soft and really nice vibe that makes it great for background music too. I can see myself listening to this a lot. Not too much else to say really.
Standouts: Threes, Vactrollio
Stadler – 8/10
Rainbow – Rising [1976]
As much as I was amused by Stads’ uncharacteristically brief (2-word) submission, he’s sort of right that the album speaks for itself. Not really sure why I’ve never really listened to Rainbow before, but I really dig this album a lot. I was familiar with Stargazer because of the DT cover, and it’s a great song. I also absolutely love Run With the Wolf, which has a superb groove to it that I wasn’t really expecting. Tarot Woman and A Light in the Black are also really good, and the other two tracks while less exciting are still solid. All round a top-notch album and a pleasant surprise to discover something 40 years old I hadn’t already heard, and enjoy it this much!
Standouts: Run With the Wolf, Stargazer
Parama – 7.5/10
East of the Wall – The Apologist [2011]
A pretty intense listen, probably the opposite end of the spectrum from the Papadosio album but great for totally different reasons. Despite your claim that it takes a number of listens to get it, I found it grabbed me on the first listen. If anything, it all ran together a bit more on subsequent listens. It feels like it sits somewhere between Thrice and Intronaut with a bunch of other influences in the mix too. Some good melodies, excellent riffs and all round a pretty bleak and heavy mood. Very powerful music and some great instrumental sections.
Standouts: Naif, The Apologist
Jingle – 7/10
Darwin’s Radio – Template for a Generation [2009]
I’d never heard of Darwin’s Radio before, but this is a nice album with lots to enjoy. Plenty of cool proggy ideas and it’s pretty consistently good throughout, though very little stands out as very memorable or exciting apart from some nice riffs in Breathe It In. I think it might have benefited from tighter production perhaps – it’s a little rough around the edges. After one listen each I did prefer this to the other two 7/10 albums from this round, but whereas those improved once I got to know them, this didn’t really change and I think the production was a feature of that. But still, definitely a nice album and it’ll get more listens in future!
Standouts: The Illusion is Freedom, Breathe It In
Evermind – 7/10
Vanden Plas – Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld II [2015]
I appreciate you sending this even though I’ve rated a Vanden Plas album before (and only 2.5 stars, or 5/10, at that), because they’ve clearly come a long way since then and I don’t know that I’d necessarily have checked out their more recent work otherwise. This is a lot more interesting and has some very great melodies that I’ve found stuck in my head at times. There’s also some nice development of ideas – in particular, while there are a couple of things about Blood of Eden I’m not so keen on (mainly a couple of vocal sections that sound a bit weak), it has some terrific tunes and lovely use of recurring themes. But while it’s the most memorable of the 7/10s, I also found it the least consistent and there are definitely some parts that lose my interest. But I’ll be sure to check out some more of their recent output now.
Standouts: Stone Roses Edge, Blood of Eden
lonestar – 7/10
Speaking to Stones – Elements [2012]
To be honest, after the first couple of listens, I thought this might be the album for elimination. I liked it, but I didn’t really find much of it very exciting apart from the odd moment in the opening and closing tracks. But it’s definitely a grower – the second listen was already better than the first, and then on the third some of the sections really stood out. They’re a little reminiscent of Beyond the Bridge, if not as interesting. I think each of the songs meanders a bit, which holds it back and probably affected my initial reaction, but after more listens there are some cracking sections within those songs and overall I like the album quite a bit now.
Standouts: Water, Quita Essentia
TIEBREAKER
A tiebreaker already you say? Jingle, Evermind and lonestar all got the lowest score of 7/10 (which really isn’t bad by the way). Madness! As I said before, tiebreakers will be a single song, but otherwise following all the same rules as the main rounds.
THE TWIST: Seeing as all three of you sent me prog for round 1, prog is NOT ALLOWED for the tiebreaker. Send me something non-prog. Go!