Here are the results for round 1! Overall a pretty decent round.
Train of Naught
Rivers of Nihil - The Silent Life
I've been trying to think back on all the technical death metal albums I've listened to over the years (and its a lot) and remember if any of them ever used a saxophone. I don't think I have ever heard saxophone in this genre before, very unorthodox (in a good way). I like the way it came in subtly at first and then follows with a full bore sax solo. It fits so well. The rest of the song is quite well done tech death. It's technical, but not to the detriment of the rest of the song. It flows well and that main riff has been stuck in my head for the last few days now. The vocals are good and don't get in the way. My only complaint, and it's a small one, would be the bass isn't audible enough in parts of the song. Otherwise a great track for round 1 and it put you in first place.....for now.
9.5/10
Jingle.boy
Termaze - An Ordinary Dream (Enla Momento)
This song grabbed my attention immediately and was an early front runner. Even though it dropped from the number 1 spot for the round, it's still a close number 2. So many awesome riffs to bang your head to throughout this song. And some great sing-a-long moments too. I really like this guys voice, he reminds me of Michael Erikson of Circus Maximus a bit. The only thing that bought it down after several listens was the lyrics. They started to bother me more and more the more I heard the song. They seem a little lackluster and for the length of the song they are repeated way too often. Minor complaint though. The breakdown in the middle with the strings and the piano is really nice. Then the buildup back in to the last half is really well done. This is Power Prog done right.
9/10
Soupytwist
dEUS - Keep You Close
I really like the orchestral arrangements on this song. Keeps it interesting and gives it great dynamics. This song had the best chorus of all the songs in Round 1 and it's been stuck in my head. The way they build up to the chorus is great too. Otherwise it's a fairly simple song (which isn't a bad thing), but catchy, and never gets boring. Not much more to say, it's just a plain good song. Great first round pick!
8/10
TACataracts
CastleWay - The Hunt
The violin to begin the song is fantastic and it pretty much goes non stop throughout the song. I kind of didn't like it at first, but it grew on me the more I listened to it. Even though these 2 bands are pretty different stylistically it reminds me of Ne Obliviscarus at times (probably because of the violin). There's also some great guitar riffs that intermingles really well with the violin. This song cruises along with a lot of fluid changes throughout. I was surprised to see how little known this band is. They definitely need some more exposure. A great round 1 track and not something I would have expected from one of the fogey's
8/10
Home
Nothing More - God Went North
I had already heard this band's latest album and this song is better than most of that album. I really like the vocals and lyrics. The vocals have this emotional quality that fits the lyrics well. The instrumentation is great and has a lot of dynamics. My only issue is the song could probably be a little shorter and the ending doesn't do anything for me.
7.5/10
Evermind
Bjørn Riis - Winter
This one took me a while to fully appreciate, with the first few listens feeling like it was dragging on too long. This definitely has a very Pink Floyd/Steven Wilson vibe to it. I like the guitar work a lot, but the solo's are mixed too low. I want to hear them sing out above the rest of the instruments, the leads just kind of get drowned out. On the other hand what is there is damn excellent. The part around the 6 minute mark reminds me a lot of Animals era Pink Floyd and his vocals remind me a lot of Steven Wilson. The quieter parts remind of The Sky Moves Sideways era of Porcupine Tree. All good stuff. It still feels a little over long, but I warmed up to it a lot more than my initial reaction to it.
7.5/10
Tomislav
Gallowbraid - Ashen Eidolon
I have very mixed feelings on this track. On the one hand the Agalloch similarities are very apparent, from the vocals, to the pacing, the riffs, the changes from loud to soft. But I feel like there is something missing to bring it up to that Agalloch quality. The drums don't really do anything interesting. The bass is just kind of there. The riffs get repeated a bit too often. And I feel the song length isn't justified. If the song were closer to the 10 minute mark it would probably score higher. This may all seem like a lot of negative, but overall the song was decent and at no point did I feel the song was bad. I just felt like I should be listening to Agalloch instead.
7/10
Sacul
Massive Attack - Teardrop
This song was an early front runner, but fell down the more I listened. It's very chill and relaxing, which I like, and the vocals are nice and it's super smooth, but it doesn't do enough to keep my interest throughout the whole song. I feel like this would be great for some background music while I'm lounging around, but doesn't really work for me at most other times. 5/10 for general listening, 9/10 for relaxing, lounge around music. So I'll score it right in the middle.
7/10
Elite
Schizoid Lloyd - Suicide Penguin
I should really like this. It's quirky, dynamic, technical, heavy, interesting vocals, and spastic (plus the band name is awesome). All qualities I like, but something about this just doesn't work as well as it should. Bands like Diablo Swing Orchestra, System of a Down, Sikth, and Exotic Animal Petting Zoo all do this better. I think it all comes down to how well the various transitions and quirkiness is done. The technical aspects are all done well and I can tell a lot went in to this song and I like the vocals/lyrics too.
6/10
Parama
Exist - Writhe
I really wanted to love this song. It reminded me of Between the Buried and Me at times (which I love). But the problems begin almost immediately. The first 2 minutes are.....not good. Then the vocals are too loud in the mix, plus they aren't the greatest harsh vocals. After the 2 minute mark the song is much better. There is a lot of good atmosphere and the guitar solos are mostly good, with some great dissonant leads, reminding me of a heavier King Crimson. The last 3 minutes are fantastic though (best outro of the round goes to this song), but that's not enough for a 9 minute song.
6/10
TwoSuitsLuke
Turisas - Miklagard Overture
When you said you were sending me some Epic Viking Metal, I think I may have got my hopes up a little too high. I was hoping for some Moonsorrow-like epicness. I probably let my self down getting my hopes up that high. This is epic in certain ways, but the overuse of synths/orchestras kind of killed it for me. If that was toned back a bit or they made use of more traditional folk instruments it would have scored higher. The clean vocals are only good in parts. I do like the harsh vocals when they come in. The outro with the choir is pretty epic though.
6/10
Kattoelox
Sons of Seasons - Bubonic Waltz
Sorry Kattoelox, this didn't perform as well for me as you were hoping. As soon as the synthesizers came in near the beginning I had to roll my eyes a bit. Almost killed the song for me completely. They disappeared for a bit and the song went in to the chorus with some nice riffs and double bass, but then they came back to try to derail the song again. And they kept coming back. Then the vocals are only ok and the church organ synths were kind of cheesy. If you are going to do cheesy in power metal, you have to go full cheese, like DragonForce...
5.5/10