EP ROUND RESULTS!
EvermindThe Path That Ends in the ClearingThis EP rules! I love the concept you created. I like how you represented different types of people all making their paths to the clearing. It's everything I was hoping to get for the EP round. Before even reading your writeup on it I listened through it once and read through the lyrics and pretty much came to the same conclusion that you did as far as the story goes. By the way, that writeup may have been pretentious, but it was good reading! Each song has it's own spectacular moments. Fear of the Night was a great way to start the EP, but I think the 3 songs following it were the stars of the show. Daedalus has great lyrics and a ton of emotion in the music and overall atmosphere of the song. This is one of 2 Thrice songs I received in this round and they are both fantastic. I will need to give their albums a good listen. Then Dream of a Drowned Submariner was a perfect way to bridge the first and second halves of the EP. With it's gentle acoustic guitar and soft vocal melodies and heart-wrenching lyrics. Then the epic conclusion that brings the whole thing home with The Furthest Shore. This song is so good. From head banging riffs to epic guitar solos and fantastic vocal delivery and lyrics. It's a long song, but it flows so well and is so awesome that it doesn't feel long. That outro is the perfect way to end this EP.
The flow of the EP is pretty good. The only issue is Dream of a Drowned Submariner. It's music style was a tad jarring at first, but I did eventually get used to it the more I listened through.
EP score - 18
Flow score - 4
Favorite song - .5
Favorite EP Title - .5
Overall - 23
ParamaRemnants of Our History Left to Rot in the Scars of WarThis is how you mash up songs to create a coherent EP that flows really well. Even with the various genres (black metal, prog metal, post-hardcore, alternative metal) it works very well. I've spent significant time pouring over the lyrics of these songs and listening to them to try to come up with a narrative for the theme, but I think it works better shrouded in a veil of mystery. Left to the listeners discretion as to the story these songs tell. On to the songs themselves. It starts with the 2 heaviest tracks. First with Oneirdynia. So, what's with metal bands suddenly using saxophone in everything these days. In this song it works very well and sounds super cool. This flows really well in to Constituted. This song gives off some serious BTBAM vibes, from the guitar riffs to some of the vocal deliveries. I'm definitely checking out this album. Then Saviour comes in and I know I said before it was my least favorite of the EP. Well, I'd like to amend that. After listening to it a few more times since, it's become closer to my favorite. There's only 1 part that bothers me, the small bit of harsh vocals in the middle. They just don't sound that great. The EAPZ and Thrice songs work together really well for some less aggressive more moody/atmospheric music that allows the EP to build up to a great finish with the Amendfoil song.
The flow is almost perfect from start to finish. Probably helped a bit from some clever use of fadeouts/crossfades/editing.
EP score - 17.2
Flow score - 4.5
Overall - 21.7
JingleThe Cycle of LifeThis is another EP that the concept/theme is hard to decipher from the lyrics, but that's ok. There is a lot of references to life and death. The lyrics for the most part are pretty good. So this starts with a band that I had never heard of before, The Paralydium Project. The Bringer of Life is an awesome opener for this EP. It jumps right in with a great prog metal tune. The vocals are good, the guitar solos are nice, I even like that piano melody that goes on throughout the song. The bass player is killing it. The only thing I don't like are the unnecessary harsh vocals that pop up in a couple places and the needless guitar/keyboard back and forth battle. I feel like I've heard too much of this in Dream Theater's music. Born With a Broken heart is next which is a decent rock ballad, but the vocals seem like he is trying way too hard. I'm not liking the vocals much. The Kingcrow song though, that's a cool track and works well as a bridge between the first and second half of the EP. It's mostly instrumental and the few lyrics that are there are light-hearted and happy and uplifting, before the EP takes a turn down darker paths. When Death Comes Knocking is next and sets the tone for the rest of the EP from the get go. This is far superior to the other Primal Fear track here. The vocals are much better, still not fantastic, but good. The riffs are rockin'. The chorus is awesome. The song sounds huge! But it pales in comparison to the next song, Ghost of You. This is like a mini epic. It may only be 9 minutes, but it packs a lot of awesome in those 9 minutes and I feel it's the star of the EP. This is heavy metal of the highest caliber. Incredible riffs that make it so easy to bang your head to. It shifts so effortlessly from the softer verses to the epic sounding chorus. Then amazing guitar solos and drum work. I cant believe I had never heard this band before, especially since I have heard of almost all the musicians associated with this band....The drummer is the original drummer of Brutal Death Metal band Wormed, the vocalist is the current vocalist of Rainbow, the guitarist has done stuff with Freak Kitchen and Richie Kotzen. I wish the EP had ended with this song. It would have been almost perfect. The last song A Ghost from the Past feels almost like an afterthought. I'm not sure what it is about it, it's not terrible, but I just don't like it and it kind of ruins the flow of the EP. Maybe its the keyboards. Or the vocals. Or both.
Speaking of flow, this all works pretty well together, lyrically, musically.....except that last song.
EP score - 16.2
Flow score - 4
Favorite song - .5
Overall - 20.7
KTLXLegends of A Shattered World EPWhat's that line from the movie Tropic Thunder? Never go full cheese? Well you went full cheese on this and for the most part I like. This starts with Twilight of the Thunder God. I've heard Amon Amarth before (just a few songs), but never really liked them. This though, is a great way to start your EP. I'm also a bit surprised you put a melodic death metal song on here. There's great melody here and has the right amount of heaviness and some cool riffs. Then it ends in epic fashion with a killer guitar solo and the chorus outro. Next is where the full cheese comes in with The Price and Pariah. This is some great power metal with some nice symphonic elements. This continues the EP with some more great head bangin riffs. Next is Rainbow Warrior, this is like neoclassical doom metal. Which seems like an odd combination but it works really well. At first I hated this song. After a few listens, though, I found myself singing along to it and I realized how good it is. The Mad Sailor was another song i had a hard time with at first, but eventually saw the light. It starts off really cool and has some great riffs and synths. The lyrics are a little goofy in spots, but I cant help but sing along through most of it. It also has some cool harmonized vocal parts. Tower of the Queen is what I would call Minstrel Metal
It's not a bad song, I just never enjoyed it as much as the rest. The vocals almost seem kind of lazy and I don't really like the chorus. Father Time kicks things back up again. More cheesy (in a good way) power metal. Also back to some great vocals. More sing-a-long chorus'. Great riffs (i'm starting to sound like a broken record on your writeup). You saved the best for last, though, with Children of the Dream. This song may be the cheesiest of them all, but I don't even care. The keyboards are super cheesy, the vocals and lyrics are super cheesy, the chorus is super cheesy. And it all works fantastically! There's parts of the song that remind me of Triumph (vocals and guitar tone mostly). It's also super fun to drum along to, even though it's not the most technically difficult song to drum to. It also has a really cool (and cheesy) guitar solo. You turned the cheese factor up to 11 with this one and I love it!
The flow on this EP works pretty well. They don't flow seamlessly, but are more a collection of songs that share a theme
EP score - 16.3
Flow score - 4
Overall - 20.3
TACdEsPairavariumThe first 2 songs here are incredible. Rishloo here sounds like the love child of The Mars Volta and Tool and then given a traditional prog metal makeover. Then Iris Divine has tons of great riffs and the synths add a lot of great atmosphere to the song. Easily the best song here. This is followed by my least favorite song on this EP, Lacrimosa. It's not a bad song, but the style doesn't gel well with the rest of the EP, in my opinion, and the production on it sounds really muddy/muffled compared to the rest of the songs here. I do like the old school death metal sound, but they didn't have to keep the old school production values...The middle section of this song is awesome though. Anyway the EP picks up with the instrumental track Reanimation. I like the use of an instrumental to drive the story forward (more on that in a moment). It's a really moody track with some great technical brilliance and works really well for the point it's trying to get across. And that guitar solo starting at about 3 minutes in is FIRE! Then The Mire kicks in to finish out the EP to wrap up the story. Speaking of the story, this is one of the more coherent stories of all the EP's (not that they were all supposed to be a concept album), but it does tell a story and it feels like these songs all go together lyrics wise. The end finds the main character of the story kind of back where he started.
The flow of the whole EP is pretty great, especially lyric wise. The only misstep may have been Lacrimosa. The change in production value is pretty jarring in the middle.
EP score - 16.4
Flow score - 3.5
Overall - 19.9
TrainLadies and Gentlemen, Train of Naught is Floating in His Happy SpaceThis EP is just plain fun and puts you in a good mood. Which I think was the point of the theme. Fun, happiness. This is evident from the very first song. Funkle Phil is super catchy, and fun to listen to. With some fun lyrics and vocals and a cool little guitar solo. Stomp that Goomba is pretty cool musically, but it doesn't quite grab me as much as the rest of the songs, and the lyrics are kind of dumb. It also doesn't fit with the rest of the songs, and ruins the flow a bit. I really like Love Don't Go, not as much as the next Family Crest song, but it reminds me a lot of The Dear Hunter, which is a really good thing. It's a feel good song and works well with the theme. I know the next song wasn't your first choice for this EP, but I guarantee you it works better for me than the 22 song you wanted to send. Romancing a Stranger is a cool Jazzy indie rock tune. The next song Howl works great. This song is just plain cool and makes me want to listen to this whole album right now. This is the kind of stuff I like in Indie rock. Next is more rockin fun with Starkiller. This song just puts a big smile on my face. Easily my favorite of the EP. This song shows how to make a technically proficient song sound fun. The last 2 songs are by Closure in Moscow and they both kind of go hand in hand. They have a bit of a different vibe from the rest of the EP. They still have a bit of that fun vibe to them, but they seem to be trying to come up with really catchy sing-a-long chorus'. Which works pretty well. I love the guitar work in both of these songs. There's also parts that remind me of Muse.
The flow here is great except for Stomp the Goomba. The songs don't exactly flow seamlessly from one to another, but that isn't the point. This is just a collection of songs that share a stylistic theme.
EP score - 15.9
Flow score - 4
Overall - 19.9
TomislavCrush My SoulI love me some black metal. Some sub-genres better than others. I never was a big fan of the depressive/suicidal black metal sub-genre, although there is still some good stuff. This EP's last 2 songs fall in to the DSBM category and they are actually not bad (more on that later). The first 2 songs are by October Falls and they couldn't be more different. The first is Folky Black metal. A favorite genre of mine. It reminds me of Agalloch a lot. However, it doesn't have quite the same variety of Agalloch's music so it does kind of drag a bit towards the end. I'm also really hard to please when it comes to music similar to Agalloch. It's still a really good song and the band is definitely worth looking in to more. The second October Falls song is acoustic folk music. Lots of atmosphere. It's a great way to wind down before the onslaught of the next 2 songs, but it has the same issue of the other October Falls song. It's missing variety to keep it interesting. Enlightment is next. The piano in this song really makes this track I think. This almost comes across as a post-black metal song. I think what bothers me most about DSBM, is I really cant relate to the lyrics at all, but lyrics are a minor thing in most black metal for me. I do like how there are more than one vocal style used here. Last is ...and I Finally Reach My End. This works great as a continuation of Enlightment. This is basically an instrumental with some random wordless screams in a few places, used as atmosphere. Some more great piano and some guitar solo's that are really cool, which you don't hear much in DSBM. This song does overstay it's welcome a bit and the production could be a little better. On the other hand it's a great way to close out this EP.
The flow is pretty damn good here. It could have been better with some cross fades and edits to the beginning and end of a couple tracks.
EP score - 15
Flow score - 4
Overall - 19
HomeParty Sleepy People!This EP goes through a lot of ups and downs. Mostly ups. On the other hand, at least to me, the lyrics tell a depressing story, well maybe not depressing, but definitely sad. To me the story is subtle and could be interpreted a couple different ways. The first 2 tracks work really well as an introduction to the rest of the EP. I really like these two Ólafur Arnalds songs. I like how they go from chill/relaxed to happy then to sad which segue's perfectly in to Tonight, Tonight, Tonight. This song has a haunting quality to it and it gets the story started. The noise at the end goes on far to long though, almost a minute too long. Dissensions continue the story with the consequences of what played out in the previous song. It has a pretty cool atmosphere with some catchy moments, although not the strongest song on the EP. The first of the Nils Frahm songs comes in with Keep, to try to keep the mood a little more light hearted. Change in Time keeps up the lyrical theme of change that was started with Dissensions. It's a pretty subdued, but moody track. I'm still not sure how I feel about the vocals of Sleep Party People. I like it most of the time... The second Nils Frahm song Unter is just kind of there and really only serves the purpose of a bridge between Change in Time and The Conference of the Birds, but it kind of upsets the flow for me. The Conference of the Birds, though, this song is amazing. I'm not sure it fits stylistically with the rest of the EP, but damn if it isn't an awesome way to end it. The lyrics are few, but they tie everything together for the EP in a very subtle way that could be interpreted in a variety of ways. I love post rock...and post rock like this is my favorite style.
Flow wise, this EP started well, flowing from one track to the next, but kind of broke down the last few songs. Lyrically I like how it all ties together a lot.
EP score - 14.9
Flow score - 3
Overall - 17.9
Score So Far (and eliminations)
Parama - 6, 9, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9.5, 9, 9.5, 21.7 (88.7)
Tomislav - 7, 9.5, 8.5, 9, 7, 9.5, 7.5, 9, 19 (86)
Evermind - 7.5, 7, 8, 7.5, 9.5, 7.5, 7.5, 8.5, 23 (86)
TAC - 8, 8, 8.5, 6.5, 6.5, 9.5, 9.5, 9, 19.9 (85.4)
Jingle.boy - 9, 4, 8, 8, 9, 9, 8, 7.5, 20.7 (83.2)
Train of Naught - 9.5, 7.5, 9, 9, 5.5, 8, 9, 5, 19.9 (82.4)
Kattoelox - 5.5, 6.5, 8, 10, 9, 9, 6.5, 7, 20.3 (81.8)
Home - 7.5, 7, 7, 7, 7.5, 8.5, 3, 8.5, 17.9 (73.9)
Soupytwist - 8, 10, 7, 8.5, 4, 7.5, 8.5, 5.5 (59)
TwoSuitsLuke - 6, 9, 5.5, 7.5, 7.5 (35.5)
Sacul - 7, 8, 7, 7, 5 (34)
Elite - 6, 7, 6, 5, 9.5 (33.5)
Poll
Topic: Puppies_On_Acid's Gentlemen's Roulette! Epilogue (Read 81507 times)