So, here's round 4 (5 counting elims). If you're curious about the scores, so far it's out of 50 total. Everybody sent good stuff this round, so even those who have begun redeeming themselves for past rounds had a tough time catching up this round. Regardless, I had fun with every album this time. Some of you in particular are knocking it out of the park though. Let's see what we got!
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1. Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn
1975; progressive rock/folk/world
sent by SaculYou told me to only consider Ommadawn Pt. 1 and 2 for this, so I'm taking that into account. However, if I included the rest of the album, this would still be a 10/10. Maybe I have been living under a rock but this is the first I've ever heard of Mike Oldfield, I think, and I had no idea what to expect. I loved this from the start, but as it went on I expected it to fall into predictable trappings... but it didn't. I couldn't predict what would happen next. It's in no hurry to move things along, but it makes no apologies for doing some experimental stuff. I begged for different stuff and you delivered the goods because this is one of the best things anyone's sent so far. The instruments speak for themselves, there's no need for lyrics. Yeah, there's a little bit at the end, but it's for only a couple minutes out of 36+ and some of it is spoken, which is nice. Ommadawn Pt. 1 slowly transforms into this world piece with a primal drum beat and some hypnotic chanting (I can't figure out what they're saying or even what language it's in), and the guitar parts that play over it give it some lovely extra flavor. It just goes on, and on, and I love it. Slowly the synth runs build and build... then take over, but only gradually. The transitions on this are seamless and not jarring at all. I like when musical ideas take their time and develop organically and this does it perfectly. I am just loving this, man. It's something else. Soothing, mystical, absolutely fucking spectacular. Have a 10. I'd give it an 11 if I could.
10/10Favorite tracks: Ommadawn Pt. 1 & 2
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2. Ólafur Arnalds - For Now I Am Winter
2013; ambient/experimental
sent by homePeople talked after last round's results about giving 10s too easily: nah. I don't particularly care, because this and Ommadawn deserve it. Forget guitars, forget percussion, forget prog and rock and metal altogether. Only some electronic drums, otherwise it's synths, synths, and more synths! And a bit of piano. Some ghostlike singing in places, but it's sparse - a good thing, perhaps you've noticed my disdain for needless lyrics in music. I've probably drilled the point home by now that I look for beauty in music and this oozes beauty. Only a few brief moments pick up, like in Reclaim and Old Skin, but it's just enough to break up an impending sense of monotony or boredom. Between those moments are heartwrenching tracks with dramatic synth pads and piano with just enough reverb to hit my sweet spot. This is an example of projecting power without being 'busy' or chaotic. For me, the emotional strength of this album is amplified when I play it at night. This is so calm and beautiful, but in a different way from David Gilmour's On An Island which earned a 10/10 last round. It sounds a bit more personal. There are so many moments on this album that remind me of my own piano playing and songwriting, when I dabble in it. I feel like I "get" this album, and it gets me.
10/10Favorite tracks: Words of Amber; Hands, Be Still; Only The Winds
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3. Karmakanic - Who's the Boss in the Factory?
2008; progressive rock
sent by EvermindThis is a phenomenal album. Goran Edman's fantastic - I own a Time Requiem album with him on vox - but it's the instrumental side of this album that blows my mind. It nails every mood it goes for, and the musicians are on another level. Drums, bass, keyboards and synth, they all shine. There's so many ideas going on here but it's never too much, and the keyboardist seems to have a patch for every situation. Not a bad song out of the 6 here, but Let In Hollywood and Two Blocks From The Edge are probably my least favorite only because the others are that good. I love the inclusion of saxophone here. I really think saxophone can make almost anything better, if played correctly. Eternally, Pt. 1 is one of my favorites here for the stellar piano playing. It's just a respite from the prog and rock realms and two minutes of gorgeous classical piano, which tickles my fancy something fierce. This would be a 10/10 if only those two particular tracks were more like the others, but regardless, it's a spectacular record.
9.5/10Favorite tracks: Send a Message From the Heart; Who's The Boss In The Factory?; Eternally, Pt. 1
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4. Jeff Buckley - Grace
1994; alternative/folk rock
sent by Puppies_On_AcidA nice, warm vibe seems to radiate from this record and I dig it a lot. This album was discussed earlier in this thread, and I just don't agree with the comments about Hallelujah. That is a great song, and this is a great album. I've never heard Jeff Buckley before, and I don't know how, because I like this more each time I play it. I could maybe do without Dream Brother and Forget Her, but perhaps I just haven't given it enough time for them to sink in. I love the 90s rock vibe on Eternal Life. Mojo Pin and Grace are good tunes, but it's the triple run of Lilac Wine, So Real, and Hallelujah that really gets me. That is the best part of the album to my ears. The music does a lovely job of complementing the poetic lyrics, particularly in Lilac Wine. Buckley has a sweet and tender voice with loads of emotion and a great falsetto... I looked this album up on Wikipedia while writing this write-up after several spins and was crushed to hear that this was his only album before his untimely death, way too soon. I wonder what he would've gone on to make after this, because this is just wonderful. The emotion in this album is palpable. Thanks for showing me this, dude.
9.0/10Favorite tracks: Lilac Wine; So Real; Hallelujah
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5. Echoes - Nature|Existence
2010; progressive metal
sent by jingle.boyWhat do we have here - some more obscure prog metal from jingle! This has loads of really cool keyboards and some great, great instrumental work and vocal melodies. I love the keyboard playing. It shares a lot of time in the spotlight with the guitar and I enjoy the variety between piano, strings, synth pads and leads, and other voices. But man, oh man, the album really gets cooking with Lullaby and Bonfires. Fantastic instrumentals, Bonfires is simply gorgeous and I really love the pop of the drums, the silky bass solo and the beautiful guitar/piano playing toward the end - this is a real highlight. Unfair is kickass, I love the flow between those three tracks. Seasons Came to Pass and Far From Coincidence aren't bad either, but Despair and Wings of Dread put them to shame. Despair smashes Lullaby and Bonfires together and adds a little saxophone, that part always puts a smile on my face, but it's only a teaser for that AWESOME sax solo in Wings of Dread! The last two tracks aren't bad either but man I wish Wings of Dread was the last track because it ends so damn well. I enjoy this more each time I hear it.
9.0/10Favorite tracks: Bonfires; Unfair; Wings of Dread
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6. DGM - Frame
2009; progressive metal
sent by LetheanWelcome back to the upper scores, Lethean - although there's some serious competition this round as well... You know my history with DGM - not a fan of the very early stuff. For me, there is a very thin line in this genre that separates the good from bad, and it doesn't take much to bring the whole thing down. This lands safely on the 'good' side. This is the prog metal I like, and what I was hoping to hear from Redemption. Great album here. Lots of speed, strong sense of melodies, heavy double bass drumming, this is exactly what I like to hear. Mark Basile has a great voice and is a good fit here, although generally higher = better and there are so many moments I want him to go just a few notes higher to really hit that sweet spot. I like the positive sound to lots of these songs, like in Not In Need (and the jazzy vibe in the verses is a huge plus). The little orchestral break with Trapped... is awesome, that's right up my alley. My favorite moment on this album is the beginning of Heartache. I just want that awesome synth intro to go on through the whole song underneath some heavy guitars and drums. It's so short it hurts, but the rest of the song is fantastic, so it's okay. I still have a sweet spot for prog/power metal along these lines. I thought I was going to be disappointed with this, but I'm pleasantly surprised. I find myself bobbing my head to this a lot and it's so good for the gym.
9.0/10Favorite tracks: Hereafter; Not in Need; Heartache
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7. Queen - Queen II
1974; rock
sent by StadlerQueen! This is definitely one of a kind. This does not vibe with what I've always thought of the band - it's better, and way more adventurous than I anticipated. You gave me some info on the 'white' and 'black' sides of this album - I like the whole thing, but the 'black' side, the back half, is where this band shines. I enjoy Father To Son and White Queen, but everything on the back half is so much cooler and more daring. The way Ogre Battle starts off in reverse is cool, but it takes a whole minute before things actually get going, so that's kind of annoying. Once it gets going it's awesome, though. The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke is one of my favorite songs on this album. It is completely unexpected, and I've never heard another band write a song like this. Mercury's singing is incredible, I LOVE how he transitions seamlessly into the upper register, but then he comes back down effortlessly. It's like he could do anything. The choir work is great, and it's so obvious now where some of my favorite bands draw their inspiration for 'big' music. Is Mercury playing the piano as well? He's great, I just wish there was more of it. March of the Black Queen is pretty good but not my favorite - that goes to Funny How Love Is. I love the tension in the rhythm even though it's a happy tune. The vocal melody is deadly infectious and Mercury sells it with such passion. The lyrics combined with this intense rhythm actually made me choke up for some strange reason. Not many plain Jane 'rock' albums or songs can fill me with happiness like that one has. Far and away the best tune on the album, and nothing else sounds like it. I can't say this is my favorite of the round, or even my favorite of your submissions (ELP is going to be hard to top), but I really like this and it's the little push I needed to go grab a handful of their records at the record store and just dive in the deep end. I almost told you to pick something else, but you wrote such a heartfelt write-up that I couldn't say no. I did listen to this before, at your request even, but it was years ago, and I couldn't remember any of it, so I went with it. This was a real treat, and in a way a much needed history lesson. Still, the white side is nothing compared to the black, and I suspect it's all because of Freddie Mercury's songwriting. If he had done the whole thing, this would've left an even better impression on me.
8.5/10Favorite tracks: Ogre Battle; The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke; Funny How Love Is
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8. Dredg - Catch Without Arms
2005; alternative/progressive rock
sent by Tomislav95This is cool! I had no idea what to expect. Some slick guitar riffs, tasty bass, and very strong singing. There's a nice spacey vibe throughout the record... I wish there were more keyboards or piano sometimes, but I love the tremolo picking of the guitars in some songs that rings out behind the vocals. Sometimes the speedier songs end up sounding like radio rock I'm not big on, so I enjoy when this band is actually slower and mellowed out. Jamais Vu is the high point of the album for all of the reasons above, and along with Ode to the Sun form a great bookend to a bunch of other strong songs. I enjoyed this, although you did have stiff competition this round. This kind of outfit tends to bore me easily - some of the songs here do too - but overall, it's energetic and infectious, and great for the gym and driving. This might not get as high a ranking as others this round, but by no means did I dislike this - although I do wish the verses were as strong as I think the choruses always are, because that would easily raise the score. My favorite tracks have really infectious choruses.
8.0/10Favorite tracks: Ode To The Sun; Not That Simple; Jamais Vu
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9. Bent Knee - Shiny Eyed Babies
2014; rock
sent by ParamaFirst of all, Parama, you'll have to forgive me. I had a much bigger write-up, and then I accidentally cut it while I was formatting and then wrote over it with something else. So I'm just going to run through this (again) quickly. I think the singer has an interesting voice - it was off-putting at first, but on the next few listens I fell in love with it. I like the song Way Too Long, but sometimes I get annoyed with how obnoxiously she sings. She's much more enjoyable when she controls the intensity, like in Sunshine, or In God We Trust, building slowly to a super powerful climax. I think a few songs could be cut from this, and while the singer stands out, the other instruments in the band don't do too much to interest me, but it's much more enjoyable than your last submision. There's a strange darkness to most of this album, which makes an eerie contrast with the very first track... Again, Sunshine - a remarkable take on otherwise boring and happy-go-lucky lyrics. That, like much of the rest of this album, didn't connect with me at first, but after chewing on my thoughts for a few days I really came around to this. I'm not sure if I'll be leaping to dive into this band given the caliber of other submissions, but they're on my radar, and I think it's very interesting how they crafted a record that can't easily be defined by labels. It's rock, of some kind, but it's so much more than that. This was cool. Thanks for sharing it with me.
8.0/10Favorite tracks: In God We Trust; Battle Creek; Sunshine
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10. Von Hertzen Brothers - Nine Lives
2013; progressive rock
sent by ariichThese guys are from Finland? They sure don't sound like it to me. Anyway, this is a cool album. I get a super strong Richie Kotzen vibe from the singer on the first two tracks, with some super awesome choruses and this kickass hard rock energy. Coming Home is cool as hell, really straightforward but catchy. I wish the rest of the album continued with this style because I was so taken in by those three songs, yet it goes into a spacier, proggy direction, which normally I'd love but I was digging the rockin' vibe so much and it never really comes back! So the rest of the album is pretty good, but not as memorable or infectious as the beginning. Lost In Time actually does blend the two styles well and I didn't initially like it but as the days went on that one really stuck on my brain. I haven't heard of this group before, but I think I'll be returning to this one over time because I really enjoy the mood and the playing. Plus, the singer's similarity to Richie Kotzen is a massive plus and I gotta hear more especially if there's some other hard rock tracks on their other albums. I don't have much else to say, really - it doesn't get too prog or experimental, and when it rocks, it just rocks hard. This was a safe submission with some really tasty stuff. I also love the bonus track, Time & Summer. Would not mind hearing more music from these guys in the future, but I'd like to hear an album with better flow in the middle, and more of that hard rock energy they do so well.
8.0/10Favorite tracks: Insomniac, Flowers and Rust, Time & Summer
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Scores
1. Sacul - 45.5
2. Evermind - 45.0
3. jingle.boy - 45.0
4. Stadler - 44.0
5. home - 43.5
6. ariich - 42.0
7. Tomislav95 - 41.0
8. Parama - 39.5
9. Lethean - 38.5
10. Puppies_On_Acid - 38.0
Topic: Kattelox's Album Roulette - Party Time! Excellent! v. FIN (Read 105334 times)