Round 6 results - 2017 albums
Parama - Shade Empire - Anti-Life Savior
I'm not gonna lie Parama. When I saw you jump at the chance of wanting to be in my roulette after participating in my first roulette, I had a bit of a couple, but you're a cool dude despite out differences in tastes you have been a pleasure to have on board since round 1 of my first roulette. All I want to say, is thank God you wanted to be a part of this, and thank you for sending me this song. My boys who are hitting the nail on the head each round and are towards the top of the ladder might scratch their heads at this being at the top and the score but this is one of the greatest things I've ever been sent and one of the best things I've heard in a while. This got me instantly. The moody spoken poem intro, the cinematic mood as the music kicks in. The power, the keyboards, and the vocals are perfect for what's going on here. Once the groove gets going it fucking rocks and those little subtle guitar solos are just perfect. The melodies and atmosphere in the quiet section I'd be happy to go on forever and the song reaches a great climax. This has the mood which reminded me of Evergrey's When the Walls Go Down, but possibly more epic. Don't know anything about this band but that will change. The thing is, this just hit the mark. So many other songs in this style as we have soon make me just pass on by, but this is just magic, from start to finish. One could try and replicate sending somthing similar but it would probably fail, Parama you hit the ball out of the park with this one.
Style - 9.5
Instrumentation and vox - 10.0
Songwriting and Structure - 10.0
Replay value - 9.5
Would I purchase - 9.5
Score - 9.7
jingle.boy - Eagleheart - Healing the Scars
I've seen Chad pimp and talk about this band a lot, and I can see why. Great, well performed, well produced power metal here. This one didn't get me instantly as I felt the structure was somewhat hard to pick up on right away. This is very strong across the board, and my favourite part is obviously the chorus or the section after the chorus with the double kick and the octave doubled vocals, fucking strong. Kind of like a heavier Sonata or Stratovarius. Love the solo at the end too. Great submission Chad.
Style - 9.5
Instrumentation and vox - 9.5
Songwriting and Structure - 9.0
Replay value - 9.0
Would I purchase - 9.0
Score - 9.2
bl5150 - Sorcerer - Abandoned by the Gods
You described this perfectly Brent. This has a great mix of Martin era Sabbath and a bit of Candlemass, and even some Dickinson solo stuff in places perhaps. But it really leans towards Martin era Sabbath, especially that wonderful chours. Sounds like something from TYR. Simple riff but works really well. This is a quality song and a quality band. I have no problem with the pace and nothing drags here at all. Love the phrygian dominant style solo and the contrast in the second half of the solo is great. That second section really reminds me of Threshold actually. Love the F chord thrown in there too for something different. All in all, I love the Maiden like guitar melody to close things off, excellent.
Style - 9.5
Instrumentation and vox - 9.5
Songwriting and Structure - 9.0
Replay value - 9.0
Would I purchase - 9.0
Score - 9.2
lowdz - Angelmora - Free Like an Eagle
This one is a cracker. Typical Helloween, Edguy type stuff here but strong. Class song, and I like the cliche lyrics. The fly like an eagle type things gets me everytime. The production is a littel mud, it's mixed too loud, but not that distracting. Strong vocals here, this guy has a great range. Solos are great and my fav bits are probably the unison type melody after the solo, but the one at the end gets me. Great guitar melody that one, great song. I gave marks off for the production in the third category.
Style - 9.5
Instrumentation and vox - 9.0
Songwriting and Structure - 8.5
Replay value - 9.0
Would I purchase - 9.0
Score - 9.0
Big Hath - Striker - Former Glory
I think I've heard this band, or even this song, or maybe another one, but whatever. This is a catchy as fuck song. Straight up great hard rock. Nothing not to like here. It's pretty generic but it's all class. The production is very good, and not how big these guys are or anything because they have a classy sound. Not much more to say, solid 9.
Style - 9.0
Instrumentation and vox - 9.0
Songwriting and Structure - 9.0
Replay value - 9.0
Would I purchase - 9.0
Score - 9.0
Kattoelox - Cellador - This Means War
Appreciate you coming back mate, and a good song to boot. This again is pretty straight forward power metal, but nothing not to like really. Just didn't grab me as much as everything above it. The guy has a real Andre Matos sound to his voice. Great chorus too. I found the solo a little sloppy and underwhelming but not enough to put me off. Great guitar melodies after the solo though.
Style - 9.0
Instrumentation and vox - 8.5
Songwriting and Structure - 9.0
Replay value - 8.5
Would I purchase - 9.0
Score - 8.8
TAC - Ravage - The Wicked Way
Tim sends another straight ahead rocker. The Maiden influences are strong here in the guitar melodies. The Infinite Dreams type one made me laugh at the start and there's one in the solo that I think is a dead ringer for something from TBOS. Anyway, the guys vocals weren't the strongest but he had a certain charm. Not much to say, it also didn't get me going like the ones above but definitely good enough to keep me pumping my fist. The thing I really liked about this though was the structure. For some reason I love that intro verse chorus verse chorus solo to end structure, just works. Good stuff in the solo to end too.
Style - 9.0
Instrumentation and vox - 8.5
Songwriting and Structure - 9.5
Replay value - 8.5
Would I purchase - 8.5
Score - 8.8
Lethean - Voyager - Ghost Mile
Voyager are a band I'm very familiar with, but this falls under the category that I don't know anything from their 2017 album. I have I think 3 of their albums with The Meaning of I being one of the best for that year, so I know this band. I just drifted away from them and when I purchased V, I was really disappointed with it that I didn't really give them the time of day anymore. This however is a nice return to their older form. Still didn't blow me away like anything from the Meaning of I, but the melodies here are very good and of course musically the band are great. The chorus was a littel flaky for me but the verses were fantastic, which made the rating, works well with the stacatto riffing. Might have to check this one out and maybe even revisit V.
Style - 9.0
Instrumentation and vox - 9.0
Songwriting and Structure - 8.5
Replay value - 8.5
Would I purchase - 8.5
Score - 8.7
Evermind - Helker - Fight
This is another band I don't know, maybe seen the name. Pretty no frills stuff here. Was a solid listen but didn't really blow me away, heard it all before. Saying that, it was still rocking and enjoyable, with very good lyrics. Cool riffing too. Good vocals too, sounds like Tim Owens at times. Maybe if the band have some more complex stuff it might be more interesting but enjoyable nevertheless, and I can't really score it any lower so shows it's still quality.
Style - 9.0
Instrumentation and vox - 8.5
Songwriting and Structure - 8.5
Replay value - 8.5
Would I purchase - 8.5
Score - 8.6
Bolsters - The Ralph - Delimiter
Well, this was a surprise coming from you Dave, didn't expect this kind of tune. This has that Periphery modern type sound to it with vocals that I'd normally here from a Parama or Elite band truthfully. I wasn't sure at all at first, but this grew on me. This is definitely not really something I'd normally like but it was done well enough and catchy enough to have me singing along. It's a cool chorus, even gives me an old school Incubus vibe which even though it's nothing like it. Cool tune, I think the ranking was just a bit lower cause I don't know if I'd find myself getting into them big time, but still worth a look.
Style - 8.5
Instrumentation and vox - 8.5
Songwriting and Structure - 8.5
Replay value - 8.5
Would I purchase - 8.5
Score - 8.5
tomislav95 - Chaos Addict - Solitude
I got pretty pumped when I saw Bjorn from Soilwork was on this (or Night Flight for you non growlers) although this one I thought was a bit flat. I eventually did warm to the chorus but this didn't blow me away at all. Not really keen on the main guys vocals and I just felt it was trying to be modern or something for the sake of it. I don't know, just something about it missed the mark. Although again, it wasn't worthy to skip or anything, still decent enough of a listen.
Style - 8.0
Instrumentation and vox - 7.5
Songwriting and Structure - 8.0
Replay value - 8.0
Would I purchase - 7.5
Score - 7.8
Stadler - Robert Plant - Bones of Saints
I comend you Stadler for keeping the faith and plugging away. This was actually a nice little listen. I'm not a LZ fan at all and was never a fan of Robert and haven't heard anything that he has done lately, so this is pretty much what I was expecting. I didn't mind the mood at atmosphere and it did have me tapping my feet. Pretty subdued and the woah chorus thing was solid. I do like the garden of eden middle 8 section, that had a cool vibe, and the simple solo afterwards was a nice touch. Will this convert me to check out more, no, but was it a decent song, yeah it was. Nice.
Style - 7.0
Instrumentation and vox - 8.0
Songwriting and Structure - 7.5
Replay value - 7.5
Would I purchase - 6.0
Score - 7.2
Luoto - DVNE - Rite of the Seven Mournings
There was really nothing wrong with this one, just didn't spark my interest. The production was pretty muddy but not that bad really. I did like the growls here, they are definitely pretty damn strong. The songwriting didn't really inspire me and it was pleasant enough to listen to just didn't grab me honestly. I like teh riff in the second half and the change of pace, that was pretty groovy. Not much more to say, okay but nothing I'd get into at all.
Style - 7.5
Instrumentation and vox - 7.5
Songwriting and Structure - 7.0
Replay value - 6.5
Would I purchase - 6.5
Score - 7.0
Elite - Semistereo - The Search
This one didn't do much for me either. Like the DVNE, it was a solid enough listen but didn't blow me away at all. I don't mind the atmosphere here and the vocals while wimpy had a nice charm and added to the song quite a bit. The riffing was actually solid, and I didn't mind the cursing either truthfully. It was pretty long but it did build to a nice climax through the whole thing. Just not my style, but I can see why you'd like it. Doesn't deserve anything less than a 7.
Style - 7.0
Instrumentation and vox - 7.5
Songwriting and Structure - 7.0
Replay value - 7.0
Would I purchase - 6.5
Score - 7.0
Puppies_On_Acid - Der Weg Einer Freiheit - Skepsis
It was a long shot that this was going to stratch my itch. The first half had some nice instrumental moments but nothing I could really get out of. The second half while I appreciate the agression, not really my style. It wasn't all bad, I love the Opeth feel at times and the guitar melody that goes under the vocals was nice. I just don't get the whole blastbeat thing with this vocal style. Just seems too far and loses the plot for me, adn loses any charm because it just goes overboard.
Style - 7.0
Instrumentation and vox - 6.5
Songwriting and Structure - 6.0
Replay value - 6.0
Would I purchase - 6.0
Score - 6.3
bl5150 - 9.1 + 9.4 + 9.0 + 9.3 + 8.9 + 9.2
jingle.boy - 8.9 + 8.7 + 8.0 + 9.2 + 8.8 + 9.2
Luoto - 8.8 + 8.7 + 8.6 + 6.0 + 9.0 + 7.0
TAC - 8.6 + 9.5 + 9.0 + 8.4 + 9.0 + 8.8
Big Hath - 8.5 + 9.5 + 8.6 + 8.4 + 9.4 + 9.0
Evermind - 8.5 + 8.0 + 9.1 + 9.0 + 9.2 + 8.6
Kattoelox - 8.4 + 7.5 + 8.8 + 7.1 + 0.0 + 8.8
Bolsters - 7.9 + 9.4 +7.7 + 8.9 + 8.6 + 8.5
Parama - 7.6 + 6.8 + 7.7 + 7.0 + 7.8 + 9.7
Tomislav95 - 7.4 + 8.4 + 8.5 + 8.4 + 8.0 + 7.8
Elite - 7.3 + 6.8 + 8.3 + 9.0 + 7.3 + 7.0
lowdz - 6.9 + 8.6 + 8.5 + 8.8 + 9.2 + 9.0
Puppies_On_Acid - 6.0 + 7.9 + 7.0 + 9.0 + 8.8 + 6.3
Lethean - 5.8 + 6.0 + 9.2 + 7.7 + 4.8 + 8.7
Stadler - 4.6 + 8.1 + 7.9 + 5.0 + 4.5 + 7.2
bl5150 - 54.9
Big Hath - 53.4
TAC - 53.3
jingle.boy - 52.8
Evermind - 52.4
Bolsters - 51.0
lowdz - 51.0
Tomislav95 - 48.5
Luoto - 48.1
Parama - 46.6
Elite - 45.7
Puppies_on_Acid - 45.1
Lethean - 42.2
Kattoelox - 40.6
Stadler - 37.7
Okay there's all the shocks, thrills and spill for round 6, let's go round 7!!!
Topic: The Wolfking Second Coming Roulette v2. We all know who won. Thanks to all!!! (Read 87351 times)