ariich’s new album roulette, v. totally mad (The End Again: post-roulette Train)

[Crow]

shining belongs in this group more than the last one but sure 

Looking forward to those last reviews, anyways

[ariich]

Post-roulette Paramarathon part 4/4: Too... black metal?

Another preface: this roulette has been extremely educational for me in terms of black metal, which I never had anything against but looking at my RYM ratings it seems that there hadn't really been anything in the past that really did it for me. Between Puppies sending Enslaved and then a bunch of top notch post-roulette submissions from you and Luke, I think we're getting a better idea of what I like in the genre.

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Parama: Fen – Winter (2017)
Sent after the roulette was over
So yeah I can see why you considered what's basically a single 75-minute black metal song to be pretty risky for the roulette itself. It does go on a bit long, I'm not sure there's enough variety of style or tone to keep it sufficiently interesting for me. That said, there's plenty to like. The more ambient post-rock stylings in particular work nicely. I do find myself losing interest though, and I think something either shorter or more varied would keep me more engaged and wanting to listen again.
Score: 7.0

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Parama: White Ward – Futility Report (2017)
Sent after the roulette was over
Another post-roulette 8.5 for black metal, what is going on? This is excellent stuff, a really great and unique blend of black metal and jazz. The production is top notch and between that and the music itself there's a wonderful moody aura throughout that makes it incredibly gripping. I really like the saxophonist as well, his style adds so much to the vibe of the music. I even toyed with giving this a 9, but some of the more straightforward sections are a little dull, but overall it's a great listen.
Score: 8.5

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Parama: Khonsu – Anomalia (2012)
Sent after the roulette was over
You described this as catchy black metal, and I get what you mean. It's a very nicely balanced album and definitely on the more accessible end of black metal, which suits me well. Both musically and vocally it's quite varied, with some intense and tonally dark metal kept in good balance with more melodic and almost ethereal stuff. Some of the tuneful stuff is really gorgeous and the vocalist has a great versatility. The final track in particular is really nice.
Score: 8.0

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SPECIAL BONUS ENTRY:

Parama: Shining – Blackjazz (2010)
Sent after another post-roulette submission was rejected because you sent it in my last roulette and you were compelled to still send me 10 albums, gosh this is a long explanation
OK yeah I can see why you say this fit better in the previous category. While it's got black metal (and indeed jazz) elements it's undoubtedly industrial metal at its core. And it's absolutely bonkers. But it's also a lot of fun. It's not surprising there's a cover of 21st Century Schizoid Man, as right from the start I thought this was what King Crimson would sound like if they did industrial metal. It's a bit relentlessly wacky but I dig the style and the way they clearly really embraced jazz for this album.
Score: 7.5

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[Crow]

actually surprised fen scored that low but the rest i'm  about

now i'm totally ready to send black metal in ariich v3 heck yeah

[ariich]

Yeah I'll admit on my first listens I though the Fen would score higher. It's good, it's just too long and drags too much.

[Crow]

i don't disagree tbh, but it's like. the de facto 8/10 for me. liked it on every listen i've given it. nothing more. never grown on me. it's a good sound and that's about it

[ariich]

That description is more like a 7 for me. Maybe a 7.5 depending on how much I like it on each listen. An 8.0 is the threshold at which point I start REALLY liking something. Hopefully that provides some useful context for my ratings and how much I like most of what I've been getting sent in roulettes.

Anyway, looking forward to more black metal next time.

Final post roulette update will be the three albums Train sent, probably next week.

[Crow]

i suppose i'm underselling it, i come back to it regularly even like a year and a half later so 

[twosuitsluke]

Futility Report and Blackjazz are great! Although I prefer International Blackjazz Society 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

As far as Fen is concerned, I consider Carrion Skies and Epoch to be their best albums. I do like Winter, but it's a bit too long for what it is.

[Crow]

i've tried to get into other fen albums but they haven't grabbed me as much, personally

[ariich]

The End, Again: Post-Roulette Train of Naught?

Your roulette win was not only due to the general act of sending me lots of great music (which you weren't alone in doing) but also exerting fantastic judgement, which you nailed. These three albums are all very good, but you were right to be cautious as two scored the same as your lowest roulette entries and the Parius is only 0.5 better.

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Train: Parius – The Eldritch Realm (2018)
Sent after the roulette was over
Yep, this is indeed extremely similar to your first round submission (a little more refined perhaps)! Nothing wrong with that though, and hey, you intentionally kept your submissions extremely varied in the roulette. Again a strong BTBAM vibe, mixing intense metal with some proggy/techy ideas and a nice dose of theatricality. Just like The World Is Quiet Here, this is mostly really great stuff with some moments that are less interesting. The short run time does keep it focused and fun though. Very solid album overall.
Score: 8.0

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Train: Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)
Sent after the roulette was over
Yeah Arctic Monkeys are (or were anyway) really big in the UK so I've always been aware of them and heard one or two songs before. None of it really interested me enough to check out a whole album. Now I have done, and it's cool, but it didn't blow me away or anything. There are a couple of songs I really enjoy loads (D is for Dangerous especially, and Do Me a Favour gets really good). The rest is all pretty cool, but for such a popular album, I'm surprised at how unmemorable most of it is.
Score: 7.5

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Train: Cult Of Luna – Vertikal (2013)
Sent after the roulette was over
You're right that this has very little  in common with Mariner. I like this more overall. It's got a greater amount of variety and experimentation of style that works well, and the production is really top notch and creates a huge sound. It's definitely very competent post-metal. I still don't love it though. It's pretty monotone in mood and I think more in the way of melody would work better for me, and some of the moody ambient sections go on a bit. The big epic, Vicarious Redemption, is absolutely brilliant in the last few minutes, but a lot of the stuff leading up to it I find fairly boring.
Score: 7.5

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That wraps up everything that was submitted. Thanks again to everyone, you're all amazing.

I mentioned before about some updates from exploring artists' catalogues. I might do this at some point, or alternatively I might do it as a recap whenever I get round to my next roulette, though that probably won't be for quite a while now as this one was absolutely epic for my music discovery.

[Crow]

the parius album is p. swell but i'm mostly just a huge fan of that last track, which is fantastic

btw the best cult of luna album is somewhere along the highway no contest