Greatest Hits Results part 1JingleSerenity - Feats of Strength
Symphonic Power Metal
AustriaFirst Impression - Stands out in a genre full of mediocritySo this is pretty clearly Power Metal with lots of symphonic stuff mixed in. Power Metal in general has some pretty awesome bands, but at the same time there are a lot more mediocre or bad bands within this genre. Symphonic Power Metal is an even bigger mixed bag. It's hard to find bands that don't sound like they are frolicking among the meadows with their electric guitars, singing about fairy's or picking flowers or feminism
This on the other hand kicks a lot of ass. Sure it still has a fair amount of cheese to go with it, but it doesn't detract from it. There are tons of awesome heavy guitar riffs and the symphonic elements actually really add to the music, instead of just feeling like they were just tacked on. A lot of it reminds me of the more recent Blind Guardian albums, specifically A Night at the Opera and At the Edge of Time. The difference being the symphonic bits sound closer to something Nightwish would do. So imagine the awesome riffing and heaviness of Blind guardian with the orchestral sound of Nightwish and that seems like a pretty close approximation to this band.
As far as some of the individual songs go. New Horizons, with it's intro, is a brilliant way to start the album. Kind of encapsulating everything this band is about. It contains but a few of the many amazing riffs spread throughout the songs you have chosen here. The Art of War doesn't stand out as much, but that has more to do with the fact that it seems more focused on the riffs and melodies. It's still a good song. Eternal Victory actually sounds like a song that would be used to mark a victorious battle or war. It's quite epic, especially that chorus! This might take the prize for being the most memorable song here. All Lights Reserved and Coldness Kills feel a bit like a mid album lull. They aren't bad songs, but they aren't quite up to the level of the songs before them. The vocals don't seem as polished, nor does the music feel as epic. I'd say Coldness Kills is the better of the two though, especially with that epic intro and that nice acoustic guitar section in the back half. I like having the piano driven Fairytales in the middle of the album. The duet vocals are also done very well. Then the Heartblood Symphony picks the pace up again. I don't really care for some of the cheesy keyboards here or some of the vocals. Beyond Desert Sands is a much better song. Actually the rest of the songs here are all really good. It seems the songs I enjoy the least all come from the Fallen Sanctuary album and the stuff I like the most all comes from either Death & Legacy or Lionheart. Then again all the stuff from War of Ages is pretty damn close, quality wise. I mean, Age of Glory and Legacy of Tudors proves that. The latter being a little too cheesy at times, but still an epic song. The final two songs just drive the ending of this whole thing to beyond epic. The Final Crusade feels like a proper follow up to Eternal Victory. Seems like the Lionheart album wants to be one epic victorious song after another. Using the orchestral version of My Final Chapter to end this was a smart move. Reminds me of how Angra ended their Temple of Shadows albums with an orchestral piece. Only this one has vocals.
Overall this is pretty great. I had some issues with some songs, mostly ones from Fallen Sanctuary. There's some brilliant Symphonic Power Metal here and I will definitely explore a few of these albums some more.
15.9/20
KatteloxFairyland - The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers: An Adventure Through the Seven Seas of Brie
Symphonic Power Metal
FranceFirst Impression - Symphony X called to say they wish they could still write music this goodLots of Symphonic Power metal this round. This however takes on a more Symphony X sound. Between the guitar tone, riffs, and solos (you'd swear Michael Romeo was playing here) and then the vocal style sounds very reminiscent to Russell Allen (at least on the songs from The Fall of an Empire). This guys tone isn't quite as heavy, but the similarity is there. The difference here between Fairyland and Symphony X is Fairyland takes way more of a power metal approach. There is definitely some proggy stuff here, similar in style to a lot of early Symphony X (The Divine Wings of Tragedy era).
So the opening 3 tracks are just absolutely fantastic. They kick the doors right off of this album and explode with some amazing riffs and commanding vocals. Lost in the Dark Lands has some great vocal melodies and harmonizing. Then there is some great back and forth between the guitars and keyboards. The song is speedy, heavy, dynamic, and epic. These songs reminded me of the time when I first discovered Symphony X almost 20 years ago, just how blown away I was. This gave me the same feeling. The Awakening takes a bit of a different approach. It's a little more lighthearted, at least musically. It takes a more melodic road, with twinkly keyboards and victorious sounding vocal melodies/harmonies. I like the female vocalist that is in Eldanie Uelle. This song is even more of a melodic epic than the last one. Songs like this keep the album from feeling samey, by giving varied takes on a singular genre. There are so many avenues you can go down when it comes to Power Metal. Unfortunately, a lot of bands in the genre get stuck in one style and end up boring me to death. Fairlyland doesn't do that. They have a consistent style, but they branch off in to various sounds within the genre. Clanner of the Light is another example of what I'm talking about. With its off-kilter drum beats and rhythm it takes on a completely different sound from anything that came before, yet it stays consistent within the album. Now there are a couple of cheesy keyboard parts here that I don't particularly care for, but this is power metal after all....It's by the time The Walls of Laemnil and Anmorkenta roll around that I realize that there are a lot of similarities with early Rhapsody (of fire). I do enjoy quite a bit of the various forms of Rhapsody, so it's no surprise I'm liking this. I think I'm liking this more up to this point, possibly. With Ride with the Sun, the album takes a turn to full cheese and a different vocalist. Apparently the band had a female lead vocalist in the beginning. There is still a consistency in the music, just cheesier. Assault on the Shore sees another change in vocalist, but keeps the cheese factor. This is my least favorite of the 3 vocalists on display here. This song (and the rest going forward) also sees most of the Symphony X similarities disappear. The sense of wonder, discovery, and awe is gone with the rest of the songs. They all just sound like a poor mans imitation of the epic awesomeness that came before. Also the production on the rest of the songs is not as good. It sounds sort of muddy. Nothing is as clear. I do like Rise of Giants, but that might be because there are no vocals. Plus I like full on orchestral songs in Power Metal albums. Score to a New Beginning is made better by having the vocalist from Serenity (see Jingle's submission) and some of the awesome vocal harmonies from the earlier songs is back, but the song is a little over long for what it is and I don't like the female vocals here. I really like the ending with End Credits. The vocals really make this track.
So it comes down to the fact that I liked 11 of the 14 tracks here. Of the 11 I liked 9 of them were extremely good. I think I will check out the first 2 albums in their entirety, but that 3rd album just doesn't seem like something I would like enough to warrant checking it out further. This is going to get my favorite Album Title award though. A little plagiarism and a whole heap of cheese
15.7/20 +1(album title bonus) = 16.7
EliteJolly - Happy, Bright, Cheerful, Funny: Jolly's Greatest Hits (Spanning Just Three Albums)
Progressive Metal
United StatesFirst Impression - Reminds me of another band, but the vocals aren't as good.This reminds me quite a bit of Fair to Midland, which you sent in the EP round. I do enjoy Fair To Midlands vocalist more than this guy. There's also bits that remind me of Porcupine Tree, Junius, and Deftones. For instance, the structure of their songs and how they flow, really the whole songwriting process seems to be partly influenced by Deftones and Porcupine Tree.
The opening tune is pretty good, but I think this really opens up with Joy. It's kind of a progressive metal meets alternative rock banger with some great atmospheric keyboards used sparsely throughout. Just some great melodies with a thunderous rhythm section. Where Everything's Perfect shows a bit of a different dimension to the band, with some heavier sections and more of those great keyboard melodies. This one is also much more progressive sounding and also has some Alice in Chains vibes going. It's at this point that the Porcupine Tree similarities really come to the fore. The song writing really seems to go for the more "commercially accepted" progressive rock/metal. This isn't a bad thing, because I love Porcupine Tree and I don't mind Prog bands trying to make music that has catchy melodies or choruses or what have you. I actually prefer it in a lot of music. I like something to latch on to, that can get burrowed in to my brain. Other times I like all out technicality, but it really depends on my mood and the kind of music. Aqualand and the 7 Suns takes on a bit of an Oceansize (circa Frames) sound. Especially in the way the rhythm section (drums and bass) move the song and the vocal style....that is until it goes in to electronica mode. I like where this song is placed with it reprising some themes from the previous song, even though they are on 2 separate albums. I'm not completely convinced by Firewell. I like the subtle return of the sparkly atmospheric keyboards, but the heaviness of the song doesn't exactly work for me. The lighter parts are much better. As Heard on Tape....now this song is just complete eargasm. I wasn't expecting this after Firewell, but it works to calm the mood down. Then there are those bagpipes....just sublime. Lucky is a happy heavy tune. Those keyboards are just so chipper sounding! The rest of the songs all some combination of the above observations to some more pretty spectacular music. The Grand Utopia ends with the spoken word of "Congratulations, you are now happy!"
Yeah, I guess I am pretty happy now that I listened to this. This is some pretty great music. I'm going to have to listen to each album in it's entirety now. Thanks for putting this together, it was awesome!
18/20
AriichThe Cat Empire - Five Years of Feline Rule
Latin inspired Jazzed-up Funky Reggae-Rock
AustraliaFirst Impression - Bring 3 cups of Funky Jazz to a boil, add 1 cup of Salsa, a half cup of rock, 3 tablespoons of Reggae, a dash of Mariachi, a pinch of soul, a quarter teaspoon of hip hop, and the kitchen sink for good measure, stir until blended well and simmer for about an hour.Well, you've kept up sending stuff different each round. This is again the most unique submission of the round and dare I say, the most fun? I mean, most of the songs here make me want to get up and dance, even though I don't dance, or even know how to dance.
Right off the bat, How to Explain, just dares you not to dance. It has a great groove with some nice trumpet added throughout. So Many Nights takes a more Soul/Funk turn with some nods to Garage Rock/Classic Rock. It has a bit of a Red Hot Chili Peppers feel to it. The vocalist even has a bit of an Anthony Kiedis meets Mick Jagger vibe going here. Song for Elias goes for more of a Latin Downtempo feel, not unlike Federico Aubele. Love the use of horns and piano here. The varied vocals throughout give it a cool vibe. The little flourishes of acoustic guitar are pretty awesome too. Fishies is another fantastic song, with a great hook (
see what I did there? OK, I'll see myself out). This has kind of a Ska meets Jazz and Swing music? Something like that. Between the great, head bobbing music and the cool lyrics/vocals, this song just puts a smile on my face. The Rhythm is next, and guess what? It makes me want to dance. See a theme here? This one is a straight up Latin/Salsa funk song. I could just keep going track by track here, but I think you get the idea. I'd rather talk about a couple songs specifically.
First of all, The Wine Song. This is a perfect way to end the album. Especially considering everything that came before. It's the most dynamic track here, showcasing everything the band can do and serves as a summary of the entire album you have constructed here. It's kind of like ending an epic party with, not necessarily the best for last, but something that everyone will definitely remember once it's all over. Also I'm going to need a lyric sheet for that last minute or so of the song
Voodoo Cowboy is the other one that stood out for some reason. Maybe it's because I've been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 a lot lately, but it does have quite a unique sound from the other songs on here. It may not be the strongest song here, but it continues to show the diversity this band has.
I could easily see myself delving deeper in to this bands music after the roulette is over. There are a few nitpicks I have though. Sometimes the vocals aren't as technical or as melodic as I generally like, but it isn't a huge issue. Another nitpick, again not a huge issue, is I would have liked to here more of the horns throughout. I loved the way they were used, but some songs have none where I was expecting some and others they are underused. Overall this is a fantastic showcase of this band.
18.5/20
Topic: Puppies Crazy Album Roulette (Jingle & Kat Bonus Round...spoiler...Jingle wins) (Read 114664 times)