Puppies Crazy Album Roulette (Jingle & Kat Bonus Round...spoiler...Jingle wins)

[The Walrus]

I'm gonna wait to see how Zierler does before I send, although I'm probably gonna continue ping ponging from genre to genre 

[Puppies_On_Acid]

I'm gonna wait to see how Zierler does before I send, although I'm probably gonna continue ping ponging from genre to genre 

Fair enough

[Puppies_On_Acid]

A couple more randomly chosen results 

Wolverine - Communication Lost
Evermind
Progressive Metal
Sweden
(bonus point band)

First Impression - Sort of lighter, softer, more mid to slower paced, but it is emotionally gripping.

I am of course familiar with Wolverine. Their album Still is a very good album. This album is a bit different though. It's slower, lighter, and filled with incredible atmospheric keyboards. This is all evident in the first two tracks, especially in Into the Great Nothing. With the not wanky keyboards that sound more akin to Richard Barbieri's keys in Porcupine Tree and the melodic guitars that while technically proficient (that guitar solo in Your Favourite War  ), they never fall in to the same wankfest traps that most Prog metal tends to these days. Melody seems to be the main focus here and reminds me in small part of Pain of Salvation. They are heavy when they need to be, but always keeping focus on the melody. This helps keep the music memorable and not a chore to listen to. The song writing is just plain fantastic and makes this album emotionally gripping. It's definitely not a happy album and that comes across well not just in the lyrics, but the music behind it as well. Even though it's more melancholic, it's still beautiful. I do subscribe to Steven Wilson's idea that the saddest music is often the most beautiful.

This album could be improved if they added a bit more heaviness to a few sections. It doesn't get heavy too often and there are places where it definitely could have used that. Also Stefen Zell sticks to his lower register in the vocals too much. His upper register sounds really good and could have helped give this a more epic feeling. Regardless it's still a great album on par with Still.

8/10 (+.5) = 8.5/10 total score


Zierler - ESC
Kattelox
Progressive Metal
Denmark

First Impression - I really like this vocalist in another band I'm familiar with. I'm confused as to why they picked who they did for backing/secondary vocal and not his other skills....

I think this album may have singlehandedly (Is that even a word?) rekindled my love for straight ahead prog metal. The song writing is fantastic, the vocals are great, with just the right amount of harshness in spots, they are technical when they need to be, and it just plain sounds awesome. I don't know how I haven't come across this album before. I never even knew it existed. I mean you have Bobby Jarzombek, who is one of the best drummers around right now, who is continuing his reign of terror on the skins on this album. Then you have Per Nilsson, who is the brains behind Scar Symmetry, who shows his skills here brilliantly playing both guitar and bass. And you have Kelly Carpenter, who I know very well from his work in Outworld, but I think he may have outdone that vocal performance here. I'm not as familiar with Finn Zierler, but I do know him from Beyond Twilight, but I never really liked that band. The keyboards on this album are fine though. Not too cheesy, not too in your face. The weird part is using Truls Haugen for vocals as well, when he is a brilliant drummer in his own right. I guess if you have Bobby Jarzombek behind the kit you don't really need to have anyone else there. Still an odd choice for vocals though, even though he does a good job with the harsher vocals.

The music on this album is the obvious highlight for me. Specifically the guitars and drums. The album starts off with a bang with both A New Beginning and Aggrezzor. Aggrezzor especially is awesome with some great interplay between the guitar and drums and fantastic vocals. Love those guitar solos. Evil Spirit also has some great soloing and drumming and is heavy as hell, but with a fantastic use of melody. The song No Chorus has some really good lyrics and is a good social commentary on music in general. The album closes out with two brilliant songs, Water and Whispers. These are less heavy and a bit more atmospheric, especially with the keyboards. I really appreciate the way they bring technicality to this album. Even when they go off on a tangent of wankery, it doesn't feel like musical masturbation. It fits and serves to drive the song forward and they don't wallow in it. I suppose the only low parts would be Darkness Delight and Dark to the Bone, the former sounding a bit too much like Symphony X, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but with the uniqueness of the rest of the album it stands out as being too traditional prog metal.

I really hope these guys are planning a second album, because I can't wait to see what they come up with next. Congrats on sending another fantastic album, your strategy of genre hopping is working so far.

9/10

[The Walrus]

Really glad you like that album so much, it threw me for a loop at first. It's such a dense album with so much to digest that it left me exhausted after the first listen. My favorite tracks are Agrezzor, Rainheart, and Dark to the Bone. Will send later tonight, I feel my luck running thin though.

[jingle.boy]

That rating for Zierler is causing me to re-think what I'm gonna send.  Not that where I was leaning is bad, but if you're looking for some re-kindling, have I got a tree trunk for you!

[Evermind]

Wow, just made the cut with Wolverine. Thanks for not being an asshole giving it a 7.9.

[Crow]

Wow, just made the cut with Wolverine. Thanks for not being an asshole giving it a 7.9.

[TAC]

Sent more growls for the next round!

[Indiscipline]

Boy what a miss! Honestly, I expected either a 4 or an 8 - no middle ground - hence I'm glad you've been very gentle and generous in your dislike. Even gladder you've acknowledged Shawn Lane's otherwordly talents, something we've sadly lost too soon.

I'm pondering finally sending vocals for the next round.

[Stadler]

Marillion's Marbles (the 2 cd version, I don't know why the single disc version is a thing) is number 1

A-fucking-men. "Yeah, let's leave out the best song on the record on a single disc version, that sounds like a good idea." What

Well, "Neverland" is the best song on the record, but I get your point.  "The Damage" is just amazing and I can't believe they left it off the 1CD version.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Here's the rest of the round 3 results. I know a couple of you will be disappointed.

Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts
Sacul
Post Hardcore
Sweden

First Impression - This is not what I was expecting from this band based on the genre.

I had a tough time with this album. It's both incredibly ambitious and boring at the same time. I love me some Post Hardcore, which is what this is labeled as, but this sounds more like oldschool Hardcore Punk with more avant-garde ambitions. The comes in when trying to mix in ambient and electronica interludes with what they are calling Post Hardcore. The problem is they don't mix well. There's no real flow, it's actually really disjointed for the most part. The songs have weird random breaks in to some bad techno beats. There's no preamble to it, just hardcore riffing then all of a sudden BOOM TECHNO IN YOUR FACE. The biggest problem is the music is mostly pretty bland. They don't do anything revolutionary. They kind of sound like they are trying to mix Rage Against the Machine with Fugazi. The good thing is there is plenty of variety here, even if most of it doesn't work too well. There are some good head bangable parts. The vocals are for the most part pretty good, with a few really cringeworthy exceptions.

I read some other reviews on this album because it seems to have pretty high scores from other people. I see people saying that it was revolutionary for its time and how it paved the way for bigger and better things and influenced a lot of the bands we have now in the post hardcore scene. Which all may be true, but I would rather be listening to those bands that are doing things better.

5.9/10


Deconstruction - Deconstruction
Stadler
Alternative Rock
United States

First Impression - This is more unique and better played than I thought it would be.

This album is definitely a product of it's time. It has a lot of similarities with other albums within this genre and among their contemporaries. I am familiar with who Dave Navarro is, but I never did get in to Jane's Addiction outside of a few of their songs.

This album is quite polarizing. Basically the first 8 songs all go from pretty good to really great. They do some neat and unique things. Dave Navarro is a better guitarist than I thought. I especially love stuff like those twinkly arpeggios in Iris. The run from LA Song through Fire in the Hole is a pretty great run of music. Son and Big Sur sees a little drop in quality, but I just chalk that up to a mid album lull. But the rest of the songs are.....well, they aren't very good. Songs like One, America, and Wait for History are all overlong and repetitive. The lyrics don't speak to me in any meaningful way and the vocals sound like he's bored, I mean the vocals are all fairly similar throughout, but they were less noticeable in the first half because they were backed by interesting music. The drop off in quality from the first to the second half is pretty jarring. Through the first 8 songs this would probably rate at about an 8 to 8.5. With the second half dragging it down I cant rate it nearly that high. I appreciate you taking a different approach from everyone else when sending albums, but this one just didn't work in your favor.

6/10


Amendfoil - Empyrean & Ophidian
Ariich
Alternative Progressive Metal
Finland

First Impression - What if Alice in Chains, Mastodon, Alter Bridge, and Mudvayne decided to collaborate on an album, but not sound like any of their bands.

So I received a song from this album in my last roulette, Silver Linings, and it is definitely my favorite song on this album. It doesn't really sound like anything else on the album. The rest of the album fits my description in my first impression pretty well I think. There are times where the vocals sound like Miles Kennedy from Alter Bridge, there's vocal and guitar harmonies and grungy bits that sound like Alice in Chains, there's bits that sound like Chad Gray's harsher vocals and Greg Tribbett's incessant guitar riffing. There's some more proggy sludgy riffage that reminds me of Mastodon (like in Pale Horse, which is like a combo of Mastodon rhythms and Mudvayne/Alter Bridge vocals). It's all a very weird combination for me and at the same time this album doesn't exactly sound like any of the aforementioned bands. I don't know if I have had enough listens to fully wrap my head around it. Although you would think 4 listens through would be enough...There's even some Pop Punk riffing at times. There's djenty stuff. Then there's some really technical drumming in sporadic places which is then followed up with some rhythms and beats you would find on an early Paramore album. What?!?! These guys are just channeling tons of different artistic influences and yet paving their own path. I have a feeling they will pull it all together and put out an amazing album to follow this up.

7.8/10


Foscor - Les irreals visions
Elite
Progressive Black Metal
Spain

First Impression - This album hits me in a very peculiar way. It's a good way, just....peculiar. It's like a standard prog metal band being directed by Deafheaven or something.

This is one of those albums that seems to draw on a lot of different styles of music and have many influences. Sometimes this can lead to a jumbled mess of an album and sometimes it can lead a revelation of music that pushes the boundaries forward and is the true essence of what progressive music is all about. This really neither of those things. It doesn't really push any genre of music forward and it's not an indecipherable disaster. It's really just an album that seems to stand on the backs of it's predecessors and peers. I mentioned the Deafheaven comparison in my first impression, which is there, but there's also some of the avant-garde leanings of In the Woods or Arcturus. There's lots of atmosphere, similar to a lot of post black metal bands. There's varying and sometimes strange vocals that reminds me of the aforementioned avant-garde leaning metal bands. There's even some psychedelic rock moments (like in Ciutat tràgica) and some Agalloch-like folky bits (displayed in Altars). There's also some great guitar work throughout this album. The solo in Altars is really emotional and not overly technical (that would just ruin the atmosphere). I like the dirty bass tone, it provides a nice counterbalance to the clean sounds of the other instruments. Overall this isn't as heavy or as metally as I was expecting. It's like a more avant-garde late era Katatonia. I was actually somewhat surprised how short this album is, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It was just over before I knew it. Even though I cant understand any of the vocals, it doesn't detract from the album. The vocal melodies and harmonies are all actually done very well. Sometimes the singer goes a bit off the rails, but not often.

I kind of want to dig in to this bands back catalog now. I've read that they started out as a more Black Metal band and slowly transitioned to this style. I'd be interested in seeing where they started. Overall this is an album I could see myself coming back to again in the future. So power, many atmospheric WOW!

8.3/10


I don't think I forgot anyone, if I did speak up 

Scores So Far

Kattelox - 9, 9, 9 = 27
Romdrums - 7.7, 8.5, 8.7 = 24.9
TAC - 7.6, 8, 9.1 = 24.7
Parama - 9.1, 8.7, 6.7 = 24.5
Ariich - 9.5, 7, 7.8 = 24.3
Evermind - 8.2, 7.5, 8.5 = 24.2
Elite - 7.8, 7.4, 8.3 = 23.5
Sacul - 8.5, 8.5, 5.9 = 22.9
Jingle - 8.3, 6, 8 = 22.3
Indiscipline - 7.5, 8, 5.8 = 21.3
Lethean - 6.8, 7.8, 6.6 = 21.2
Stadler - 6.4, 7, 6 = 19.4

Hopefully my math is correct.  Looks like Kat is running away with this.

[Crow]

i was .3 points away from an 8.5 instead of a 6.7 so that kinda hurt
i'm not really too fussed about winning this one anyways since i already won the last one but we'll see

i might go with a space-themed EP and then drop the gimmick for the rest of the roulette after that, i dunno

[The Walrus]

Sent something that's just lovely.

[Train of Naught]

Just chiming in to say I approve heavily of that Agrimonia album  also found it thanks to a Spotify rec

[Elite]

Yaaaay, that went quite well

[Indiscipline]

Nah, let's keep it instrumental.

Sent a collaboration between two geniuses of the six strings.

[Elite]

Indy sent Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony

[Indiscipline]

Fock me, I should have really sent that.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Still need more albums! Give them to me! Give them to me now!!

[The Walrus]

Tell me how good mine is.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Tell me how good mine is.

0/10, you fall to last place. Better hope your ep is good 

[ariich]

Ok, sent!

[Elite]

Ok, sent!

[Sacul]

I think Refused made some very cool music in that record, and while sometimes it's an incoherent mess, it's full of  riffs and moments imo, definitely more interesting than Fugazi  . But I'll admit it's a record that took ages to grow on me and now I love it.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Y'all get Bizarrro Hangmemes because I am cruel and evil. MWAHAHAHAHA!!!

Linoleum - Opaque Gate
Mu Draconis - Reflections of a Supernova
To Glow - Aberration
Super Old - Angels and Demons are Sitting Outside
Mr. Bungle's Crazy Italian Cousins - You are Super Serious. Yes?
Induce - We Have Seen
Clones - Clones
Peasant Hawk - The Apathy
Absence of Dogs - Spirits of the Sea
Master Deception - Flabbergast
Cops & Red Kings - I Go No Where Bare Faced
Tangent - A Place to Rest










Good luck

[The Walrus]

Tiles - Fence the Clear?

[Crow]

Destrage - Are You Kidding Me? No.
Brand New - The Devil and God etc sent by Dacul?
Kingcrow - The Persistence sent by Evermind

[Puppies_On_Acid]

I made it too easy it seems. 

: Linoleum - Opaque Gate Tiles - Fence the Clear
: Mu Draconis - Reflections of a Supernova
: To Glow - Aberration
: Super Old - Angels and Demons are Sitting Outside Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
: Mr. Bungle's Crazy Italian Cousins - You are Super Serious. Yes? Destrage - Are You Kidding Me? No.
: Induce - We Have Seen
: Clones - Clones
Evermind: Peasant Hawk - The Apathy Kingcrow - The Persistence
: Absence of Dogs - Spirits of the Sea
: Master Deception - Flabbergast
: Cops & Red Kings - I Go No Where Bare Faced
: Tangent - A Place to Rest

Sacul did not send Brand New

[Crow]

Dacul sent Destrage?

[The Walrus]

Oh Brand New is absolutely 100% Parama

[Crow]

no sir

[TAC]

I see mine. Took me a bit..

[The Walrus]

no sir

Fool of a Took!!

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Dacul sent Destrage?

Wrong again 

[Stadler]

I don't see one that is even close to mine. 

I'm a moron; mine is sort of obvious.