OK here are the rest of round 4 results. Sorry for the delay.
Replicants - ReplicantsStadler
Alternative Rock
United StatesFirst Impression - This is.....different? And yet, so familiar...Wasn't expecting a covers album in my roulette. There's good news and bad news here. The good news is, some of these are actually pretty good. The bad news, the rest of them are pretty terrible. I feel like I need to go track by track here, since these are all fairly well known songs being covered.
Just What I Needed - This is a pretty good cover of a classic Cars song. This sounds like what I imagine a Nirvana cover would sound like of this song. It's performed well and stays fairly faithful to the original, but I would rather listen to the original. I like the original's vocal melodies much better.
Silly Little Love Songs - Is that someone peeing in a toilet at the beginning? Is that Maynard on vocals? Why did they choose to go Doomy Industrial for this song? So many questions? This doesn't work for me at all. The style of music doesn't work with the lyrical content. The main melody here sounds awkward in this style. Would definitely rather listen to Sir Paul's version.
Life's a Gas - Never thought I'd hear a cover of this song. I actually really like this one. I actually like this better than the original for some reason. Not sure why.
Cinnamon Girl - Worst cover of Cinnamon Girl I've ever heard. That's a little over dramatic actually, especially since it isn't that bad. The problem is once you've heard Type O Negative's version of this song, everything else pails in comparison.
How Do You Sleep? - Is this Nine Inch Nails? I haven't heard this song in many years. I don't actually remember the original all that well, was never a big fan of John Lennon's solo stuff. This is actually pretty good though. Has that cool nineties NIN vibe to it.
Destination Unknown - Is that Keanu Reaves singing in the music video for this song? I had to listen to the original song because I couldn't remember what it sounded like. I definitely like this way better. It really is a great cover. Good vibe and great reworking of an 80's semi classic.
No Good Trying - Never heard the original of this. Never liked Syd Barrett. All I can say is it's short, but other than that, pass...
Are Friends Electric - Another song I hadn't heard the original of before. This is better than the Syd Barrett cover. Has some interesting synths and a cool rhythm to it.
Dirty Work - An odd choice for a Steely Dan cover, but I guess it is one they could fit in to their mid 90's alternative post grunge sound. Of course I could also see them pulling off Rikki Don't Lose That Number. This is actually pretty good though.
The Bewlay Brothers - Wow, this one was bad. I think David Bowie is doing barrel rolls in his grave. Hard to imagine him signing off on this when this was made. ugh....no thanks. Next!
Ibiza Bar - Pink Floyd is tough to pull off for any band not named Pink Floyd in my experience. At least they didn't end up sounding like
this (click at the peril of your ears). It's still not that good though, but then again it's once again a weird pick for a cover. I don't particularly like the original either.
Well this all adds up to a very mixed bag. 4 of the songs I really didn't like, 2 were ok, and 5 were pretty good. That totals to......
6.5/10
Andy Summers & Robert Fripp - I Advance MaskedIndiscipline
Art Rock
United KingdomFirst Impression - I am oddly aroused, yet strangely angry.I'm not entirely sure what I expected from this, but it wasn't what I heard. I think I expected atmospheric technical wizardry in a New Wave-ish backdrop. I thought that was where it was going with the start of the first song, but there was no crescendo, no climax, no real build up to a point where the song crashes over and has a release. There's just build and more build. A constant barrage of teasing and then the song fades out......WHAT!?! I think I have musical blue balls now.
There's something to be said for 2 of rock musics most influential guitarists teaming up and not devolving in to a wank fest. They seem to come at this project as equals and at the same time know when to let the other take the lead and step back. It's good at not overwhelming you, but the album has a serious problem with satisfying me musically. I know music isn't all about the destination, but the journey. However, without a destination and/or never reaching the destination, you end up just wandering aimlessly, getting lost, and then dying of starvation in the wilderness somewhere. This is sort of how this album feels. There's tons of great ideas here; awesome King Crimson-like melodies and guitar rhythms, cool bouncy guitar riffs, nice synths, but they all go no where. The second track, Under Bridges of Silence, just ends abruptly and track 3 starts. There's no flow. China - Yellow Leader gives me basically the same feeling as the title track.
The album is somewhat saved by the run of tracks from In the Cloud Forest thru The Truth of Skies. They go more acoustic/ballady and more ambient and atmospheric. Dropping any pretense of having a build up and just playing some really gorgeous melodies. The final 3 tracks kind of follow this pattern as well. If they had opted to bring in more of a rhythm section in the offending songs or go more acoustic and ambient I think I may have appreciated the album more. It's still not as bad as I make it sound and gets a decent score, but I feel like it could have been so much more.
7/10
Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside MeAriich
Emo/Post Hardcore
United StatesFirst Impression - If Thrice were a little more whiny?I am familiar somewhat with Brand New. My sister got really into them back when Deja Entendu came out. I remember her showing it to me and I remember not liking it. In fact I hated it (it's possible my hate stemmed from my extreme dislike for any and all screamed/harsh vocals at the time, I eventually came around). This album sounds nothing like what I remember from that one. I think it's because this one incorporates much more Indie rock influence into their brand of Emo Post Hardcore. Which is a good thing. I do have some conflicting thought on the vocals though. The singing is powerful, emotional, at times haunting, and a little bit broken, which adds to what's right with this album. Sure the guy doesn't have the greatest range or the best technical chops, but he puts his all in to it. The lyrics on the other hand I can't connect with. Perhaps when I was in high school, but not now. This isn't a huge strike against the album, in fact the vocal styles fit the lyrics well. I can appreciate that. It's just where I am at in my life, the lyrics mostly don't resonate with me.
Let's talk about what is right with this album. The music, while not technically impressive, is very well constructed and played. The melodies, while on the simpler side, work very well and are catchy to the point of some of the songs getting stuck in my head for days. I love the flow of the album too. Most of the songs flow right in to the next which makes it feel like a whole cohesive album. There's no cheap fadeouts to end songs (which I hate), no jarring transitions, and no weird cuts. All the above points are a testament to the bands song writing abilities, which are much improved from what I remember of Deja Entendu. The acoustic lighter moments of the album can be haunting and are some of my favorite bits.
Overall this a solid album without much to complain about other than the lyrics (which is more my problem than anything else). Some songs can get a little samey with chord progressions and riffs, but not often. Just a solid album with a few minor flaws.
8/10
Indukti - IdmenSacul
Progressive Metal
PolandFirst Impression - Hey, this is pretty coo....."Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits, Hawk kills chickens, Hawk kills rabbits........................This album started out so bloody good with the instrumental Sansara that I was totally thrown for a loop when that hawk kills chickens line came in on the song Tusan Homichi Tuvota. I was completely confused for the whole track. I'm kind of over it now. It's still a completely silly and overused line throughout the song, though. Anyways, this album as a whole really feels like Poland's answer to Orphaned Land. How they do the vocals, the instrumentation, the overall progginess. But the comparison isn't an exact one. It's like Indukti listened to a lot of Orphaned Land and decided they wanted to make music that was just as varied, just as epic, just as progressive, but with their own lyrical ideas and different instruments. The songs all flow really well from one to the next and are very linear (no verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus, chorus, chorus, outro pop style writing here). The album is very engrossing and easy to get lost in, except the hawk/chicken/rabbit part, haha. The music has a great groove to it almost all the way through and everyone involved plays their parts extremely well. The drummer in particular caught my attention. This guy is a technical machine, but he makes it blend with what the rest of the band is playing effortlessly. I almost didn't notice what he was doing until I started focusing on his parts. That's just how good the rest of the music is. I think one thing this album would benefit from is a little more dynamics in the louder parts, which comes down to mixing and production.
I can see myself coming back to this album again and again. There's a lot to glean from it every time I listen to it. Lots of cool intricacies. You've sent another great album.
8.4/10
Destrage - Are You Kidding Me? No.Elite
Progressive Metalcore
ItalyFirst Impression - Is it just me or does one of the songs choruses here sound similar to Bon Jovi's Raise Your Hands' verses? It's weirdly similar.Oh goodness, this album is something else. Definitely not a band bothered to follow the norm. In fact one might say they deviate/elevate from the norm, eh eh?
Anyway, these guys have technicality, song writing chops, chaotic and varying vocal styles (of which all are performed well), catchy melodies that cut through the chaos, and super slick guitar solos. Those clean guitar solos they use occasionally are otherworldly. Now there are a few times where they maybe trying to be a little too technical and crazy and it ends up falling flat, but they are few and far between. They do like to try to seamlessly mash up as many genres as possible in to each song. There's the obvious progginess and metalcore, but on top of that they throw in some post hardcore, breakcore, hair metal, some twangy country/bluegrass sounding bits, southern metal, technical death metal, grindcore, parts that sound like they could be from a mid 90's video game, pop, etc, the list could go on and on. They have this poppy sensibility in most of the songs, that make them extremely catchy. As crazy as the music gets, it's all pretty memorable. As much variety as there is in the music styles and playing, there isn't much variety in tempo. It's all pretty fast and intense. They don't exactly stop to take a breath or allow the listener to either, except for Where the Things Have No Colour, which has a cool acoustic intro and takes the intensity of the album down for a bit. It's a really cool track and probably one of my favorites. The other song I need to talk about is G.O.D. This is the song that I'm referring to in the first impression. The chorus to this song sounds so similar to the verses of Raise Your Hands. It's probably just a coincidence or probably just in my head. It's mostly in the vocal melody and harmonies. Maybe this album has scrambled my brains....
Great album!
9/10
The Scores After Round 4
Romdrums - 7.7, 8.5, 8.7, 9.5 = 34.4
Kattelox - 9, 9, 9, 6.8 = 33.8
TAC - 7.6, 8, 9.1, 8.8 = 33.5
Parama - 9.1, 8.7, 6.7, 8.9 = 33.4
Elite - 7.8, 7.4, 8.3, 9 = 32.5
Ariich - 9.5, 7, 7.8, 8 = 32.3
Sacul - 8.5, 8.5, 5.9, 8.4 = 31.3
Evermind - 8.2, 7.5, 8.5, 6 = 30.2
Jingle - 8.3, 6, 8, 7.7 = 30
Indiscipline - 7.5, 8, 5.8, 7 = 28.3
Lethean - 6.8, 7.8, 6.6, 6.8 = 28
Stadler - 6.4, 7, 6, 6.5 = 25.9
EP ROUND GO!!!!!!!!!!!
Topic: Puppies Crazy Album Roulette (Jingle & Kat Bonus Round...spoiler...Jingle wins) (Read 102678 times)