So I only got 4 of the write ups finished since I've been super sick the last few days. I'll try to get the rest finished tomorrow. Sorry about the delay
Round 6 Results Part 1
Rosetta - The Galilean SatellitesParama
Atmospheric Post Sludge
United States(bonus point band)
First Impression - The intensity here is basically turned up to 11.....at all times, without let up.So this album is basically a double album with each disc meant to be listened to at the same time. This isn't exactly a new concept, Neurosis did this with their Times of Grace album which was supposed to be listened to simultaneously with Tribes of Neurot's album Grace. It is, however, something that isn't done very often, so it does end up as being fairly unique in sound. It ends up being very dense. My original gripe with this album upon first listen was the relative lack of dynamics. It was full on intensity with no room to breathe. On subsequent listens I've started to pick out various aspects and little subtleties I hadn't noticed before (little guitar leads here, nice atmospheric keyboards there, some cool drum licks everywhere). It started to open up to my ears. The sound spectrum was completely filled up, but there was so many different interesting things going on that there was something new to pick up on each time I listened to this. This music started to live up to the subject matter of the album. With emotionally charged lyrics using the moons of Jupiter as metaphors (or so it seems to me). The album as a whole started to remind me of Echoes From η Carinae that you sent me earlier. Not because they sound at all similar, but because of the way the music makes you feel like you are exploring the dangerous expanse of outer space. Yes the atmosphere is crushing and intense, but so it space... And just like outer space, sometimes this album seems like it wants to kill you.
The only thing I would probably change is the vocals. Those were the one thing that the intensity could have been more varied. The other problem is the density of the album. I need like 2 or 3 dozen more listens to fully unravel this, but I don't exactly have that much time to spare in a roulette.
8/10 + (.5 bonus point) = 8.5/10
Dreamscape - VeryLethean
Progressive Metal
Germany(bonus point band)
First Impression - Dream Theater called and wants their early 90's sound back.There's something about that 90's Progressive Metal sound that I just love. Never mind the fact that most of these bands were just copying either Dream Theater or Fates Warning or Queensryche (the Dream Theater worship is very evident here). The production is way better than most of the metal and rock that is released these days. All the instruments are allowed to breathe and be heard. And let me tell you everyone is on point here. The vocalist could be better, but he isn't bad. I think it's just his tone that I'm not particularly fond of, but that could just be attributed to tastes. He is technically pretty good. I like the prominent use of pianos and keyboards. The patches they use and their placement in the songs and mix are excellent. Even though they may be lacking originality (I mean this is really just Images & Words/Awake worship), the musicianship is definitely up to the task. Sure Wolfgang Kerinnis is no John Petrucci, but he plays some tasty melodic and technical solos and has some good riffs. The star of the show for me is definitely the drummer, Bernhard Huber. He reminds me of a mix of Mike Portnoy and Truls Haugen (apparently I ended up developing a very similar style and approach to drumming as Truls Haugen over my 20+ years of playing drums, as pointed out by one of my buddies that I jam with occasionally, which is how I originally heard about Circus Maximus, but I digress...). The individual songs are all fairly diverse, due in large part to the varied keyboards and drumming. The back half of this album is definitely more original than the first half. So at least they aren't completely copying Dream Theater.
This album ends up being much better than the only other Dreamscape album I've heard (End of Silence) which got a 3/10 from me. I like the style of production used here compared to End of Silence. The vocals are a little better here too, even though the vocals could still use some improvement. Overall a very enjoyable album and one I will likely revisit occasionally.
8/10 + .5 (bonus point) = 8.5/10
Thought Industry - Songs for InsectsRomdrums
Progressive Metal
United StatesFirst Impression - Sounds like Voivod, Galactic Cowboys, and Tool had a weird 3-way love childYou mentioned in the PM you sent me that the production isn't the greatest here. I actually don't mind the production here. It's definitely a 90's style production. The only really weird thing is the almost St. Anger snare drum sound. Like beating on a trashcan lid
The songs themselves are actually quite eclectic, hence the comparison to Voivod with their technical thrashy side, Galactic Cowboys with more thrashy sounds and a bit of quirkiness, Tool for their intellectually charged lyricism and going in to some more trance inducing sections here and there. I'd also add some Mr. Bungle/Faith No More for basically throwing in everything here (perhaps too many ideas?), including the kitchen sink and having diverse vocals throughout. Speaking of the vocals, though, I don't particularly like this vocalist. He gets the job done, but none of what he does in particularly impressive or catches my attention. This and the snare drum sound are really the only problems I have here.
On the plus side the guitar riffing is really imaginative and goes in to some pretty heavy hang banging riffs from time to time. This isn't exactly traditional thrash riffs though. They definitely take after the more progressive side of bands like the aforementioned Voivod and Galactic Cowboys. Even throwing in enough technicality to call to mind bands like Watchtower or Spiral Architect. There is so much variety here. While the album is rooted in Proggy Thrash, they tend to throw in other genres at all time, sometimes for just a few seconds like the bluegrassy/folky intro to Daughter Mobius or the Punky verses in the same song. Then there's the almost Industrial sounding Cornerstone. There's also some Speed Metal and classic prog rock bits. One big thing I noticed which really reminds me of Tool, even though they accomplish this in very different ways, is despite the obvious highly technical playing of everyone in the band, there isn't really any blatant noodling or showing off or lead guitar solo spots. It's actually a kind of refreshing change in Proggy metal. Sure there enough time signature changes here to make Dream Theater jealous, but everyone in the band is working towards one common goal.
I don't think this is an album I would revisit very often, mostly because it's more something I would have to be in a particular mood to listen to, but it's definitely a force to be reckoned with.
8.7/10
Oracle - Into the UnknownTAC
Melodic Blackened Death Metal
United StatesFirst Impression - Melodic and technical. Off putting trigger sounds on the tom drums.I had no idea what to expect going in to this. I had never heard of the band before and for this round I didn't look up any info on the bands before listening. I wasn't expecting an album with any kind of blackened sound on it from you. Then again, this is so bloody melodic and fun to listen to.
This starts off so good. Great soft acoustic intro that smoothly transitions to fast and melodic. There's blazing solos, blast beats, awesome atmospheric keyboards, piano, nice drum fills, and epic riffs, and this is just the first song. There is also enough technicality to keep it interesting throughout the nearly 60 minute run time. I hear little bits taken from a lot of different bands spread out all over this album. Bits of Dark Tranquility, Mirrorthrone/Weeping Birth, Between the Buried and Me, Woe of Tyrants, Mithras, Scar Symmetry, As Eden Burns, among others, but it's blended together really well. The Liquid Answer has some really fast and awesome drumming. Which is also where I really picked up on the weird trigger sounds on the tom drums. With repeated listens I got more used to it and it didn't bug me nearly as much. The title track here is super head bangable and has some awesome riffs and solos. The inclusion of acoustic interludes is nice and keeps the album from feeling one dimensional. Take From Blue to Black as an example. The song starts off similar to the opening track with a nice spacey atmosphere, but it also goes heavy, and kind of goes back and forth, all in under 3 minutes. That's some dense, yet compact song writing. The song blends perfectly in to 1012. It sounds like there is a subtle saxophone here (could just be keyboards), it sounds nice. The album just keeps going with good song after good song. It never becomes boring. The only thing I might have changed is the last song. It doesn't really feel like a closing track. Other than that this album was fantastic.
9/10