This batch isn't knocking on the pantheon's door by virtue of details, and I'm mainly focusing on those.
Round One Results, 3 of 4:
Shadow Ninja 2.0 - Wayward VagabondsWhile Heaven Wept – Vessel:Bus Impression: One song made me joyful about '80's metal spirit carrying onTimestamp Snippet:1:06 - 1:38: ... If you believe that you know in this world you've got anything to win ... Sorry, couldn't help it.
When you find a way to frankenstein echoes of Helloween's We Got the Right and shades of Manowar's Heart of Steel, you land right on what I love best abot prefix-free metal. Galopping aggression in the verse, triumphant cheese in the chorus: et voilà, winning brew. Plus, strong injections of 6/8 never fail to bring the point across, to this musical sensitiveness. Add a singer cut for this style and you are virtually avoiding weak points.
Wait, why aren't we talking 'bout a pantheon 9 here then? Because the formula apparently worked so well that the guys relied with redundant abandon on the chorus, while I suspect a more definite breakdown section and some clouds-parting guitar soloing would have made this tune a really transcendantal business. Thinking about it, why not repurposing that beautiful acoustic intro later? That idea deserved its own development lightspot.
Vote: 7.6 – My pimples years metal at its sweetest, too few pimples.
jingle.boy - Boston Bruins BlowEvership: A Slow Descent into Reality:Bus Impression: One song made me nod at careful architectureTimestamp Snippet: 0:11 - 0:16: How the hell did A-Ha's Take on Me vocal line end up inside The Whirlwind's perfect missing piece?This was the hardes writeup, 'cause my feelings are really mixed about this. Or better, what I consider this song's cause for success is at the same time its limiting factor. Rarely I've witnessed a more balanced suite, movements masterfully sewn together, the whole almost lying about its effective duration. Also, musical quality is unquestionable: I could put half tune inside The Whirlwind and the other half inside Queen II. That's saying a lot from the buffoon typing this.
Well, what led to the above mentioned praise is the same thing keeping a sort of ceiling on this track (and when you play the suite game you should gun for the roofless sky). The perfect democracy dispensed on different movements creates a gorgeous cathedral on paper, but ignores fundamental contingencies. For example: better not having a solo section if the soloists (great in harmony teamwork) are a bit shaky and pedestrian when left alone. Or, I need a bigger and more grandiose finale, a greater payoff for the incredibly high stakes established at the beginning. Or, you have a lot of tools in your voice, dare to lose control …
Vote: 7.8 – Grand and sweet, could have been heavenly without a lot of calculus.
Evermind - Cockroach SympathizersBig Big Train – Curator of Butterflies:Bus Impression: One song made me dream while awakeTimestamp Snippet: 3:29 - 3:42: That melody belongs to the realm of brazen emotional blackmail. Blackmail worked. You slipped musical rape drug inside my drink, that's what you did. The moving power of Barry White's Love Theme's harmonic progression, a singer created in a lab mixing Lake and Gabriel DNAs, licks and lines I can only describe as aural pornography, and an orchestra playing like the fate of human sex depended on it. Given the premises, why aren't you running away with the prize here?
You forgot dynamics. You could have slowly dispensed that brand of sugar and honey, giving me multiple and increasingly strong orgasms. By mid song I was: “Make this last for ever!” (a fantastic place to be anyway), but I could have been: “Really? Wugldufkduglufufufuf Again? Jsdlkjflkjlkfjfghjfghjfgjhj Can't believe this! Qwqygjjlkhjkòlkihlòkàjlòlàòk”. Moanings aside, you totally nailed my ideal scope and stature for melody. The wife thanks too, by the way.
Vote: 8.0 – Literally from my Marks System: “Loving this. Not perfect, but something here speaks to my soul.”
TAC - The aTACkersMichael Kiske – Do I Remember a Life?:Bus Impression: One song made me weep while sereneTimestamp Snippet: 8:23 - 10:16: I would have loved someone believing in that piano right from the start. I really have to rationalise to myself why I'm not rating Archangel Michael pouring his heart out a solid 15 here. I don't know how many singers on the planet can hit you harder with sheer sound, eschewing every rock singing helpful accelerant such as sexy beastness or epic storyteller pose. He is pure unfiltered soul (the concept, not the genre) voice. I'm afraid he's not a songwriter of such titanic proportions, which honestly I suspect no human being can be.
Adrian and Kai were on this album elsewhere. Why the fock weren't they legally forced to arrange this cut is beyond me. Everything until the final piano (Voice of God responding to the prayer) conspired to avoid this ending up as the greatest ballad in its generation. The acoustic guitars are clumsy (you had the perfect piano for the job), the french horn inserts distracting, the electric part wishy-washy. I love this song. Love is blind, not deaf.
Vote: 8.4 – My heart says 10 and you know that, but my brain doesn't agree.
Topic: Indiscipline's Roulette v. The Dirty Aftermath (Read 124976 times)
