SACUL – 13.0
The Stooges – Down On The Street 5.5 1 0 6.5
The Stooges – Loose 5.5 1 0 6.5
Stadler said “Diamond Dave”, Sacul said… nothing.
Haha, again, confused. The Stooges; this is the version with one brother on drums, and one brother on guitar, but it’s the same singer (same album!). So I gave a point for the theme on this one. The songs are unassailable; The Stooges have taken on a life well beyond their actual contribution, but that’s not to say that music isn’t strong. It’s good, honest, hard-nosed rock and roll. Not punk, not metal, not alternative, just “rock and roll”. I love it. So the music gets high marks, but I just can’t really see fit to go much beyond that.
HOME – 13.5
OWEL – All I’ll Ever Know 5.5 1 0 6.5
OWEL - Float 6 1 0 7
Stadler said “Sammy”, Home said… nothing.
As a joke, I almost gave 7 + 2+ 1 + bonus point just because of the vaguely erotic, and not a little disturbingly suggestive, video for “All I’ll Ever Know”, but then I realized I owed more to this than to treat it like a joke. These were really good songs. I loved the buildup/payoff of the first song; it was swirling in a good way, and really made it worth sticking around. The start of Float was kind of jarring in that context, but patience paid off. After the slow start (and I don’t mean that in musical terms, I mean as in “slight”) the song escalated, and the start actually worked in your favor. Add to that the almost orchestral ending and I’m sure I liked Float better. I’m not sure I buy into the connection to the theme, and you didn’t apply for the bonus points, so it is what it is, but like the last two submissions, your take is creative and I liked the thought you put into it, and for that, I thank you.
ELITE – 15.0
Pain Of Salvation - ! (Forward) 5 2 0.5 7.5
Pain Of Salvation – Meaningless 5 2 0.5 7.5
Stadler said “Sammy”, Elite said… nothing.
Hmmm. Good creativity with the band change, but given that you stuck with the same singer, I’ve kind of got to focus on that, and I have to say, Gildenlow doesn’t really work for me. I get the sort of idea of “acting” with your vocals, but there didn’t seem to be a theme or reason for the changing; sometimes it was a clean tenor, sometimes a growl (which are lost on me except in the most specific of cases, like the Star One song from earlier in the roulette) and it didn’t connect. The second song was much more interesting and engaging, and I liked the double-tracked vocals in the chorus (that melody reminds me of a Kiss song, go figure…). I felt like the vocals served the song a lot better, but even then, it seems like it’s more gymnastics than not. I gave you a half-point for flipping the change into a the band change.
LOWDZ – 17.5
Savatage – Gutter Ballet 5.5 2 1 8.5
Savatage – Edge of Thorns 6 2 1 9
Stadler said “Diamond Dave”, Lowdz said “Diamond Dave”.
I’ve heard of the “Gutter Ballet” and I was prepared to say “I’ve heard this before”, but honestly I can’t recall it, so I let it stand. Each section seems vaguely evocative of other things; there’s some “Eye Of The Tiger” in there, there’s even a little “Time Warp” from Rocky Horror. Certainly you can hear what later we all embraced as “The Transiberian Orchestra”, and that’s what most impresses; this is cinematic. I can’t say I love the screechy, vibrato-laden vocals on the chorus, but the song makes up for it. But as much as I liked the more well-known Gutter Baller, the revelation was “Edge Of Thorns”. Still cinematic, still evocative, but the singer (Zachary Stevens) elevated this. I love the Dio-esque, “… the edge of thorns… but I don’t think about you anymore”; it’s straight out of “The Sign Of The Southern Cross” (which is as good as it gets for Dio-era Sabbath). I also loved how the solo was more a part than just wankery. This was good.