Luoto: Ghost Brigade
This compilation was one my early favourites, and as the listening progressed, this one stayed up there this whole time. This is pretty much the music I associate you with now, a gloomy sound with the growls breaking them. This band, of all the ones you sent me, is quite Opeth/Katatonia-like in a sound department, with a lot of great quiet parts and the trademark wall of sound in the chorus, with the lead guitar in front of it.
Despite my exposure to growls and overall acceptance of that type of music over the years, I would still say this band shines the most during the quiet sections, and the highlights from this compilation for me are mostly the non-growly ones, with one exception of “can you follow your own shadow?” chorus of My Heart is a Tomb. I like the bleak moments here the most: the beginning of Disembodied Voices is probably my favourite moment on this compilation, with the climactic “hope will conquer all” ending. My second favourite thing is how they’re using the lead guitars, there are some fantastic leads here and there, with great melodies.
I would say my least favourite thing about this is that sometimes the non-growly vocal melodies are written in an unexpected way, and whenever that happens, this throws me off. I don’t even know how to say it, and “an unexpected way” doesn’t do it justice. Sometimes they’re just droning, like on Clawmaster, and sometimes they’re a bit too cold and distant, like on Anchored. The growls here are on point, and the good parts with the clean vocals are also on point, and the guitar lines here are fantastic. Overall, this is a really strong compilation, and this band’s music is something I will surely come back to, once the roulette is over.
Favourite songs: Disembodied Voices, Into the Black Wight, My Heart is a Tomb
Least favourite song: Clawmaster
senecadawg2: Primordial
I wonder for how long you’ve been saving this band, because unlike a lot of the music you sent me in this roulette, this is actually fantastic. Not saying you didn’t send anything else that resonated with me: The Protomen song was extremely good, and I also liked Phoebe Bridgers, but this is just on an entirely another level, or at least some of the songs are. I guess you really saved the best stuff for when it counts, like you saved Agalloch for me last time; and the best thing is that this time it actually might get you the victory—if you’re able to pull this off two more times.
This is not too dissimilar from Ghost Brigade on the first glance, but the two compilations are actually quite different, as Primordial has that sound I’ve never encountered before—the music is fairly standard death (black? still don’t know) metal, but the vocals here are unique. And I think it’s the vocals that make this compilation so good. They’re unexpectedly epic and just rough enough to fit the music, and my favourite song here in particular, Gallows Hymn, just feels like the singer is standing on a cliff screaming the lines into the wind. This song is fighting with Soulmates from Hemina for my favourite song of the round. “I never was a religious man, so why should I put my faith in you?” line delivery is just so perfect. I love that song.
And while we’re at it, this compilation is ridiculously strong during the first three songs. The run from Empire Falls to Where Greater Men Have Fallen is incredible, and if this level of quality was upheld during the whole thing, the choice of winner here would’ve been an extremely easy one, but as the quality of the material drops just a bit with The Mouth of Judas and onwards, this wasn’t as easy as I thought. Also, while I like the lyrics on most of the songs, sometimes they definitely push the boundaries of what I would call “acceptable”, for example, the “Ah, the stench of your slaughtered kin / Breathe it / Breathe it deep / The rancid stench” is one line that I could’ve lived without, because ew. Although I suppose if you’re a incestuous necrophile, that’s kinky. What was I talking about?
You weren’t wrong, though. I love this, I love this a lot. I think what really gets to me with this band is the unique vocals they’re doing here. I’m sure now that I said this, you guys will name a lot of bands that are doing the same shit, but the point stands: the way this band creates the atmosphere is unrivaled by any other compilation I was sent this time. It took me two weeks to make a decision, but now I’m sure: this is the best thing that I’ve got in this round.
Favourite songs: Gallows Hymn, Empire Falls, Where Greater Men Have Fallen, Gods to the Godless
Least favourite song: The Mouth of Judas
Conclusion:
Fuck you guys like Tim wants to fuck Bob Dylan, because while I was aware this is a possibility, I really didn’t think that I’ll end up with a matchup where both participants would send a freaking fantastic compilations to me. It’s really unfair to eliminate one of you with what you sent, while other folks were eliminated with Faith No More and King Diamond—which aren’t bad at all, but absolutely didn’t live up to the level of quality these both compilations have reached, but that’s the format I’ve chosen. However, as I said, I’m making an exception here on the fly, because these two compilations are just too good. The person who loses this—and as much as it pains me to say it, it’s you, Luoto, because I enjoyed Primordial way too much—will face Parama in the losers bracket and then will have a stab at the finals, where you will have to win all three rounds of the best of three to win the whole thing.
Honestly, I thought it would’ve been pretty easy for you, Luoto, to get into the next round, but apparently I—once again—underestimated Nelson, who made it to the main competition via his immunity, then barely scraped through the tiebreaker, then proceeded to slaughter his competition in this very round with Primordial. Well done, Seneca. Against all odds, you proceed to the semi-finals, and if you keep the quality of your submissions on this level, I don’t see how anyone will be able to stop you. Also fuck me the Gallows Hymn is so good.
Winner: senecadawg2
Topic: Evermind's Third Roulette v. Final Round Results (Read 69698 times)
