Roulette Structure:
7 players max, with a preliminary round beforehand if more than 7 players want to join. Each round is an elimination round, with the bottom 2 of each round getting cut until there’s only one player left.
The only player who has a free pass for the elimination round is ariich, the winner of my previous roulette.
Preliminary round:
No length minimum, 20 minutes max, 3 songs by 3 different artists. Prove to me that you can organize something solid. Intro/Outro/Interlude tracks are forbidden, it must be three full songs.
Rounds 1 & 2:
30 minutes minimum, 40 minutes max, only requirement is that at least 3 different artists are represented with full songs, not just intro/outro/interlude tracks, but these tracks are allowed otherwise.
Round 3 (Final Round):
Concept album round. 45 minute minimum, 90 minute max, because Spectral Lore – III is the longest album I’ve heard that earns its full runtime without qualifications so objectively speaking nothing needs to be longer than it. At least 5 different artists must be represented, again with full songs. I will accept as many separate “discs” as you want to make your concept album, but it will likely be listened to as one album regardless. Having a concept is not optional but will not be weighted heavily, as long as an attempt is made. A good concept can add to an album’s overall effectiveness, though. You are also free to add concepts to your EPs but they are not mandatory.
All rounds will have a 1 week entry period followed by 2 weeks before results. I’m shooting for a “stuff happens on Sunday” schedule. This is to both give people enough time to put together an EP/album as well as give me enough time to properly digest and critique each EP/album.
Rules:
1. Send albums via PM. I’d strongly prefer mp3 downloads for EPs, whether you send your EP as a single file or a folder of songs. Spotify playlist links are also allowed but I would prefer you send on a platform with gapless playback. Youtube is heavily discouraged, especially for EPs.
2. The banned list is color-coded for your convenience.
Red means bands I have heard enough from to know I dislike them in general.
Orange means bands I don’t actively listen to or own music from, but find generally alright.
Teal means bands I have looked into and plan to get an album from, or have an album but haven’t listened to extensively yet.
Yellow means bands I like and own music from but don’t quite love.
Green means one of my favorites.
3. There is no limitation on how many people are allowed to send the same artist in a round. However, if the same song is sent by multiple people, only the first submission will be accepted.
4. I reserve the right to reject any song or artist not on the banlist, most likely because I either know the specific song or the band probably should be on my banlist (which I will update if so). I highly recommend auditing your EP candidates ahead of time. It’s no fun to have your EP ready to go
5. The maximum album length is 80 minutes flat, the length of a single CD album. Nothing longer is allowed. I would recommend not pushing too far past 60 minutes. The longer an album, the more likely it is to invoke…
6. The Instant Elimination Rule: If I cannot bring myself to finish an EP on the first listen, the person who submitted it is instantly eliminated and the rest of the round proceeds as normal. This would mean that if one person got rule 6’d, there would be only one elimination that round. If by some unholy miracle there are two people getting rule 6’d in the same round I have no clue what I’ll do.
7. The Angry Dragon Clause: Submissions are due within a week after the previous rounds’ results have been posted. If your submission has not been sent by that time, you will be burnt to a crisp by an angry dragon. I can’t keep this roulette running forever & it’s inconsiderate to other players to be held up by one person taking their sweet time to send. A week should be plenty.