Round 2 ResultsRound 2 Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7zrr4vohCO4E47Gs7MavUMTAC: Morbid Angel - Invocation Of The Continual OneTheme: Pre-2000's Death MetalFirst Impressions:The first song on my playlist and the longest one sent so far too. And the one I’m most worried about, in all honesty. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a pre-2000’s death metal album I liked. Some early Opeth comes close but I’ve never been wild about it, and this is very clearly much more raw than that. Though after the first two minutes it moves a bit more towards a riff-driven style I can get more into, though I don’t know how likely it is I’ll ever get past the growls on this one. It just seems to fall victim to a lot of issues that older death metal has for me – very muddy and rough production, an overall sludgy and monochrome tone. There’s not much semblance of melody to be found here at all, though at the very least the riffing and solos at the very end are kinda cool.
I expected to struggle with this one going into it, and I got basically exactly what I expected, but we’ll see if it has room to grow on me regardless.Final Thoughts:Of every theme on the bonus list, I had this pegged as the absolute hardest one for me/most unlikely to result in a pleasant experience. A lot of the pre-2000’s themes in general, really, but this one especially, because death metal as a genre is already something I’m not super into on its own and my perspective is that death metal didn’t get good production in general until around the mid 2000’s.
There’s definitely stuff about this where I can see the appeal – there are some good riffs here, and the soloing is definitely impressive, even if it’s kind of “mindless wank” most of the time. But.
Okay, I need to immediately draw a comparison. To Edge of Sanity’s Crimson. This song reminds me of that album in a lot of ways. It’s got a long and winding, somewhat progressive structure to it, really muddy and sludgy production, and it has a lot of the same problems that album has for me. There’s recurrent themes and there’s a progressive undertone to it in structure, but the way every segment is tied together is unfathomably sloppy and it ends up feeling less like the song develops over its runtime and more like it just jumps around haphazardly. And when I’m already not hugely into the core sound, that lack of direction just ends up making it even more impenetrable.
To at least take the time to be positive for a bit, I do think some of the grooves on display here are pretty good, even if they are a bit monochrome. I can idly bob my head to a large chunk of this song and enjoy it on that level. There’s a bit around the 8-minute mark, too, that has a nice melodic sound to it and an actual sense of atmosphere that builds into a pretty cool riff and solo. The last few minutes in general, being purely instrumental, flow pretty smoothly and ends the song off satisfyingly, even if it’s kind of a mess to get to that point.
There’s definitely a lot more I like here than Infant Annihilator, it’s visibly a step above that one for me, but it’s still kind of a slog to sit through each time and I can’t imagine wanting to return to this song or check out anything from this band in the future, either. At least it isn’t a complete and total failure?
Reward:
Bonus:
Buddyhunter1: Kvelertak - NattesferdTheme: Foreign Language Black MetalFirst Impressions:My previous experiences with this band: 1. I don’t like this at all, these vocals are unlistenable. 2. I dig these specific songs but a full album of this doesn’t do it for me. So, I mean, this definitely has a chance to impress me since they’re two for three with me so far. Also yeah don’t worry about these guys qualifying as black metal between the guitar tones and the vocals and my previous experience all, I already have them slotted away as such. This seems to be a bit more melodic in tone than what I previously remember from them, which was more riff-based than anything. Honestly I kinda get Iron Maiden vibes off the riffs and leads, and especially the solo. Am I wrong to think that? I’m not a huge Maiden fan but I know some of their stuff.
It’s not necessarily a style that’s ever going to do exceptionally well with me, but it’s a pretty fun one regardless.Final Thoughts:I just don’t know how else to put this other than say that hard rock/”heavy metal” of this variety just generally isn’t my thing. It’s a fun, rockin’ tune, absolutely. That’s the defining characteristic of this song, and this band in general. I think the guitar leads are pretty nice throughout, and the riffing is solid too.
The vocals… I don’t mind them, but I’ve never quite gotten why “black’n’roll” really needs to be a thing, I just always feel like the vocals are mismatched here. I don’t know why, the tones and riffing style really isn’t super far removed from a black metal sound. And it doesn’t sound awful. Nothing about this sounds awful. Nothing about this really even sounds mediocre. It’s all super solid. It’s a solid song that just evokes next to no reaction from me.
It goes like… long intro of bass and guitar… all the vocal bits… guitar solo, outro, done. That’s about all the song has to it. It feels too simple to really have a ton of depth to it. I feel like I’m barely familiar with it yet I feel like I know every note at the same time. It’s weird too, I do remember being more into the two songs I was sent by these guys last year. I haven’t gone back to relisten to them since then, though, and I wasn’t too into that album either.
I don’t know what to say about this song. This writeup is kind of a mess because I just have nothing to comment on here, really. It’s just not for me. I was originally considering giving this a slightly higher score but this song probably evokes the least positive feelings of any song here, despite a relative lack of negative feelings. I’m really frustrated by this song, and this band. I’m probably just putting them on the banned list outright, next time. This would probably be amazing live, though.
Reward:
Bonus:
Dacul: The Comet is Coming - Blood of the PastTheme: 2019 JazzFirst Impressions:You’re two for two so far on sending stuff from albums I listened to like, a week or two ago, haha. I didn’t actually finish this album at the time but maybe I just wasn’t feeling it, either that or this sound just isn’t for me, hard to judge yet. I guess so far, my thoughts… the lead performances are pretty solid and impressive on a technical level, and it’s got an okay slow groove to it, but it all comes off a bit… dry to me. I also can pin this up as an example of a bad spoken world section (or at least one I do not like at all) in contrast to the good example from last round. It’s a kind of industrial sound overall too… something I’m also generally averse to.
Dunno, on first listen I’m just not feeling the vibe of this one, though it’s not unpleasant to listen to either.Final Thoughts:I think ultimately what brings this one down for me is specifically the spoken word bit, with the rest of it being… kinda cool, in a sense? The repetitive groove is a bit unchanging and a bit too straightforward to get into on its own, but the sax playing is great and full of energy. There’s a bit of atmosphere to the song as well, layers of synths and organs coming in in the background of the sax just going wild. The first three minutes are all pretty dang good, basically. Even the quiet bit and the synth solo during it are kinda neat.
And like, the instrumentation during the spoken word section is pretty solid too – it’s definitely got a lot less going on, to make room for the spoken word bits in the front of the song. There’s a sense to build of it, thought it’s definitely a bit subtle.
I just. Do not like anything about the spoken word segment at all though. It’s over 2 minutes long, her voice is very unappealing to me and doesn’t escalate in any way, it’s very flat and monotone. I’m not even really paying much attention to the words said, honestly, but am I really missing anything?
The stuff that comes after, it’s pretty fine. The instrumentation tries to pick up for a bit but doesn’t really have any momentum to go off of. The song ends with an extended breakdown and I’m a fan of the sax wailing that comes in here alongside the drums kind of going wild too, sounds like something that could be on Blackjazz honestly. This whole song, sans the spoken word, probably wouldn’t feel that out of place on Blackjazz, though it’s not as intense as that album tends to be.
This has at least grown on me a little, and if the song was just the first three minutes and then the last minute and a half it’d be getting a much higher rating, but the overall package I just don’t really think I’d want to come back to very often.
Reward:
Bonus:
Puppies_On_Acid: Quo Vadis - Silence Calls the StormTheme: NoneFirst Impressions:Hmmm two older death metal tunes in a row. That’s a rough start alright. Though this one immediately gets a favorable comparison for a few reasons; being much more melodic, having a nice fretless bass sound, possibly being instrumental? Ahh, no, but the growls seem fine, especially in comparison to the last song, so yeah whatever. It also gets positively compared to Infant Annihilator by virtue of being tech death-y without being just pure wank. Gorod probably would’ve done better by virtue of having a more modern sound but that album is banned so, oops. I also wish the bass was more prominent here. Digging the quiet break towards the end though, it’s a fun little reprieve. Maybe I need some time to get familiar with the melodic hooks here but this seems. Solid.
You’re likely to get a pass due to positive comparisons to other stuff I’ve already been sent, but I also don’t see this one blowing me away either.Final Thoughts:Technical Death Metal really is a tricky genre for me. I don’t really much of anything in the genre from pre-2010’s, in part due to production, but also in part due to intent. Generally I see the genre as “fast tempos, faster playing, heaviness for heaviness’ sake”.
This song definitely kicks off immediately with some awful sounding chugs that immediately color my first impression, but it develops into… well, basically exactly what I expect a tech death song to sound like. Colorful melodic guitar lines, heavy riffing, fast tempos, the prominent bass has been a trend I’ve noticed a lot too. A lot of bands in the genre seem to mix the bass rather high, and I’m all for that because I do love to hear it. This has some solid melodic hooks to it and a dynamic enough approach to its sound, too.
But it all just sounds exactly the same. I’ve probably heard that galloping riff or something similar to it in another tech death song. All these melodic guitar noodling leads are interchangeable and don’t really evoke any emotion in me. It’s a rather cold sound that knows what it’s doing well, but what it’s doing is just not something that particularly interests me.
Even the quiet break seems almost a little cliché, though maybe it was innovative at the time this was made, I don’t know. I do like it, it’s one of the better sections of the song – a great bassline, a kind of playful vibe to it, some actual warmth to the overall sound of the song, doesn’t feel super out of place.
I just don’t see much that makes this stand out from what most tech death bands have been doing for the past decade though, and I’ve probably listened to more of the genre than I really should have. Would this have done better than the Gorod song? Dunno, I didn’t go back and relisten to it, but that Gorod album had a lot of the same problems. Interchangeable melodies and riffs, a lack of emotional depth, etc. I think after this last listen I could see myself being inclined to be more charitable towards this one that I was originally planning to, since really only the very start is awful, but if I compare it to literally anything else I’ve given a 3 or higher to it does kinda pale in comparison, too. It’s not bad. It’s not something I’ll be returning to, either, but. Solid, but not for me.
Reward:
Train of Naught: LENIO - Weight On A ScaleTheme: NoneFirst Impressions: No real clue what to expect with this one but my impressions take a turn for the positive really quick and the loud bit that starts at like :45 is the first thing this round so far that’s really impressed me. I get a CHON-y sort of vibe from some of the guitar lines but wrapped up in more of a post-hardcore sound and structure. Which is probably better than a straight up CHON-type math rock sound anyways, I have one album of that and that’s all I really ever needed of that sound. I think the one thing that’s letting this down for me right now is the production coming off a bit flat/muddy, and maybe a lack of any really strong vocals, but it’s nice.
A sound I both quite like and feel is a bit muted at the same time, though I could see this growing on me even despite it being an early favorite.Final Thoughts:Of all the songs in this round, I feel like this one has ended up, for better worse, as the least memorable to me. I listen to it and every time I go “oh, this is pretty nice!” Which is weird, since this really is right up my alley in terms of sound. The production doesn’t really bother me that much and the texture of the sound makes up for it, and then the riffs and guitar lines are all pretty solid stuff.
I think it’s the vocals, mostly. They have very little presence and very little power. Like, there’s a “whoa-oh” type bit in the song that is just the most pathetic-sounding thing when it should be triumphant and cathartic. His voice isn’t unpleasant, not at all, it’s very warm and gentle, and that works in the quieter parts, but he just can’t sell the heavy parts as much.
I also feel this one’s a bit lacking in motif or direction. There’s one repeated guitar line I can pick out and the whoa-oh bit gets repeated like, twice, but other than that there’s no real structure to how this one progresses.
I’ve spent like 5 minutes trying to figure out what else to add here but I don’t really think there’s much else to say. It’s a bit disappointing overall because I feel this song just lacks impact and has kind of turned me off of wanting to look into this band further, too. It’s not at all bad and there’s aspects of it that do work but I highly suspect I’m going to forget it exists by the end of the roulette.
Reward: