Cyril's Roulette v6 (Final Results)

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

 
































corn

[Crow]

Round 3 Results
Round 3 Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6rJt66z9OxcaPmOwnl1Nlv

Nekov: Bill Bruford – Forgiveness
Theme: Pre 2000’s Jazz

First Impressions:
Hmm, this theme is another one I worry about since I’m not really looking for pure jazz, and this does kind of seem to be that, or the beginning gives me that impression. It’s very chill and pleasant to listen to, for sure. The bass is probably the highlight, and I’m maybe not super into how the guitars sound, but of course the playing is all very tasteful. Not really a ton else for me to say about this one, I feel. It’s in the awkward position of sounding pleasant enough that I don’t mind it but also stylistically just not being my thing and not particularly changing my mind on the style either.

Final Thoughts:
I enter the coffee shop. I order a tall latte. The barista informs me that this is not Starbucks, this is a real coffee shop, where they only sell real coffee. I order a tall latte. The barista sighs in exhaustion and charges me way too much for the Starbucks-brand coffee he plans to use in the tall latte he does not sell.

I sit down at a table near the window. There is a dog outside. Now there are two dogs outside. There is always a dog outside. It’s Seattle. There are so many dogs outside you’re literally less likely to see a child. The weather is gloomy. The weather is cold. Coffee is hot. Hot is good.

The barista calls my name, as my coffee is ready. I do not hear him. He calls again. I hear him. I walk up to the desk, and take my tall latte, which is neither tall, nor a latte. I take a sip. It tastes bad. I don’t even like coffee. Why did I come to a coffee shop? I add cream and sugar to my coffee. It is now palatable, but not particularly interesting.

All the while, music plays in the background. Sometimes I notice it. I go “yeah, that’s pretty nice”. I will have already forgotten about it by the time I leave. It is a normal day. This is a normal trip to a coffee shop. I do not plan to come back to the coffee shop.

Reward:
Bonus:



Train of Naught: Tides From Nebula – Dopamine
Theme: Instrumental Post-Metal

First Impressions:
I did check out this album very briefly but the sound I was getting off it didn’t end up interesting me much after a few tracks so I didn’t listen to about half of it. This would’ve probably been in the set of tracks I did listen to though, given its placement? I do vaguely remember the sound of this, electronic post-rock type stuff. This one has a kind of industrial vibe to it almost, which historically I’m not a big fan of, but. Well, regardless of what else happens I do think you’ll get the golden bonus theme on this one, so it’ll balance out regardless. There’s like one fast guitar run that suggests the song wants to get more interesting and there’s some attempt at an instrumental build but I honestly feel like the entire thing would be better served if the synths were dropped entirely? They make parts of this sound just too cluttered. There’s a really cool intense bit in the middle but it’s over all too soon and then we’re back to the industrial sound again. I don’t know, the general vibe of this one just seems like something entirely alien to my tastes and hasn’t changed my original first impression of this artist in any way.

Final Thoughts:
From my post on twitter where I commented on this album when I tried to listen to it, I commented “this sure is background music alright.” I don’t know why I got specifically that impression because I’m not really quite sure how you could listen to this as background music. For starters, I do not like the intro of this in the slightest, the way the synths wobble and pulse with the dissonant tones is genuinely uncomfortable, close to the way that Owen Pallett song from last roulette made me feel, though not quite on that level, and not impacting about half the song.

Between the two moments that prominently feature that synth bit is an okay industrial groove. It’s nothing remarkable, and it’s not a genre I’m ever particularly big on, but I can kinda dig it. Having a groove is better than not having a groove, if nothing else. I have no clue what that one guitar run is doing in this song, it promises something better than the rest of the song can deliver on.

Well, that’s not being totally fair either. There’s about a 20 second section between 2:45 and 3:05 where there’s some actual intensity and atmosphere and that part is pretty damn cool, not gonna lie, but it’s over far too soon. The last third or so of the song is one long buildup that starts kind of meh but gets pretty satisfying by the end with some nice guitar leads shining through the front.

I still stand by statement that removing all the synths from this song would make this better though, especially since they provide both the moments of this song that I genuinely dislike, as well as being wholly absent (or at least sufficiently buried to the point of irrelevance) during the one genuinely great segment of the song. and otherwise providing an element I could easily live without.

It’s not a terrible song. I thought it might be, at first, but there’s part of this that grew on me, and it has enough about it that I like to make it at least interesting, moreso than the song that placed below it, but there’s enough about this that I dislike to keep me from feeling it deserves any higher score, as well. I do feel there’s enough justification to call this post-metal though, I certainly wouldn’t call it post-rock anyways? Ehh. Not going back to this album though, regardless.

Reward:
Bonus:



Bolsters: P!nk – For Now
Theme: None

First Impressions:
Haha going from the last song I listened to (Karas) to this one is whiplash as hell. I’ve heard plenty of P!nk in my time (including remembering hearing some of her earlier hits on the radio when I was like 10, geez she’s been around a while) but she’s never been a singer I’ve actively been super into or kept up with, despite her rock-leaning brand of pop being something that should appeal to me a lot. This is more of a power ballad type of song than anything though. I am kinda turned off by the yelping high notes on the chorus… really not sure what she’s going for with those. It’s… a nice enough song, but between the weird vocal melodies and the kind of overall generic sound… ehh, it’s fine. The strength of this type of song is almost exclusively in whether or not it resonates emotionally and I’m worried this song really isn’t going to have that power for me.

Final Thoughts:
This at least grew on me a little, but it’s also… not that impressive. P!nk is like, one of those pop stars that had a reputation for being firey and aggressive, especially in an era where pop was kind of mellowing out, and this… isn’t that. Which isn’t necessarily bad – but I’ve heard better P!nk songs, and I’ve also heard worse P!nk songs too, so I can tell there’s genuine effort in this one, if nothing else.

The yelping on the chorus doesn’t bother me as much as it originally did, though I don’t know why she couldn’t have picked a better melody. I guess it’s probably more interesting than a “generic” vocal melody would have been. The instrumentation is… produced fine enough, the guitars get a bit lost in the mix during the louder moments and don’t have a ton of texture, but the overall sound does have some genuine swell and power to it.

The lyrics I’m basically ignoring because they were written by Not P!nk herself, one of the great casualties in pop where the song can’t really succeed at having any interesting message because the person singing it and the person who wrote it are two completely different people and it’s a pretty generic “I wish we could go back to the way things were” song. It takes on an amusing layer of meta-commentary when you imaging it’s about P!nk wishing she could go back to the 00’s when she was way bigger and more interesting, though, so there’s at least that?

I dunno, this one’s fine. There’s nothing about it I particularly dislike and there’s at least enough about it I do like for me to partially get into it, but it falls into the same category as some other songs I’ve been sent in this roulette where I’ve just straight up heard this sound done better. This one’s really borderline between two ratings for me, it’s right on the cusp, but the lack of anything really negative to say makes me feel it belongs on the higher end rather than the lower one, so breathe a sigh of relief that this didn’t turn out worse, I guess?

Reward:



ariich: Wintersun – Land of Snow and Sorrow
Theme: None

First Impressions:
I’m… not actually sure if I’ve ever been sent Wintersun in a roulette? I feel like I might have but when I went to check it turned out that was Borknagar instead. They’re basically both the same band anyways right haha. I may have listened to this album at some point by word of mouth, but I also might not have, legitimately don’t remember. I’m digging the big, epic riff this starts off with and the symphonic layer that comes on top of it too. I sort of feel like the song didn’t really have a ton else to go from there though. It’s symphonic metal. I guess maybe heavy enough to be charitably called melodic death metal, and there’s the occasional growls in there too so, sure. Kind of struggling to keep my focus on this one over the course of its 8 minute runtime if I’ve being honest. It’s not unpleasant at all, but the style is one I always struggle with and this isn’t really doing anything to surprise me in that regard either.

Final Thoughts:
Winterson – Suns of Winter and Sons, from the album Starwinter: Son of the Sun. This song title coming from this artist is really dang silly when you think about it for more than a few seconds. Anyways, the fact that I can actually remember what the main motif of this song sounds like means it’s gotta be at least above average for this brand of symphonic/melodic death metal, right?

Look, I literally just came off listening to the new Wilderun, and those guys have three letters swapped in their band name and about three berries’ worth of talent more than this band, too. They have the D. Wintersun doesn’t have the D. Checkmate, liberals. What is there to say about this song though, it really isn’t particularly special for the genre. Hmm.

Well, the fact that a lot of this song is built off one main motif but performed in different ways and by different instruments/voices makes it feel pretty cohesive while also not feeling too one-note? It’s a good use of leitmotif, but leitmotif is also more interesting when it’s a recurring melody that appears across multiple songs on the same album/soundtrack (this is how a lot of the best video game soundtracks come into being, for example – Celeste).

The song just doesn’t feel very dynamic for its runtime, though. The song rarely gets notably louder or softer over the course of its 8 minute runtime, and the only other dynamic shift that happens is that sometimes they switch from 3/4 time to 4/4 time, which is vaguely progressive if you squint at it, I guess. The musicianship itself isn’t particularly impressive and the symphonic touches are solid but a bit cliché.

In summary…



Reward:



Evermind: A.A. Williams – Belong
Theme: Female-Fronted Post-Metal

First Impressions:
Yeah, I’m really not expecting metal at all from this one, but we’ll see. This honestly sounds a lot like a Lana Del Rey song, at the start at least. Sleepy acoustic pop that could be confused for post-rock if the vocals were removed. Yeah this really is basically post-rock with vocals isn’t it, all the way down to the guitar texture and tremolo leads towards the end of the song, but honestly that’s more interesting than post-rock without vocals most all of the time. It’s got a nice slow build to it all the way through, as well, even if I don’t think it’s especially emotionally resonant, at least not on first listen. A very pleasant sound and a decent amount of build, though I’m concerned about how much staying power this going to have in the long run.

Final Thoughts:
Yeah this is definitely not post-metal by even the stretchiest of stretches but you knew that. Anyways. This song… has a good sound to it. It’s low-key but atmospheric, not feeling too sparse but not feeling too cluttered either. There’s nice texture to the clean guitar tones and the strings backing it up help that vibe a lot.

Unfortunately I think that’s really where the list of “interesting things I have to say about this song” basically comes to an end. The vocals are nice, but there’s not much emotion really coming off her performance, it’s kind of flat. And the song you sent this round basically did the atmosphere of this one better and kept me more engaged. At the very least, this one does have a good climax to it, the drumming is surprisingly interesting and the wall-of-sound build is pretty dang satisfying. I like how it comes together, but I also have a hard time saying it really… stands out.

I could see myself coming back to this one and enjoying it, but I find it significantly less memorable than Oh Hiroshima and much less emotionally evocative even for the strengths it does have. It’s good! It’s not much more than that though. This is a really short writeup but I genuinely don’t have anything else to say.



Reward:

[Crow]

Puppies_On_Acid: Karas – Molten Amnesia
Theme: None

First Impressions:
If this isn’t some excellent spacey black metal I’m gonna be disappointed now. The ambient intro at least suggests it could be. Well, okay, no, seems to be going more in a prog metal direction with a kinda post-metal-y sound to it. And black metal style vocals. Darn. I mean, it seems pretty cool so far though. There’s some more tech-y riffs and melodies but also moments of quiet atmosphere, flowing all pretty well together. Ooh, and there’s the straight up black metal moments, me likey. Yeah, wow, this is the kind of sound that definitely gets me excited as heck to check out the rest of this album. There’s definitely a lot going on in this one that I can’t even really capture with a first impression but it’s absolutely the best thing you’ve sent so far, no question.

Final Thoughts:
Hmm, the one that’s been kind of frustrating, now. In this case it’s due to the fact that I really dig the sound and the genre fusion here, but I’ve had trouble really getting into this one? I think it’s just because of how dense and complex this is, really, while not really being particularly melodic and hook-driven, at least compared to a lot of other songs this round. I think that’s really the biggest issue I have with it… it’s a kind of flat and monochrome sound overall, for how much complexity it does have.

Like, on the heavier parts, I do hear the melodic guitars buried in the mix, but the heavy guitar chords and vocals are on top of them and both very one-note in their tones to the point where that melody doesn’t really shine through. It’s a type of mixing I hear a lot in both post-metal and black metal that de-emphasizes the melody in a way I generally don’t like, and the best sounds in both of those genres are when the opposite is true – the melodic guitar lines are at the forefront with the guitars and vocals providing the texture in the background.

Some comments on the rest, from what I’m able to put together… the clean bit is really nice, though I feel it’s also bit lacking in terms of a melodic hook or motif, it at least does provide some warmth to the overall sound of the song. The bass is also mixed nice and loud and it’s pretty audible throughout, though I don’t know if I’m wild about either the tone or the actual basslines themselves, the tone is a bit too thick and chunky and the melodies are a bit uninspired.

I said initially that this was the best thing you’d sent so far and while I don’t quite feel that as strongly as I initially did since, like both your previous two songs, it’s undercut by a single key issue that brings the whole thing down a peg, I still agree that it’s your strongest so far. I’m curious to check out the entire album, at least, but my expectations are at least a bit more tempered than my initial reaction, since I suspect the same problems this song has are likely to be prevalent across the entire album.

But on the whole, I still do enjoy this song, there’s no question about that for me. It’s definitely not as immediate as any of the songs that placed above it, and maybe my appreciation for it will grow more on relistens, but for right now I’m very comfortable putting this where it is.

Reward:



TAC: Maraton – Spectral Friends
Theme: None

First Impressions:
One of those bands I’ve heard the name of but really have no clue how they sound at all. My initial impression from the start is that this slots into the djent-prog sound pretty nicely, the singer seems mixed really dang loud though. He sounds pretty good though, a lot more lively than a lot of similar-voiced singers in this style. Musically it seems… kinda bog-standard for the sound, though. Not bad, not unpleasant, there’s a bit of an ebb and flow going on here. Okay, digging the group vocals on the second chorus though, that sounds pretty dang epic. Vocals really steal the show here, but I wish the instrumentation was as compelling to match.

Final Thoughts:
This one’s pretty fun. The vocals pretty much make this entire song, for what it’s worth. This isn’t necessarily my favorite style of vocals but it suits the style of music well and the performance is pretty good. I love the group vocals, they’re cheesy as hell but really the entire lyrical content of this song comes off super cheesy in an endearing way, and that might be why I enjoy it as much as I do. It’s also very fitting for today, though possibly unintentionally.

That’s not to discredit the music here because the guitar riffing & drums do pretty well to keep the energy building when it needs to build, and provide a big, epic backdrop for the vocals during the louder moments of the song too. And there’s quieter moments to balance things out where the vocals often go into a pleasant falsetto to accompany them. It’s pretty dynamic and doesn’t really get boring, and at under 5 minutes it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

The outro of this one also has a nice build and energy to it, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the second chorus but it still ends the song in a satisfying way without just straight up repeating what came before.

This basically slots right into what I think of as “romdjent” though, alongside bands like Phi, VOLA, Circles etc. though frankly this is at least better than any heavy VOLA song I’ve ever heard. It’s a style that I don’t think is ever going to make me a huge fan by any means, but I don’t tend to mind it, I’ve heard a few albums in the style that are pretty solid to be sure. It’s a good song. I don’t think I’m wild enough about it to score it any higher, but I definitely enjoyed it more than your previous submissions.

Reward:



Dacul: Glass Beach – Glass Beach
Theme: None

First Impressions:
Well, had no clue what to expect from this one but the immediate first impression is “uhh… pop punk?”  Which isn’t necessarily bad, to me pop-punk just tends to come off as the diet version of post-hardcore though, not as heavy, a more nasal vocal style, no growls. But it’s a fine enough sound nonetheless. This is also 7 minutes long which makes me wonder where it’s going to go over its runtime. The singer kinda sounds like they're having problems staying on-key on parts of this & there’s a kind of lo-fi sound to this that I’m not super into either. There’s a kinda weird flow to this entire thing too, it sort of stops in the middle and then goes to a slower pace for the back half with a triumphant refrain to it and a pretty solid climax at the end. On first listen I’m not quite sure what to make of this one – it’s intriguing and interesting but there’s some key elements of it that aren’t quite working for me either.

Final Thoughts:
Yeah, this grew on me a little. I think what I like about it is that it isn’t so polished like a lot of pop punk ironically comes off as, at least a lot of the more modern stuff. The guitar riffs are rough, the vocals are far from perfect but they’re earnest and honest in their roughness. The overall sound is a bit cluttered and I guess that I’m not super sold on that in particular, but I’d rather that than overly polished and sterile.

The vocal melodies during some of the key parts of this work pretty well too. I think I actually like the first pre-chorus melody more than the chorus, I get MCR vibes off that bit honestly, but the chorus is good too, and it’s got the energy of the instrumentation backing up those long, drawn-out notes full of raw emotion. And also huge shoutout to how the guitar solo towards the middle of the song reprises that pre-chorus melody.

Really a lot of the appeal of this comes from the little moments, though. This song is just, constantly shifting and doing different things with transient moments that are gone in a flash. I love how the instrumentation cuts out during the second verse to highlight a particular lyric, and the vocals just absolutely crack around the edges in the lead into the chorus after.  I dig the instrumental bit in the middle that has a light jazzy feel to it. I love how the song builds from that moment with the tempo speeding back up in moments, building to a huge chorus…

…that doesn’t quite come immediately, giving a quieter reprise of the chorus first, and then building up even further than before with the tremolo guitar actually handling the real “chorus”. And a key change right after. It’s interesting songwriting that has its fair share of surprises to keep you on your toes and constantly remain interesting. It’s a 7 minute song that has a core chorus to it but doesn’t hammer it in too much or get stale and there’s just. So many little moments.

This is another song this round where even after the usual five listens I don’t feel like I’ve really… properly “absorbed” this one, I can still listen to it and be surprised by moments or details that didn’t stand out to me on previous listens, and there’s a rough but endearing emotional core to the whole thing that hits upon the same reasons why I’ve been big into post-hardcore lately, even if this really doesn’t completely fall into that umbrella. It is, however, exciting as heck and I’m definitely looking forward to checking this out.

Would’ve given this the 2019 post-hardcore bonus if you did ask for it, though. Shrug. That entire column is feeling really lonely right now. I’m sad.

Reward:



Buddyhunter1: Gorillaz – Empire Ants
Theme: None

First Impressions:
Gorillaz are really hit or miss for me, they have some great stuff in both their hits and their deep cuts, but other songs that annoy the hell out of me. This seems to be going for a more atmospheric type of sound though from how it starts. Kinda keeps on that route for a while before pulling in an electronic groove in the back half, not wild about the synth tone but the groove itself and the atmosphere around it are fine enough to make up for it. It does kind of end up feeling like two separate songs though since there’s not a lot in common between the front and back half. Not quite what I was expecting from this artist, but I do like it quite a bit on first listen, even if it feels like it doesn’t really have a proper ending.

Final Thoughts:
I don’t think, for as much as I do genuinely love this song, I can quite call it my favorite of the round, but it’s definitely the song this round I’ve thought about the most. And it’s still not even my favorite Gorillaz song! This band is such a weird bunch, in part because they’re 1. not real 2. so inconsistent due to the natural experimentation and diversity of their sound.

But when Albarn goes for these kinds of more atmospheric sounds, he usually nails it, and this is no exception. The production in the first half is really lush, but has a catchy 3-3-2 beat backing it up that gives it a bit of a pulse. And the vocal layering & melodies here are very nice too. It’s super pretty and pleasant.

And you’d think the entire second half of the song being just straight up an entirely different song would ruin that, but uhh… it keeps the most important aspect of that first half and carries it through that second half, that being a lush overall sound, whether it’s either walls of synths or the vocal layering on the guest vocalist (or both).

It also helps that that synth line is a BOP and a half. I’ve thought about that synth line several times a day for the past few days now. It’s ridiculously catchy but also changes just enough to not get stale in the few minutes its present. If the entire song was that synth line it might get tiresome but having the song divided into two distinct, yet not wholly disparate sounds, only ends up improving both of them somehow. It gives the front half a climax it otherwise likely would have lacked, and gives the back half a theme to carry forward and capitalize on, while not just repeating what came before.

It’s. It’s kind of almost a perfect song, in a sense, I honestly can’t find anything to fault other than that the ending is still a bit weak – the synth line that comes in there is real nice but it’s not a “climax” or a particularly satisfying way to end the song, nor is a fadeout. The only thing that keeps this from a higher score is that it doesn’t really “wow” me at any point, it’s just operating at a really high bar while being insanely memorable the whole way through. I expect to check out this album and then be disappointed that there’s nothing else like it (or anything as good as it) but that’s irrelevant, this is still good stuff all the same.

This is better than the round winner from last round, by the way. Hell, Glass Beach probably is too, or close to it. Sorry I can’t give out multiple round-winner bonuses?

Reward:



Elite: Scarlet Stories – In Blood and Limbs and Gore and Clay
Theme: 2019 Prog Metal

First Impressions:
Oh boy do we have Oceans of Slumber imitators already? Like they’ve apparently been around since 2010 but this is their first album and that’s just the immediate vibe I get off this one, or the general sound they’re shooting for. Granted, that’s not a bad sound to try and copy, though I’ve admittedly never been as thrilled with OoS outside of Winter (the song) being bloody amazing. I can see an argument made for this being prog metal I guess but it’s got more of a doom/post-metal vibe to it overall and I’m not really seeing a ton of progressive elements outside of the length. The singer is definitely very talented and the layers of vocals that show up towards the middle only enhance the mood further. Cool guitar solo too. Not quite sure this hits the theme you’re going for, and maybe doesn’t develop quite as much as I’d like, but it’s still a pretty dang cool song nonetheless.

Final Thoughts:
Okay, here’s my thoughts on the theme. Is there really anything progressive about this song other than its length? Ehh. Not really. But do we consider Oceans of Slumber’s Winter as prog metal, even though it too doesn’t really have prog elements? Very much so. Do we consider Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb progressive, despite it being very much a pop song with an extended guitar solo at the end? Yeah, as far as I can tell. This is basically Oceans of Slumber but with a Comfortably Numb-esque guitar solo (in terms of function, not sound) at the end, therefore it’s prog.

Anyways it’s really damn good, if putting it above two songs I’ve already praised quite highly isn’t indication enough. First I guess I should address the singer – she’s very good. Wow, that was easy! Okay, to elaborate – she’s in a weird place of not being as low-pitched or husky in tone as a singer like Camme Gilbert, but she’s also not as high-pitched or sterile as a lot of symphonic metal singers tend to be. She’s honestly closest to Courtney Swain of Bent Knee in terms of tone, with as much power behind her voice, though not as much of a deranged timbre to her voice.

She’s able to carry a pretty damn heavy and sludgy sound mostly on her own, though the layers of backing vocals repeating the song’s (admittedly kind of awkward) title towards the middle are a nice touch too. But damn, she has pipes and she’s selling it alright. The doom metal-y guitars throughout the song are pretty rightfully pushed towards the background while still having enough texture to sell the huge, epic mood the song is going for. The drums pull a looooot of weight in carrying the feel of the song, too, even if it’s not a very showy performance.

The guitar solo, also. I don’t know if, in a vacuum, I’d be hugely impressed by this guitar solo? But I gotta be honest, for me, a good solo section is only as good as how the lead can play off the backing music – a lot of Petrucci’s best solos (Lines in the Sand and Breaking All Illusions come to mind) work as well as they do because of the way the music escalates behind the already impressive guitar playing to make a powerful and memorable moment that stands out amongst a crowd of “soulful but unimpactful” leads or “shreddy and technical but flat emotively” leads. Again the drums pull a lot of the weight here.

But. The solo itself… is still really damn good, yeah. Showy enough to come off as technically impressive, but restrained enough to give room to breathe, it plays more like a 70’s/80’s heavy metal solo than anything, at least to my ears. No over-the-top wank, no pretty-but-basic soul, a perfect balance that sells a climax of a song that had already started huge and was only planning to get bigger.

Suffice to say, I like the song a lot.

Reward:
Bonus:
Round Winner Bonus:



Current Standings:
Elite: 13
ariich: 12
Evermind: 12
Dacul: 12
Nekov: 11
Bolsters: 10
Puppies_On_Acid: 10
Buddyhunter1: 10
Train of Naught: 9
TAC: 9

[Crow]

huge shoutout to puppies for posting corn while I was double-checking my math on the scores btw 
yes, elite went from last to first in a single round. i may be giving out too big of a bonus for winning the round but it's good incentive to send the best thing you possibly can, i feel, so whatevs. updates to the usual coming in a few minutes, i'm listening to the new voyager in the background of updating stuff because i don't really care about the new voyager and the new midnight odyssey isn't up on spotify yet either

[Buddyhunter1]

*reads write-up*

WOOOO HE LOVED IT! I'M DOING GREAT!




*is still one point away from being at the bottom*

I expect to check out this album and then be disappointed that there’s nothing else like it (or anything as good as it)

I'm happy to let you know there's at least one or two other songs kind of like it.

[Crow]

updated standings in the first post
updated the bonus themes sheet
updated the banned during roulette list

alright time to get that round 4 bread y'all

[Evermind]

Well you said we lose nothing by asking for themes so that's what I did.

I actually was seriously going to go with Arch Matheos this time, but Elite stole the 2019 prog metal theme so now I have to think about it.

[Crow]

it's genuinely amazing that possibly the easiest theme in the entire spreadsheet lasted this long, to be fair

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Time to hit shuffle on my music library and send the first thing that comes up 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I thought about going for the Pre-2000's Post-Metal theme, until I realized the only band that really qualifies is Neurosis, which I know you hate and is banned. Good luck to whoever goes for that theme.

[Train of Naught]

The pre 2000s post metal theme is virtually impossible. I considered 2019 post metal but this guy is very picky with his post metal and finds most of my favourite bands ultra boring

So I sent some post metal this round, unfortunately their 2019 album isn’t their best so not going for a theme this time

Also very big confuse on your synth comment of the Tides From Nebula song, that’s one of the main reasons it sticks out as probably my favorite instrumental post- song of the year (unless Astrosaur counts as post-) and it got 1 berry again shows how different we are, I looove this song

[Crow]

RYM shows a few bands 
https://rateyourmusic.com/genre/Post-Metal/

admittedly that one is golden for a reason, though, yes

i don't really like any post-metal predating Isis' Oceanic, like, at all

i will be honest that post-metal was the last genre i added to the spreadsheet because i didn't really know what else to put, so it's probably in general the worst column to shoot for 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I'm seriously considering sending Darkspace. I'm just afraid it will be too dense.

Then there's Weakling. THE album that inspired pretty much all Atmospheric Black Metal that came after it...

[Crow]

i know i listened to some darkspace a few years back but i don't really remember it & wasn't as big into black metal at the time, so who knows
never heard of the other one though

[Elite]

Elite sent Scarlett Stories

And TAC knows this how?


---

So, uhh. Wow! Went from last place to first in one round, with a single song. That's a surprise, although I must say seeing the comparisons for this round made me get my hopes up a little. Glad you enjoyed it! On the 'progressive metal' semantics; is it really 'progressive' as in the meaning of the word? Probably not, but neither are bands like Dream Theater, Haken or any of the DT clones out there, but we still call them progressive metal, because it has been become a subgenre without being 'progressive' anymore.

I do agree on the song containing some post and doom influences and the comparison to Courtney Swain isn't too far-fetched either. You'll find, if you check out the entire album, that there's more of that doomy vibe going on, always with a cold or chilling undertone. So, the band has existed for quite long, but they started out as an acoustic duo, just the singer and the guitarist. They gradually evolved into a full band and this debut album was released less than two months ago. I saw them play live a couple of weeks ago and was really captivated by the singer's voice, but also by the songs and atmosphere the band conveyed in general. Pretty impressive stuff. For those who went to the Ayreon ITEC shows; Lisette, the band's singer was actually a backing vocalist for the entire set.

So, check out the album, it's pretty good. And everybody else, go support your local bands. You might just win a round in Parama's roulette (and discover cool stuff while doing it!)

[Crow]

can't believe parama liked that song so much too, that guy's a prick with awful music taste
also yeah elite you better send scarlet stories in TAC's roulette, sheesh

anyways yeah 4 albums are queued up (top 3 + karas) i'll get through them this weekend. i'll start round 4 listening by saturday evening at the latest, weekends are cool 'cause it's easy to get two listens a day in each day so if y'all send by friday evening i could have results as soon as sunday evening, realistically 

[Evermind]

Pretty sure I know what I'm going with, just need to get home to send. You'll get it in 7 hours.

[Elite]

can't believe parama liked that song so much too, that guy's a prick with awful music taste

I swear that I didn't do it on purpose

You've been Parama for God knows how long, and now suddenly you're named differently. How am I supposed to cope with that? :O
I'll get it mixed up more often, probably.

[Nekov]

Apparently going for the bonus point wasn't a very good idea  . At least I got a really nice writeup 

[TAC]

Apparently I have the most Raspberries. 



I’ll send this afternoon.

[Buddyhunter1]

oops double post

[Buddyhunter1]

ariich: Wintersun – Sons of Winter and Stars
Theme: None

First Impressions:
I’m… not actually sure if I’ve ever been sent Wintersun in a roulette? I feel like I might have but when I went to check it turned out that was Borknagar instead. They’re basically both the same band anyways right haha. I may have listened to this album at some point by word of mouth, but I also might not have, legitimately don’t remember. I’m digging the big, epic riff this starts off with and the symphonic layer that comes on top of it too. I sort of feel like the song didn’t really have a ton else to go from there though. It’s symphonic metal. I guess maybe heavy enough to be charitably called melodic death metal, and there’s the occasional growls in there too so, sure. Kind of struggling to keep my focus on this one over the course of its 8 minute runtime if I’ve being honest. It’s not unpleasant at all, but the style is one I always struggle with and this isn’t really doing anything to surprise me in that regard either.

Final Thoughts:
Winterson – Suns of Winter and Sons, from the album Starwinter: Son of the Sun. This song title coming from this artist is really dang silly when you think about it for more than a few seconds. Anyways, the fact that I can actually remember what the main motif of this song sounds like means it’s gotta be at least above average for this brand of symphonic/melodic death metal, right?

Look, I literally just came off listening to the new Wilderun, and those guys have three letters swapped in their band name and about three berries’ worth of talent more than this band, too. They have the D. Wintersun doesn’t have the D. Checkmate, liberals. What is there to say about this song though, it really isn’t particularly special for the genre. Hmm.

Well, the fact that a lot of this song is built off one main motif but performed in different ways and by different instruments/voices makes it feel pretty cohesive while also not feeling too one-note? It’s a good use of leitmotif, but leitmotif is also more interesting when it’s a recurring melody that appears across multiple songs on the same album/soundtrack (this is how a lot of the best video game soundtracks come into being, for example – Celeste).

The song just doesn’t feel very dynamic for its runtime, though. The song rarely gets notably louder or softer over the course of its 8 minute runtime, and the only other dynamic shift that happens is that sometimes they switch from 3/4 time to 4/4 time, which is vaguely progressive if you squint at it, I guess. The musicianship itself isn’t particularly impressive and the symphonic touches are solid but a bit cliché.

Uh, did you accidentally listen to Land Of Snow And Sorrow instead of Sons Of Winter And Stars? The former is 8 minutes long and the latter is 13. 

[Evermind]

Yeah, I'm also curious about that actually. Sons of Winter and Stars has more than "occasional" growls to my ears too.

[Buddyhunter1]

Oh shit, it's Land Of Snow and Sorrow on the Spotify playlist! Someone fucked up 

[Nekov]

 

Also, sent

[ariich]

Wtf! I checked my submission and it wasn't me, I definitely sent the right link.

Cyril, you been listening to the wrong song! I demand a re-count!

[Buddyhunter1]

 
I agree, especially since the ACTUAL Sons Of Winter And Stars is a much better song than the one you've been listening to

[Bolsters]

[Crow]

i don't have the original PM anymore but i guess i'll go check out the other one? genuinely no clue how i got the wrong one because i've just been adding the songs i've been sent 

[Sacul]

That glass beach album is definitely very varied and full of those small moments you like. Plenty to dig but I'm glad you liked this track

[Buddyhunter1]

Everyone send Cyril your songs for Round 4 but have the Spotify link link to Wintersun - Land Of Snow And Sorrow

[Crow]

i'm usually checking all the song names too 
anyways i'll give this one a few spins and see if it changes my score any. i listened to it just now and it seems at least more interesting but my first impression is that it's way too extra vs. the one i was listening to not having enough going on & they apparently can't hit that right balance. i wouldn't really expect this to turn into anything more than a 3 but i'll do listens & update the writeup & whatever please just don't be annoying about this with me i'm already constantly tired and stressed as hell lately 

[Luoto]

Boy was I confused while reading the Wintersun write-up, and then realized your error when you said the song is eight minutes

please just don't be annoying about this with me i'm already constantly tired and stressed as hell lately 

Don't burn yourself out, for real. I can see where this Sons of Snow and Stars and Sorrow thing is coming from now!

[Buddyhunter1]

it's way too extra vs. the one i was listening to not having enough going on & they apparently can't hit that right balance.

They can and did on the title track. You should listen to that one too!

please just don't be annoying about this with me i'm already constantly tired and stressed as hell lately 

 

[ariich]

i'm usually checking all the song names too 
anyways i'll give this one a few spins and see if it changes my score any. i listened to it just now and it seems at least more interesting but my first impression is that it's way too extra vs. the one i was listening to not having enough going on & they apparently can't hit that right balance. i wouldn't really expect this to turn into anything more than a 3 but i'll do listens & update the writeup & whatever please just don't be annoying about this with me i'm already constantly tired and stressed as hell lately 

It's cool, these things happen, I was only teasing but I note the current stress (I've been similar recently) so will ease off.

I do think the two songs are pretty different and the right one should be more up your alley. I definitely feel like it deserves an extra strawberry but I don't have any particular expectation of it doing any better than that, if I'm honest (although of course I'd love to be surprised!).