Puppies_On_Acid: Karas – Molten AmnesiaTheme: NoneFirst 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 FriendsTheme: NoneFirst 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 BeachTheme: NoneFirst 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 AntsTheme: NoneFirst 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 ClayTheme: 2019 Prog MetalFirst 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