TAC: Vinsta – FiachtnTheme: Foreign Language Death MetalFirst Impressions:Like a minute in and I would’ve probably seen an argument that this could’ve fit in either black metal or death metal as I do hear some of both (the vocals are more black, the music is more death but toned enough that I could still see it as black). I’m inclined to say I don’t really like the vocals but they’re mixed low enough and generally incomprehensible enough that I can’t really complain that loudly. I do like the riffing style on display here, it’s got a cool 6/8 groove to it while having both atmosphere and melody and some rhythmic shifts every so often just to keep things interesting, though I do worry the song may end up feeling monotone if it keeps in this vein for the rest of its runtime? It does change up its riffs a little, I suppose, and there’s a guitar solo and some more melodic vocals that come in later too.
I think the overall sound of this is pretty cool and up my alley but it feels like it could use a bit of diversity or dynamics considering how long it runs.Final Thoughts:This song is particularly weird in that I don’t think my impressions of it have developed or changed in any way whatsoever since my initial listen, and I don’t know what to do about it. I know what the overall sound of this one is, but beyond that it all is just… kind of a blur, I guess?
Like, the riffs are good, there’s no doubt in my mind about that. I am a sucker for 6/8 but they do lots of interesting twists on that time signature, there’s some nice and headbob-worthy grooves throughout a lot of this song. The one riff that has the offbeat groove to it is probably the most interesting and memorable of the lot.
I don’t really know what else to say beyond that though. The song is… really stagnant over its entire runtime, it feels like. Like, I’m halfway through it right now and I feel like I’m just hearing the same three riffs on repeat, and I don’t even remember if it changes things up much after this either. Maybe there have been more than just three riffs but it barely feels like it if so.
Not until like 4:30 is there any break from the constant volume and vibe of the song, with a nice quiet bit that sneaks in there for a moment before the guitar solo kicks in, and it kind of makes me wonder why more of the song doesn’t have prominent guitar leads like this since the riffs would be really easy to play off of and there’s a great tone to the leads here too.
I guess pretty much every part of the song after that does do things a bit different that what came before it, but there’s this stretch in the middle of the song where I just end up kind of bored because the riffs that make the start of the song interesting have gotten stale and the song hasn’t gotten to the part that changes things up enough to stay interesting. Which makes this an oddly easy song to fix the main problem of – just cut the first 4:30 in half or so, and then add in the rest of the song after it. Or just add something to break up the first two-thirds of this at least a little bit.
It’s frustrating because the sound of this is cool and there’s lots of elements I do like but there’s a solid two minutes in the middle of this one where I just feel flat bored and impatient waiting for something else, anything else to happen. I think it could’ve been a great song with a bit of the fat trimmed or a bit of a rewrite but as it stands it’s merely good, and frustrating.
Reward:
Evermind: Evan Carson – OtriadTheme: NoneFirst Impressions:Alright Ev hit me with that djent baby. Djent Baby sounds like a parody djent band that does covers of pop songs tbh, eww. A minute in and I’m not yet quite sure what this one is trying to be. There’s some neo-prog-y vocals but it’s mostly a piano & percussion groove so far. The piano work on this is pretty diverse. It does feel like this is meandering without really “going” anywhere though. Is this like, the new wave of folk music or something? Lots of rhythms like that and a lot of strings popping in and out. It does build up some momentum as it goes on at least and develops into, like, an actual song by the end.
I don’t think the overall sound of this one is necessarily for me, and it does feel like it meanders in its first half, but it gets better in the second half and is kinda neat.Final Thoughts:I must’ve been really burnt out during my first impressions of this one too because I was pretty negative towards it for whatever reason but then I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit on at least my third listen onwards, if not even earlier. I guess it’s because it’s not really quite like any other song I’ve received in this roulette, or heard in general, really.
Like, there’s a lot going on here that’s driven mostly by piano, percussion, and vocals. There’s a slick and tight piano groove that’s pretty infections, there’s a banger of a chorus that occurs a few times throughout the song and seems to escalate every time. There’s some swells of strings that provide a few moments of solid build. The piano sound here is maybe not as organic as I’d like but it’s not as stiff as some other songs in this roulette either.
I do think the middle is probably the weakest bit – I’m not too into the bit with those fast piano runs, and there’s a really rough transition after that, but the song recovers pretty quickly following that with a folky, string-driven section. For whatever reason there’s an extra triplet thrown in at the end of every phrase of this section which… feels like the wrong decision, it sort of hurts the momentum, but it’s a minor distraction. That section is kind of disconnected from the rest of the song overall, too, since it goes right back into the 4/4 feel of the rest of the song after, so it’s… a diversion, alright.
The strings do carry on to the next bit pretty well with some fun melodies and flute accompaniment, and returning to the chorus for a pretty solid climax and finale, with just more layers of vocals and strings sounding like they’re coming in as it repeats. It honestly sounds more intense than some of the metal I’ve received in this round, and that’s accomplished without any electric guitars (though I do think there is an acoustic one somewhere in the mix…)
I think in a void I’d struggle to place this one, but comparing it to previous round’s scores… it’s right around the same level of enjoyment as the strongest few of the 3’s for me, but I think I have enough little gripes combined with a lack of that real huge sense of impact this one leaves on me to quite call it on that tier, and if I pit it up against almost any other 4 it loses by a pretty hefty margin. I guess that’s the one failing of this scoring system, this feels like it deserves more than a 3 but less than a 4, and I don’t have anything in-between for you here. Still a cool and unique tune though, and I definitely want to at least check out the full album based on this one.
Reward:
Bolsters: Mree – To See the LightTheme: NoneFirst Impressions:It’s nice to know that I’m always going to consistently have one non-metal song in the round at the very least. Though this song is in like, 7/4 or something, which is interesting for this downtempo kind of indie folk or whatever you call this. I like the subtle woodwinds that come in towards the middle, the type of instrumentation you rarely seem to hear in music like this. There’s a lot of smaller movements to this in the structure of a fairly straightforward song, too.
It’s a nice song that both at its core sounds interesting and distinct and has a lot of little touches that only make it that much better.Final Thoughts:What a pleasant little song. This song’s just… nice. It makes a 7/4 feel, which is usually intentionally choppy and jagged, feel just… natural and smooth, almost effortless, and that’s maybe it’s biggest strength. You’ve got these dreamy synths and guitars, swells of strings and subtle but effective percussion, smooth and silky vocal melodies, all in this time signature that feels like it shouldn’t be able to support something this ethereal.
I think the biggest thing is that the drums are so restrained and low in the mix – they’re present when they need to be to drive the louder moments, mostly muted snare hits, but a lot of the time the rest of the instrumentation is left to carry the rhythm without rhythmic accompaniment, and it still manages to do so effortlessly while keeping that dreamlike feel going the whole way through.
It’s also pretty catchy – at the very least, that one synth line and the vocal melodies of the chorus both stuck with me in a big way, they’re probably the two most obvious hooks of the entire thing, but there’s a lot of little melodies throughout this that just fit in with the mood well. The instrumentation changes with pretty much every section of the song, and there’s even the additional layers of vocals that come in towards the end that make the song sound so much larger than you’d think it could.
It’s just a perfect little song, really. I can’t point at any gripes I have with this one whatsoever, the only thing it really lacks to take it to that next level is something really hard-hitting and powerful, or a strong emotional connection, but I think with the intent of this song it was almost never going to make that kind of connection with me. The lyrics aren’t… especially interesting or important here, anyways. I don’t think of that as a negative, not every song has to be a perfect 9/10+ song for me to still enjoy it anyways, and I enjoy this song quite a lot.
Reward:
Elite: Kaunis Kuolematon – Paha IhminenTheme: Foreign Language Death MetalFirst Impressions:We finally have dueling bonus themes, in round 7 of the roulette. About time! This has that downtempo melodeath sound to it that I always have really mixed feelings about, alright. Okay, but the riff that comes in towards the halfway point is at least pretty groovy. I dunno, I always just hear this sound as “growly Katatonia” which, like, fine. I do think of the two songs going for this bonus theme, this one is less likely to end up with it, based on first impressions, but we’ll see. Like, the riffs are heavy and the vocals are solid and there’s some atmosphere and melody and all that good stuff but none of it really stands out or plays into a kind of sound I like.
This is one of those styles where I know I’m supposed to feel some kind of emotional connection coming off the music but most of the time I just don’t get that, and I’d say the same about this.Final Thoughts:One of the bigger growers of the round for me. This one left me a bit cold at first but on relistens a lot of stuff did start to pop out at me. For one, the main motif of this song is actually really strong and recurs enough times with both quieter and louder renditions that it really ties the whole thing together well. Great use of a good motif.
I also don’t quite know where I got the “growly Katatonia” vibes coming from because that… isn’t really true. The quieter moments of this have that dark folk-esque sound to them and while the song takes its time to build up to the heavier stuff it doesn’t feel overlong or drawn out, there’s a good build to the whole process of getting to that heavy explosion, kicking off again with that main motif.
And the heavy, groovy riff towards the middle is pretty cool in its own right, but I also dig the synth melody going on in the background, it complements the heavier sound well without really diminishing the impact, and it transitions smoothly into the similarly-styled guitar lead that follows as well. And after that they show that they’re able to pull off a pretty solid sludgy, doom-y type riff pretty effectively too. The song is pretty constantly changing but the transitions are all smooth and natural and there’s still an overall cohesiveness to the sound.
I have no clue what about this I found boring or uninteresting on first listen. The first impression reads to me like it’s discussing an entirely different song than the one I’m reviewing here, even though I’m certain it’s the same song both times. Either something about this one clicked for me and I didn’t notice it, or I just went completely insane writing that first impression. Maybe I misinterpreted the intent of the song? It’s definitely more of a heavy rocker than it is an emotive, downtempo song, but it has enough of a slow start to it I could see myself misinterpreting it from that.
In any case, wow, yeah, this is pretty good stuff isn’t it. I even am rating it higher here than I was expecting to only a single listen ago, because I’m pretty into this sound and am eager to hear more when this album drops. Maybe I won’t even like the rest of the album as much, or maybe it’ll leave me just as cold on first listen but end up being a lot of growers as well. Either way I’m glad I at least ended up appreciating this one by the end of the round ‘cause it does deserve it, I feel.
Reward:
Bonus:
Buddyhunter1: Anamanaguchi – Sunset By PlaneTheme: NoneFirst Impressions:Well I’m worried as hell about this one but we’ll see. The first 20 seconds sounded promising but then the chiptune bass came in and I immediately got worried again. Alright when the song kicks in it’s fine. It’s not “just chiptune” which is, I think, where I tend to have a problem. If you incorporate some of those sounds in the framework of a more organic sound I’m not gonna complain as much. I think the vocals are the part of this I find least agreeable, actually, they’re a bit too saccharine and breathy.
This sounds kind of like an anime opening at points. I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good thing, but it isn’t necessarily a bad thing either.Final Thoughts:I think when I’m saying “I don’t like chiptune” I’m specifically thinking of like, 8-bit stuff. It isn’t necessarily even bad on its own, there are some 8-bit games with bangin’ soundtracks to be sure. But the “chiptune” elements of this are more like 16-bit tones or maybe even 32-bit, it gets hard to distinguish after a point, and they’re not even really the focus of the song either. I guess some of the tones sound a bit airy and thin but that’s really my biggest gripe with them.
The vocals, as well, I think work best when there are some harmonies going on – a single voice on its own does have that same breathy sound to it, but two or more voices harmonizing kind of buries that aspect of the vocals and makes it kind of irrelevant, especially with how strong a lot of the vocal melodies in this tend to be. Like, there are some damn good melodies here and I just wish the vocals themselves were better to match.
I think what I appreciate the most about this song is how much energy it has, though, in what otherwise felt like a pretty sleepy and downtempo round overall. I mean, I guess there are other “upbeat” songs here but there’s all, like, dark and heavy stuff, whereas this song is bright and optimistic and just generally makes me happy to listen to.
Like, gotta be honest, all the nitpicks I have? They don’t really matter. The use of chiptune doesn’t really matter, the breathy vocals don’t really matter, because unless I’m really intently focusing on the song I’m not even really hearing those elements. I’m just hearing the stuff that makes me like this song – that killer main motif that shows up several times throughout the song, the dreamy vocal melodies contrasted with energetic but low-key percussion on the verses, the driving bridge with that brief guitar lead and very nice resolution in the vocals after it. I just enjoy listening to it.
It’s maybe not the most perfect or amazing song of the round, and I do feel the gripes I have with it are at least enough to keep it from even thinking about that highest rating, though maybe it’ll again be another that continues to grow on me with repeat listens, which it is definitely going to get, because yeah. I’m surprising even myself with how highly this one ranked, but it does deserve it.
Reward:
Round Winner Bonus:
Current Standings:Bolsters: 29
Elite: 27
Evermind: 24
ariich: 23
Dacul: 23
TAC: 23
Nekov: 22
Puppies_On_Acid: 22
Buddyhunter1: 22
Train of Naught: 20