Round 4 Results Part 2!
StadlerCheap Trick - Way of the WorldFirst Impression - pretty sure I've heard this before, especially that ending part. I'm just not sure where.
Theme - song from a "classic record"I don't think I will ever be a big Cheap Trick fan. I never really liked their hits and this song isn't really doing anything to convert me. To be fair it's a decent little tune, but probably not something that I would ever come back to, at least not often. I do like the second half quite a bit and the chorus is super familiar. I'm sure I've heard this somewhere before. Possibly when I was a kid at home. My dad is a fan of Cheap Trick so probably then.
6/10__________
Cheap Trick - Eight Miles LowFirst Impression - this song just kind of passed by with nothing really memorable standing out
Theme - song from a later, perhaps misdirected (or maligned) record, that I feel deserves to be heard.This song is less appealing to me than the other Cheap Trick song. I'm not fond of the vocal melodies or the lyrics in general. Is this the same vocalist? Besides, at least to me, nothing really stands out. The melodies aren't particularly memorable and every time I hear it, I can't remember any of it after it's over. I'm probably just getting senile though.
5/10
Elite (used 1st free choice card)
Blindead - S1First Impression - this sounds completely different from the other stuff I've heard from this band. Not sure how it's going to sit with me.
Theme - FREE CHOICE CARDOh boy, this finally hit me like a ton of bricks around my 3rd or 4th listen. This is just so good. I knew there was a reason why I gave their Affliction album a 5 star rating. This may be stylistically different, but it's no less awesome! The build up and payoff/climax just seem so huge and satisfying. There is multiple build ups and releases which builds tension before the ultimate climax. It's beautifully done. I like the vocals, they sound a bit like a more emotive Jonas Renkse. Speaking of Katatonia, there is definitely some similarities to the music as well. The chord progressions and use of the minor scale are prominent. I love the keyboard work too. It's so atmospheric. Overall it's a great song, front to back. It came so close to the best song of the round. The only thing that held it back for me was the ending, seemed a little out of place. Oh well.
9.8/10__________
Blindead - AscendFirst Impression - this has tons of great moments but I'm not sure they should all be in the same song.
Theme - FREE CHOICE CARDSo I think I just need to go out and buy all of Blindead's albums. This is a very similar vibe to S1. Only different. There's a bit of a Rammstein vibe that I get from this at times. Maybe it's the keyboards at the beginning (which I like). Maybe it's the explosive parts that come in from time to time. Anyway, I like it.....no, I love it. I know I said in my first impression that I wasn't sure about all the differing aspects of this song, but the more I listened the more it all gelled together. If ever there was a band that was playing modern Progressive Doom, this is it.
8.8/10
TomislavAtheist - Unquestionable PresenceFirst Impression - there's another band from the same time period that did this style miles better.
Theme - the band took 1 year long hiatus after this album so I guess it counts This is like Death, but not as good. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty good, but I feel like it doesn't quite have the same distinction and identity as Death did. If that makes any sense whatsoever..... I think it all boils down to song writing. Whereas Chuck Schuldiner was a brilliant guitarist and song writer, I don't think this is quite up to that standard. Having said all that, it's still fairly enjoyable, I just can't stop comparing it to Death, which is to it's detriment...
7/10___________
Hypocrisy - War-pathFirst Impression - heavy and yet atmospheric and melodic
Theme - kind of science fiction base like Cygnus X1This is more like it! Some hard hitting Melodic Death Metal, with a touch of Tech Death. Some great riffs, great song writing, great intense drumming. It's compact and doesn't overstay it's welcome. Now it may not be the most original thing in the world, but I would definitely listen to it again and probably the whole album. I guess it's time to dig in to this band, since you sent me a song by them in my first roulette and I liked that one too.
8/10
CyrilMaieutiste - UniversumFirst Impression - That build up in the second half is something else
Theme - repetitive rhythmsI see what you are going for here. The second half I connected with immediately. The first half took some more time, but it now works for me quite well. For working off of fairly repetitive riffing for the first half they do a good job of making it sound interesting. The second half is still much better in my opinion. They do pretty much the same thing only much much better. Just the way it builds is nothing short of brilliant. The change up in vocal style is also extremely fitting. Overall a great song.
8.7/10____________
The Physics House Band - Death Sequence IFirst Impression - This doesn't sound like Rush at all...
Theme - sonically diverse and instrumentally proficient & i'd guess probably has elements of sounding like rushHey Rush never used any Saxophones.... This may not sound like Rush, but damn if it isn't fun and interesting. It's got a great Jazzy/Mathy style to it, with a great atmosphere, which you don't often find in the aforementioned styles. Plus Saxophone makes just about anything better. Not much else to say about it. It's nothing over the top amazing or original, but it has some aspects that stand out.
8.3/10
RomdrumsOceanic - Arabic SpringFirst Impression - I see the comparisons you made, but I'm not sure it's doing anything for me
Theme - Canadian trio. My immediate impression was, "what if Rush was coming up now, and they had listened to Primus and Animals as Leaders?" Rush in the 70's was all about playing and pushing it as far as they could on their instruments. A Farewell to Kings, as an album, is basically Rush stretching out and really being adventurous. This song, and the whole album, honestly, captures that vibe. These guys are players.This song revealed itself over repeated listens. I still don't think it's amazing, but definitely good. Instrumental music, a lot of the time, I have a hard time truly connecting with. I like the bass tone, it's very noticeable right off the bat. The guitar tone is also pretty sexy. I could easily see this as an amalgamation of Primus and Animals as Leaders. There's some interesting and tasty lead guitar parts too. They could perhaps stand to let loose with some flashier/melodic leads here and there, but perhaps that isn't their style.
7.5/10_________
Neko Case - Hell-OnFirst Impression - Interesting lyrics, but musically it went in one ear and right out the other.
Theme - someone once said of Rush that the 70's for them was about getting proficient at their instruments, the 80's were about them getting more proficient at arranging, and the 90's was about them focusing on songwriting. I love the song itself, but the arrangement is really interesting to me: very progressive and unconventional.Perhaps the hardest song of the round for me to unravel. It's not technical or inaccessible or anything like that, but it has a bit of a different vibe. The first time I heard it I couldn't remember a single bit of it. It did open up a lot on successive listens. I mean there isn't any chorus or repeated motifs exactly, but there is a very nice progression from the beginning to the end. There is also a lot of subtleties that begin to stand out on repeated listens too. In short I think I love this song now. Time to buy another album....
9/10
Scores
Romdrums - 17, 16.75, 18.7, 16.5 = 68.95
Train - 18.5, 19, 16.7, 13 = 67.2
Cyril - 15.25, 18.25, 16.5, 17 = 67
Kattelox - 17.5, 14.7, 14.2, 18.9 = 65.3
Tomislav - 16, 16, 16.5, 16 = 64.5
Nekov - 17, 16, 14.8, 14.3 = 62.1
Elite - 10.5, 16, 17, 18.6 = 62.1
Lethean - 13.5, 16.5, 11, 18.2 = 59.2
Ariich - 16.25, 17.25, 12.5, 12 = 58
Stadler - 14, 16.3, 14.2, 11 = 55.5
TAC - 11, 11, 17.2, 16 = 55.2