Alrighty, whole-round dump all at once again, woot! Big round this time as well, only one artists I didn't check out this time - Ancestors - for the same reason as Zeppelin last round which is that I've heard other stuff of theirs and I feel I've heard enough to be confident that they don't quite do it for me.
Elder (Buddy - round 7)Reflections of a Floating World was my obvious starting point, and it was exactly what I expected and hoped for - just more of what you'd sent me really. Great huge sound and crunchy, proggy stoner metal. We discussed during the roulette that the singer is... not very good, but manages to work with the style of the music. I actually found this to be the case on their latest album Omens s well. Both are really enjoyable, cool albums (4 stars x 2). I went back to the previous couple of albums too as they seem to be very popular on RYM, but they were fine but didn't do it for me unfortunately, the music was less interesting and the vocals felt more exposed (3.5 stars x 2).
Sparrows (Cyril - round 7)This was your only sub-8 score of the roulette, but it was so close that I wanted to check out Failed Gods still. And aaaaah it's just so frustrating how close this is to being great, but I just can't quite get into it. It has some cool stuff in there, some decent melodic moments and some really crunchy bits too. But despite clearly being very emotive music, I don't find myself really feeling anything from it (3.5 stars).
Beyond the Black (Evermind - round 7)You were a bit hesitant to send me power metal, although I see this as symphonic metal anyway, and either way it's definitely a style of power/symphonic metal that I enjoy. A great sound and some really catchy tunes. You sent me songs from their debut, and that's probably my favourite so far, but the two albums that came after it I'm also digging loads (4 stars x 3). The latest album, Horizons, is also fun I guess, but the hooks aren't as strong and it drags a bit (3.5 stars).
KBB (Indi - round 7)This kind of instrumental prog is generally prime 7/10 material for me, but they defied expectation by scoring above an 8 in the roulette, and that has extended to the full album. I think what I like is that it's jazzy, but the jazzyness doesn't get in the way of it also being very melodic and catchy, and the album strikes a really nice balance (4 stars). Their later albums aren't available on Spotify, and from what I've read it sounds like they went in a less melodic, more jazzy direction, so I'm not minded to follow up for now, but happy to have discovered this album anyway.
Hemina (jingle - round 7; king - round 8)Between the two of you, you sent me songs from all four of their albums.
I started with the middle two, as they contained my favourite songs from Chad's submission (and dude you really did have a great roulette for prog metal), and loved them both. If anything, I think despite your submissions, I hadn't fully appreciated the range and variety these guys have. Two excellent albums (4 stars x 2). Their debut, by comparison, feels weaker - some good ideas but less slick in their execution. And the latest album is really cool stylistically, but feels comparatively lacking in strong melodies to hold it all together (3.5 stars x 2).
Tycho (Katt - round 7)While I still find his music a little on the "background music" side, I have to say I'm liking it more and more. As background music goes, it's really lovely, but it's also so warm and well-produced that even with a more focused listen I can still immerse myself in it, despite there not being much going on. Awake, Epoch and Simulcast are my favourites (4 stars x 3). His earlier albums seem to be better rated, but I didn't find as interesting and wasn't such a fan of some of the choice of sounds (3.5 stars x 2). And I quite liked Weather, but the vocal lines weren't that interesting and to be honest I preferred the instrumental versions on Simulcast (also 3.5 stars).
Abel Ganz (king - round 7)I had no idea these guys had been around since the 80s! I'm glad you sent me something from their newer output though because their style and production is much more my cup of tea. Both the self-titled album you sent me songs from, and the latest one (Honey Bee) are excellent modern melodic prog (4 stars x 2). I still a bit of Moon Safari in the more upbeat moments, which is nice, but these albums also have a big variety of tones and styles that makes them very engaging. The earlier albums I listened to, Dangers of Strangers and Shooting Albatross, were fine but much more run of the mill (3.5 stars x 2).
Green Carnation (Lethean - round 7)Even though your submission (which scored well) only included one song from Leaves of Yesteryear, that was the one I wanted to listen to first and indeed it is easily my favourite. It has a great sound, a rich and emotive style and some great melodies and performances (4 stars). I also listened to The Quiet Offspring which you included songs from, and those songs (and a couple of others) are indeed excellent but the album as a whole doesn't really grab me which is a shame (3.5 stars).
Ninjaspy (lonestar - round 7)Ok I checked out both their full albums plus I'd already heard the whole No Kata EP as you included it all in your submission.
And I love it all! To be honest I'll just copy and paste my writeup of your submission as it's exactly how I feel about all their stuff: "This music is completely mental. Their bandcamp says “For fans of Gojira, Devin Townsend, Dillinger Escape Plan, System of a Down, Mike Patton, Meshuggah, Rancid, Sublime, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Deftones” and that kind of gets it across I suppose.
This sort of music is pretty risky for my tastes, but somehow it just works soooooo well, it’s just incredibly entertaining and yet there’s a level of underlying sincerity to it that somehow seeps through. The riffing is massive at times and has a great groove to it, and there are enough hooks to get me grinning like a loon.
"
The Mercury Tree (LordCost - round 7)I liked the songs you sent me, but I did wonder what I would think of the full album as some of the music is a little on the experimental side and I wasn't sure there would be enough melody for it to work. And, well I do still like it, but perhaps not quite as much as your submission which I think definitely included the best songs. It's good, and there are some great moments, but as I feared, the balance of quirky out-there stuff and more accessible stuff doesn't quite hit my tastes (3.5 stars).
Anthriel (Luoto - round 7)You only sent me one song so I didn't have a huge amount to go on, but I honestly hadn't appreciated how prog metal these guys are and how their core sound is very "Symphony X-lite" in terms of style. I say "lite" as it's a similar sound but not as over-the-top in terms of either theatricality or technicality. In terms of quality, I really like both albums and I think they're up there with SX's best - solid song-writing, strong performances and some great hooks (4 stars x 2).
Pendragon (Nekov - round 7)Most of your submission came from The Masquerade Overture, and that was a great shout - it's a really strong neo-prog album with big melodies and a bit of quirky theatrics to it (4 stars). I thought perhaps this might be another Arena like the previous round, but I've explored three other albums and none has stacked up (3.5 stars x 3). Pure, which you also sent me a song from, is a little more in prog metal territory, and I like the heavier style but it's mostly just less melodically interesting to me. I also tried the two albums either side of Masquerade as those are the other highest rated on RYM, but Window of Life I found just a bit dull, and Not of This World had some fantastic moments but also some really nothingy stretches.
Wretched (Puppies - round 7)The theme of this round definitely seems to be one or two awesome albums but the rest are blah, and here's another one. The album you sent me tracks from, Beyond the Gate, is brilliant technical death metal - very melodic and epic and just really engaging (4 stars). So I was excited to hear more of their stuff, but was pretty disappointed. The debut I just found quite average death metal (3 stars), and their latest album Cannibal is alright, just not that exciting (3.5 stars).
The Panic Division (romdrums - round 7)I figured I'd start with the albums that my favourite songs from your submission came from, Eternalism and Aero Nautical. Both are good albums, but neither matches up to the best songs from them. Each has one or two great songs (Silver Rings being a particular favourite), but to my tastes anyway the rest all blend in to a mush of enjoyable-but-uninspiring. The general style is fun but fairly straightforward, and so I think I need strong melodic hooks to really grab me, and other than a handful of songs I'm not finding that to be the case (3.5 stars x 2).
Nils Frahm (Sacul - round 7)Ok so Frahm seems to have two distinct styles. His electronic stuff doesn't seem to cover that many releases, but it's the side that I find most consistently engaging - the production is wonderful and he has a cool use of different sounds and ideas. Felt is my favourite of these, but All Melody is pretty great too (4 stars x 2). The Juno EP is nice, if a bit ambient for my tastes (3.5 stars). The rest of his output seems to be based around solo piano with the odd ornamentation here and there. Most of it I find a bit minimalist really - I gave a proper good listen to Screws and it was fine but I couldn't really get into it (3.5 stars), and I quickly checked out some others but they sounded similar and I never ended up listening enough to form an opinion. The exception, though, is Wintermusik, which is gorgeous and just full of emotion and a cold, bleak atmosphere (4 stars).
Angels and Airwaves (Shadow - round 7)I wouldn't say I loved your submission, but I enjoyed it enough to still get an 8/10. So I checked out their first two albums, both of which you sent me songs from. And yeah, overall I'd still say I like but don't love it, and over the course of a full album I think the lack of variety - particularly in the vocal department - gets a little wearing. I've never found DeLonge's vocals or vocal melodies to be very interesting, and here they do get in the way of what could have been pretty engaging music with a more interesting singer! (3.5 stars x 2)
Michael Schenker Group (Stadler - round 7)You sent me two songs from their debut, including easily my favourite of the ones you sent, so that was my obvious starting point. It's a good album, but Lost Horizons is still the only song I find particularly exciting. It does a great job of Iron Maiden-esque heavy metal and is very enjoyable as a result. I also really like some of the instrumental guitar passages on this album, Schenker's playing is slick and they have a great sense of melody. The rest of the album, unfortunately, just blends together as solid but unremarkable classic rock, which is probably unfair but is ultimately how the music makes me feel (3.5 stars).
Suotana (TAC - round 7)I was excited to check these guys out, and was not disappointed. Land of the Ending time, especially, benefits from tighter song-writing and stronger production than the first album, but really both are excellent melodic death metal (4 stars x 2). Don't have anything else to say really!
Goldfrapp (Tomi - round 7)Obviously I started with Tales of Us as that's what you sent me songs from, and I love it. It's such a rich, moody, warm and emotional album based around a really nice idea (4 stars for now, but I can definitely see it climbing higher over time). You'd told me that they change up their style all the time so I figured I'd try out their other two highest rated albums on RYM for my next stop. But I found both, for different reasons, to be nice but a little disappointing (3.5 stars x 2). With their debut Felt Mountain, I love the moody downtempo vibe, but I find it a bit uninteresting melodically. With Seventh Tree, I like how warm and pretty it is, but it feels lacking in any kind of emotional impact. I'm not against checking other albums out, but will wait for specific recommendations.
The Weeknd (Train - round 7)Much like the selection you sent me, at first I thought After Hours might be a big straightforward and uninteresting, but I was quickly won over. He really did achieve a great mix and balance of styles and influences on this album, and in particular a lot of the synth sounds he uses really lend a huge amount of atmosphere to it which I find pretty unique for R&B/electro-pop (4 stars). I checked the two previous albums as well, and there was plenty to like on them but they're definitely not as rich and engaging as his latest (3.5 stars x 2).
Malpractice (wolfking - round 7)It's not on Spotify, but I was able to give Triangular a couple of listens as that's the album you sent me songs from. I quite like it, but I do find it slightly lacking. The components of good prog metal are all there - it's intricate, has plenty of nice guitar work, a talented singer, clear production, solid melodies. I just find it all a little sterile. I think either of amazing hooks or really energetic performance and production might have made this more exciting, but with neither it just falls a bit flat for me (3.5 stars).
Poll
Topic: ariich’s inclusive roulette (v6) – EPic final results! (Read 188205 times)