ariich’s inclusive roulette (v6) – EPic final results!

[Crow]

yeah pretty much agreed on all of those, the last song on that spiritualized album actually got it eliminated from my album roulette lol

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I'm a bit late on this, but I think we're mostly in agreement, except I really love the Ai640 stuff, although I get why it wouldn't appeal to most people.

[ariich]

Here we are then, the final update.


Katt

• Twilight Force - The first of three power metal bands, and stylistically speaking definitely the most squarely in the cheesy-adventures-with-dragons oeuvre of the genre. Heroes of Mighty Magic was the album I checked out, and I definitely do enjoy it, but ultimately the thing I enjoy most about it - the unabashed, over-the-top cheese with some really catchy melodies - is also the thing that makes it difficult for me to get into fully (3.5 stars).
• Aquaria - My favourite band from your EP of power metal epics, so I was looking forward to these guys the most. I do think the more serious, epic style is a little more up my alley when it comes to power metal, and so I prefer the sound and general style here to the Twilight Force. But ultimately, on the whole I don't find the songwriting that interesting. There are some very good songs, no doubt, like the one you sent me, but to my tastes it all feels like there's quite a lot of filler as well (3.5 stars).
• Fairyland - This was the band from your EP I was least anticipating checking out, partly because the song from your EP wasn't my favourite (although I liked it plenty) but more because you've sent me Fairyland in a previous roulette and it didn't do all that well. But I gave Score to a New Beginning a good couple of listens, and I'm pleased to say that you've changed my mind about them, at least with this album. It's interesting that they've had a different singer for every album, and I think that's one thing that helps here - he had a great, versatile voice and a lot of character. But also the production is slicker and punchier, and the album is full of great melodies that I just find really engaging (4 stars). I tried the new album as well as a result, and that's somewhere in between for me - the singer is good but not as great as the guy on Score, and there are some strong songs but the album as a whole didn't excite me much (3.5 stars).

Evermind

• Sunburst - Just the one album from this Greek prog metal band, and I'm really digging it a lot. As I found with the song you had on your EP, the singer's voice (which is excellent by the way) is definitely pretty Roy Khan esque, so combined with the band's melodic approach there are strong hints of Kamelot throughout, but the sound is crunchier, proggier and more varied. Not every track is killer but it's all at least solid, there are lots of high points right through the album from the first song to the last and the very emotive approach they take works great for me (4 stars).
• Conception - I've tried Conception before, but I really liked Feather Moves from your EP so I figured I'd give them another try with their latest album. And yeah, it's a nice album and probably slightly more to my liking than Flow, but not by a lot and ultimately it hasn't changed my mind about them (3.5 stars). Which is a shame as I really like Roy Khan's voice, and I really like Tore Østby from his time in Ark, but Conception don't seem to interest me as much as either.
• Oceans of Slumber - I really liked the song from your EP primarily because I loved Cammie Gilbert's voice, and I think to some extent the same applies to the rest of their stuff. I say "to some extent" because the band does have some really glorious music on all three albums they've done since she joined, each of which has different qualities and strengths. What holds them back a little is that, musically speaking, I find them a bit inconsistent. On The Banished Heart, for example, the first few tracks aren't that interesting, but once the album gets going, it has some amazing songs. What I think Gilbert's bluesy, soulful voice does is make the weaker songs still interesting to listen to, and therefore compensate for the inconsistency to make them all very strong albums overall (4 stars x 3). I tried the debut as well, and it was alright but definitely less interesting (3.5 stars).

Buddy

• Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Alright so I've checked out all three of their albums, and my favourite song is still Cornflake from your EP, which was the very first song on their first album. That riff man, just so great. The album does have lots of other very cool moments as well - I'm not sure psychedelic rock is a style I naturally find that interesting, but that album does a great job of incorporating some nice groove and variety to make it very enjoyable (4 stars). The next album mostly stayed in the same style, but the riffs and ideas just don't hook me in the same way (EDIT: Oh, except for Dependant on Mary which is superb), and then the third album is also good but seems to have abandoned the groovy riffing, so in the end neither album excites me that much (3.5 stars x 2).
• King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Crumbling Castle was my favourite song on the EP which won you the roulette, but you had also explained how varied and bonkers the band is, so I was cautiously excited to dive in. I know it's not your favourite, but as it happens Polygondwanaland is the album I'm digging the most and the only one I've checked out that quite does it for me. Crumbling Castle is still amazing, and it dominates the album which helps, but the rest of it also has a lot of that moody vibe and pretty tight sound so while some of the tracks aren't that interesting on their own, I dig the overall experience quite a lot (4 stars). By comparison, I've given some good listens to a bunch of other albums based on your recommendations, and I enjoy them all and appreciate how varied and experimental (and prolific, jeez) the band is, but none grabs me in the same way. Mind Fuzz, Nonagon and Infest have cool ideas but are a little lo-fi for my tastes (and without strong enough melodic hooks to compensate), and Murder is really entertaining and weird and fun, but then is also oddly repetitive which dampens the experience (3.5 stars x 4). I had a brief listen to Gumboot Soup as well, not enough to rate it but that felt similar in quality. I'm not minded to explore any further for now, unless based on this you think there's any other album(s) I should definitely try!
• Lauri Porra - And now to the non-psychedelic part of your EP, but another artist who seems to be very varied and versatile. Flyover and Dust are both fantastic albums - somewhat based around instrumental prog (which isn't often my cup of tea), but with different influences and ideas, variety from track to track and yet a coherent feel overall, a great sound, top-notch playing and some really beautiful moments (4 stars x 2). All Children Have Superpowers is kind of similar, but feels to me less creative and diverse (3.5 stars), while his self-titled debut has some nice ideas but is kind of messy and all over the place (3 stars).

And that's that. That's around 7.5 months of my life in which my music discovery, and indeed my listening, has largely focused on this roulette. Crazy. I've discovered so much fantastic music from it though, so thank you all once again. I'm not sure I'll ever do a roulette on quite this scale again, but it was amazing and I don't regret a thing.

[Buddyhunter1]

Heh, I won the roulette yet none of the albums you checked out managed to hit the 4.5/5 mark. Ah well, still got plenty of 4/5s, so I'm satisfied, hope you are as well

I share the same thoughts in regards to Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, their first album is easily their best. Whatchamicallit has a few good songs but it's really short and the last stretch of it is pretty dull. And I get the low-fi complaint with King Gizzard. I think you've probably checked out all their best albums, though you might want to give Microtonal Flying Banana and K.G. (their latest one) a listen, those records utilize microtonal instruments and melodies throughout all of their songs which give them a really unique and interesting sound.

[ariich]

Heh, I won the roulette yet none of the albums you checked out managed to hit the 4.5/5 mark. Ah well, still got plenty of 4/5s, so I'm satisfied, hope you are as well

Didn't notice that. But yeah it can happen that way. A combination of you consistently sending good stuff (as you say, tons of 4 stars), and good judgement on what songs to send. I'm definitely very satisfied, my wallet less so!

[jingle.boy]

And that's that. That's around 7.5 months of my life in which my music discovery, and indeed my listening, has largely focused on this roulette. Crazy. I've discovered so much fantastic music from it though, so thank you all once again. I'm not sure I'll ever do a roulette on quite this scale again, but it was amazing and I don't regret a thing.

Awesome!

[Sacul]

Glad I had some good stuff sent your way, have fun with all this new music!