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

[Train of Naught]

It is!

It's honestly remarkable how many times in my life I've heard people say I look a lot like someone and the amount of times I've spotted people in real life that look a lot like me. I have a very unoriginal face

[Crow]

tbh i don't actually have strong feelings on that destroyer album it's "alright" idunnolol

[Elite]

12.8 for the EP! Wow!
Glad you enjoyed it

Do check out 'Mantiis' by Obsidian Kingdom. If you liked the tracks I sent, you're bound to enjoy it for sure. And yes, it is very different than the other album they did (or rather, the other way around).

[Crow]

mantiis is a pretty cool album, cyril-approved 
their second album blows. absolute waste of potential. haven't even listened to it once since 2016

[Elite]

I think it's way worse, but not 'bad' by any stretch.

[Crow]

i think it's way worse and also bad

[Evermind]

i think it's way worse and also bad

Yeah but you suck

[Crow]

Nah everyone knows i am the objective arbiter of all music taste. anyone who disagrees with me is just wrong

[Buddyhunter1]

I remember listening to A Year Without Summer and turning it off on the second track because of how cringey the spoken-word intro was.

[ariich]

I remember listening to A Year Without Summer and turning it off on the second track because of how cringey the spoken-word intro was.

Yeah I'm not sure why Rich decided to send me that one, particularly now that I've heard songs from Mantiis which sounds soooooooo much better.

Next update up shortly.

[ariich]

FINAL ROUND RESULTS, ranks 8-9

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8th place (joint)
Jingle – Supernatural Teaser Trailer
1. The Chronicles Project – Prologue: Our Souls
2. The Chronicles Project – Forever
3. Epysode – File 41807
4. Epysode – Invisible Nations
5. The Chronicles Project – Interlude I: The Confession
6. Epysode – March of the Ghosts
7. Epysode – Now and Forever
8. Epysode – Forgotten Symphony

First impression: Stylistically nothing particularly unusual about it, but it's highly enjoyable and kind of bombastic. It reminds me of a couple of other artists I rather enjoy.

Final opinion: So yeah the Chronicles Project stuff is definitely reminiscent of Kamelot, not only because of the vocals but also the musical style. And the Epysode songs have hints of them as well, plus the obvious Everygrey influence as you mentioned due to Tom Englund's role. And the whole multi-singer "metal opera" idea is naturally a little reminiscent of Ayreon too. Anyway, the quality is all pretty high throughout. It's nicely produced, all very punchy and engaging, and there are lots of strong hooks. And of course the vocal performances are all top-notch. The spoken word bits are maybe a little on the cheesy side, but tolerably so. I still feel it's all pretty straightforward stylistically – pretty much all of it sounds like a few other bands – so it doesn't excite me in the same way as some of the prog metal you sent earlier in the roulette, but it doesn't stop it being enjoyable and bombastic.

The flow is really good as well, helped by the genre and style being identical, and the fact that the two Epysode albums are direct sequels and the Chronicles Project one is similar conceptually too. While I find the spoken word bits fairly cheesy, they do help bridge the songs together and really do make this feel like a convincing teaser for the full albums, which I'll be checking out for sure.

Music quality score: 8.2
Flow score: 4.1
EP total: 12.3

Roulette total: 70.0

I'm so glad I was able to convince you to join this roulette, after your bad luck in the prelim last time and not doing as well as you'd have liked in the one before (although I still thought you did well, I'm still really into some of the music you sent me). Just as with RJ, I really appreciate how you mixed a couple of your personal favourites in with a selection of bands you thought I'd like most, and I think you're definitely getting better at reading where our tastes overlap. Ending up in 8th place and not higher is simply because the Zeppelin set you back slightly, and everyone upped their game in the last two rounds which made it too difficult to catch back up. But the fact that you were in 3rd place twice shows how much I liked what you were sending me. So next time I do this, you definitely need to play again and keep it up with the good stuff.

You win the award for: Most Submissions Over 20 Minutes

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8th place (joint)
Train – aricii
1. Raketkanon – Ricky
2. Mutoid Man – Bridge Burner
3. Mutoid Man – Reptilian Soul
4. Raketkanon – Fons
5. He Is Legend – No Visitors
6. He Is Legend – White Bat
7. Raketkanon – Florent
8. He Is Legend – Mean Shadow

First impression: There's an enjoyable, intense groove to most of this. There's an element I'm not yet sure about on its own, but it seems to balance with the rest of the EP.

Final opinion: There's some damn cool music on here. The bands are linked by their use of heavy grooves, but otherwise they all do something quite different so I'll take them all in turn. My favourite is Mutoid Man as I love these two songs – I'm not sure why you compared them to Cave In as these songs and the Cave In ones LoCo sent me seem very different (but those were perhaps not representative?). Anyway, this sounds somewhere between post-hardcore and I guess stoner metal, and it's really slickly done and has such a great energy, particularly in the guitars. Raketkanon is definitely weird – they didn't disappoint in that regard. But it mostly works – certainly Ricky is awesome and the other two tracks, while they have moments I'm still not wholly convinced by, are still pretty cool overall. He Is Legend feel the most normal of the three, pretty straightforward stoner metal really, a little proggier perhaps. Really great riffing though, and strong hooks.

The flow is pretty good, in that you've done a really good job with the track order to keep it all nicely balanced (i.e. spread the weird Raketkanon stuff out ), and generally the ordering works well to get a little heavier as the EP goes on. The only issue is the fact that these bands all do something a bit different, and so while it flows nicely enough, I'm not quite feeling it as a coherent EP.

Music quality score: 8.4
Flow score: 3.8
EP total: 12.2

Roulette total: 70.0

It looked like you might make a good go at reclaiming your crown in the first two rounds, but the Junius was a misstep unfortunately. Still, misstep aside, everything else you sent me was fantastic and it's been great having you back on such great form. I've already checked out the Clarence Clarity album and I love it, but basically everything else is also going on my full-album-listening list for after the roulette. Which is impressive given the variety of styles and sounds you sent me. But what I think really stands out in your submissions is the sheer amount of grooooove. Other than the A.A. Williams which was more delicate (and gorgeous), I think basically everything else was either funky in some way, or heavy music with groove in the riffs.

You win the award for: Most Groovy

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Final rankings:

8= Train    = 8.9 + 8.1 + 7.5 + 8.2 + 8.5 + 8.3 + 8.3 + (8.4 + 3.8) = 70.0
8= jingle   = 8.1 + 8.7 + 8.0 + 8.1 + 8.6 + 7.8 + 8.4 + (8.2 + 4.1) = 70.0
10. Puppies  = 7.8 + 8.2 + 8.5 + 8.4 + 7.8 + 8.3 + 8.4 + (8.3 + 4.2) = 69.9
11. wolfking = 8.2 + 8.2 + 8.0 + 8.9 + 8.2 + 8.2 + 8.1 + (8.1 + 3.8) = 69.7
12= lonestar = 8.4 + 7.9 + 8.0 + 7.8 + 8.2 + 8.5 + 8.5 + (8.0 + 4.1) = 69.4
12= Elite    = 8.1 + 8.5 + 7.6 + 8.1 + 8.1 + 8.3 + 7.9 + (8.7 + 4.1) = 69.4
12= Indi     = 7.9 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 7.9 + 8.1 + 8.0 + 8.2 + (8.3 + 4.5) = 69.4
15= Nekov    = 8.2 + 7.8 + 8.5 + 8.3 + 8.2 + 7.8 + 8.2 + (8.2 + 4.1) = 69.3
15= romdrums = 8.0 + 8.7 + 8.0 + 8.1 + 8.3 + 8.3 + 8.1 + (8.1 + 3.7) = 69.3
17. Sacul    = 8.1 + 7.1 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 8.3 + 8.1 + 8.4 + (8.3 + 4.0) = 68.8
18. king     = 8.2 + 7.8 + 8.2 + 7.7 + 8.0 + 8.2 + 8.4 + (8.0 + 3.9) = 68.4
19. Tomi     = 7.3 + 8.1 + 7.9 + 8.5 + 8.1 + 7.5 + 8.5 + (8.1 + 3.9) = 67.9
20. LordCost = 7.2 + 8.8 + 7.3 + 8.2 + 7.5 + 8.4 + 8.0 + (7.9 + 3.7) = 67.0
21. Lethean  = 7.6 + 8.0 + 8.5 + 8.4 + 7.4 + 7.6 + 8.2 + (7.6 + 3.4) = 66.7
22. Stadler  = 7.4 + 7.8 + 7.9 + 8.1 + 8.4 + 7.8 + 8.0 + (7.3 + 3.7) = 66.4

[Buddyhunter1]

Mantiis does sound nice but it's too same-y for me, like at least change the tempo once across the entire album.

At the point where I could be "eliminated" any update now

[Train of Naught]

I'll comment proper later, but thanks for hosting!

The Cave In comparison was because it's also Stephen Brodsky, same singer, but quite different approach musically!

[ariich]

I've got one more update in me for this evening, but I think the last ones will need to be tomorrow as it's nearly 10pm here and I haven't started the writeups for the top three.

[Crow]

 

[jingle.boy]

I was anticipating my award being something about concept albums, since I've given you like, 8 of them.

Well run roulette. Very well run. Do check out both DXI albums when you get around to them.

[wolfking]

Most metal award?!    That's a win where I come from.  Thanks for having me Rich.

[TAC]

Most metal award?!    That's a win where I come from. 

[The Walrus]

I've got one more update in me for this evening, but I think the last ones will need to be tomorrow as it's nearly 10pm here and I haven't started the writeups for the top three.

Top three squad be like



Evermind on the left, me right, Buddy is Zapp... TAC is Bender, off camera 

[Elite]

I've got one more update in me for this evening, but I think the last ones will need to be tomorrow as it's nearly 10pm here and I haven't started the writeups for the top three.

But you do know the scores already, right?

[TAC]

Bender??

[The Walrus]

Bender??

Oh for f&*$#'s sake man. IT'S IN KING'S AVATAR!

[ariich]

I was anticipating my award being something about concept albums, since I've given you like, 8 of them.

True, but in fairness most concept albums and most submissions over 20 minutes are pretty related anyway.

Do check out both DXI albums when you get around to them.

I definitely will!

Most metal award?!    That's a win where I come from.  Thanks for having me Rich.

I mean, you didn't once even slightly deviate from it, so yeah.

I've got one more update in me for this evening, but I think the last ones will need to be tomorrow as it's nearly 10pm here and I haven't started the writeups for the top three.

Top three squad be like



Evermind on the left, me right, Buddy is Zapp... TAC is Bender, off camera 

Ok last update of the day coming up in a moment...

[Buddyhunter1]

I'm a ginger so I should be Fry

[ariich]

I've got one more update in me for this evening, but I think the last ones will need to be tomorrow as it's nearly 10pm here and I haven't started the writeups for the top three.

But you do know the scores already, right?

I do now, yes. And... hmm, it's rather interesting.

Bender??

Oh for f&*$#'s sake man. 

[Indiscipline]

I'm calling it: three way tie!

[The Walrus]

I'm a ginger so I should be Fry

Accepted! Kif, mark down the time at which your commander swapped bodies with this poor wretch.

[Buddyhunter1]

I'm calling it: three way tie!

As sensual as that would be, it'd be awfully anticlimactic

[jingle.boy]

Bender??

Oh for f&*$#'s sake man. 

He pains King

I've got one more update in me for this evening, but I think the last ones will need to be tomorrow as it's nearly 10pm here and I haven't started the writeups for the top three.

But you do know the scores already, right?

I do now, yes. And... hmm, it's rather interesting.

I smell a tie!

[ariich]

FINAL ROUND RESULTS, ranks 6-7

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6th place (joint)
Luoto – Tapiola
1. Illyria – The Carpathian Summit
2. Wormwood – I bottenlös ävja
3. Häive – Lapin Kouta
4. Wormwood – The Achromatic Road

First impression: I think this might be the best thing you've ever sent me. The consistency in both quality and sound here really makes it feel like a genuine EP.

Final opinion: Ok, first thing's first, reserving Illyria was an excellent decision. Second thing: using it as the opener here has helped me love it even more than I did when Cyril sent it to me. I'll talk about flow in the next paragraph, but as an opener, the way it delicately sets the scene for nearly 6 minutes before the metal punches its way in is absolutely beautiful. And somehow it's not even quite my favourite song here, as I love Lapin Kouta even more. But honestly this EP was really hard to rank because it's all amazing. I don't know whether the strong performance of sorrowful folk/black metal in the concept round of my last roulette inspired you at all for this EP, but it seems it's completely my thing, and I love the balance of heavy instrumentation and melancholy harmonies. Lapin Kouta is a gorgeous example of that, and the Wormwood songs do the same thing too, and they're still really fantastic, just the least great of a great bunch of songs.

This EP is also superb in terms of flow. It's a perfect demonstration that, while a story or narrative can sometimes help (as it has done for some people), it's absolutely not necessary. Stylistically, these artists are very similar, both musically and in terms of production, with enough small differences to give each track its own identity. But that consistency doesn't stop the EP from being varied and incredibly well-paced, because each track has its own respite with soft atmospheric sections of various kinds appearing throughout. It's just a lovely journey from start to finish.

Music quality score: 8.9
Flow score: 4.5
EP total: 13.4

Roulette total: 70.3

I did wonder if you were destined to stay in the low 8s for the entirety of this roulette, but you really pulled off something special at the end with a deserved jump in ranking to finish in a great position. You didn't manage to hang onto your title this time, but I think that's partly a feature of this being a particular competitive roulette. But I'm so glad you played again because, as you always do, you consistently sent me interesting and exciting music. You also have an amazing knack at sending me growers that don't hit me immediately – you definitely did this more than any other player this time. The Noumena is the only one I'm not sure I'll check out more, but every single other artist I definitely will and I can see your submissions putting quite a strain on my wallet.

You win the award for: Most Growers Not Showers

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6th place (joint)
Cyril – Black Shellac Shrines
1. Spiritualized – Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space [intro]
2. Mac Miller – Good News
3. Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
4. PUP – Scorpion Hill
5. Elvis Presley – In the Ghetto [interlude]
6. Kevin Devine – Brother's Blood
7. Bad Company – Shooting Star

First impression: Some of this was kind of unexpected, some of it less so, and it's a really interesting mix. There's a blend of upbeat and morbid here that sounds compelling.

Final opinion: Ok so first up, let me say that I like everything here, to varying degrees but some of it a lot. I also adore the themes, but I'll talk about that in the flow paragraph. This is one of the only EPs that I could actually rank every song. Of the five that count towards the quality score, there are two that really excite me, and another that's also pretty great. The other two are fine, but rather less exciting. So, in order then. Good News is just sooooo damn cool. It's got a really downbeat, melancholy groove in both the music and lyrics that I just love. Scorpion Hill is almost as excellent, really great energetic and emotive punk rock with strong hooks. Brother's Blood is also great – the music isn't as captivating as the two songs I prefer, but the song is very evocative and the lyrics play a huge part of that. The Killing Moon has a nice chorus and so I like the song overall, but the rest of it I find quite bland. And the same goes for Shooting Star really, which ranks just slightly below.

In terms of flow, the way you crafted this EP of seven tracks from seven different artists in seven different decades and (arguably) seven different genres into something coherent and flowing is a pretty amazing accomplishment. I'm not sure all the songs sit alongside each other all that comfortably, but it's still a great listening experience and clearly a lot of thought went into the song order and the transitions, and I'm full of admiration for how well it all works. And the theme of music and death and the way it's all brought together in the last song is quite wonderful really.

Music quality score: 8.2
Flow score: 4.3
EP total: 12.5

Roulette total: 70.3

I absolutely love having you in my roulettes, because the music you send me always interests me, often pushes my tastes into new areas, plus you never fail to surprise me and your EP was the epitome of that. You had a bit of a mid-table start with your coveted 8.1s (I was almost tempted to knock 0.1 points off your EP quality score just so you could have another one ) but quickly upped your game and sent me some cracking stuff. I'm obviously most excited about Illyria and Billie Eilish, and I'm cautiously excited about some of the EP artists although I don't know how representative those songs are of their other work. But almost everything else I'm keen to check out more of too, and uniquely you've also made me want to buy a video game, which is a roulette first for me. Thank you for also always being consistently quick to send – between that and Trainy having sent everything in advance, it meant I always had something to dive into when a new round started.

You win the award for: Most Quick to Send

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Final rankings:

6= Cyril    = 8.1 + 8.1 + 8.6 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 8.6 + 7.9 + (8.2 + 4.3) = 70.3
6= Luoto    = 8.3 + 8.1 + 8.2 + 8.2 + 7.7 + 8.2 + 8.2 + (8.9 + 4.5) = 70.3
8= Train    = 8.9 + 8.1 + 7.5 + 8.2 + 8.5 + 8.3 + 8.3 + (8.4 + 3.8) = 70.0
8= jingle   = 8.1 + 8.7 + 8.0 + 8.1 + 8.6 + 7.8 + 8.4 + (8.2 + 4.1) = 70.0
10. Puppies  = 7.8 + 8.2 + 8.5 + 8.4 + 7.8 + 8.3 + 8.4 + (8.3 + 4.2) = 69.9
11. wolfking = 8.2 + 8.2 + 8.0 + 8.9 + 8.2 + 8.2 + 8.1 + (8.1 + 3.8) = 69.7
12= lonestar = 8.4 + 7.9 + 8.0 + 7.8 + 8.2 + 8.5 + 8.5 + (8.0 + 4.1) = 69.4
12= Elite    = 8.1 + 8.5 + 7.6 + 8.1 + 8.1 + 8.3 + 7.9 + (8.7 + 4.1) = 69.4
12= Indi     = 7.9 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 7.9 + 8.1 + 8.0 + 8.2 + (8.3 + 4.5) = 69.4
15= Nekov    = 8.2 + 7.8 + 8.5 + 8.3 + 8.2 + 7.8 + 8.2 + (8.2 + 4.1) = 69.3
15= romdrums = 8.0 + 8.7 + 8.0 + 8.1 + 8.3 + 8.3 + 8.1 + (8.1 + 3.7) = 69.3
17. Sacul    = 8.1 + 7.1 + 8.2 + 8.3 + 8.3 + 8.1 + 8.4 + (8.3 + 4.0) = 68.8
18. king     = 8.2 + 7.8 + 8.2 + 7.7 + 8.0 + 8.2 + 8.4 + (8.0 + 3.9) = 68.4
19. Tomi     = 7.3 + 8.1 + 7.9 + 8.5 + 8.1 + 7.5 + 8.5 + (8.1 + 3.9) = 67.9
20. LordCost = 7.2 + 8.8 + 7.3 + 8.2 + 7.5 + 8.4 + 8.0 + (7.9 + 3.7) = 67.0
21. Lethean  = 7.6 + 8.0 + 8.5 + 8.4 + 7.4 + 7.6 + 8.2 + (7.6 + 3.4) = 66.7
22. Stadler  = 7.4 + 7.8 + 7.9 + 8.1 + 8.4 + 7.8 + 8.0 + (7.3 + 3.7) = 66.4

[ariich]

I'm calling it: three way tie!

As sensual as that would be, it'd be awfully anticlimactic

Minor spoiler, it's not a 3-way tie, and I don't think it'll be anti-climactic - I've decided to have some fun with it.

You'll need to wait until tomorrow to find out how.

[Buddyhunter1]

[Crow]

yay! i died!

i shot for the stars and landed among the dead but that's ok 
i suspect my original EP would've done better than this one since the two songs you didn't like as much weren't on it and were replaced with things probably more up your alley but that would've been way less fun

[ariich]

i suspect my original EP would've done better than this one since the two songs you didn't like as much weren't on it and were replaced with things probably more up your alley but that would've been way less fun

I'll definitely give that Directors Cut a listen once the roulette is over and I've caught my breath a little.

EDIT: Also:

i shot for the stars and landed among the dead but that's ok 

In fairness, that's pretty in keeping with the theme of your EP.

[Crow]

the director's cut just replaces the elvis song with a different one and has an extra minute of the killing moon, which you might not be too excited about
the one with the alternate tracks (the less theme-y one) is the alt version!

also does Luoto have the single highest individual EP score? that's like... a pretty high one right there