Round 1 ResultsRound 1 PlaylistDacul: Gospel – As Far As You Can Throw MeFirst Impression:Of all the songs in this round this is probably the most exciting sounding one to me. Reminds me a lot of a band I’ve been really into recently.
Final Thoughts:So like, Joliette were definitely big fans of these guys, right? Apparently a 2000’s post-hardcore band that put out exactly one album ever then vanished off the face of the earth and I’m upset because this is? So good? I was worried that maybe it wouldn’t work for me as much on relistens but if anything the gap between it and the next best song is even wider than at the start of the round now.
Like, this is aggressive, manic, jagged, dissonant, but also tempered enough with melodic hooks, a dynamic ebb and flow, some raw technical riffing and lead work, it’s just relaly varied for a sub-6 minute track and like, every single moment just… works? It has just enough of a melodic edge to be fairly accessible but there’s so many layers underneath that and so much to unpack that I definitely haven’t had the time to do so in just a few days of listening.
God, I really want to save the best scores for like, the absolute cream of the crop and I’m really borderline on whether or not this should go there because it is, if nothing else, lacking a bit of an emotional core to it (as do Joliette, so they’re also similar in that regard) that keeps it from really hitting home for me. Eeehh. But it also feels wrong to put this in the same tier as other songs in this round, so.
In the spirit of the roulette I left it to chance.Score:Click above to find out!
Stadler: Steve Vai – Down Deep Into The PainFirst Impression:This is at least some degree of cheating, right? I found this pretty enjoyable and more diverse than expected, though I don’t know if it’ll be a favorite either.
Final Thoughts:So yeah if you don’t already know this song and album features a young, pre-SYL, pre-solo career Devin Townsend and he’s. Well, basically the star of the show here, showing off his flexibility with both some really powerful belting as well as harsher vocals that slot in surprisingly well with the hard rock feel of this track.
The hard rock feel I kind of expected and y’know, in small doses like this it’s a sound I can appreciate. I expected less the really heavy and dissonant riff that shows up in the prechorus (that Devin of course plays off of well) or the twinkly synths, or especially the long breakdown that makes up the last few minutes of the song. It goes in some weird directions, man.
Vai’s lead work is also good of course, that solo is kind of wank, sure, but the way it flows into that heavy riff and back into the last chorus is excellent. This is one of those cases where I kind of doubt I’d actually be too into a full album of this, but like… this one song is really cool and really surprised me, it’s probably the best thing you’ve ever sent me in a roulette if I’m being honest?
Score:
Puppies_On_Acid: The Arusha Accord – The Dark Pane Pt. 2First Impression:One of the better core sounds of the round, but like… structurally it’s an absolute mess, it feels like two or three different songs with zero transition between them.
Final Thoughts:Like, regardless of what you think, this song is pretty objectively a sequence of kind of unrelated segments loosely stitched together, there’s almost no denying that. The first half feels like one song, then there’s just this slow bit in the middle, before the track picks up a bit more tempo, has a bit of a pause, then most of the rest is a big anthemic finale. It is still very disjointed to my ears.
What rescues this song is that it’s one of the songs here that’s both very consistent and very diverse, and I guess its structural issues help contribute to the latter, sure, but like. There could easily be a version of this song that fixes the flow issues and still has all the cool riffs, leads, general instrumental synergy, and big climactic moments.
But no, yeah, I definitely would pick this one as my favorite out of the set of songs this round that were 7-8 minute prog metal tunes, probably just on style and general sound alone – there’s very much a lot to like here and I definitely want to check out these guys further just on the basis of this song – but god they need a songwriter to step in and fix some of the obvious issues here, regardless.
Score:Tomislav95: Disillusion – A Day by the LakeFirst Impression:I knew to expect the production issues on this one so I’m not surprised by them, but they do hurt what would otherwise be a pretty enjoyable sound.
Final Thoughts:The single-note lead thing they do for a large part of this song, I can’t help but wonder if that inspired Mithras to some extent, with the first track of On Strange Loops. This is probably the first song so far (from the bottom up) that I can point to a riff in a song and go “oh hell yeah, that’s a sweet riff”. The main riff here, specifically. The bass also plays the same riff during the verses which translates to a pretty cool groove.
The vocals here too, I don’t remember being particularly impressed by the vocals when I checked out these guys before (or on their most recent album either) but on this one they’re pretty convincing. A lot more dynamic and alive than your standard prog or melodeath vocalist tends to be, I feel like.
Overall I think this one is good, I enjoy it a lot. I don’t know if it’s perfect, of course – the production is a bit muddy during the louder moments, the ending feels reeeeally abrupt, like the song is missing its last leg, it’s a bit simple overall (basically grounded on two alternating musical ideas) but it’s still a good, fun metal tune all the same.
Score: ariich: Sikth – Golden CufflinksFirst Impression:Some really awful vocals on this one, but other than that it’s… solid? Surprisingly plain, more than anything.
Final Thoughts:For the record, the Sikth song I was sent in the past was the cover of Tupelo, which I actually liked a lot. It’s hard to compare it to this one though. Revisiting it now I do think the worst vocals on that one are worse than the worst on this, but. It has its moments
And I mean I still think this one is pretty good. I think it takes its time to get there – the front half is mostly establishing the main motifs of the song, with the aforementioned awful vocals (that subsequently take a backseat in the latter half) and like, the main riffs are good and the hook is good.
And then the bridge and everything after is way better. There’s a nice build to the final chorus driven by some strong percussion and a more atmospheric vibe overall, and the last chorus does capitalize on that build well too. Again I don’t know if it’s anything… spectacular, but it does all come together well.
I dunno, I expected this to be one of the lower placements on first listen but it did grow on me a decent bit. Not enough to be one of my favorites this round, but enough so that I feel comfortable rating it higher than I originally expected to.
Score: Nekov: Jakub Zyteky – Satya's Diary First Impression:My initial reaction was to go “I said no djent” but this actually has a good heavy tone and is very tasteful and balanced. I’d struggle to say it flows well or has strong melodic hooks though.
Final Thoughts:Also yes I’m aware this is the guitarist of DisperE, which is why I was expecting djent, and thus got djent. And the DispersE album I have is… alright! Not super memorable! His guitar leads all have a bit of a standard “djazz” vibe to them that sounds pleasant but never really stands out to me, and that’s kind of the case here too? The heavy riffing I like more than I’d expect because that guitar tone is actually really good, though.
I do feel like this falls into the same trap as VOLA (and a lot of djent, really) in that there’s parts of this where it’s just riffing without any real groove to it – technical, to be sure, but you still need to be able to, y’know, write a song! I don’t find any of it unpleasant but it does kind of just meander on for a while.
I think what pushes this up a few spots though is the last few minutes, where the song just shifts gears to an atmospheric interlude followed by a really anthemic outro that’s actually pretty cool, as standard and kind of Townsend-y as it is. It’s not a song that overall really wows me or makes me want to check out this artist further but it has its moments and is still at least enjoyable front-to-back.
Score: Mr Crabs: Darkaeon – Ark Of The Universe Pt. 1First Impression:This one’s all over the place. Strong instrumental chops, “interesting” production, okay songwriting, and some truly wretched vocals.
Final Thoughts:The vocals I’m referring to are the harsh vocals, for the record, which genuinely are terrible. They should just. Not use them. The cleans are ehh. A bit generic. Low-range power metal-y kind of. Like 75% of this is instrumental anyways so who really cares. The instruments, then. Well the guitar and bass tone aren’t great, they sound really rough and really thin respectively, but there at least isn’t any clash between the sounds of the instruments here.
All of that really doesn’t matter because I think a lot of the lead guitar work here is pretty strong – a balance of hook-laden leads, some wank/shred that doesn’t ever feel too indulgent, and a more soulful solo in the middle. The riffing? Ehh. It’s fine. Hurt by the production. The songwriting? It’s another one bookended by straightforward riffy stuff with the proggier bits all in the middle. Doesn’t necessarily flow great but it doesn’t feel completely haphazard either.
I certainly think there’s a lot more to this one than the songs below it and I’m at least curious if nothing else but I also don’t feel like this is an especially strong example of prog metal either, just a solid one that could use some polish.
Score: Elite: VOLA – Stray the SkiesFirst Impression:This was the submission I was closest to banning and I don’t think anything about this song is going to change my mind about the artist in question.
Final Thoughts:When I complain about modern prog metal & djent this band is one of the first bands I think of, really. I’ve tried listening to this album several times and I’ve never actually made it to the end – their second album I thought was a lot better, although in part because it was less metal.
As for this song itself… it’s fine. The verses are pretty much a waste of time, they’re djent riffing with zero groove and vocals you can hardly hear, but the chorus is pretty strong - good vocal hook, the synths add a nice melodic contrast to the roaring guitars, it all fits together well even if it’s basically just an alt-metal chorus. The bridge is okay too I guess.
I dunno, I don’t really dislike this in any way but there’s not much about it that’s actively appealing about it besides the chorus, which is the one thing that keeps it rated above the song below it, but thaaaat’s about it.
Score: Indiscipline: Faith No More – Woodpeckers from MarsFirst Impression:Completely different from what I was expecting, but what I was expecting was way worse than what I got, so I’m not complaining.
Final Thoughts:To be clear; I think if this had been a vocal track it probably would have scored lower, since I just flat do not like Mike Patton’s voice. He can occasionally twist it into something listenable but it’s a rare miracle when he does.
As far as this song goes it’s… well, it’s not bad, but the most I can really say about it is that it’s just kind of “generic”. There’s something like two riffs in the entire song – the fast one at the start and end, and the slow one in the middle. And there’s a violin in there that feels a bit out of focus/feels like it should be given more room in the mix, that provides basically the only element of melody in this.
I don’t find it unpleasant to listen to – maybe a bit boring, I guess – but I don’t find anything about it very memorable, either. It’s the weakest of the round not for really doing anything wrong but more for just not having anything notable about it either.
Score: Eliminations coming tomorrow! Sleep well, everyone.
Topic: Cyril's Lead-Filled Roulette! (Post-Roulette) (Read 41251 times)
