Round 3 ResultsRound 3 Playlistariich: Netherbird – Lunar PendulumFirst Impressions:I’ve heard this album before! It’s not what I look for in the genre but there’s admittedly some appeal to it regardless. Nice guitar work in a few spots.
Final Thoughts:When I say I’ve heard this album before it’s more in a “I vaguely remember this artist name and looked up some old tweets to verify I had heard it but that’s all I remember” and yeah I can kind of see why I don’t remember this as much as Idle Hands. It’s uhh. Melodic black metal alright.
It’s weird because I’d vaguely say this is my favorite song of the round, but it’s not like it’s by much, or that it stands out in any real way, moreso that this just aligns with my tastes the most without having anything really functionally wrong with it. The main melody a lot of the song is based off of isn’t great I guess? It’s sufficient. The production can be shaky in a few places. But in general it’s got the energy and power I’d want out of something like this, and a tasty guitar solo towards the end too.
Calling this the round winner feels weird and wrong because of how “yeah s’fine” I am towards this song. I enjoy it more than anything else here but it is not inspiring me to want to go back to this album either. I sort of feel like my ratings have been really generous this roulette compared to my last one and this (and the songs below it) would score a tier lower in that one but aahh heck it who cares. Y’all need to do better next round, though. If there is a next round.
Score:
Tomislav95: Idle Hands – JackieFirst Impressions:I’ve heard this album before! The vocals on this are a style in which I inherently can never seem to enjoy, but otherwise it’s solid. Nice guitar work in a lot of places.
Final Thoughts:So I can’t figure it out. Is this a song about a guy whining that a girl doesn’t want to be with him? Or did Jackie die? I can’t figure it out. I guess that speaks to weak songwriting with how general and vague the lyrics feel but I don’t really care that much? It’s just something that’s been on my mind. Uhh. I still don’t really care for the vocals but they don’t annoy me in the way that the vocals on the lower-ranked songs do.
The guitar work on this is most of the appeal to me, there’s a fair bit going on in the leads that’s tasty and melodic and some solid riffs to compliment it as well. The drums also pull a lot of weight although I reeeally do not like the production on the drums, it feels really blown out, that snare sounds awful. It’s mostly the lead work here I dig though.
On the whole this song’s fine enough. I’ve tried listening to this album before, a few times after how much acclaim it got last year even, and while I can on some level enjoy it it’s not something I’d want to sit through a whole 40 minutes of repeatedly either. I think replace the vocalist with a different style of singer and work on that drum production and maybe this could’ve really worked for me though but as it is I do still like it well enough. It just doesn’t “wow” me either.
Score: Stadler: Fastway – We Become OneFirst Impressions:The riffs are solid and fun and it stays dynamic enough to not get boring, though I feel like this is the kind of song that wears out on me relatively quickly too.
Final Thoughts:This does sort of feel like a mashup of two different songs loosely tied together with transitions that kind of work kind of don’t? The straightforward 4/4 rocker, and the triplet groove rocker. Am I weird for getting kind of a Zeppelin vibe off the 4/4 bits? Not as much as the triplet bits though. Uhh. I like both, though I think the swagger of the 4/4 bits works more for me than the groove of the triplet bits.
In terms of the vocals this is like, probably the best vocal performance of this round? The competition was slim but I do like the singer’s voice even if it’s nothing special. I do at least remember the hook of this song well enough. There’s a nice guitar solo in the middle of the song too. Alongside some good riffs and passable albeit not particularly noticeable work from the rhythm section. It’s just a very solid song all-around.
This is one of those instances where I’m kind of borderline between two ratings because I do like it but it doesn’t strike me as particularly special? But I think there’s just enough here for me to be nice to it, and I certainly found it easier to listen to than any of the songs I rated below it too, so, yeah. Fun stuff.
Score: Dacul: Modern Life Is War – The Outsiders (aka Hell is for Heroes, Pt. I)First Impressions:Nnnnot too big on those vocals and considering how big a part of this the vocals are, it’s probably gonna be hard to look past them. The music is cool though.
Final Thoughts:Post-hardcore is a thing I really love but when I see something tagged as “melodic hardcore” instead I do get a bit worried. On one hand, one of my favorite albums from last year was Tripsitter; on the other hand, one of my least favorite albums I got last year was Departures. It mostly depends on the strength of the songwriting as well as the vocal style, and this definitely leans more towards the latter… it’s a raspier style that sounds more like the singer ruining their voice rather than expressing anger or intensity. Real talk, I don’t like when any genre uses raspier vocals – probably why I’m not huge into Agalloch either.
Anyways so the vocals are a big deal and I mostly don’t like them. Which is a shame because the actual music is really good? It’s pretty simple but the riffing is strong, there’s enough little variations in the percussion especially and a good driving energy to the whole thing. The only minor gripe is that it feels cut off or incomplete given the ending, but I imagine than in the context of a full album that’s less notable or works better.
So I’m conflicted… on one hand the vocals here aren’t as insufferable as Battle of Mice, but they do take up the entirety of the song instead of just a third of it. But the song’s also half as long and musically more compelling. I can’t really help but compare them and this one easily comes out on top when I do so, but I also can’t say I really enjoy it all that much either. Just too much rasp, man.
Score: Elite: Battle of Mice – Sleep & DreamFirst Impressions:Reeeeeally not too big on those vocals and considering how big a part of this the vocals are, it’s probably gonna be hard to look past them. The music is cool though.
Final Thoughts:So when I say I don’t like the vocals, it’s honestly mostly just the first two minutes. I recognized that this was Julie Christmas almost immediately and she sounds way worse here than she did on Mariner, but I was never a massive fan of her on that album either. But yeah the spoken word thing she’s doing? Can’t stand it, especially the fact that she repeats the same thing twice. For the rest of the song she’s… fine, though.
I’d love to say that the rest of the song is good enough to balance it out but… it’s mostly just “fine”. It’s very standard post-metal stuff. It’s got some atmosphere and it’s got… uhh… heaviness, but it’s hurting for riffs or distinguishable melodies. Which is fine, it’s not instrumental and the vocals are meant to be the centerpiece here, and they’re, again, fine enough, she does have a pretty distinct and occasionally powerful voice, but… it doesn’t really give me much to work with.
I’m mostly feeling pretty lukewarm towards this one, but in a way where I really wouldn’t want to revisit it, either. Mostly for the first two minutes. It’d be rating slightly higher with those two minutes removed, and it’d be rating lower if it was all like those two minutes.
Score: Eliminations coming tomorrow! Sleep well, everyone.
Topic: Cyril's Lead-Filled Roulette! (Post-Roulette) (Read 41059 times)
