SN's Homestuck roulette: jpeg hero (final results)

[Crow]

all incorrect guesses

[Elite]

‘ ’

[ariich]

The only other one I could see mine being is 15, nice guitar work. If it's not then I have no idea.

[wolfking]

Mine's 7.

[Luoto]

10 or 13?

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Oh boy. Sucked it this round..

Well, these are only first impressions. There's always room for songs to grow on me. In fact, that's already happened several times on this round, although I won't say which submissions they were.

So my 4 moved up to a 5?

Hey man, I appreciate the optimism, but let's not get crazy here.

15

Nope round 3.

The only other one I could see mine being is 15, nice guitar work. If it's not then I have no idea.

Nope. I think you'll see what I'm referring to when results happen though.

Mine's 7.

You are correct.

10 or 13?

Nope.

Also, I'm roughly 1/3 finished with results as of now. Should have them up before dinner in ninja time.

[Sacul]

4

[ariich]

The only other one I could see mine being is 15, nice guitar work. If it's not then I have no idea.

Nope. I think you'll see what I'm referring to when results happen though.

Ok last guess is 14, because everything else is "riffs", "heavy", "chaotic", "harsh vocals" etc.

[wolfking]

Omnium Gatherums vocals at the start are pretty hard to swallow but you eventually accept and appreciate the beauty of the music mixed with these type of cookie monster vocals.  They come good with time.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

OK, first I'll reveal all of the impressions.


1:   I don't listen to anything like this but I really like it (The Walrus, ATTLAS)
2:   To be honest I don't have any strong feelings about this (Luoto, Be'Lakor)
3:   Seems like it would be right up my alley (Evermind, Portishead)
4:   Riffs are good, vocals are there (Elite, Obsidian Kingdom)
5:   At times a bit chaotic but the quieter moments are really nice (ariich, The River Empires)
6:   Heavy, but not as heavy as I expected (Sacul, Converge)
7:   The harsh vocals aren't really working for me (wolfking, Omnium Gatherum)
8:   I would play this video game (Buddyhunter1, Anamanaguchi)
9:   Part of this strongly reminds me of another band I really like (Cyril, Mithras)
10:   This avoids the shortcomings of [tributary genre] (romdrums, we.own.the.sky)
11:   Interesting stylistically but not as much musically (TAC, Tribulation)
12:   Hogarth?  (HOF, Talk Talk)
13:   This should be my kind of thing but it's not doing much for me (Puppies_On_Acid, Enslaved)
14:   I could see how the vocal style might be a turn off but it's working for me (Tomislav95, mewithoutYou)
15:   Great guitar work (Stadler, Deep Purple)


And now let's do some results.

Elite
Obsidian Kingdom
Oncoming Dark
Through the Glass
Cinnamon Balls
The Polyarnik
Answers Revealing
Last of the Light
4 points

Unfortunately my first impression of this hasn’t changed much. The riff at the end of Oncoming Dark is amazing, Through the Glass has some pretty cool moments, the ambience of The Polyarnik is nice, but I just don’t get what they were going for with the vocals at all. The clean vocals aren’t very interesting either in delivery or melody, and the harsh vocals are kind of actively offputting. The music is pretty good, but outside of a few standout moments it’s not really enough to overcome the vocals.


Evermind
Portishead
Mysterons
Sour Times
Roads
Glory Box
5 points

I swear I’m not giving all your submissions 5 points just to fuck with you.

I enjoy a lot of trip-hop, so this seems like the kind of thing that should really appeal to me, but for whatever reason it’s just not really hitting me. Musically I dig the sparseness of it and the atmosphere, but that really relies on having the vocals to carry it, and the vocal melodies here just don’t really do anything for me. I do actually like her voice and style a decent bit though.


TAC
Tribulation
Melancholia
Strains of Horror
Lacrimosa
5 points

Like I said in my first impression, stylistically I find this pretty interesting. The sort of gothic tone, echoing vocals somewhere between death and black metal, the classic style guitar work, it’s a pretty interesting sound. And though it has grown on me a bit since my first listen, ultimately my opinion hasn’t changed too much. I enjoy listening to it, all the sounds are pretty nice and well-performed, but nothing stands out too much either, and none of the songs make much of an impression on me after I finish listening to them.


wolfking
Omnium Gatherum
The Second Flame
Gods Go First
Frontiers
Living In Me
5 points

So this is some pretty standard melodic death metal. Musically it’s quite good and the guitar work is enjoyable to listen to, but I find the singer’s harsh vocal style really strange and kind of offputting which makes it hard to get much out of the music (which I do actually think is quite good). Interestingly, I think the clean vocals that appear very briefly in The Second Flame are fantastic, I really wish he’d done that more often. His idiosyncrasies do seem a bit toned down on Frontiers, which is my favorite song of the bunch.


Stadler
Deep Purple
Lick It Up
No One Came
Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming
6 points

I’m pretty sure the only Deep Purple I’ve heard up until now is the Smoke on the Water riff, but this is probably about what I would have expected from them; pretty enjoyable hard rock. Lick It Up and No One Came both fit this mold, the songwriting and melodies don’t really stand out to me, but they’re fun and the vocal performance is great. Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming is definitely my favorite track here though, and kind of breaks from the mold. The guitar work is amazing, both the acoustic at the beginning and the electric solos throughout. The rockier parts are actually the weakest parts of the song, the moody sections with a more restrained vocal performance and the emotive guitar solos really carry the song.

So, mixed impressions, but if your goal was to impress me with Blackmore, you can consider this a success.


Puppies_On_Acid
Enslaved
Ethica Odini
Neogenesis
6 points

This is another one that has grown on me. The vocal style in Ethica Odini is a bit odd but I’m pretty into it now, and musically both the heavier and softer sections are really good. The clean vocals I’m not so hot on; the melodies aren’t very interesting and they just don’t really seem to add anything to the songs, but they don’t come up that often and the song is still pretty enjoyable overall. Neogenesis is more of a mixed bag, though. The clean vocals still don’t work, and the sort of staccato riff and barked vocal section just doesn’t do anything for me at all. On the other hand, the long instrumental/guitar solo sections are really great. If I did awards like Rich did in his roulette, I’d give you the ‘Mixed Feelings’ award.


Sacul
Converge
Concubine
Fault and Fracture
Hell To Pay
Dark Horse
Eve
6 points

Yeah, so I’m being a little tricky with some of the first impressions this round. Obviously this is pretty heavy, but the guitars and vocals seem to be very treble-y for the most part so it’s not the crushing onslaught I was expecting. This is probably the main drawback here for me; the fuzzy, phone-speaker-style effect on the vocals really lessens the impact of the songs, even though I really enjoy the frenetic energy of the music. I should also note this these effects seem to be mostly confined to the Jane Doe tracks; Dark Horse, my favorite track here, is fantastically ferocious and most of the vocal effects seem to be absent, and Eve has a totally different vibe going, a sort of plodding, ominous build where the more sporadic appearances of the effects actually works really well.


HOF
Talk Talk
Happiness is Easy - 1997 Remaster
Ascension Day
Wealth - 1997 Remaster
7 points

This is a really interesting submission, and I think is probably one of the ones that grew on me the most. At first it didn’t make much of an impression on me, maybe because a lot of it is really understated, but further listens really brought out a ton of depth that wasn’t immediately apparent (to me, at least). What I love is how restrained and subtle a lot it is; there’s a burst of acoustic guitar, here’s a trumpet, but don’t let them overstay their welcome, now they’re gone. There are tons of little licks and sounds that hide in the background. Steve Hogarth (I’m convinced it’s him) does a great job with the vocals, but he’s not oversinging and he’s not anywhere he doesn’t need to be. The drumming is tight but doesn’t draw attention to itself. The keyboarding in Wealth is just beautifully subtle all the way through.

The only real issues here are that I think Wealth goes on maybe a little too long, and just when Happiness is Easy seems like it’s going to go into a great chorus, those damn kids show up and start singing. I’m sure they’re nice kids, but they can’t sing at all. Get ‘em outta here.


romdrums
we.own.the.sky
Ikigai
Transmissions of Static
This Space Between Us
7 points

This feels like it’s a mixture of post rock and post metal, but it manages to avoid the major shortcomings of both; the former tends to feel a bit repetitive and the latter like songs that someone just forgot to put vocals on. These songs move from typical post-rock guitar cascades to some pretty heavy riffing and are pretty varied throughout, and every change feels like a natural progression from the last one. There’s nothing here that stands out quite enough to bring this up to an 8, but it’s still a really enjoyable style that can function as background music while also being interesting enough to work as a focused listen as well.


Luoto
Be’Lakor
Countless Skies
The Smoke of Many Fires
7 points

This is another submission that grew on me a lot over the round. Initially I was pretty ambivalent towards it, especially the vocals, but the music really opened up on subsequent listens, and while I’m still not crazy about the vocals, I think they work well enough for what they do, particularly on The Smoke of Many Fires, where they’re almost melting into the guitar riffs at times. There’s quite a lot of variation here instrumentally, from piano to heavy riffing to quieter almost post-rocky sections, and the unpredictability of the song structures makes it an engaging listen.


Cyril
Mithras
When the Stars Align
Howling of Distant Spaces
On Strange Loops
7 points

In case you’re curious, the band this reminds me of is Alchemist, in terms of the tribal chanting style of the vocals. The artwork even looks kind of like Alchemist, weirdly. I think you said this was the submission you were least sure about, and I guess I can see why, but it’s mostly working for me. The robotic drumming, deep monotone vocals, and guitars form a unique sort of cacophony that strangely manages to be enjoyable music. I think it could do with a bit more melody to soften it some and break up the onslaught, but this is still an interesting and definitely unique submission overall.


The Walrus
ATTLAS
Ryat
November
A Ray of Light
Half Light
8 points

This is like the more relaxed brother of Anamanaguchi. I’m not even completely sure what kind of music this is since I don’t listen to anything that’s particularly comparable, but I really enjoy it. The gently blooping synth melodies of the first two songs create a calm, relaxing atmosphere, and Half Light is some very nice synthy pop music. I don’t actually have much to say here other than that I’m enjoying this a lot.


Tomislav95
mewithoutYou
Torches Together
January 1979
Julia (or, ‘Holy to the LORD’ on the Bells of Horses)
Another Head for Hydra
In a Sweater Poorly Knit
8 points

Like I said in my first impression, I could see how this dramatic sort-of-talking vocal style might not work for some people, but I’m enjoying it pretty well and I think it fits really well with this kind of punk-ish/post-hardcore music. There’s also a surprising amount of variation here, in terms of music and vocals as well, going from the declarative style to screams to very smooth, clean singing. I see there are several albums represented here, so I don’t know if this is indicative of the way they’ve developed over time, but it makes for a great listen. Julia is my favorite song in this group, and I think it’s probably my favorite song of round 2 altogether. You are really cleaning up in this roulette so far.


ariich
The River Empires
The River Empires Theme I
Overture in Thales Summer
Three Tigers
From Outside the Cellar
Theon, the Fox
8 points

This is just some really lovely music. It definitely feels very indie, but there’s a lot more going on musically than is typical with a lot of indie stuff, and the song structures are much more inventive and unpredictable. The vocal harmonies and piano in Overture are beautiful, I love the banjo in From Outside the Cellar, the instrumentation in general is quite varied and interesting, and the vocals are (mostly) perfect for the music.

Like I said earlier, I was a bit tricky with the first impressions and yours was specifically about the song Three Tigers, where there are few sections that seem to have half a dozen different things happening at once, and initially it didn’t seem to work together too well and just came across as kind of noisy, but on further listens it’s grown on me quite a bit and I really enjoy it now. The only real drawback for me is the chorus of Theon, the Fox (the ‘billy goat’ section), where the vocals just sound really thin and don’t have enough power to them. It’s a minor complaint though, given how well I think the vocals work throughout the rest of the songs.


Buddyhunter1
Anamanaguchi
Lorem Ipsum (Arctic Anthem)
Endless Fantasy
Sunset By Plane
Space Wax America
8 points

Oh hell yes. This is incredibly fun, upbeat, joyful music. I’m usually not too into music that leans heavily into video game-y sounds, but they manage to make really engaging songs with it. The melodies are good, the bloopy synths are great, the energy is ridiculous. The one song with (significant) vocals is a bit less good than the others and the ending section of Lorem Ipsum seems unnecessary, but altogether I really enjoyed this.



STANDINGS
Tomislav95   18
The Walrus   16
Luoto     16
Cyril   15
ariich   15
Sacul   15
romdrums   15
Buddyhunter1   14
Elite   13
TAC   12
wolfking   12
Puppies_On_Acid   12
HOF   11
Evermind   10
Stadler   10

Send for round 3! Also, since no one said anything about the proposed 3-day limit for sending, you can now consider it to be in effect.

[TAC]

Ok, checking out the top scores, I'm likely to struggle in this one. I may have to go full blown fucked in Round 3.

[Crow]

I'll accept that 
I would also advise you to listen to the full album since tbh it's very hard to take individual songs from this album out of context, it's meant to be experienced as a full 56ish minute piece and definitely ebbs and flows a lot better that way (and there's probably more of the melody in some of the other tracks too tbh, i just picked some of the stronger cuts but it was hard to pick for this set lol)

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Well, that's kind of disappointing. Either way, I'm sticking to my strategy. You will receive my next submission later today.

[wolfking]

Ok, checking out the top scores, I'm likely to struggle in this one. I may have to go full blown fucked in Round 3.

Yeah, I'm gonna struggle too haha.

[Buddyhunter1]

Yeeeeeeah, first place! Almost makes me wanna forgive you for saying Sunset By Plane is the weakest song of that bunch. Almost.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

And sent!

Looking forward to another 6/10

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Ok, checking out the top scores, I'm likely to struggle in this one. I may have to go full blown fucked in Round 3.

Yeah, I'm gonna struggle too haha.

Gentlemen, I have faith in you. It may be ill-advised and misplaced, but it is there.

Yeeeeeeah, first place! Almost makes me wanna forgive you for saying Sunset By Plane is the weakest song of that bunch. Almost.

Well, I liked all of them. I should probably note though that the order within a point score doesn't indicate preference. All 8s are pretty much equal. (now I really won't be forgiven)

And sent!

Looking forward to another 6/10

Watch out or I'll give you a 5.

[TAC]

Ok, checking out the top scores, I'm likely to struggle in this one. I may have to go full blown fucked in Round 3.

Yeah, I'm gonna struggle too haha.

Gentlemen, I have faith in you. It may be ill-advised and misplaced, but it is there.

I think we're ill-advised and misplaced, but we are here.

[wolfking]

   well said.

[Buddyhunter1]

Well, I liked all of them. I should probably note though that the order within a point score doesn't indicate preference. All 8s are pretty much equal. (now I really won't be forgiven)

Hey, glad you liked it. Definitely check out [USA] and Endless Fantasy when you get the chance!

[HOF]

HOF
Talk Talk
Happiness is Easy - 1997 Remaster
Ascension Day
Wealth - 1997 Remaster
7 points

This is a really interesting submission, and I think is probably one of the ones that grew on me the most. At first it didn’t make much of an impression on me, maybe because a lot of it is really understated, but further listens really brought out a ton of depth that wasn’t immediately apparent (to me, at least). What I love is how restrained and subtle a lot it is; there’s a burst of acoustic guitar, here’s a trumpet, but don’t let them overstay their welcome, now they’re gone. There are tons of little licks and sounds that hide in the background. Steve Hogarth (I’m convinced it’s him) does a great job with the vocals, but he’s not oversinging and he’s not anywhere he doesn’t need to be. The drumming is tight but doesn’t draw attention to itself. The keyboarding in Wealth is just beautifully subtle all the way through.

The only real issues here are that I think Wealth goes on maybe a little too long, and just when Happiness is Easy seems like it’s going to go into a great chorus, those damn kids show up and start singing. I’m sure they’re nice kids, but they can’t sing at all. Get ‘em outta here.

I’m glad it grew on you. They are not an immediate band, which is one of the reasons I love them. They reward repeated listens. I think both of your criticisms in the last paragraph are fair. I like what the children’s choir adds as far as the overall message of the song, and I just tend to think of it as another unique sound in the pallet (like with the trumpets or organs or whatever). But I can see how they might be a little off putting. Happiness is Easy is the first Talk Talk song I heard (apart from It’s My Life), and it might still be my favorite. That bass line/rhythm is so cool. Wealth is a little long and I was hesitant to send it for that reason. It’s a mood piece and also the conclusion of a challenging album (Spirit of Eden) so in that context it’s perfect and I wouldn’t cut it down at all. But as a stand-alone song without context it does go on. All I will add is that I have drifted off to sleep several times while listening to it, and that’s actually a really nice experience. It has a very calming effect.

Mark Hollis does have a tremendous voice. It’s an instrument as much as anything, and in some ways it doesn’t need words. But some of the words in these songs are really moving. He was a brilliant singer and writer who accomplished what he wanted to in a few albums then called it a day to have a normal family life (from what I can tell). He left at the height of his creative output, and unfortunately died young, but there’s a completeness about the Talk Talk catalog that I love because of that decision.

Will send round 3 in a little bit.

[The Walrus]

Wow! I'm really surprised you don't listen to anything like that. When I was picking out artists, as soon as I heard Half Light, I thought, "Damn, I bet Shadow would like this a lot." I'm glad I checked in on that album just in time to send some of the songs to you  You'll have my round 3 tomorrow, I'll be spending tonight narrowing down my options based on the results.

[Sacul]

Well I expected a little more tbh but I'll take it. Yeah you'd probably love Axe to Fall, the production on that record is insane

Although I'm glad Talk Talk and Anamanaguchi scored well, 5 points for Portishead is not forgivable though

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Ok, checking out the top scores, I'm likely to struggle in this one. I may have to go full blown fucked in Round 3.

Yeah, I'm gonna struggle too haha.

Gentlemen, I have faith in you. It may be ill-advised and misplaced, but it is there.

I think we're ill-advised and misplaced, but we are here.

 

HOF
Talk Talk
Happiness is Easy - 1997 Remaster
Ascension Day
Wealth - 1997 Remaster
7 points

This is a really interesting submission, and I think is probably one of the ones that grew on me the most. At first it didn’t make much of an impression on me, maybe because a lot of it is really understated, but further listens really brought out a ton of depth that wasn’t immediately apparent (to me, at least). What I love is how restrained and subtle a lot it is; there’s a burst of acoustic guitar, here’s a trumpet, but don’t let them overstay their welcome, now they’re gone. There are tons of little licks and sounds that hide in the background. Steve Hogarth (I’m convinced it’s him) does a great job with the vocals, but he’s not oversinging and he’s not anywhere he doesn’t need to be. The drumming is tight but doesn’t draw attention to itself. The keyboarding in Wealth is just beautifully subtle all the way through.

The only real issues here are that I think Wealth goes on maybe a little too long, and just when Happiness is Easy seems like it’s going to go into a great chorus, those damn kids show up and start singing. I’m sure they’re nice kids, but they can’t sing at all. Get ‘em outta here.

I’m glad it grew on you. They are not an immediate band, which is one of the reasons I love them. They reward repeated listens. I think both of your criticisms in the last paragraph are fair. I like what the children’s choir adds as far as the overall message of the song, and I just tend to think of it as another unique sound in the pallet (like with the trumpets or organs or whatever). But I can see how they might be a little off putting. Happiness is Easy is the first Talk Talk song I heard (apart from It’s My Life), and it might still be my favorite. That bass line/rhythm is so cool. Wealth is a little long and I was hesitant to send it for that reason. It’s a mood piece and also the conclusion of a challenging album (Spirit of Eden) so in that context it’s perfect and I wouldn’t cut it down at all. But as a stand-alone song without context it does go on. All I will add is that I have drifted off to sleep several times while listening to it, and that’s actually a really nice experience. It has a very calming effect.

Mark Hollis does have a tremendous voice. It’s an instrument as much as anything, and in some ways it doesn’t need words. But some of the words in these songs are really moving. He was a brilliant singer and writer who accomplished what he wanted to in a few albums then called it a day to have a normal family life (from what I can tell). He left at the height of his creative output, and unfortunately died young, but there’s a completeness about the Talk Talk catalog that I love because of that decision.

Will send round 3 in a little bit.

Thanks for the info, and yeah I can definitely see how the extended length of Wealth would work a lot better in a full album context.

Wow! I'm really surprised you don't listen to anything like that. When I was picking out artists, as soon as I heard Half Light, I thought, "Damn, I bet Shadow would like this a lot." I'm glad I checked in on that album just in time to send some of the songs to you  You'll have my round 3 tomorrow, I'll be spending tonight narrowing down my options based on the results.

The first song actually made me think of múm a bit at the start, so I was going to give you a hard time for not scoring them higher, but the rest wasn't all that múm-like at all. I do like the idea of there being 'ninja music' out there, to exist alongside 'zantera/sacul music.'

Well I expected a little more tbh but I'll take it. Yeah you'd probably love Axe to Fall, the production on that record is insane

Although I'm glad Talk Talk and Anamanaguchi scored well, 5 points for Portishead is not forgivable though

I'll admit, not getting much out of Portishead caused me to start questioning my own tastes and personality. Am I really who I claim to be? Or am I just a trip-hop hating imposter? We may never know.

[Evermind]

Doing great so far

Someone sent me that Julia song in my roulette, it was alright but that's about it.

I'll send something that would definitely warrant at least a 5 this evening.

[Elite]

Wow, I think this is by far the worst score I ever got for sending Obsidian Kingdom

[Crow]

@SN recommend me an alchemist album also

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

@SN recommend me an alchemist album also

I'd recommend either Spiritech or Organasm. Although I don't think you would like the band that much... I never thought those 2 bands sounded alike.

[Luoto]

Be'lakor seems to always grow on everyone who's generally into that kind of stuff, so I'm not really worried about any lukewarm first impression towards them. I would agree the vocals have improved since Stone's Reach but the music easily makes up for it in my books.

Also I find it weird that it's often the clean vocals people nag about in Enslaved's music. Axioma Ethica Odini is a fantastic album and clean vox have a lot to do with that.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Doing great so far

Someone sent me that Julia song in my roulette, it was alright but that's about it.

I'll send something that would definitely warrant at least a 5 this evening.

Your rise to victory is near, I can sense it.

Wow, I think this is by far the worst score I ever got for sending Obsidian Kingdom

If it's any consolation, a 4 in this roulette isn't really equivalent to a 4 in any other roulette.

@SN recommend me an alchemist album also

Austral Alien is my favorite, but I agree with Puppies that the bands don't sound too much alike apart from the vocalist and the chanting vocal style.

[Stadler]

... if your goal was to impress me with Blackmore, you can consider this a success.

Good enough for me!   

And with that, the first cheat of the roulette (though I figure I'm in last place, so it could just as easily be considered "ineptitude").

You'll have it in a couple hours.

[Buddyhunter1]

Sent!

[Evermind]

Sent!

[ariich]

Nice, really glad you liked it so much! Write-up all seems completely fair. I guess I see why you said chaotic - not that I think it warrants such a strong term but I agree there's a lot going on. It's an incredibly varied double album and while there's some filler, the variety keeps it interesting and there are amazing songs throughout. I think you'll like it.

And yeah he doesn't have a particularly powerful voice, but as you say it's a perfect fit for the music for the most part, although I appreciate there is the odd section where stronger vocals might have been a little more effective.

I'm on holiday next week, so I guess I'll try and put together the next two rounds before I go.

[wolfking]

Sent.