Here we go then fellow chumps, the first roulette round results in a long time, savour it.
HOF: Emperor Norton - Arrow
This song. Wow, there is so much going on, I'm not going to be a to cover it all. I have never heard or this band before, which is great as I love going in with no preconceptions. The band only have one album and very few listeners on Spotify. How did you discover these guys?
To the music. This has so much cool instrumentation, that takes the forefront at different points; synths, guitars, pianos. It has vocals that can be operatic as well as gritty. It was that line between being classic prog at times, as well as current prog. They probably remind me of a modern day Yes (musically, not the vocals), more than any other band. I love that it has lead piano at points and the bass is really prominent. It takes so many twists and turns and keeps you guessing over it's 15 minute run time. It's atmospheric, it's groovy, it's heavy, it's light. Yea I'm impressed just because they don't sound like anyone else. I guess ultimately that's what I'm looking for in this roulette, something that makes me go 'what is THIS?'. I suppose it's not necessarily a better song than any others, in the way it's structured or anything, it just does so much, and takes me places. I guess you may have seen this as a risk, as I could see others not liking it, I dug it though. The vocals do remind me of someone but I can't for the life of me place them. So that's my stream of consciousness for you anyway.
Oh also the ending is quite powerful. Just really liked it.
8/10
Ariich: Shade Empire - Anti-Life Saviour
I think it's safe to say this song grew on me the most in this round. I was a bit underwhelmed on first listen, but did like the ending. I've never heard of Shade Empire before, but I'll be checking them out for sure. I usually quite like spoken word samples in my music, if it is done in this way. This song does have an epic, grandiose feel to it. It builds really well, and feels like an album closer (I haven't checked whether it is or not). They certainly remind me of someone, but in typical fashion, I can't place them. I like the style of harsh vocals, and think they work pretty well with this style of music. It does meander in the middle a bit, but around the 7 minute mark it starts to build to the epic ending. Those accompanying orchestral music, the sampled spoken word coming back in, you can just feel it growing to the finale. I wouldn't say it's perfectly executed, but it's the highlight of the song for me, and lifts it above mediocrity. Yea, I liked it.
7.5/10
TAC: Necronautical - Occult Ecstatic Indoctrination
You were right about that riff! These guys give me some serious Dimmu Borgir vibes, with their symphonic black metal sound. This is no bad thing as I love Dimmu Borgir! Turns out these guys are from the UK though, huh... I'd never have guessed. As far as symphonic black metal goes this is really great. It's epic, I like the vocal delivery and it is backed up by really great riffing. At nearly 8 minutes it never outstays it's welcome and is pretty damn engaging all the way through. As a 2021 release I will most certainly be checking out the full album. I'm looking forward to a point in the future when I can blast this song loud, after a few drinks, as I can see myself really headbanging furiously to it. A great choice for sure TAC, and the reason I wanted you in the roulette.
7.5/10
Buddyhunter1: Gallowbraid - Oak and Aspen
So here is an atmospheric/folky black metal song about trees! And I fucking love it. It's cool when you have a song like this that goes against those sort of metal stereo types, in regards to what black metallers should be singing about. Yes, nature is great and, knowing nothing about Gallowbraid, feel that this sort of song is just more genuine, because of the lyrical content. I don't know, maybe that's just me. This was the song I described as being 'epic as fuck', and I stand by that. These guys are compared to bands like Agalloch, which I can see. I don't feel like they do anything particularly groundbreaking, yet I suppose I don't listen to a great deal of stuff like this. Much like the Moonsorrow song, I feel this is perfect music to listen to at certain times of year, whilst out in nature. I feel out of this and Moonsorrow (two songs which are kind of going for the same feel) I prefer Gallowbraid's style more. I'm off to walk in the woods.
7.5/10
Evermind: Actor | Observer - In Your Ways
Our new challenger comes in at the last minute and chucks a band my way that I've never heard of, kudos. I have obviously just chucked this together very last minute, and the downside for you Evermind is that this score won't reflect my feelings once this song has had a chance to bounce round my head for a bit. You knew the risks though. I dunno, I guess this reminds me of like Thrice or something, that post-hardcore sound. The vocals are what I really like here. I haven't had many songs in this round that scratch that 'I want to sing/scream along to this'. I feel this could scratch that itch over time. The first half of the song has that ethereal feel, with quite heartfelt vocals, which makes the heavier ending work. That whole "your losing us, your losing me, your losing touch" part is a bit repetitive, which I wasn't too much of a fan of. This has enough that I'd want to come back to. Yea I dig it, welcome aboard.
7.5/10
Nick_z: Dawn of Solace - Lead Wings
This is a great start to what may one day be your roulette legacy. It's a pretty solid, straight forward song, nothing particularly flashy but it has a great groove to it. I really dig the guitar work, and the melodic lead that plays through the song especially. The vocals let it down a bit for me. Not that they are bad, they just aren't quite as good as the rest of the song. I'm surprised that you and TAC said it was your favourite song of 2020, as that is quite an accolade. Not sure what more I have to say about this? It's all about that guitar work for me. Keep 'em coming dude.
7/10
Romdrums: 22 - Inspec
I know I've listened to 22 before, as I saw them support Leprous a few years back. I'm pretty sure I checked them out before, and after the gig (they were pretty good). Agent Fresco also played that show and I think 22 really fit well with those bands. So onto the song. Yea it's pretty good, and better than I remembered them I guess. Some of the music here sounds like it could fit 'The Congregation' era Leprous to be fair. The vocals are pleasant enough and although they sound quite similar to other bands I like, I think they have quite an impressive, unique sound, for a three piece. It is quite bass driven in parts, which I guess is often common with three pieces, where the bass is more prominent. It's good enough that I'll be spinning some of their albums again soon.
7/10
Cyril: Glass Beach - Glass Beach
I'll start by saying, as someone who is usually unable to pick up on production issues, that really bother others, this song actually caused some problems for me. I'll get to though.
I actually quite like this. It does strike me as a Parama pick, as it has the emotionally charged vocals. It has a real emo vibe, which is not a term I often use, but also have no problem with music labelled as emo. Although I don't love the vocals, I don't really dislike them, and feel they fit the music. This song has a nice driving beat, good energy and a chill breakdown in the middle with a good build to the finale that works. It doesn't feel overlong and I do enjoy it overall, if I don't love it. My problem however, is the production on the drums, specifically the symbals (ride, crash, whatever it is). At certain points, like in the last minute, the symbals are constantly hit and it is all I can hear. It's kind of unbearable. I worried it was me but I have my Spotify set on the highest quality, and tried this on headphones and various speakers. It unfortunately brings the song down and makes it a bit hard to enjoy. I will likely give the album a blast at some point as I did mostly enjoy this post-emo (?).
6.5/10
2.5 more than you deserve
Kingshmegland: Ancestors - Whispers
I have listened to Ancestors before, and quite liked the album Suspended in Reflections. This band and song feel like quite a safe bet. Unfortunately, they may be a little too safe as I found this one of the more frustrating songs to rate. It's fine, I just found it a little plodding and underwhelming. Sitting here writing this I just don't have a great deal to say about it. It's a doomy number that sounds a bit Mastodon-esque at times.
It's got all the right components and I have no problem listening to it, it just leaves me wanting a bit more from it as a song.
6.5/10
Puppies: Moonsorrow - Pimea
I have checked out some Moonsorrow before, but obviously nothing stuck enough to make me want to delve further. I'll start by saying I'm not really a fan of straightforward black metal, and some black metal screeches do very little for me. Now this is folky black metal, which is great as the only times I can really seem to enjoy black metal, is when it's spliced with another genre. This song is pretty long, for what it is, and the length kills it a bit for me. I think for me a condensed version would have been more enjoyable. I do like all of the non screechy vocals, as well as the mixture of folk style elements. I know you'd said you need to listen on a decent stereo/with decent headphones to really appreciate what's going on in their music. My set up/headphones are far from audiophile quality, but they're not bad. I unfortunately didn't get that depth coming through. I think if this were shorter in length it may have got a slightly higher score. I might listen to the whole album, to see if that hits me differently. This sort of music is definitely the sort of music I need to be in the mood for, and who knows, maybe listening in the depths of winter may be the perfect time to listen to this. It feels like a winter album. That section from like 7 minutes to 10 and a half minutes is probably the best section. I'm just finishing up my 6th listen and you know what, I kind of appreciate it a little more for what it is. I can see why people would like this, and as much as I can enjoy it to some extent, I would be unlikely to revisit too often.
6.5/10
Elite: Converge - Thaw
As you said Elite, you sent harsh noise. Converge are probably the band I am most familiar in this first round. Yes I've tried them before, although according to my last.fm, I only checked out the landmark album 'Jane Doe', that this track is off, once. Also, this album is now 20 years old! What the fuck. I've been aware of this album, and band for years. Anyway, as much as I get how important this album (and band) is to many people, it just doesn't resonate with me that much. It's brutal yes, it has an energy to it, the vocals are exhausting (and low in the mix), but do I see myself wanting to listen to this a great deal, unfortunately not. I feel I needed to see Converge 20 years ago, and then I would've had a greater appreciation for them maybe. Sorry dude, you seem destined to send me stuff in roulettes that doesn't quite hit the mark.
6/10
Revenge319: Transatlantic - Suite Charlotte Pike
I'm obviously aware of Transatlantic, but it wasn't until this year that I checked them out, and that was only because I have been listening to so many new releases this year. As I jokingly said, I don't have time to check out all of the bands Portnoy is in. In reality, I just don't have a great interest in checking out all his bands. My preconceptions of Transatlantic are a Dream Theater style of prog, leaning more heavily towards a classic prog sound. I'm not sure where I got that impression from but I was never too interested. Transatlantic are a bit if a safe bet on DTF I guess. Anyhoo, you said that this was supposed to be Transatlantic's take on doing a Beatles style song? Or something along those lines. I can kind of hear a slight Beatles influence in some of the guitar lines, in places, but that's about it. I was more struck by you saying you'd never heard a single thing by The Beatles! I'd say you definitely have, but also, what have your parents been doing?? It goes without saying that The Beatles are one of, if not THE greatest band of all time. We also know Portnoy is a huge fan. The comparison probably hurt this a bit though as I was looking for similarities, and ultimately left disappointed. Nothing about this is bad though, it's nice enough and I have no problem listening to it. I just don't have a great desire to revisit. I will likely check out some more of the Transatlantic albums but I am just currently not looking to listen to this kind of prog.
6/10
Sacul: Talk Talk - Living in Another World
Talk Talk are a band I'm definitely aware of, but I've never made the effort to check them out. I struggled with this song a bit, and really had to try and rate it objectively. The problem is that it's 80s pop! I've probably never talked about it before on DTF, but outside of a few artists I really dislike 80s pop music. I love 60s, 70s (some of it) and 90s pop, but 80s? Nope. It's kind of ironic seeing as I love so much 80s metal, but there you go.
It has that very distinct sound, there was a lot of experimentation with sounds that I just really don't like. This song objectively isn't a bad song, but because of it's sound, that 80s production and the way the vocals are delivered/sound, I find it very hard to enjoy. I like the varied instrumentation, and how many different sounds go into creating this song, it's the best thing about it. But unfortunately for me I can't get past my own hang ups and feelings about that 80s pop sound. There isn't really much else for me to say. I tried with this song, but it is just not my thing at all.
4/10
Topic: Twosuitsluke's Second Roulette v. Final Results Part 2 (Read 65340 times)
