Here we are, only about three days later than planned. This was a really solid round with not a great deal of variation in the scores. Feel free to start sending for round three.
HOF: McStine and Minnermann - I Don't Feel
The fact that this song got the lowest score shows how strong the whole round was. This is not a bad song at all, it just doesn't quite hit me. It has that 'jam' feel to it and the instrumentation is clearly a highlight. The vocals bring it down a bit for me, again nothing bad just not my cup of tea. There is one part where it goes all 'video game soundtrack' but it lasts for a few seconds then stops! That was the only bit that got me excited, and it didn't go anywhere. The song also just ends really abruptly. I don't know, this feels like it's just missing something, like in the context of an album, sandwiched between certain songs it could really shine. On its own it seems slightly meandering with no pay off. It's not overly long but nothing really stands out to me, during its runtime. I have no clue who McStine and Minnermann are, but I'm guessing they are famous in their own right and this is the coming together to form some sort of super duo? Yea it's not terrible but just not something I loved.
6/10
Romdrums: Vulkan - Bewildering Conceptions of Truth
Yet another band I've heard. Someone on DTF recommended this album and I remember the artwork enough to know I gave it a spin. This isn't bad by any stretch but there just isn't enough here to grab hold and not let go. I like the violins that come in just over half way, as I love string accompaniment in music like this. I'm starting to realise that I can really be quite picky with the sort of vocals I like, as once again these ones leave me cold. The other real highlight is the drumming I suppose, more so than any other instrument, but then they are pretty dominant in the mix. Solid stuff. Will I revisit the band? Unlikely but that's just a comment on the amount of music I have to divide up my time for.
6.5/10
Kingshmegland: Mile Marker Zero - Propaganda
I definitely checked out this album back when it was released, as it was pimped a bit around these parts. This feels like a fairly safe bet, as it feels like some standard prog rock fair. It's pretty cool and has some really great guitar work on it. The vocals are tickling my memory somewhere and remind me of some band I can't place. Unfortunately, once again I'm not particularly into them, this seems to be a pattern.
6.5/10
Puppies: Sieges Even - Sequence VIII: Styx
I'm pretty sure I've given Sieges Even a spin before. They stick in my mind as one of those stock prog metal bands. I'm not sure if that's a fair assessment, but they are kind of standard prog metal? I have no problem with anything going on here, it's all pleasing, it just doesn't bring anything new to the table. The first half is nice enough but I like where they switch it up a bit going into the second half. I was waiting for this to do something more than it does. I feel I've just heard plenty of music like this and it's really got to ne something special to win me over nowadays. I know, I'm picky. The end is pretty anti climactic as well, which only adds to my frustration.
6.5/10
Nick_z: Royal Thunder - Time Machine
Turns out I've listened to Wick by Royal Thunder, but I can't recall anything about it. This was nice. It has something about it that makes me feel it is quite influenced by classic rock, but also feels a bit grungey in the vocal delivery. Now I did like the vocals here, and they definitely raised it from a lower score. To be honest I'm still not entirely sure if these vocals are sung by a male or a female, not that it matters. Musically it did what it needed to, and I'm fine with that. I'll likely add the album to one of my playlists, meaning I might get around to spinning it in a few years.
7/10
Ariich: Dissona - Totality
This is a pretty cool entry. Dissona are yet another band I have checked out already, but it wasn't the album this song is taken from and I don't really remember anything about the album I did check out. Totality opens with some real unnerving atmosphere and then bursts into life. The ominous bells throughout most of the first 3 minutes help conjure up some dark, deserted medieval village or something. Like the beginning of Resident Evil 4, that's what I can picture. The clean vocals also have a chanting feel which again adds to this same mental image for me. The harsh vocals are nice here and way more up my alley than others in this round. There are some really nice chugging riffs and a nice dense sound. Although it doesn't completely blow me away, it really does work well.
7/10
TAC: IOTUNN - Safe Across the Endless Night
TAC, I have watched your taste in extreme metal blossom over the last few years, to the point where I take your recommendations on the 'What album' thread pretty seriously. I know I've checked out this band/album as you've been pimping them pretty hard this year. I remember thinking they were OK, but I wasn't overly impressed. This song still sits in the same place for me. It's pretty good, and ticks all the boxes, without having that special something that makes me love it. It's write ups like this where I realise that I find it really hard to define what I like and dislike in music. This could easily be something that I love, but it's just not quite there. It's the longest song in this round by quite a way, but it doesn't feel overlong. I suppose the vocals are one thing that hold it back a little. The cleans are not a style I love, but the harsh vocals aren't too bad. I mean musically this is actually really impressive and the incredible drum work throughout just drives this whole thing. With this being nearly 14 minutes long I think it would've scores higher if it had more of a pay off. It's really solid all the way through but if it built towards an epic ending it would've been even better. Especially in the form of some super melodic solo. My overall opinion... incredible drumming is not enough to sell this band to me.
7/10
Evermind: Oh Hiroshima - Aria
As someone who has gotten more into post-rock over the last few years, I'm definitely aware of Oh Hiroshima. Luckily for you, as it happens, they seem (at least from this song) to be very similar to my favourite post-rock band, Crippled Black Phoenix. This song could literally be on a CBP album. I like the hushed vocals, the melancholy vibe, the heavier climax of the song. It's all good stuff and definitely enough to make me want to delve deeper into this band. It's not quite enough on its own to wow me, but with post-rock I tend to love whole albums rather than individual songs. Really cool song though, although I was left wanting more.
7/10
Revenge319: ACE - Incoming!
Super fast paced video game music, count me in. I've never played any of the Xenoblade games but I have a friend who is a big fan and has been trying to get me to play them for years. This is kind of a safe bet. It's boss battle music (I assume) with loads of shredding guitars, funky bass lines and epic synths. It gets me pumped, so it's doing something right. It's quite straightforward, and doesn't vary too much in the first three minutes. That last minute though! They really amp it up, and wrap up with a 'sprint to the finish' guitar solo.
7.5/10
Buddyhunter1: REVO - Uroboros, The Serpent That Devours the Horizon
Video game music, woop. This game was described as being pretty much a Final Fantasy game in all but name. I'm way behind with gaming, so the video game music I listen to is purely nostalgic. This certainly has a Nobuo Uematsu feel, no doubt about it, and that's obviously not a bad thing. The first 30 seconds especially feels like Uematsu worship. This has shredding, frentic guitars, choir vocals, a piano breakdown, galloping bass, celtic sounds, lots of changes in pace whilst keeping the energy up pretty much throughout. Basically all you could want. I think I've said before but I think it can sometimes be hard to love video game music, or connect with it in the same way, if you've never played the game. I'm sure connecting moments from the game to this music would hit me in the feels even more. As it is, this is still pretty dope. You can't really fault all the guitar work in this song at all. I like how much is packed into the 6 and a half minutes. If I had time to play video games anymore, I'd give it a go for sure.
7.5/10
Elite: Brad Mehldau - The Prophet is a Fool
This is great and really has a lot in common with another entry in this round. They both actually have the same kind of vibe, but this song is unfortunately not quite as good, although still great. It's some kind of modern jazz, that I guess is really appealing to me? This is news to me. I love the spoken word, social commentary, it is really quite poignant. I love the bass line and crazy trumpet and saxophone that is peppered throughout. The instrumentation here is more organic, for the most part, than the other similar entry. It still has a dirty groove to it though. I'm up for hearing more of this sort of entry dude, so come at me.
7.5/10
Cyril: Gunship - Dark All Day
Right, so I know I gave Sacul a 4/10 for an 80s pop song and slated it for it's 80s production. Well here is a song that is full on 80s sci fi movie soundtrack fodder, with a slightly modern twist...and I LOVE it! I have checked out Gunship before as I've seen people pimping them over the last few years. I love this because it really takes me back to all the 80s soundtracks to all my favourite films/TV programmes. As a kid born in '83, I grew up with these sounds. But the song does more than just take you back to that era, it drags that era into the modern day. The vocals feel more modern, I love all the saxophone all over this, there are some parts where the beat just drops and it's great. I don't overly love the vocals but they work well with the music. I'm not sure I could listen to this all the time but it's great for a nostalgia hit, whilst still feeling somewhat modern. This was kind of a risk, but I think this would basically appeal to any 80s kid to some extent. Good shit dude.
8/10
Sacul: The Comet is Coming - Blood of the Past
Now we're talking! This is hands down the best song of the roulette so far. I love that you've gone from worst song of the roulette to best! It's a risky entry for sure, as this is something that I'm not even sure I could put a genre to. It's the sort of entry that makes me think "what is THIS?!". I like that, that's what I'm always looking for. It's some bassy, funk, jazz rock, and I'm all about it. The repeating bass line and the saxophone just have so much groove. The erratic synth that is interspersed here also really works. I'd love to see this at a festival whilst high as fuck, it'd be life altering. It's mainly all instrumental but the spoken word part (and I love spoken word like this, in instantly recognisable accents) just speak to me. Then back to that groove. It is so repetitive, but that fact the sax is anything but repetitive keeps me coming back, and you just lose yourself in it. I need to play this to my wife actually, this is the sort of thing she'd love (edit: I did play it to my wife, sure enough she did love it). Take note guys, this is just a great piece of music!
9/10
Standings:
Buddyhunter1 - 15
Ariich - 14.5
Cyril - 14.5
Evermind - 14.5
TAC - 14.5
HOF - 14
Nick - 14
Elite - 13.5
Revenge - 13.5
Romdrums - 13.5
King - 13
Puppies - 13
Sacul - 13
Feel free to flag any miscalculations, but I think we're good. It's all pretty close guys with only 2 points separating first and last.
Topic: Twosuitsluke's Second Roulette v. Final Results Part 2 (Read 66549 times)
