First of all, thank you all for still being down to participate, and being cool about me putting this on hold a year ago. Not sure if I now have the longest round in roulette history but a man can dream. I'll wrap this round up so we can crack on with new submissions. A few of you I think had already sent me every song for every round already. Of course, if you want to change any, let me know.
Also wanted to acknowledge that this is a pretty good group of participants and I have great faith in you sending me something that will really knock my socks off.
Let's goooo...
Cyril: Gorillaz - Rhinestone Eyes I vividly remember when Clint Eastwood was released by The Gorillaz. It was 2001, I was 17 and a friend of mine bought the single and played it to death cruising around as he'd just passed his driving test. I always liked that song, and a few others from the debut album. I never took a deep dive with the band but I've always been aware of them, in the form of their singles at least. I really have a dislike for Dare, which really tarnished my view of the band back in the day. My sister was also a huge Blur fan, and I always preferred Blur over The Gorillaz, so I guess Damon Albarn has shaped my musical journey somewhat. Just a bit of background going into this I guess. I don't mind it, it sounds like Gorillaz and I can see why people like it, it just doesn't do much for me. The backing vocals in the chorus are probably the best thing about the song. I definitely prefer Albarns vocal style when he doesn't just sound really bored, it's a bit of a turn off. Unfortunately this just isn't catchy or infectious enough, and for someone who is pretty much not into pop, I need it to be catchy.
5.5/10HOF: Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Kalypso This honestly starts off like it could be a Slipknot interlude or something. However, it quickly goes into a nice vocal centric little ditty. This is kind of like a straightforward ballad to acoustic guitar, but with some accompanying industrial textures, which maybe shouldn't work but kind of does. This is another song where the vocals are what will ultimately make or break it, and they aren't bad. There is a lot of instrumentation that accompanies this with some piano and creative percussion, it becomes a melting pot whilst still keeping the vocals front and centre. There are flashes where I love the vocals but is it enough? I appreciate a lot of what is going on here and it does sound unique but nothing quite elevates it above just sounding nice for me.
6/10Ariich: Novallo - Betty Phage Goes to Bronxton Another song that I will struggle to put into words how I feel about it. At only 3 minutes this feels really short but packs a fair bit in. There are some really great flourishes, and vocally there is a lot going on. I really don't even know what to say. It's kind of a safe bet, and certainly reminds me of another band I can't place. I suppose it's no great surprise that a safe bet ends up with just a safe score. Maybe I'd understand it more upon listening to the album.
6/10Sacul: Zardonic - Vigilante This reminds me of something that could be straight off International Blackjazz Society by Shining, but more industrial, and mixed in with a bit of Rob Zombie. None of that should be a bad thing as I like Shining and Rob Zombie! This has a kind of bombastic nu metal approach that I wasn't really expecting to receive in a roulette in 2021. I'm sure 19 year old me would've loved this. It is kind of straight forward with it's all out approach and just goes full throttle for it's full run time. It's not necessarily that I don't like this, it's just not sure it's something I'd revist or anything. This is something I could imagine being on the soundtrack to the new Matrix film, or definitely a wrestling promo from the early 00s, does that describe it enough?
6/10Puppies: Mew - Apocalypso I think Sacul or Elite may have sent me a Mew song in my first roulette. I don't think I ever listened to an album by the band but they have been on my radar since I've frequented DTF. This song has a sort of indie vibe to it, which is really not normally my thing. The band also remind me of Bent Knee or something like that. I think for a song like this to really work for me it really has to have a strong vocal hook or melodies. Unfortunately this doesn't really have that for me. I like some of the layers added in to this, like the xylophone and sci fi sounds. It gives it a bit more depth and the driving bass line is pretty good. It just doesn't do enough to hook me I guess.
6/10Revenge319: Toby Fox - Hopes and Dreams I feel like this piggy backed a bit of Buddyhunter's last submission, which is totally fine as that song did so well. This is really good video game music! It mixes that chip tune sound with some guitars, strings and synths. It all really works well and makes me want to play the game, if nothing else. It's pretty short and sweet but does everything it needs to in three minutes, I'm just a bit if a sucker for this sort of thing.
6.5/10Elite: Mr. Bungle - Spreading the Thighs of Death I remember you sent me Mr. Bungle in my first roulette, and it didn't go so well. Thankfully this is more up my alley. It's all out thrash, and can that ever be a bad thing? I have been checking out new (and new to me) thrash the last year or so, and it's been fun. I might have to give this album a spin as this is pretty good. It doesn't bring anything new to the thrash 'table' but it is solid. As much as I didn't like the previous song you sent me, I almost wish they'd mixed in some of their trademark weird shit, as it may have set this song apart from all the thrash I've heard before. Mike Patton nails the vocals in perfect imitation of a thrash front man.
6.5/10Buddyhunter1: Greet Death - Bow This starts off nice and crushing, following the short intro, and has fuzzy distorted guitars throughout the majority of the song. It honestly doesn't sound bad and gives the song a sludgy/doomy edge, even though this is pretty much a straight up rock song. I don't mind it but it left me wanting more sludge! Vocally they are ok but I'm not sure it fits the music so well. This song was one of the hardest to score, and unfortunately the whole thing just leaves me feeling like "that was fine".
6.5/10Romdrums: We.own.the.sky - Transmissions of Static This is a nice instrumental track with a post-rock kinda vibe. I don't think I've had much in the way of post-rock in this roulette, and this is quite up my street. This is alright and works well for what it is. It has a nice mix of heavy sections and more mellow/calm sections. I should probably check out the album to see how it fits in as a body of work. Maybe I'd have preferred it if they took the foot off the gas a little more, and went atmospheric a bit more often, as I liked those bits the best. Really nice stuff though. Could it have benefitted from vocals? Possibly.
6.5/10TAC: Carchosa - Worlds Beyond Bring on the metal! This brings to mind symphonic black metal bands like Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth (especially those vocals). The guitar leads are more melodeath, and I like the drum mix here, that double bass sounds great. I also enjoy is the more mellow parts as contrasts in this sort of music is what I love. All out aggression can sometimes be overdone. This is a nice example of album art complementing the sound and giving of real Alien vibes and imagery. So yea, progressive melodic-symphonic-black-thrash-death metal, guess that covers it. It doesn't feel like a 9 minute song in that it doesn't drag, although it could've built to a nice climax to elevate it even more, or even finished a few minutes short?
7/10Nick_z: Rapture - To Forget This is like Paradise Lost meets Wolverine Blues era Entombed or something, but with more death metal vocals. This song is probably the one that benefitted most from marinating for a year. I wasn't too sold on it a year ago, but it's hitting the spot a bit more now. The guitar work is obviously the highlight here. It's really nice and melodic, and the whole thing kinda reminds me of Insomnium, or some similar band. It's not anything new to my ears but it does this style of music really well.
7/10Evermind: Rishloo - Landmines Probably the band I'm most familiar with in this round. I've listened to a couple of their albums at least twice, including the album this song is from. I let it slide as I couldn't really remember anything specific about Landmines. Rishloo feel like a fairly safe DTF prog metal bet. For me they fall in line with groups like Leprous or Agent Fresco or something like that. Actually, I can hear a lot of The Mars Volta in this track, which is good as I've really been digging them since the release of their latest. I like a lot of what is going on here, the vocalist has a great range, from gritty to more falsetto. It's nice to hear a vocalist who can be versatile and I do really like the vocals here, except for the little warble he does on the end of notes at times. Rishloo are heavy in places, light in places, the drum sound is great on this track and I like the production in general. I think I was left wanting a better guitar solo, as the one we get is a bit lacklustre. The drumming actually is probably my favourite aspect of this song and what my ear is drawn to most. This just reaffirms that Rishloo are a band I need to listen to more, and I'm sure they have songs I'd love more than this.
7.5/10Kingshmegland: Southern Empire - Cries for the Lonely I've been sent a few (what feels like) really safe prog metal bets. I rated a song in a previous round, I think it was Transatlantic, saying I'm just not looking for that Dream Theater-ish prog metal sound, as I've heard it done enough. Well I'll go right ahead and contradict myself here as I loved this and it was the real highlight of the round. It's a prog metal epic which is risky at times just because of it's length, and the hosts ability to digest it during the round. Well as I've taken so damn long on this round it has worked in your favour dude. I don't think this particularly does anything I haven't heard before in a prog epic, and it's pretty familiar territory. I hear some Yes in this song, and the vocals maybe remind me of modern Fates Warning or something? I always think if you can make a 20 minute song feel anything but overlong then you're onto a winner. This has some really nice sections to it, the vocals tie it together well and it doesn't feel like a 20 minute ride. The final four minutes round this off nicely and even though it's not so much an epic crescendo it has a nice heartfelt vocal passage before going into the melodic guitar solo. I will definitely be checking out this album, cheers dude.
8/10I'll update the Standings in a minute and see if Buddy is hanging on
Topic: Twosuitsluke's Second Roulette v. Final Results Part 2 (Read 68261 times)
