First round was a huge success in my book. There was a ton of music here to like/love and I already have a lot of bands that I'm going to dig deeper into. It was tough to properly rate this round so I had to get a little more nitpicky. Anyway, onto the results:
Round 1 Results:
Vmader00
Rivers Of Nihil - "Where Owls Know My Name"
My first impression of this song was that it had some great production coupled with interesting vocals. I made the assumption on where this song was going to go the first 30 seconds but those assumptions were wrong. It comes in with the clean vocals and beautiful melody before getting rocked with some great growls and then to top it off there is a fucking SAX. I never knew how much I enjoyed sax in a metal song until listening to Ola Englund's Starzinger. This song is more than just the strength of it's individual parts, it works well as a complete piece of music and the 6:42 length just flies by. If I had one nitpick about this some of the heavier vocals go a little bit too long for my tastes. Awesome pick!
4.5
Kingshmegland
Yesternight - "Who You Are"
This song is tied for my favorite with Rivers Of Nihil. The song pushes all the right buttons for me, great chorus, great performances by all the members, and is pretty damn catchy. I've found myself humming the melody to this song a few times already. Great pick.
4.5
Tomislav95
Dead Letter Circus - "The Mile"
I've heard of Dead Letter Circus and after hearing the vocals I'm sure I've heard a song or two but this is my first proper listen to the band. This song has a great driving feel and some really tight playing from everyone in the band. I liked the song at first but subsequent listens had me enjoying it more and more. Another band that I'll be checking out very shortly.
4
Elite
Toehider - "Whatever Makes You Feel Superior"
This song wins the most catchy of the round award. I really like this song. The groove and energy just hit the spot and it's one of those songs you can't help but bob your head to. The chorus also gave me a little bit of a Queen vibe with the harmonies. I think my only knock is the middle section, it's cool but I don't know if it really serves the song. Either way, I liked it and it will be in my regular song rotation.
4
senecadawg2
Soen - "Lascivious"
Groovy is the word I thought of when I heard the opening bass line. I was grooving to the bass and then the prechorus part hit around the 1 minute mark and I thought "fuck yes this is gunna be good". My instincts were not wrong. There is a lot to love with this song and very little to dislike. I think if I had to give a mark against it would be the middle bridge section. It feels a little out of place. That said I'll definitely be checking out more stuff from Soen.
4
jingle.boy
Absolute Priority - "Dead Man Walkin'"
My first though hearing this was "is that Geoff Tate?" I got a lot of Queensryche vibes from the vocalist. Apart from that I really loved the build up of the track. It unfolds naturally and builds with some great soloing. That climax in the final third with the cut away to the acoustic guitar and piano is also killer. Good song that meets the definition of epic for me.
4
Lonestar
Gacharic Spin - "Mindset"
A catchy, slightly manic song with great instrumentation. This song is sort of a roller-coaster in the sense that you get on and time just flies by. It's up-tempo and it never really gets in it's own way. It's a really fun track to listen to that is easy to put on repeat.
3.5
Deadeye21
Iron Maiden - "Hell On Earth"
I've only heard one Iron Maiden album and that was Number of the Beast. I didn't think it was that great and was moreorless forgettable, this song on the other hand was not. Hell On Earth had a lot of space and breath to it. From the quiet opening to the gallops and then back to a more subdued section it all came together really well. When I heard Number of the Beast I thought Iron Maiden wasn't for me but after hearing this I'm open to checking out more of their stuff.
3.5
Stadler
The Guess Who - "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature"
You know for the longest time I thought The Guess Who was The Who and they just dropped "guess" from their name, I know I'm a dummy. This track was probably the biggest grower this round. I felt lukewarm at first but with every new spin of the song it opened up to me more and more. I think it just took some time to notice the nuance in the songwriting but I dig it. I'm sure as I listen more I'll enjoy it even more.
3
TAC
Dawn Of Soalce - "Lead Wings"
When I put the songs in the playlist and started listening through the round all the way through it was the guitar that popped out to me the most. There are many things to like about this song but it doesn't fully come together for me. If I had to try and narrow it down it would be the mix and vocalist, both seem lackluster. He isn't bad but there doesn't like there is a life behind his performance. I did pop this on my Spotify playlist so for that it'll get a 3 and a thumbs up
3
Luto
Amorphis - "Sampo"
I think my first impression of this track was a little harsh however this was another track whose individual elements were good but it didn't mesh fully at the end. The first half of the song didn't really click with me but once the middle section hit with the solo and heavy vocals I was getting pulled back in.
3
wolfking
Evergrey - "As I Lie Here Bleeding"
This is a good song with one big fault, and that was the count dracula keyboard intro. Not a fan of that patch or the playing at the start of the song, getting past that song is solid overall. It had one of my favorite solos from this round which gave it a little boost in the scoring. I wouldn't be opposed to hearing more of Evergrey, hopefully they'll be less of that keyboard sound lol.
3
Cyril
The Paper Chase - "The Small Of Your Back, The Snape Of Your Neck (The Blizzard)"
First impression of this track was that I stepped into the middle of a concept album, like walking into a movie theater mid movie. It was a little tough to get a feel for this track. Anyway, I liked but didn't love the track. It reminded me a little bit of "The Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance which I don't really care for (the worst MCR song IMO). I'm not really a fan of the theater like cadence the vocals have throughout the song.
2.5
HOF
Enchant - "King"
I could've used a bit more energy with this song. It's not a bad track, as a matter of fact it's pretty good but it just didn't grab me. It sounds like a track you'd find on prog rock album that splits up 10+ minute epics. With that said it did make my prog rock playlist so it's a keeper.
2.5
Sacul
Nine Inch Nails - "The Wretched"
NIN is a big gap for me. I've heard only the hits that made it on the radio and MTV when I was younger, I've also heard some of the more ambient stuff that Trent has be involved in. The Wretched didn't really give me the urge to check out out any more of their music. It's hard to put into words what I don't like about but it sounds like an industrial track by the numbers. This is most likely due to my limited exposure to the genre but it just didn't get there for me. The one positive I have to say about this track is that it has pretty good sound design.
2
Puppies_On_Acid
Threshold - "Slipstream"
Slipstream is a mixed bag for me. The standouts are the heavier vocals and middle section leading into the solos. There are some negatives; I don't think the song writing is that original, it sounds like music I've heard before and and feels largely forgettable coupled with the production that sounds flat, as if it was put together through cheap amp emulators in ableton. It's not awful but I don't see myself listening to this song in the future.
1.5
Scores so far:
Vmader00 - 4.5
Kingshmegland - 4.5
Tomislav95 - 4
Elite - 4
jingle.boy - 4
senecadawg2 - 4
Lonestar - 3.5
Deadeye21 - 3.5
Stadler - 3
TAC - 3
Luoto - 3
wolfking - 3
Cyril - 2.5
HOF - 2.5
Sacul - 2
Puppies_On_Acid - 1.5
Topic: ReaperKK's Roulette v. It's been 10 long years....jingle.boy jingle.won!!!!! (Read 55018 times)