Awesome round! A lot of really great instrumental tracks this round with some scoring surprises. Will update the OP and links later as well as the point totals.
Round 4 Results:Kingshmegland
Sithu Aye - "A Future With No Colour"
This song is a perfect blend of prog and rock elements. It sounds silly to write but a lot of prog rock instruments can have too much wankery and just get in their own way, this being a big issue I have with LTE. No part in this track over stays it's welcome and everything gels. I'm jealous you got to see this band as an opener, it seems like it'd be a killer tune to see live.
5 + 1TAC
Gary Moore - "The Messiah Will Come Again"
Killer guitar tone and absolutely killer performance! The guitar playing is so just impressive here, great note choice, great bends and the shredding is top notch. The playing is flashy but doesn't detract from the song, a seemingly endless bag of tricks here but it isn't a showcase of them. Great song, seriously.
5 + 1 Cyril
Poly-Math - "Alchemy | Terra Incognita"
I hate to disappoint you but you won't be getting a 1.5, you killed it here Cyril! I love this song and it's been on constant repeat since hearing it, It's almost like this song is constructed to pay homage to all my favorite post-rock bands. When I saw your song coming up to listen I brewed a pot of coffee to make sure I had the energy to get through it and from start it seemed like it was going to be another rhythmically intense track but it's much more than that, I was wrong to make that assumption. The song goes through these fantastic climatic build ups that are so rewarding to hear coupled with a fantastic mix and lush guitar tones. I can't stop listening to this track and I can't wait to check out the album.
5 + 1senecadawg2
Max Richter - "Spring I"
What a touching piece of music. I'm a fan of orchestral music but never fully explored it. It seems a little dauting because I don't know where to begin or articulate what I'd like to hear. Ideally I'll find more of this music to discover. This is a beautiful track that never gets old or stale.
5 + 1Sacul
Nils Frahm - "For - Peter - Toilet Brushes - More"
This could pair nicely with the Atmos track I sent you for your roulette. This track ventures into the ambient territory but doesn't get all the way there. There is enough happening to keep you vested so that song doesn't just fade to the background. I love the mood and tone of the song and the atmosphere it creates. There is great progression here especially at the end when the piano gets a little busier.
4.5 + 1Lonestar
Nuclear Power Trio - "A Clear And Present Rager"
First off this band has the best album cover, band name, and song titles I've seen so far. I honestly expected some sort of parody track but this song rocks, and it rocks hard. It doesn't over stay it's welcome and has some creative writing. I'm going to take your suggestion and listen to the rest of this album ASAP
4.5 + 1jingle.boy
Frost* - "Hyperventilate"
Loved this track, one of my favorites from this round. This song reminds of DT back when DT had more interesting instrumental sections. One of the best things about this song is that it's not over the top and isn't shredding for the sake of shredding. A lot of the higher rated tracks from this round have the same feedback. I'm a fan of technical playing but there is a fine line between "wow this is some amazing playing" to "I get it, you've spent years practicing your alternate picking". As for the song it's upbeat and poppy in a prog instrumental kind of way but most importantly it's memorable. This is another track I spun a bunch after first hearing it.
4.5 + 1Luoto
Chaos Divine - "At The Ringing Of The Siren"
A lot of headbanging was done to this song. I love the blend of genres not just from the instrumentalists but from the vocalist as well. There are so many interesting things happening in this song that even if you took away the vocals it'd still remain interesting and score high. Great pick, another band I'll be taking a deep dive into.
4.5Vmader00
Angel Vivaldi - ".____"
I love that super wet, lush, clean guitar in the beginning, I wish there was more of it. As for the rest of the song it's enjoyable. The chugs are solid, solos fantastic, and melodies wonderful.
4 + 1HOF
Eric Johnson - "Zap"
As a guitar player I'm infinitely familiar with one EJ tune, Cliffs of Dover. This song gave me those vibes without being as showy. That's not to say there isn't a lot of shredding on here, there is but it serves the song well, there isn't a compromise to the melody which is refreshing. So many guitar players go the route of establishing a melody over a few bars and then going to pound town on their necks on top of it (looking at you Satch). I remember checking out the album EJ and from what I recall I liked it but I like this more than anything on there.
4 + 1wolfking
Jason Becker - "Altitudes"
I've known about Jason Becker and his story for a long time I never took the time to check out his work, only bits and snippets here and there so I'm glad this popped up. The playing here is unreal and over the top and I mean that in a complimentary way. Jason is an absolute beast and the playing is very reminiscent to some of yngwie's work but Jason does what Yngwie can't which is write a great piece of music.
4 + 1 Stadler
King Crimson - "Red"
Red had me vibing until that keyboard part in the middle section there, it kinda of kills the momentum of the track for me. Fortunately it doesn't go on for too long and gets back into the main theme which then goes on for a bit to long
. This is a good song but I wish it was either shorter, or had a bit more variety, towards the end it got a little tiresome listening to the same motif on repeat. Big shout out here to the bass lines in this song, they are catchy and I found myself humming it for most of the day.
3.5 + 1Tomislav95
Frank Zappa - "Peaches En Regalia"
So many unique sounds in this song, I love it. Feels like I should be strolling down the street in China town in NY in the 70's. I enjoy the live feel of this song, it has this sense of everyone grooving in a room together jamming out. It's loose but not sloppy and gets better with more listens.
3.5 + 1Puppies_On_Acid
Equilibrium - "Kurzes Epos"
What a journey! When this song started I looked at the track length I thought to myself "oh boy, this is gonna be a chore to get through" but honestly it wasn't at all. There was a lot of variety without any compromise to the energy of the song. Listening to this makes me want to journey off to some grand adventure, but I want to do it sprinting the entire way. I still think it could be trimmed up just slightly but overall a good pick and good song.
3.5 + 1Elite
Dvne - "Sunset's Grace'"
This song grabbed me from the start but lost me as it went on. I thought the intro was compelling and engaging but as the track went on my enjoyment sort of fizzled. I wish that they stayed more on course with the clean guitars in the intro. You can tell they were building on the idea near the end but unfortunately the distorted sections didn't rise the very short, but high standard the clean parts did.
3 + 1Deadeye21
Iron Maiden - "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)"
This is one of the few songs I think could've benefitted from vocals. There are some good ideas here but they go on too long, especially in the first half. Things sort of change up in the latter half and become more interesting but it would've been cool if they had some vocals at the start and ended the track with the instrumental section they have now, or maybe just more variety to the intro. I do get strong video game vibes from this track.
3 + 1