Here there, here are the final results. First off I want to sincerely thank everyone who has participated in the roulette so far. I really enjoyed most of the music I've heard and I have dozens of albums to listen to now! I won't wait another ten years to host another one
Round 9 Results:Elite
VOLA - "Stray The Skies"
That opening guitar riff is just filthy, I love it! The rest of the song is really good too, the chorus is a perfect ying to the verses yang. The only complaint here is that the song is too short which is a take I rarely have. Normally I'm all for trimming the fat this song but in a round where most songs lean longer this one could've put some more time under its belt.
5Deadeye21
Voyager - "Ascension"
I love this song. I've only listened to a few other songs this round so far but I have a feeling this will be one of my favorites. The riffs here are solid and the added synth give it’s a sort of post-rock/post-metal feel. I like the vocalist a lot but I think this song could work really well as an instrumental pick too. Thanks for the great track!
5Senecadawg21
Emma Ruth Rundle - "Blooms Of Oblivion"
I just started to get into Emma Ruth Rundle so this track is new to me. So far everything I've heard from her I've really liked and this is no different. There is a rawness here that reminds me a bit of the song "Something in the Way" by Nirvana but it's much more composed. This is some of my favorite singer/songwriter style of writing. It's dark and brooding but not so much so that it becomes overwrought. One of my favorites of this round and this roulette
5Tomislav95
Arcane Roots - "Half The World"
I wanted to avoid calling this grand because I'm pretty sure I said that about half the songs in this roulette but it is quite epic despite its length. The drum work here is awesome, I really love the slightly dissonant feeling those snare triplets have in the chorus. Another stellar track
4.5HOF
Big Big Train - "Grimspound"
Big Big Train has been on my radar for a while now, it feels like every time I click into what "What album are you listening to now" thread Zydar is spinning a BBT album so I was looking forward to this song and it didn’t let me down. I love the orchestration and the way the song is composed, there is a melancholy feel to the whole track that is really enjoyable. My only real issue here is the lead singer. I'm not really a fan of the timbre of his voice. It's the same issue I had with The Flower Kings, it was just off to me. Fortunately, the music really carries this track and gives it a great score.
4.5Stadler
Aerosmith - "Seasons Of Wither"
I'm pretty familiar with Aerosmith, they were a staple in the house growing up and I really came to love "Pump" through "Nine Lives" when I got older. By in large the older stuff never stuck with me aside from the hits. This song came as a shock to me, not only is this song fantastic but it easily shot up to top 10, maybe even top 5 Aerosmith songs. The main riff has a proggy sort of Rush feel to me and Steven Tyler takes care to not overdo it. It's a stellar song from start to finish and one I've been spinning nonstop since hearing it.
4.5Cyril
Oceans Of Slumber - "Winter"
This song popped up on my Spotify Discovery playlist a little bit ago and from that moment I fell in love. Cammie's voice is stellar in the first verse and the drum arrangement makes me want to hit repeat before a full minute has even passed. They have this sense of built-up tension that gets released when the cookie monster vocals hit. The only thing keeping this song from getting a 5 is that I wish it spent more time with the clean vocals in the intro and developed those ideas out further.
4.5Lonestar
NEMOPHILA - "Rollin’ Rollin’"
Man this song rocks hard. I love it. My only real knock against it is the vocals, they work in the chorus but not in the verses for me. I think over time though I'll come to like them more. After a few spins I already grew to enjoy them. I think it was just an issue with my expectations of the song after hearing the first couple of measures. The solo is fucking fire.
4.5Luoto
The Ocean - "Jurassic | Cretaceous"
I see on Spotify that Katatonia is tagged on this song. I didn't do much research to see what (if any) involvement they had with this tack but it had me curious, I like Katatonia but haven't heard of The Ocean. Listening through this song I can see some of the Katatonia influence (could just be making this up, maybe the vocals are the only contribution), there is some great chugs and riffage in the chorus but when the horns kick in that really elevates this track to a whole new level. I love when vocals kick in the middle part (Jonas?) and take a slower darker turn, it gives the song some additional depth. Love this track, awesome pick.
4.5TAC
Redemption - "Fall On You"
I'm torn on this track. I've given it a few listens and every spin has gotten a different response. First listen wasn't really that impressive, a couple more spins and I'm starting to dig but it's not clicking fully with me. The melodies, riffs, vocals, mix, it's all good but not great. It just feels like it's lacking a certain something.
4Puppies_On_Acid
Woe Of Tyrants - "Kingdom Of Might (Dawn In The Darkness)"
I'm not really sure what this would classified as but it's pretty damn good. There are some great melodies here coupled with some great vocals. The mix could use a little love, there isn't much oomph to the track.
4Kingshmegland
Barock Project - "Happy To See You
My very first impression when hearing the first 15-20 seconds was off putting but the song got better quick. It has this up-tempo feel that is refreshing and the song rewards repeat listens. Interesting pick King!
4Jingle.boy
Ostura - "Deathless”
A good tune with great orchestration layered on top. The little quick turns they do before he goes into the upper register are really cool. What keeps this song from scoring a bit higher is the middle part. It sort of loses a bit of momentum for me and comes off disjointed. Solid pick!
4 Vmader00
Volbeat - "Temple Of Ekur”
I remember when I first heard Volbeat years ago and I absolutely hated their vocalist. He sounded like he was gargling marbles while trying to sing. When I saw this song I was bracing for the awfulness. Instead, this song left me pleasantly surprised. This song doesn't work miracles, I still don't care for the vocalist but he is mixed much better here. I checked out some older songs and it sounds like they've panned his voice further apart which definitely helped. After repeat listens it gets better but it's the instrumentalists that carry this track for me.
3 Sacul
Sigur Ros - "Staralfur”
I've tried to get into Sigur Ros a few times, they seem highly praised on the forum so it's one of those bands that I've already given a fair number of chances to. The vocals just ruin it for me, the quality of his voice is just very abrasive to me. This is definitely one of the better tracks I've heard, it's more digestible and really pretty. I was going to initially give this song a 2 but I've warmed up to it on listens but it's still difficult to get past his voice, fortunately it's kept to minimum here.
3Wolfking
NILE - "Enduring The Eternal Molestation Of Flame”
Alright so the music here is killer. I'd love to have an instrumental version of this track. It's really the vocals that kill it for me, it just seems like yelling over growling on top of the music and not really making an effort to elevate it. The only part where I though the vocals were good was in that "I will embrace you part".
2Scores so far:jingle.boy - 44.5Kingshmegland - 44.5senecadawg2 - 44.5Vmader00 - 43Lonestar - 43Elite - 42.5Sacul - 41.5HOF - 41Stadler - 40.5Deadeye21 - 39.5Luoto - 39.5Tomislav95 - 39TAC - 38.5wolfking - 37.5Cyril - 37Puppies_On_Acid - 35