Puppies (Re)Discovery EP Roulette V.4 (The Final Art!)

[ariich]

Don't worry Pup, as ever take as long as you need.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Don't worry Pup, as ever take as long as you need.

I will need until exactly right now! 
Also I did remake your album art as well, but I didn't like the new one as much. I'll post it as well if you'd like to see it.



Ariich - Void IV: Lessons In Despair

A.A. Williams - Wait
Enshine - In Our Mind
Leprous - Nighttime Disguise
The Ember, The Ash - Consciousness Torn from the Void
Antimatter - What Do You Want Me to Do?
A.A. Williams - I’m Fine

First Impression - I see a ton of parallels to my own life in this story. It's almost eerie.

I like the way this starts with the song Wait. A moody and somber acoustic intro really sets the tone for the rest of the EP. I like the way this builds in intensity as it goes on. It also builds a sense of uncomfortable tension, but in the best possible way, if that makes sense. It never really gets overly bombastic, but then again, it doesn't need to. Just a great atmospheric opener. This leads nicely into In Our MInd. This song is a lot more immediate, but again keeps the somber atmosphere. Knowing Enshine a bit, I was worried how this would work following up Wait, but it's pretty much perfectly placed on the EP. This is one of those bands that has a very distinctive sound. With a mix of Atmospheric Death Metal and spacey doom metal they are easy to thoroughly enjoy. Then that guitar solo is just......sublime. Emotive and beautiful and sad all at the same time and an incredible way to end the song. Next is another band I am quite familiar with, Leprous with the song Nighttime Disguise. I just really like the way Leprous approaches songwriting. For a prog metal band they sure know how to let the music breathe and let everything feel important to the song without delving into technical wankery that could detract from the song. Then there's Einar's vocals, which have improved vastly with every album they've released and here they are in top form. The band has also pivoted on styles over the years, which I can appreciate, especially since I like all their albums quite a bit and this song and by extension the album feels like the segue into a new era for the band. Anyway, next up is Consciousness Torn from the Void. So this is an album that I have, but never got around to listening to. Guess I'll need to remedy that now, since this is basically straight up Puppies-core. Atmospheric Black Metal with a slight DSBM slant. I'll take that everyday. Kind of reminds me of a cross between Abigail Williams and Austere. I really like the way the tail end of the song brings the piano more to the forefront and then give way to choir vocals to end it. Also the bass is actually audible throughout this song and not only that you can actually make out what is being played....amazing! What Do You Want Me to Do? is next. This isn't nearly as exciting as the other Antimatter song you sent in the first? round, but it is effective in maintaining the mood of the EP. Not much else to really say about this song. Except there is a nice flute part! So we began with A.A. Williams, so we will finish with A.A. Williams. This song, I'm Fine, is once again somber and has that almost uncomfortable atmosphere. I mean the song almost hurts to listen to, and maybe that's just my state of mind lately after what happened in my life, but I love it! Go figure. I'm not sure if I wanted something more climactic to end this EP or not. The somberness (is that a word?) of the whole thing makes me feel like this is how it was supposed to end so, eh...
Song Score - 8.4/10

As far as the story goes, I had a tough time coming up with thoughts for this. It all hits a little too close to home for me. There are so many parallels to not only experiences in our lives, but also the way we approach things with other people. I was bullied when I was a kid, mostly in middle school. I also have a couple of bouts of unrequited love in my late teens and early twenties, one of which threw me for a complete loop, especially when she decided she wanted to be with me only after I started dated my now wife. That's a whole other long story.... Anyway, I also tend to approach situations like you do, wanting to fix everything for everyone around me and not understanding when people don't want to listen, because clearly my way is right (note: I'm only referring to myself here with that last bit ). Then realizing you can't fix everyone especially when they don't want to be fixed, so I just stopped. I was still a friend to people that needed it, but I stopped soliciting constant advice, instead just giving a listening ear. Then getting into dealing with a friends depression. I'm pretty sure I've told this story around here before, but I lost a dear friend who had severe depression when he took his own life about 7 years ago. This totally destroyed me for awhile because then I started second guessing myself, wondering if I had been more attentive, more forceful with my help, perhaps things would have turned out differently, perhaps he would still be here today... I mean we all knew he was battling depression and he was getting professional help, but could I have done more... So I can totally see where you are coming from throughout this whole story. Anyway this rant has probably gone on long enough. Long story short, I love the way this story is told and the lyrics behind it all and even the music, it all comes together perfectly, in my opinion. Plus it all feels like familiar ground to me, so I can relate very easily to it. Thanks for sharing and thanks for reading my rambling nonsense
Story Score - 10/10 +1 for bonus theme

You never seem to have a problem with flow and this EP is no exception. The way Wait and In Our Mind merge together is perfect and I like the way Leprous drops right in on top of Enshine. Going from Consciousness to Antimatter was great and then the transition to I'm Fine was brilliant. The only transition I thought could have perhaps been better was between Leprous and The Ember, The Ash. It wasn't bad by any means, but....I don't know, it just doesn't sound as polished as the rest. Perhaps I'm just looking for things to nitpick
Flow Score - 9.5/10

Total Score - 28.9/30

[ariich]

As far as the story goes, I had a tough time coming up with thoughts for this. It all hits a little too close to home for me. There are so many parallels to not only experiences in our lives, but also the way we approach things with other people. I was bullied when I was a kid, mostly in middle school. I also have a couple of bouts of unrequited love in my late teens and early twenties, one of which threw me for a complete loop, especially when she decided she wanted to be with me only after I started dated my now wife. That's a whole other long story.... Anyway, I also tend to approach situations like you do, wanting to fix everything for everyone around me and not understanding when people don't want to listen, because clearly my way is right (note: I'm only referring to myself here with that last bit ). Then realizing you can't fix everyone especially when they don't want to be fixed, so I just stopped. I was still a friend to people that needed it, but I stopped soliciting constant advice, instead just giving a listening ear. Then getting into dealing with a friends depression. I'm pretty sure I've told this story around here before, but I lost a dear friend who had severe depression when he took his own life about 7 years ago. This totally destroyed me for awhile because then I started second guessing myself, wondering if I had been more attentive, more forceful with my help, perhaps things would have turned out differently, perhaps he would still be here today... I mean we all knew he was battling depression and he was getting professional help, but could I have done more... So I can totally see where you are coming from throughout this whole story. Anyway this rant has probably gone on long enough. Long story short, I love the way this story is told and the lyrics behind it all and even the music, it all comes together perfectly, in my opinion. Plus it all feels like familiar ground to me, so I can relate very easily to it. Thanks for sharing and thanks for reading my rambling nonsense
Story Score - 10/10 +1 for bonus theme

Not rambling nonsense at all, thank you for sharing as well. I hadn't intended to bring back any difficult memories of your own (and was unaware of the parallels), and especially in the circumstances I hope it was a little more cathartic than it was painful.

And yeah don't worry, I can definitely relate to the "my way is right" feeling. Like, even though rationally I know our minds all work in different ways and it's not a case of being right or wrong, emotionally when you're actually in a situation like that it becomes difficult to fully relate to such a fundamentally different way of seeing the world. That's still the thing I struggle with and keep trying to work on.

You never seem to have a problem with flow and this EP is no exception. The way Wait and In Our Mind merge together is perfect and I like the way Leprous drops right in on top of Enshine. Going from Consciousness to Antimatter was great and then the transition to I'm Fine was brilliant. The only transition I thought could have perhaps been better was between Leprous and The Ember, The Ash. It wasn't bad by any means, but....I don't know, it just doesn't sound as polished as the rest. Perhaps I'm just looking for things to nitpick
Flow Score - 9.5/10

All completely fair and that doesn't feel nitpicky. Some songs naturally lend themselves to a good transition, others require work and sometimes I can't get them perfect. The first 2 transitions on this EP were relatively easy as the key and overall sound were complementary, it was just a case of timings and fading out at the right moment. The rest all needed some careful audio editing. The final 2 I think I nailed, but that one in the middle there was only so much I could do with.

As for the music, can't comment on everything but I'm glad you liked it all! To be clear, this version of Consciousness Torn From the Void doesn't come from the album of the same name, it actually comes from the follow-up album Fixation. The two versions are very similar, but I think the production is stronger in this version and it gives the song more emotional weight and intensity. Not sure what you'll think of the rest of the album as it also has some deathcore influences mixed in with the black metal, but I prefer it to the first one (I'd suggest giving both a listen!).

Oh and you're spot on about the uncomfortable tension in A.A. Williams' music. It's beautiful but despite being fairly simple, it's not what you'd call easy listening. And yeah, not ending on the climax but having 2 short sombre songs at the end wasn't the obvious way to finish the EP, but it was a conscious choice as it felt right for the flow and the narrative.

Anyway, onto the concept album to bring everything together! It's all ready to go, I just need to write the accompanying PM so it should be with you today.

[Deadeye21]

Whoa! Nice one ariich! I hope I do anywhere near as well as that.

[TAC]

Congrats Ariich!

Well that was a fun roulette.

 

[Crow]

yeah my concept album is probably gonna suck and blow so i imagine ariich has this in the bag

[ariich]

Maybe, but you're very capable of making excellent concept albums (as I know from my own roulettes), and I'm equally capable at ballsing things up at the last minute.

[Crow]

i only have a high level concept and like, a song or two picked out

i'll work on it this weekend, probably, we'll see idkkkk i'm not feeling super confident though 

[ariich]

i only have a high level concept and like, a song or two picked out

i'll work on it this weekend, probably, we'll see idkkkk i'm not feeling super confident though 

Well it's been a pleasure battling it out with you, regardless of who wins.










(watch us now both balls it up and lose to Chad)

[ariich]

I've realised that I never posted the links to my EP. I wasn't sure if I wanted to at first as it's fairly personal, but in light of what everyone's been sharing, and the fact that I only included things I was comfortable sharing with Pup anyway, it feels right to post it.

Void IV: Lessons in Despair

• The single mp3 file
• Google doc with story and full lyrics

And here are some excerpts from my PM to Chris which includes some explanation of this EP and also the other Void EPs.

Here we are with part 4. But first, an explainer of the series (so far...).

As you know, the void in each part has been something different - there was a black hole, the emptiness of space, and then a dimension between realities. As I imagine you've picked up, in each case, a part of the narrative has been about things not being as they seem - the black hole really being a simulation, Pioneer not realising its real mission, and the various levels of illusions in part 3.

The other thing that you may have picked up on, if I wasn't being too subtle, is that each void represents a different type of mental or emotional difficulty. In part 1 it was guilt, part 2 obsession, and in part 3 it was distrust/paranoia. In each case, it was this problem that was largely responsible for the detachment from reality.

In part 4, there is no metaphor this time - the void is anxiety and depression, and how they can distort reality for the people experiencing them.

-----

This is a very personal story about how my interactions with two people I'm very close to have over time completely changed my understanding of mental health (and by extension, how I see and treat people in general). For reasons I'm sure you'll understand, I haven't included all the details in my explanations of the story, but I've covered what I'm comfortable sharing. And you can get a good picture of additional detail from the lyrics to these songs, which more than any of the other EPs very directly and accurately describe what was going on.

[jingle.boy]

i only have a high level concept and like, a song or two picked out

i'll work on it this weekend, probably, we'll see idkkkk i'm not feeling super confident though 

Well it's been a pleasure battling it out with you, regardless of who wins.










(watch us now both balls it up and lose to Chad)

Pfft... you and Parama have such a lead, ain't no one catching either of you.  I'm just thrilled that my scores have been improving every round.  Twice in a row I gave the best song of the round.  Suck it!

Chris... I must say I'm incredibly (and pleasantly) surprised at that score.  I was also quite pleased with the Holding out for a Hero/Black Dog segment I put together.  Tip of the hat to Cheffy-Poo for making a suggested change to what I originally had.

Tim... legendary.

I've got my concept done (had it done before the hiatus), just need to finish writing the conclusion of the story.  I'm really not sure you want to read/hear it though.  I should be able to send/PM over the weekend.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

i only have a high level concept and like, a song or two picked out

i'll work on it this weekend, probably, we'll see idkkkk i'm not feeling super confident though 

Well it's been a pleasure battling it out with you, regardless of who wins.










(watch us now both balls it up and lose to Chad)

Pfft... you and Parama have such a lead, ain't no one catching either of you.  I'm just thrilled that my scores have been improving every round.  Twice in a row I gave the best song of the round.  Suck it!

Chris... I must say I'm incredibly (and pleasantly) surprised at that score.  I was also quite pleased with the Holding out for a Hero/Black Dog segment I put together.  Tip of the hat to Cheffy-Poo for making a suggested change to what I originally had.

Tim... legendary.

I've got my concept done (had it done before the hiatus), just need to finish writing the conclusion of the story.  I'm really not sure you want to read/hear it though.  I should be able to send/PM over the weekend.

I've gotta say I'm certainly glad you decided to join this roulette after having sat out my last one. Your submissions have definitely been enjoyable.



So, there isn't a huge rush on the final round submissions. I hope to have them all in before October 10th. I am going on vacation starting the 11th and would like to have everything ready to go, since I won't have access to my computer until I get back. I should be able to get a lot of listening in while I'm out of town, but I can't promise any submissions until I get back, which isn't until October 28th. I realize this is another month wait for final results, which is my fault for going on hiatus, because I originally planned on having this finished before I left on vacation.

I'll have the rest of the results by Friday, so that should give plenty of time for anyone who is waiting for results before starting their concept albums.

[Deadeye21]

Jesus. I haven’t even started, been bogged down in gig land recently.

What are the rules for the album again?

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Jesus. I haven’t even started, been bogged down in gig land recently.

What are the rules for the album again?

Check the opening post. It's all there.

[Deadeye21]

And we all qualify for this round, right? I’m still third from the bottom (counting active participants) and I know some roulettes are only the top few people. It does state you may make elminations and I’m pretty sure that means I’ll be defeated.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

And we all qualify for this round, right? I’m still third from the bottom (counting active participants) and I know some roulettes are only the top few people. It does state you may make elminations and I’m pretty sure that means I’ll be defeated.

I decided to keep everyone for the final round. I'm greedy for more music! 

[ariich]

This is not in my interest at all, but now that I've noticed it, my belief in honesty and fairness compels me to say that I think you've made a couple of errors in calculating Cyril's scores, meaning he should have been 0.8 points further ahead of me after round 3 and will therefore be 0.8 points closer to me after round 4. This assumes the results posts were correct of course.

The two issues are:
 - Round 2: seems you only added 1 of the bonus points and not the other. I make it that his round score should have been an even-more-incredible 30.8 rather than 29.8.
 - Round 3: in the results post you awarded him 26.2, but in the aggregated scores you've included it as 26.4.

So the net effect of these is that his total score after round 3 should have been 0.8 higher at 84.7 rather than 83.9.

(EDIT: For completeness, my scores seem to be completely correct)

[jingle.boy]

Inb4 Tim reminds everyone his scores are also too low.

Ethics:  Doing the right thing when no one is watching.     good on ya Rich

Chris... I'm glad I decided to play as well.  Though you might change your mind after this weekend.  You're gonna have a crap-ton of music to listen to - especially if it's not only me making use of the 2 hour limit.    End of October is entirely reasonable. You'll probably still finish before Deadeye

[Deadeye21]

End of October is entirely reasonable. You'll probably still finish before Deadeye

Well, yeah, probably. But I’m completing another round tomorrow.

[ariich]

Chris... I'm glad I decided to play as well.  Though you might change your mind after this weekend.  You're gonna have a crap-ton of music to listen to - especially if it's not only me making use of the 2 hour limit.   

As I've told you in my roulettes, it's not the size that counts.

2 hours is definitely too much IMO, but I appreciate Pup giving us the flexibility. Mine is coming in around 80 minutes.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Chris... I'm glad I decided to play as well.  Though you might change your mind after this weekend.  You're gonna have a crap-ton of music to listen to - especially if it's not only me making use of the 2 hour limit.

As long as you don't copy/paste the concept album you sent me a couple years ago, I think I'll be fine. 

This is not in my interest at all, but now that I've noticed it, my belief in honesty and fairness compels me to say that I think you've made a couple of errors in calculating Cyril's scores, meaning he should have been 0.8 points further ahead of me after round 3 and will therefore be 0.8 points closer to me after round 4. This assumes the results posts were correct of course.

The two issues are:
 - Round 2: seems you only added 1 of the bonus points and not the other. I make it that his round score should have been an even-more-incredible 30.8 rather than 29.8.
 - Round 3: in the results post you awarded him 26.2, but in the aggregated scores you've included it as 26.4.

So the net effect of these is that his total score after round 3 should have been 0.8 higher at 84.7 rather than 83.9.

(EDIT: For completeness, my scores seem to be completely correct)

Thanks Rich, I'll go back and thoroughly look at all the scores again and fix them.

[ariich]

And concept album SENT!

[TAC]

Inb4 Tim reminds everyone his scores are also too low.

It is a true honor that you are using your one post per week to bust my balls for the second week in a row. 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

And concept album SENT!

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Also, somewhat related, but managing my inbox here is a chore... I need a bigger inbox.

[wolfking]

I've had a c**t of a week, so I'm pretty much finished but will finalise it Saturday and send it through.  Not quite sure if it's wise sending it through to you Chris with what you're going through but I don't think there's any turning back now unfortunately.

[wolfking]

Inb4 Tim reminds everyone his scores are also too low.

It is a true honor that you are using your one post per week to bust my balls for the second week in a row. 

It's almost as if he stayed away on purpose to just surprise attack and zing you! 

[jingle.boy]

Inb4 Tim reminds everyone his scores are also too low.

It is a true honor that you are using your one post per week to bust my balls for the second week in a row. 

So you’re saying you missed, or ignored, the post where I called you a legend?

[TAC]

Inb4 Tim reminds everyone his scores are also too low.

It is a true honor that you are using your one post per week to bust my balls for the second week in a row. 

So you’re saying you missed, or ignored, the post where I called you a legend?

Now how could I ever ignore you??


I definitely missed it!

[King Postwhore]

Inb4 Tim reminds everyone his scores are also too low.

It is a true honor that you are using your one post per week to bust my balls for the second week in a row. 

It's almost as if he stayed away on purpose to just surprise attack and zing you! 

Well duh.  He waited all week in his man cave like a jaded young woman the day after 1st sex.  Waiting on that text.

[TAC]

Inb4 Tim reminds everyone his scores are also too low.

It is a true honor that you are using your one post per week to bust my balls for the second week in a row. 

It's almost as if he stayed away on purpose to just surprise attack and zing you! 

Well duh.  He waited all week in his man cave like a jaded young woman the day after 1st sex.  Waiting on that text.

[wolfking]

Inb4 Tim reminds everyone his scores are also too low.

It is a true honor that you are using your one post per week to bust my balls for the second week in a row. 

It's almost as if he stayed away on purpose to just surprise attack and zing you! 

Well duh.  He waited all week in his man cave like a jaded young woman the day after 1st sex.  Waiting on that text.

Makes sense hey. 

[King Postwhore]

Search your feelings. You know it to be true. 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Search your feelings. You know it to be true. 

Tim doesn't know what this is from...

[King Postwhore]

Hard to know when you've been in your Dahmer cave for 2 decades.