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

[TAC]

Yeah, that's what the meant old man. Get with the times!

[King Postwhore]

Yeah, that's what the meant old man. Get with the times!

It's a race these days.  I win!

[Deadeye21]

Aw crap, I’m gonna be dang and it’s a disapproving dang

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Here's the updated list 

- Dang
Kingshmegland - This starts off way better than it ends
Ariich - This is quite ambitious, not sure if it all works just yet
Wolfking - You went from to over the course of 3 rounds
Vmadera - This feels really unbalanced stylistically and song quality wise
TAC - There are some cool things going on, but some terrible vocals
Cyril - I think I'm going to have a hard time getting past one song here
- This probably contains the most unexpected song I've received so far this roulette
Deadeye - Outside of a couple songs, this was actually more enjoyable than I was anticipating

[Deadeye21]

Well, that’s better than I thought it was going to be.

Still, how many times have I said I believe this one is crap? At least it’s gonna be better than my personal story. I can’t actually put my story out in songs that have already been written.

[TAC]

- Dang

- This probably contains the most unexpected song I've received so far this roulette

The first one is Chad...or Elite

The second one is Elite...or Chad

[Deadeye21]

But what about Chad’s? Or Elite’s, for that matter!

[King Postwhore]

Dang.

Oops.

[Elite]

Did I send an unexpected song?

Well, I did guess I have the unexpected song, but if it’s not that, then it’s ‘Dang’

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Here's the answers y'all been looking for

Jingle - Dang
Kingshmegland - This starts off way better than it ends
Ariich - This is quite ambitious, not sure if it all works just yet
Wolfking - You went from to over the course of 3 rounds
Vmadera - This feels really unbalanced stylistically and song quality wise
TAC - There are some cool things going on, but some terrible vocals
Cyril - I think I'm going to have a hard time getting past one song here
Elite - This probably contains the most unexpected song I've received so far this roulette
Deadeye - Outside of a couple songs, this was actually more enjoyable than I was anticipating

I should start dropping results tomorrow. So keeping with the schedule, I should have all results out by Monday/Tuesday. Which means all round 4 submissions should be in by Saturday the 13th.

[jingle.boy]

Here's the answers y'all been looking for

Jingle - Dang

Can't say that I'm surprised.  Although, I'm sure it's more to do with the story.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Here's the answers y'all been looking for

Jingle - Dang

Can't say that I'm surprised.  Although, I'm sure it's more to do with the story.

Stick around and find out!

I'm doing one last listen through of all the EP's (only a couple more to go), then I will start my writeups. I do these while listening to the EP's in question and like to pause/rewind/relisten to various sections to really dive deep into the nuances of each EP.

[TAC]

Here's the answers y'all been looking for

Jingle - Dang

Can't say that I'm surprised.  Although, I'm sure it's more to do with the story.

I think it's more like Dang bro that was awesome!

28.5/30

[Elite]

Elite - This probably contains the most unexpected song I've received so far this roulette

Fun thing is I don’t think it’s the UneXpect song on my EP you’re referring to

[Crow]

...i just noticed that 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Elite - This probably contains the most unexpected song I've received so far this roulette

Fun thing is I don’t think it’s the UneXpect song on my EP you’re referring to

Finally someone saw that connection  And you would be correct.

[Elite]

Well uh, I saw it when I posted my initial guess!
I’m also pretty sure I do know what song you’re referring to.

[TAC]

So, I thought I was done with my concept album. I was formatting my PM's and was in the process of transferring some of the lyrics for each song. But on the second half, the more I looked at the lyrics of one song, it was saying the exact opposite that I wanted to say in the story despite the song's title. I decided I couldn't use it.
I found a song to sub it out with, but then I didn't like the order, as the lyrics were misplaced in relation to the following track. So I basically scrapped my whole second half. Deleted two songs, one I wasn't crazy about, and one I didn't think Puppies would like anyway, plus an outro piece, and re-edited my second half.

Ugh.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

So, I thought I was done with my concept album. I was formatting my PM's and was in the process of transferring some of the lyrics for each song. But on the second half, the more I looked at the lyrics of one song, it was saying the exact opposite that I wanted to say in the story despite the song's title. I decided I couldn't use it.
I found a song to sub it out with, but then I didn't like the order, as the lyrics were misplaced in relation to the following track. So I basically scrapped my whole second half. Deleted two songs, one I wasn't crazy about, and one I didn't think Puppies would like anyway, plus an outro piece, and re-edited my second half.

Ugh.

I feel your frustration. Pretty much every time I make a concept album for a roulette I end up scrapping the whole thing a couple times and restarting. Or scrapping entire sections or changing the order of songs, etc etc. I still have a ton of fun doing it though. I still have several rough drafts of unsent concept albums that I made for Cyril and Ariich and possibly some other roulettes.

[Crow]

doing it in 1-2 hours really helps prevent you from overthinking things, evidently 
idk this roulette isn't a life or death thing for me and i have a frankly absurd amount of music i could share so i'm just, going with whatever comes to mind and making it work

[TAC]

It came together pretty quickly once I had a direction. Like I said, I realized the lyrics of one song wasn't going to fit, so I spent some time tonight fixing the second half.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

First result finally finished. It's been a crazy day and I didn't get nearly as much done on this as I would have liked, but anyhow....



TAC - Secret of the Butterfly

Bare Infinity - The Butterfly Raiser
Circle Of Silence - The Chosen One
Byzantine - The Cicada Tree
Pythia - Spirits Of The Trees
Behemoth - A Forest
In The Woods - Weeping Willow

First Impressions - There are some cool things going on, but some terrible vocals

Alrighty, starting this EP off with some Folky Power/Prog Symphonic Metal, Bare Infinity's The Butterfly Raiser. Give me a minute and I might be able to add a few more descriptive words in there This is a nice catchy and melodic song with probably the best vocals on this EP. I believe you also sent me a song from this album in my first roulette, In Desertis I believe. I remember really liking that song and I really like this one as well. Next is The Chosen One. Here vocals take a pretty big dive in quality. They aren't bad here, but aren't great. The song is fairly standard Power Metal fare. There's some fairly fast and aggressive riffs throughout the song, but they seem a little monotonous and lacking in creativity. Same could be said for the guitar solo, although to a lesser extent. The song as a whole just doesn't do enough to stand out in on this EP, let alone in the genre of Power Metal. Again, the song isn't bad, just not great. The Cicada Tree is next and brings a bit more variety back, this time with a more groove laden thrash sound. There's a lot to like about this song. The vocals even take a tick back up in quality here. Nothing super crazy technical or anything, but much more pleasing and working better for the song. There are some cool contrasts in this song, especially switching back and forth between the distorted guitar attack and the acoustic stuff. The riffs here are quite a bit more adventurous than the previous song as well. Overall the song has a cool arrangement and keeps me interested the whole way through, definitely the highlight of the EP for me. Now we get to one of the more divisive tracks you've sent me, Spirits of the Trees. I have so many problems with the vocals here. She either sounds flat or sharp. Her choice of notes and vocal melodies are baffling to me. I don't like it. She can definitely sing, but she needs someone to give her some guidance/direction. She feels like a loose canon in this song. Now the instrumentation here is a very different story. The guitar attack is quite well executed, with some awesome solo trade-offs and great riffs. The drummer is competent and serves the song and the subtle keyboards add a bit of atmosphere. After this we have A Forest by Behemoth. So, I've never really cared for Behemoth. I don't really like their schtik and the vocals here are just not good. I mean, you know me, I like a lot of different types of harsh vocals, but these here are just bad. Then there is the biggest problem, this is a cover of one of my favorite songs by The Cure......and they ruined it. It's not all bad. The instrumentation is fairly well executed throughout most of the song, so there's that.... Lastly we have another band I'm familiar with, but like a lot more, In the Woods.....with Weeping Willow. This song does a great job of blending atmosphere with distorted guitars and building upon it throughout the song. I really like the use of keyboards in this song. Overall song quality was a bit hit and miss, the misses generally attributed to bad vocals.
Song Score - 7.7/10

The story here is actually quite unique and interesting. I like the use of The Butterfly Raiser to set the stage and then tell the story through the conflict between the Cicada Man and the Elders of the forest. Then Weeping Willow works kind of like an epilogue to the story. The story actually takes on a bit of a dream-like quality and I could see this as a part of a much larger story/world, something that could be built upon. If I could make one critique it would be, the lyrics do feel a tiny bit out of place in The Cicada Tree, but nothing egregious. Overall I think this was my favorite story from you so far.
Story Score - 9/10 +1 for bonus theme

Flow-wise this was also your best effort so far. The slight pause between the first 2 songs was perfect and made sense. The transition between The Chosen One and The Cicada Tree works quite well. I especially want to point out the transition into Spirits of the Trees. At first I didn't like it at all and was going to lambast you for it but as I kept listening to the EP I either fell in love with the way it fades together or I got Stockholm Syndromed.... Either way great job! The only criticism I can lay against the EP is Weeping Willow being noticeably quieter than the rest of the EP. Other than that, it was an enjoyable listen. Although I feel like you won't be happier with anything but a 10/10 in flow, you will have to settle
Flow Score - 9/10

Overall Score - 26.7/30

[jingle.boy]

Nice!  That Bare Infinity album is most excellent.  TAC, you got a Spotify link to the playlist by any chance (I don't necessarily need the edits and what not).  If not, I can build it on my own.

[TAC]

Sent it all over to you.

[King Postwhore]

Nice score Tim!

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Wolfking - Hercules and the Gods of Violence

1. Kreator - Gods of Violence (0:00)
2. Morbid Angel - God of Emptiness (5:45)
3. Sepultura - Slave New World (11:06)
4. Amon Amarth - Deceiver of the Gods (13:54)
5. Virgin Steele - A Token of My Hatred (17:47)
6. Dream Evil - Into the Moonlight (23:42)
7. Dream Evil - In Flames You Burn (27:59)
8. Virgin Steele - The Burning of Rome (Cry for Pompeii) (32:29)

First Impression - You went from to over the course of 3 rounds

Starting off with Kreator, a band I haven't listened to in over 10 years. Not really sure why, just kind of forgot about them. Anyway, Gods of Violence doesn't really sounds like the Kreator I remember. It's definitely metal though Good headbanging song with some super slick riffing and tremolo picking. Even some great dueling and harmonizing guitar leads. I've never been a big fan of MiIle's vocals but they aren't a distraction here. Next is God of Emptiness. Now, I've never really cared for much of Morbid Angel and this song doesn't really change that. Also, as an aside, there's something wrong with the copy of this song you used. There are weird volume dips throughout the song. I went and checked the track on Tidal just to make sure and it doesn't have the same issues. Anyway, it made the track hard to listen to when going through the EP. At any rate, I've also kind felt like of all the Death Metal bands that came out of the '80s, Death was the premiere act and all the others were second rate. Next up, Slave New World, and I'm familiar with this album and love the song Territory. This song feels very much in the same vein as Territory, with crushing riffs and interesting drumming that stay interesting throughout. Then we jump straight into Death Metal's most consistent band (read: most boring ) Amon Amarth. I guess what I really mean is, you only need one album by Amon Amarth....Anyways, Deceiver of the Gods is a decent Death Metal song. That's about all I can say about it. Now is when we get to the A Token of My Hatred and Virgin Steele in general is a hard band to pin down. I've never listened to them before and I'm not sure if I like them or not. This song is filled with cheese though, perhaps too much. The vocalist here sounds like he is trying to be Blackie Lawless, but failing miserably at it. I will say the music on this song is quite good with some great solos and riffs. I also like how the bass is actually audible here. I just think the vocals bring this down a couple ticks. Next we get two songs from a band I accidentally stumbled upon when looking for Dream Theater stuff many years ago. I always thought the band looked ridiculous so never really gave them a listen outside of a song or two, I don't really remember now. There is definitely some high level cheese going on in both of these songs, while also remaining pretty heavy thanks to the riffing and guitar tone. Vocals are good and have the right amount of cheese for a good Power Metal song. The guitar solos are also entertaining, if a little on the short side. Lastly we get to The Burning of Rome, and what a way to end this EP! This song takes everything great about the other Virgin Steele song here and dials it up to 11. Even the vocals are better here. It just sounds like a great classic '80s metal song. Great melodies, great hooks, great guitar solos, epically cheesy! I guess I will have to look into this band further...
Song Score - 7.5/10

So like the songs, the story here gets equally cheesier as it goes on, but what fantasy story isn't infused with a healthy dose of cheese. I like the idea of taking figures from Greek mythology and making your own story. I don't know how plausible this story would be within established Greek mythology, but that doesn't really matter. I like the creativity, even if I think the story could use a little more work. For instance, the last 4 songs work much better for the story than the first 4, in my opinion. All in all, not a bad story, but easily my least favorite of the 3 EPs you have sent so far.
Story Score - 7/10 +1 for bonus theme

The flow works fairly well throughout. A couple of the transitions in the first half I wasn't too crazy about, but they seemingly got better as it progressed. There's also the weird issue with the Morbid Angel song. Although I don't think I can hold that against you too much, but I would look at the files you used for that song/album, there's probably something wrong with them. Also, I never even noticed the section you took out of A Token of My Hatred or that you chopped off the intro to Deceiver of the Gods, so hats off to you there. Overall not bad.
Flow Score - 7.8/10

Overall Score - 23.3/30

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Almost forgot to add the album art in. Edited above.

[jingle.boy]

Virgin Steele and Dream Evil are both equally .  No about it.

[TAC]

TAC - Secret of the Butterfly

First Impressions - There are some cool things going on, but some terrible vocals

Alrighty, starting this EP off with some Folky Power/Prog Symphonic Metal, Bare Infinity's The Butterfly Raiser. Give me a minute and I might be able to add a few more descriptive words in there This is a nice catchy and melodic song with probably the best vocals on this EP. I believe you also sent me a song from this album in my first roulette, In Desertis I believe. I remember really liking that song and I really like this one as well. Next is The Chosen One. Here vocals take a pretty big dive in quality. They aren't bad here, but aren't great. The song is fairly standard Power Metal fare. There's some fairly fast and aggressive riffs throughout the song, but they seem a little monotonous and lacking in creativity. Same could be said for the guitar solo, although to a lesser extent. The song as a whole just doesn't do enough to stand out in on this EP, let alone in the genre of Power Metal. Again, the song isn't bad, just not great. The Cicada Tree is next and brings a bit more variety back, this time with a more groove laden thrash sound. There's a lot to like about this song. The vocals even take a tick back up in quality here. Nothing super crazy technical or anything, but much more pleasing and working better for the song. There are some cool contrasts in this song, especially switching back and forth between the distorted guitar attack and the acoustic stuff. The riffs here are quite a bit more adventurous than the previous song as well. Overall the song has a cool arrangement and keeps me interested the whole way through, definitely the highlight of the EP for me. Now we get to one of the more divisive tracks you've sent me, Spirits of the Trees. I have so many problems with the vocals here. She either sounds flat or sharp. Her choice of notes and vocal melodies are baffling to me. I don't like it. She can definitely sing, but she needs someone to give her some guidance/direction. She feels like a loose canon in this song. Now the instrumentation here is a very different story. The guitar attack is quite well executed, with some awesome solo trade-offs and great riffs. The drummer is competent and serves the song and the subtle keyboards add a bit of atmosphere. After this we have A Forest by Behemoth. So, I've never really cared for Behemoth. I don't really like their schtik and the vocals here are just not good. I mean, you know me, I like a lot of different types of harsh vocals, but these here are just bad. Then there is the biggest problem, this is a cover of one of my favorite songs by The Cure......and they ruined it. It's not all bad. The instrumentation is fairly well executed throughout most of the song, so there's that.... Lastly we have another band I'm familiar with, but like a lot more, In the Woods.....with Weeping Willow. This song does a great job of blending atmosphere with distorted guitars and building upon it throughout the song. I really like the use of keyboards in this song. Overall song quality was a bit hit and miss, the misses generally attributed to bad vocals.
Song Score - 7.7/10

The story here is actually quite unique and interesting. I like the use of The Butterfly Raiser to set the stage and then tell the story through the conflict between the Cicada Man and the Elders of the forest. Then Weeping Willow works kind of like an epilogue to the story. The story actually takes on a bit of a dream-like quality and I could see this as a part of a much larger story/world, something that could be built upon. If I could make one critique it would be, the lyrics do feel a tiny bit out of place in The Cicada Tree, but nothing egregious. Overall I think this was my favorite story from you so far.
Story Score - 9/10 +1 for bonus theme

Flow-wise this was also your best effort so far. The slight pause between the first 2 songs was perfect and made sense. The transition between The Chosen One and The Cicada Tree works quite well. I especially want to point out the transition into Spirits of the Trees. At first I didn't like it at all and was going to lambast you for it but as I kept listening to the EP I either fell in love with the way it fades together or I got Stockholm Syndromed.... Either way great job! The only criticism I can lay against the EP is Weeping Willow being noticeably quieter than the rest of the EP. Other than that, it was an enjoyable listen. Although I feel like you won't be happier with anything but a 10/10 in flow, you will have to settle
Flow Score - 9/10

Overall Score - 26.7/30

OK... First off, I'm glad you liked the story. I was actually quite fond of it myself. I really struggled to create a Fantasy styled story AND find the songs to tell it. You are kind of right about The Cicada Tree lyrics. It's just that I really liked the song and wanted it on my EP. My idea to support its inclusion was when I decided The Man would steal the wings of the Cicada and try and pass them off as the Butterfly's wings.

For some reason I thought you liked Behemoth. Didn't you send them to me before? Anyway, I loved how the song represented The Man's demise, with The Forest working in concert with The Elders.


You have my Personal EP. Grab some kleenex as it is quite personal and revealing.

[wolfking]

Meh, average score.  I have no idea what you mean with the volume dips in the MA song.  I did increase the volume for that song but not quite sure where the dips are coming from.

The goal also was for the songs to get a bit cheesier and positive as it went on to reflect the shift from evil taking over to the hero conquering.

I thought with the story each of the first four songs were just as reflected as the last batch but fair enough.

[TAC]

Hey Pup, where do you stand on Nirvana?

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Hey Pup, where do you stand on Nirvana?

The Hindu/Buddhist state of enlightenment or the band?

[TAC]

Hey Pup, where do you stand on Nirvana?

The Hindu/Buddhist state of enlightenment or the band?

 


Er...the band.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Hey Pup, where do you stand on Nirvana?

The Hindu/Buddhist state of enlightenment or the band?

 


Er...the band.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Ariich - Void III: And You Won't Fear the World Anymore

1. 00:00 - 00:18 | Drudkh - Listening to the Silence
2. 00:18 - 08:05 | Kaipa - World of the Void
3. 08:05 - 15:02 | Pendragon - Masters of Illusion (first part)
4. 15:02 - 22:18 | Kapia - In the Wake of Evolution (first part)
5. 22:18 - 31:15 | Arena - The Butterfly Man
6. 31:15 - 34:22 | Kapia - In the Wake of Evolution (second part)
7. 34:22 - 39:28 | Pendragon - Masters of Illusion (second part)

First Impression - This is quite ambitious, not sure if it all works just yet.

OK, the first track, Listening to the Silence, is just a (very) short intro piece used as ambience (more on this later), so let's skip it for now. We really get started with World of the Void. Kaipa has been one of those bands that I've always meant to explore further and at the same time they are very polarizing for me, from what I have heard. This song is actually pretty great. I love the great lead guitar used throughout the entire song. Also the song is allowed to breathe and isn't overwhelmed with too much going on musically or vocally. I think a lot of what I like in these more recent Kaipa songs is the combination of the rhythm section of Jonas Reingold and Morgan Ågren along with the amazing guitar work of Per Nilsson. Those are 3 musicians that I really enjoy in everything they do. Moving on to Masters of Illusion. This is a song I am very familiar with, I mean, The Masquerade Overture is my favorite Pendragon album. Clive Nolan and Nick Barrett is one of those musical pairings that is as good as gold....(ha, see what I did there ) Great synth work is a must for this style of Neo-Prog and this song has it in spades. The various change ups in this song are fun as well. In the Wake of Evolution is another "new era" Kaipa song. Similar in style to World of the Void, but playing a very different role here. The guitar playing on this song in particular is absolutely brilliant. Per Nilsson knows how to write a good guitar melody and make it sound interesting. And the trade offs between the guitar and keyboards are tasteful. Like the other Kaipa song, I like the fact that the band lets the music do most of the talking here. Next up we have The Butterfly Man. This is what I consider the centerpiece of this EP and what ties the whole thing together, not only musically, but thematically (more on this later). I love this song, as to be expected, since it comes from a 5* album. I mean it's Clive Nolan again, this time with John Mitchell, which might be an even better pairing that with Nick Barrett. Plus the vocal work of Rob Sowden on this song (and the whole album really) is brilliant! I love his voice. Also it still baffles me that Marillion basically fired Mick Pointer. He is a great drummer, with very tasty fills here. The dramatic and dark atmosphere here also works extremely well for the EP and works as a great counterpoint to the rest of the songs here. We then finish off the EP with the second halves of In the Wake of Evolution and Masters of Illusion.....see above Although I do want to say you structured this EP so it would end with one of the most epic guitar solos ever. That is all.... Overall this is the best batch of songs you've sent so far.
Song Score - 9/10

I love the story-telling here and I like the way you split up In the Wake of Evolution and Masters of Illusion to give the whole EP a more cinematic feel. And plopping The Butterfly Man right in between the two halves of those songs was also brilliantly done. I like the way you tell the story of a conflict between two different people, not realizing there is no need for the conflict because there is an unseen outside force influencing and orchestrating everything. The 2 people eventually overcome the evil, but it's kind of a bittersweet victory. Most of the best told stories out there are of the bittersweet nature. The attention to detail between story and lyrics is actually pretty inspiring too. This is much more comparable to your Void I story as far as quality goes.
Story Score - 9/10 +1 for bonus theme

The flow part of this was the ambitious part I was referring to in my first impression. I wasn't sure if I liked the way it all came together at first, what with splitting two of the tracks up and putting another in between. I found that I came to enjoy it very much, however I'm still not completely sold on the part that you reversed leading into the second half of In Wake of Evolution. It's not like it was done clumsily or anything, I'm just not fond of reversed bits in music. That's more of a tastes thing (read: a me problem). Other than that all the other little edits you made were very well done. Even the usage of a tiny part of a Drudkh song in the beginning was kind of a brilliant move and one that paid off to start the EP. I mean, you even worked the title of that track into the story. Overall, definitely your most ambitious EP yet, and that ambition, I think, paid off.
Flow Score - 9.6/10

Overall Score - 28.6/30