Round 7 ResultsRound 7 PlaylistDacul: Squid – Siphon SongSee, I hear these guys mentioned in the same conversation as Black Country New Road a lot, so I assumed they sounded something like BCNR’s first album, and didn’t check them out ‘cause I wasn’t wild for that first album, but… at least as far as this song is concerned… it’s not, really… that… or much of anything, if I’m being honest? Not that it’s bad, but it’s the least… song, here.
I look at the album’s tags on RYM and I see… none of that, here, really. What I hear is a kind of languid, downtempo rock tune, that’s more post-rock than anything, and like… hell, if even one or two of those tags applied, maybe I’d find this a lot more interesting? It’s a slow groove with a slow burn and it does get some cool louder moments towards the end, there’s nothing unpleasant or inoffensive here, there’s just… not a lot happening!
I do enjoy this song because I’m, y’know, fine with post-rock, not something I seek out but not something I tend to be averse to either. It’s solid as background music. The lyrics are… completely incomprehensible to me, so I don’t really get anything out of it on that front. I like the roaring guitar textures, I see the, like, ingredients for a more interesting song here, but I’m mostly just left disappointed.
6.5/10King: The Fierce & the Dead – Shake the JarOf your previous submissions, this is probably most comparable to Stabbing Westward… in that I feel like I could get a dozen versions of this song just by turning on rock radio. Like, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it, it’s a fun enough upbeat rocker with some solid guitar work, but like… yup, it sure is a song alright.
Like, I think the big thing is that there’s no intrigue, there’s no ambition, there’s no emotional resonance to it… it just doesn’t have a ton of character! It’s a fun listen, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just one of the least special songs in a fairly stacked round, is all. And it, doesn’t really give me a ton to say about it either beyond, yeah, cool I guess!
6.5/10Vmadera: Avenged Sevenfold – G
Okay, The Funny aside and despite this being this low in the round I do still dig this one? It’s A7X doing a very obvious classic & prog rock homage – in particular, I hear a LOT of Edgar Winter’s Frankenstein in this – but, between the very DT-esque organ freakouts, the groovy riffs, and the very off-kilter chorus… it’s melodically pretty fascinating, honestly, I did quite like this… on first listen.
On second listen onwards it became pretty obvious… oh my god this is lame as hell. Like, the big issue is that this is an A7X song that tries to have swagger… which is about the last thing I’d want from this band. Grand and epic are their specialties – more on that later – and the concept itself is cheesy as hell, man. Not helped by the stupid crypto lingo in the last line, but, whatever.
Like, despite that it does still kinda land for me on riffs and groove alone, though it obviously being part of a larger suite – which, for the record, I would’ve accepted as a full submission, see King Gizzard last round
– does mean it also just, stops, at the end… I dunno, feeling very mixed on this one but more positive than not, so!
7/10Seneca: Ben Howard – Days of LantanaNope, I didn’t get much else by going over the lyrics. Maybe if I did it with a fine-toothed comb I’d better understand, like… what the song’s going for but I’unno, this song doesn’t really feel like it’s worth putting in the work for. It’s very… pleasant, for sure, I enjoy listening to it, the melodies throughout especially I quite like, reminds me of similarly mellow tunes from the earlier rounds.
But beyond that, there’s just… not a ton here? I think it either needed to have a bit more movement or be a bit shorter – I feel like I’m listening to the same ideas for four minutes straight, and it doesn’t really even build to much other than riding on its vibes, so… I do like this, it’s very relaxing and chill, but that’s about as deep as it goes for me.
7/10Stadler: Gov't Mule ft. Billy Bob Thornton – The River Only Flows One WayYeah, I suppose it’s not too surprising that a song like this would be born from the ashes (?) of the Allman Brothers Band because this has a ton in common with your round 5 submission – a long jam that probably works better as background music than active listening but still has enough going on that it’s a pretty solid listen either way.
Like, I dig the smoky, menacing atmosphere, the instrumentation is pretty eclectic, there’s a lot of neat little sound tricks that sell its atmosphere, it sounds loose but when you really listen to hear it there’s just, so many small details crammed into practically every second of this, it’s very delicately crafted.
My only real hangup is that… I dunno, something about this atmosphere, this sound, paired with these lyrics that doesn’t quite sit right with me, feels a biiiit uncomfortable, but ehh, it’s not really a huge hangup, and the tune itself is a smooth enough listen that I can’t really be too bothered. It’s chill ‘n’ cool, even if it could’ve maaaaybe served to be a bit shorter.
7/10HOF: Stefano Panunzi – You and IOkay, so on first listen, I heard more than a few style comparisons to David Bowie’s Blackstar on this, between the vocal style, the brass & woodwinds, the bass groove, the synthy atmosphere… and on further listens, no I don’t hear it at all. I’m not sure where that first impression came from. I mean, those things are all elements I like, and they add up to a pretty enjoyable song, but…
…I dunno, with this kind of song, I really need some kind of emotional connection for it to really land with me, and this one just doesn’t quite -hit-, y’know? It’s, again, very pleasant to listen to, but it all kinda washes over me without really leaving much of an impact, either in terms of sticking in my head or getting me to really feel something.
It does have solid build, it has lush instrumentation, I think by the end I do start feeling it a decent bit, and I like it more than the songs below it here, but beyond that… yeah, just pretty Nice™. I dunno, it’s borderline. I feel like if I’m underrating any song this round it’s this one but it juuuust barely doesn’t go far enough for me.
7/10TAC: Harboured – Far BarrenJohn Blackmetal strikes again! That’s it, that’s all I have to say, onto the next writeup.
…okay, I kid, I kid, there is a bit more going on here than, say, Harakiri for the Sky or Pure Wrath, a bit of a progressive edge to this one, even if it’s not super pronounced, and the guitar tones, the balanced mix, the intensity, these are all things I like in this genre! And it’s a genre I do like, just, again, not one I’m particularly interested in right now!
It also doesn’t help that it’s, on all fronts, kind of… middling. It’s got good guitar tones, but not quite the spacey, ethereal sound that I’m looking for, and it’s uptempo, but in a kind of, uhh, thrashy way? It’s not thrash metal, or death metal, but the drums follow the same patterns of those genres as much as they go into black metal blastbeats. And it’s got some ambition to it, but not, a ton?
I dunno, I feel weird about this one because it’s one of the songs that interests me the least this round. It’s just. Very much what it is. It easily fades into the background, I don’t think it’s ever held my attention all the way through on any of my listens, but it’s always at least enjoyable, so!
7.5/10Puppies: Ché Aimee Dorval – LovelessI love Casualties of Cool, we all know that, and I have checked out some of Ché’s albums before but I was never wowed. I remember them being… a lot more mellow and stripped down than this, though. I think I prefer it this way. It’s got a cool blend of organic and synthetic elements where it kinda sits comfortably in the middle of both, it’s got a solid build and payoff, and by god can Ché sing.
That being said… actually, that’s about all I have to say about it, honestly. I feel like this
should hit that next level for me but it… never quite does? I feel it to some extent, but it never quite wows me and I never have many thoughts about it beyond “yeah, cool tune!” To my ears it’s obviously better than some of the lower-ranked songs this round, but it’s also not doing enough for me that I’d wanna check out the album, basically. The perfect 7.5.
7.5/10Buddy: Mutoid Man – Call of the VoidYeah, surprise, the band that worked once before is gonna work a second time, funny how that works. I think we need some kinda derogatory term to call this specific brand of techy, headstrong metal. Butt rock is what we call its lighter cousin but “butt metal” doesn’t have the same ring to it. Maybe armpit metal because it makes you sweaty listening to it? I don’t know where I’m going with this.
Anyways what I appreciate most about this is that even beyond the technicality this actually has a pretty strong hook, even if the vocals themselves don’t… quite deliver it all that amazingly. I dunno, I tend to compare this band to Baroness and Mastodon but the vocals are definitely not up to par with those bands. And I’m not wild about all the harmonics in the main riff, but thaaaat’s a nitpick and I at least respect the energy.
I dunno, it’s a fun rocker and not much more, with enough flashy guitar work that it appeals to the primal part of my brain, but I think, unfortunately for you, another song in this round did that just a bit better and made this one look like the little brother in comparison. But I mean, it’s still pretty cool, so!
7.5/10Lonestar: Gacharic Spin – ReplicaGirls rock! Wooo! Now that that’s out of the way, yeah, this goes pretty hard
Tons of energy here, in the vocals, the guitars, the drums, and – especially, yes – the bass, jesus christ! There’s a light pop/electronic edge undercutting this too but it’s mooostly grounded in the rock instruments and I prefer it that way.
If I had any one gripe it’s that… the chorus is very wordy and as such a strong melody doesn’t really develop out of it, the hook’s not very strong! Feels like it should be this powerful moment of catharsis – especially after the really awesome buildup to the last chorus with all the girls hitting a sick triplet flow as the instruments rise and swell – but then it kinda anticlimaxes and leaves me a liiiittle cold. But like… I dunno, still a hell of a ride even if the destination doesn’t blow me away! It’s just a cool tune.
7.5/10Litho: Dirt Poor Robins – To the HeightsRealized I probably got a different impression of this band because I’ve heard The Last Days of Leviathan before which is like this folky prog rock opera thingy? I think? This is not that. This is synthpop
And it’s one of the more “yeah, cool!” synthpop grooves of the roulette, in that I don’t
particularly love it, but it’s still a good bit of fun! Like, slightly less than Fou, I think, so it gets basically the same placement and score.
I feel like the lyrics are kinda trying to conflate two different things (climate crisis & cheesy 1984-ish political commentary) that don’t really go together and aren’t really landing for me, but I don’t know if I really care that much when the music itself is a jam. Not the jammiest of jams as far as this roulette goes, or this round goes, even, but still pretty damn catchy and fun!
7.5/10Ariich: Kyros – The End in MindOne of my most annoying quirks is that I really like prog metal, but I’ve never been wild for prog
rock, which is definitely what Kyros are playing here. There’s a lot of moving parts to this, lots of little moments and weird detours wrapped around a pretty solid hook and a solid level of groove, but because it doesn’t have the TEETH that prog metal does, my brain ends up merely
liking it instead of
loving it. I fully recognize this is a “me” thing
Of your submissions this is probably closest to Bend Sinister – a pileup of smaller moments that add up over time, even if it a lot of the individual moments get lost in the shuffle in the handful of listens I have allotted for these songs. And much like the Bend Sinister song – which I must remind was a round winner – I feel like I’m gonna forget what this sounds like unless I get a chance to really sit with this album.
And yeah, the vocals are… not quite my preference, but they’re solid enough? She’s really goin’ for it, anyways. The general fidelity of the track is a bit muddy for my prefs, too, but enough elements punch through sharp enough that it’s not a huuuge issue? This does overall have a big “early 90’s DT except a little less heavy” vibe to it that would’ve probably appealed to me more ten years ago, but even now it’s still pretty cool, yeah!
7.5/10Reaper: Fractures – StrangersIf the Dirt Poor Robins song is the bouncier, upbeat side of synthpop, then this is the colder, almost gothic side, synthwave-leaning even, and I think that it hits the right balance where it doesn’t go
too in that direction so as to lose its appeal for me, but far enough that it still brings along the spooky undercurrents alongside its groove.
I get the vibe that it’s lyrically a very post-quarantine-y song about isolation which, yeah, true. I dunno if I quite feel it on that level, but the tune itself is good enough that I don’t really care – stronger groove and cooler sound than Dirt Poor Robins, anyways, all it really lacks to make it a smash for me is a strong hook! Which is a surprisingly common problem in this round. Anyways yeah it’s a pretty straightforward but really cool tune, I’m all here for it.
7.5/10Faizoff: Sarmat – Formed From FilthIt’s very funny that a relatively obscure tech death record is the only one here I’ve listened to before, but it’s an I Voidhanger release so of course I have
Weird tech death on one of the coolest black metal labels, of course I’m curious. But it’s also… a lot
Not the kind of aggression and chaos I’d want kept up for 35 straight minutes, which is what I remember the album itself being. A song or two, though? Yeah, super cool.
Like, it’s easy to compare this to Mutoid Man bcuz they both have a lot of similar, noodly guitar work, but this firmly establishes itself as tech death – and even has that prettier, jazzy midsection to break up the flow, too. It shakes itself up a bit more, has a lot of meat on its bones, and I’m always partial to this kind of unapologetically dissonant guitar weedling that still has its own sense of melody despite it all.
Like… yeah the production is a little messy for my tastes, but that does at least keep it from sounding overly polished and robotic, and it’s not the kind of meatheaded death metal I can’t get into either, it’s like… perfectly in the middle. Vocals do nothing for me here but eehh I don’t mind ‘em. I dunno, this is just, really damn cool. A lot of cool songs this round but this might be the coolest one.
8/10Tomi: boygenius – Not Strong EnoughI’ve heard both Phoebe Bridgers albums – first one’s better, fight me, but they’re both good. Heard one Julien Baker album, also pretty good. Haven’t heard a Lucy Dacus album but I’ve heard a few songs that were pretty good. So I had no reason to believe this wasn’t also gonna be pretty good and, yeah, wow, it’s pretty good! It’s not really outside any lanes for any of the artists involved, but what they’ve put together is good enough that I don’t really care?
And this is like, one of two songs this round I get anything out of lyrically, a very clear swirling mess of depression and anxiety and generally just the big oofies, all sorts of unrefined emotions that make functioning on a day-to-day basis difficult, and man can I feel that
It’s got relatability on its side, that’s always a plus in my book.
And then the ending is just, really good. The repeated motif, the swelling of the instrumentation, all three ladies coming in one at a time, the drums going, and a nice big payoff for it all… that’s songwriting™, baby! I dunno, it grows on you’re the more it goes on, and it grows on you the more you listen to it. My fault for not checking out the record™ sooner, I guess!
8/10Luke: Avenged Sevenfold – CosmicIsn’t it funny. We go from one of the worst things I’ve been sent in recent memory (nearly rated it lower!) to a song that, going in, I had every reason to assume would be a disaster – I’ve heard
things, man, and none of them have been kind. And here we are, best song of the round and it’s not a particularly hard decision. Irony is funny
And it’s probably hypocritical of me that my favorite song of the round is the most Bob Progmetal song of the round, but like… it’s… really well done? Slower, moodier first half with some nice guitar leads that gives way to a long, repetitive yet climactic build in the second half, a real moment of triumph? Yeah, I’m weak to that, man!
And there’s even something kinda touching lyrically, where it’s, y’know, uh, “If I die tomorrow, I'd be all right, because I believe that after we're gone the spirit carries on.” Or something like that
Not, like, the deepest thing ever but you do
feel it, y’know? Frankly it’s just so self-evidently good that I kinda don’t know what else to say about it! Not sure it’s gonna get me to check out the album, but hey, I’m glad there’s at least one really good tune on it!
It is not better than Thorn Woos the Wound by Victory Over the Sun though.
8/10Standings:Ariich – 54.5
Tomislav – 53.5
Puppies – 52.5
TAC – 51.5
Litho – 51
Seneca – 51
King – 50.5
Buddy – 49
Lonestar – 48.5
Stadler – 48.5
Vmadera – 48.5
Faizoff – 48
HOF – 48
Reaper – 48
Dacul – 47.5
Luke – 47
Will Ariich stumble and trip his way out of the top spot? Will Luke claw his way out of the vomit coffin at the bottom of the rankings? Will someone post “congrats ariich” in direct response to this post? Find out in the final episode of Crow’s Overdue Roulette™!
(send for the final round! the closing track round! longer time limit for this round but if everybody uses it this round will take a month
)
Topic: Crow's Overdue Roulette v8 - FINAL RESULTS!!! (Read 46958 times)
