Round 1 ResultsHOF......................................17
Ariich..................................16
King..................................15
Evermind.........................14
Litho...............................13
RomDrums.....................12
Luke.............................11
Faizoff.........................10
Lonestar......................9
Puppies......................8
Jingle........................7
Sacul........................6
Reaper....................5
Stadler...................4
Tomi.....................3
Woflking..............2
TAC....................11. HOF: Kite Parade - Letting Go 17 pointsFirst Impression: Nothing special in the first half. It got better about halfway through though.On first listen, this is the track that stood out the most. The first half is good, but nothing exceptional (Maybe it’s prog fatigue, who knows). However, the second half is what sold it for me. The bass grove, the change in tempo and vibe was excellent. The guitar solo placement was on point, not to mention that the guitar tone is great. I should take points off for the music video though
2. Ariich: Moron Police - Isn't It Easy 16 pointsFirst Impression: Not what I expected, but that is a good thing. Really fun track.This is another band that I recognize the name of, but knew nothing of their music or their sound. The intro caught me off guard, it’s fun, energetic, unexpected and just an all around good intro to the track. The verse comes in and the music slows down. The vocal melodies are nice in this part. It has this underlying country vibe to it, especially once the tempo picks up. The instrumental part shortly after the 3 minute mark is incredible. The long piano outro is nice, but feels a bit unnecessary? I don’t know the placement of the song within its corresponding album, maybe it makes more sense in that context
3. King: America - Ventura Highway 15 pointsFirst Impression: This is a nice tune, I like the vibe in this one.This song was the biggest surprise of the round. I like the acoustic guitar leaks, and the nice strumming pattern in the background. The vocal melodies work well, and the chorus is very catchy. I liked this track a lot more than I expected to.
4. Evermind: David Gilmour - Where We Start 14 pointsFirst Impression: This is about what I expected from this artist, not what I expected for the round.Alright, so I know Pink Floyd. I have listened to all their albums and a bunch of live versions of songs. I will also admit that I have listened to Gilmour’s solo stuff, but only the first two (David Gilmour (1978) and About Face (1984)), and I only listened to each of them once many years ago, and don’t remember anything from them. I just never felt the need to check out his solo stuff. This track is about what I expected. It is a very nice and smooth track. It flows nicely from section to section, the guitar playing is very gentle and tasteful. The imagery it paints is also nice, and goes along well with music.
5. Litho: The Midnight - "Los Angeles" (Live) 13 points
First Impression: Who doesn't love a good sax solo?There are a lot of subtle elements that went into this song that really make it stand out. I don't know how much of the live version was tracked (If I had to guess, not much), but everything works well here. The sax solo is really tasteful and elevates the music that much more.This song feels like it has the right mood for the topic it covers. Nice stuff.
6. RomDrums: Voyager - Promise 12 pointsFirst Impression: I recognized the name, but never listened to this band. I hope this is a good introduction to them.Yet, another band that I recognize by name, and I really hope this was a good introduction. It’s a nice short track that for its length, it does a lot. There are elements of this song that feel out of place, but I guess part of that is because I’m not familiar with their style. I wish the part that starts around 1:50 was a bit longer than 15 seconds, but other than that, I have no complaints about this track.
7. Luke: Closure in Moscow - Better Way 11 pointsFirst Impression: I get where you were going with this. We will see if it pays off.Yup, I see what you were going for with this, and I will say “Good job”. This song is fun with lots of interesting things going for it. I get lots of “Mars Volta” vibes from them. Even though the song is from this year, it feels like it could’ve been released in the mid 2000’s, which was a sweet spot for me and my music taste. If there is one thing to nitpick about this song is that I wish it would have ended on a higher note. Overall it is a good track though.
8. Faizoff: Dredg - Information 10 pointsFirst Impression: Nice and fun tune, we will see how it stacks against the rest.This song is nice. The band is another name I recognize, but I guess is not the sound I expected (which I guess is a good thing). While I said I don’t pay much attention to the vocals, in this song they do stand out a little and I find the vocal melodies a little underwhelming. Overall however, I do enjoy the track and I found myself singing along to it when playing. I think the second half of the song is better than the first. One thing is that even though I never heard the song before, and it is a relatively new song, it gives me a weird feeling of nostalgia when listening to it.
9. Lonestar: SAKI - BRIGHTNESS 9 pointsFirst Impression: There is some good stuff here, incredible playing.So full disclaimer, I love instrumentals. In fact, I sometimes prefer them to music with vocals. However, I do need to feel like the music is telling a story, or at least taking me on some sort of journey. When the music is all about complex shreddy playing, I get lost very easily. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy it when a track does that, it’s just very easy to lose me. With that said, This track is pretty good and has some incredible playing in it. It’s chunky, it's heavy, and it works really well. Some of the more melodic lines are beautiful, while never easing up when it comes to energy.
10. Puppies: Tomorrow's Bad Seeds - Early Prayers 8 pointsFirst Impression: I see you paid attention to what I sent in another roulette. It might pay off.The last songs I sent Litho were all in this same style, so I appreciate you trying to appeal to that side of my taste in music. I really enjoyed this song, I think the mix between the reggae aspects of the song with the more hard rock side work pretty well (for the most part). The verses are well structured and have nice energy going on that I find engaging. However, the one thing that I did not like is the ending, when they go all out hard rock. It just felt like it deviated from what they had already established in the song. The balance between Rock and Reggae was thrown out the window here, but overall the song still works well.
11. Jingle: Nightwish - Last Ride of the Day (Live) 7 pointsFirst Impression: I sampled this band before and nothing caught my attention. Maybe this will change my mind.Back when I was in college, my friends tried to get me into this band, but symphonic metal is just not my thing I guess. It is a bit too…dramatic for me. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the music. I still enjoy it, it’s just not something I would seek out regularly. But this song, at least the live version, is not as “dramatic” as I remember them being. The talent is there, and the vocals are incredible, and the playing is great. The harmonized vocals work well here. The guitar solo is also pretty good, though the tone not so much. This song, at the very least, makes me want to look into their music more.
12. Reaper: Poolside - Feel Alright 6 pointsFirst Impression: Has a nice intro, and then not much changes. Is that a good thing?I really like the way this song started. The keys, the simple drums, the effects, it just works pretty well. The verses are not bad. The choruses are catchy. But then, that’s just it…It kind of stays there. It has a short bridge before the last chorus that is cool, but I’m not sure it is enough to elevate the song all that much. It makes for a nice summer song though.
13. Stadler: Night Ranger - Interstate Love Affair 5 pointsFirst Impression: Admittedly, I do not listen to this era of music as much as I used to, but this song hits the spot.This song was one I thought would rank higher, because on first listen I really liked it. But after listening to it a couple of times it dropped a bit. The song is good, but what keeps it going is the great guitar playing. Those solos, leaks and riffs are really fun and on point. They provide the energy that keeps the song going.
14. Sacul: Kyuss - Gardenia 4 pointsFirst Impression: I struggled with the guitar tone, but overall is not that bad.On my first listen, I was sure this song was going to rank in last place. I’m not really big on the guitar tone, and there was nothing special to the song. However, it ended up growing on me a lot. The repetitive riff along with the straight forward drums work well to keep the song’s energy going without feeling stale. Maybe this would sound better with a more modern production, but overall is not bad, and as I said, it grew on me.
15. Tomi: Cog - My Enemy 3 pointsFirst Impression: I got worried in the first 20 seconds. I'm glad the song changed quickly.This is a nice straightforward tune. The playing is nice, and the instrumentation works. I think off all the tracks that were sent in this round, this is the one I have not much to say about. It’s a good track, it just doesn’t stand out as much.
16. Wolfking: Survivor - Too Hot to Sleep 2 pointsFirst Impression: I somehow have never listened to this band before, even though I recognize the name.This is a band that I am aware of, but could tell you anything about them. This song has a nice soft intro, then it goes into typical structure for this style. What I really like about this song is the guitar tone. It’s clear and crisp. There is really nothing bad to say about this song, I’m just not sure that I love it??? It sounds nice, and if it comes up I can listen to it and bop my head. Not sure I would go out of my way to listen to it though.
17. TAC: Jack Starr-Let's Get Crazy Again 1 pointFirst Impression: It's not bad. Not sure it will stand against the other tracks though.Yeah, this track is not my type of stuff. Instrumentation is good. The playing is good, but the song itself feels a bit…juvenile? I guess? I don’t know how to describe it but it just didn’t connect with me. I feel that after listening to it, there was nothing to get out of it. I did like the guitar solo towards the end.
Topic: VMadera's Roulette v1 - Finals - This is the Final Cut (Read 26260 times)
