Keep it in your pants tiger... I had to let my rage of yet another multi goal, and 3rd period lead get choked away. At least I was fully expecting it, so it's not a massive rage.
Puppies: Stonehenge - WendigoWTF is a WendigoYeah, I'm wondering that too. Pretty eclectic song. Starts off simple and mildly enjoyable, and after a few listens I started to get Ayreon vibes - but not in a good way - like, Transitus-Ayeon. I could be way off, since I haven't listened to that album since it dropped, but it seems to have that kind of sound to it. After that, the song doesn't really do much or go anywhere. The heavy parts are plodding, and I'm not feeling it. Chorus was decent enough, but highly repetitive. That's not always a bad thing, but in this case, it was a little grating. The nstrumental breakdown was the best part of the song, that's for sure... but not enough to save it from the bottom of the pile.
ScoresQuality: 6.5
Unpredictability: 2.5
Anonymity: 1.5
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Wolfking: Victorius - Twilight SkiesShit, this is somewhat generic for the style but you weren't kidding when you said the older stuff is where its atFastest song of the round, that's for sure. Like, where's the fire?? The drumming was far too one-dimensional for my liking, and as I've said a few times now, when the snare drum has that machine-gun stacatto to keep pace with a speed double-bass… well, it's not a sound that I've been digging very much. There are some songs of this style that I do like, but this just isn't clicking with me anymore for some reason. Too much of a good thing is still too much... and this is just too much speed - especially with the percussion. It would seem I've got a sweet spot for my preferred tempo - not too fast, not too slow (plodder) - I guess I'm like a musical Goldilocks in that regard.
ScoresQuality: 7
Unpredictability: 3
Anonymity: 1
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Stadler: Cheap Trick - Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your PeaceDammit, Stadler, you blow at thisDecent stuff. Nothing wrong with it, but for my tastes nowadays, it's not going to "wow" me (ie, into the "A" territory); thought I was getting it on (Bang a Gong) to start. 35 years ago, I maybe should have explored Cheap Trick a bit more, but they were a running gag for me and my pals. See, a good buddy of mine in my teenage years was a HUGE Aerosmith fan. And for the Permanent Vacation tour, GnR was supposed to open for them here in Toronto, and all he did for months was talk about how amazing this show was going to be. Well, last minute, GnR cancelled (I forget why), and who ended up filling the opening slot?? … Cheap Trick. All we did for weeks was tease him about what a ….. cheap trick that was. So, I never really took the band seriously. My loss.
ScoresQuality: 7.5
Unpredictability: 2
Anonymity: 0.5
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King: Aether Void - What You Reap You DeserveAbout fucking time, Callahanhhmmm…. I'm not really sure what to think of this. Heavy, yes, but vocally, questionable. Until I looked it up, I NEVER would have pegged this as Italian Power Metal. It grew on my a little, but only a little. The constant drone of that very rich and deep double bass in the pre/chorus and solo kept pounding it's way thru my skull - at least the tempo was more to my liking than Victorius.
ScoresQuality: 7.5
Unpredictability: 0.5
Anonymity: 5
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Indiscipline: Heavens Gate - FredlessThis is focking LTE a decade earlierNow I know what mrs.jingle feels like after nookie. This was bitchin, but it just left me wanting more. Your description may be accurate, but LTE farts longer than this song. There's a fine line between not wearing out your welcome, and actually staying long enough to be more than a tease. It's a great 2 minutes, but the short duration combined with the anorexic sounding production keeps it from jumping into an "A"
ScoresQuality: 7.5
Unpredictability: 1
Anonymity: 3.5
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Litho: Jerome Mazza - Immortalwow, Frontiers should have scooped this one up, they really missed out, and I did toosmooth vocals… smooth like butter, and the song is about as hard as melted butter. That's the good part; musically… man is this just 'too much' Frontiers. Not terrible, but rather soft and ordinary, despite the strong vocals. I'm torn on this one too… I ought to like it more, but the soft cockery is too much.
ScoresQuality: 7.5
Unpredictability: 5
Anonymity: 4
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Dr. DTVT: Yogi Lang - A Way out of HereCatchy chorus and smooth voiceNice lineup. Got a Lonely Robot vibe going on here. Catchy indeed. Pretty straight forward tune that does a lot of things right. I wanted to score it a notch higher, but it just didn't wow me enough. And that's got nothing to do with the fact I'm 100% convinced the Leafs are about to blow another 3rd period lead (Edit… they didn't let me down - well they did, but I was fully expecting it. Cue the Cowboys jokes)
ScoresQuality: 7.5
Unpredictability: 1.5
Anonymity: 3
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TAC: Benighted Soul - One Of Your Ghosts (Cradle Of Filth)Good thing there are no themes, because Tim suck's - and blows - at following directions (ie, no self-impression provided)
Musically, quite hot… smokin hawt. But there's something about the tone of the vocals that makes me wince. I think they (vox) ought to warm up to me … they did, a little, which is why this one elevates above the pack, but only just slightly so.
ScoresQuality: 8
Unpredictability: 3.5
Anonymity: 2.5
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Evermind: Merge - HelenThis is "10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag"-core.Mellow, yet heavy at the same time. Is this like alt-grunge-post-metal-core? I mean, what exactly am I listening to? Do I like it, do I not? Is it enjoyable or depressing? I'm so torn here. I think I like this kind of in the way I like My Chemical Romance / The Black Parade. It shouldn't be my cup of tea, but something works here. In the words of Kugela… "it doesn't suck so bad this time papa". The final listen bumped this up to an 8, because it's got that 'memorable' factor.
Scores
Quality: 8
Unpredictability: 4.5
Anonymity: 2
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Lonestar: Myrath - Child of ProphecyAs good, of not better, than everything else I've heard from these guysYup, That's your song - the very distinct vocals of Zorgati come in at about 20 seconds, and then the even more distinct middle-eastern vibes land hard 30 seconds later. Hard to argue with what your impression was. I really should listen to these guys more often. Best song of the round, but I'm still struggling to think of the melody off the top of my head, even an hour after I just listened to it - so it clearly didn't stick with me *that* much. That drum rhythm in the chorus is straight up copycat of I Walk Beside You, and I Am (Circus Maximus), and a simple bit of playing that I do enjoy.
ScoresQuality: 8
Unpredictability: 4
Anonymity: 4.5
Total Round 4:Litho - Jerome Mazza / Immortal: 5 + 4 + 7.5 = 16.5
lonestar - Myrath / Child of Prophecy: 4 + 4.5 + 8 = 16.5
Evermind - Merge / Helen: 4.5 + 2 + 8 = 14.5
TAC - Benighted Soul / One Of Your Ghosts (Cradle Of Filth): 3.5 + 2.5 + 8 = 14
King - Aether Void / What You Reap You Deserve: 0.5 + 5 + 7.5 = 13
Dr. DTVT - Yogi Lang / A Way out of Here: 1.5 + 3 + 7.5 = 12
Indiscipline - Heavens Gate / Fredless: 1 + 3.5 + 7.5 = 12
Puppies - Stonehenge / Wendigo: 2.5 + 1.5 + 6.5 = 10.5
Wolfking - Victorius / Twilight Skies: 3 + 1 + 7 = 11
Stadler - Cheap Trick / Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace: 2 + 0.5 + 7.5 = 10
Overall Standings:Litho - 90
lonestar - 86
TAC - 85.5
Evermind - 85.5
Wolfking - 82.5
Dr. DTVT - 79.5
Indiscipline - 75
King - 74.5
Puppies - 72.5
Stadler - 63.5
Quality through 5 Rounds:
lonestar - 50
Litho - 48.5
Dr. DTVT - 48.5
King - 48
Wolfking - 47
Indiscipline - 47
Evermind - 47
Puppies - 45
TAC - 44.5
Stadler - 39