Reaper - Dredge - Triangle
Man, you said this was a risky send and you were correct. I can't get into this at all. I've tried each time to try and appreciate some of what it's doing but I just nod off. Not a big fan of the vocals which I think isa big part of my problem. It's a bit more interesting from around the 2 minute mark and can sort of see the appeal and it gets a little better with some heavier guitars later on but by that time I'm already out. Sorry mate, I tried.
Score = 4.0
Lonk - Once Human - Only In Death
Gotta be honest, but I struggled with this from the start. I really struggled to find much I liked about it. I personally just found it really quite generic and pedestrian. The harsh vocal sections were decent, but everything else I just couldn't get into. There was just something weird with the melodies too that I found a little grating. There are nice enough elements in there but all in all I tried and it's probably something I should enjoy, but it just didn't hit the mark I'm sorry.
Score = 4.5
King - Pat Benatar - You Better Run
So, I know some of Pat's biggest hits obviously and never had an issue with them. Even played Hit Me With Your Best Shot in cover bands which has a cool solo. This I guess, is fine. I'm not totally sure why you'd send this to me to be honest, but there is nothing wrong with it, however, there is nothing to write home about it for me. The chorus is cool and catchy and the song length helps it out too. Cool little solo at the end too though. Overall, a fine song but nothing I haven't heard before or go out of my way to listen to.
Score = 5.0
Stadler - The Allman Brothers - In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
Now, I'm not really much into the older 70's prog rock instrumental kind of thing and while this is fine, it still stands here. This kind of jam music has never been my thing at all. Now, don't get me wrong, while listening to was totally pleasant enough and once the guitar got going I got a little more interested. The solo here is quite tasty and interesting given it's in a 'jam' kind of setting. Again, seems like really good background music but I don't envisage a time where I'd go out of my way to put this on and listen to it.
Score = 5.5
lonestar - MergingMood - Crimson Persimmon
Now, this was a bit better and more up my alley but again, I struggled a little again with this one to get it to stick. It's more in the melodeath vein which suits me fine and the heavy parts were very cool. I'm not a big fan of the screeching type vocals though. The female vocals weren't really that much of an issue here, again, I just struggle to find hooks and melodies to hang onto. I don't really understand or dig those electronic quiet bits in the second half either. I'm just struggling to find things I really like in the songs you're sending in this style so far. The more heavier sections and melodic death metal vibes is what saved it from scoring any lower.
Score = 5.75
romdrums - Astrosaur - Karakoram II
Now this started off pretty well, and I actually didn't expect it to be instrumental at the start. Now, this is very Mastodon influenced, like almost distracting at times with the Mastodon love. We had other sections like at 1:40, that part was really nice and had a great atmosphere which kept me interested. At around the 3 minute mark the song turns into Megadolon and is even more distracting it almost made me laugh. As it went on it was fine to listen to but I did want more and felt it was a little too long. The soundscapes and atmosphere did keep me interested in it enough though but yeah, would have liked a little more.
Score = 6.25
twosuitluke - Turisas - Cursed Be Iron
Now this one frustrated me. The riff is fucking killer and the vocals over the top are fucking killer too, but everything else just left me rolling my eyes. I can't take those spoken word clean sections seriously, at all. I like my cheese but the whole more over the top viking/folk stuff is hit or miss with me. Between the two sections there wasn't much variety either which kinda hurt it but damn that riff is killer. Yes you're right, the song is all about that riff and If it were all like the growled riffy section, I'd be all over it.
Score - 6.5
Shadow Ninja - Beast in Black - Unlimited Sin
I stand by my thinking in this guy sounds like a bit of a chick at times here, but his voice is pretty cool. This reminds me of Dynazty which are a band I like. This is simple power metal, and I enjoy power metal. There is obviously nothing new or unique here at all, but it's catchy, sounds good, excellent chorus and has decent replay value. Nice enough solo to tie it all in too. I'll be all over checking more of these guys out for sure.
Score - 7.0
Ariich - Xanthochroid - The Sound of Hunger Rises
Bonus point - Paul Taylor award
Now this one was weird. Each time I listened it was hard to latch onto anything yet I never had a problem trying again and listening. The vibe was really interesting and the melodies between the clean sections and more epic sections was really something different also. Saying all that, I think there's value here and potentially a full album needs to be listened to, but something didn't quite stick as much as some of the other tracks. I think it suffers just from needing time to grow as this was really intriguing. Once the harsh vocals hit, they were excellent, I just wish it stuck with them as opposed to going back to the clean vocals. I think this is something though that I'll revisit in time. I'm actually giving this the Paul Taylor award as it is pretty epic with the atmosphere and the keyboards.
Score - 7.25 + 0.5 = 7.75
Sacul - Deftones - Change
Now, being born in 1984, I was a 90's kid. I loved most of what came out in the 90's. I was big into the 90's scene, Live, Bush, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Offspring, Green Day, Pantera, Machine Head etc. but the Deftones were just one I never checked out for some reason, don't ask me why so I was interested in this. Anyway, this has 90's/early 2000's written all over it and it does give some nostalgia as I really enjoyed this after a few listens. It captures the vibe of the times and what a lot of these bands were doing perfectly. The soundscapes and atmospheres are wonderful and it breathes really nicely. There's not a lot going on but the chorus and melodies are enough to make me want to definitely check out the rest of this album adn see what I missed out on.
Total = 8.0
Indi - Dr. Viossy - One Hundred and One Odobenus Rosmarus
Another dependable guitar tune from Indi and this one definitely more my style with a lot of good shit going on here. Love the more metal edge in the riffing and the slightly contrasting sections. It's nice and groovy and has really splendid flourishes of excellent guitar work. The key change into the section at 1:42 is really cool and great guitar melodies. Then around 2:12 we go into a Soilwork kind of slower section which is really nice. More great guitar playing throughout and definitely keeps my interest the whole way. Love the outro solo, gives me Andy James vibes. Definitely an album I'd check out plus I'll have to youtube this guy too.
Score = 8.25
Dr. DTVT - Vintersea - Old Ones
Bonus point - John Roth Award
At first I didn't think much of this one but it really grew with repeated listens. The atmosphere is incredible and very calming and I love the whole sound. The harsh vocals are just stellar and make the song. The structure is somewhat difficult to follow if there is even a real structure but the flow is really good that you don't even worry, you just sit back and enjoy the sounds and performances. Really nice build into the guitar solo too with great guitar work underneath too. It kind of all just flows by too which is fine but yeah, I really ended up enjoying this one a lot. Not sure what the go is with the last two minutes, but a listen to the album is probably in order. I'm giving this one the John Roth award simply because of the thickness in the sounds of the guitars. The rhythms, tremelo picked sections and arpeggiated sections is really classy and makes the whole sound, good stuff.
Score - 8.0 + 0.5 = 8.5
Crow - Winderun - The Garden of Fire
Now, I've tried this band before to no avail, something about them didn't stick. However, something intrigued me with this song that made me want to go back to it. I'm not sure what style you'd class these guys as but they are all over the place but in a good way. As like a couple of the other songs that I mentioned, this has a similar thing with some interesting melodies in the clean vocals between heavier sections which I wasn't sure about in the past but with repeated listens these little parts actually grew on me. The end section also became one of my fav parts of the round. The folky elements work here somehow and despite the cheesiness, it clicked with me on this one. There's still things I'm not sure about but the more I listened as I said, the more I liked variety in the whole thing. Some of those heavier sections were nice and brutal too. Definitely will be checking out the whole album.
Score - 8.5
Jingle - Damnations Day - To Begin Again
Bonus - Kip Winger Award
I knew this name as Brent did send them to me in one of my other roulettes and it scored well. For some reason I never followed up with these guys, so this was fair game (even though you didn't know they were sent), but this was a grower. It was a definitely change of pace but I certainly warmed to it. This dude has some pipes, incredible singer and you get the Kip award back to back. I can't not give it here. Anyway, the whole vibe actually gives me a more radio friendly alternate vibe maybe even a little Alter Bridge come to think of it but the melodies aren't instant which seemed risky but opened up pretty quickly. The buildup to the solo is really nice too. The lyrics obviously hit a sore spot too and you're targeting that aspect nicely which can only help. Great tune, although maybe not as complete as I expected if that makes sense, but I'm definitely getting into the album afterwards.
Score - 8.25 + 0.5 = 8.75
Litho - Bloodshot Dawn - The Image Faded
Bonus - Reb Beach award
Now, this ripped from the start. Wonderful melodic death metal and heavy as shit. Great vocals and just doesn't let up. Not much to say really. Oh, the chorus works well with a wonderful guitar melody underneath, damn that works well. Now, you're tapping into the guitarist in me quite well after two rounds as that I have a soft spot for regular structured tunes that have absurdly long instrumental sections. This fucker just solos forever and I love it. I heard Per Nilsson straight away which no doubt is a factor in you getting the award again this round. I see Andy James (who sounded familiar) and Chris Amott on here too, incredible. Just when you think the solo section is finished too, it keeps going. Great stuff, right up my alley. have a feeling the albums might be a bit samey but that's just a hunch and certainly a lot here making me want to check the full album.
Score - 8.5 + 0.5 = 9.0
TAC - Autonoesis - Moon of Foul Magics
Bonus point - Rod Morgenstein (split)
Ah...this is more like it. Fucking ripping melodic black metal, fucking loved this from the get go. The production is a little rough but fits the style so well. I was grinning the whole way through this thing. The drummer is fucking awesome and leads this thing nicely with some intense speed too. I've split the award this round cause it was hard to split between the two songs but the drummer here is fantastic. He's a little buried in the mix, but that's okay. just when you think you've heard all this track has to offer we hit 3:15 with some fucking groove metal, holy shit, that's nice. The quiet part really took me by surprise too and showed a completely different side here, the buildup was immense and I loved it. Really classy and almost self indulgent songwriting. Again, the drummer gives everyone a lot of space and leads them through the sections. That Jason Becker inspired section at 5:52 also was incredible and topped everything off before going back into some galloping! Fucking tremendous.
Score - 9.0 + 0.25 = 9.25
Puppies - Manticora - Katana
Bonus point - Rod Morgenstein award (split)
Straight off the bat, I thought this was going to be the song of the round, and while it just missed out, it was close. This has the perfect mix of prog metal but mixed with other elements to make this really scratch my itch. The singer has a tremendous voice and lots of versatility. The harsh vocals are great, I would have loved more of those truthfully. Neverthless, the length is fine, it didn't feel 15 minutes at all. Now, the drummer here is on fire which is why you get a split point. He has some wonderful drumwork going on here and is strong as fuck carrying this thing nicely. Guitars are great, bass is strong and the structure is very good. I love that section at 4:09 and especially when it repeats near it end, really fucking strong and powerful. Love it. Special mention to the melody at 5:41, that's incredible and might be my fav section of the whole round, top 3 anyway, so epic and melodic. So yeah, amazing tune, can't wait to check the full album. Strange I've never checked these guys, I've seen the name but great find, great submission.
Score - 9.0 + 0.25 = 9.25
Evermind - Xaon - Eros
Now this one came from the back fence to take out song of the round. It's close with Tim and Puppies but I found that I was coming back to this one often in the end, but only just. As you said, these guys have an interesting style. Mix of symphonic, death, melodic death, whatever, good shit. Love the vocalist and the verse is great once it gets going after that excellent acoustic intro. The cleaner sections really give me Dan Swano vibes too which is totally fine. The chorus here is amazing, the vocals soar and the guitar melodies underneath just carry it so well, the climax of the chorus is so epic with that last line, too good. Great groove into the solo too. Definitely up my alley and as I mentioned just kept getting drawn back to this one. The ending section took me a little by surprise at first but that epic as fuck also! Yeah, never heard of these guys, but this is absolutely elite, amazing submission.
Score - 9.25
Round 2 results;
Reaper - 4.0
Lonk - 4.5
King - 5.0
Stadler - 5.5
lonestar - 5.75
romdrums - 6.25
twosuiluke - 6.5
Shadow Ninja - 7.0
ariich - 7.75
Sacul - 8.0
Indi - 8.25
Dr. DTVT - 8.5
Crow - 8.5
Jingle - 8.75
Litho - 9.0
TAC - 9.25
Puppies - 9.25
Evermind - 9.25
After 2 rounds;
Reaper - 5.0+4.0 = 9.0
twosuitluke - 4.0+6.5 = 10.5
Shadow Ninja - 4.0+7.0 = 11.0
romdrums - 5.5+6.25 = 11.75
lonestar - 6.0+5.75 = 11.75
Lonk - 7.75+4.5 = 12.25
King - 7.5+5.0 = 12.5
Stadler - 9.25+5.5 = 14.75
ariich - 8.5+7.75 = 16.25
Dr. DTVT - 8.0+8.5 = 16.5
Indiscipline - 9.0+8.25 = 17.25
Sacul - 9.5+8.0 = 17.5
TAC - 8.25+9.25 = 17.5
Jingle - 8.75+8.75 = 17.5
Litho - 9.0+9.0 = 18.0
Crow - 9.5+8.5 = 18.0
Puppies - 9.0+9.25 = 18.25
Evermind - 9.0+9.25 = 18.25
Top 8 all quite close now and starting to take a bit of a lead over the rest.
Alright, check the maths if you must, I did all this in my head. Send for round 3 please!!
Topic: Wolfking's Wonderful Winger roulette v.3 - Round 2 album listening commenced (Read 46338 times)