Round 4 scores
Dr. DTVT - Sanhedrin - The Getaway
I struggled with this one a little bit. The song in itself was quite decent and catchy and they obviously like Rush. Although the main riff is pretty close to Stratovarious' Legions. The production is terrible. Not sure if it's intentional or not but the muddy sound did hurt it, it could have been better. Each listen though it did improve and it was enjoyable each time. I wish they did something more in that quiet part though. Nice song, nothing mindblowing though.
Score - 6.0
Puppies - Aeternam - Irene
This was another one I struggled with. As mentioned in the last round, the whole middle eastern vibe has never really interested me. I like it here and there, and when done in a real metal phyrgian dominant kinda way I dig it, but a whole song in this more authentic tone is hard to grasp if that makes sense. The growls were cool but not a fan of the cleans. It was fine and all, but I did find myself drifting from time to time. The solo was nice and the quiet bit into the second half was quite epic. All in all a nice different sounding tune, but didn't really do it for me.
Score - 6.25
Reaper - Moon Tooth - Grimothy
This was an interesting song. It was hard to really understand if it was metal, pop, alternate, it was confusing. The vocalist was hard for me to like, and I still don't really like him. Too modern sounding for what I really enjoy. The performances are good though but each time I drifted until the solo kicked in, that was really cool. Interesting structure and the song length helped it out. All in all, it wasn't offensive but a bit too modern sounding for me. I never had the urge to skip it though.
Score - 6.25
romdrums - Threads - Rannoch
Here's one that really should be up my alley. Strong Trivium vibes in the vocals here which interested me but all in all, while a pretty fine metal song, nothing here that I really could sink my teeth into. It just kinda went by and while I was bobbing my head for the most part, that was as far as it really went. I did like the heaviness in sections and the solo helped the score too. That was a nice change of flavour and needed, but could have gone on a bit longer. I don't want to say generic, but this seems solid yet generic.
Score - 6.5
Shadow Ninja - Buckethead - Disintegration Mirrors
Now, I know the name pretty well. I've never listened to him though apart from a few Youtube vids back in the day. He's a ripping guitarist, but this song just had me confused. It is literally him jamming for 14 fucking minutes over a backing track. I don't understand. Everything here he does is class but holy hell, 14 minutes of this? There's really not even that many repeated motifs or anything that it keeps coming back to. Just him ripping over a few chords for 14 minutes. If it were half the length, it would have scored much higher.
Score - 6.5
Lonk - Intervals - A Voice Within
This was a bit of a grower and initially, I didn't like it. It was actually difficult deciding between this and your wildcard submission but I definitely made the right choice here. It did grow quite nicely and I really enjoy the chorus. Again, the vocalist isn't someone I'd normally gravitate towards to, but I think he works well. The chorus actually reminds me of Tremonti sung Alter Bridge. The quiet bits though were a bit hit or miss and the ending went a little long, but to be honest, it didn't feel all that long. This was fine, but not something I'd normally stick with.
Score - 6.75
Litho - Imagika - Scared to Death
Some decent thrash here. The Testament love in the verses though was very strong. The chorus was interesting and a nice change of pace and contrast with the relentlessness of the verses. The solo here was a nice addition, very chaotic and reminded me a little of Glen Drover at times. I think it needed it. This is quality thrash and always most welcome, nothing really more and nothing really less.
Score - 7.5
lonestar - LOVEBITES - Break the Wall
Bonus - Reb Beach award
From the get go, the riffing is chaotic and immense, really good shit. There's not a lot to this but the thrashiness was killer each time. The sticking point for this is the vocals, I guess when you mix a female vocalist with a thick asian accent it's always going to be a sore point but honestly, it wasn't that distracting. I think she uses her voice enough in a way that fits the music and is not too far removed or a contrast to the style. The chorus is close but it's fine. The soloing was very cool too. The change of pace in the middle really helped it out too with some nice classical influences and the guitar work in this section is wonderful. I'm going to give the Reb Beach award here as I'm not trying to be sexist but the guitar playing all round here from a bunch of chicks is tremendous.
Score - 7.25 + 0.5 = 7.75
Sacul - David Bowie - Lazarus
Bonus - Paul Taylor award
David Bowie is another artist I know a lot of hits from but never been a big enough fan to give his full albums a spin. The atmosphere here on this one was fantastic though. That saxaphone 3 note simple as hell melody was such an earworm. That would just pop into my head randomly through the day. What I also found interesting was that there wasn't a lot in this song structure wise, but it never felt it needed more or more variation. The chorus vibe was a nice change. The lyrics obviously are hard hitting knowing what its about. I don't know if this is something I'd stick with but I am intrigued to hear the rest of the album given it was his last. I'm going to give you a Paul Taylor award as the atmosphere is killer and the sax is wonderful. I wish that solo at the end would go a bit longer though.
Score - 7.5 + 0.5 = 8.0
Indi - Temperance - Daruma's Eyes
I wasn't sold on this initially and I did cringe a little when I first heard female vocals. I thought, 'oh no, generic female fronted symphonic power metal,' but it grew on me and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. The contrast between the two vocalists is nice and the lead guitar melodies were all very lush and memorable. Nothing new here, but that's okay. I think the chorus is excellent and elevates the song to a pretty high quality level. That harmonic minor type melody after the chorus is cool too. I would have liked a proper solo though, but that's me. The length also was fine. So, surprising. Normally this would be written off by me, but it was quality enough to win me over.
Score - 8.25
Jingle - Dec Burke - Days Like These
I can see why you'd send this to me, this is the exact type of song I would have loved 10 years ago when I was on my melodic rock kick. And lucky for you, I did enjoy this. Like discussed, the production really hurt this though. You weren't kidding when you said brickwalled, holy shit. The mix is also terrible. Saying all that, I did look past it for the most part. The vocals are fine without being spectacular but the melodies are very cool and definitely quality for the style. Not sure about the verses though. The soloing did help this song a fuckload though I will admit. Besides the production, the guitar has a great platform with this song to rip over and there's some nice emotive and expressive playing here. A nice long outro solo certainly doesn't hurt either. Cool tune.
Score - 8.25
Stadler - REO Speedwagon - Take it on the Run
REO Speedwagon is a name I obviously know well, but I can't recall hearing a single song from them. They were one band never played over here in Australia. I will admit that first couple of lines made me cringe but I persisted and this grew into some really quality AOR. The melodies are excellent and catchy as hell. It's borderline cheesy but for the time I can imagine this would have been totally fine. I love the simple change to the relative minor from the major to the chorus. So simple and overused but works really well here. The solo was unexpected but really really cool, great tone. Quality AOR.
Score - 8.5
ariich - Dissona - Another Sky
This one is still fucking with me. There's heaps of elements there I like but for some reason I can't get my head fully around it. I like it each time I listen but each time I listen I feel like, 'yeah that was cool, but I think I missed how all this works together, need another listen.' I will say I do love some of that craziness in the second half followed by that bass break. Going back to the first half, the soling was nice over some nice key changes too which was really classy. The vocals are fine and enjoyable. Really enjoyed the last couple of minutes too, feels like an epic finish to a song that doesn't seem like an epic? I dunno, as I said this one is a funny one. Maybe a full album listen will help? I think I have to give it an 8.5 though, it's quality.
Score - 8.5
King - Alice in Chains - A Looking in View
Now, Alice in Chains were actually one 90's band I never got into. I think I picked up Dirt which I have somewhere about a year ago when they were discussed here but never listened to it. For a 90's kid, they were one that just slipped by me. Nevertheless, I knew they reformed but again, couldn't give two fucks to check them out. This song though at first was pretty much as expected from top to bottom. I didn't think it would grow that much though but it did. It's groovy, a bit dark, nice atmosphere and really just cool as fuck throughout. Doesn't feel 7 minutes either considering it's all a bit samey throughout. But yeah, this was better each listen, quality.
Score - 8.5
Evermind - Wine From Tears - The Sinner
I'm surprised that you are surprised that I picked this over your other song, but here we are. Love the atmosphere and vibe of this whole thing. It's like doom but mixed with a more melodic death metal feel or something. It breathes and paces along nicely for my liking. I like the vocals too, they work well. I was fine 4 minutes in when we got some guitar leads but didn't expect things to pick up, which elevated things again. Great song, great vibe, liked it.
Score - 8.75
TAC - Noor - Hills of Qartaba
This is beautiful. The first minute I was a bit confused but holy shit once it gets going, it fucking rips. Quality metal here and somewhat different and unique. This sounds like a band who are fresh with lots of energy and just want to rip. It was pretty relentless too and once we got going more lots of quality guitar work. The soloing isn't the cleanest I've heard but it works with the bands whose raw energy which is on display here. Some cool ear catching changes in there too. The vocals aren't anything new either but he sure has a set of pipes and very easy to listen to. it almost got the Kip award too. Was this the band you compared to Lost Horizon? Anyway, looking forward to this album, cause yeah this fucker rips.
Score - 9.0
Crow - Khonsu - Inhuman States
Bonus - Rod Morgenstein award
Yep, this was ripping. Brutal, heavy, fast, memorable, good shit. Love the variation in the vocals. Reminds me a lot of Keep of Kalessin at times too. The drummer is fucking insane, gets the award here no doubt. I loved it each time, definitely up my alley. Gotta love that groove that comes in at around 3:20, just keeps getting more interesting. Gets even better with that groove around the 4 minute mark and that piano melody over the spoken work part is fantastic. The only thing is that the outro could have been chopped down, that's a bit long, but ripping stuff here.
Score - 8.75 + 0.5 = 9.25
twosuitluke - Enslaved - Neogenesis
So, this is Enslaved hey? Certainly have been missing out on something here. At first I wasn't sold on those clean vocals from the start but I persisted and ended up loving the mood. Everything about the music here is certainly classic and strong black metal. Once we get going I love that faster pure black metal section. How clean does that sound. Stripped back, tight, well produced and really nice vocals. Love this whole section, again, so fucking clean and crisp. The extended soloing is most welcomed too. The key changes are strange by the sounds and normally I'd say they are forced but the more listens I had the more I liked it. Some classy lead going on over these sections too which was another level to the song I apprecaited. Not gonna say they ripped it, but the key changes sound very much like the solo section in UFO's Born to Lose, but I'd have to compare. But anyway, this was damn good and would easily take a full album, just gets the song of the round......just.
Score - 9.25
Round 4 standings;
Dr. DTVT - 6.0
Puppies - 6.25
Reaper - 6.25
romdrums - 6.5
Shadow Ninja - 6.5
Lonk - 6.75
Litho - 7.5
lonestar - 7.75
Sacul - 8.0
Indi - 8.25
Jingle - 8.25
Stadler - 8.5
ariich - 8.5
King - 8.5
Evermind - 8.75
TAC - 9.0
Crow - 9.25
twosuitluke - 9.25
After round 4;
Reaper - 5.0+4.0+7.25+6.25 = 22.5
Shadow Ninja - 4.0+7.0+5.25+6.5 = 22.75
lonestar - 6.0+5.75+3.5+7.75 = 23.0
romdrums - 5.5+6.25+5.25+6.5 = 23.5
twosuitluke - 4.0+6.5+7.0+9.25 = 26.75
Lonk - 7.75+4.5+7.75+6.75 = 26.75
King - 7.5+5.0+8.0+8.5 = 29.0
Dr. DTVT - 8.0+8.5+7.25+6.0 = 29.75
Stadler - 9.25+5.5+6.75+8.5 = 30.0
Sacul - 9.5+8.0+5.0+8.0 = 30.5
ariich - 8.5+7.75+7.5+8.5 = 32.25
Puppies - 9.0+9.25+8.25+6.25 = 32.75
Litho - 9.0+9.0+8.0+7.5 = 33.5
Jingle - 8.75+8.75+7.75+8.25 = 33.5
Indiscipline - 9.0+8.25+9.5+8.25 = 35.0
TAC - 8.25+9.25+9.25+9.0 = 35.75
Crow - 9.5+8.5+8.75+9.25 = 36.0
Evermind - 9.0+9.25+9.0+8.75 = 36.0
Topic: Wolfking's Wonderful Winger roulette v.3 - Round 2 album listening commenced (Read 46121 times)