---ROUND 2 SONG RESULTS---1st Place: Metro (+15 Points)Red Fang - Prehistoric DogFirst Impression:
Maybe a bit typical for this style, but still pretty fun.My first impression still stands - sound wise, this isn’t all that unique, but I don’t mind that because this is just a super solid stoner rock tune. It’s pretty straightforward, but the band throws in enough embellishments and quick deviations here and there to keep things exciting while never veering too far from the main groove. The instruments sound great, the vocal melodies are catchy, and the main riff that kicks the song off is incredibly well crafted. The only complaint I have is that they maybe repeat that two-note vamp a little too much in the second half, but it still works in a straightforward caveman-brain sort of way. Not much else to say here. Groovy.
2nd Place: King Puppies And The Acid Guppies (+14 Points)
Isis - Garden Of LightFirst Impression:
It’s definitely got potential, though the heavier parts felt like they could be better.This was actually the only artist this round I had already heard a little of before! I really like The Ocean, and they don’t even try to hide how much they’re influenced by these guys. Nothing that I sampled clicked hard enough for me to return to it, but this song is definitely enjoyable. It has those sludgy, heavy sections, but I was surprised at how much of the song had more of a post-rock sound. I actually like those sections a lot, even if the building crescendos and tremolo-picked guitars feel a bit cliche by today’s standards. They still have a lovely atmosphere and some satisfying progressions. The heaviest parts are enjoyable enough too, though the mixing feels a little flat - I feel like some punchier guitars and especially drums would have made those sections hit a lot harder. Thankfully, these two sounds compliment each other well and feel like they belong together - the song does a good job at transitioning between them while keeping the momentum going, especially around the middle. Overall, a very nice song that would have worked just as well in the slow, atmospheric round as it does here - it’s always about the quality, not being the most intense song of the bunch.
3rd Place: Ariich (+13 Points)
Psychonaut - The Fall Of ConsciousnessFirst Impression:
A great final stretch, but does it take too long to get there?Yeah, the last three minutes of this song absolutely carry it. That’s not to say the song is bad before then - it immediately establishes a dark, sinister atmosphere, and the verses are slow, tense, and brooding. The heavier parts with the harsh vocals are… okay. They contrast the verses well enough, but they’re too low-energy to be all that impactful, and the squeaky-clean production maybe isn’t the best fit for this doomy post-metal sound that usually has a lot of grit and grime to it. But man, all my complaints melt away once that instrumental section towards the end kicks in. I love the bouncy groove, the more psychedelic guitars, and the melodic riffs and soloing that smoothly flow together like a river of butter. If they’ve got songs that focus more on that style, I’m sure I’d love them. As-is, the weaker parts of this song do hold it back a bit, but getting through them is still more or less worth it.
4th Place: LithoJazzoSphere (+12 Points)
Abstract Void - ForeverFirst Impression:
Ah yes, the second black metal song of the roulette. Absolutely nothing else out of the ordinary here.Blackgaze mixed with synthwave… a match made in heaven? That’d be hyperbolic, but it does work surprisingly well here. I’ve already mentioned that this cleaner, glossier type of synthwave usually isn’t all that interesting to me, but it turns out layering it on top of some heavier drums and guitars provides just enough grit and texture to make me enjoy it. And I definitely still appreciate the synths here. They’re very pretty. The song also has that somewhat fantastical, soaring atmosphere in the melodies and chords that you get in a lot of good atmospheric black metal, which helps sell the fusion more. What does feel like a clumsy implementation is the black metal screams - they’re completely pointless here. They’re mixed so low yet they still feel completely out of place with the sound, and they’re used so sparingly that I’m left wondering why they’re there at all. I also wouldn’t say the song is super impactful as a whole - it’s certainly not background music, but it never really commands attention either. But it’s quite nice while it’s on.
5th Place: Sacul (+11 Points)
Midori - Yukiko-sanFirst Impression:
WATCH ANIME. BREAK SHIT. RAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHDamn, that’s easily the most visceral and blood-pumping chorus I’ve heard in this roulette so far. The manic instrumentation and the back-and-forth screaming make me want to commit unspeakable acts of violence to anyone and anything in my general vicinity. That alone gives the song a bunch of points, which makes up for the rest of the song not being quite as engaging to me. I still find the other parts interesting, and the drummer and pianist go hard throughout the entire thing, but at the end of the day I still feel like I’m just waiting for the intense chorus to come back and I can get my next fix of that sweet, sweet rage. Maybe not a song I’ll return to super often, but I’m glad it’s there for the next time I’m extremely pissed off about something!
6th Place: lonestar (+10 Points)
Allegaeon - Behold (God I Am)First Impression:
The lead guitar definitely feels like the draw here.This ended up being the biggest grower of the round. It has an extremely rigid, mechanical sound in its faster sections that usually doesn’t resonate with me that much unless the riffs are incredibly good, and the riffs here are mostly just fine - not bad or unpleasant, but not super memorable either. The lead guitar, on the other hand, is excellent. There’s some great harmonized melodies, and the longer solo section around the middle of the song is easily the best part of it. I think what eventually made me connect with the song is that there’s something kind of endearing about how no-frills the instrumentation is. There’s no synths, keyboards, fancy editing, or gimmicks to over-complicate things; it’s just tight, heavy guitars and drums, and that’s all it really needs. Maybe not the type of metal I’d usually go for, but I appreciate it for what it is.
7th Place: King Postwhore (+9 Points)
ALMO - WinterhoundFirst Impression:
Kind of felt like at least five or six different songs smashed together. Maybe in a good way? We’ll have to see.If all of the popular djenty prog metal bands of the 2010s got together and had a massive, sweaty orgy, this song would be the spot right in the middle. We begin firmly in TesseracT territory with a slower groove and some vaguely atmospheric clean guitars, there’s some keyboard-driven bits that are 100% Haken, and throw in some Periphery too with the harsh vocals and the bright, intricate riffs before the choruses. The composition does jump around a lot, with lots of different sections across the runtime, but the anthemic chorus acts as a solid anchor to everything else. It’s a fun song, but it’s sorely lacking an identity of its own; whenever I’m enjoying it I’m also thinking of another band that does the same thing equally well if not better. Not the best djenty prog metal I’ve heard, but also definitely not the worst!
8th Place: Crow (+8 Points)
Violent Magic Orchestra - FYREFirst Impression:
Ah yes, the first black metal song of the roulette. Absolutely nothing else out of the ordinary here.This has a cool sound, but as a song I was left wanting a bit more. It reminds me of Blanck Mass with its somewhat abrasive wall of sound, albeit way more Japanese - this sounds like something that should be in a rhythm game or bullet hell shooter. My favorite part is actually the intro because that’s when the guitars are most prominent and it sounds like some crazy black metal / breakcore hybrid. The rest of the song seems to ditch the guitars or at least mix them way lower, which is a bit disappointing. The drums are mixed pretty quiet too, which undersells their intensity somewhat. I think the biggest element holding this song back for me is that super high pitched lead synth, which I just don’t like the sound of that much. There’s also not too many melodies here that stick in my head, though the piano break in the middle and the dramatic climax are pretty nice. So yeah, very cool in concept, but I didn’t end up liking this quite as much as I wanted to.
9th Place: TAC (+7 Points)
Reliqa - I Don't Know What I AmFirst Impression:
Well, that bit in the middle definitely caught me off guard.This sounds like if you took Evanescence, made them slightly more technical with some djenty guitars, then added some glitchy edits here and there as well as a completely out-of-nowhere electronic breakdown in the middle. Sound wise it’s… not quite my thing, but it’s not bad either. The chorus is good, the riffs are fine, and the vocalist is decent though she’s not exactly wowing me with technical ability or singing with a ton of personality. The aforementioned jittery edits and electronic elements are used pretty sparingly and don’t add much to the song as a whole, though the stuttering on the last guitar riff is kind of neat. Nothing here’s worse than okay, and it’s a decently catchy tune, but it doesn’t exactly leave me excited for more.
10th Place: twosuitsluke (+6 Points)
Aquilus - Nigh To Her GloamFirst Impression:
I’m being transported to another world, maaaaan.Whooo boy. I’m going to get the big complaint out of the way: structurally, this song is a mess. It falls into one of the worst traps a song this long could fall into, in that it has way too many sections that start and end way too frequently, which kills any momentum the song tries to build up because as soon as I’m enjoying what it’s doing, it just stops, retreats into silence, and goes into another part. It jumps between quiet and loud sections more often than I’m able to count, and there’s also no real progression here - it sounds about the same 2 minutes in as it does 14 minutes in. There’s some ideas here that could be quite memorable if they were fleshed out more, but as-is the only thing that feels like it gets enough attention is that main melody that shows up at the start and is then reprised around the halfway mark. All that being said, if I turn my brain off and just treat this more like background or soundtrack music, it’s not that bad. I certainly like the sound; this type of black/folk metal is definitely a favorite of mine, and the symphonic elements are a nice touch as well. The instrumentation and atmosphere are solid, so I’m never disliking what I’m hearing in the moment. But when I think of how well this works as an overall piece I can’t help but feel like there’s a mountain of missed potential here, especially since the sky’s the limit for songs this grand in scope.
11th Place: Elite (+5 Points)
Omnerod - The Commensal FallFirst Impression:
Quite the whirlwind.I can definitely see what you were going for here - this is probably the heaviest and most chaotic song of the round, so it certainly fits the theme, but I just can’t get into it. I can tell it’s trying to be this super intense, harrowing album closer, but to me it mostly just feels like an unappealing spaghetti of muddy, unmemorable riffs and sections that are chaotic just for the sake of being chaotic. The mix is really muddy which is a problem for a song this intricate and busy, and those twinkly keyboards don’t fit with the heavy instrumentation at all. Occasionally there’s a decent riff, or a somewhat melodic section like during the guitar solo that interests me a bit, but those moments are short-lived. The instrumental freak-out at the end falls flat for me because the song hasn’t been enjoyable enough for an ending like that to feel warranted, and it’s not even all that clever or interesting - the guitars repeating the same short, dissonant pattern multiple times in a row and the mix gradually getting more distorted / saturated are pretty lazy ways to make everything sound like chaos. Even the chords during the gentle acoustic outro are unappealing. Yeah, this was another miss. Don’t count yourself out yet though! You’ve got items to catch up with, and there’s plenty of other styles and sounds you can try!
12th Place: ReaperKK (+4 Points)
Virtual Riot - REDLINEFirst Impression:
Well, it fits the theme at least.I admire sending something this left-field (for this forum, anyways), but this was unfortunately a non-starter for me. I don’t mind these super intense, loud dubstep drops, but the song needs something else besides that. Like, aren’t drops supposed to be… a drop from something else? They practically necessitate quieter, more straightforward sections to contrast with, and this song is so short that it basically doesn’t have any. There’s HINTS of them with that melodic synth arpeggio which I actually quite like, but those parts almost immediately transition into a riser and then a drop. The drops themselves are also very unmemorable because nothing in them repeats enough to have any impact - they’re constantly switching up without giving any idea the chance to sink in or establish itself. If this song was a couple minutes longer and the more melodic sections were dramatically extended, I might have actually liked this quite a bit.
Newly banned artists:- Abstract Void
- Isis
- Psychonaut
- Red Fang
CURRENT STANDINGS1: King Puppies And The Acid Guppies - 29
2: LithoJazzoSphere - 24
3: Metro - 24
4: King Postwhore - 23
5: Crow - 21
6: lonestar - 21
7: Ariich - 19
8: Sacul - 18
9: twosuitsluke - 16
10: ReaperKK - 12
11: TAC - 12
12: Elite - 9
Note: Ties are broken by whoever was higher in the standings before points were added.
Don't get too used to the standings looking like that, because item results will be posted shortly.
Topic: Welcome To BuddyhunterKart! (Roulette v6) - ROUND 4 RESULTS (Read 9598 times)