Jaffa's Prog Rock and Metal Roulette - Final Results posted!!!

[Jaffa]

Ah goddammit!!!!  I have the perfect song that would slay this round - triumph would be a guaranteed reality.  But, I promised to play with integrity and not steal anyone's thunder.  But, at least now that Doc is out, I can use his shit!

Ha.  Well, I hope I receive whatever it is from whoever you aren't stealing it from, because it sounds good.

Okay, yeah, lonestar sent it.  I thought the 'triumph would be a guaranteed reality' line was a bit odd, but now I understand.     Haven't listened to it yet, but thanks to Chad I'm going into it with some pretty high expectations.

[jingle.boy]

Ah goddammit!!!!  I have the perfect song that would slay this round - triumph would be a guaranteed reality.  But, I promised to play with integrity and not steal anyone's thunder.  But, at least now that Doc is out, I can use his shit!

That's the exact song I was thinking of sending too. 

Yeah, it's all yours.  I'll play for second place.  Want the immunity anal balls back?

Haven't listened to it yet, but thanks to Chad I'm going into it with some pretty high expectations.

Good, then my job is done.  Hopefully your expectations are astronomical, and it falls short (highly unlikely though)

Will send later today.

[King Postwhore]

I've got some work to do.  I think I got one that no one has or will send.  I want to listen to it again first.

[Jaffa]

This is shaping up to be another very strong round. 

[Buddyhunter1]

Sent. Not too confident about this one, but we'll see.

[King Postwhore]

SENT!!

[jingle.boy]

SENT!!

You gotta act quicker, or people will use your bands!

[King Postwhore]

Not this one.

[Jaffa]

Actually, literally everyone else in the competition already tried that artist this round, king.

... Yeah, I'm lying.  You're fine.   

[King Postwhore]

Actually, literally everyone else in the competition already tried that artist this round, king.

... Yeah, I'm lying.  You're fine.   

LIAR!!

[wolfking]

Shit.  Meant to send something before I left for the weekend.  Sorry Jaffa, will have something within a couple of hours.

[wolfking]

Song sent.

[Jaffa]

Shit.  Meant to send something before I left for the weekend.  Sorry Jaffa, will have something within a couple of hours.

No worries man.  I said to submit by tomorrow anyway! 

Alright, I've received from everybody.  Should have results ready later today.

[jingle.boy]

Shit.  Meant to send something before I left for the weekend.  Sorry Jaffa, will have something within a couple of hours.

No worries man.  I said to submit by tomorrow anyway! 

Alright, I've received from everybody.  Should have results ready later today.

Man, you don't waste anytime!    Good for songs that leave a great first impression; not so good for songs that need to age a little.  Hope mine is the former.

[Jaffa]

Shit.  Meant to send something before I left for the weekend.  Sorry Jaffa, will have something within a couple of hours.

No worries man.  I said to submit by tomorrow anyway! 

Alright, I've received from everybody.  Should have results ready later today.

Man, you don't waste anytime!    Good for songs that leave a great first impression; not so good for songs that need to age a little.  Hope mine is the former.

Well, just to clarify, I've already listened to most of the songs several times each.  I'm just using today to familiarize myself with wolfking's song, and then I'll go back and listen to everything once or twice more to finalize the rankings.

In the first impressions round, I waited until I had received everything before I started listening to anything, but the rest of the time I've just been listening to the songs as I receive them.  Might still seem a bit rushed, but rest assured that I'm not just listening to everything once and then making a quick decision. 

[Jaffa]

Results time!

Longer write-ups again.  Skim/skip/deal with it.


SomeoneLikeHim: Frost* - 'Hyperventilate'
Well, I said earlier that I was open to giving these guys a second chance if somebody wanted to take the risk of sending another one of their songs.  It took a couple rounds, but SomeoneLikeHim has stepped up to the plate!  Ballsy move!

My main issue with the other Frost* song was that I didn't think it flowed very well, and I certainly can't say the same here.  This one has a great flow to it; it's not predictable, but it grows organically, with every moment feeling like a natural progression of the one that came before it.  So for me this song is a big improvement on that front.  The ending is a little abrupt for my taste, but I'm guessing it flows directly into the next song on the album, so I'm not going to dwell too much on that petty quibble.  And musically, there's a lot of great stuff here.  The piano in particular is wonderful, with haunting melodies and rich textures.  Some awesome guitar passages, too, during the faster-paced sections.  And the song as a whole just has a really nice, dreamy atmosphere to it.  I'm still not totally sold on these guys, but I like this one. 

adace: Scale The Summit – 'Odyssey'
Outstanding.  Obviously the guitars are the central focus here, and that works out well, because the guitar playing is divine, with great tones, a lot of feeling, and a ton of energy.  As soon as the song starts, you can tell from the intro that it's going to be full of tasty guitar parts, and it doesn't disappoint.  Some great bass parts, too.  And for the most part, the song is also very well-crafted.  I say 'for the most part' because I'm not a fan of the ending; it's a nice enough tune in its own right, but after the soaring guitar driven energy of the rest of the song, it kind of feels to me like it goes out with a whimper.  But that's a minor complaint, and one I can easily overlook in light of the powerful performances of the rest of the song.  I say it again: outstanding.

lonestar: Beyond the Bridge – 'Triumph of Irreality'
... Okay, yeah, this is pretty fucking amazing.  Going in, I had very high expectations for this song, and it still managed to utterly blow me away.  Repeatedly.  Just when I think it can't get any better, it does.  Just when I think the pace has reached a fever pitch, the song changes lanes and accelerates.  And when it runs out of lanes, it just leaves the road altogether and flies for a while.  It's a hell of a ride.   The build-up is spectacular, and the climaxes are out of this world.  I wish it didn't end so abruptly (feels like a rollercoaster coming to a screeching halt without any warning), but as with the Frost* song, I'm sure it works well in the context of its album, so I'm not going to dwell on it.  Instead, I'll focus on all the wonderful stuff in this song, such as... well, everything in the song.  The instrumentation is masterful all around, and it feels incredibly epic for its length.  Simply phenomenal. 

jingle.boy: Ayreon – 'Chaos'
'Chaos' indeed.  This song is pulsing with barely contained energy; it feels like it's constantly on the verge of exploding out of control.  Some of the guitar playing is downright insane, and the drumming is madness, perfectly suited to the chaotic atmosphere.  I gather from the spoken-word intro that the concept of the album is that somebody is travelling back in time to the big bang, and this song does a really good job evoking that setting: you can just about picture comets and asteroids flying past, narrowly missing the ship as it journeys back through time and space toward the ultimate explosion.  The ending wraps it up very nicely, with the last few notes hitting with a lot of power and then everything descending into tense silence, as if we've passed the big bang and arrived at the nothingness at the beginning of time.  All in all, the concept is executed brilliantly, and the song is fantastic.

Buddyhunter1: Periphery – 'Zero'
I've listened to this song probably a dozen times just trying to figure out how exactly I feel about it.  It's a style I'm really not familiar with (I'm guessing this is djent?  Heard the term, heard it associated with Periphery, never knew what it actually was), so it's been a little bit of an adjustment for me.  At first, I found it a little overbearing, almost oppressive at times.  You've got these chunky distorted riffs and this machine gun snare, loud and heavy, up front and in your face, assaulting your senses, and it was honestly a bit difficult for me to listen to the first time around.  But now that I've listened to the song more and gotten a little more used to the style, it's... actually pretty cool.   The song has an interesting layered feel: yes, it has those riffs on the top layer, but if you dig a little deeper, there's a lot of awesome stuff going on beneath the surface, including some really impressive soloing.  Kinda feels like a song within a song, and it's a neat effect.  I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it overall, but it's definitely growing on me. 

kingshmegland: Steve Morse – 'Cruise Missile'
This is another one I had pretty high expectations for.  I'm not familiar with much of Steve Morse's work, but I love Flying Colors, and his playing there is terrific, so I was looking forward to hearing the guitar here, and it didn't disappoint me.  He's definitely a great guitarist.  He's technically sound, he's got a nice style, and he plays with a lot of feeling.  The bass player is incredible too, as you promised me he would be.  As for the song itself, I do think it's somewhat lacking in the songwriting department; to me it feels more like a jam session than an actual proper song.  That being said, it's still awesome.  Great rhythm.  The main bassline is excellent, and the guitar playing is top-notch throughout.  I think it could be composed a bit better, but overall, great stuff.

wolfking: Yngwie Malmsteen – 'Far Beyond the Sun'
Damn.  He really makes that guitar sing.  I've heard a lot about this guy, some of it positive and some of it negative, but I've never actually taken the time to check him out before now.  After listening to this song, I can easily understand why he's so often mentioned alongside names like Vai and Satriani.  I'm not entirely sold on his ability as a songwriter (to me, the song basically feels like a series of guitar solos stitched together), but as a guitarist I'd say he definitely lives up to the title of 'virtuoso', and this is some of the best shredding I've ever heard.  Very impressive. 


Round Five rankings:
1. lonestar
2. jingle.boy
3. adace
4. wolfking
5. kingshmegland
6. SomeoneLikeHim
7. Buddyhunter1

Sorry Buddyhunter.  You kinda saw this coming and predicted that you might get eliminated this round, and I'm afraid that prediction is coming true.  Honestly, though, you've got nothing to be ashamed of; this was just a really, really strong round.  Truth be told, I'm really intrigued by that Periphery song, and I think I could really get into that style, maybe even grow to love it.  But I'm just not quite there yet, and there was too much tough competition this round.  So, sorry, but you're out.  But thank you very much for participating (and for getting me started on Devin Townsend; I'll be picking up Epicloud within the next couple weeks, I hope).  I appreciate your time and interest, and I hope you had fun. 

Meanwhile, the chef is back on top.  Congratulations to lonestar!  That song is incredible, and I'll probably be buying the album as soon as I can get my hands on it.  You've got immunity in the next round.

And speaking of the next round...

Round Six: Whatever
I'm starting to run out of ideas for themes, so I'm going to be lazy and just call this an open round.  Send me whatever you want. 

Just so everybody knows, I'm going to be pretty busy this week.  I'll try to find time to spend on this, but to be honest, I may not have results ready until next weekend.  Please be patient with me.  That being said, feel free to submit your songs whenever you want, and try to get them in by January 24th. 

[lonestar]

Do I get bonus points for sending a song with "whatever" in the title?





And I'm glad you enjoyed that, it's a stellar album. As I said in my message, it was my AOTY from last year.

[Elite]

Triumph of Irreality deserved the win in that round. Amazing song, fantastic album.

[Jaffa]

Do I get bonus points for sending a song with "whatever" in the title?

Yes.  Of course, I'm not judging this on points, so bonus ones won't really help you at all, but, y'know.  Go for it.   


And yeah, Triumph of Irreality is fantastic.  I'm pretty much planning on buying the album, but before I do, I wouldn't mind checking out a track with some vocals, just to get a sample of that side of their music.  Any recommendations?

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Holy crap. Until now I hadn't realized it was an instrumental.

My favorite track is When The Earth And Sky Meet, for what it's worth.

[Jaffa]

Well, it has a brief spoken word passage.  I guess technically that might count as vocals, but meh. 

And thanks for the recommendation.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Nah, I just always listen to the album all the way through, so I don't know all the individual songs that well.

[adace]

Sweet.

Since you liked that one so much, I'd definitely recommend you check out StS' latest album "The Migration." It's pretty much one of the best instrumental albums around.

[Jaffa]

Sweet.

Since you liked that one so much, I'd definitely recommend you check out StS' latest album "The Migration." It's pretty much one of the best instrumental albums around.

Already added it to the rapidly expanding list of albums I need to check out.   

[adace]

Sweet.

Since you liked that one so much, I'd definitely recommend you check out StS' latest album "The Migration." It's pretty much one of the best instrumental albums around.

Already added it to the rapidly expanding list of albums I need to check out.   

[Buddyhunter1]

Damn it.

You should totally do a redemption island / consolation thingy where you give the eliminated participants a second chance

[Jaffa]

I don't know how that would work exactly, but I'll give it some thought.   

In all honesty, though, thank you very much for participating. 

[Buddyhunter1]

It would be pretty simple; you could just have all of the eliminated participants send you something and whoever sends the best one gets back in the game.

And you're welcome, it was fun.

[jingle.boy]

Old Man and the Spirit was also my AOTY for 2012.  It's mandatory listening in any prog-metal library.  Period.  Go and read RJ's review of it over at ladyobscure.com too.  You won't regret that.  Where the Earth and Sky Meet is a good vocal introduction, although that pretty much is the climax of the album.  I like the chorus's and vocal harmonies in The Apparition.

Finishing second in this round is a win in my books.

RJ... you can have the anal immunity all week now!

[Jaffa]

It would be pretty simple; you could just have all of the eliminated participants send you something and whoever sends the best one gets back in the game.

I'll think about it. 

Old Man and the Spirit was also my AOTY for 2012.  It's mandatory listening in any prog-metal library.  Period.  Go and read RJ's review of it over at ladyobscure.com too.  You won't regret that.  Where the Earth and Sky Meet is a good vocal introduction, although that pretty much is the climax of the album.  I like the chorus's and vocal harmonies in The Apparition.

I'll keep all that in mind and maybe check out The Apparition.  Thanks. 

Also, any tips on which Ayreon albums to start with? 

[lonestar]

Old Man and the Spirit was also my AOTY for 2012.  It's mandatory listening in any prog-metal library.  Period.  Go and read RJ's review of it over at ladyobscure.com too.  You won't regret that.  Where the Earth and Sky Meet is a good vocal introduction, although that pretty much is the climax of the album.  I like the chorus's and vocal harmonies in The Apparition.

Finishing second in this round is a win in my books.

RJ... you can have the anal immunity all week now!

Good, my puckerhole is gonna be a bit sore after that game. I got way too many Seahawk friends.

[jingle.boy]

Also, any tips on which Ayreon albums to start with?

Well, they're all concept albums, and the good ones are double albums...  so be ready to sit for a while to digest them.  The Human Equation is my #2 album of all time, and features James LaBrie as the central character; Into The Electric Castle was in the 30s.  Either of those two would be my suggestion.

[Jaffa]

Also, any tips on which Ayreon albums to start with?

Well, they're all concept albums, and the good ones are double albums...  so be ready to sit for a while to digest them.  The Human Equation is my #2 album of all time, and features James LaBrie as the central character; Into The Electric Castle was in the 30s.  Either of those two would be my suggestion.

The Human Equation sounds like a winner to me.  I'll keep an eye out.  Thanks.   

[jingle.boy]

Question... when does the 'immunity' reward go away?

Also, RJ... would you mind sending in a stinker next round?  It really would free up a lot more choices for me.     You know how many bands I have thought 'ooooh, they'd be good.  Nope, fucking chef introduced them to me' 

[Jaffa]

I was thinking I would keep it up until we got down to the final four.  Hope that doesn't bother anybody.