checking scoreboard to see if I need to apologize to cassette
Nope!
3 Likes
In 7th place scoring 6 points: It Came Out Of The Sky by The Scientists
Apparently this is a cover of a Creedence Clearwater Revival song but I can’t recall if I ever heard the original. This is a very fine punk song on the surface with a nice, thick guitar sound that I enjoyed very much and it reveals its rock roots. I couldn’t fully warm-up to the singer’s voice and it cost this entry a higher ranking.
2 Likes
But in all honesty I found this category tough because I don’t hear lyrics.
That’s neat. Took me a moment though to figure out what your post means.
Probably tough to make out any lyrics inside an MRI machine.
1 Like
Shellac is Steve Albini, a 2p2er and WSOP bracelet winner (i realize you figured it out but for lazier people)
1 Like
I have not remotely enjoyed a single song in this category yet. Jars of Clay looking better and better.
1 Like
In 6th place scoring 7 points: Euphoria by Killing Joke
I think it’s appropriate that this ended up in the middle of the pack. It’s pleasant to listen to. There’s is nothing wrong with this. I have nothing bad to say about this. I like Killing Joke’s sound. I came close to submitting one of their songs in previous Walruses. The guitars are nice. The drums are nice. The vocals are nice. They work together nicely. The upcoming songs simply tickled the right spots in my brain a bit more.
3 Likes
In 5th place scoring 8 points: Facade of Reality (Live) by Epica
Epica is one of those bands where I have listened to all of their albums but couldn’t name a song to save my life. Having listened to their new album a couple of weeks ago did not change that.
But they did here is one of the reasons why. The first 1:35 are fantastic, like insta-podium with a great shot at 1st place fantastic. I absolutely love the choir and soprano parts of this song. This could have been divine. Then the growls start and don’t get me wrong I love lots of growly and screamy music. Growls are great when they add to the song but here I feel they are merely a distraction from the good parts.
The beauty and the beast routine has also been done to death already. Furthermore I am not a fan of spoken word parts. They rarely improve a song in my opinion.
This kept jumping up and down the Pauwl zone every time I listend to the playlist. When Simone Simons sings I think to myself “This can’t end up down in nth place” and then Growly McGrowlface and Tony Blair make an entrance and I change my mind to “Yes, it can”.
After a lot of back and forth and up and down this is where it finally settled.
2 Likes
I see what you did there 
1 Like
going the full 8 minutes would literally kill me
Because it’s blowing your mind?
content warning: gore
In 4th place scoring 9 points: Haille Sellasse, Up Your Ass by Propaghandi
On first listen this didn’t do well at all but I grew on me over time. A lot of this is owed to the low droning wooooomp-woompwoompwooomp-wooooomp. The line “not a fuck of a lot” also got me every time. Don’t know why. It has a nice vibe with just the right amount of roughness.
What also set it apart from the other submissions is that it is musically upbeat which was a nice change of pace. It also had a concrete message instead of only vague musings. I generally pay very little attention to the lyrics when ranking songs but
3 Likes
Nice guys finish 6th
2 Likes
disappointed
2 Likes
It wouldn’t be a Walrus if there wasn’t disappointment all around.
1 Like
9 people already disappointed by me, 2 more disappointments to come. This can only mean it’s a Cyphre family gathering or the Walrus podium.
2 Likes
Luckily for my sanity it’s the latter, so congratulations to everyone who has made it so far.
In 3rd place scoring 10 points: Slaves of Fear by Amon Amarth
When I listened to this during my first pass through I never expected it to end up on the podium. I mean I like Amon Amarth and they have some great songs but this would not have immediately come to mind. What happened is that “Slaves of Fear” rated very highly on the all important nodding-along-every-time-the-song-comes-on scale. This combined with few tracks that stand out in this category was sufficient for a bronze medal. This might not be top shelf melodic death metal but it’s pretty good.
4 Likes
In 2nd place scoring 11 points: Vex by Chelsea Wolfe
This is the one submission where I felt the category fit is a bit of a stretch. That’s why I asked for a clarification.
I still think that the use of a single word is a tenuous fit. With stronger competition or a weaker song this might have gotten knocked down a few more spots. I had a hard time deciding who should get the gold medal and in the end I gave it to the submission that better fit the category in my humble opinion.
The song itself is great. Never even heard of the artist before. The contrast between the rough instrumentals and the haunting vocals make for a an exceptional piece of music. The growls also compliment the singer’s soft voice and add to the goosebump-inducing atmosphere of the song.
1 Like
I’ll take it!
3 Likes