THE CRUSADE OF EPICS: Results -> A Change Of Seasons wins!

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Results of Round 11:
Opeth - The Leper Affinity
Opeth - Ghost Of Perdition


Avantasia - The Wicked Symphony (Nominated by @Black Wizard)
vs.
Nightwish - The Greatest Show On Earth (Nominated by @Brigantium, @Diesel 11)
 
“The Greatest Show on Earth” is a truly phenomenal work of art. The parts “Life” and “The Toolmaker” are the most “song-like” parts of it, and they’re stitched together by quieter pieces of music that make this 24 minute piece feel like a truly epic affair. With Tuomas it’s all about how something works, and no song has ever helped curb my depression more than TGSOE. It’s truly a breathtaking way to experience our history and I love it so much. Second best Nightwish song (“Ghost Love Score” is the only one that beats it, and I nominated it too) and a big contender for my Top 10 favorite songs ever.

Might write a bigger review later.
 
I don't think I did. Just going to check my submission

Edit: Huh. Apparently I did. I haven't listened to that for ages and I'm not that bothered about it tbh :p
 
I can listen to and almost appreciate, if not particularly enjoy the arguably somewhat groundbreaking ten minutes of seagulls amidst the soothing and uplifting tones of Pink Floyd's Echoes, but none but a most unabashed optimist would expect me to accept, let alone endorse the stock jungle sounds, the inadequately bloated, self-important narration written by a person best suited to be a buffoon or a jester of sorts and the constant and consistent butchering of any built-up momentum amidst the disemboweled and desmembered remnants of ideas that - in other universe - might have been passable to even very good Nightwish songs. Let alone turning one of the best female singers in the rock/metal paradigm into a discount Simone Simons, only without the hair, but that's the problem of the whole album, not just this track.

And indeed, anything that cites Dawkins (although in one of his rather rare intervalla lucida) has already put itself into an uphill battle ipso facto.

See? We all can use grand words, Tuomas!

The Avantasia track is definitely much more pedestrian, but less offensive with its aspirations.

P. S. - and sure, good for you, Diesel, that it helps you with your depression, however it would only bring about mine, so we're gonna have to agree to disagree here.
 
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The Avantasia song is...fine. It’s not great, and it’s not bad. The chorus is a bit disjointed, but I liked the solo sections, especially the second one with the funky rhythm work underneath.

The Nightwish song is overblown, and the spoken word sections are incredibly cheesy, but the fundamentals of its songwriting are stronger. While I like the fusion of classical and folk sounds with metal, I’m less fond of so-called “cinematic metal” where movie soundtrack gimmicks are used as part of the music, and there’s definitely some of that going on here in the middle. But I like the opening section and the just-past-the-middle section (“we are here”) a lot, and the rest is pretty good. Funny to hear banjo music, EDM, and “Enter Sandman” whip through there quickly.

So, sorry @Black Wizard, but I’m going with Brigiesium 55’s nominee here. Winner: Nightwish
 
I don't mind The Wicked Symphony, but although it is a little much, I still quite like The Greatest Show On Earth. It took years for me to get it - and it didn't click until I saw the Decades tour, but now when I am in the mood for the song, I really like it.
 
This is the hardest match yet for me. I have no exceptional love for Avantasia, but this is a decent song and Russell Allen bias is enough to make me swing towards it. Jørn doing some serious Dio worship in his vocal tone during the second verse ("oblivvviiiioooon!") also helps. The chorus is absolutely ill-fitting, though. It's cheesy beyond the norm and doesn't fit at all. Every time the chorus comes back I like the song less and less. Ultimately this song does not justify it's length. It's literally three parts. Minus a bunch of points for the vocal orgasm.

Its opponent is a song of which I have long-been a critic. The Greatest Show on Earth is bloated and pompous, even for Nightwish. The narration is stupid, the animal interlude is stupid, the length is stupid. That said, there is so much more going on here than in The Wicked Symphony. The melodies are better, the vocals are (...I can't believe I'm saying this against a Russell track...) better, the instruments are better (with the exception of the guitar, since Emppu doesn't really matter anymore)...it's just more memorable despite being a complete mess. Floor and Marko belting out "we were here!" is truly chilling, even if half of the song is absolutely boring.
 
Its opponent is a song of which I have long-been a critic. The Greatest Show on Earth is bloated and pompous, even for Nightwish. The narration is stupid, the animal interlude is stupid, the length is stupid. That said, there is so much more going on here than in The Wicked Symphony. The melodies are better, the vocals are (...I can't believe I'm saying this against a Russell track...) better, the instruments are better (with the exception of the guitar, since Emppu doesn't really matter anymore)...it's just more memorable despite being a complete mess. Floor and Marko belting out "we were here!" is truly chilling, even if half of the song is absolutely boring.
I’ll take it. One of the things I absolutely adore about it is how it takes some simple — the guitar riff — and then adds a shitload of layers on top of it. And it introduces a lot of motifs during its 24 minutes and everything comes back again throughout. “We were here” is backed by the piano riff in “Four Point Six”. “Life” and “The Toolmaker” share similar riffs both based on the one in “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” to tie this piece in with the album at large. And man, “Sea Worn Driftwood” is so peaceful and beautiful and calming and I love it so much.

One thing I find interesting is how Nightwish and Symphony X differ a lot in how they constructed their 24 minute songs. They’re both often labeled as symphonic - prog - power metal, but they have vastly different approaches. Romeo and co throw in every trick in the book. Tuomas sounds like he’s doing the same thing, but actually he’s taking two mini songs and stitching them together and then building up oceans of melody around them so that the bombastic stuff hits you hard and the quiet stuff makes you think (and ends up hitting you harder).

It’s like I understand why people criticize TGSOE, but it is truly an astounding piece of art to me. It’s more of a soundscape, an epic piece than a song. And that’s so cool.

And for the record, both “The Odyssey” and “The Greatest Show on Earth” are contenders for my overall Top 10 favorite songs. They’re both masterpieces.

I know this post is a ramble but it’s truly one of my favorite musical compositions ever and it’s hard to put into words how truly powerful it is to me whenever I play it. I literally hummed it this morning and it managed to rid me of a rather depressive episode I was having. Anyway yeah, second best Nightwish song after “Ghost Love Score” and fucking incredible in my opinion, end post
 
What parts in them? I've spent a lot of time finding pieces Tuomas has retooled over the years but this trio hasn't struck me yet. :p

I mean... is there any difference to the main riffs? If there is, I guess I am too shallow a person to notice it. Which I admittedly undoubtedly am.
 
The Wicked Symphony
Pros:
- cool chorus
- Jorn
- Russell
- shorter than the other song

Cons:
- Tobi
- Tobias
- Tobias Sammet

The Greatest Show On Earth
Pros:
- metal part is pretty good

Cons:
- intro is too long and repetitive and boring and... this is gonna SHOCK y'all... pretentious AF... almost 6 fucking minutes WTF
- narration sucks and is also pretentious AF
- most of the song is boring... about 10 minutes of it is good and the other 14 minutes of it is Tuomas' orchestral wanking fodder and stupid narration
- Tuomas sucks at writing orchestral music... truly... he's wasting the orchestra completely... should take notes from bands who know how to use it properly, like Septicflesh

Overall: Didn't expect this before listening, but gonna have to go with Avantasia.

P.S. Get your votes in, I'm updating soon.
 
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