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

Both of these songs have a similar style to Orchid/Morningrise Opeth, except like most black metal, neither do much for me. I slightly preferred the Nocte Obducta one, though, since the production is better. The vocals aren't my thing in either track, but I have this unique ability to tune vocals out and focus on the music, which is far more important to me.

This droning style gets boring for me very quickly, since there's very little dynamics or staccato riffage.
 
Tough call on these two. My Dying Bride have grown on me quite a bit since The Ghost of Orion last year. The violin really adds a warm folky dimension where doom leans towards plain and minimalist. I really like the melodic guitars and change of pace in Nocte Obducta's song, and there was a better flow and structure to it, that justifies the length of the track.

Going to go with My Dying Bride anyway. I do like their sound lots.
 
No?

Death-doom is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double kick drumming of death metal. The genre emerged in the late-1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s, but had become less common by the turn of the 21st century. In turn, death-doom gave rise to the closely related genre of funeral doom as well as to the more melodic, gloomy and romantic gothic metal.
~Wikipedia

Black metal is pretty different, the fuck you on about. Also MDB were one of the pioneers of the genre and Turn Loose the Swans is still hailed as one of the best albums of the doom genre as a whole.
 
Honestly... neither of the 2 songs did much for me. Chose MDB because it was slightly more memorable.
 
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Results of Round 37:
Nocte Obducta - Winter: Dezembermond
My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans


Helloween - Halloween (Nominated by @Wogmidget)
vs.
Star One - It All Ends Here (Nominated by @Night Prowler)
 
This Helloween song is clearly the better of the two epics from the original Keeper albums. The music is consistently strong and often great. The verses are a bit of a mess, but the pre-chorus is good, chorus 1 is excellent, and chorus 2 gets the job done. The various interludes and bridges through the middle section are also consistently strong, and the song feels like it follows a coherent through line and earns its runtime. The production is a bit weak, especially the wimpy-ass bass sound and the cringey backing vocals in a couple of parts, but on the whole this is a very good track.

I’m a sucker for crunchy guitars with spacey synths, and this Star One song certainly delivers on that front. The vocal performances are strong, and the guitar interlude in the middle is great, and there’s nothing here as messy as the verses of “Halloween”, but there’s also nothing as memorable as the best parts of the Helloween track, either. Most of the songwriting is fine, but unremarkable, and it feels a bit too repetitive. There are some cool little vocal harmony bits here and there, though.

I liked both songs, but in the end one is a bit stronger. Sorry, @Night Prowler, but @Wogmidget ’s nominee takes this one. Winner: Helloween
 
For the life of me I don't understand this forum's love for Helloween. The music is... fine. Energetic but with a bad mix, although I can't criticize that too much given when it was recorded. The vocals, though? I can't stand them. There's no depth or bite; they are as generic as cliché power metal vocals can be. Musically, I did like the melody at 10:12 - it sounds Russian or something. Cool beans. Or... cool borscht?

I'm not in love with this particular Star One song, but the vocals carry it far above the Helloween track for me. Nothing in it is that catchy per se, except for Floor wailing in the background. However, it is a far more unique song, and I prefer the "metal about space" vibe than whatever medieval thing Helloween is doing. The whole track sounds somewhat alien, which was probably the intent. The song has direction and presence, and I can't say the same for the Helloween song.
 
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