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

I actually really like that Gamma Ray album. The epic at the end is meh, but the rest of the album has some great material. I remember really getting into it back in the olden IRC days.
 
The Gamma Ray song is really good, a lot better than I was expecting and I would have easily voted for it over both songs in the previous round, but against The Accolade it doesn't stand a chance.
 
First things first: The first riff in “Heading For Tomorrow” is shamelessly taken from “Victim Of Changes” by Judas Priest. And the singer, despite having some decent moments, is all over the place. Shocking then that the nomination is from Jer, who is typically very critical of that stuff!

But I enjoyed the song quite a bit. I think they executed the riff better than Priest did. The whole thing was like listening to a bunch of different bands in one song. Of course, there’s some Helloween feel to it all — Kai Hansen was in both bands, and the singer sounds a lot like Kiske — but beyond that: the first part sounds like Priest, the second is reminiscent of the moody interlude in “Keeper”, there’s a Metallica-esque section after, then one that reminds me of Megadeth, and finally one directly like Iron Maiden, before it all wraps up. It’s a good song, maybe could’ve been chopped down a bit but it’s pretty good.

But come on man, “The Accolade”. It’s such an amazing song. The way it builds up to tell the tale of a knight who sets out to help save the world, gradually becoming stronger on his quest, then a shift into a piece that’s unique in Symphony X’s catalogue, where an organ synth and Russell’s vocals transform it into a sort of choir... and then the MOTHERFUCKING BELLS KICK IN AND ALL THE INSTRUMENTS START PILING IN ONE BY ONE AND IT’S SO GOOD!!! Ughhhhhhh it’s so good. And the finale where the knight loses his life but remains a legend in the hearts, maybe not of his countrymen, but certainly of Heaven. And of course this song obviously has Russell Motherfucking Allen, a literal god on vocals. Like Jesus Christ do I have to say anything else??? It’s a masterpiece and I’m literally... ugh I love it so much, fuckk.

THE ACCOLADE.
 
Heading For Tomorrow - So the main question here for me was whether I like the Blast From The Past re-recording more... and I decided that I do :D Instrumentally the re-recording is way better, both playing and production-wise. Vocally I prefer the choirs from the original, and the chorus, but Kai does the verses better. Still gonna get my vote though... One of the first songs I heard from Gamma Ray and for a while one of my favorite songs ever.

The Accolade - Great song, but I think you guys are overrating it a bit. It's not even the best song on its album, let alone best SX song. Also, Accolade II is way better.
 
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Honestly, I also don't like Accolade all that much - I also like the sequel more and I dislike how it "crippled" the band in certain regard - I mean, Communion and Oracle is just another attempt at striking that gold vein, isn't it?

But a lesser (and is it really, even? Does "not in my top 10" mean "lesser"? I wonder...) Symph X track is going to be easily better than most of the other tracks by other bands. Sorry, it's just the way it is.
 
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Results of Round 8:
Gamma Ray - Heading For Tomorrow
Symphony X - The Accolade

Helloween - The King For A 1000 Years (Nominated by @Saapanael)
vs.
Wuthering Heights - Lost At Sea (Nominated by @Night Prowler)
 
JudasMyGuide said:
Honestly, I also don't like Accolade all that much - I also like the sequel more and I dislike how it "crippled" the band in certain regard - I mean, Communion and Oracle is just another attempt at striking that gold vein, isn't it?

But a lesser (and is it really, even? Does "not in my top 10" mean "lesser"? I wonder...) Symph X track is going to be easily better than most of the other tracks by other bands. Sorry, it's just the way it is.
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Ah, now there's a Symphony X song in my top 10. It may not have any moment as strong as the multi-layered polymetric section near the end of The Accolade, but the song has a great flow to it and is a thing of beauty.
 
Never heard this Helloween song before, as I pretty much gave up on them after Master Of The Rings. Deris actually sounds pretty good when he sings clean, which was a surprise, as I’m not fond of his usual sleazy tone. The choral vocal bits near the beginning sound bad, and a lot of the melodic lines are typical Weikath stuff, which isn’t always to my taste; but there are a number of nice sections, and even some aping of Kai Hansen’s guitar style later on. I will say that this song is a lot more coherent than the earlier Helloween epics — it has a clear direction and progression, while still going through a lot of phases. It’s pleasant enough without really wowing me.

Meanwhile, this Wuthering Heights song has a lot of cool raw materials, and it clearly has more musical meat on its bones than the Helloween track, but it also has its share of issues. The production isn’t great, the low end on the guitars sounds sloppy and out of tune, and the B-list chain smoking Dio wannabe on vocals makes some really questionable phrasing decisions in places. But the biggest issue is that this track is just a complete failure of songwriting — it’s a patchwork quilt of disjointed parts that goes on and on and on across the sea with no coherent through line. I have no doubt that this could be reworked into a great song, but the track in its current form is a hot unfinished mess.

Sorry, @Night Prowler, but I have to go with @Saapanael ’s nominee here. Winner: Helloween
 
No contest here...

''The King For A 1000 Years'' is a very good epic (best song on its album) - one of the best songs of Helloween in the last decade IMO.
 
The King For A Thousand Years is a great epic. Keeper: The Legacy generally deserves a lot more recognition.
 
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