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

There are parts of the Virgin Steele song that are musically quite powerful, but much of it is the kind of power metal cheese that I have great trouble digesting. When he mentioned falcons I almost lost it, but I was able to hold it in until "with the power to SMASH" sent me over the edge. Bits of the instrumental portion are well done, but it's hard for me to ignore the stereotypically power metal chorus that felt like it was repeated far too many times.

When pitted against the best song by my Dream Theater replacement band, it stands no chance. When that syncopated riff kicks in, hot diggity damn. Then you have that disjointed open groovy pre-chorus topped off by a chorus of pure catchiness. Then there's that chaotic section at 8:01... this makes me feel like I'm actually in an ancient temple or something. The instrumental middle section might border on musical masturbation, but at no point does it ever get to the obnoxious levels of Dream Theater (which I think is in large part due to Sherinian's far superior patches). Words cannot express how much I prefer Soto, Sherinian, and Portnoy to their respective members in Dream Theater, and that's no disrespect to the outstanding Bumblefoot and Sheehan.

Easy vote for God of the Sun.
 
“God Of The Sun” is exotic, epic, challenging, and catchy, and showcases the talents of all 5 band members while taking the listener on a full-blown musical adventure. Love it.

“Veni, Vidi, Vici” has a nice intro and interlude, a great solo, and some good melodic hooks peppered throughout the song. It’s also got pretty bad production and a weak chorus, and I’m not a fan of the “half-singing” approach that pops up with some frequency here. Also, please just say “no” to synth horns — they always sound terrible. That said, Virgin Steele does have a very recognizable and unique sound, and I never felt like the song was boring.

But even without considering own-nominee bias, this would be an easy choice for me. Sorry, Pogmidgen, but I have to go with my own selection here. Winner: Sons Of Apollo
 
Sons of Apollo's song was fine except for the wanking solo sections.

I did not like Virgin Steele's song. The vocals during the couplets were super annoying. Then again, that's DeFeis' whole shtick.
 
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Results of Round 59:
Virgin Steele - Veni, Vidi, Vici
Sons Of Apollo - God Of The Sun

Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5 (Nominated by @JudasMyGuide)
vs.
Rush - Xanadu (Nominated by @Wogmidget, @Jer)
 
Easy vote for Rush, and I don't even care for most of their trippy '70s stuff. But the vast majority of non-Animals Pink Floyd just bores me to tears. There's a few exceptions, but Shine On... is not one of them. The Rush song is just so much more musically interesting to me. Even Geddy's grating voice can't mask those smooth spidery bass fills and Neil's precision.
 
My problem with “Xanadu” is that it has arguably the best stuff Rush has ever written in it, but the song feels unfinished in spite of its 11 minute runtime. But man, that music is incredible.
 
The only fault I can find in Shine On You is that damn saxophone at the end.

There's no denying Rush's quality but despite Xanadu being that long, it doesn't feel that epic at all, and it doesn't have the emotional depth Shine On You has.
 
Every time I hear Pink Floyd I think they’re great at setting a mood and building atmosphere, but there’s just so much calm meandering that they struggle to hold my interest over the course of a longer song. In this track’s case, when they finally get around to the meat of the song 2/3 of the way through, the vocal melodies are uninspiring and not worth the wait. The sax and acoustic guitar parts that follow are nice, though. Long story short, I’m clearly not high enough to fully appreciate what’s going on here, and I probably never will be.

Meanwhile, “Xanadu” is a summation of everything great about late 70s Rush — complex instrumentation with great interplay between all the instruments, memorable vocal lines, and a winding musical journey full of light and shade.

No contest here, even without considering own-nominee bias. Sorry, @JudasMyGuide, but I have to go with Jogmidger’s choice this time. Winner: Rush
 
Oh yes, i's true, SOYCD vocal lines don't inspire me to start imagining how I'm strangling someone in vivid detail, preferably Geddy Lee.
 
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Results of Round 60:
Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5
Rush - Xanadu

Arch/Matheos - Kindred Spirits (Nominated by @KidInTheDark666)
vs.
Atlantean Kodex - A Prophet In The Forest (Nominated by @Perun)
 
Never listened to any Arch/Matheos before. I like the melancholy, atmospheric intro. Arch's voice sounds pretty good, like a mash-up of Michael Kiske and James LaBrie. (Sounds like he has a mild accent, but he's American? Hmm.) Nice build-up, good rocking sections, great multi-part solo. The music here is tight and focused, but the vocal parts seem to meander and tread water in places, which detracts a bit from the song.

And then we have another entry from Atlantean Kodex, the house band that needs to agree on a tuning frequency. (Or since the guitars are always out of tune with each other across all their albums, maybe it's just a terrible stylistic choice?) The production here is pretty low rent, but there are a number of nice musical ideas that maybe needed a little more time in the oven. The singing is generally fine, though it sounds like the lyrics are being read off a sheet of paper without much conviction. The songwriting is OK, but things wind up plodding and repeating a bit too much for my taste, at least through the first half of the song. I don't know -- if this were a high schooler's garage band I'd be super proud of them and looking forward to what they could do once they tightened up their game and polished their craft some more; but based on the various Atlantean Kodex tracks I've heard, it sounds like they've already hit their creative plateau, and this is likely as good as they're ever going to get. Hopefully they have well-paying day jobs.

Sorry, @Perun, but this is an easy call for @KidInTheDark666 's nominee. Winner: Arch/Matheos
 
I like Atlantean Kodex but this song is not one of their best. This Arch/Matheos song is one of their best songs though.
 
Matheos is a really good composer and a solid player. Never heard Arch/Matheos before as I'm not a big fan of John Arch's voice, but this is a good song. The music is superb and I was enthralled the whole time. Arch is fine, I guess, but I agree with @Jer that the melodies don't stick too well.

Atlantean Kodex sounded promising but ultimately feels pretty cheap and unpolished. The recording and composition feels pretty janky.

Arch/Matheos for sure.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Matheos is a really good composer and a solid player. Never heard Arch/Matheos before as I'm not a big fan of John Arch's voice, but this is a good song. The music is superb and I was enthralled the whole time. Arch is fine, I guess, but I agree with @Jer that the melodies don't stick too well.

Atlantean Kodex sounded promising but ultimately feels pretty cheap and unpolished. The recording and composition feels pretty janky.

Arch/Matheos for sure.
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Actually, this is what you said about Arch/Matheos back in 2019: :D
MrKnickerbocker said:
I'll be honest, I'm not making it past the first song on this album. I like Fates Warning and Matheos, but Arch's voice drives me absolutely crazy. It's like Bruce constantly singing at the top of his range but without Bruce's vocal ability.

The music is quite good, but I just can't stomach a whole album.
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Results of Round 61:
Atlantean Kodex - A Prophet In The Forest
Arch/Matheos - Kindred Spirits

Iced Earth - Travel In Stygian (Nominated by @LooseCannon)
vs.
Luca Turilli - Prophet Of The Last Eclipse (Nominated by @Jer)
 
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