Jethro42: Prog epic Rd 6

Jethro42 06.14.23	Voting ends June the twenty first. Good match everyone!
Mythodea 06.14.23	Oh, okay, this one is going to be an epic round. Onsegen are an amazing group, one I discovered in December and fell in love with. However, I still have to listen to the highly intriguing Schizofrantic, which sound impressive and complex (and what a cover art!) Great great great participations again, I'm so glad we're doing these, people!
Koris 06.14.23	I knew people would vibe with my entry ;] Anyway, I'll check out Fear soon and see if it stacks up
bgillesp 06.14.23	Looking forward to some weirdness if the album covers are anything to go by
TheIntruder 06.14.23	Nice to see this two together. I suspect this will be another interesting one. Good round to all.
bnelso55 06.14.23	I am really looking forward to Schizofrantik. Definitely intrigued by the description.
Jethro42 06.15.23	Hope that pairing is gonna be tight
Donchivo 06.15.23	wow, two very exciting contestants, looking forward to this week's round!
Zig 06.15.23	Oddities has a track called 'Nerds Don't Smoke' this's going to be great.
kalkwiese 06.16.23	On 1 atm I dig the brass so much, damn
kalkwiese 06.16.23	Okay, 1 is fucking cool Now let's get into 2 let's gooooo
Donchivo 06.16.23	Onsegen fuckin' ripsssss!!! awesome, just one song in, totally loving it so far!
Donchivo 06.16.23	oy yeah, that wahwah solo after the brass part... damn!
kalkwiese 06.16.23	One of the coolest rounds so far. This one is gonna be tough for me
Zig 06.16.23	so, Fear is a melodic, fuzzy post-rock record has a cinematographic atmosphere. Really enjoyed the Jazz and chamber music influences here, as well as those spacey wordless vocals. Great record, overall. One of the most solid entries of this tourney. Oddities is truly odd. Despite being clearly influence by bands that I like, the music gets so technical with its time signatures, endless breaks, virtuose performances and numerous tempo changes, that ends up losing some vision, some coherence with too much information going on through the whole record. Musically the album is fine, but it was not a pleasant listen, those 55 minutes felt like 2 hours. Onsegen gets my vote!
Jethro42 06.16.23	Both albums have appealing moments. Onsegen is repetitive in a good way. Schizofrantic is loaded and dense, with too much information going on as you said, Zig. My vote is not ready yet. I wish both could stay on the run. 1:0 Zig
Jethro42 06.16.23	Thank you for the feature round after round, my manosg!
Donchivo 06.16.23	Ok, three spins in now with 'Fear'. Awesome album, the atmosphere is so great and all these different style woven into the heavy post/psych make this very fun to listen to! I love Ennio Morricone, so the brass staff nails it for me. Possibly my favorite album of the contest so far. Excited to czech Psychofrantik next, but it will definitely face an uphill battle!
Scheumke 06.16.23	Yeah I agree with you guys. One listen in, before reading these reactions, I was thinking to myself "these are clearly one of my favorites for this entire tourney so far". Fun to see some of the same reactions here. Haven't spun Schizo yet but the description reads a little like Panzerballet which I really enjoy from time to time so curious to dive into that!
bnelso55 06.17.23	Schizofrantik is intense! Loving the freneticism, but I'm going to need a few more listens to take all of that in.
Donchivo 06.17.23	Yeah, my vote goes to Onsegen Ensemble. Schizofrantik is pretty cool too, I love the intensity. Also in my view it does have nice changes of pace throughout which make it less heavy to take in then I thought it might be. Very good album too, but Fear is definitely my favorite discvoery of this tournament so far.
Jethro42 06.17.23	2:0 Zig Don
bgillesp 06.17.23	Prog rock isn’t the first thought I get with either of these albums, however I thoroughly enjoyed both. That said, Oddities is a contender for my fav this year so far, so my vote goes to it!
Scheumke 06.17.23	Damn this is a really good contest between two great records. The technical proficiency of Schitzofrantik is off the charts and the record as a whole is actually really impressive. The fact that music this chaotic kept my attention for the entire duration speaks to its quality. There are also moments where it really reaches high points, like the 3:00 mark of Bifurkations which is an absolutely fantastic passage. That said, after listening to both twice there is no clear winner to which I think is the 'better' record. To me in the end it boils down to atmosphere (Onsegen) vs virtuocity (Schitzo), where atmosphere will almost always win it for me. Therefore my vote goes to Onsegen. It's the one I will keep coming back to.
Jethro42 06.17.23	@bgill, Onsegen is heavy prog mixed with space rock, and Schizofrantik is prog metal experimental plus avant-gardist, so both are kinda prog rock.
Jethro42 06.17.23	3:1 Zig Don Schmeuke bgill @Scheumke, for some reason, I was certain you would've voted for Schizofrantik. Maybe because it's heavier than Onsegen.
bgillesp 06.17.23	Yeah I wasn’t saying they weren’t, just prog rock wouldn’t be my primary descriptor of them. Not a complaint, just an observation
Scheumke 06.19.23	Yeah I get that Jethro haha. The atmosphere of Onsegen just completely gripped me, though tbf I think Schizo is also in my top 5 records from this contest so far. Good to have such a strong contest this early on, but also sad to see one leave.
zakalwe 06.19.23	There’s a fair bit of Cardiacs going on with Oddities which is never a bad thing. There’s also some tripe. I’m not having John Merrick and some other tunes at all. There’s a fair bit of early to mid 2000s rock going on with Fear which can be a bloody disaster depending on which bands are being aped but fortunately it’s a decent album for the most part. I’m going with Fear
Sabrutin 06.19.23	I like the flowing atmospheric nature of 1, good package but a little hollow perhaps. Kind of feels like they forgot to add the lead vocals
e210013 06.19.23	Hello guys, I'm back. I expect this will be another hard fight. I loved "Fear" since the first spins. It was love at the first sight. This is another great stuff from the Nordics. "Oddities" is hardest to love, it's more experimental and avant-garde. We need more time to like it. Still, It grown up on me with time. I'll do a couple of more spins on both to make my decision.
kalkwiese 06.19.23	I love both of these very much. They're easy top 5 albums for the tournament, so I need a few more spins
Jethro42 06.19.23	4:1 Zig Don Scheumke zak bgill
Jethro42 06.19.23	@zak, I think you're right about Cardiacs. @e21, welcome back! I thought there would be more love for Oddities.
SlothcoreSam 06.19.23	Ok, last Listen coming up.
kalkwiese 06.19.23	I will hate losing any of these two in the tourney, but my vote goes to Schizofrantik, because of the weirdness and because it goes hard I need to check both band's discog though. I am pretty blown away by this round
Sabrutin 06.19.23	I have to vote for 2. I find it edgier, funnier and more commendable all around. Love the heavy cerebral sound. I dig the atmosphere the album has, it's both sinister and circus-y later on. The heavy guitar stabs moments are sweet. Didn't expect the funkiness. "It Happens" is a short shiny gem. "Bifurkations" is really cool too. Definitely some King Crimson in these guys' diet. From the heavy tracks (almost some Shub-Niggurath too here and there?) to the cleaner guitarwork throughout "Eleven" that reminds me of Discipline a bit
kalkwiese 06.19.23	Yea, I too see a lot KC in there. Really dig it. Some heavy stuff feels like the best proggy sections of AJFA by Metallica which I dig. There ia a lot to unpack, but the songs work as songs despite so much going on
Koris 06.19.23	I'm still gonna have to go with Schizo as well, although I'm really glad I discovered Onsegen through this tourney. Really love the atmosphere of Fear But yeah, Schizofrantik gets my vote :]
Jethro42 06.19.23	''Didn't expect the funkiness of Oddities'' Yes I talked about it in the description. 4:4 Zig Don Scheumke zak bgill kalk Sab Koris
Jethro42 06.19.23	I'm more of a style of Agalloch than a frenetic Leprous. Plus, I have hard times diving in Oddities, whereas Onsegen is enjoyable, consistent from start to finish. Oddities is sparsed with clever songs and patterns here and there, but I don't enjoy it as a whole, even after multiple listens. The first track is terrible. Anyway, I'm voting for Onsegen. I can see me return to it again and again. 5:4 Zig Don Scheumke zak Jethro bgill kalk Sab Koris
SlothcoreSam 06.20.23	It's a close one for sure, the best round yet. I'm gonna go with Oddities, I enjoyed it a little more, and want to listen to it again.
Jethro42 06.20.23	5:5 Zig Don Scheumke zak Jethro bgill kalk Sab Koris Sloth
TheIntruder 06.20.23	Fear is a melodic album well balanced with a cinematograph atmosphere. Oddities is a good album with an odd atmosphere, an album difficult to digest. As I see myself go to Fear often than Oddities, my vote goes to Fear.
Jethro42 06.20.23	6:5 Zig Don Scheumke zak Jethro Intruder bgill kalk Sab Koris Sloth
Donchivo 06.20.23	and once again a nailbiter! But deservedly so, for me both contestants are in the top 5 of all contestants so far too!
bnelso55 06.20.23	One more vote for Oddities. I'm really the liking King Crimson parallels others have mentioned. It's a dense record and a lot to digest, but I'm looking forward to exploring it more.
Jethro42 06.20.23	Another brave guy, especially in this case, where there's big rivality and everything can happen. 6:6 Zig Don Scheumke zak Jethro Intruder bgill kalk Sab Koris Sloth bnelso
kalkwiese 06.20.23	Haha, this is gonna be a tough match to watch tomorrow :D
Jethro42 06.20.23	3 other regular entries left, plus maybe an outsider. Like Don said, another nailbiter sighting.
e210013 06.21.23	First, I must say this is probably the most balanced and best match up of this tournament till now. Congrats Jethro. Second, it'll be a pity that one of them "die" here, but it's life. As I mentioned on my last comment, I loved "Fear" since the first spins. It has an interesting cinematic excursion that at times reminds me the soundtracks of the spaghetti westerns of Morricone. It's an album without weak points and well balanced. Music wise, the album offers an impressing mixed bag. It's an impressive and surprising work. "Oddities" is more experimental and avant-garde. It has a perfect title. Its music can be divided in two unrelated styles, their more complex, intricate and frenetic nature and a more atmospheric attitude with more emphasis on vocals. But, in general the music is virtuosic with little tendency towards melodic themes and with many technical parts. So, we are in presence of two different music proposals. By one hand we have an enjoyable and consistent work from start to finish, "Fear". By the other hand, we have a less cohesive work with some brilliant parts, a odd work as a whole, "Oddities". Said this, we are in presence of two different but equally great proposals. I decided to vote on "Fear" because I can see myself to return to it more often than "Oddities".
Jethro42 06.21.23	Yes; Another e21's analysis. We never know the vote before his very last sentence, which marks the beauty of the thing. 7:6 Zig Don Scheumke zak Jethro Intruder e21 bgill kalk Sab Koris Sloth bnelso
Jethro42 06.21.23	I think Oddities contains the best song's portions.
e210013 06.21.23	Maybe, but it's less cohesive. I like to be an enigmatic guy. Lol.
Helentroy 06.21.23	Both are nice. But I prefer the cinematic melodid atmosphere of Fear than the underground and avant-garde experimentation of Oddities. So Fear for me.
Mythodea 06.21.23	Sorry to be very late this time, usually I have already voted by afternoon but things happened today that held me back. So, as I had said from the very beginning, Onsegen Ensemble have become a favourite of mine after listening to their latest album in December. I knew it would be very difficult for another album to win my heart over it in this tournament. But Oddities tried its best, with a very precise name! Very metallic, much more than anything else so far in this tournament, and abrassive, it really catches you off guard a lot of times, and it's really packed with details. However, there was a serious drawback, and it's not the feeling that it lacks any real musical idea - perhaps I could deal with that in other contexts. It's the vocals, which I feel they don't really add anything to the mix, on the contrary, they kill the vibe sometimes.... So, with Schizofrantik having won my respect and attention, I believe I should remorselessly vote for Fear.
e210013 06.21.23	Woh, it seems than suddenly we have a winner. After a so big fight it seems that suddenly Fear surpassed Oddities. Congrats to both. Both are two amazing proposals, deppending of our taste and mood. Another great journey indeed. Let's see what we can expect from the next round.
Jethro42 06.21.23	Another good analysis, this time from Myth. 9:6 Zig Don Scheumke zak Jethro Intruder e21 Helentroy Myth bgill kalk Sab Koris Sloth bnelso
Jethro42 06.21.23	Yes we have a clear winner. Bravo bnelso, you win even if you chose the other camp. So Fear, that is. I will prepare the other match.
e210013 06.21.23	Yeah, a good analysis from Myth. I agree with him about the vocals on "Oddities". I forget to mention that on my comment. It was another reason why I chose "Fear".
e210013 06.21.23	Yeah, it's true. Bravo, bnelso did a great thing. He could never lose. Lol.
Jethro42 06.21.23	Ya right!
Mythodea 06.21.23	Congrats to bnelso for the awesome candidate, but also to Koris for a worthy opponent! Now off we go
TheIntruder 06.21.23	Another round finishes in a great way. I say the same. Congrats to bnelso as a winner and to Koris as a worthy opponent.
bnelso55 06.22.23	Thanks, all. Glad to be a part of the tournament. These early, discovery rounds are some of my favorites. Hearing all the new music is exciting. Cheers, Koris. Thanks for bringing the great sounds of Schizofrantik to my attention.