Rate The Song Above You

This generic drum'n'bass remix strips the original of the minimalist grit that gave it character. Kind of makes you wonder what is the whole point, 2/5.

Isis - Threshold of Transformation

edited 25th Jul '17 3:07:41 AM by Millership

I never got fully into Isis, because some of their songs were too samey for me, but this is one of the better ones. It's till too long for my tastes, but there are changes in riffing, and the composition feels like a huge devastated industrial landscape somewhere on Mars. The quieter bridge was good enough not to put me to sleep as well. The whole thing also feels a lot like a mix between later days of Tool and later days of Deftones, and that's completely fine by me. (8/10)

Clutch - A Shogun Named Marcus

A quick, energetic alt metal with droning riffs, 4/5.

Oleg Anofriev - The Robbers Song (from the Soviet "Town Musicians of Bremen" cartoon)

Translated lyrics:

edited 28th Jul '17 5:30:01 AM by Millership

I have absolutely no idea what's going on here, and honestly, I'm a bit scared. Still, though, it's somewhat catchy, though it isn't really something I can see myself enjoying over most other songs and genres I listen to. 7.5/10

Foreseeing The Horizon

(Loops at 2:48.)

edited 28th Jul '17 7:10:06 PM by PastryPerson

SMT and its sibling franchises really seem to excel in the soundtrack department. This particular track fits well in context as the theme for your battle with the Judeo-Christian God Himself, with bellowing choir and sinister church organ galore, adeptly conveying the nature of your foe and the sheer scope of his power. 8/10

Abra - Diamonds and Gold

8/10: Reminds me of Grimes' DIY aesthetic applied to sensual R&B. Abra's a name to look out for.

Mr. Bungle - Sweet Charity

A very pleasant, lightheaded ska. The chorus is very catchy, 4/5.

Allow me to continue with my trend of posting villain songs from musicals...

Steve Martin - Dentist! (from Little Shop of Horrors)

Oh, bloody hell, I love this, ham and all. I like some of the other songs in this musical better, but this one makes me laugh the hardest. And the reveal of what this guy's job is near the start of the song is one of my favourite jokes of the whole musical. 8/10 for making me cackle.

Now, a different song from a different movie.

Gene Wilder - Pure Imagination

I could never get into these film theme songs. 6/10.

Slipknot - The Heretic Anthem

The song is heavy, alright, but there's not much variety in it. It feels like a barrage of monotonous noise with no room left for showing off the musicians' technique. I like the drums section, though, 2/5.

Sigur Ros - The Rains of Castamere

It's not from a musical, but it's a Villain Song nonetheless.

edited 30th Jul '17 8:41:43 AM by Millership

50/100 - Something about the mixture of NES quality organ-synths and seductive, snakelike singing makes this sound like it's either the music for an old Final Fantasy cinematic or a True Detective trailer.

Venemous Maximus - Spellbound

8/10. There's a refreshing self-awareness to this kind of heavy metal. It's a bit like Blue Oyster Cult (and their successors such as Ghost) with how such bands can pull off cheesy vocals in the name of damn heavy music. And really, the off-beat, disco-esque hi hats are just the icing on the cake, giving the track a nice groove that keeps it at a high amount of energy.

Japanese Breakfast - "Diving Woman"

A nice and pleasant dreampop, 4/5.

Patrick Page - Hellfire (Hunchback of Notre Dame The Musical)

More than does justice to what is, IMHO, the best song in the entire vast Disney canon. Patrick Page does such a fantastic job of emulating Tony Jay it almost sounds as if Jay is possessing him from beyond the grave, and the arrangement, already stunningly sinister and imposing for a Disney song, is somehow made better and even more intimidating. I'm not the type for musicals by any means, but this is one case where I'll gladly make an exception. 8/10

Howlin' Wolf - Tell Me What I've Done

Good old 12-bar blues with one of the most influential voices in guitar music. The concise guitar licks here and there that eventually form a whole solo complement Howlin' Wolf's unique vocals nicely. The only drawback for me is the 12-bar blues structure of the song itself. With all due respect, I've heard so many songs made using this blueprint (as well as the "Bad to the Bone" formula) that it kind of dulls the impact of everything else. (6/10)

Les Claypool - Bite out of Life (feat. Eugene Hutz)

5/10. I give it props for trying to be as quirky and bouncy as bass guitar can be and it's sense of humor, but that doesn't make this particular song feel any more coherent.

Creeper - Black Rain

At first I was like "oh boy, this is an Evanescence clone, isn't it…" Buuut… not quite. It's actually pretty catchy and the subtle rhythm changes here and there are on point. Good vocals too. Probably not something I'll listen to all day though.

Avenged Sevenfold - Acid Rain

To add some context, this is a sort of Sequel Song to "Planets", where the Earth is gonna be destroyed in an intergalactic war. "Acid Rain" is from the point of view of an earthling during the last day of Earth.

(yes, I post this purely because the previous song was "Black Rain" X) And also because this video is gorgeous dammit)

edited 31st Jul '17 4:23:12 PM by Lyendith

A nice and melancholic Power Ballad, 4/5.

Skovannyye odnoy tsepyu (Bound with One Common Chain) from Stulyagi musical

Another Villain Song. Also a Crowd Song.

Well, I dunno if I'd walk around singing it or anything, but it sounded good enough. The building up and getting louder and louder, the steady beat and the chanting way she talks/sings all do a good job of sounding oppressive and threatening, which I'm assuming was the idea. Setting the right mood is pretty important for a musical, after all. I kinda wish there'd been subtitles so I could get more of an idea of what was going on. 7/10

Cold Chisel - Flame Trees

And now, a song I've heard pretty much every pub band play.

Nice and catchy pub rock song, 3/5.

Ellen McLain - Still Alive (Portal OST)

This Villain Song is not from a musical (although there is, apparently, a musical adaptation of the game) and it's been memed to death in its time.

edited 5th Aug '17 6:47:31 AM by Millership

I remember the first time I beat Portal. I was not expecting this song AT ALL, and I ended up laughing my way through pretty much the entirety of the Creative Closing Credits. Even now, when I'm far older and the song has been meme'd to the point where I could sing it from memory, it's still a nice silly pop tune that makes me smile and brings back fond memories of the Portal franchise. 6.5/10

Genesis - Watcher of the Skies

Hmm… It's the kind of song when at the end I'm like "…so, did I like it or not? I'm not sure…" I was a bit skeptical in some parts and enthralled in others. I'm actually not sure what mood the song is trying to convey… Happy? Melancholic? Dreamy? But I guess I did enjoy it in the end... It just left me puzzled.

Nekfeu - Plume

…Sorry, this one's lyrics are a bit too tricky to translate for me. >.>

The mellow piano beat is well contrasted by energetic rapping, 4/5.

Now, I'm done with Villain Songs for now.

Mustafa Sandal ft. Gentleman - Isyankar

Eh; it's sort of catchy, I suppose, but the fact that it's in a different language makes it hard for me to enjoy it, and the parts that are in English are a bit difficult to understand. 6.5/10.

Shin Megami Tensei Apocalypse: Archangel Battle Remix.

(For the record, this is actually a remix of Maskado's Shadow's theme from the previous game, the Archangel Theme from the previous game, the standard boss theme from the previous game, the Outcast Hunters theme, and Vishnu-Flynn's boss theme; it fades off into Self from the previous game.)

(Not actually expecting anybody to listen to all those, but it's a bit of an explanation for why it might seem a bit inconsistent in it's style.)

edited 6th Aug '17 3:02:51 AM by PastryPerson

For a battle theme this is appropriately intense, with some interesting instrument choices, and, despite it being the fusion of several separate themes it doesn't feel choppy, they flow into each other quite smoothly, which, unfortunately, is counterproductive, as it makes the song unmemorable. Pretty good for a BGM, though, 3/5.

Chelsea Wolfe - Vex

From the upcoming album.