Best Ever Albums

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

baystateoftheart — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 23:48:47 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 08/25/2018 03:48

These two are easily my two least favorites of the tournament so far. I wouldn't go so far as to say either is bad, but I also don't have a strong desire to hear either again. Narrow win to Elucid. Critiques:

~~~

I am a big fan of hip hop that is political, and Elucid certainly fits the bill, but I found his sociopolitical rapping to be awkward and uninspiring. It's possible that I wasn't listening closely enough, but I picked up more trite slogans than instances of a unique, vital personal voice.

Further, it's pretty light on flows/bars/hooks, which dampens my enjoyment of the project. The beats are different, not really a point for or against the record.

~~~

I am not a metal fan, and it wasn't until this year that I made any effort to challenge my bias against the genre (with mixed success). So I wasn't expecting to like this album much. This was my first time listening to anything tagged as "progressive metal" or "post-metal", and I found the textures of the music interesting. I would like to eventually hear some of the more acclaimed examples of these genres.

However, while the textures were a plus, the album that they were arranged into was somewhat monotonous and drab as a whole. I appreciate that the vocals are not growled or screamed like some other metal I've heard, but I also found the lead singer's voice annoying, and the lyrics forgettable.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

dihansse — Thu, 23 Aug 2018 15:20:10 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 08/23/2018 19:20

I'm with Purplepash here: neither of the two albums incite a feeling of enthusiasm here but Clairvoyant wins.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

Purplepash — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 04:59:04 GMT

Author: Purplepash

Posted: 08/22/2018 08:59

I am ambivalent about both of these albums so not an easy choice. Even though with Clairvoyant I felt like I had heard it before, though I know I haven't, and I haven't heard much like Valley of Grace before, in the end I would rather go to a rock concert than a slam poetry reading so The Contortionist gets my vote here.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

Luigii — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 22:07:34 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 08/22/2018 02:07

Tilly wrote:

Holy shit! Valley of Grace is taking over my world. Reminds me of sth that might have been on Def Jux back in the day.

Easy win here for Elucid even though I liked Clairvoyant.

Honestly both of these were top notch. Can't complain of this match up.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

Repo — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 22:04:32 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 08/22/2018 02:04

Holy shit! Valley of Grace is taking over my world. Reminds me of sth that might have been on Def Jux back in the day.

Easy win here for Elucid even though I liked Clairvoyant.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

mickilennial — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 15:06:43 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 08/21/2018 19:06

Elucid is a daring experimental rapper and producer. The Contortionist is a bland "post-metal" group who are just another boring, rehashed version of Dredg and Junius. I think the answer is pretty clear.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

Luigii — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 21:22:33 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 08/21/2018 01:22

AwaitingAndrew wrote:

Glad you enjoyed! I was introduced to The Contortionist in 2016 when I saw them on tour with Dance Gavin Dance, Good Tiger, and Hail The Sun. Out of those bands, of which I'm all a fan, I would say Good Tiger is by far the closest to them in terms of their sound. I haven't found any albums that completely match the sound from Clairvoyant, even from the band's own discography - they had a different vocalist up until Language in 2014. The vocalist was previously in another band, but I haven't checked them out yet to see how their sound compares.

I will get to Good Tiger. Any album I should visit first?

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

AwaitingAndrew — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 21:14:48 GMT

Author: AwaitingAndrew

Posted: 08/21/2018 01:14

Luigii wrote:

Had to give it to The Contortionist. Love the Elucid album but Clairvoyant is such a beautiful album to the point I need more albums like this and Deadwing in my life. Any other suggestions? Also the new Deafheaven album does count in this.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

Luigii — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 19:47:57 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 08/20/2018 23:47

Had to give it to The Contortionist. Love the Elucid album but Clairvoyant is such a beautiful album to the point I need more albums like this and Deadwing in my life. Any other suggestions? Also the new Deafheaven album does count in this.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

Luigii — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 19:05:50 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 08/20/2018 23:05

But damn you also had Clairvoyant, which this band shares the same qualities as Porcupine Tree. And I have slept over Porcupine Tree. Especially since I love the hell of Deadwing. This might be the hardest of the three play in games.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

Luigii — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 17:29:22 GMT

Author: Luigii

Posted: 08/20/2018 21:29

Started Elucid's album. I need this album to fight either Open Mike Eagle's album or the Quelle Chris album. Because Valley of Grace can challenge them with its quirky instrumentals and story telling. Won't vote yet due to the metal album on the other side I need to listen to but Elucid needs to get into the championship.

Re: 2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

AwaitingAndrew — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 20:11:00 GMT

Author: AwaitingAndrew

Posted: 08/20/2018 00:11

Valley Of Grace is about as different an album as you could get from my nomination. It's a bit too underground to have replay value for me personally, but I enjoyed the album. The beats and music are rather experimental, and Elucid's delivery over the beats is solid.

2017 Championship Tournament: Play-In Game #3

baystateoftheart — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 16:36:15 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 08/19/2018 20:36

Play-In 3A:

Valley Of Grace by Elucid

Nominated By: dividesbyzero
Genres [RYM]: Abstract Hip Hop, Experimental Hip Hop, Conscious Hip Hop

Play-In 3B:

Clairvoyant by The Contortionist

Nominated By: AwaitingAndrew
Genres [RYM]: Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, Post-Metal

Instructions:

Please listen to both albums in full before voting. Share your thoughts and/or your vote in this thread. This poll will be tallied in fourteen days. See Tournament Spreadsheet for the full bracket.