Compositional mixtape

[Carpe Mortem]

Watchtower- Asylum 9 @HamburgerBoy
Mercyful Fate- The Oath 7.6 @Serjeant Grumbles
Leprous- Contaminate Me 6.4 @Baroque
Dark Age- Revelation 6.3 @Vegard Pompey
Metallica- One 3.8 @arg

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I'm guessing Vegard didn't want to win this round, lol.

I don't know much about musical composition or anything but I think I have some ability to identify time signatures, so how about anything 7/4 or 7/8? Could be just a bridge section or even a single riff I guess, doesn't have to be for the entirety of the song.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

No fucking clue dude.

 

[Elric of Melniboné]

I submitted a song. This compositional theme might confuse some people. I hope that people give it a shot.

 

[Baroque]

Time signatures are not something I actively listen for in music as I feel they're somewhat irrelevant. Sometimes they're clear as day such as a march or strict 4/4 time which feels very basic or amateur to my ears. As long as the rhythm is not overly simple I tend to not focus on it and just listen to harmonies and riffs etc. I'll try and think of something however.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

If all else fails, just look up "Uncommon TIme" on Tvtropes.

I've got the opposite problem; I have a couple examples I really like, and I can't decide. You should keep in mind, though, that this is not a metal-only mixtape.

 

[Elric of Melniboné]

You should keep in mind, though, that this is not a metal-only mixtape.

I didn't know this.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

Yeah, when I made the game, that question was brought up, so I said that, since this is the only game of its type, it shouldn't be strictly metal. I did say, however, that the theme must be not be a compositional trope that is virtually nonexistent within metal.

Looking at that TVtropes page did definitively eliminate one choice for me. I'm not going to use anything mentioned there, since I've got a few choices that aren't listed.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Time signatures are not something I actively listen for in music as I feel they're somewhat irrelevant. Sometimes they're clear as day such as a march or strict 4/4 time which feels very basic or amateur to my ears. As long as the rhythm is not overly simple I tend to not focus on it and just listen to harmonies and riffs etc. I'll try and think of something however.

It's not something I usually actively listen for either, but if I hear a riff that sounds really cool/unique I'll probably note the timing on my autistic music notes list. I agree that it's something that people overrate the significance of, where one prog metal band might just chug straight eighth notes whether it's in 5/8 or 7/8 or 11/8 or whatever, vs another that may use a lot of 4/4 but have very interesting or complicated accenting.

 

[Baroque]

It's not something I usually actively listen for either, but if I hear a riff that sounds really cool/unique I'll probably note the timing on my autistic music notes list. I agree that it's something that people overrate the significance of, where one prog metal band might just chug straight eighth notes whether it's in 5/8 or 7/8 or 11/8 or whatever, vs another that may use a lot of 4/4 but have very interesting or complicated accenting.

It's a good point about accenting; really anything can be written in 4/4 or measureless with accents in the right places.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

Alright, I've decided on my a metal song rather than the my other (post-punk) choice.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Only three submissions so far, let's see if we can at least hit five again.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

I figure you should shoot for seven, considering the theme.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

We really need to rekindle this thread, or else it's gonna end up a big old pile of them bones.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Yeah I'll submit this one in a bit, don't think we're going to get any more.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Got one more! Here's the playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCJA0ol3AGbm2EUm1iYQWJXrv4lNC83A0

Rush – La Villa Strangiato
Atrox – Ruin
Satyricon - The Dark Castle In The Deep Forest
Tool – Schism
Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb
Spastic Ink – That 178 Thing

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

This song is sorely missing from the playlist:

 

[Sirjack]

Rush - Always felt that Lifeson was the weakest link in Rush with his basic chords and simple lines. But in a lot of ways he was the glue to their sound, and upon further listening you realise his contribution wasn't so basic. This is timeless. It still sounds quite fresh. 7/10

Atrox - Apparently they were an extraordinary bend. There's quite a lot l could enjoy in this but all as one, it's a bit of a production mess and the female singer ain't my thing at all on this occasion. That riff at 0:56....agh it's...fuck who is that? 4/10

The Dark Castle in the Deep Forest - Wolfpack is passable but this is just shite. l don't appreciate much BM no matter what wave. There's nothing here that grabs me or vaguely turns me on. 2/10

Tool - l can appreciate the instrumentation of Tool to some form of respect but that's about it. l find them very boring. Don't much like his voice or guitar playing, l like the bass. Totally overrated band imo. 5/10

Pink Floyd - An almost perfect song from an almost perfect album. Minus point for being way too well known. 8/10

Spastic Ink - Quirky and original as hell, this is music for your cram school attendants. Nuts. Very Original and equally bizarre l can't think of anyone who does tunes like this. Brilliant 9/10

 

[Burkhard]

The clips of Rush and Satyricon included in the playlist were not accessible for me here in Germany, so I had to look for alternate versions. And in some cases, I also had to resort to transcriptions to determine wheter the songs are on topic or not.

Rush – La Villa Strangiato
I'm generally not a big fan of instrumentals (there are a few exceptions to the rule, though) and while I do enjoy some progressive stuff, this song doesn't do much for me. 5/10

Atrox – Ruin
Except for the production, this song works perfectly for me. I love the music, the changes within the song, the original lyrics and the original female vocals - especially the (on-topic) parts beginning at 0:56 and 4:48 - though the latter surely are an acquired taste. 10/10

Satyricon - The Dark Castle In The Deep Forest
Clearly on topic, but there's nothing about this song I like. 1/10

Tool – Schism
I like the sound of the bass, but that's probably the best thing I can say about it. I find the entire song rather monotonous and the music isn't really my cup of tea. 4/10

Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb
According to my own impression confirmed by a transcription I found, the entire song is 4/4 and thus off-topic. If someone can prove me wrong, I might change my rating, though I can already say that it won't get much higher, because this song just bores me (maybe except for the guitar-solos). 0/10

Spastic Ink – That 178 Thing
As much as I like Watchtower's "Control and Resistance" and Ron Jarzombek's guitar-playing on that album, this song seems to be a bit too complex/chaotic for my taste - at least this was my first impression. However, after listening to it for the third time now, I think it might grow on me with more spins. Since I usually prefer songs with vocals, I'd feel more inclined to give it more spins, if it wasn't an instrumental. 8/10

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

Rush – La Villa Strangiato
7/10
It's a bit meandering at times, but it has enough compelling moments to make up for it. 7/8 meter is clearly present in IV. A Lerxst In Wonderland.

Atrox – Ruin
9/10
This is one of the songs that came to mind when considering this theme. The 7/4 chorus plainly fulfills the theme, and I'm partial to female-fronted avant-garde metal.

Satyricon - The Dark Castle In The Deep Forest
9.5/10
Not only is it a black metal incunabulum, but it's excellently showcases Satyr's songwriting prowess in the early days of the band, including the odd meter here and there. The ritualistic repetition of that 7/4 riff two minutes in, accentuated with organ synth replicating the guitar, is one of the key moments in this song.

Tool – Schism
6/10
I remember first hearing this song on the radio in the early 2000's, and didn't appreciate at the time that Tool was miles ahead of most of the other shit that graced the airwaves at the time. As to it's thematic appropriateness, it's a bit iffy. The main riff is 5/8 alternating with 7/8, which could just as easily be analyzed a one measure of 12/8 syncopated in an unusual way. It doesn't have a septuple "feel" when it's written in that way, but I can also see how it would fit, so I have no reason to downrate it heavily.

Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb
0/10
This song's never really done anything for me. More importantly, I didn't not notice any septuple meter going on even briefly. I looked up a tab of it on ultimate-guitar.com and it confirmed that it's in 4/4 throughout the entire song.

Spastic Ink – That 178 Thing
6/10
I can appreciate this in small doses, just as long as I don't have to listen to an entire album of instrumental wankery. However, the 7/8 parts are a bit too sporadic for my liking. Why can't they just commit to more than a couple measures of it?