Compositional mixtape

[Omni]

I'm scrapping this theme, as I've only received two submissions thus far from @Baroque and @Caecius :

An Evening With John Petrucci & Jordan Rudess - Furia Taurina
Iron Maiden - Powerslave
The opening riff is kind of a combo of regular Phrygian and Phryg Dom, in that it incorporates C5 as opposed to C#5 as a passing chord. Still counts, though.

I've added a few more songs to make a rudimentary playlist:

Sig:Ar:Tyr - Midwinter Sacrifice
Candlemass - Well of Souls
Solitude Aeturnus - Scent of Death
Amorphis - The Castaway

You can listen to it if you want, but I sure as shit don't expect anyone to rate it.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCZgoc5nuQfg5teA4-RIMMfgOgLGd4dzR

I'm not saying that categories 1 and 2 as described in the OP are off limits now, but actually using themes in that category is ill-advised.

I think that the third category, odd time signatures, could still be used. In any case, there are only a few different ones that can be used before we'd be left with the weirder ones that aren't really viable. It should go without saying that if the theme is, say, 7/4 time, that any septuple meter, such as 7/2, 7/8, 7/16, is fair game.

However, the new theme - one that I mentioned in the OP as an example - is Bells. Bathory - Raise the Dead is not a good example, as I'm looking for stuff that incorporates bell effects into the song itself, as opposed to playing a sample of bells chiming as a lead-in to the song. Just saying. You could find a more apt Bathory song if that's what you're looking for.

No "Stargazer" by Rainbow in your Phrygian dominant scale playlist?

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

I guess I could have put it in there. But as long as you have it in the playlist of your heart, that's what matters.

 

[Baroque]

However, the new theme is Bells.

So tempted to submit Don't Fear the Reaper.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I keep a pretty long autistic list of various things in various songs, and ctrl+F for 'bell' gave me a whole lot of cowbell back, lol. Submitted one of the few I could think of.

 

[Onder]

I keep a pretty long autistic list of various things in various songs, and ctrl+F for 'bell' gave me a whole lot of cowbell back, lol. Submitted one of the few I could think of.

Interesting. Would you care to share more about said list? Is it just a text document or some more complicated database?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Nothing so nicely documented though I've been slowly trying to work on something like that. Just an unpublished list on my RYM with songs on albums rated and ranked in order, with short comments sometimes pointing out things I've noticed but don't know how to describe in any kind of way meaningful to other people. Here's one example of my autistic listening thought processes:

"Skeptics Apocalypse (1985)

144.000 Gone - 3.5/5 (evocative/tense)
Back to Reign - 3/5 (the song re-tooled into that Holy Terror song)
Children of the Sun - 3/5 (Maiden-y; specifically, has that Transylvania/Genghis Khan scale thing, should look into)
Evil Eye/Evil Mindz - 3/5 (pretty much thrash)
Bleed for the Godz - 3/5 (almost legitimizes "speed metal", fast riffing but an actual note progression)
Agents of Steel - 2/5
Taken by Force - 2/5 (has the Genghis Khan 3/4 thing, kinda repetitive song, feels longer than 2.5 minutes)
Guilty as Charged - 2/5 (riffs almost non-existent, song feels like it's doing nothing even though it has different sections) (not that bad actually, just a little overlong)"

Like for example when I say "Transylvania/Genghis Khan scale thing" there's a certain kind of note progression I notice in certain trad metal bands (especially USPM) that I think sounds inherently "epic" so I try to point it out to myself to compare to other songs and if I ever have the time I'd try to figure out if it's actually some specific scale or just my imagination/untrained nonmusician ears.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

I do plan on submitting for this as soon as I figure out a song that actually overkills on bells. I'm an extremist, and I feel the need to beat the bells idea to death, not just throw them in there somewhere.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

This is far too autistic for me.

What about now?

 

[Baroque]

I honestly don't have a good entry for Bells. I guess Carol of the Bells, the Transsiberian Orchestra version? Idk.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

Well, I can think of three very obvious, iconic choices, only one of which has been submitted already. If you're looking for something that, as @Carpe Mortem put it, "overkills on bells," you aren't going to find that much.

 

[The Butt]

For a second I thought the theme said "balls". You'd probably get a lot more submissions.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

But that's a rather vague descriptor. Even more so if taken literally, which would include every metal band with at least one male member.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

I haven't done much looking but you may be right.

Please don't let this thread die because after April 19th when stupid buttfucking tax season ends I will assuredly be a forum addict again.

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

I will keep it open as long as it takes, finding ever more contrived ways of bumping it.

 

[Caecius]

I haven't done much looking but you may be right.

Please don't let this thread die because after April 19th when stupid buttfucking tax season ends I will assuredly be a forum addict again.

Do you work for the IRS, HR Block, etc.? Why does tax season cut into your forum time? It takes like 30 min to finish taxes and I have house, three kids, and work out of state.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

I work for an all encompassing financial service center, yes. We're understaffed and there's a serious lack of work ethic amongst many of my coworkers who never show up. It's terrible.

 

[CiG]

So the theme is, compositions using bells?

 

[Serjeant Grumbles]

Yes. Mainly, I'm talking about the ominous bell toll that some songs use to punctuate a riff, often the opening riff, but not necessarily. Of course, the most obvious choice is a certain song that actually has the word "bell" in the title. Of course, I'm not referring to "Tubular Bells", which does qualify, but is 25 minutes long and the actual bells come in about 23 minutes in.

I might have given the wrong impression in saying that Bathory's "Raise the Dead" was a bad example. There's no problem with a song that opens with a solitary bell tolling several times, if that sound effect continues into the opening riff. Or if it's incorporated into a subdued intro passage, before the heavy guitars kick in, as that is still part of the composition.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

Still haven't done this. Still rooting for the cause though, if that's any help. This theme requires actual research of my library and I haven't had time.

 

[Baroque]

I sent something with 1 bell ring in it, just to help get the game started