Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 5! WhImMadeOf/Baluchons, HealWorld/AzrArchpelago, BuryLight/BrngRngrs

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What I'm Made of... / Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord
Heal the World
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

What I'm Made of... / Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

Despite favoring cheery upbeat songs today my favorite parts of Heal the World are when it gets dark, especially 1:07-45.

VGMC voters victories vexingly vary.

What I'm Made of... / Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord
Heal the World
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

I'm both annoyed and pleasantly surprised by the fact that every single song in today's matches is something that I would have considered, or that I have supported. Thankfully though today's votes were surprisingly easy to cast despite the songs' quality.

We Are Burning Rangers (English Version) > Baluchons > Azure Archipelago > Bury The Light > Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord > Heal the World

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

Match 1 was getting hard to decide until that last part of Baluchons came in. Forgot how great that entire song was
Bury the Light is really good but We Are Burning Rangers is just something else

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

kinda close third match

What I'm Made of... / Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

From failgirlema:

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

i actually have missed votes from them in previous days as well oops so votals for day 1/2/4 will change veeeeeery slightly

What I'm Made of... / Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

Half these songs are SO CHEESY but so good

We Are Burning Rangers (English Version) > The storm that is approaching > What I'm Made of... / Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord > Azure Archipelago > Baluchons > Heal the World

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
Bury The Light

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

What I'm Made of is probably the first ever Crush 40 song I ever heard because of me owning Sonic Heroes as a kid. I was psyched to hear this as a kid and I'm still happy to hear it now, but I've definitely heard other vocal songs from Sonic that appeal to me more now. It's still a solid pick from this game!

Baluchons is an interesting song for me, it starts off with its soothing strings and then goes all "folksy jazz" after its first minute. I adore the echoey clarinet solo that comes in around halfway, this is just an overall good chill song to vibe to.

I HATE THIS MATCHUP. I really like the strong vocals in Heal the World and how powerful the performance presents itself as; on the other hand, I am in love with the tropical vibe that Azure Archipelago gives off, those steel drums are such a delight to hear every time I relisten. God, I absolutely hate how I'm going against a support this soon this contest, especially with two songs I admire this strongly. =/

Bury the Light is kinda interesting; it starts off very DOOM-inspired and then goes into an alright-sounding edgy rock song. I thought I wouldn't like it as much as I thought, but I'm alright with the vocals whenever they aren't screaming in my ears, and I do like some of the heavier elements this song uses to sell its vibe.

THIS is the English track I prefer from Burning Rangers, so groovy, cool rap parts, just enough cheest to enjoy and bop your head to. Can't go wrong with this!

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
Bury The Light

Over the course of the past 48 hours I've gone from being pretty certain I was going to vote for Burning Rangers to a point where I think I will be genuinely sad if Bury The Light doesn't move on to the next phase and to the next stage. But as I write this, listening to Burning Rangers yet again, I feel like I'll be able to make peace with either outcome.

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
abstain

Sonic Heroes - What I'm Made of... / Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord - 5
-I know sonic music defines itself on that cheesy butt rock style, and sometimes I like it. This wasnt one of those times. Its repetitive and boring here.

Saira - Baluchons - 6
-This feels very much like idle waiting music, but the main riff is not too bad and if that melody loop was a bit longer it might actually be genuinely relaxing. Its a little irritating atm

Arknights - Heal the World - 6
-I like the heart in the vocals here. It has a lot of weight and depth behind it, which is emphasized with the percussion and reverbs

CrossCode: A New Home - Azure Archipelago - 7
- well mixed instrumentation and it just sounds happy. Theres a nice fusion that sounds like trails mixed with a tropical vacation

abstain

Baluchons
Azure Archipelago
We Are Burning Rangers (English Version)

Crush 40 has always been pretty middle-of-the-road for me and this song in particular the vocals sound like they're missing something. Baluchons is a pretty good song that still always leaves me with the impression that it could have done something more, but the violin is more than enough for my vote here.

Arknights vocals have been a bit hit-or-miss for me, and honestly there's a bit of both here. The climactic parts are really impactful, but there's also this one recurring part that goes something like 3-4-3-2-3-7 that just sounds a bit too...plodding I guess? Especially with how the singer always hams up the 4th or 5th drop at the end of that. (My ability to tell even relative pitch by ear is not great sorry if the notes are wrong). Azure Archipelago is a pleasant samba with a lot of neat ideas, and I wish it took the time to focus on some of them more instead of just hopping from one thing to the next. Some nice melodies though, especially the...recorder part? I'm not sure what the pipe-sounding woodwind instrument is.

I think Bury the Light would be a fantastic song it went a bit harder in the back half, but as-is it's still a pretty good alt rock tune. We are Burning Rangers is a really fun, high-energy song. It doesn't quite capture the feeling as well as something like Sonic R, but it's at most 1 step short.

We Are Burning Rangers > Azure Archipelago > Baluchons > Bury the Light > Heal the World > What I'm Made of...

pyresword posted...

Some nice melodies though, especially the...recorder part? I'm not sure what the pipe-sounding woodwind instrument is.

It's a pan flute!

Sonic Heroes - What I'm Made of... / Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord
CrossCode: A New Home - Azure Archipelago
Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition - Bury The Light

MATCH 1

Growing up, when it came to Mario or Sonic, I was a Mario kid through and through. When it comes to the music, though, I think Sonic wins hands down. And of the Sonic music, Crush 40 songs have always been ones that I liked a lot from the franchise. What I'm Made of is a pretty good representation of one. Cool, simple pop rock but done very well and in a way that's pretty catchy.

I feel like I'm liking Baluchons more this time around than when it was in last. The interaction between the soft violin and acoustic guitar is very nice.

MATCH 2

Heal the World is pretty nice. I kinda wish I like it more than I actually do though. It just feels like something I should like more on paper, at least enough to vote for it here, but while this match is pretty close, this song isn't quite enough to beat its opponent. I think my favorite part might be from 2:56-3:17? Just feels like it carries a slightly more powerful emotional impact than the rest, at least upon this listen.

Azure Archipelago definitely evokes that tropical sounding sound. That main melody's pretty catchy in its own right, but the intro has the strongest hook for me. That and that bass line at 1:34.

MATCH 3

I absolutely LOVE Bury the Light! It's my second-favorite song in Bracket A and a finalist in my favorites bracket. I'm a big fan of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance's soundtrack, so I guess it's no surprise that I really like this Casey Edwards song too. It hits just right all around. The buildups are always engaging and fresh, and the chorus hits hard. Very in your face in a way that I like and that feels appropriate here. The shift to that chord right before "isolation" is super cool. The "bury the light deep within" part is just perfect. 8 minutes of great buildups and peaks from the chorus leading to this last burst of energy, one that's enhanced with this subtle addition of extra instruments that really brings out more emotion from it like with higher octaves/notes of guitars. This might be a song that seems really overplayed or overhyped to some, and I get it, but in spite of that, I do genuinely enjoy this song a lot. I had actually planned to nominate this myself last year, but I ended up not having room for it and I didn't feel like nominating it this year, so I'm really happy this got nominated and made it in.

We Are Burning Rangers is a great song as well. The funkiness of it never gets old. Sadly, it got a rough draw in Bury the Light, so I can't vote for it here, but I'd vote it over most of the songs up today.

Bury the Light > What I'm Made of... / Last Boss ver.2: Metal Overlord = We Are Burning Rangers (English Version) > Azure Archipelago > Heal the World > Baluchons

Another good day today! I like every song that's up :)