Board 8 > Jcgamer ranks your rock instrumentals

(+) Yeah! (+)

Place posted...

Ah hell, just remembered National Anthem has that spoken bit. If it's not altogether too late...
replace The National Anthem with:
Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Karn Evil 9: 2nd Impression
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBchE1PMkg8

I will say that just barely qualifies as rock, yes

https://youtu.be/FuxAjkzD2pw

So many great ones already, I knew this was a good idea

I'm going a little slower than expected - probably gonna start the rankings sometime next week, but making decent enough progress so far

I'll give everything 3+ listens, but don't expect write-ups to be especially long or polished. I'll also probably just "rank" everything that was posted - not include the disqualified ones in the numbered rankings, but note where they would have fallen and write a brief comment about them.

https://youtu.be/-Jrp3K3IoDo

First listen done. 2nd time through, I'll put the tracks into tiers, then the 3rd time I'll finally sort them, which is gonna be very difficult since most of them are excellent. In total there will be 44 ranked tracks and 5 unnumbered 'bonus' tracks.

how's it going

Slow, but steady. About halfway through the 2nd round of listens, so about halfway through overall. So probably pushing the start date back even a little more, but we'll get there.

ALSO

@FL81 - I don't know how I missed this the first time around, but Diamonds by Enforcer has a pretty lengthy vocal section, therefore does not qualify. If you want you have a couple days to replace it. Either way, I will show where it would have placed, with a short comment.

jcgamer107 posted...

I don't know how I missed this the first time around, but Diamonds by Enforcer has a pretty lengthy vocal section, therefore does not qualify. If you want you have a couple days to replace it. Either way, I will show where it would have placed, with a short comment.

Somehow my brain didn't even parse that as a "vocal section" huh

anyway might as well go with a similar song (and likely its inspiration)

Nominate:
Iron Maiden - Transylvania
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDS11pZihT4

OK - 2nd round of listens done. I think, since I have a nice even 50 entries, I'm just going to rank everything, and deduct points based on how prominently vocals are featured for the ones that have them. Is this fair? Not really!

I have everything partly sorted, so let's say rankings will begin by Friday afternoon, in this very topic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsBFrUW_8e8

bruh

well you're one of the people getting 3 tracks out of it

ohh, I misunderstood and thought that was just for fl81's messed up nom. still not really fair but I'll take it!

jcgamer107 posted...

I'm just going to rank everything, and deduct points based on how prominently vocals are featured for the ones that have them. Is this fair? Not really!

damnit i knew i should have chanced it

Steiner posted...

damnit i knew i should have chanced it

me too

it is after noon

lets get this bread

Steiner posted...

it is after noon

yes. and a happy MAR10 day to all, however you celebrate.

50. Alice In Chains - Whale & Wasp
Submitted by: ZeroSignal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VvvPGXQ1RM

Well, something had to get last place, and Alice In Chains has claimed the bottom spot with this kinda grating, wailing guitar loop. The string part 40 seconds in is nice, with the guitar picking, but that blaring, sustained electric guitar pitch bend that just plays over and over does not sound so good to me - it almost makes me laugh. That part makes up about half the song, and there's really not much more going on besides the string part I mentioned. 2 1/2 minutes long, but feels like 5.

49. Pink Floyd - Cluster One
Submitted by: firefdr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5qKD_JI64A

What the heck Pink Floyd - I wanna rock out, not fall asleep!

I don't especially dislike Pink Floyd, but this is just way too mellow and uninteresting for me. For starters, I wasn't even sure the song was playing for the first 30 seconds. Then eventually you just have this very slow, meandering piano & guitar trade-off. It's like something a church band would play under prayer time or something.

4 1/2 minutes in - percussion! WHOA.

There certainly is good 'chill rock', but this ain't it.

jcgamer107 posted...

50. Alice In Chains - Whale & Wasp

Off to a rough start I see

jcgamer107 posted...

Alice In Chains has claimed the bottom spot with this kinda grating, wailing guitar loop.

you might even call it...whaling

Ayyyy

I gotta rank some Gorillaz real quick but then 4 or 5 more tomorrow

jcgamer107 posted...

50. Alice In Chains - Whale & Wasp

yeah I hated this good, hard to imagine there is something worse in here

jcgamer107 posted...

49. Pink Floyd - Cluster One

is this actually a song they put on an album? it just looks like a tech demo for 360 reality audio, whatever that is. I wanna get into the head of person who is free to nominate the whole spectrum of instrumental music and settles on this. I don't wanna be rude but all I can imagine is you couldn't think of much but you're a huge pink floyd fan and was like "oh now what's that little ditty where they do nothing for five minutes?"

jcgamer107 posted...

50. Alice In Chains - Whale & Wasp

I tried

hey something's gotta be the worst (and second worst)

god sorry i woke up salty

Whale and Wasp is an essential part of Jar of Flies but not really a standout in its own imo.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside (instrumental)

https://youtu.be/yUJs31OdlmI

wow so much pink floyd hate :(

i love pink floyd!

i also love pink floyd but the division bell isn't one of their better albums imo.

48) Frank Zappa - Move It Or Park It
Submitted by: Mr_Lasastryke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi-ZqUq5FNQ

Want to hear Frank Zappa noodling for 5 minutes? Then this is the track for you. It starts out decent, and I like some of the drumming & time signature changes, but boy, I sure do not care for that guitar. It's just completely without structure and never gets into a groove. Frank Zappa seems more interested in being weird than good.

47) Agalloch - Odal
Submitted by: Steiner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w5cLn0oL5g

There's nothing especially wrong with this, I just find it overly long and kinda lacking in energy. The marching-style snare is aight. The best part overall is probably the piano outro, but it takes a while to get there.

46) Metallica - Orion
Submitted by: BlueCrystalTear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8qrwON1-zE

This is kinda like 'Baby's first chugging guitar riff' for the first half. It's also the only track I accepted that's over 8 minutes long, so I'm gonna deduct a few points for that. It's OK enough but doesn't really stand out for the most part. The very last minute & a half is actually the best portion, and has some good soloing + they pick up the tempo.

45) Explosions in the Sky - Postcard from 1952
Submitted by: Snake Plissken
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6obrtC66VyE

I kinda like Explosions in the Sky, but they have a tendency to put out these overly long, repetitive tracks. This is a great example. I really like the mandolin or whatever that higher-pitched strumming is @ 4:05, but up till then I'm not really into it.

jcgamer107 posted...

Frank Zappa seems more interested in being weird than good

uh oh i'm screwed

yikes.

i guess i agree that zappa isn't a very groove-oriented guitarist. looking forward to seeing what guitarists you DO enjoy, though!

Ah I knew that was either going to be a love or hate thing, too bad it was the latter!

44) Buckethead - Machete
Submitted by: neonreaper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mVjxCitVL0

Without having listened to much Buckethead, I always thought he was more of a hard rock/metal-oriented guy. So I was a bit surprised to hear a more atmospheric, moody-style track here. It's not bad by any means, it just doesn't really stand out much. The main loop would be cool as the menu music for a Valve game - like a dark FPS or something. Good, expressive soloing for the most part, I will say.

43) Pink Floyd - Marooned
Submitted by: firefdr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7YMI39sObY

While this is most definitely better than the other Pink Floyd track by having actual things happen, it's still a little too chill and ambient for my taste (though it is good for floating through space, as you'll see in the video). I actually really like when the guitar goes kinda berserk at 3:38, that's my favorite part. In fact, the guitar on the whole is just fine - part of it is just the overall quality of the nominations being so good.

And of course, since it's Pink Floyd, it has to end with the chatter of schoolchildren.

That really is menu music

42) Night Verses - No Moon
Submitted by: NFUN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M0HOTUvfDM

So I like the middle of the section of this, but have to deduct points for the looped vocal sample at the beginning, which I think is kind of annoying and doesn't serve the song at all anyway! I would say I could just chop it off and not factor it in, but it's way too long. The drumming is very cool overall in the middle part. In fact the drumming at 3:07 is Louis Cole-tier. Then there's even MORE vocals towards the end! Oh NO!

41) Kyuss - Asteroid
Submitted by: MarkS2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjHzPrBCgf0

Once this starts going full swing, it kind of reminds me of a Rage Against the Machine riff, so points for that. I just don't like the section about 1/4 of the way in where it devolves into chaotic noise. The outro where the tempo and drums pick up is cool.

After 10:

Tracks remaining: 40/50
Bitto: 1/1
BlackDra90n: 2/2
CaveDweller2000: 2/2
Chaeix: 2/2
Epyo: 1/2
FL81: 3/3
MarkS2: 1/2
Mr_Lasastryke: 1/2
Murphiroth: 1/1
neonreaper: 1/2
NFUN: 2/3
Not_an_Owl: 2/2
Place: 3/3
Raka_Putra: 1/1
SeginusTemple: 3/3
Snake: 1/2
Steiner: 2/3
tazzyboyishere: 2/2
TheArkOfTurus: 2/2
TheKnightOfNee: 2/2
UF8: 2/2
Xtlm: 2/2
ZeroSignal: 1/2

Out: firefdr, BlueCrystalTear

I only submitted one! the pavement song

(or maybe i dunno what those numbers mean)

I'm digging the Buckethead selection

Epyo posted...

I only submitted one! the pavement song

(or maybe i dunno what those numbers mean)

You're right! It should read 1/1 there.

And the rest were tied for first

I mean we're already approaching the 'Good' tier, so you aren't that far off. Although right now the #1 has clear separation from the rest of the pack.

40) Enforcer - Diamonds
Submitted by: FL81
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSe2eSMuI6k

Man this dude can shred on guitar. Drums and bass are cool too, the band is very much locked in. I unfortunately do have to dock points for the vocals that come in at 2:15. In fact, I'm not much a fan of that whole slower section that ends the song. First half really rocks out though.

39) Boris - Akuma No Uta
Submitted by: tazzyboyishere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob86Wqn5JWw

Perfectly serviceable garage rock, bordering on great from 2:16-3:10, when it goes all out. If I was grading it just on that section, it would be much higher. The detractors for me are that it's a little bit 'lo-fi noise' up till that point, and the ending feels like a bit of a slog with the snare on the downbeat. Still: Jack White-approved.

38) Iron Maiden - Transylvania
Submitted by: FL81
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrKQa5PfUbw

Yet another track where I prefer the faster section - here it comes in at 1:45, with some pretty gnarly soloing following soon after (and a dope drum fill leading into the solo). He's making that axe talk, baby. A 2nd pretty good solo section (though a little more scattered) follows at 2:48. On the whole, skilled musicianship with good energy, just not quite as memorable as some of the others.

37) 65daysofstatic - Radio Protector
Submitted by: Chaeix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpEILvXQaZM

I don't necessarily mind the pounding drum groove with the kick on every down beat - for me it's just used a little excessively here. I initially had this lower - then I heard the breakbeat drums at 2:59, and that shit rules. Also like when the piano starts to get epic at 3:45. Still, I find myself wanting it to go into a more basic Meg White, kick-snare beat for a few iterations at the very end, before the cool down - I think that would have been a cool exclamation point.

(sorry Chaeix - I swear I didn't plan this, the rankings just fell into place this way!)

36) God Is An Astronaut -
Submitted by: Chaeix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmWYCIZhBgk

In a connection only I would make, the opening progression here is very similar to the opening of Fire Temple from Midsommar, lol. So, points for that. Very nice, chill groove at 1:08. Then right as it's starting to get stale, the track goes on a tear at 3:11. Hell yeah. Like I said, we're pretty much into the 'Good' tier now, so it's getting hard to find things I dislike about the tracks!

jcgamer107 posted...

38) God Is An Astronaut -
Submitted by: Chaeix

whoops left out the song title. Should say "All is Violent, All is Bright", as you can see from the YouTube link.

getting warmer now

35) Frank Zappa - Alien Orifice
Submitted by: Place
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UaKP1Vzxuo

While not great, this effort is much better than the other Frank Zappa track. The opening kind of sounds like the theme for a 70s cop/spy show, so that's a plus. Like the other track, it gets a little too noodly at times - unlike the other track, however, this one has xylophone AND glockenspiel!

34) Sylosis - Where the Sky Ends
Submitted by: BlackDra90n
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-0rkmnVtdI

Kinda generic rock/metal that never rose above the rest of the pack for me, but with some good guitar solo work & drumming - particularly in the middle section.

33) Unlucky Morpheus - The Dance of Eternity (Dream Theater cover)
Submitted by: FL81
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clB3yOKaayE

My main complaint here is that the drummer doesn't quite have enough toms and cymbals at his disposal (joke). Overall there's some wild mixed-meter stuff that I'm into. The violin work is pretty sick, and I like the double-time section at 2:28 a lot. This whole thing is very impressive if it was recorded live in one take, as the video presents, but I'm skeptical.

32) Cloudkicker - Hold On
Submitted by: SeginusTemple
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPQYxY01kwY

The opening section is a little overloaded and noisy, despite having some pretty sick drumming. I like when it opens up and has space to breathe, 2 minutes in. Then we got some more sick-nasty drumming as the intensity ramps back up near the very end. Overall the drums are excellent, but the guitar stuff is just kinda blaring and chaotic, especially in the first 2 minutes.

31) Paw - Peach
Submitted by: Xtlm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl-RZh7FUUA

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/7/4/AALjKRAAET0u.jpg

That acoustic twang just makes me wanna have a good ol' time with the boys on the ranch tell you h'what. Nothing wrong with pleasant & simple, and that's exactly what this is.

Tracks remaining: 30/50
Bitto: 1/1
BlackDra90n: 1/2
CaveDweller2000: 2/2
Epyo: 1/1
MarkS2: 1/2
Mr_Lasastryke: 1/2
Murphiroth: 1/1
neonreaper: 1/2
NFUN: 2/3
Not_an_Owl: 2/2
Place: 2/3
Raka_Putra: 1/1
SeginusTemple: 2/3
Snake: 1/2
Steiner: 2/3
tazzyboyishere: 1/2
TheArkOfTurus: 2/2
TheKnightOfNee: 2/2
UF8: 2/2
Xtlm: 1/2
ZeroSignal: 1/2

Out: firefdr, BlueCrystalTear, Chaeix, FL81

jcgamer107 posted...

That acoustic twang just makes me wanna have a good ol' time with the boys on the ranch tell you h'what. Nothing wrong with pleasant & simple, and that's exactly what this is.

Which is why the song always stood out to me! It was a breath of fresh air at the end of the Death to Traitors album.

Paw was a grunge band from Lawrence, Kansas who were kind of gruff at times. I'd guess that their highlight was being on the first video game with a licensed soundtrack. Road Rash for the 3DO with Jessie, a great song but also a sad song about how he unfortunately had to put down his dog...Jessie...such a good dog.

Also, was NOT expecting to see an image from lasagna cat to my nomination lol

Wow I never would have known they were a grunge band (although maybe the album title 'Death to Traitors' should have tipped me off that they weren't all bluegrass/country)