[E] First Round #11 (Hades Castle vs. Labyrinth IV)

Listen to both songs and select the one you prefer.

Download Links:

Death Smiles - Hades Castle (Stage Final-1)
Etrian Odyssey - Labyrinth IV - The Withered Forest

Streaming:

Hades Castle (Stage Final-1): Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:
Labyrinth IV - The Withered Forest: Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:

The Withered Forest seems to fit it's bill quite nicely. Nothing special, nothing offensive. Then 1:06 happened.

Hades Castle is another perfect song from a perfect album, though it's a bit too guitar heavy at times. It loops more than once, which is a privilege reserved only for the best tunes like this.

Oh, BULLSHIT. I call shenanigans. All the tunes I like are paired up with each other, this is ridiculous. How am I supposed to vote for one of these over the other? And why does one have to go when there's a lot of way more worthless music floating around? It's just not right.

Hades Castle is a wonderful track from Death Smiles, a chaotic, overwhelming spectacle. Loud synthleads, guitars, and church organs exchange solos and then the bridge hits with a calm piano melody. (I just noticed, the middle bit is a reprise of the level 1 theme. Ingenious!) Withered Forest is the opposite of that, a subdued but melodically brilliant and intensely structured piece. The chorus (or 1:06 part, whatever you'd call that) alone is layered in at least three parts, with each part flowing naturally from one to the next. The compositional skill involved in this piece is profound.

I probably should abstain since I love these two tracks pretty much equally, but I feel like I should go with Withered Forest here. The whole of the song is just a bit more intricate and I'm more likely to hum this song when in a good mood than Hades Castle.

Still, Drakken, next year try to pair the good songs with the shit ones, okay?

"Hades Castle (Stage Final-1)" may be my favourite Death Smiles track, I'm not sure. This one just nails and hits hard on all floors; the riffs are well-executed and sound really good, the organ licks blend in with the melodies amazingly well and that piano break that leads to the main melody is pure deliciousness. Nothing beats the first 5 seconds though, that's just a given.

"Labyrinth IV" puts up an incredibly solid fight for my vote, though. Probably the best Etrian Odyssey track I've heard, the atmosphere this one creates is truly awe-inspiring. The melodies and progressions can be a little lackluster at time, but damn they do wonders at enhancing the tone. Brilliant piece, this one.

"Hades Castle" - 9.5/10
"Labyrinth IV" - 9/10

Mean pairing. Mean.

Well, finally, a Death Smiles track that justifies what all the commotion is about. The orchestral voices add the right amount of bombast, the organ is judiciously deployed and the guitar satisfyingly shreds to the nth degree. This one is good people. Labyrinth probably deserves a slightly better fate.

Death Smiles - Hades Castle (Stage Final-1)
Total rock opera. I think it could have been mixed a little better and some of the crazy solos could easily have been dropped, but it still holds up rather well.

Etrian Odyssey - Labyrinth IV - The Withered Forest
A more subdued track to counterprogram the aural assault of Hades Castle. The song deftly layers in more instruments as it goes along, building from simplicity to something more complex.

Apples and oranges, really. I think Labyrinth could use a boost, though.

: Death Smiles - Hades Castle (Stage Final-1)
: Etrian Odyssey - Labyrinth IV - The Withered Forest

The Withered Forest is the best EO track yet, which isn't really saying a whole lot. Melody's okay and the accompaniment is decent although definitely repetitive. And then 1:05 comes around and a different, worse track takes over.

Holy shit, when the Halloween Town melody drops in Hades Castle. Over the top evil castle rock that's still so very Namiki with badass back-and-forth solos, but it's 1:18 that sells it.

This poll has been extended by five days for tiebreaking purposes.

Why have there been so many ties this year?

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

This poll has been extended by five days for tiebreaking purposes.

Why have there been so many ties this year?

It seems like a lot of the good songs have been paired together (this bracket being a good example of just that). There might also be people looking at the results and then voting against the majority?

I'm glad Hades Castle won. I've been addicted to the song since I first heard it.

I think Labyrinth IV is a good EO2 song, but my bias is toward Hades. Also, I think EO1 had a better soundtrack than EO2.

Originally Posted by Kaleb.G

I'm glad Hades Castle won. I've been addicted to the song since I first heard it.

I think Labyrinth IV is a good EO2 song, but my bias is toward Hades. Also, I think EO1 had a better soundtrack than EO2.

I think you're listening to the wrong Labyrinth IV, this one is actually from EO1. I'm also not sure if I agree that EO1 is better than EO2, though I'm certainly more familiar with the former. They're both good, anyway!