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March Choonness Part 2

March 26, 2018 by Hermi Flagglenack

Welcome to the second semi-final round! With heads still spinning from the result of the first semi, we head straight on into the match between Black Moth and JIRM.

How do these bands compare?

Black Moth (BM):

Origin: England
Active Since: 2012
Style: Stoner Rock/Metal
Vocal: Female
Albums: 3
Current Album: Anatomical Venus

Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus (JIRM):

Origin: Sweden
Active Since: 2009
Style: Psychedelic/Stoner Rock
Vocal: Male
Albums: 3
Current Album: Surge Ex Monumentis

We begin with the flip of the plectrum. JIRM earns the favor of the pick. The stage becomes theirs first.

Round 1:

Scrambling guitars into action, “Candle Eyes” opens up strong, while drums come in to provide a nice galloping pace. Powerful sounds from decades gone by fill the arena. Vocals that seem to come from some etheral place make it difficult for this reporter to understand completely what is going on, but the groove cannot be denied. A solid opener with high marks from the panel.

After a slightly meditative start, the drums stumble into life. Once the percussion gains its footing, big guitars ignite into fury. Vocals come in strong, calling out for Aphrodite. Oooo, are we summoning the gods in this one? I don’t know what Istra refers to, but… (whisper-whisper-whisper-shhhh) … Oh, I’ve just been informed by the panel that it has to with Greek mythology and I shouldn’t put my ignorance on display here. Fine. I’ll move on. Giutar fury yields to a more subtle, yet driven groove while vocals switch to a dark and sassy tone. Big vocals and guitars blaze back into existence for an effective presentation of anger. Clearly, this Istra is upset with Aphrodite. Interesting premise. Let’s check the scores.

Result:

BM takes the initial win with the “conceptually intriguing”, as I heard it put, Istra. Or is it a win for Greek mythology? Either way, we head for the next round with BM having an advantage.

Round 2:

BM up first this go around. Opening up strong with this one, BM seems to take a cue from JIRM’s “Candle Eyes.” Musical propulsion this time causes us to leave the atmosphere for a bit of Moon worship. The “desolate goddess” is set into motion as we examine the lunar effect on the Earth and its inhabitants. Lyrical imagery is bathed in a wonderous musical force. Nice journey, here. As the judges secretly communicate with each other, we get to see how JIRM combats this one.

Oh, this time JIRM comes out low and slow. Mood setting keyboards come into play as we take a step back from BMs energetic performance. Trying to reset the tables to their favor, this opening is a good palette cleanser. Energy steps up as we appear to be on a psychedelic journey. Are we perhaps taking a trip beyond where BMs Moonbow had taken us. Vocals enter from a different dimension as with Candle Eyes. I pick up a sense of anguish and longing. Looking to the judges for confirmation, I only get glares in return, and reminders to “shhhh”. (sigh) I guess I’ll just enjoy the ride. This could be a direct attack on Moonbow. Approaching 3 times the length of BMs journey, seems JIRM would like to show BM just how much bigger space is. Be interesting to see how this is scored.

Result:
JIRM gets the win. Judges say Moonbow was a great setup for the “great emotional expression that this choon delivers”. Clever gamesmanship from the Swedes. This is a game changer. May not be best to be playing first in these rounds. With this match tied up, let’s see what unfolds.

Round 3:

Staying with the tactic of Dig, JIRM comes out with some ambient mood development. Guitar wisps breeze through the arena as if to set the stage for some unseen drama. Anticipation builds as I wait to see where this goes. Giutar flows into structure as a vocal prescence appears to add to the moodscape. I remain unsure of the drama as the vocals rise in intensity and fall back down to their previous levels. Chin scratching from the panel leads me to believe the panel is thinking hard on this one. Scores appear to reflect high marks for artistic value on this one. JIRM seems pleased with the result.

Building on a deep and rumbly guitar, BM brings the power back into the Choonatorium. Audience responds by going into motion. Dark energy begins to swirl as we hear a tale of a lady being disrespected. These “Sisters of the Stone” have a clear plan for vengence against the perpetrator. Clearly the Sisters are not to be trifled with. Could they be responsible for someone landing on JIRM’s “Isle of Solitude”? I can feel the energy of these bands feeding off each other. Feels like a concept album between separate bands. Anyway, I can’t wait to see who takes this one.

Result:
JIRM takes victory here with the epic isolation of the Isle of Solitude. As one judge described it, “I could feel the waves of sorrow lapping against the shores of my lonliness and despair.” Wow, powerful stuff, there.

Round 4:

Down by one now, BM makes a substitution. “Buried Hoard” is overlooked in favor of “Severed Grace.” A dark riff enters the stage as percussion eventually comes in to present the weight of the situation. All leading into a song about – umm – well, I’m not entirely sure. Doesn’t matter, though. This mid tempo driver has energy. I assume there are dark powers at play here and I could probably soak in this seduction for awhile. Music steps down for a moment to allow for some whispery enchantments, returning to force again as the the journey feedbacks to a close. Not really sure what I just listened to, but I can tell that I wasn’t the only one to enjoy that. Great response from the crowd, which our panel makes note of.


This time out, JIRM pick up with the same energy of BM. Guitars and drums kick off simultaneously as The Cultist launches its story of – again, I have little idea what’s going on here. Whatever is going here, I do pick up a very good sense of motion and purpose. This is going somewhere, just not sure where. Well, I enjoy some mystery, so it matters not. This is a good ride if nothing else, and the song slows to close as it reaches its destination, like a train rolling into a station. Wow, I feel like I’ve actually traveled somewhere. Glad I’m a judge for these two. This battle feels tight.

Result:
After some deliberation, it appears that BM has managed to squeak out victory here to tie things up 2 and 2. So, as in the previous semi, we go a full five rounds to determine the victor of these two talented bands. Let’s see what these folks have for their closers!

Round 5:

Opening slower and acoustically, vocals come in to present a rather soaring ballad. As the guitars gain their electric legs, pecussion provides the engine for a good running pace. “Nature of the Damned” seems to build on itself as it’s depth seems to increase until collapsing somewhat into a bit of a staticy netherspere. After a time, the song is regathered by it’s own gravity and attempts to respawn itself, resurfacing as a different creature than before. Again building on itself, intensity rises as it propels itself towards its goal. Once more, I have no clue of lyrical content – can we not afford lyric sheets at this grand event? – but the effect is no lesser after experiencing that amazingly evolutionary choon. Now to see how BM combats this.

BM enters at full force for this final battle. Emotions run angry in this hard rocker. Plenty of musical fury to behold. BM have decided to close by going fully into the offensive. Power is maxed out is they blast us with their short stomper. High energy closers are typically popular, so this could be a great plan We will see if this stategy allows the judging staff on a high. Again, I am relieved to not be a judge in this event. Oh, and as I see from the faces of the council looking at me, they seem glad as well. Whatever.

Result:
JIRM is declared the winner of this battle, and as a result, the winner of this semi-final round!! Seems Black Moth’s high energy closer was just not enough to take down “Nature of the Damned.” The scores were close, but as one judge put it, “I simply could not live with myself if I didn’t rate “Nature of the Damned” as the best I’ve heard thus far. Just an amazingly evolutionary choon!” – Hey, that’s what I said!! You can’t use my – well, nevermind. That was a blast.

The stage is now set for the finals for this March Chooness. We will see how it will play out between semi 1 upsetter Elephant9 and semi 2 winner JIRM. This could be a strange and exciting adventure as we find out who makes the most out this golden opporchoonity. I am jittery with anticipation!

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