Once again, a wild finish to a crazy match to finish up Round 1. I knew which way I was going to go early on:
Gonna give them each at least another listen, but I'm already pretty sure which way I'm going in this match.
The User who rep'd the LP I was less fond of immediately recognized which way I was leaning, and responded:
Lmao Diva, given our discrepancies in prog taste reckon you’re clocking in at the Steel Mill?
I hadn't really intended to reveal which way I was leaning yet, but since he already knew, I gave him an honest answer:
Very likely. The cover art for Present feels to me like it matches the music - very busy and hectic. And I've always liked the psychedelic stuff, which also gives Steel Mill a advantage. But I'll give Barbaro at least one more chance to win me over.
I actually gave them each two more listens, but my feelings didn't change. Here was my vote:
As expected, I'll be voting for Steel Mill. Their brand of psychedelic prog is much more up my alley. I really liked the Native-American-sounding flutes on this one.
I will say that I've liked Barbaro a little better each time I've heard it. It's a very busy album, though, and certainly not a natural fit for my tastes.
Steel Mill pulled out to a slight lead, but by the end of allotted voting period on Saturday, the albums were tied at 9 votes apiece.
One of the Users who hadn't weighed in yet then said that he was sorry he was late, but he needed some time to see which ne he preferred. Unbeknownst to us, however, our friend Jethro had already reached out to a User who wasn't part of this year's contest but had been with us in previous years to submit a tiebreaker vote. He submitted his vote first, and Jethro called a winner.
Final Result: Steel Mill 9 votes, Present 10 votes.
My final results in Round 1: Albums I voted for that won their round 2, albums I voted for that lost their round 8. The diva course had run its course. On to the Quarterfinals (aka the Elimination Round).
