REMEMBER, ROUND 2 STILL DOES NOT END UNTIL SATURDAY 10PM
Get your scores in for that round if you have not submitted yet!


Round 3
Theme: Maidens of Metal
About the theme:
Metal. The word evokes images of shirtless guys with long hair wailing on their guitars, intense drum fills with gritty vocals and... beautiful women with operatic voices?
It's more likely than you think: this round focuses on metal with female lead vocals!
(before you say it, yes I realize the pun I could have made with Iron Maiden and "Maidens of Metal," no you are not clever for thinking of it)
I would up mostly focusing on Northern European Symphonic/Melodic/Power Metal bands, but there's plenty more out there I couldn't make files for.
If you find you like this sound, here's a few dozen more bands to check out in addition to the five featured this round:
Krypteria, Xandria, Nemesea, Satyrian, Lyriel, Arkona, Katra, Indica, Sirenia, Amaranthe, Evanescence, Tristania, Ancient Bards, Crimfall, Imperia, Magica...



D1
Sensorium
Artist: Epica
Steps: hi19hi19
Difficulty: 8
Length: 2:01
Max Combo: 823
Framers: 0,0,0,5,2

About the file: Okay, hopefully you guys are done AAAing things as of now. Jeez.
This song is the same length as last round but boasts roughly 200 more arrows, making it a lot more dense.
The handful of minijacks and a climax ending should prove a good challenge for D1 players this round.



D2
Avalon
Artist: Lunatica
Steps: hi19hi19
Difficulty: 10
Length: 2:26
Max Combo: 1163
Framers: 0,0,0,0,1

About the file: Oh my, look at all that jumpstream.
This file is a nice long consistency test- some long runs of 145 bpm jumpstream. While not too dense, it is very relentless.
Playing this file should serve as an excellent introduction to the coming mid-VC and up level files.
I was torn between high 9 and low 10 for this file, so as usual I rated high. Let me know if it needs to be bumped down.



D3
Starlight Reverie
Artist: Edenbridge
Steps: hi19hi19
Difficulty: 10
Length: 3:00
Max Combo: 1995
Framers: 0,0,0,10,5

About the file: So I hit you guys pretty hard last round, huh.
Main Theme (The Legend of Zelda) actually got bumped to an 11 mid-round, it took me by surprise how hard it wound up being in FFR.
This round should be a little bit of a breather- it wound up easier than I expected, a solid 10 but not too hard.
At only 140 bpm, the jumpstream in this song is very slow by D3 standards, but it makes up for that in relentlessness and density.
The jumpstream is continuous for almost the entire file, and at 3:00 long you might start feeling a stamina drain... enjoy!



D4
Arctica
Artist: Amberian Dawn
Steps: hi19hi19
Difficulty: 12
Length: 3:17
Max Combo: 2412
Framers: 0,0,6,26,465

About the file: Oh boy. Nice FGO you got there D4, hm?
Summary: multiple 200 bpm JS sections, a crazy colorfucced solo section with some 300+ bpm bursts, and hyperlayered 8th jump/hand sections.
You guys thought Angel Island Zone was hard? Oh this will be good :twisted:



D5
Crownless
Artist: Nightwish
Steps: hi19hi19
Difficulty: 12
Length: 2:49
Max Combo: 1953
Framers: 0,0,5,232,24

About the file: The last of D5's jack files arrives.
There's a good deal of bootraps in this file, and some incredibly aggressively layered 16th jumpspams, but it's not too bad by D5 standards.
From here on out it's borderline 13 stuff, so enjoy your last mid FGO.




ROUND 3 FILES DOWNLOAD LINK

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THERE WILL BE A SIDE GAME THIS ROUND
I haven't had a chance to finish it but I will post it maybe late tonight, otherwise on Sunday.
Stay tuned!