Score: 10

"Well-developed"

submission: musingsthefirst

date: December 17, 2009

I'm seriously liking this one. I loved the way that the song developed, and really appreciate the fact that you reduced repetitiveness to a minimum, bringing it close, if not together, with actual classical orchestral compositions (in my opinion, that is).

This has, however, also resulted in a sort of down-side- namely the fact that sometimes it seems as though notes were just randomly tossed on upon another in order of creating more versatility (unless this was your intention, or I'm actually imagining things :P), but this isn't necessarily a bad thing, could just be something that feels weird upon the first few listens, and then you get used to it.

The choice of instruments you have made for this piece is very satisfying, as well as the percussion, apart from the snare which sounded a tad too artificial at times, but not enough to ruin the overall feel of the song. The way you intertwined the strings with the wind instruments is really good, and gives off that classical two-voiced "conversation between instruments" feel.

As for the mood of the song, it features an interesting development from a sort of ridiculous serious mood which slowly progresses to become more of a heroic, yet still serious piece. My impression of the song would be an old 19th century general who is preparing for the battlefield - sure, his enormous mustache might seem silly at first, but after prolonged observation, you get to respect his military genius and realize he's much more than just that.

Bottom line: really good, and requiring only minimal (if any adjustments). A very nice piece of work that I would without a second thought suggest to a lover of classical music, and most certainly a heavily under-valued song when it comes to the score.

Score: 10

"WAIT A SEC THIS ISN'T JAZZ AT ALL. >:U"

submission: Kill Room (WIP)

date: December 17, 2009

Hehe, might not be Jazz, but it definitely is awesome.

The intro was pretty sick, and I mean psy-sick. The short synth trills were a really cool addition, and made the mood of the song a sort of powerful/disturbing kind of thing. One thing furthering this combination was the use of the jazzy, clean and bright piano along the more effect-heavy d'n'b synths, which gave the song an interesting dimension that I think many songs lack, as a lot of people tend to stick to one "type" of instrument style within a song, with very little or no thinking out of the box.

I absolutely loved all the sounds you used in this one, the diving bass from 1:25 being my definite favorite. The piano I mentioned before was also really nice, sounded almost mellow, in fact (apart from the faster part at 0:52 and beyond :P).

The percussion is pretty cool, and I really appreciated the fact that you left it more minimalistic at times, just so the occasional unexpected cymbal or hat would stand out more (taking that this was, in fact, your intention).

To round it up: this WIP is very close to being a full fledged song, in my humble opinion. I'd say that by now finishing this song is more about adding a few more touches that you believe are necessary, but from my point of view, it's as good as finished. Nice work.

Score: 10

"Pretty cool (no pun intended)"

submission: -:YRX:-BreakTheWinter

date: December 17, 2009

This is really a good one. Very winter-ey and easy, yet pretty intense.

The beginning reminded me of some old school winter-themed cartoons I saw as a kid (probably caused by the chime/bell sound), which just added to it being a really nice winter background song. Introducing the beat didn't reduce the overall feeling of the song, even though it certainly did speed it up a notch. The chime I mentioned before was just perfect - an ideal choice for this sort of song.

If I had to complain about a particular section of the song, it would probably be the part from 0:38, with just the single note-per-bar - it sounded a bit too generic in comparison to the rest of the song. It got better at 0:50, though. Anyways, it's just a minor complaint, and more a matter of personal opinion than an actual flaw in the song itself.

I really liked the kick sound at 1:29, felt really powerful and made the song a bit more intense. It was also a nice way to lead into the more calm outro, that left the impression of a more smooth and peaceful winter mood.

All in all, a really nice winter song to sit around a fire place to and get drunk on the Christmas cheer. Or wine, whichever you prefer. :P

Score: 10

"Nice one"

submission: One - Metallica Hip Hop Mix

date: December 17, 2009

First of all, I think I should point out that I don't think that the concept of mixing Metallica with hip hop deserves a "Blah", actually. I think that the idea was a really good and refreshing one (ignoring the existence of Snoop's Metallica cover ;D), and that the end result is more than satisfying.

I believe that the way you condensed the most crucial points of the original and added your own personal touch to them is really praise-worthy, as you basically squeezed pretty much everything within a short track, without it feeling hollow or cut-out, differing it from a mere length-reduction piece of work

Musically, the song is very well played, with very fitting modifications to the original. The sound of both your clean and distorted guitars was amazing, and the lead that you played was almost beautifully smooth. The beat itself was very steady, and really created a great background for throwing out some rhymes.

All in all, a song deserving the front page spot. Well done.

Score: 9

"Nice, could use some improvements"

submission: This Archangel's Destiny

date: October 2, 2009

The first thing I'd change is the synth pad in the background- after a while of listening to that one chord, I have the slight feeling I might get a headache. Some flanger or phaser (slow frequency) might do the trick, as well as some panning-alteration. The riffs were nice, and yes, they were kinda Maiden-ey, I have to admit, but I liked them. The sound of the bass was cool, really thick 'n' juicy, the guitar was ok (which is the most a person can expect from synth guitars, sadly), and the drums were cool, especially the snare.

The change of pace in the mid of the song was a good choice, keeping it at the same beat from top to bottom would kill the song. As for the sound effects in that section, some panning might have done wonders here, too. The gunshot was ok, the last part too, but that machinegun was just a tad too bland without any volume and pan differences.

Also, you might want to consider reducing the volume of each instrument individually: this loudness creates a bit too much static at certain points of the song. Plus, the end-explosion (though serving a shock-factor of sorts) is still way too loud in comparison to the other instruments. Aim for "louder than the rest", not "as loud as it goes". Modify these things, and you've got a really nice piece here!

Score: 9

"Heh..."

submission: Endure

date: July 5, 2009

Haven't written a review in a while now... Hope I still remember how it's done. ;D

So, from the top: the intro with the clean guitar felt really good, even though the progression seemed awfully familiar to me. The sound of the guitar was pretty nice, and had just the right amount of reverb. Then came the short synths (premiering at 0:32). They sounded a tad too slow for me, which could possibly be helped with reducing the Attack of the soundfont you used, but what I would really suggest is layering some pizzicato strings above it, perhaps with just a pinch of delay, just to accentuate them a bit more. Then again- that's just me. If I could, I'd throw in pizzicato strings into grindcore, so yeah...

The deeper section of the same strings sounded well because the melody was more connected (without the breaks), so the slow attack wasn't that noticeable. As for the piano coming in at 1:29, I truly recommend you either plaster that bugger with some massive reverb, or even better: give it a slow delay, just to reduce the cut-out feel.

The section following this one sounded well because the bass helped round all of the instruments in a nice, wholesome section. I must admit that the sound of the guitar was slightly less-then-satisfying, but soundfonts are always a bitch. Sad fact, but it can't be changed. However, the same lack of attack (I'm rhyming, yay!) that I mentioned for the short strings can be applied to the guitar in section starting at 1:51. The pauses and the sound that the guitar makes when it comes in just don't sound natural. Possibly layering the section with another guitar might help.

The cymbal at 2:11 sounded waaaay to artificial, so I'd say take a minute or two and toy with the volume and panning for each of the individual crash hits, jsut to soften that computerized feel. Also, I'd personally go with less crash hits in that section: if it's all 8th notes, cut it down to half the number of 4th notes.

The section at 2:32 was really a thing of beauty. The instruments just blended in so nicely, it was really darn awesome. Still, the sound of the quicker guitar notes could be improved, once again, with some layering. The rest, with all the strings, almost brought a tear to my eye. Really, really touching.

Then the sudden ambient sounds/noises came in, and I have to say that they really surprised me. Didn't see those coming at all, and they made a very nice addition to the song. The whole section was excellent, except for a single dissonant synth string at 4:21. That one really pinched my ears. :P

I hope you find these observations at least a tad helpful. This song has some serious potential, but it needs to be chiseled into shape for a little longer before it can maximize it. Keeping my fingers crossed for your success on that. ;)

Score: 9

"Cool, but could use some minor improvements!"

submission: Crushing the Past

date: March 12, 2009

I have to admit, this version does have a slightly more "mighty" feel than the first one did, but I believe that it came along with a slight problem. It seems as though the volume of the separate instruments is slightly too high, resulting in a small amount of background buzz that escalates to it's maximum at the 1:36 section. This too high volume issue results in the loss of some sounds (most obviously: the drums and scratches), which is really unfair because they are among the sounds that are essential to giving this song it's heavy feel.

As for the melodies, I believe that the guitar at the beginning, the guitar chords later in the song and the bass throughout the song lack that muted pizzicato feeling they had in the original. That gave the whole song a real feeling of... well, determination (in the lack of a better word). As they sounded a lot more sharp and, thus, more aggressive. And hey, when making metal/industrial, aggressive can rarely be viewed as a negative thing, especially if the theme of the song is the one you defined in the comments for the first one.

About the sections: the intro was really excellent, it had a really powerful build-up feel created by the adding of sounds, one by one, which really gives out the impression of a person's growing rage. The "chorus" part (first at 1:36) was a tad too major for my taste, because it felt to me as though it took from the dark theme of the song, but I guess that's just my personal opinion. The break at 3:12 was really nice, but with a dose of the Linkin Park style that I generally dislike. However, you pulled it off quite nicely, and I believe it helped turn the song around. Also, the ending with the pick slide/flanger sound was a really nice touch, fits the song a lot better than the old-school base chord hit could ever do.

So, all in all, nice job, but there's definitely some maneuvering space here for you to use. Minor tweaking of this song may result in a truly awesome piece of work!

Score: 10

"Nice"

submission: Blood Red Hurricane

date: March 5, 2009

Quite an interesting piece of work. I must say, when I read the description, I was expecting something pointing about 180 degrees in the opposite direction of what the song actually looks like, but it's an excellent song nonetheless. When you said epic, I was actually picturing something loaded with heavy strings and 4-octave chords, when you have actually gone for a somewhat softer synth background. Definitely not my idea of epic, but works like a charm for creating a tense atmosphere.

Also, I must point out that I don't really agree on this song being "aggressive". True, the bass-line you wrote has the potential to cause outbursts of rage against small furry animals, but definitely not with the pace of the drums that you have chosen. If we were talking about a rampaging drum section, I'd consider calling this aggressive. As far as boss battles go, this also seems to have a slightly too long build-up, as boss battle themes (from my point of view, at least) need to have more of an in-medias-res factor.

Now to the instruments: the sound of the bass was nice, and I love the way you used the muted notes to give it a bit more adrenaline, which also worked well with the sections where you let it get dissipated in the effects. The short synth leads you used are really nice for the progressions you used, and they seemed to create an icy feeling, especially when combined with the piano-esque sounds and strings. The drums could've been a tad louder, but I guess that's just a matter of personal preference.

Overall, I'd say that the songs over-repetitive bass-line gives the feeling of massive lack of diversity. Which is a shame, seeing that you obviously put a lot of effort into it: the volume control, effects and all. So: speeding up the drums and adding another bridge-section in the middle (just to break the monotony) is all I can actually suggest. Other then that: Good work!

Score: 10

"Epic"

submission: Nav - Annoying Shit

date: February 18, 2009

Damn sick track. Haven't heard such a trampling gabber intro in a while now. The kick you used is truly epic, just the right amount of stomp and punch that every gabber kick needs. In fact, it's so epic it actually intrigued me so much that I'm writing my first review after a while now. ;D

So, from the top: the intro was really energetic, it was an obvious sign of the sickness to come after it. The "Dumb and Dumber" sample was pure awesome, and the way you used it reminded me a tad of a gabber track off of one of the Thunderdome cds, but I really can't remember the name at the moment. I personally love the use of such screams/screeches/overall noise in music, so it worked like a charm. Both the pitch modification and the repetition of the sound were really satisfying, probably meaning you really did cut the sample at that exact sweet spot. XD

At 1:29, I'd have to say you let it go way too soft way too fast. The progression was dark enough to sound good, but the sound of the choir didn't really suit the general feel of the song up to that point (just an opinion, of course). It's just that the kind of sound isn't exactly what I'm used to hearing in this sort of music, so I suppose it came as sort of a surprise.

The lead at 2:02 was a welcome refreshment after the more calm part before it, because it seemed to fit the general aggressive feeling that I believe was created during the beginning of the song (let's face it: that kick wasn't made to cuddle with fuzzy animals).

It's melody was also good, and it gave a new dimension to the song, because the kick-less section allowed the melody's bass notes to come out into the open; however, I did not think the continuation of the melody on the piano fits in at all. The bass notes of the entire melody were sounding as though they tried to be diverse, but ended up repeating too many times one after the other, which sounded slightly... well, annoying. That's pretty much the only thing that I found a decent enough reason for this track to justify it's title.

So, I'd say that overall, it's a really good song, but you may have gone a bit better off with some more simplistic, aggressive sections instead of inserting the slightly trance-ey choir part and piano melody. Perhaps some would see that as an attempt to fit as much as possible within the boundries which many people imagine when they think of gabber, but I find that it could use some more of that. Still, you definitely get plus point for a less common approach to the song, so I can hardly take it against you. The song is truly high-quality material, and the things I disliked are truly just a matter of personal preference, so I don't really think you should lose any of the 10 shiny stars because of it.

Great job, and keep up the awesome work!

Score: 9

"Kewl"

submission: .:HMS:. Diligently

date: November 30, 2008

Really nice stuff, I loved the melody even though it took some time to develop it. The fills at 2:00 are really cool, but overall, I would've liked a bit more diversity, even for an ambient song. Those bells at the end part almost pulled it out, but it still left the beginning a bit empty (as in: slowly developed).

The sounds you used were really nice, especially the one at 0:55, that one sounded quite soothing. And using only the kicks to accentuate rythm was definitely a good idea, even the softest snare would probably ruin this chill-feel.

All in all, it's really good, but there's still a bit of room for improvement!