Score: 8
"I'm reviewing this song because,"
date: June 20, 2008
I saw your "Massive Trance Tutorial" on the Audio Forum. So I'm here to show you that regardless of how far you've come, you've still got a long way to go. So don't let your ego get ahead of you. :P
Intro is nice, thumping, though it sounds like you put a compressor on the master channel, everything ducks slightly now and then, not dramatically, but enough to hurt the flow of the track. Thankfully you didn't boost the bass on both your kick and bass synth, which is the next thing I see people doing after adding on a compressor to the master channel.
Try to stay away from blatant VEC sounds (I hear at least four), maybe if you can find good ones and disguise them well they're ok, but if you keep using them like that you'll sound more like some generic trance producer - the sounds have been used time and time again, after all. ;) That, and your VEC2 Trance Sweeps 03 sample is not only overpowered in some places when you use it (like your hit), but it isn't in the same key as the rest of the song. :P
Next problem, it sounds like some of your synths lack depth to them. It's not a mixing or EQing thing, but it's just the synths themselves. For example, your synth that comes in at 1:08 is really thin, almost tinny-sounding. It comes in later and it's got a little bit more depth to it but in the mix around 1:08 it's way too thin. Often the best trance I hear has a full sound - not cluttered, but "thick." That's because the frequencies are filled - kick and bass in the low ranges, the clap, some filler synths (arp, gated synth, pad/sidechained pad, for example) and maybe some vocals in the mid and mid-treble ranges, and in the treble ranges, the hihat line, the lead, and possibly another filler synth. Here, though, most of your synths are in the mid-treble and treble ranges, there's nothing in the mid ranges, giving the song a hollow sound in places - as it's got plenty of synths but this big gaping frequency hole in the middle.
As for your lead, either it's that synth I described as tinny earlier playing a repetitive rhythm, or some other synth I can hardly hear, lost in the mix, playing what sounds to me to be a pretty good melody. Take a guess at what I'm going to say here, you should know by now. :D
Later on in the song, you have one loud hihat on the offbeat, and the rest get drowned under the mix. The bass rhythm somehow saves the drive a flowing hihat line would have given the track, at least it does for me, but be careful next time. If you have to, use a loop or two, just make sure they're not obvious like your FX. ;D
Your snare rolls are in places really overpowered, which they shouldn't be, considering they're being used to build tension which is released at the end of the roll - they should be heard! Next time, make sure they are. ;)
Now, your progression. I'll map it out first just so we can see what we're talking about. ;)
1. 0:00 - 1:35: Intro
2. 1:36 - 2:10: Breakdown
3. 2:11 - 2:25: Buildup
4. 2:26 - 3:20: Peak
5. 3:21 - 3:34: Buildup
6. 3:35 - 4:02: Peak (though the energy goes down?)
7. 4:03 - 4:15: Buildup
8. 4:16 - 5:24: Peak
9. 5:25 - 6:31: Outro
Now what I don't get are sections four through eight. Basically, the song's the same for the half of the total time, minus some 10-second buildups and a little bit of filtering? Next time, just add in another breakdown, which is a bit different from your first one, followed by a REAL buildup. ;)
Other than all of those points this song's not bad. You remind me of Pulstate (who has an account on this site, find him :D) about a year ago, maybe a bit more, which was before he got signed. Basically, you've got potential, lots of it. And, another thing, I wouldn't call it a matter of getting the right software, you seem to have everything you need. Just learn to use it right. ;)
So I'll rate this an 8/10, though I'll vote 5. I'll be keeping an eye out for more stuff from you. ;)