Score: 9
"Achaia"
date: July 24, 2008
First off, what's the title mean?
Wow this is a really great piece. I think it is a bit uplifting but it does reflect some sadness in it. I really liked it when you brought in the cello in the beginning but I wanted it to be prominent. Even if your theme and melody aren't necessarily sad, the cello itself will give that impression and I really felt that for the first part when the cello was there.
Drums are pretty sweet and not at all what I expected to come in. You did that with Addictive drums? Wow, I really suck with that plugin then haha. Nice job with them.
At times it felt like the backing strings conflicted with the theme you had going but for me, it didn't really bother me, it just caught my attention and changed the mood a bit.
I really liked when the piano picked up pace but I personally didn't like a lot of the sound effects. Until the shaker came in I wasn't too fond of it, but that's just me *shrug*
The guitar here was really good as well and the different drums that came in really changed the mood of the piece. The buildup towards the end was really good and I enjoyed that.
This is a great entry and I wish you luck in the contest! Great job!
~SinJim
August 14, 2008
Author's Response:
Achaea was a province of Greece. The song is about the Battle of Dyme where the Achaean forces were defeated. The story does have a somewhat happy ending, though.
This is from Wikipedia:
"In 222 BC, the Macedonian-Achaean army and the Spartan army clashed at the Battle of Sellasia which ended in an allied victory. This victory forced Cleomenes to flee from Greece and go to Egypt. While Antigonus took Sparta, making him the first foreigner to every capture Sparta."
A lot of the mood changes are supposed to represent the mixed emotions during the time of their defeat.
The first set of drums that come in I did with Addictive Drums. The second set are stock samples that come with FL Studio; I just tweaked them to my liking and pitch bent them.
Thank you for all the kind words. :)
