Hey man! So glad you like it, and that you use it as a soundtrack for AoE haha. I suck at that game.

3:06... I agree entirely. Every time I listen back to this track and get to that part, I wonder why I made it so loud and distorted. It sounds really ugly. Good point!

I'm very happy with the intro and outro in this track. I had them in mind before I even began composing a note of this track. I knew exactly how I wanted to start it and end it, and I'm glad it worked out as well as it did.

Thank you!

Wow, really high praise. Thanks a lot! I wish I had the talent and ability to score for film, but unfortunately it can't be - I take an inordinate amount of time composing music (which isn't a good thing in an area with such harsh deadlines like film-scoring), and I'm also half-deaf, which severely limits my ability to play around with stereo effects and panning.

Still, feedback like this is awesome to receive. Thanks again!

I am definitely quite proud of the intro, and the way it come a full circle. I had that idea in mind ever since I began working on the track. I have little ideas like these at the start of a track's production, and I always get excited to implement them :p.

This is a huuugely encouraging review, man. I feel like Beethoven right now seriously. STAHP.

Thanks a lot!

I can't believe I took so long to respond to this. Damn, I suck! Thanks A MILLION for the review.

"I think the spooky direction (Not quite 2spoopy4me) was well executed."

Spooky/ominous wasn't quite something I had in mind for this track, but I can totally hear where you're coming from. The delayed chimes, the choirs, the haunting piano section... there is definitely a surprising amount of unease and horror in this track which was not quite intentional. I'm glad you like it though!

"(I almost accidentally typed dramatics there, because they were dramatic)"

Now dramatic is definitely something I was going for. Both my arrangement and the original have kind of the same purpose, which is why I named my arrangement as a play on the words of the original's name. They're both songs made to represent a storm. My approach was definitely more dramatic and dynamic though, which is what I hope sets me apart from the original.

"Of note, I particularly liked the hit (Accent? Sfz?) at 1:16"

Same! I really love that part. I specifically held the note before it for longer just to really give it that beefy entrance.

"although I think the parts immediately preceding and following it should be at a lower volume for better scare and contrast, especially leading into 1:24"

That's a great idea. Wish I thought of that. The contrast would've certainly worked out better.

"I enjoyed the fact that you took liberties with the melody. It was still recognizable as the Song of Storms, but avoided tedium and boredom."

I'm glad you noticed that! I found it pretty hard to arrange this since the original is basically the same melody repeated over and over, but through the use of cameos and original composition I tried to make this more varied.

"At 1:58, when the song mellows out (The eye of the storm, perhaps?), I found the vocals to be sufficiently haunting in nature, but the flute part was not, and the backgrounds resolved into a major chord. Thus, there was the awkward dichotomy of expecting a calmer part (which there was), but being "told" by the song that it would be a spooky part."

That is a super insightful point which solidifies my belief that you write some of my favourite reviews on my music. In hindsight, I agree entirely with you. It's a definite flaw that takes away from that section.

"Meanwhile, at 2:35, there is a bit of a spooky to the piano (And something whooshing/rumbling behind it. After listening to that part a few more times, I'm identifying it as a very soft vocal part), which finally delivers on the promised haunted interlude."

Nah that's just generic rumbling, maybe mixed in with the washed-out reverb I threw on the piano over there. I don't think I have anything else playing there. Glad you enjoyed it!

"There was an odd click sound (Kind of like a woodblock) at 3:16/3:18, and it appears again at 3:26/3:28. I'm guessing it is an intended part of the percussion, but it was slightly disruptive to my listening. It pops up again at 3:39, and it sounds more like an audio error than something that belongs in the song."

I can't quite hear it. It might very well be an audio error. This track took quite a few exports before I could get it without any errors (or at least, any errors that are audible to me). 2:00 especially kept playing a dissonant note on the string staccato for a reason entirely unknown to me, and it took me at least five or six exports to get rid of it for good.

The problem with music production is that a lot of it is done in an environment where many third-party plugins from different developers are working together. Some of those may have compatibility issues, others simply aren't coded well, etc. East/West VSTs in particular, despite being fairly high-end and great-sounding samples, are INCREDIBLY prone to glitches and I've honestly had more UNIQUE issues/bugs with theirs products (from installation to general use to rendering to everything in-between) than I can even count. This track was certainly no exception.

"-"I felt like the instruments should also reflect the storm."
The ending (And by being similar to the beginning, the beginning too) did a great job of that.

-The piano run (0:49) seemed odd when I first listened to it. After reading your justification, I think it sounds great, but that is after listening to the rest of the song. It sets up the song nicely from the perspective of someone who has already listened to it a few times, but originally was awkward."

That was actually a trick that my piano teacher told me about. Composers from the impressionist era would use the piano to emulate real-life things, often natural elements such as rain or wind. She then demonstrated that in front of me by playing a chromatic scale that rises and falls in pitch, volume and speed, and said that this can be used to represent wind. I thought that was a pretty cool idea so I plagiarised the crap out of it for this track :3.

But yeah, emulating a storm was one of my main goals with this piece. I did things like play timpani alongside thunder, play the chromatic piano scales with the wind, and even have a pitched wind sound play during the calm parts like the intro/ending (signifying that the wind is under control and "singing" with the music). I'm happy you picked up on that!

"-The rain effects sounded more like a shower than rain. As in, the kind of shower people use to clean themselves, as opposed to a "shower of rain". I apologize for the ambiguous terminology."

Whoopsies. I have very little patience when it comes to looking for sound effects haha. I just go for whatever I find first.

"-And on a completely unrelated comment, it has been almost five years since I reviewed 'Power of the Piano'. I'd like to think my ability to provide a competent and educated review has improved greatly since then. I was looking at some of my old reviews, and I am almost ashamed of myself xD. But seriously, five years."

Yeahhh! I've got to say, you have to be the most long-standing reviewer of my music. Not only that, but your reviews are among my favourites because of how insightful and detailed they are. Just like you look back and are embarrassed over your old reviews, I'm the same with my music. Apart from some close friends of mine, you're probably the only other guy who has witnessed nearly my full musical development up to where I am now! I hope I've also improved substantially in my own music haha.

Anyway, I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH for reviewing another one of my pieces. You da best.