I can totally get what you were going for with the Industrial power noise sound, and you've got some really cool underlying elements, but those are ultimately far overshadowed by what ultimately comes off as too much crunchy distortion. At no point does the listener get a break from that, and - whether intended or not - it ends up being rather abusive on the ears. I try to be very discerning when it comes to loud, harsh sounds that could damage my hearing. Suffice to say, this track has been a bit of a struggle for me, despite how incredibly talented I know you are.

Now, of course I know that this was never intended as a NGADM track from the beginning. I am overjoyed that everyone still in the contest had something to contribute to the Round of 16. You had this available, it was made within the allotted time-frame for CHIPS, you asked and I was happy that it could be allowed in. But at the same time you knew that it probably wouldn't help you to move on to the Quarterfinals. Not that it still doesn't frustrate you, especially with the judge averages being less than complimentary, but there is a precedent right within the contest guidelines.

A quick perusal of the Tournament rules brings us to the following statement: "Keep in mind that this is a MUSIC competition. We won't judge voice-acting, experimental noise, sound effects, or anything that doesn't count as music." Although there are indeed musical elements, the fact that highly divisive noise pervades the entire track without a respite was damaging. Sure, we could debate semantics over what "music" actually is practically forever, but as the judges of this contest we can't afford to take anything other than a decisive stance when it comes to our scoring.

Long story short, this is the case of a good idea that simply didn't pan out for the contest. It's happened a lot, to many of the contestants, since this whole thing started back in May. Giving your listener's ears a break is vital, especially with hardcore distortion and lots of loud, crunchy noise. I would have liked to have seen the levels of distortion rise and fall, or switch from one mode to another at least some of the time. There are all kinds of ways to alleviate ear strain, which happens far too quickly in this instance.

What I could actually hear going on beneath the somewhat overwhelming power noise was excellent! I just couldn't hear enough of it, which is a shame. Regardless, I love what you do, and I wish you the absolute best of luck going forward!

7.25 out of 10

merci pour cette délicieuse piste qui accompagne désormais toutes mes virées vidéoludiques en moto

Stuff that's great:
- All that power noise crunchy goodness, wasn't expecting this kind of thing but I'm happy it happened at some point!
- Crazy modulation in some of these synths.
- Really neat drum processing around the end.

Stuff that can be improved:
- I know it's power noise, but it can still be compressed and mixed properly without potentially harming ear drums. I can hear the mix crying at some parts.
- So like, this just doesn't really have the variation or the counterpoints to support what it's doing. Take a listen to Billain's music, or Queef Scab Carnies by Mr Bill. Both of those have acoustic/clean parts to serve as contrast and as a break for listening ears, which makes both things have much more impact. This also would let the song break up into more discrete 'sections' that help listeners feel the flow of the music. Another alternative would be having something like vocals serve as a main theme/focal point of the song. See: Crankshaft's music.

So like. I'm super happy that this style was attempted. I'm not as happy about the execution and the compression/distortion was nearly painful to listen to on headphones. I think with a bit more reigning in on the effective loudness (more headroom is your friend <3 and it's not just about db level) and a breakdown or other focal point/contrast, it would be really really awesome.

7.2/10

Wow, you’re good at constructing a dense, distorted soundscape. You clearly have an excellent sense of rhythm, too. Unfortunately, this piece suffers from a severe dearth of melodic content, or frankly any moving, tonal notes at all. The mixing is pretty clear, although there was a particularly staticy instrument at 1:13 which hurt my ears. Overall, I think you went way too experimental on the composition here for my tastes. The piece needs more variety in the energy levels, dynamics, and phrasing, and less variety in the soundscape and arrangement. Cool-sounding track. Definitely good for a gritty, biker-themed videogame. Probably not great as a stand-alone track. Keep at it, man! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
.75/1
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6/10

Audio Portal scrubs can't handle pure industrial sounds
this is gold