RESULTS - SUPERSTEPH54
---
SUMMARY : Brilliantly executed.
REVIEW : This submission is truly an amazing piece of work. From the suspenseful melodies to the very well executed buildups to the superb atmosphere, this leaves me not surprised that you were asked to compose a masterpiece for a game which will come out on the 360.
The melodies, as I said, evoke a lot of suspense. I can easily imagine this to be right at home in a Tomb-Raider game. The brass throughout the song really was excellent, and really added to the submission. The strings also set of the mood really well, and all of the melodies sounded great. Unfortunately, as a lot of people have pointed out to you, this submission has too much reverb in it. In some parts it really added to the atmosphere, especially the softer parts such as at 1:00, 2:07 and the end, but in other parts, especially the intro and the more powerful "mini climaxes" throughout the track, the reverb just blurred everything together and took a reasonable amount of power and might away from the piece. In all, melodies were great.
The instruments are obviously amazing quality. Maybe you tricked me in Orcuviathan the Tomb Shaker and made me think those instruments were from East/West when they were soundfonts, but these instruments are such amazing quality that they can't be from soundfonts xP. I really like your blend of different instruments; the instruments complimented each other very well, with epic and powerful brass fading in and answering the melodies played by the fast-paced strings. The choir voices were also an excellent additon to the song. Instrumentation overall was fantastic.
Transitions are none other than amazing. The transitions actually sound really professional, especially the extremely well executed transitions from the softer parts to the "mini climaxes". New instruments were added to the song excellently and the buildups, as I mentioned above, are absolutely flawless, and make this loop sound even more epic than it already is. Good job with those amazing transitions.
Structure is very original, so while this orchestral piece has some aspects to it which make it a lot like other orchestral soundtracks, I really like the original structure; the fact that the loop "swells and contracts", yet still retains a suspenseful and mighty atmosphere. The variety is extraordinary, with new melodies coming in all the time. The introduction was a very good way to start the amazing atmosphere up, and this looped very well too, to the extent that I hadn't noticed it looped around 5 to 6 times while hearing it.
Those drums are full of action and really compliment the song. They were extremely well varied, and fit perfectly along with the other instruments. Loved your use of congas too, I never knew that congas and bongoes could actually evoke such an exhilerating mood. Stil, what the drums gain in variety and action, they lack in power. Maybe it's the fact that they're quiet, maybe it's the fact that they're dosed in so much reverb, I don't know, but basically the only percussive instrument in the whole song which has a sufficient amount of power to it would be the cymbal at the end. The bass drum sounded very weak, and the congas were quiet. Basically, I think the percussion needs to be a bit more powerful.
Overall, this is a truly amazing submission. I really liked the soft parts, and their extremely smooth transitions to the mini climaxes, plus, the variety is great, the melodies are full of suspense, the instruments are great quality and the structure is superb. Basically, it's the weak drums and excessive use of reverb which made me give you a 9. Keep up the amazing work, I'm left wondering why you're not scoring films...
SCORE : 9/10
---
SUMMARY : Absolutely amazing.
REVIEW : This is such an amazing piece that I'm doubting the fact that this is made by someone who isn't a professional at making dubstep. This submission has really impressed me, and apart from some small defects, I think your musical talent lies in making original and unique songs such as this. I mean come on, I'm hearing an organ, a piano, a cool warp synth, menacing growls, a powerful bass, choirs and epic drums, all fitting together to make a masterpiece. Heck, I'm even hearing congas for sud's sake. Good job!
The melodies are catchy and extremely well done. You seriously can't fault those amazing melodies. Melodic section overall is brilliant. 1:37 was extremely cool, I loved the part at 2:04, and 2:32 was an excellent break, with a superb ambient melody coming in 14 seconds later, and a nice buildup to the epic dubstep that you are so amazing at making. I still think that the part at 2:32 could last a bit longer, since a lot of the time, the song is full of powerful synths, and I was relieved that I had a little bit of a break from all that action, only to be met by a buildup soon after. Also, some epic piano solo in the middle of the song would really help this song in my opinion, maybe you could fit another break somewhere where you add a piano solo. As for the bass, it was amazingly done. I was extremely impressed by all of the well executed dubstep effects, stutters and stuff you used on the bass. Man, I wish my subwoofer didn't break a few days ago (forcing me to use my retarded subwoofer), because that bass would engulf me in an earthquake :D.
The instruments you used are all great. The piano sounded really nice, the bass was menacing and mighty, the organ was a very good addition, the choirs sounded godly and overall your use of instruments was extremely creative. There's been an outbreak of dubstep recently and you can see loads of dubstep songs on NG, but yours still stands out because of the originality in it. Your use of sound effects was great, and I can say the same for the wobbles on the bass. Good job with the instruments and effects, although I agree with Jewelz123 on the fact that this would sound really cool with a vocal sample fit in somewhere. Not sure about making it Chinese though xP. Unfortunately, the mixing, as many people have said, could use work. The song got extremely loud and blaring at times, not to mention cluttered.
The transitions on the whole are excellent, and there were many cool transitions made by using dubstep effects. Still, the transition at 1:35-ish just doesn't seem to agree with me much. I don't know, I just felt as if the part at 1:22 just didn't last long enough which provided a slightly strange transition. Could be just me though. Transitions were a win :D.
The structure is fantastic, except for the fact that I think that the parts at 1:22 and 2:32 could be a bit longer, but other than that small defect, the song is well structured. Variety was also amazing. You have such creative effects and synths coming in that it's impossible to get bored with this song. The intro was absolutely epic (man, you gotta love dubstep intros. To this date I haven't found a dubstep song with an intro that wasn't epic, and this is no exception) although the ending was a bit uninteresting.
Drums are weak at times (namely that kick which sounds a bit drowned in the mix), but just like a lot of aspects in this song, are very unique. I mean, congas at the beginning, rock drums later; do you ever cease to impress? xD. Yeah, the drums were very good. Nice job with the drums.
All in all, this is a dubstep song that even someone who isn't a regular listener of dubstep (like me) would probably enjoy it. Just work on the weak drums, uninteresting outro, cluttered mix and a few parts in the song which could have lasted a bit longer, along with some other small defects I mentioned. TL;DR: deserves the 9 I gave it!
SCORE : 9/10
_________________________
Wolf Pack Riders - 9 / 10
Sir Jazzy-Jazz Jazzer-Jazzick McJazzorz Jazzington Jazzlin-Jazzlim MickJazzor Jazzinton MunJazzin Jazzguy McJazzatron Jazzinger Jazzcore Jazzorz-Jazzkin-JeJazzil McJazzlord Jazzmaster Jazzman - 9 / 10
_________________________
Next we have Darklight17's results.
