This is an NGADM Round 3 Review.
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You know, I think this might be my favourite contest submission from you this year. Maybe it's because you spent three days on it instead of two. I can't even begin to imagine how good your submission would be if you spent TWO WEEKS on it, but I don't think that's ever going to happen! Rambling aside, what you've given us here is a jumble of your best styles - the emotion and melodic prowess of "footsteps" and the uplifting sound of "wide world" and "i believe". Let me say that it really, really worked. Seven minutes of wonderful music that doesn't ever get boring for a second is nothing to scoff at.
I'll get the production out of the way to get the ball rolling. Your production is actually pretty great this time! I can tell you spent more time on the mixing or at least everything fell into place more easily this time round. Well, I can imagine something more stripped-down like this to be much easier to mix than the more climactic and explosive natures of your previous tracks, but regardless, I proudly have little to no complaints about the mix this time. I actually think that the drums fit wonderfully here because they give this track a very unique sense of forward motion without sounding too exciting, but in fact, what really sold it for me is their sound and the way you mixed them in. You nailed the levelling.
The composition is absolutely fantastic. You make use of major 7ths a lot. I think the major 7th is a very tricky note to use since it's easy for it to have an unpleasant, dissonant sound, but if you know what you're doing when you use it, it really heightens the emotional value of a melody. You use it very well here. But really, this is honestly jam-packed with so many beautiful melodies that I don't know where to start. To help break up the song's structure further, you even include that vocal section from the talented etherealwinds, which actually sounds pretty fantastic. I'd say this track is the epitome of what happens when a good sense of composition and bucketloads of creativity collide.
I have a bunch of small, and mostly stylistic gripes, since I don't think anything particularly stands out as an obvious flaw. Some transitions didn't do it for me. 0:46 sounds pretty premature and abrupt, and I feel like a more gradual and careful approach to that section would give it more meaning when it finally comes in. At around 5:45 where a bunch of elements in the track start fading out... yeah that didn't sit well with me either. It almost sounds like you had those two sections separated, and during the process of arranging the track together, you couldn't think of a good way to tie those two sections together. 0:46's synth is also a bit too loud I think (only mixing complaint I have). Lastly, the ending. It's not bad at all! However, I somehow feel like it could be a bit more subtle. I don't know... the tonic chord at the end sounds a little forced to me. You approached the ending so well, but when that final note played, I just didn't feel it. I hate giving criticism like this since it's so vague and unhelpful, but it's still a good ending and it's not worth worrying about.
This is just a beautiful track that would have given Zip and Steam a run for their money, that's for sure. Astounding work! On a final note, I know that one of these days you will make an ending - a gloriously satisfying ending - and I will love it. I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT.
SCORE: 9.5/10
