This is an NGADM Round 2 Review
--
Now this is one hell of a track. By far the most atmospheric out of this round. Despite it being so long and drawn out, I love how there's still a lot to take in. You hear occasional sound effects here and there, subtle variations in the song's parts, and meaningful changes later on in the track that completely change the atmosphere or mood. This is, in my opinion, precisely how one should pull off an ambient/progressive track of this type. For instance, at 2:46 you introduce this subtle whistle-esque background instrument that, given the imagery you've created for your track, sounds a whole lot like wind whistling to the tune of the music.
While I'm impressed with how patient you are in this track and how you take your time with everything, I can't help but think the pacing is still a bit slow. There were points where I got bored with what I was listening to, possibly because of the general lack of definable foreground melodies during a lot of the sections.
When we finally get treated to the heavier metal sections it feels like a relief, but it shouldn't feel like a relief. It should feel like the whole song was building up to it and feel like we enjoyed every second of the ride. Don't get me wrong, this is still suitably captivating and REALLY well-made, but I was hoping for some more interesting stuff to happen in the quieter bits to justify calling this more than just "background music".
On a couple of smaller notes, the snares you use in this track are very mid-heavy, especially in the former third of the track, which strains the ear a little. For a track that boasts a super wide and hollow atmosphere, having a snare that's so dry and concentrated on a specific set of frequencies is a bit unfitting, lol. Lastly, the voices at 3:24 are really cool and fit with the whole "cave" premise you've presented, but I think they're a bit dry. Might be just me though.
Anyway, let me just say that it's a huge shame to see you go. You were up against one of the highest-scoring contestants this round, but you definitely didn't go down without a fight, and one hell of a fight at that. This is well-structured, wonderfully atmospheric, and all in all an unforgettable experience. Excellent work, and I hope my criticism helped.
--
SCORE: 9.0/10