One of your best songs so far, I love it
Even though you disabled your songs for GD, I still love you (No homo)
We got a lot of artists, but you, you are the one that has potential
Reviews for "Xtrullor - Jnana"
Great song man. The Arabian feel is quite strong in this song, and the drop is a lot different to your other songs (cuz most of the drops in your songs sound a bit empty.)
So, amazing other themed track. So... arabian... Can I remix it?
I just want to address a couple things that won't affect the rating first. I completely respect, understand and am in no way opposed to your decision to remove your songs from Geometry Dash. I wouldn't want to be associated with the majority of the community either. However, I saw in one of Lockyn's streams that you said you wanted to be world class, and that calling your music "game music" was insulting. I may be misunderstanding because I didn't get the full context of what you were saying, but these things combined are all somewhat contrary. Most "world class" music (depending on how you view it) is, in fact, game music, for one. Two, I don't know what the qualifications are to be "world class", as there are really a lot of things that could go into the standards for world class music. If it means being acknowledged by the people who are considered some of the best, throwing more than half of your fanbase out the window was a bad idea. I know you thought about it more than I will, but with the thing you're aspiring for, it just seems like a step in the wrong direction. I know the more dedicated and important fans will stay with you, but it just seems counterproductive. Otherwise, if it's just very high quality music, you're just about there. Again, I may be completely misunderstanding and taking everything out of context, so please correct me if I'm wrong. For all I know you were being sarcastic and it completely went over my head.
That aside, I really enjoyed this track. I liked how more electronic instruments were mixed in more with the orchestral instruments instead of exclusive orchestral and electronic segments. I also liked the slight Middle-Eastern style some of the elements had. That said, I felt like there were less orchestral instruments than in the rest. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it has a more whole electronic feel to it, which can be taken as a good or bad thing depending on who is listening. I appreciate you taking risks and not taking the safer route that you have carved with your 2016 submissions.
Everything was mixed very well. Nothing was too loud or too soft. Some of the panning was a bit strange to me, but that's a matter of opinion. Otherwise I enjoyed how everything was mixed.
This song starts a bit slow, but not slow enough for it to be too slow. It could have been introduced just a touch faster, but again, that may just be me.
During the first section from 0:28 onward, the snare seemed a bit high. The pitch threw me off and personally I thought a better snare sample could have been chosen. It drew my attention away from the main elements, and for that I think it could have been improved upon.
There were a couple sections in the song that seemed empty and it was more just ambient noise instead of music. There's nothing wrong with that by itself, but in my eyes it was overused and there were some parts of the song that didn't catch my attention enough. The ambiance was mixed in well and added to the feel of the piece, so I'm willing to overlook my previous issue.
As always, your instrumentation is beautiful. Every sound is used so well and really immerses you in the music. The sound design is very well done as well, and I am really intrigued by it. The bell, which I assume is synthesized really compliments the texture of the piece. The basses you use make your dubstep very unique and unlike anyone else's work. The mix between smooth metallic sounds and rougher, more common dubstep sounds really creates a contrast I enjoyed. The stutter bits really caught my attention and made the drops that much better.
I really didn't think the spoken bits were very appropriate. You have a very composed majestic piece that really takes you into a different mindset and world and then you have vocals which sort of take you out of it. I did listen to what they were saying, and although they were relevant, I just didn't feel that they belong. I believe a better way to do it would to be putting them in the description rather than the piece itself.
The last nitpick I had with this song was the unusually long space at the end. That could have been cut off, but a bit of silence never hurt anyone, so I'm not going to let it affect my perspective of this piece.
I'm giving this track four stars because I really did enjoy it, there were just a couple of things that distracted me from the mood and immersion of the piece, and while relevant, they felt out of place. Besides that I can't find any issues with this song. It was a very composed, almost intimate piece, of which I haven't heard the likes of in a while. Keep up the great work!
8/10
Xtrullor responds:
Thanks for the awesome review, I'll take everything you just said into account with the next release.
- X
You've outdone yourself here, man. Absolutely beautiful job. The middle sound a bit empty to me, but that may just be me. This is amazing and I can't wait fire your next release! I'm kinda surprised you haven't gotten popular outside of newhrounds yet!