This is a masterpiece it makes me remember some old times in a nostalgic way. Brings me sadness and joy

Listening to this piece is like the equivalent of being hit by a giant wave in slow motion. The multistage structure feels like it captures everything, from the water picking up to the wave travelling towards its target and ultimately hitting it with a gargantuan slam. What I love most about this piece is that it manages to capture the emotion of what such an event would be like, without overstating it to some large scale degree. It actually feels a bit more intimate, as if the events were unfolding in the eyes of an individual.

In my opinion, the piano is really what shines here. I think its subdued nature, especially when the percussion and other instruments enter, is what makes it work so effectively. It presents a very somber chord progression that lingers even when it goes into the background, which evokes the sense of being overtaken by a giant wave (I'm really running with this wave metaphor even though I don't think that's exactly what you were going for lol) and the way the piano tries to cut through the mix comes across as suppressed cries of fear.

As much as I am taken back for the ride, I'm not quite sure I follow the connection between the art and the music. If the interpretation is a darker take on Alice in Wonderland, I'm not really sure if I felt that through this composition. Maybe the dread of inevitability that takes over most of this piece alludes to that inevitable feeling of having to accept growing up. That and the rising strings glissando to bassline at around the 3:50 mark felt a bit too horror trailer-y in a way that didn't completely work for me, but it it didn't really bother me a whole lot - mostly because it was just at the very end.

Overall, these are pretty much minor gripes to a pretty solid entry. I love the structural flow and the way the piece sets up an emotional kind of tension. The build to that vocal part at 2:59 is just haunting in a way that also feels climactic. Well done!

The percussion is a feast for the ears.

I like the bright ambiance at the beginning and the jangly percussion. Very pensive mood, with a nice dramatic flair at times with the church bells and suspenseful section at 1:00 or so. The piano riff at 1:10 struck me as a tad cliche, at least with the progression, but the beat at 1:40 keeps moving the piece moving along nicely, and the reverb helps fill out the texture a little more. Your production has also improved a lot in the last year or two. The pace of progression is a little slow towards the middle of the piece, but I like the evocative solo at 3:00ish. The turn toward the dramatic at the end was a nice touch too. Overall, really strong work here as always, WolfgangMiakoda! Good luck in the AIM. ^_^

Best sounding AIM submission so far.

Careful with your impact FX. They clutter the low end.

Also, WHY is the coolest part of the piece the shortest at the end???

I wanted to hear at least 2 minutes more.

The breakdown chord progression is way too basic honestly for something like this. I’ve heard it many times before and skipped ahead to that epic last section. And while on topic, the breakdown does not fit with the last section of the piece.

The intro was super cool. If I were to remix this, I would keep the intro and outro and expand on those ideas.

The mix could tighten up just a tad more.

You got me to say more than two sentences so take it as a complement!