Hello! This is a review for the NGUAC competition.

I've gone over one or two general categories of issues specific to your song, and one section of things I think also deserve complimenting. I prefer being very direct with my critique, none of it is meant to offend. Thank you for your understanding!

Constructive Criticism:

- Probably the first thing that really needs to be addressed is how overly intense the drop is compared to the sections immediately before and after. This issue boils down to development and transitions (and also maybe dropping down the impact of those drums just a smidge, the sidechaining already lends them extra force). For an example, let's look at a classic from Newgrounds! xKore's track Eden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk8RGFN5txg Notice how the drums are introduced first, without much more beyond that - this introduces the intensity of them without overwhelming the listener right away, showing how intense things will be and lending energy before the build and drop. At about 1 minute in, we get to the build - something that's actually completely missing in your track. This starts introducing the bass and amps up the energy in preparation for the actual drop (which has a B section, keeping interest throughout the full length). After the drop, the drums remain and it keeps a small portion of the bass to maintain energy while reducing it and giving a relative rest before the build and drop essentially repeat the exact same thing before ending. This shows a dynamic curve and development to ease the listener into the higher intensity and allowing them to process what they just experienced with the breakdown afterwards.

- A second point I'd like to make is with regard to the overall sound palette. This is a dubstep song. Typically, these introduce some bass presence early to make sure people know what they're listening to, and allow a little more of the higher frequencies to be filled up by drums like snares and high hats rather than arpeggios (with exceptions, like single moments of variation at the end of every 2 or 4 measures to keep it fresh and remind listeners of the melody). These arpeggios and the plucks take up an awful lot of the treble frequencies and actually reduce the impact of the snare a bit, with the poor high hats being VERY background. The final section of your drops actually fit this much better, with the dubstep wobbles becoming clearer and giving the spotlight to the bass, since the focus on bass is actually one of the most core components to dubstep. If you look up the origin of the "dub" part of dubstep, you'll find out why!

Compliments to the Composer:

- Honestly, the sound wall in the drop is really good, and your bass wobbles are very nice. The bass in particular definitely deserves some extra love! I don't hear any dissonances, and your intro is very lovely as well. It contrasts quite nicely with the heavier drop sections. I'm curious how this would sound with a full build into the drop and development to fit it all together!

Final score: 7.5