I like the gritty bass at the beginning and the lead screeches at :12. The texture really comes together well at :17, although the drums could be a bit punchier so that they don’t get lost in the mix so much. Sometimes, the recording hasn’t been quantized perfectly. For example, there’s a slight pause before the added harmonies come in at :52. Do you use a digital audio workstation? Even Garageband? If so, you can line up all of your notes to the nearest ⅛ or 1/16 of a bar after you record. It’s a handy tool to use to clean up raw recordings like these. I really like the gritty textures and the melodic riffs (like at 1:40). Sometimes, the texture is a bit harsh between the distorted harmonies and screechy leads, but oftentimes it also serves as a nice element of variety from the relatively tame refrain at 2:08. Later on, the piece does get a tad repetitive, and also there are occasionally some awkward transitions like at 3:16. The section at around 3:50-5:10 is marked by a lot of sudden changes in the texture. I think you could’ve smoothed those over a bit with some more regularity to the changes, or by foreshadowing them each with a drum fill or something. I think it would be good to consolidate some of your ideas at times, just to keep the listener more grounded in some core riffs and harmonic patterns during the long verses. The more distorted version of the refrain that plays at 6:21 was a great idea for hitting the piece home. Overall, the mastering and editing is a bit rough around the edges, and the arrangement of the song is a bit choppy at times, but you’re clearly a talented guitarist with a good sense of harmony and a knack for knitting together some engrossing textures. You’ve definitely earned a scout, my friend. Rock on, Cat911! ^^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.75/10

cool bass tone, phasers are underrated on bass guitar imo. your playing is quite solid too, good timing on your rhythm parts. i think the mix lets this down a lot though. all your guitar parts are centered and at the same volume, so they're all constantly fighting for the same space and clashing with each other. the tone on all your guitars is very boxed-in and midrange heavy - i don't know your recording/playing setup so it's hard to offer pointers but an eq to cut all the low end and scoop out the midrange a little would be a good place to start. the best way to get a heavy guitar sound is to multi-track each of your rhythm parts and pan them left and right to fill the space out, and write your rhythm parts around the bass part.

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text