very slay

Official ADM review:
Due to how I experienced this song when hearing it for the first time, let me take you by the hand to share it with me: OK so right of the bat you have me nailed to my speakers. There's a ton of promise in that haunting wail, that we're going to be in for a ride, a suggestion that the tentative chords and the building drums stretch out. And then - an unexpectedly empty section once the music gets going. But that's alright, of course, you can't put the climax in one minute into a five minute song. Except... the climax never comes. The floor falls out from underneath us midway through the song, allowing a new build-up - again, crafted really well, with the spacious strings allowing for a moment of respite before the chords and drums kick in again, this time accompanied by a rising synth tone to add to the vibe even more. This time we are tricked and maneuvered into a section that promises an even steeper ascent, except it levels out after only a handful of bars and stays there for the remaining minute of the song, leaving me much like Mr. Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLfdKtAMKEs&t=83s

If this makes it sound like I was disappointed, well, I was. I'm not a big dubstep fan, but to me, you stand out from the crowd in the way you create tension in your track. The fact that the root note hardly changes throughout the entire length of the song - only during the middle space synth section, if I'm correct - is not an obstacle at all, and that is a trick that's damn hard to pull off. Sound design plays a large part in this, with a wide array of instruments that clearly stand apart from each other but also form a coherent whole. Production too is of very high quality, with enough dynamics to give that roller-coaster-ride feeling and great placement of the different sounds in the mix to keep the listener on their toes. From a technical perspective, this piece is incredible.

Unfortunately, the composition can't keep up. I don't know whether the lack of climax was a conscious choice or the two of us just not seeing things the same way, but to me in the end the song fails to leave an impact. The release that is promised so seductively is missing, and to me, ends up sabotaging your otherwise excellent effort. Nonetheless, I wish you good luck on this round, and keep 'em coming!

Official Review for NGADM Round 2 :

The song starts with a great dark soundscape, I really enjoy the combination of the choir and horn along with the color-ish pad.

In the next part, you introduce some very fun drums that build up the tension of the track, I love those ! The pluck is kinda cool there, but will become an issue for me later on.
Also, I gotta say, that edelritter-type of screechy lead you used as a riser is amazing, it complements the drums amazingly well !

I quite like the rythm of the drop. The bass is well-designed, but the pad doesn't fit too much there imo.
While the pluck is cool, I think it doesn't fit the drop either. It feels a bit too experimental for my taste, so I personally think you should have replaced it with another sound for the drop. It does make the drop stand out I gotta admit !

The drop drums are simple but work really well.

I would gladly give my opinion on the rest of the song, but it pretty much follows the same structure so what I said applies there as well.

I still want to point out that the slower rythm of the first part of the second drop, the fake out and the reese transition that comes later on are all great switches.

So yeah, a very solid entry for sure !

What ID in the Geometry Dash?

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