THIS JUST HITS SO HARDDDDDD

This is incredible!

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the medieval-sounding string melodies shortly thereafter. The generous use of reverb and the minimal beat here fit the character of the piece quite well, and the dynamic bass riff at 1:00 is a nice touch. The production quality is really strong here, with a clean and well-balanced mix. The little breakdown at 1:48 is another nice touch, although the shift in tone and instrumentation at 2:12 was a bit sudden. The texture is pretty minimal throughout the first half of the piece, although I really like when you start balancing the heavy, electronic elements with the melodic, orchestral ones at 3:00. By 3:24, the piece has a very triumphant tone about it, but you transitioned seamlessly to the eerie bells and vocals at 3:36.

The extended vocal sections at 4:12 definitely added to the sense of narrative, but also dragged on for a bit long and disrupted the flow of the piece IMO. You transitioned well into the energetic section at 5:00, although it was a tad difficult to follow the rhythm there at times. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the brief pauses in the atmosphere at transitory moments, like at 5:41. In fact, towards the end the entire composition feels a bit disjointed, despite the killer sound design and rich textures. I especially like the brass solo at 6:55 and how it dovetails nicely with the synth melody shortly before 7:15. I also liked how you brought the piece full-circle with the string melodies at the end, but I was also looking for something a tad more creative than a fade-out to serve as the ultimate conclusion of this epic battle.

Overall, I think you tried to do a tad too much with the composition here, and at times you could’ve done more to help the gritty electronic elements and graceful orchestral ones blend together more. That said, the production quality is top-notch, and the cinematic quality and variety in the sound design is great. I can tell you put your heart and soul into this track. Keep it up, iamwontolla! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Sounds very ancient ando also very futuristic