AIM 2023 Judge Review

This entry does an amazing job with its melodies. That guitar line is unstoppable - it conveys the dark, fantasy vibes perfectly. I even think it has a bit of an anime feel to it, which the lettering in the art makes me think of (looking at the other works from this artist related to this art makes me think otherwise, but it works related to this specific inspiration vs. the music). I also like the use of the strings in the second half of the track - it's a nice addition to the texture.

I'm kind of mixed on the use of vocals here. I love the idea of adding in the poetry from the description of the art inspiration, but I'm not sold on the execution of it in the entry. Unfortunately, the performance of the vocals sounds too much like reading from a script and it doesn't really match with the darker, fantastical tones all too well. I do like the effect at the end of the last line, however, with the lower pitched echoes, but I do feel like the processing is doing more of the emotional work than the delivery of the lines.

The production also gets muddy when the guitar comes in. I love the guitar, but it overwhelms the rest of the instruments serving as the background. There's even a really nice vocal line I hear in the background that adds an additional touch of emotion, but it gets buried among all the other instruments, especially the guitar. I'd love to hear more of how these instruments like the piano line be more balanced with the guitar as I think all these layers play a significant part in the texture.

Overall, I think the core of the composition remains moody and entrancing. The melody feels like it would slot perfectly in as the intro to a show surrounding this comic. There's some good layering that I hope to hear brought out more in the accompaniment.

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

this is a fitting stylistic choice for this very grimdark, action-y artwork that you chose to represent! it makes me picture a trailer in which the art is just a single mid-attack shot taken from the trailer. i liked the atmospheric voiceover, and i also liked that you tried out some new ideas in the last half of the song or so. a smaller thing that i think is really nice - in the main running eighth note guitar lick, there's a part in the 2nd half of the phrase where it breaks from the "up up up up / up up up up / up up up up / down down down down" pattern to do a cool little flourish that goes up higher and kinda has its own direction. that's a nice touch and i would love to hear a lot more of that kind of detail in the partwriting. there's nothing wrong with what you've got but some extra thought towards the overall direction of your lines (instead of kinda oscillating at the same rate, so to speak) could totally bring this up a notch and make the song feel fluid.

i don't have a lot of experience with mixing heavy guitar-centric music, but my gut tells me the low-end of the mix could be beefier than it is. i think the guitars sound great though, the drums are nice and boomy, and the low piano is nicely slotted in. bass and kick are where i expect more punch, but it's up to you!

Yo, fantastic job on that track! Love the vocals!