== This is an NGAUC Audition Round Review. ==

Let's get it out of the way - some of your instrument samples sound AWFUL. I mean, right from the opening notes, that synth bass just clashes horribly with the organs, because it's just not a good synth bass - at least, not in that context. I *know* you can find better ones - heck, we even have 3.5gb of not-too-crappy samples just lying around on Newgrounds - but it’s also a matter of properly choosing instruments that go well with others. And while I'm complaining, quite a few transitions come out of left field, like 1:05.

And yet you'll notice that I'm still here talking, which is because although this piece is definitely flawed, it has a lot of very interesting ideas. It goes through so many different, varied sections, and it has a lot of really cool solos that show some real creativity! I want to hear more of those next time. So yeah: flawed, but compelling. Score: 7.5

Mini-scores (See http://johnfn.newgrounds.com/news/post/936953 for what this means and how to improve)
* Composition: 3/4
* Arrangement: 2/4
* Mixing: 3/4

What I told you before is still true today. When I first listened to this song, I felt it captivating.

Coming back to it, I was listening to my downloaded copy while trying to find newgrounds, and was worried that I had misjudged it, my distracted ears weren't finding what had interested me before. But after giving it a good, focused listen, I realized why I had liked it.

Some songs seem only to be good as background music, such that when you listen close, all you hear is a dull repetition of some sequence. But this song does not bear that quality at all. Even when listening closely it reinvents itself frequently enough to keep me listening intently.

And neither does it fall into the same trap as some of your previous songs, which changed too much and ended in a way that seemed entirely unlike their beginning, this song has an identity and keeps it all the way through. Additionally the changes themselves are interesting, the transitions make sense, and sections feel well-constructed musically.

So it's interesting, and it's self-consistent. That's awesome, and I think you've done a great job.

But it's not perfect, and I've got two ideas as to why. The first is that the instruments just don't feel as polished as those I hear in professionally-created songs, and the songs in recent OCR albums. I know nothing about song-polishing, and I know you're working on it and you've been improving steadily, so I don't think I've got much to worry about on this side of things.

The second thing is more interesting to me. The song is interesting, new things are happening, there are a lot of "I've never heard that before" feels going on inside me when I listen to it. And that reminds me of a certain web novel I've read a few chapters of recently. In it as well plenty of things I've never seen before have happened, and that was really cool.

But what made me feel like that? Was it because the prose was good? Maybe, I was reading in Japanese, so I can't be sure of that. However, it could be that I was interested only because the author was repeatedly making cool things happen, and making sure the transitions between them were smooth, without actually trying to convey anything deeper. Maybe a reader more experienced with the themes involved would have scoffed and dropped it after a few chapters, calling it more <some-trope-here> fluff.

Basically I'm trying to say is, when you're making new songs, and thinking about how you can improve as a composer, it's good to think about the technical side of things, i.e. "How do I make this sound good". But also think about how to convey something deeper with your songs. I honestly have no clue how to do that, and think it's probably something that just comes with experience. But I also think that it's a good thing to be conscious of as you make your way forward.

Regardless, you've made a lot of progress up to this point, and I enjoyed listening once again. I look forward to your next work!