Dark Forest

Someone gifted BlueLicorfino supporter status!

We need you on the team, too.

Support Newgrounds and get tons of perks for just $2.99!

Dark Forest

Download this song

Author Comments

This is my third and thus probably last submission for NIM. It´s title music this time. A quite fast build-up at the beginning for some short Intro and afterwards more background music for going through the menu. Afterwards I added some dynamics and a climax for the sake of the track ;)

It´s inspired by this eerie piece of art, which I also used as artwork for the track for the track:
http://www.newgrounds.com/art/view/aba1/forest-thesis?context=interval:month.ratings:etm.sort:1.offset:957

I really looking forward to see the game because the artwork looks awesome already....

So compared to the inspiration of my last submission I stayed for the forest theme.

p.s.: The last chord is not to be taken too seriously ;)

Log in / sign up to vote & review!

johnfn

2015-07-17 21:28:34

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

Wow, that's the first 7/4 I've heard this competition. Cool! This piece is really something else. With almost no discernible melody at all, it instead builds off of tension, release, atmospheric noise, and excellent orchestral instrument choice. It's hard for me to critique because it's so different than the other tracks I'm hearing in the contest (and that is of course always a good thing!). I'll say that as an accompaniment to a game or movie, this would be awesome, but as a standalone piece, I feel that it might lack a little melodic development that would otherwise keep a track interesting. It's still a very good piece. Score: 8.5

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

Azhthar responds:

Huh... just browsed my feed and saw that I totally forgot to respond here, but I guess with all the reviews you did for the NGAUC you didn´t evene realize ;) Thanks a lot for the detailed review. I should do some more 7/4 or experiment with odd meters in general. Glad you like it. It wasn´t really my intention here to make a melodic piece but you are right that as a standalone piece it wouldn´t be choice no1. Maybe I could have developed the violin theme which appears at some points (for example at the end)... Also thanks a lot for the good grades here. I guess I wouldn´t have passed without them ;)

NGKFlower

2015-07-16 19:48:55

I like the creepy vibe and suspense it has, it's definitely something for a game title/ stage.

Great work!

Azhthar responds:

Hey! Thanks a lot! Glad you like it.

capboom

2015-06-14 17:26:15

You're worst nightmare comes true when you take a step into the dark forest! p.s its really good, love the climax.

Azhthar responds:

Thx a lot! Yep it´s really one nightmare of a forest...

NyxTheShield

2015-06-14 15:03:13

I really enjoyed this!! I am not a fan of the brass at the beginning, it sounds really weird alone and feels cheesy, but when the rest begins to appears, it really blends well. The Xilophone could get some extra work, it doesn't feels reals (All the ntoes hit with the same velocity and strenght). Aside from that, really good!

Azhthar responds:

Hey! Thanks for the feedback here. I think I feel what you mean with the brass at the beginning. When it starts more quite it somehow misses a reverb tail which sounds quite weird on headphones. I didn´t realize that and it´s probably that the threshhold for compression on the reverb was to high... But maybe you also mean it sounds cheesy in general ;) The Xylophone is actually a Celesta mixed with some bells. It´s weird that you say this because I did a lot of stuff with the velocity here and afterwards I even randomized it a bit. Maybe it´s because the bells are not really very responsive to velocity changes and that covers the variation of the Celesta? I´ll have a look for that. Again: Thanks for the input!

ChronoNomad

2015-06-13 23:55:11

Nice bit of creepy ambiance here, and it certainly feels appropriate for the artwork you chose as your inspiration. At times it's very sparse, but not only does that fit the style, it also works well to emphasize the huge climactic build that begins in earnest around the 2:07 mark. It brought to mind being chased by something - some nameless, faceless horror - through that dark and ominous corridor of trees.

I am actually quite fond of the section that begins at 2:20, where it again becomes sparse, but the instruments change repeatedly, until it works up to a second climax. I've always liked that particular style of music, and I think you handled it well here. The last chord was initially confusing, mostly because it doesn't seem to fit the rest of the piece, but then I read your comment about it. Is that something you're going to be removing, or is it like your own little Easter egg or inside joke? Color me curious. :)

Azhthar responds:

Thanks for passing by ;) Glad to hear that it works. The chord at the end (which is actually just a C major) is just some easter egg. Maybe I will delete it at some point. It´s basically from an early version where I did not have a proper and and tried to just put a C major chord sfter the climax. I wasn´t happy with this so I just moved the chord a few bars to have space for a proper ending. When I finished this and listened to the whole track I actually got jump scared by the chord because I forgot about it. So I decided to leave it in and maybe jump scare some people in C major ;)