This is an NGADM 2015 Round 1 Review.

So I really enjoyed the atmospheric aspects of this song. I think you've done a really great job with the subtleties and harder-to-notice parts, with complex percussion and atmospheric FX, especially in the intro. The pads are lovely too! I think the intro melody is a bit uninspired, but the rest of your general sound design really washes that away for me. It's really nice.

So onto the chorus - I feel that the transition could have been telegraphed a little better here, it's quite sudden. This is alright, really; it's nice for the impact you gain, but I find it a bit jarring. The drop itself is interesting, too. You've got this constant, sidechained distorted/detuned bass, which along with the sub kind of saturates the song - not in a mix sense, because the mix is pretty solid, but more in that it's a little overwhelming and heavy compared to the other elements in the chorus. It's almost slightly resembling of trap stylistically, especially with the way you've mixed the snare (it doesn't have the low end that typifies DnB snares), though this is hardly an issue as the snare works extremely well in the song.

The melody and lead in the chorus is good as well, though it might be a little reverberant. Barring the drops, your transitions are awesome as well, by the way. Structurally this song is put together well, and the softer chorus in the middle of the drop is just perfect. I don't like the generic clap sample you're using in it, but structurally speaking it's gorgeous and really aids the flow of the piece; especially when you bring the breakbeat back in. I have to agree with TaintedLogic about the "thin" nature of this section though, but I think it's also to do with the lows you remove.

The breakdown after the chorus is very reminiscent of the intro, but I don't think it's too repetitive. I just love the FX, man! It's sick. Damn. Again though, your transition is a little sudden. I also think the square pluck blip sound is a little simple and the song would benefit from something more interesting, with more detune and a longer release. It might clash with your actual lead though, so it would warrant some experimentation.

Just so I at least mention the mix a little, it's solid and clear, especially that snare. I like that you've kept the kick short, it fits quite well into the mix as a result. I think your lead might be a little quiet or as mentioned earlier, reverberant; but it's pretty audible. There really aren't any major mix issues.

Overall this is a solid piece, consistent and well structured. Well done!

Interesting use of those chords at the beginning. I like the quirky instruments and somewhat mysterious mood. I think this piece is pretty slow to progress, and the transition into the “emotional high” at 1:10 felt pretty rushed. I thought you should’ve brought out the melodic content at 1:10 a lot more, too. By around 1:32, the texture is pretty thin and I think you need more harmonies to build off of that chord progression. A lot of the effects are cool, like at 2:18. By the end, it felt pretty repetitive, though. I’m not sure it needed to be this long. The breakdown at 2:45 was a welcome change structurally, but then I think it dragged on for a little too long. You also could’ve done more with dynamic contrast during that section (breakdown sections are usually good times to play with the phrasing). The transition at 3:43 was pretty sudden, and I think you needed more of a coda in there, instead of rather generically wrapping things up with a simple crash. Overall, I like it, but I think you could’ve done a lot more to make this piece more memorable, including emphasizing melodic development more and adding some more texture at times. Still, it’s a pretty cool piece when all said and done. Hope this helped! Keep at it, man. ;)

7/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

You have some real crystal clean sounds here! Nice track! Aeron and Yahtzei both did some awesome stuff, too... Good luck here!

Nice glitchy drums in the start dude! Love the melody a lot. Seems like the bass and the sidechaining are a bit too harsh for the overall mix. But still well done! (: