This is an NGADM Round 1 Review

--

Another atmospheric and emotional masterpiece from one of the inarguable underdogs of the contest! Solid composition with tons of emotion poured into it and masterfully captivating mood are just two of the many wonderful things this piece has to offer. On top of that, I very much enjoyed the somewhat Celtic vibes you've got going during certain sections, and would have liked you to push them even further with some woodwinds (as a reviewer below mentioned), but that's just me and my soft spot for anything Celtic! This is masterfully composed.

My main issue with this track is actually a mixing nitpick. I don't usually put much importance in mixing quirks that could easily be fixed, but I feel like this particular one detracted quite significantly from the listening experience; the drums are too quiet. I can feel a slight thump from the bassier drums, but for the most part the percussion sits too far back in the mix, even, unfortunately, during sections where a stronger rhythmic force could really add to the overall experience. On another note, I personally would have preferred more dynamic sections. After the comparatively low-key intro, the track remains mostly at a single dynamic, and I would've loved to hear some emotional, soft solo sections, or maybe even a busier/climactic section. The ending in particular could have benefited from a stronger buildup, for example. This is more of a personal complaint than one that I believe is untouched by bias though, haha. I do love me some dynamics.

You've got a really wonderful track here, despite the few issues I mentioned. The realism, composition, instrumentation, flow, structure... it's all there. Brilliant work.

--

SCORE: 9.1/10

NGADM Review

Beautiful track! Both the composition and the production are incredible. The strings and all of the instruments sound really beautiful. As much as I liked the track though, I felt that the melodies weren’t SUPER memorable. The entire emotion of the track is super memorable, but I just felt that some better melodic content would have been appropriate. I felt that the dynamics could have changed a little bit more throughout the track. At the beginning it starts off fairly low, and then it builds up a bit, but never goes very far up or down from that point.
In addition to the dynamics, it felt cut short slightly because it didn’t go any bigger than what I said. At the end it sounds like it could have gone somewhere, but you decided to cut it short when it certainly could have built up into something much bigger. Anyways, solid track! And nice work!

8.8/10

-Ryan

I love the atmospheric vibes at the beginning. The piece flows into the warm string sound at :09 really well. Excellent job with the emotion, and the (harp?) at :26 sounds very majestic, contributing to the mood a lot. You switch up the melody instrument a lot, though. I know you’re trying to create variety, but it makes the structure a little overly convoluted IMO. I think you also missed an opportunity for some dynamic contrast at 1:07. I would’ve brought that way down dynamically. That, in turn, gives you an opportunity to do more with the phrasing during the entire middle section of the piece. I think adding more dynamic contrast would enhance the cinematic vibe of this piece a lot. Also, you never really get back to the emotional height of :43. I wanted to see some more melodic development here later in the piece. The piece is literally called “Voyage,” so I want to know if our hero ever makes it to the shore of this far-off land or if he dies at sea while trying to save his crew. Right now, it’s missing a bit of action during the last 1/3 of the piece or so IMO. That said, I think your soundscape here is beautiful, and I admire your sense of harmony and progression. Keep up the good work! Hope this review helped. ;)

9/10

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

This is quite an atmospheric work, I'm getting a sense of high hopes and expectation building up in whoever was preparing for the voyage - their hope is mixed with fear whether the quest will succeed. I really got into the mood!

Classical may not be my thing, but I'm leaving some comments anyway!

You've used a lot of strings in this composition, haven't you? While I'm not complaining about that, since the strings do a really good job at giving the track its full texture, I would have also loved to hear some brass or woodwind instruments in here. If you did put some of those in here, I'm not recognizing them. Without other instruments other than strings, your track gets a bit tiring to listen to.

But you make up for that with nice melodic content and a big, full sound pretty much the entire time. I like it! It creates a complex atmosphere worthy of the title "Voyage".

I can't tell you anything useful about your mixing since I'm an absolute noob at it but good job.

Overall, this is a solid piece fit to compete in the NGADM! Although I would have liked to hear some variation in the chord progression and in the instrumentation, you've accomplished a perfect atmosphere that makes one feel adventurous and ready to take on anything. Good job, and good luck!