Official AIM2018 Review!

Loving the atmospheric sound effects. Tasteful reverb -- occasionally sounds like a bit of clipping in your mix but that may be SFX or unchained sub 20 Hz noise. Do rein some of that in.

I'm definitely feeling the dark forest vibe of the artwork chosen.

Could have probably used a little more low end on your kick and some other hits, but as a whole, this piece really does convey the angst of a terrified mother, fighting against impossible odds to get her son back. You've done a masterful job here maintaining that atmosphere consistently. Very engaging piece.

Use of SFX at the end is perfect. My only complaint would be occasional muddy distorted sound throughout, which may be a thematic statement. Thanks for turning out to this year's competition!

It's interesting to read the description as it's such a different interpretation than the one I drew from the piece! Not just the backstory, but also the sense of threat and darkness. The woods seemed, to me, more mysterious than sinister, more forgotten than relevant, yet enter this music and it's suddenly a very living and vivid place, the shadows creeping along the vines, the darkness twisting and fading as the sun moves with the trees, and the leaves rustle in the sinking darkness... it really paints a very ominous setting! Listening to this as I see the image I still don't feel the music in the visuals, but I do love how this plays out. I love the ambience and the sense of suspense, the beats that seem to form steps in the background, the rising, and fading, and creeping motions of the sound... it all builds up perfectly.

Until the point around three minutes it felt perfect, but the break there's a bit long, and silent, compared the brooding before it. After that it really changes, and rises, and goes into a pretty climatic phase before that whispering end... really nice work blending in sounds of nature with the music itself, and the break's really the only part that brings down that setting a bit. Masterful work.

-cd-

This paints the picture perfectly!

Also, Komplete 11? Lucky.

Great

This is a delightfully creepy track with a fantastic piece of artwork for its inspiration. You've nailed down the suspenseful vibe with your intense mixture of ambient sound effects; deep, throaty brass; and cinematic string ensemble. Your drum riffs are equally solid, and they serve to ramp up the tension even more.

That said, the main issue I found was that there was no real break from said tension. It ebbs and flows, but remains constant. A bit more harmonic work within the piece would be really effective, and I can easily imagine some equally creepy yet sparser sections where the main focus could be some kind of piano or, better still, music box progression. Oh, a bit of hellish music box would fit right in, especially since - in your version of the story - the woman is searching for her lost son.

Some variation in tempo could have really changed things up nicely, too. While the slower, more even tempo works well enough, slowing things down or speeding them up a bit can really spice up the storytelling. You clearly put a ton of time and effort into this, so I'd love to see it go the distance!