This is an official NGADM '18 Round 1 Review:

Production and Mixing: Decent attempt overall, but I felt wanting more. The guitar introduced felt like it was too weak and the bass through the second half didn't fill out the bottom of the spectrum like I felt like it should have. I'm not saying it should be louder, because the mix is pretty good, but it just felt…..shallow. The percussion was quite solid.

Composition and Structure: The intro is really good. The strings and the piano have a really good sound to set the song with. The electronic synths are also introduced well. I feel like it runs out of steam part way through, and I feel like you started to notice that and rolled the song out to finish. The outro was good though (other than the fade out pet peeve, but that's personal preference). There's a lot of neat details you've added to add flavor and color to the song. I liked the interrupting bass stabs.

Sound Design: The filtered piano and strings at the beginning are ok for an introduction I think, but I love the plucked synth you bring in. And I love how it transitions to a more bass heavy synth. This is a really good mix of orchestral and synthetic elements. I had no issues with the choice of instruments. It has an Assassin's Creed feel at times. I'm most disappointed in the first guitar you introduce. By itself it falls flat. It adds a nice element when the mix is more full, but it's so empty by itself.

Ending comments: I dig this. It's a nice background piece in a good way. You've been able to incorporate electronic elements without being disruptive which makes this good study / background music. It carries a nice theme that develops through the song and I never felt that the song was long. Cool work.

Score:

Total - 7.25
Production - 1.5
Sound Design - 1.5
Composition - 1.25
Structure - 1.5
Replay - 1.5

I can see why this is cinematic. I can almost imagine this being straight out of a spy movie because it's that realistic. The chords, the beat, the strings... kinda reminds me of a game here on Newgrounds called Rotate because it's that much of a spy song.

There's really only one thing I have to say about this, and that's the one weird section the piano has at 0:15. The notes don't fit in to me, and it's probably because of the rest of them being in minor with this one section. It adds difference, but it also adds a little bit of confusion, since those notes come out of nowhere.

Overall, I enjoy this. In my opinion, it has a pretty good chance in NGADM. Great job and good luck :)

that was pretty cool

I love the pensive mood at the beginning. Sounds vaguely apprehensive, too. Nice job with the emotional strings at :27. Despite the convincingly organic texture, the electronic elements that start fading in at around :48 don't feel out-of-place. The sense of climax over the course of the first half of the piece is really strong. Atmosphere of the piece is really good, and the punchy bass at the ends of phrases has a nice, dark inevitability to it. Some of the more dynamic-sounding riffs (like at 2:15) are quite welcome in the texture, but I guess my main complaint is that you could've done a tad more to thicken the harmonic depth of the piece at its climax. I'm not always a fan of the compositional elements of your tracks, Sequenced, but you did a great job here of providing some shape and dynamic contrast. Keep up the good work and gl in the ADM!

Billeeep wtf is this, there's no drop