I like the ominous mood at the beginning. The piece has a good sense of atmosphere and direction. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture, although that doesn’t seem to negatively affect the mix as far as I can tell. I like the cute VGM-ish synth that accompanies the build-up into 1:06. The drop was enjoyable, although I think I would’ve liked to hear a more legato synth replace the VGM synth at that point. It would’ve given the refrain a more cathartic, rich feel that way. The breakdown at 2:00 is nice, and I enjoy the twittering synth and brass as valuable additions to the texture. The variations on the melody at 2:28 are nice, and the production holds up quite well throughout these busy drops. The rich strings during the outro fit the thematic content well, too. Usually, I think adding several new instruments to the texture during the second half of the piece is a bit risky, but you pull this off pretty well given the repetition of the melodic themes and the smooth-flowing structure. Overall, this is really strong work. The mix is a bit bottom-heavy, and I’m still not sure about some of the sound design decisions, but you’re clearly a very talented producer with a good sense of melody and atmosphere. Keep up the good work, RedMike7! ^_^
Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10