This is an NGADM Round 5 review.
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I'm at a loss for words here. I have the same problem here as I had with headphoamz's Round 4 track. There is almost nothing one can dislike about this track. Just freaking awesome. I knew you were excellent from the start and I expected something of this quality and style from you, but this time it's so refined and jam-packed with details and dynamic changes that it feels like you've reached the ultimate standard of quality I can expect from you (even if that may not even be the case!). This has all of the good qualities of your previous tracks combined, none of the bad ones, and we're not even in the final round yet.
I'll get the ball rolling by making some high-level, general comments. The atmosphere overall is excellent. Despite the manic and frantic pace which seemingly never stops for a breath, there's a really articulate and well-defined Halloween atmosphere here. When I think 'atmospheric' I think something ambient, slow or gradual, because it's much harder to create an atmosphere with a freak show of chaotic and fast-paced composition/instrumentation, but you pulled off exactly that like it's nothing special.
The composition is some of the best I've heard from you. I think Skyfortress - City of Diz and Mechanical Anima had some truly excellent sheer melodic value (not that the tracks after them didn't alhough those shined more in other areas), but here you've got melodies that at least equal those you had in the two tracks I mentioned quality-wise, and yet you've still got the clarity and beautiful blend of instruments that you brought to the table in your Round 2, 3 and 4 tracks. There's very little of that directionless vibe I got from some of the melodies in your Round 3 and 4 tracks (Round 4 especially). Fantastic.
The actual flow of the melody has always been one of the strongest points of your tracks. I can always expect a smooth transition from one melody to another, largely due to the fact that you very often start a new melody of yours on the upbeat, making one melody lead to the next naturally and smoothly. The structure is also sublime. You have the tried-and-true method of introducing new section after new section in the track (which wouldn't work nearly as well if you didn't have such a great flow between sections), and then introducing the A section again at the very end. And there are so many different sections! Your structure is something like ABCDEFA. Or ABCDEFGHIJA. Or just the whole alphabet before we reach A again, now that I think about it.
Now for the more specific comments. Your intro is a bit harsh and sudden, but I don't find that to be as much of an issue as it was in your Round 3 track. Your ending is simply stellar. You can't go wrong with such a smooth approach to an ending, and the perfect cadence - the most satisfying and conclusive of cadences - was just the cherry on top. You have other brilliant touches in this track that make it stand out from other tracks such as that really well-placed pause at 0:08. I also love your waltz section and your transition to it. You and ZipZipper have made me quite partial towards waltzes, I've got to say!
I also need to add that the reintroduction of the beginning section at 3:07 is freaking godly. I'm not just saying that because I'm a fan of songs that bring back certain established motifs at the end of the track before finishing it (I in fact do that a lot in my own tracks), but the way you executed it is just fantastic. You introduced the dominant chord pause you had at 0:08 right after the waltz section, and then, just like in your intro, you brought in that fast-paced section once more in a transition that felt unexpected but still felt so right. You then led wonderfully to that ending with an identical transition to the one you had 0:40, except at 0:40 you seamlessly keep the track flowing, and at 3:36, you seamlessly end the track.
I think you've played it very safe with this track. I can appreciate you sticking to what you know, because as a result you've made something that sounds very refined and professional-sounding, but I can't help but say I was still a bit disappointed to hear that this is very similar to the other stuff you've been making for the past three rounds, especially rounds 2 and 3 (including in instrumentation - I'm hearing a lot of recycled samples/sounds that you've used in previous tracks several times), even if that disappointment only lasted for a fraction of a second before I got lost in a world of dancing skeletons and zombies terrorising the neighbourhood! I won't reduce marks for that though. Just one little nitpick - I feel as though this was lacking a soft section which acts as a break from all the chaos (similar to the ending of your Round 4 track). Without such a section, the track gets quite tiring and lacking in replay value.
My favourite track from you thus far. Mind-blowingly good.
Score: 9.8/10