Score: 9

"You updated it! :D"

submission: [GF]RuN[GF]Demo

date: December 10, 2007

And you took my advice, too, and added in a melody at 0:58! It's pretty awesome, too. Sadly, this review will probably be shorter since I'm reviewing a different version of the same song, but I'll try. ;)

Not much is different... again, your melody is great, no complaints. Bass, while improved, is still a bit too bassy, I can't hear the boom of the kick. :\

Apparently, though, your computer is giving you trouble, which always sucks... hope you can figure it out soon. Until then, you can't really fix much, huh? D:

Nice job either way, I definitely enjoyed it. ;D

Score: 9

"A bore to listen to, but great background music."

submission: (::Towards The Sun::) =FINAL=

date: December 9, 2007

This is interesting, though very simple and plain. You have one pad play chords... and that's just about it. As far as complexity, diversity, and effort go, this song falls short. :\ This seems to be more of a "background music" song than a listening song to me.

The composition is nice, there are no clashing notes for the most part (though I hear a few in the low range) and this is very easy on the ears - clarity is near-perfect. Tip: At most, have only one note at a time playing in the C3-C4ish range. Any more than that, and the lower range becomes muddied. C4-C5, still, keep the notes to a minimum, though two, rarely three, notes will work. Higher up, there are hardly any restrictions, and it becomes more an issue of clashing notes and volume and less an issue of clarity.

A far cry from my usual reviews, but this is a fairly plain song. I hope my advice helps anyway. ;) As background music, this deserves a 9/10 and a 5/5, so great job. :D

Score: 8

"Hmmm."

submission: Rift (Original Mix)

date: December 7, 2007

First thing that comes to mind are those hihats in the introduction - I've heard them before! :O In your song Wicked, I think. Usually, I believe that recycling synths and samples is something that should generally be avoided unless you have a REALLY good reason to... personally, I think it could have been avoided in this case. Ah well, that aside, they fit just fine, no problems, save the sharpness of the high treble, which is a bit too strong for my tastes... :\

Interesting sidechained pads, I've been playing around with that sort of thing too. :D They fit well, though they're a bit weak - I can hardly hear them within the rest of the mix. You might have wanted to make them a little bit louder...

Drums are great - I especially like that industrial-ish sample you have playing on the second and fourth beats of the measure, rather than a clap! :D The kick is fine, it could have been a tiny bit bassier, but it's no big deal. ;) Snare rolls are great, though the phaser didn't fit this song, unfortunately. They came a bit too often in some places, too... careful. They'll lose their tension-building effect like that. ;D

Up to about two and a half minutes into the song, the progression is great. :D Right now, the song's changed - a low, dark-sounding part... the transition into it might have been a bit too fast and strong.

I can hear a chord progression! :D Or maybe it's just a note progression. Whatever. :P Four minutes, and I still like what I'm hearing - though it's a bit plain for what sounds like the climax of the song. I think it might be the melody - in this song, it sounds less like an actual melody, and more like several notes strung together to accompany the rest of the song. The notes don't flow together - with each other, and with the rest of the song - as well as they should, in my opinion.

Great production and progression overall, but it's lacking compositionally. Still, it gets an 8/10 for the review, and a well-deserved 5/5. ;) Nice job.

Score: 7

"It's about time! :D"

submission: {DXS} -=Mix=-

date: December 4, 2007

Interesting introduction you've got there - I'm pretty sure I've heard those strings somewhere though I'm not sure exactly where. :\ It starts out a bit slow, and somewhat boring, but picks up with the kick, and then more trance elements, which should have come in a LOT sooner.

Wow, more than halfway into the song and it hasn't hit the main part yet? o_O Careful. It finally has, though, and I'm not too impressed, though I can't say it's bad for a first original. ;)

Melodywise, you've got some pretty good stuff, though it's a tad repetitive. Remix material by my standards! Too bad I'm working on one already. D: I might give it a shot, sometime, and make a short loop, maybe a bit more if I feel like it. I'll send it to you if you're interested, and maybe I'll even submit it. :D

Your short synth, playing three sixteenth notes and one sixteeenth rest at a time... is that an attempt at a gated synth? Da-da-daa, da-da-daa? :P I did that once! XD It's something completely different, actually. PM me and I'll send you a link to what you want to use to gate your synths. ;)

Your bass is on the offbeat again - it works sometimes, but it had BETTER be well-done. Otherwise you're just using another cliche, and nobody wants to hear something they've heard hundreds of times before, now... :\ The synth is well-chosen, though, which is good. Though I smell a .mp3 sample... am I onto something? Because you don't want to use those, EVER. ;) Listen to my song Nova to see what happens when you go too far into the habit of using them. XD

Drums, drums... well, your kick is weak and needs EQing so the bass will stand out more. It also needs some volume adjustment. The sample is fine.

Your hihat sample isn't the best I've heard, though I recognize it from VEC. Just a thought - when making trance songs, you don't just want one open hihat on the offbeat, you want a whole hihat line. Sometimes that's just two closed hihats one sixteenth note before and after the main open hihat, and sometimes it's an amazingly complex line the likes of which I still have to master. :P Give it a try sometime, it'll make your songs that much better in the end.

Odd, two clap samples. The first one, while great, is a little bit overused, and you had better be using it well if you're using it at all. The second one just doesn't fit, at least in my opinion. :\ Try to stick to just one clap sample throughout your song. If you have to, layer them, but that's the most you should do.

Your huge snare roll in the middle of the song is definitely a highlight! :D Nice job there. It's a bit too long for my tastes, but at least you keep it interesting throughout. ;)

I hear FX - chimes and the like. They're a bit weak, though, so you might want to raise their volume, too...

No big overall EQing problems stand out to me - everything has to do with the individual elements and not the song as a whole, which sounds great. So nice job there! :)

Overall... repetitive, and the production isn't quite perfect. But it's definitely a forward step, and decent progress. You'll be making great stuff in the future, I know it. >:) Keep at it!

Score: 9

"I like it! :)"

submission: -Imm- Between Worlds (OM)

date: November 29, 2007

I've heard great things about your music but have only really listened to a few of your songs - and since you reviewed my latest, I thought why not? I'll review you back. ;D

Nice intro - the bass synth is great in every respect and fits in perfectly with the rest of the song. What IS that other thing, though? o_O Some crazy hihat or something? XD

Not much else to say, though the progression of the song is good. VERY nice pad later on, at the low point of the song. I like what I'm hearing now, that melodywork with the arp is very good! :)

Huh, again? I've listened to quite a few songs lately with a pitfall like this one. Or at least it is in my opinion. :\ I just noticed, the bass is a bit too "bassy" - and it drowns out the boom of the kick, which I can hardly hear. If possible, it would have been a good idea to fix that by cutting the lower frequencies of the bass, so that the kick's boom is more audible. Of course, sometimes that's not really possible without making the bass too weak, and then you've got to compromise - which happens. It is to me right now. D: But in that case, you could just ignore this paragraph entirely. ;)

Kick aside, your drums are very interesting - the samples aren't any I'd ever use, but the fit just fine, which is great. :D Your hihats and claps are a bit weak, though... I also hear snare rolls a bit too often for my taste. They kinda lose their tension-building use and, aside from a few good cases, just become a tool for transitions. :\ In places they're a bit weak, too.

Hmm, I heard some clashing notes around 3:31 or so, with the arp... was that intended or what? It certainly didn't sound too good to me. o_O

Personally I don't hear the melodic techno in this. :P The song does seriously pick up in energy a little while past the two minute mark but I think it would fit better in trance.

Overall, I enjoyed it! 9/10, 5/5, and a download. One last thing - you already know my taste in trance, right? :P I've only had the chance to listen to and download this song, Wicked, and Meadow - care to recommend anything else on your page for me? I'm interested. :D Thanks, looking forward to your next. ;)

Score: 9

"Aww..."

submission: -Invaders-

date: November 28, 2007

Just a little bit sooner and you just might have made weekly top 5 with this. :D Oh well, it's been a while since I've reviewed your stuff anyway, let's see what you've got.

First thing that comes to mind are those clashing notes I hear starting in the first minute or so of the song, mainly in the piano - I can understand you're trying to get across that dark, mean, feeling, but using dissonance like that could hurt your song more than it would help it. It's a playing-with-fire sort of thing... be careful. ;) Thankfully, in this case, they don't hurt the song at all - I love the atmosphere they pull off! :) Your piano sample is also very well-chosen, I'm jealous. >:)

Your Slayer guitars are well-disguised to the point I'm a little bit unsure whether or not they're Slayer, though my common sense screams out "SLAYER!!1" because I'd know that sound anywhere. :P Great job with that. The melodies/harmonies they play are great, too. Maybe you could have boosted the treble frequencies a bit more, though, so they're a bit louder and more easily audible without muddying the lower end?

Your drums are great, though a little bit distorted and gritty for my taste in music speaking. Maybe that's come from listening to too much trance, eh? :P But, my taste in music aside, they're very well-done. Nice job.

Interesting ending with the violin, and those alien-like sound effects - it probably would have been better if you had faded out those alien effects sooner, though. It's just over 20 seconds of them at the end, slowly fading out... wouldn't you consider that overkill? Oh, well... :P 5/5, and 9/10, great work with this! :D

One other thing - care to stop by my page sometime? A review for my latest would be appreciated, I was trying a new style and would appreciate the feedback. ;) Thanks a lot, and keep up the good work! ;D

Score: 8

"You made trance! :O"

submission: Synthesized Birth

date: November 27, 2007

Though I need to comment on your response to the last review - mixing/EQing doesn't take THAT long in my case. I'm guessing it's just experience, and that you have an easier and faster time doing it if you practice more often. Remember my song Nova? XD And look at my quality now. ;D

Now for the song itself - and it's pretty good. :) Nice sidechained bass, higher synths are interesting, though a bit loud - you might want to make them a little bit quieter. Your melodies/harmonies are great! :D

As for the drums, since this is a trance song, you probably want a bassier kick that's way out in front. If the bass synth gives you trouble with that at all - though it shouldn't, since it's sidechained - then simply cut the lower frequencies until you think it's fine. After all, it's fine to have a semi-bassy bass synth, at least in my opinion - as you want that kick drum to be clean and easily audible. I can hardly hear your hihats, you might want to pick a more open sample, and I don't really hear snares used in place of the claps in a trance song that often... you might want to reconsider. :\

Another good idea would be to have the kick play a transition measure on the 8th or 16th measures of 8 or 16, and maybe you could incorporate the other drums into that pattern. It would help to make your drums sound a lot less repetitive, even for a trance song. (Listen to my latest songs, or just about any decent trance song, to get an idea of this. ;) )

Overall, 4/5 and 8/10. You could make some pretty good trance stuff with a bit more practice. ;D

Score: 8

"Finally, eh? ;D"

submission: _-={An Endless Desert}=-_*Ext*

date: November 26, 2007

Sorry I took so long to get around to finishing my review - either I didn't remember, was busy, or wasn't going to write as good a review as I could have. (And together, these reasons form procrastination! ;D) I'll comment on your edits, on the new part, and then finish with the story. :D

Interesting new FX in the beginning of the song, though I liked it more before, without it - I feel it adds unnecessary energy to what I think is more of a sad and wandering song.

I'm hearing a few clashing notes right before the old ending, but it might just be me. :\

Nice transition into the new section! :) It has an interesting contrast to the first part of the song, and this could have been built on to make something awesome! :D You go in a different direction with the panflute and sitar - not necessarily a worse one, it's just not quite the direction I, personally, would have preferred. :P

I don't know about the section of the song from 2:48 to the end of the song - not every song needs a climax and it sounds especially unnecessary (and a bit rushed) with this one. It was well done, though compared to the rest of the song, I don't think it fits at all.

Storytime. >:) Aah, it's been so long since I've done one of these. :D

Abandoned by his caravan he has been wandering for days, now. Or has it been weeks? Each day feels like ten and with each step the sand seems to go out of its way to grab his feet - which have been aching for so long they feel numb now - and pull them farther in. He cannot smile, or even speak - his lips have become too chapped to move for anything but food.

Seeing the cruel slope of the sand ahead of him, he staggers and falls to the ground, as not only does it seem impossible from his angle, but the incredible dune stretches an incredible distance from his left to his right, a distance which he is not willing to walk, either. Yet the tracks of his caravan go around it. So he must as well...

And so his journey continues, through neverending days and nights of repeating frustration and misery. He can only hope to reach its end, as distant and impossible as it seems. It is his only hope.

Overall it's a pretty good song, I enjoyed it - it's just that, unfortunately, more of its cons presented themselves to me than its pros. D: Oh well, at least I enjoyed writing the story! ;D I'll review 8/10 - but I'll rate 5/5. I think this song deserves it. :D One last thing - recently I remade my old classical song Falling Farther into a pwnsome trance song - care to listen to it? A review would be nice, too, considering that I broke new ground with a new style and would appreciate the feedback. ;) Thanks, and keep up the great work - I'll be downloading this once I get home! :)

Score: 8

"I'm no DnB expert, but..."

submission: Drum'n'Bass-off =WB=

date: November 21, 2007

...I said in my advertisement I would return a review to those who reviewed my latest, and I'm going to keep my word - so here I am! ;D

It starts a little plain, though with a nice-sounding synth - and really begins to pick up and become interesting around 0:37. :D The drums are amazing, though they're also a bit too trebley in places - some EQing might be in order here.

Any reason why that sawtooth-ish synth that comes in at around 0:57 is panned to the right?

When the bass synth comes back in at 1:09 or so, the song begins to sound really cluttered - there are too many loud instruments, and the song generally becomes a headache. :\ Careful.

As for your composition, it's decent - not quite amazing, but it's catchy, and I like it. :) A bit repetitive, though, I would have liked to hear you build on it, maybe make a second riff to diversify things up a bit. ;)

Nice ending, though a little bit abrupt. Can't complain overall, though. :)

I enjoyed this song! :) I'll vote 4/5, though you were pretty close to that 5 and would have gotten it had this song had some better mixing. ;) I'll be checking by your page now and then... keep up the good work. :D

Score: 10

"Your style's changed! :O"

submission: More Than Words (Original Mix)

date: November 16, 2007

And it's a good change, too. ;) I've let the song play for about a minute, and so far, so good. ;D But, for the sake of the review, I'll start over.

VERY unique intro with the heavy drums that I've never heard before - but it works amazingly well! :D I'm hearing the influence of other signed artists in this as well, but it doesn't detract from originality, which is great.

As the other synths/pads come in, the song just gets better and better - no complaints. The progression IS fairly linear and a little bit repetitive, but it's no big deal.

There's a bit too much treble during the transition at 2:00, for my tastes... it might just be what I THINK is a low bitrate... not sure. Your song's 3 megabytes, by the way - you DO realize that you can submit songs up to 8 megabytes in size now, right? Or is your label throwing restrictions at you already? :P

Melodywork/harmonies are satisfactory, but not quite amazing, which is unfortunate. Don't get me wrong, I like them - but I've heard better out of you. ;) Your progression is nice, though I think at one point the song gets a little TOO quiet... careful there.

I'm hearing some crackling now, I hope this is just the low bitrate. It's a shame for such a great song to be submitted at this low of a bitrate. I'm telling you, if you can, update with a higher-quality version! ;D

Wha? Abrupt ending? o_O Aww, man, I was really liking it, too. I guess I'm going to have to go find and buy this one somewhere, then. >:}

5/5, and 10/10 - it has its faults, but I think it deserves the high ratings anyway. ;) I've downloaded it too. Great work with this, I'm looking forward to hearing from you elsewhere. :)