I just remembered that you asked for a review on your NGUAC piece, and it seems like there aren't any judges biting yet, so here I am!

I like the eerie whistling and pulsing atmospheric pads at the beginning. The harmonies are a bit dissonant, but the texture comes together well by 1:20 or so. The reverb is a tad thick, but otherwise the mix is well-balanced and rich-sounding. The piano solos help keep me engaged too. The synth bass sounds a tad generic, but otherwise the sound design is really nice overall. The orchestral flair of the piece at 3:00 or so was a nice touch, and the edgier tone at 3:17 was a good change-of-direction to the track. The vocals at 3:17 sound a bit indistinct in the mix - were they recorded specifically for this track, or are they sampled from somewhere? After a slow climb down from the emotional height at 3:17, the eerie church bell at 4:50 helps me refocus, and I like the more mysterious tone of the rest of the piece. The whispered vocals at around 5:35 fit the mood very well, and you've really made a great effort at making the piece come full-circle. This is really strong cinematic work here, BlighterProductions. Best of luck in the Knockout Round! ^_^

My impression: this is quite atmospheric and nice to listen to. That whistle in the beginning in particular is neat. To me it adds a bit of mysterious quality to this piece. Like the quiet numbness after being blind sighted by something that caused an unexpected shock.

The only issue I have here is this piece seems to meander a bit, stylistically; the setup is great but it drifts in direction throughout the song and as a result it feels a little unfocused IMO.

Well done overall, though. :)

As for doing this all in one go: It’s impressive you were able to do this. That said, I don’t know your workflow or process, but I’d like to share with you that I personally find works for me to help with when I write music is to take at least a few minutes of break time throughout the day while working on a project to distract from the song, in addition to taking breaks between days. That way I can come back later with a fresher mind.

I hope that helps you as well. :)

Good stuff! The whistling adds a very eerie feel to the entire piece and is a nice touch overall. I feel like the piece would work great for a first person shooter, or any game that requires a certain "dark" ambience, especially the first and final parts.

I'm on the same page as DKPUser3678 when it comes to the variety within the piece. I think that the sections sound great by themselves, but the transitions between them are too sudden for my taste as well.

Overall, I like how you're trying different things, and although the transitions could be worked on, the general vibe of the song is great. Keep up the good work!

Okay, first of all, DANG this is a GOOD song! Let me point out why:

I could already hear (before even reading the description) that you went for a particularly different style here. One to completely overturn what you usually do. I love that you try new things in a completely different style, in a completely different genre.

I can hear the experimentations in your work, and they work really well, from the distant and subtle whistle, with some softly attacking pads based under it. You can really sense a build towards a point. The buildup is unpredictable and challenging, which is a really strong point about this song.

Then the rhythm comes in, and I was SOLD. Distorted/glitched up bass with bit crushed rides/crashes that somehow sound way better into place than I ever thought they would be, and a nice, seemless switching between triol and solid beats?! Now that's creativity. I fucking loved every single bit of this part. When the cinematic climate entered, I was left in awe, closing my eyes like you told me to do by the end of this song, which I will get to in just a minute.

I feel like the pacing in this track could use some work, and by that I mean not even that much of a change. Each individual section is masterfully done in it's own. But they just don't cohese too well though. I think that's what you wanted to reach with unpredictability (which is certainly a characteristic about music that I can really fall in love with), but I feel like they're a bit too disjointed, as if you shifted different parts together and moved them to form a puzzle. Maybe making them flow into each other more smoothly may make it sound a bit better.

But that ENDING! I did not see that coming. The last two minutes of this track couldn't have been better. The piano and a dark whoosing bass/pad playing each other out beautifully make for an excellent experience. Not only is it of excellent idea, but also of execution. It's calming, and feels like you're put to rest after a long, exhausting, but beautiful journey. The wind blowing as an extra side track really captures the feeling (which is already something you're really good at), and makes for an incredibly satisfying ending, slowly fading into darkness.

Overall, I'm feeling a 9.8/10 for this. The only downside that I could find about this song wasn't even a big downside. The crafting, the mastering, the emotion, and especially the unpredictability that you put into this piece really make it a standout for me, and one of my favourite track that I have ever heard on first listen.

-Big thumbs up

This would work really well as ambience for a game; I would imagine it being played in some lost facility level. Great job!