I like the dreamy atmosphere at the beginning and the dramatic orchestral hits shortly thereafter. The reverb is very heavy in the mix, and I think the piano and other harmonic elements would come through more distinctly at :25 without such an over-saturated atmosphere. That said, the sound design choices here, from the groovy guitar riffs to the sweeping saxophone solos, are really nice, and the melodic content is both dynamic and refreshing. The drop at 1:30 takes the piece in a much more rhythmic direction, and the mix sounds rather strained there too. I wanted to hear more bass frequencies in particular during the drop. The moody bridge at around 2:15 was good for some structural contrast, and the woodwind solos at 2:40 or so had a really soulful texture. The guitar solos at 3:30 or so are especially nice, although the texture starts to sound pretty dissonant at around 3:50 with the atmosphere bleeding in. The tranquil section after that was also a nice way of breaking up the climactic sections here, especially before the final drop at 4:44, which sounded much more dynamic than the first one. Still, the string pads and drums get really buried in the mix there, and there are some more clashing harmonies at around 5:15. The haunting ambient outro was a pleasant surprise, though - this piece has a lot of twists and turns, making the arrangement both impressively ambitious and a little hard-to-follow at times. Overall, the composition and sound design here are really strong. I just wish the mastering was a bit tighter and the structure a tad more cohesive. Still, you’ve clearly put a ton of effort into the melodies and instrumentation here, and it shows. Keep at it, AlphezGD! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.75/10

Nice intro. I hear something going on in the intro on your bass. It sounds like clipping. I think a lot of the mix problems I hear early on could be solved with MUCH less reverb on all instruments, and where you MUST have it, a low cut on the wet to 250 hz. The whole track seems to suffer from this.

That said, I love your arranging and writing all the way to 1:20. Your drop is positively chaotic, in a good way, excepting the issues of mix, the growls being too loud, and a bit less bass than I prefer. Literally just taking the reverb down will fix the majority of these issues.

The choir at 2:40 sounds really familiar, and although it is very clearly a synth I think works pretty well. Very daring choices.

Wonderful guitar solo at 3:26. This is like dubstep meets videogame, blues, and jazz at the same time.

Transition at 4:26 is good, again excepting the reverb issue throughout.

4:44 the drop is really tinny at the top. I think part of this is trying to ensure that it is heard above the MASSIVE reverb on the percussion and your pads.

Very interesting outro at 5:40. Total change of mood.

Again, thanks for coming out to NGUAC! What a journey!