I'd have to agree with several below- the beginning and the point after 2:20 is far improved from the middle. I know it's easy to go in strange directions when the muse hits you, but scoring is all about being able to find the balance between you and the requirements of the image (or game level or movie scene) you are working with.

The trick I always use when scoring to a picture is to play through the WIP I have while looking at the picture. If it "clicks" in my mind as revealing something about the image, it's good. If the image itself seems to move or waver with your music, you did a frelling brilliant job, congrats. In this regrettably, it clicked at the start and at the end, but that's about it.

Instruments are interesting and varied, but not all are really needed or applicable to the subject matter. As I said in a previous review, think about each instrument like a color on an artist's color palette for a painting. In some cases, you might use yellow, in others, you might not. Examine the colors the artist uses and try to find tonal equals. In orchestral terms, it might be cellos = blue water, glockenspiel = green crystals, brass = black darkness, violins = white light. For electronic, the timbres of each instrument you use would similarly have a chromatic equivalent. Symbolism goes far beyond the feel of the track and also applies to your choices in instruments. :)

FD had a good point in terms of composition and form. Think about the image you chose- it's pretty static in the state it is. You're looking at a cave with crystals and water... it's probably been this way centuries and will be this way for centuries. This means your song should try to reflect attribute this symbolically. Think about the best way you can really describe the essence of this long, dark solitude that the crystals go through, the contrast of the light on the dark walls, the cold, icy reach of the water across the hard granite basin. It's an interesting choice you made, but in terms of the contest, an ineffective one I believe.

Production is pretty good. I thought the glass breaking might have been a bit too loud, but hey, it's glass breaking, it's pretty f'ing loud when it happens.

Keep compos(ed/ing)!
-Samulis

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My ratings:
Originality- 6/10
Relevance- 19/30
Composition- 15/25
Instrumentation- 9/15
Mastering- 7/10
Emotion/Interest- 6/10

Total: 62/100 (NG: 3 stars)

The intro was amazing :D.
When the guitar comes in though I feel like the track dropped in quality. The guitar sounded really low quallity really low quality. Lowed the drop though. Really like this kind of melodic dubstep :). Wish you had varied this a bit more though. The clap sample you used also sounded bad. They sound like the basic Fl studio claps which I honestly have learned to hate from the bottom of my heart :3.

Anyways I loved this track except from the clap and guitar. I liked the way you used the guitar. just didn't like the sound of it.

4 stars.

I'm going to be honest about this: I wasn't quite expecting the "turning point" that ultimately quite ruined the intro ambiance. I like the fact that you tried experimenting with something unusual and collage'd different pieces together, but it's also the same reason why it doesn't sound a cohesive effort to my ears.

The reason is simple: there are shards that can go well together because they enhance the experience while still maintaining a certain degree of experimentation, like the intro ambiance, the dubsteppy drums and the last progression after the second minute. Those alone could have, in my opinion, already made the song. I don't think the guitars could have had any positive contribution in this context at all at this point.

Overall it's an interesting track, with some ideas that can work together and some other ones that I advise you should keep for other efforts.
//FD

Have to say that this is a fun piece of music you've written. Just to counter some of the perspectives, I didn't mind the guitar work so much as I heard worse. It reminded me a little bit of the late 90s first person shooter games. The synth progression at 2:20 is definitely the best part of the track.

Firstly, I'm extremely flattered you picked my piece to do this. And like RealFaction said, it has amazing potential I would keep working on it regardless of the contest. My favorite parts were the beginning and right about at 2:00 and beyond. I actually listened to that part several times.

Also, thank you for inspiring me to continue to do more art. :)