While no longer an official "contest" review, I did have one already written before our PM exchange the other day. Have at thee:
I like the staccato-y guitar riffs at the beginning and the melodic vocals at :11. The mix is loud, crisp, and well-balanced, and the injection of intensity at :32 is great. I really like your style, Ajskull. Reminds me of a cross between Green Day and the soundtrack from Rent. The solo at 2:18 was super nice, but also a little short-lived. The extra layering on the guitars during the final refrain is nice, but part of me wanted even more melodic development and intensity for the last minute or so of the piece. The arrangement of the piece is pretty generic, but it also has a great flow and sense of pacing overall. The mixing is probably the strongest part of the piece imo, although sometimes I wanted the drums to pop in the upper register a little more. The vocals came off sounding really powerful and rich, though, which can be hard to do with such a heavy underpinning of guitars. Overall, this is a highly impressive piece, and all of my complaints are minor. Well done, Ajskull! ^_^
Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10
AjSkull 
