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Text File | 1997-10-21 | 104.7 KB | 1,894 lines

WMR (Reviews [week #12]) __ __ __ | \ __ ______/ |_ | | | o \ | | | / o | \ |o | | \| o| |o _/ | o\ []=======| |==| \ |=| |/ | \========[] []=======| |==| \ |=| | |\ \=======[] []=======| |==| \|=| | |=\ \======[] :: | | | \ | | | / / :: :. | | | |\ \| | /| |/ / :: : | | |/\ | \ | |/ | | / : | | / \| |\ | | | | / :. | | / \ | \ | |__| | / .: :: | |/ \| \_| | |/ : :: | /\ | | __| |\ :: []=======| / \ |=| |==| | \==========[] []=======| /| \ |=| |==| | \=========[] []=======| /=| |\ |=| |==| | \========[] |o / | | \ o| |o | | |\ o\(mansooj) |_/ | o | \_| |__/ | o | \__/ |___| |___| (Originally compiled and added on January 28, 1997) (last updated 09.15.97) -----========================================----- -----================================================================----- "Runtime" by Airon of Matrix (14ch XM, 02:21) (air-rt.zip [471K/658K]) [Dance/Demo] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Rebriffer 95+ 80 90 95 90 Quasar 84+ 76 81 90 87 CCerberus 72+ 80 90 91 94 Peraphon 72+ -- -- -- 87 JuiCe 72= 70 70 -- 65 MING 70= 80 50 75 60 Raul 65= 70 75 30 65 Mansooj 54= -- -- 65 50 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ In the past, I've sampled a few of Airon's 4-channel modules and found them, on average, to be fairly good. I expected something more from a multi-channel attempt, but got very little of anything interesting out of this one. The major drawback here is the use of a completely idiotic sounding voice sample which sounds so out of place, both in tone and quality, that it really just ruined every part it infested...and unfortunately, that was a good number of patterns in this short 21 pattern tune. The background music was, in parts, nice, with pleasant organs and simple percussion, however, the whole module seemed to be nothing more than background. I couldn't detect any significant resemblance to a song, per se, which left me wondering what was being offered by this piece. Especially since the opening few patterns were actually fairly interesting...until that silly voice sample stumbled in. At the end there is a brief Twilight Zone theme clip which, to me, seemed an appropriately subtle reflection on this module. My recommendation is to look elsewhere for other titles by Airon and leave this one to the vagaries of history. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a unique-sounding, upbeat tune. There's a lot of good composition here, and the riff is fairly catchy. Another thing that I found particularly appealing was the intelligent use of one of the vocal samples--Airon actually tuned the sample and changed its pitch ACCURATELY during the song, to make it really enhance the music. All too often, people use vocal samples in a very sloppy way which degrades the music. Happily, that wasn't the case here. My only complaint is that the tune is fairly short. It was composed in only 6 hours (according to the sampletexts) in preparation for Symposium 96, which, to some extent, may account for the length. However, I still think the song suffers because of that. It could be extended and expanded musically to be really cool. As it stands, it's just "pretty good." /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ First, an intro sounding like the start of some glamour-disco song, and then a slide over into something completely different. Dunk-ee-dunk-ee, Eeeheeeheyy, some jolly piano and a lead in with almost military steadiness. It's like Airon thought "This one is going to be happy, goddammit!" and still succeeded in avoiding the ordinary Elwood formula, the stereotype of merry demo-dance. The melodies are catchy, fun, and jolly over the edge of normality, but the song itself is not as bland in arrangements as most...more like a hammer: you sure feel when it hits you. The only difference is that it doesn't hurt...not a bit. Technically, it could be more polished, but maybe it shouldn't be, since it then may lose its power. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Raul ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The first thing you notice when listening to this dance tune is the typical, nearly unintelligible, voice sample that some people may find to their liking, but which I don't. As you listen, it becomes obvious that the composer really likes one particular pattern. Out of 60+ patterns, 50 or so are either duplicates or virtually the same, with little noticeable variation; and maybe 20 of those could only be considered different if you consider a bpm change to be a difference. Although this pattern and its close cousins are good, if you have another 10 or 15 truly different patterns to use...why not use them? If you happen to like disco-style music you may like this one, but if not, this tune isn't going to change your opinion. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ At the beginning, this song sounds very much like secret agent music. From there, it turns into a happy dance track that sounds pretty good. Throughout, this song is very smooth and melodic, and always maintains a very upbeat drum beat. There are a couple of very interesting speech samples in this module, which add a measure of "realness" to the song. The samples are generally of a very high standard, and it's obvious from the resulting high quality of the song. The happy upbeat attitude shows throughout, and it certainly makes this one worth a listen! /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module has an alluring appeal in its basic melody. Although that basic melody changes little, there's sufficient variation in the patterns to keep the module interesting. The deficiencies of its simplistic "hey hey hey" vocals are overcome by the strength of the basic composition and the clarity of the samples. This module proves that extensive pattern variation doesn't make a great module and basing a song on a single strong melody doesn't make a bad module. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ JuiCe ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A song that combines a dance-ish sound (stomping beat and synthy noises) with a demostyle composition and melodies. Although this sort of combination isn't something that would seem like a good idea to me, it turned out for the better. The melodies and composition are nice, and there's even a nice vocal sample thrown in for good measure, but it would be even nicer with a standard demostyle arrangement and samples. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ AiRoN's been a fave of mine for years, so I looked forward to reviewing this a lot more than Christmas. As usual, Airon's not one to disappoint. The experience shines through in the strength of the tune, the coding and the samples themselves. Although the track was actually released mid-1996, I hadn't heard it up 'til now. Top job, download immediately. -----================================================================----- "March 28th" by Klaws (5ch S3M, 04:17) (c20-328.zip [8K/23K]) [Chip] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== CCerberus 85= 94 94 89 40 Peraphon 76= -- -- -- -- Quasar 61- 41 66 87 66 Tusk 57+ 52 66 30 70 Red Death 50= -- -- 70 15 Mansooj 36+ -- -- 24 -- Raul 35+ 27 50 45 50 MING 20- 40 10 40 4 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I love chiptunes! I hate this one! Now, to qualify, I have tons on tons of chiptunes, most of which I've listened to and I've found there to be a wide gulf between good ones and bad ones. I also happen to think that people underestimate the difficulty in creating good, really catchy, chiptunes because the composer cannot rely on sample quality to bail out a mediocre tracking job. Such is the case here...we have the usual chip samples, which alone, sound like crap--that is, this is the case with all chip samples (referring to my inference in the last paragraph)...and Klaws' mediocre tracking job doesn't get hidden by anything. In fact, once again as per my inference above, the generally weak chip samples end up accentuating the negative aspects of the tracking. There is only one bright spot in this chiptune during a stint around a minute and a half in (lasting some scant 30 seconds or less), where some rather nice chip-synth work is done, however, it's so brief, and so heavily overshadowed on both sides by nearly unlistenable major parts that its effective contribution towards helping the overall presentation brings to mind a drop in a bucket. At the tail end there's a highly questionable tempo slogging deal. Was this just to extend the agony that much longer? Sorry, for some reason this really irks me. Perhaps it's because the vast majority of good chiptunes are, unfortunately, notoriously short (less than 1 minute), and this one is over 4 times as long and 10 times worse. In fact, the whole ending was excruciatingly empty and dirge-like, finally reminding me of some of the worst examples of game music from the early Amiga and earlier C64 days. This gets two thumbs down for just being plain bad, and two more thumbs down (I borrowed some) for likely being the only chiptune the WMR will ever review and being such a poor example of an otherwise appealing genre. Also on this note, Klaws, why did you submit a chiptune, of all things, for review? Why not one of the other non-chip modules you alluded to having done in your sampletexts? Despite the harshness of this review, I have a suspicion that you can do significantly better. I suggest readers try some chips by 4mat, Mel O'Dee, Hobbes, Some1, Prime, Baroque, XTD, Lizardking, TDK and Pink for examples of stuff on the good side of the gulf, instead of letting this offering influence you too much; especially if, before this one, you were a chiptune virgin. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Wow. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of chip tunes, but this is a really outstanding piece. Much of the orchestration in this song is FLAT OUT BRILLIANT. Honestly, if this is an example of Klaws' skill at composition, then I hope he has written, or will write, some full-scale orchestral modules, because this man has talent. Ah, but even a song as good as this will not escape without some complaints! The first 7 patterns or so (a minor portion of the song) are terrible. The texture is lousy, and the drum track is weak to say the least. It sounds almost more like a record skipping than a song playing...Klaws, can't the song do without this initial portion?!?! Also, there's an annoying portion near the end of the song where it slows down to a ludicrously drawn-out pace, then speeds back up. While this technique can be effective, I think it was taken a little bit too far in this case. Perhaps if the song didn't slow down QUITE so much it would sound a lot better. These two complaints aside, though, I loved this! I'm keeping it in my library of S3Ms. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Raul ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This chiptune doesn't make much sense to me. There are a lot of different parts that don't seem to fit together very well. From pattern 1 to 6 there's only a bad snare+hihat+bassdrum track with a very weak simple sinus melody. Then, from pattern 9 to 15, the best part of the tune comes up, complete with a good use of arpeggios. Afterward, from patterns 16 to 18, a very forced sinus double channel melody is used, with poor use of porta-to-nota effects. At one point, the tempo slows down a LOT--I didn't care much for this. I think this effect is nice for most of the way, but it eventually crosses the line into being just flat out too slow. Inevitably, the tempo picks up again, and this part is done much better. The chip samples aren't very good, though I know it's very difficult to find good percussion samples smaller than 1k. It may have been a fair compromise to use percussion samples a bit longer than usual chip samples, in order to achieve a better sound. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ It's hardly fair to include tunes that belong in the 20 minute chiptune compo with the general body of mods. I wasn't sure what kind of song this was when I first started listening to it, but after I recognized the chiptune-type samples, I looked at the file size and *then* knew that was the reason the samples were so cheesy and low-quality. The song sounds like something I'd expect out of an old C-64 game, style-wise. The beginning is kind of out of rhythm, although on the third listen it sounds less wrong (I have not justification as to why that is). Given the limited sample set, the tune isn't all that intricate, but one part with a really low speed (34/125) is a pretty big change from the normal chiptune. It's not a bad chiptune for a chiptune compo, but judged against most mods, it can't stand up. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Hmmm, a chip tune...I've always been very much "on the fence" with chip tunes, as they sound more like C-64 game music than anything else. This one is no exception, although there are some nice melodies created when a synth sample is used in more than just one channel, most notably after order 0Dh. When the synth is used in only one channel, it sounds a bit harsh. An interesting sound is created with arpeggio on that synth, which helps keep it from becoming too annoying after a while, but the drums and cymbals lose their novelty value after awhile; but I think that's to be expected anyway. Overall, it's a very good song taking into account the limits imposed by the samples and the number of channels, but I think chip tunes are an acquired taste. Good value for only a 23k song. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module certainly falls into a misunderstood genre. Consequently, I fail to understand it. It's extremely difficult to determine a principal melody. Instead, the listener is confronted with a cacophony which can only generously be called music. Several of the samples remind me of the piercing tones that used to come out of my old 8088's speaker. I disagree with the composition, and I find the samples to be well beneath my expectations. The composer was obviously trying to communicate something with this work, but after listening to it several times, I can't figure out what that is. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A chiptune. A real, real, real chiptune. Complete with arpeggio and lousy samples. When this first began, I nearly reversed my dinner. On a second try, though, some good qualities actually popped up. The melodies are always correct and workmanlike, and I occasionally found myself wishing I had made this or that cool theme, and that I then could develop certain melodies into multichannel synth-pop stuff. Anyway, this is one of the few times I have really felt that bad technical aspects ended up killing a whole song, a song that otherwise could have been at least enjoyable, if not great. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Tusk ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a chiptune so the samples are, of course, small, but they are also nice. The only thing I didn't really like was that the song slows down too quickly for my tastes in the last 5 patterns. Maybe Klaws was missing some inspiration because the song is short and sounds like a lot of other chiptunes. By the way, to me, it sounds a lot better in CP than ScreamTracker. -----================================================================----- "Monster in the Closet" by CyberCerberus (5ch S3M, 03:47) (closet.zip [354K/519K]) [Metal/Thrash] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Peraphon 88+ -- -- -- 80 Balistic 80+ 90 80 87 70 Rebriffer 80+ 75 75 80 70 Raul 73= 75 70 80 75 Mansooj 65+ -- -- 60 70 MING 58+ 45 65 70 75 Betrayer 50+ 50 30 60 50 JuiCe 42= 60 50 -- 25 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'm rather glad to see some more heavy metal and thrash modules being released, although I have to admit I've been lazy in actually listening to the ones I've collected. It's a difficult genre due to the nearly absolute requirement of good guitar samples, but it gets done impressively now and then. Monster in the Closet was a valid attempt, but it failed to impress me to any large degree. I think you could say CC was going for the paranoia-of-heavy-guitars angle which at least illustrates that he did one thing many composers don't do: he laid down a theme and went with it, rather than just rambling along aimlessly. There's a weird bell-tone sequence a la Halloween that serves as the first intro thread, and even a clever bit where someone is (presumably) hiding in a closet, breathing heavily, while we hear some knocking on the door (pounding and the sound of wood stressing/creaking/cracking may have dredged up more ominous imagery, though). Most of the drumwork was suitably intense and well done, although in one pattern (8) it sounded like the bass beat was out of sync with the powerchords; and then later, the powerchords seemed out of sync with the rest of the rhythm that came in. Fortunately, this lasts only through a couple of patterns, so no major harm done. As with most thrash/metal style modules, there's the usual questionable guitar samples that seem slightly sour and unrealistic (listen mainly at around patterns 15-19 and near the end as a second main guitar sample overlays the underlying powerchords). Although I tend to accept this sort of thing, I still don't dismiss it. I'm sure there are ways of overcoming it, but that'll have to be handled by the composers instead of me. There was one sample that was corrupt, or not properly handled by my Amiga replayers. That being the vibraslap. Since this was not heavily used, I didn't allow it to influence me one way or another. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Betrayer ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This metal tune starts off with approximately 20 seconds of spooky effects, such as synths, drums and bells tolling. When the guitars enter, they are played with a very odd, but cool, pattern. Not "in time" in the beginning, but it catches up to the usual 8th notes after a short while. The song develops into being based on the common backbeat style popular in metal, and it suits this song...as do the varied breaks of this method. Also evident, and well-used, is variety; something that is important in mods. By way of example, most of the song positions are different, which keeps you interested in finding out "what comes next." And there are also some vocal contributions which add to the "interest" department. However, the technical aspects aren't that amazing, consisting of some retriggering (which the composer didn't handle too well) and some slides. Bells chiming over the entire song were nice, making it spooky (which obviously was the purpose), although I would suggest a little better overall "flow" to the music is needed. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Balistic ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Let me start off by saying that CCerberus is one of the absolute best trackers of metal and rock on the Internet...while this module is certainly quite good, I don't feel that it's representative of his usual high-calibre work. The composition is there, but as is the case with a lot of metal, the samples just don't work as well as they could. The speech samples are fairly dated, and at times are a little overpowering. That said, once the guitars and drums get going, this is a very good headbanger. The melody is classic CyberCerberus and the drum work is terrific. I believe this song is the last that CC will release in S3M format, as he is stepping up to Impulse Tracker 2.10. I've heard some of his preliminary work with the IT format and all I can say is "WATCH OUT!" His ITs are some of the best I've ever heard...let's hope he shares some with us.... /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I have to admit that the beginning was rather dubious, but all faith was restored as soon as the metal began pumping. While I wasn't too fond of the weird intro, the remaining metal won me over. Once it gets going, this song is excellent. I believe this song does illustrate the feelings that many of us have had as children about the evil monsters lurking in the darkness, waiting to tear us limb from limb. The samples are of a very high quality, especially the guitars. The way in which the guitar is used in this song kind of reminds me of Iron Maiden as they were about 14-15 years ago...I'm not exactly sure why. In any case, I think it's a great metal song that never gets boring. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Raul ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'm not much of a fan of this style, but this one isn't bad even to me. It has good structure, with a nice intro part that's well connected to the main body of the song. The percussion is very good for this style, and the guitars are typical of what you would expect. All of the instruments seem well sampled and well chosen. I think I recognized some of them as coming out of a couple of tunes by Aahz the Demon (or ones very similar to them). Those two tunes, by the way, are Wake Up Dead and The Glasswalker which I suggest you grab if you like this one (in my opinion, they are both better than Monster in the Closet). --- References --- The Glasswalker by Aahz the Demon ([download]) Wake Up Dead by Aahz the Demon ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Yelp! It's coming atcha! This starts with a creepy, classical theme with appropriate effects and drums, then it slides over into boring, but quite realistic sounding metal. The main part of this song is a bunch of massive, musically ill-fitting chords and impressive drumwork. The composition may be bland, but the song has a lot of energy and a style that appeals, at least to me...classic, massive metal. There were voices used in the middle which were kind of goofy, and the overall result of listening to this song is not that I've encountered any monster. It may be massive, but never dangerous. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Yeaaaahhhh, rock that sucker!!! A very good sounding heavy rock track that actually manages to sound *heavy*. A great kick sound signals the ensuing onslaught and once the guitar starts up, all is lost. :-) My only quibble about the track was that I thought it could have done with a little more in the way of melody, with less reliance on the guitars and drums to drive the message home, though that small flaw shouldn't deter anyone from downloading this l'il ol' beauty. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ JuiCe ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The beginning of this tune made me go "What tha #$%^?!?!" Then the drumtrack built up, and the guitar riff kicked in, making what could be a nice metal song, but the guitar samples are soooo poor, it seems a wasted effort. It's really a shame because the riffs are pretty well composed and they could have built up an excellent song, overall, if the guitar samples weren't so bad. -----================================================================----- "Deus ex Machina" by CyberCerberus (16ch S3M, 07:37) (machina.zip [416K/553K]) [Metal/Orchestral] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Balistic 95+ 90 85 92 80 Quasar 91+ 85 88 95 95 Rebriffer 90+ 90 80 85 75 Peraphon 90+ -- -- -- 85 Raul 77= 80 75 78 70 FrizFry 76+ 80 77 90 55 Mansooj 74+ -- -- 85 75 MING 67+ 70 60 75 70 Shrift 65= 60 25 60 55 Red Death 27+ -- -- 5 -- /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ NOTE ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module may crash the Amiga replayer HippoPlayer v2.30. It also fails under APlayer v2.2 (loads, but is garbled). Use DeliTracker and the v1.30+ S3M replayer, although this still leaves many of the samples noisy. ---------------========[ NOTE ]========---------------- /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The early opening consists of a repetitive bass strum sample (which seemed to harbor a lot of hum), and a simple contrasting synth line: this wasn't what I'd call a wonderful opening, but at least it worked its way into more interesting terrain without beating around the bush for too long. Once there were a few more sounds around, things started coming together, namely: there was a bit of cleverly arranged drumwork at this point, and a blending of heavy guitar chords and synths which was done well despite their normally contradictory natures. One-third of the way through, a segue drops into a plucks and dramatic synth procession-style orchestral bit, which I really liked, although I think the cymbal crashes were a wee bit overdone. In fact, most of the segues were pretty good considering the differences in the styles being merged. However, a breakdown a minute later, where a lonely little tom/bongo sample assumes the job of the lead-in to the first metal segment, sounded just plain goofy to me--that bongo had an almost kid's toy type sound which just seemed inappropriate. I suppose there was some point in choosing that stark, odd sound, but I confess it was certainly lost on me. At this point, most of the energy of the module comes in primarily on the backs of powerchords. Unfortunately, a number of rather sourish notes were included, which again, may have been intentional, but are detractions for me. A bit later, the high-pitched synths return amidst heavy pseudo-industrial style percussion. Those synths seemed weak and flimsy this time because the pounding drums and heavy guitar chords seemed to dwarf them. The earlier use of those synths was more effective because the surrounding material was well-balanced to them. Although, in an overall sense, I wasn't awestruck by this tune, I did like the attempt at blending two widely divergent styles, and I think it was done creditably. I wouldn't mind hearing more such attempts in the future, but personally, I really only liked a small amount of the metal and a majority of the orchestrals, which I think only reflects my general tastes in modules rather than real-world music, since I actually like both equally well. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The beginning, a mix of repeating bass loop and synths. Immediate problem: the bass loop has to go, and the chosen string samples aren't quite in tune. Some non-Future Crew ripped samples have to be added, as much of what's here is essentially good Future Crew samples, poorly used. This song seems like a bad imitation of all kinds of Future Crew tunes rolled into one that needs quite a bit of tuning. This song has very little flow; it seems to jump from one part to another. The song tries to go from orchestral to heavy-metal guitar, and it just doesn't fit well. One part a little over halfway through, is an okay attempt at metal-rock, but it's not worth waiting through 4:30 of bad orchestral stuff. Actually, as I listen again, I don't think it's worth waiting for at all. I can, in almost all situations, tell what this song is *trying* to be, but it's never that well done. It's not outright horrible to listen to, but it *isn't* good, and considering it aspires to greatness, that makes it all the worse. Mod4win claims the song is 20:35 long; either it's a M4W bug that has the last pattern at speed 153/32, or the tracker was out of his mind. [It's apparently a bug since the playtime is less than 8 minutes. -Boris] /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ FrizFry ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song starts out in a very synthy, orchestral vein, then builds into a modest beat, after which some distortion guitar is added, and then it reverts back to orchestral. It's not done then...oh no, it then kicks in with the guitars again in a rather speedy THRASH segment, and then reverts back to synth/guitar mixtures. As you can, I'm sure, tell, this tune is rather DIFFERENT...and I like it. The tracking is rather well laid out, with a lot of changes...no boring tune here. A lot of effects are used (though none TOO noticeable). Overall, this is a decently tracked tune. I do, however, have a complaint or two. First off, the quality of some of the samples is not great. Mostly the synth samples sound too Casio-like, and are lacking in depth. Second is the annoying hihat sample. While the sample itself is not that bad, it's mixed too loudly and it dominates portions of the song. Overall, I would have to recommend this song to anyone who likes a tune with an edge. The combination of the orchestral/synth/pop/metal actually works rather well. Check it out. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The strength of this module is its excellent base melody around which most of the module is centered. A number of breakdowns in the module add enough spice to keep the listener attentive. A brief interlude in a vaguely oriental style surprised me, but fit well into the composition. There were a few technical errors such as cut-off notes and rough transitions, but the module is mostly superb. The only thing that I question is the intense metal interlude and (superbly composed and technically flawless) drum solo. I'm not sure if it fits into the overall feel, but the composer seamlessly wove it into the flow of the music. A major technical error exists in the last pattern, producing 12 minutes of silence before the module actually ends, but it's the only shadow on an otherwise technically superb module [and considering that's a replayer bug.... -Boris]. Incidentally, unlike the theatrical ploy after which this composition is named, God did not need to intervene to bring this module to a climax--the composer did that just fine. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Using this song and Monster in the Closet (also by CyberCerberus), as a basis, a common modus operandi seems to be the use of a slightly softer style which then leads to some full-on metal. The progression to the full-on metal seems to take a little while longer, as this song alternates from metal to a softer pizzicato + orchestra Skaven-esque style that reminds me of the symphony from Unreal. Once the full-on metal starts, it becomes orchestral metal for some of the way. This is something that I haven't heard before, and I was most impressed by the sound created. Throughout the entire song, both the bass and the drums are very predominant...it's just as well they sound so good. The individual samples used are of an excellent standard, which is evident in the song sounding as good as it does. Overall, I'd say that if this song was an experiment, then the experiment turned out very well. I'd call this song a class act, although I had to listen to it a few times to get a full appreciation. --- References --- Monster in the Closet by CyberCerberus ([download]/[reviews]) Symphony by Skaven ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Although this didn't overwhelm me, there were a few places where, in spite of myself, I got caught up in all the heavy guitars. This piece makes no use of the effects tables provided by Scream Tracker, but certainly doesn't drown as a result. I definitely think this piece could be refined with such calibrating. The simplistic chord and melody structuring doesn't strike me as inspired, but the overall effort seems passionate enough. There are a couple places where I had no clue where the song was going, though, as with the brief tom-drum intermission after the startling attempt at full orchestra, but it pulls itself back together very nicely at the end, completing the song. Overall, a worthy attempt at a wide range of structural influences (including minimalist-hardcore, and full orchestral). /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The second track from CyberCerberus, Masochist of the Universe, for the WMR's first and only Nepotism Week. Honest, fancy laying yerself open for this kind of treatment twice! I had actually heard this a while ago and quite liked it. A lot moodier than Monster in the Closet, this is a very anthemic track in the grand ol' MOD tradition and, as such, is a rip-snorter of a track, very inventive, with some absolutely peachy segues. Those still perfecting the art of MOD composing would do well to look at this composer's tracks to see how it's done. Killer kick sound, once again. No fluke there, then. --- References --- Monster in the Closet by CyberCerberus ([download]/[reviews]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Raul ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This one may be divided into two different parts, both with the same arrangement. Each starts with a heavy part which then moves into a more orchestral part, with the first part being more orchestral and the second being heavier, overall. The tune is well tracked, though there are some patterns that don't sound very good to me. I think this is because the marcato string doesn't fit well with the other samles (which are themselves fine). Of special note is an interesting drum solo sequence at pattern 20h which shows off good stereo effects. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Loud song...loud, loud song. CC makes metal, and this is metal. But since the guy is here in modland, everything, unless handled very skillfully, inherits a touch of plasticity...and so it is with this module. Some parts are only averagely mixed and the harmonics are not always totally correct, but those are minor things to consider. Mainly this is massive, loud, and well produced symphonic metal with some interesting oddities. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Balistic ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is one of CCerberus' first and finest songs. It was written a while ago, so the samples are a bit stale, but the orchestral composition really makes this a moving piece once it gets going. Homicidal kamikaze death drums near the end are SUPERB and make the song explode with emotion. I think CC should remix this in Impulse Tracker and have some fun with the effects to polish it off and make it sound current. -----================================================================----- "Not With Words" by MING of DiSC (16ch IT, 04:54) (mi-nowrd.zip [225K/349K]) [Fantasy] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Quasar 96+ 95 95 99 95 Peraphon 72+ -- -- -- 80 CCerberus 70+ 73 70 73 72 Mansooj 70= -- -- 75 60 Raul 57+ 53 60 45 65 Araneus 46= 74 -- 77 73 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A rather nicely arranged module with a very floaty, carefree attitude. It has a pleasant character, but the main problem is that there is very little variety throughout, despite the presence of two or three breaks. Those breaks serve more as quick breathers before continuing the marathon along a straight road. As with many modules, I tend to like the general sound, but not the overall presentation. There is, however, a fair amount of variety on the small scale, but it isn't quite enough to stave off all hints of repetition. About a minute and a half shy of the finale, there was a more defined break which I thought was much needed by that point, but unfortunately, it led right back into the same basic line. One other nit to pick is that I noticed that most of the song had a kind of vague or mushy sound to it. There were a few main line samples (mostly synths) that seemed to steal the individuality of mid- and background samples. Those secondary samples were what gave it the small scale variety, and which could have helped things out significantly if they had been featured more prominently. I'm somewhat ambivalent with regard to a recommendation. On the one thumb (the one pointing up), it has a nice upbeat sound that moves briskly and is nicely composed, but on the other thumb (the one telling the gladiator to skewer his downed opponent), there's just too much of a potentially good thing. So, my inverted reflection and I, must cast a split vote on this one, the end result being something of a push, but we still agree that the piece is a good one, with a few flaws, but one that remains worthy of consideration. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Interesting. A very whooshy sound. This combines some of the sounds of 80's electronic music with more familiar demo-scene sounds. Perhaps the best way for me to describe this song to you is not with words (pun intended), but rather with an image: imagine a robot sitting at the seaside watching the sun go down, and dreaming happily of his love and how happy she makes him. I know that sounds weird, but if you listen to this song, I think you'll see what I mean. :) I have only a couple of complaints/suggestions for improvement: There was a lot of variety, but I feel that there could have been more. At some points, the song started to lose me because it just wasn't changing enough to hold my interest. Also, though panning was used just a LITTLE bit (to offset the channels from the exact center), I feel it could have been used a lot more, to great effect. Don't forget, people, Impulse Tracker supports a surround-sound panning setting! /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Araneus ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ There is something about this fast-paced tune that doesn't agree with me. It isn't that the chord progression is bad--just that it doesn't really have much of a life-cycle to it. The same few non-interesting chord changes and a decent melody to accompany it remind me of the types of music one might hear in some cartoons or video games at a moment of suspense. The whole thing, I'm sorry to say, seems to drag on and on, because of its general homogenous sound. Yes, there is variation, but still, it plays upon the same type of chord progression enough that I personally find it annoying. This song generally isn't the type of music that I would listen to as a first choice, as it doesn't excite me, nor stir up any intimate feelings inside of me. I do make awards for being able to work with such a unique brand of music, and having a good assortment of instruments to keep the song from getting unbearable. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I knew within seconds that I was going to love this module. The full, rich sound and fast paced action makes this a 5 star module in my collection. In fact, I believe this will always be one of the top modules I'll have reviewed for the WMR. The samples are excellent, the composition original and superb, and there isn't a single technical error. The module flows smoothly and actively engages the listener in its vigorous pace. It should be noted that I usually hate having to shell to DOS to play ITs, so my praise is bountiful indeed. MING, you've outdone yourself, I don't think anyone could have done better! Download this module NOW, you won't regret it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The first thing that came to mind once this song ended is that this module achieves something that not too many do these days: it gives more than 1 minute of playing time per 100k of file size. As for the song itself, I think it's pretty good. It sounds to me as if the background is encroaching on the foreground a little, which makes the song sound a little cluttered. The samples are basically of a high quality, but there is some slight ringing and crackling present. For the most part, within the context of the song, this noise is hidden, but it does definitely come through at some points. Regardless, I think this one is definitely worth a listen. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Raul ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The first few patterns remind me of another tune whose name I forget at the moment. Maybe the remix by Scirocco of Purple Motion's music from Second Reality. This is one of those tunes that begins with 2 or 3 channels and slowly builds itself up, channel by channel. After a while, problems crop up because of this. With so many samples going at once, it not only gets confusing, but the main theme is often obscured. This is especially noticeable near the end. I think, with a bit of work balancing sample volumes, this problem could be fixed. I also think a little more variation would have gone a long way in making this a better tune. -----================================================================----- "Infinite Red Shift" by JuiCe of Phase Distortion (4ch MOD, 07:33) (phd_infi.zip [269K/503K]) [Ambient] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Rebriffer 85+ 80 75 80 75 Quasar 83+ 80 80 85 90 Mansooj 81+ -- -- 83 85 CCerberus 77+ 76 72 70 78 MING 76= 70 75 78 80 Peraphon 75= -- -- -- 75 Shrift 60+ 60 65 60 70 Raul 57= 60 45 75 70 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ After a minute and a half of soft female voice synths, this ambient song takes off with the rather unusual choice of a bongo-led percussion track. Unusual, but so effective and original. Most of this piece's base, other than the percussion, is composed of fat, twisting synths and some light background synth-strings. What impresses me about this whole arrangement is that JuiCe isn't hiding behind a wall of samples or a mountain of channels, nor does he need to. His minimalist approach is self-sufficient because of the beautifully haunting, simple, yet emotional melodies that carry throughout. This music does a very good job of fulfilling the idea of the title. It's very easy to imagine yourself whizzing along through space, Doppler an arm's-length to one side. To paraphrase JuiCe's sampletexts, "imagine yourself leaving this planet for the cosmos, taking one last look at Earth as it blurs out into the infinite red shift." This serves well to set the mood. As I've said in other reviews on ambient modules, it wasn't long ago that I heard my first module of this type, and I've been a big fan ever since. And, you may have also noticed generally in other reviews, I am a big proponent of note density. Well, I have to say that the idea of minimalist ambient tends to fly in the face of that preference, but I won't even bother to figure out why two diametrically opposed ideologies harmonize rather than conflict. One fact that still exists here, as with most other ambient, is notable repetition. This is yet another thing that tends to draw the corners of my mouth downward, however, with ambient I take a different stance because I think I understand the point of the style. In this case what is repetitious is so nicely done, it becomes a matter of not wanting it to stop rather than watching the pattern-ticker climb slowly to the last pattern. As I think about it, perhaps I'm overstating something that isn't technically true. There are 60 patterns and 71 positions in the playlist, and although the variances between patterns are essentially small, they're still effective enough. I have to say JuiCe surprised me. At some point in the past I had browsed a release list from several members of Phase Distortion, and remembered distinctly that most (if not all) of the titles under his name were combinations of hardcore, acid, triphop, etc. So I was a little reluctant to bother downloading any of his stuff because I'm not a major fan of any of those styles. This piece may be a severe departure for JuiCe, but I have to beg for more of this. I'm a bit more interested now in checking out all of his other stuff, simply because I can see, in this one, that he has a flair for a certain musical texture that I like. Do I need to state my recommendation? Perhaps. If you don't need to be thrown back in your seat or have to hear something that drags you out to the dancefloor, then give this a shot. People into new age, ambient, sweet melodies or minimalist musical art should grab this one soon. For me, this one goes on a tape so I can enjoy it while my computer is snoring. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A lovely, wide open mix highlights a couple of synth voices for a few bars before a bass crashes in with a lot of style. Ah ah! The ears respond with a perkiness unusual for them, and I begin to ask myself if I've come across another favourite for the hernia inducing Rebriffer collection. Here, 'ol jaded buddies, is a 4 channel track that really displays what can be achieved with so little. Reading from the sample notes, this should be yer obligatory space yawn, but Juice has the juice to avoid such embarrassment. The beauty of the intro only serves to set you up for the sheer brilliance of the track itself. What really makes this track work is the placing and sequencing of the samples, because I can't see a whole lot of coding going on. Lazy just isn't the word for this track, the rhythm oozes out of your speakers and dribbles right in your ear. This is a great 4 track track and no mistake. An atmosphere you could cut with a knife, a rhythm that you could set your watch by, and an agile musical mind to guide it all to its logical conclusion. My only quibbles with this were the inevitable ones; that of the 4 channel format and some kinda lame passages. Folks, this would have taken no prisoners as a multi channel mod and still could if Juice could bestir himself to arrange it. In the meantime, this will more than satisfy. A truly good musical experience. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This piece is very nicely arranged, complete with a fluidity of progression that's quite smooth (albeit very minimal). Unfortunately, it takes the song about halfway through before it gets to what I consider the main theme, which means about three and a half minutes of intro. The samples and chord progression throughout that "intro" are nice, simple, and soothingly original, but there's no melody there. When the melody finally does kick in, it stays for the remainder of the song (another three and a half odd minutes). Although I do understand this could be considered both functional of the style and mood of the piece, I think that's a cop-out to completing an otherwise rolling and moving sound. The melody bored me almost immediately, and it was an annoying anti-climax to the extended-intro buildup. There is a mood and a feel here, though, very nicely constructed out of a self-tweaking synth sample, and several very effective jungle-drum-tracks. Too bad it just doesn't go anywhere. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ My initial reaction to this song is that, although it's classified as "ambient" according to the sampletexts, it seems to me that it's a bit too much on the structured side for ambient music. I'm no expert on ambient, by any stretch of the imagination, but Brian Eno (the father of ambient) said in WIRED magazine that his purpose in creating ambient was to free the sounds and see what happened. I'm not sure that Infinite Red Shift has sounds which are "free" in the sense that Eno was referring to. However, PLEASE don't misinterpret my intentions here! I'm not trying to come down on this song--in fact, I liked it quite a bit! The melody is pleasant, and the groove is one that you can get into. It's just that it seems a little too intrusive to be ambient. I could be wrong. :) Musically, it's quite good, though, and it definitely does have a strong ambient INFLUENCE. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Raul ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ After listening to the first few patterns, I thought it was an ambient tune, but after a minute and 30 seconds it turns a bit funky. The first 16 patterns and the last 3 don't fit too well with the rest, and these are mainly simple chord progressions which I didn't like much because they sounded rather strange at some points. Forgetting the beginning and the end, the rest is not bad if perhaps a little repetitive. I want to remark especially about the melody starting in order 20h and repeated in order 39h, which I think was quite good. I guess the author first tracked this melody, didn't know how to continue the tune and so ended up tracking the strings part, which doesn't really fit with the rest. The samples were good, except for a few which almost sounded like they came from a chip tune--which is bad because this isn't a chip tune. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module seems to embody a few different module styles all in one neat package. It's ambient and spacey in the background for most of the song, and is led by what sounds like an acidy riff, also for the most part. I think this song is a little of an acquired taste, as I had to listen to it a couple of times to appreciate it fully. It's an interesting piece, definitely, and I don't think I've heard ambient done quite this way before. The samples used in this module are of a very good quality, but some are plagued by clicking. This is especially evident at the beginning of the song when there are no other samples playing that can mask the clicks of some. This song is quite good, overall, but I doubt that I will be keeping it for too long, since it's not in one my most favored styles. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The same good old quirk thingumie as always, endlessly repeated. This could be dull, but not in JuiCe's skilled hands. By letting other instruments and themes steal the attention, the normally so annoying wao-wao synth thing is given a role in the background upon which other instruments can build melodies and rhythms. Although a bit long to maintain my full attention for the entire duration, this is a very good and enjoyable example of dreamy, rhythmical, semi-ambient music. There exists a quite semi-strange text too, in the sample list. Something to consider for future spacefarers? :) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A nice spacey/ambient mix which obtains nearly seamless orchestration with only four channels. I was quite impressed with the fullness of sound in this module. The module did seem to spend too long meandering around an introduction before it reached its basic melody, however. The major plusses of this module are the excellent quality of its samples and the smooth composition of the various patterns. This is the kind of module that you can listen to with your eyes closed and your feet up. Definitely one of the smoother modules I've heard in a while. -----================================================================----- "Cacaphonium" by BizKid of Rebel Riffs (16ch XM, 06:49) (rr-phony.zip [344K/577K]) [Progressive Jazz] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Quasar 78+ 72 87 81 66 Shrift 68+ 60 55 65 80 Peraphon 68- -- -- -- 81 JuiCe 65+ 70 70 85 60 MING 60+ 65 40 70 30 Skullsaw 55= 55 50 65 50 JRice 40+ 35 40 60 40 CCerberus 34= 28 85 70 64 Mansooj 33- -- -- -- -- /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is an interesting piece. It seems that the ear of the author is obstructed by his/her skill at tracking. The panning in this piece is quite effective, but there is no other effects use to speak of. In most cases, effects are not directly necessitated, as the instruments themselves do much of what should be done. However, effects and perhaps more familiarity with the medium, would have lent itself much to this song. For example, there are several places where it is apparent that the melody is poorly kept in time with the music. It does this in ways that are awkward, and would be difficult to intentionally justify. To my disadvantage, there is a section of the piece which works somewhat as a bridge which contains a quite obviously assaulting melody quite apart from the others, which would suggest that this discomfort is intentional. I would hope this would not be so, as it feels like a potential abuse of the style's subtlety and refinement. The sample quality is quite startling to me. I will undoubtedly keep the song around if only for this resource. Their use is subtle in many places, and I found myself not recognizing many of the samples when played manually from the sample lists, as they are blended together well in the piece. The theme of this song is stylistically blurred, but contains apsects of pop, jazz and rock. The chorus melody, for example (first heard in order 6) is surprisingly effective in the frame of the song. The reoccuring backdrop of generalized pop-rock rhythm and 80's electric bass rhythm is uninspired, but gives the rest of the cacophony a consistent place to rest, which I suppose, in this context, is necessary. Everything stacked on top of that pop-rock foundation shares little resemblance to it, except so far as it follows somewhat with the general chord structure. The cacophony itself works quite well, though roughly, in many places, where in others, it seems to fail. This song could definitely benefit from more advanced transitional techniques, as the themes are literally dropped between them. There is little melding, and the changes are harsh. A song of this type seems to require a sensitivity in tracking which would be gentle enough to carry the song through its discordant melodic structure. Unfortunately, this is only very basically respresented. To suggest that all my criticisms could be explained by the title, I would say that, in this context, the term would be used more as an excuse for imperfect tracking, than as a sophisticated stylistic appeal. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Let me say first that going in, as this title came up as the next one to review, I was already shaking in my socks (wasn't wearing boots, sorry). And unfortunately, even though I knew what to expect, sort of, I was still inadequately prepared for this unfair assault on my precious little ears. I'm afraid I will never understand on what grounds people can claim this sort of cacophonous (appropriate title, at least) noise can be considered pleasurable to hear...to me it's almost literally nauseating. This is basically a progressive style jazz piece, and as that it's probably quite a good representation. However, unless you have a thing for noises arranged to be just this side of sheer randomness, don't even think about cracking this one's archival shell. On a purely subjective level, I despise this module, and if I weren't a rabid collector, this one would only be a vague, ghostly memory residing on, as yet, un-overwritten disk sectors. Readers please take some words of advice, unless you happen to like dissonant music, stay well away from this one and try out some other Rebel Riffs modules instead. Perhaps I should mention something else--it's obvious that this discordant style was intentional as opposed to just being a side-effect of incompetence, but I would still have to recommend other Rebel Riffs tracks instead. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Oh boy. I really didn't like this one very much at all. Basically, this song is just dissonant sound after dissonant sound, with a repetitious bassline and drum lick in the background. There's lots of variety in the musical foreground, but unfortunately, most of it doesn't sound very good. The unusual thing is that it seems clear that BizKid has a good understanding of the technical side of module-composition. All of the musical techniques were clearly deliberate (such as the aforementioned dissonance), and the use of horns was actually quite clever and convincing. This is, alas, wrecked (at least to my ears) by the unending dissonant "texture," and the sudden appearance of a couple of out-of-place voice samples, both of which were FAR too loud. I believe that the unpleasant texture of this song was primarily intentional on the part of BizKid. I can understand the idea that SOME people might like to listen to this sort of thing. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ JRice ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Cacaphonium seems to be an exploration on the part of BizKid. The nature is definitely experimental, though it could be lumped into the 'fusion' category with only a slight stretch. It's the mix of samples that makes this song unique.... Some spanish horns, a pizzi-string sample, a saxophone and some Eraser samples (from the movie) over an almost acid bass and a typical 'bassdrum, hihat, snare, hihat' rock beat. The basic nature of the beat, as it were, brings the song down as a whole: The leads and accompaniment are lively and energetic, which the BHSH drumline simply does not suit. The horn samples were, perhaps, slightly out of tune (or performed by a less-than tuned band), and were used fairly well, given the difficultly of arranging brass riffs in a module. The bass was nice, though it never changes throughout the entire song. The vocal samples, too, were a bit out of place. The pizzis, however, show a glimmer of talent--with a little echoing and a bit more layering, they could have made for a very nice effect in the song. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ With a title like "Cacaphonium," I was expecting something a lot more "out there." After a brief avante garde intro along the lines of Sun Ra, this mod becomes a lot less strange. A very basic drum beat loops around and around as an extremely basic bassline repeats itself ad nauseam. There are some modern sounding horn parts, a funk guitar loop and some plucked strings that doodle about. I must admit that some parts are quite free and sound improvised, which is a good thing, but overall, not much happens. There are many things that I don't like about this tune. The drum track is very boring and repetitive, some judicious use of fills would have helped here. The overall mix is lacking in balance, very little low end and a lot of midrange. To sum up, there are some decent ideas here, namely the free jazz horns, but the mechanically repetitive drums and bass keep everything tied down and restricted. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A 2 part review: Bad part first: this module contains what must be the lamest choice of samples I've ever witnessed. The more common instrument samples are hollow, numb and boring. All those that I thought BizKid and Rebel Riffs tried to avoid by abandoning MIDI for MOD format a while ago. This song totally lacks dynamics. Maybe just because of RR's MIDI background, who knows. Just one more bad thing: the drums. Say no more. Good part: the composition is actually really nice at times, although it sometimes takes an awfully long time to get where it's going. In fact, I really enjoy the more fullfeatured parts of this tune. Those with the weird horns and numbed guitars. It's original, cool and highly entertaining, but why does Arnie stumble in and erase the neat feeling that was built up halfway through? /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song has a very jazzy, funky feel to it. The intro sounds a little weird, with all sorts of strange sounds leading to a saxophone (which sounded a little off because I think it was playing in too many channels at the same time). There's some nice guitar in the background, and unfortunately, the background is pretty much where it stays. To me, this song does sound like the cacophony the title suggests. The samples used are of a very high quality, and seem to work pretty well with what the composer is trying to achieve. I really liked the use of the Arnie movie sample (from Eraser). Since I am not a major fan of jazzy tunes, this one didn't really catch my attention except for a few minor points. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Okay, the module isn't exactly an unorganized cacophony. In fact, it has a really good bass rhythm around which the module is built. I especially like the use of trumpets, I believe they add a nice touch. The module is well composed, technically superb, and the samples are above average. The use of vocals ripped from Eraser interrupt the flow of an otherwise melodic work. I don't know if this module will survive my next hard drive purge, but it was worth listening to once. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ JuiCe ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song's name describes it very accurately...it definitely isn't like anything you've heard before. Even I think it's a bit TOO weird, and I'm known to listen to some VERY weird music. Nevertheless, it IS a good song if you like to hear something different from time to time. It uses conventional instruments (brass, strings, piano, etc.) in an unconventional way. Oh yeah, there's an Arnie sample in it, too, "Relax, you've been erased." -----================================================================----- "West South-West" by Parallax of The Surrounders (8ch S3M, 03:07) (sr-wests.zip [218K/291K]) [Ballad] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== CCerberus 90+ 92 85 82 85 Quasar 78+ 71 81 76 87 MING 72= 70 55 60 70 Peraphon 71+ -- -- -- 80 Mansooj 58= -- -- 70 75 Raul 55+ 75 70 50 70 Shrift 55= 55 60 45 60 Red Death 50+ -- 30 35 40 /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is fantastic. One curious thing about it that I feel I should mention, though: channel 5 is turned off in the song, but it has notes recorded. I wasn't sure if it was intentional on Parallax' part (I suppose it was), so just to be thorough, I listened to the song with the channel on AND off. To tell you the truth, it sounded about equally good either way. :) Parallax must have a VERY discriminating ear. As a matter of fact, that trait of his comes out in this song. Beautiful string samples interact emotionally with a steady piano riff. Power drums, sounding like they're right off the Top Gun soundtrack, come in a bit later (earlier if you turn channel 5 on! ;)), really adding a lot of kick to the music. This song stands very strongly left as it is, but if I were to suggest an improvement, it would be for more parts to be added...I think that Parallax could expand this melody -greatly- into something of beautful and epic proportions. This song is -definitely- worth your download time. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A slightly housey piano and some nice, soft, melancholy strings provide a slow opening into...a slow song. Virtually the entire personality of the song is outlined within the first minute or so. There is, however, a nice break/change after about 1:20 that twists the overall tone into something a little more interesting, and I was really looking forward to some higher energy and an opening up of the melodies to some more variety, but all that happened was that it eventually ended up climbing back into the original, more dull, style frame. This is one of those modules that sort of balances out. In a way, the more promising passage that led around in a circle, felt like a cop-out. The sort of thing that happens when a composer gets a little inspiration, and then gives up on panning it out to a profitable conclusion. Too bad, because that would have made this song. Instead it ends up as just another middling to mediocre tune with a few more good points than bad. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ After such an attention-grabbing intro, I was waiting for something very special, but unfortunately, it doesn't quite go as well as I would have hoped. The intro has a very strong feel to it, but this strength seemed to be lost by degrees as the song progressed. I really like what's been done with the piano in this song--it sounds great! The song itself sounds kind of ballad-ish with a very pronounced drum line in places. I've been trying to find some link between the song content and the title, but the only one I can find is the "ouest sud-ouest" sample. The samples used in this song are of a high quality, with no glaringly obvious faults. The strings sound like the marcato strings GUS patch, ie. no low-pitched strings such as a cello. All in all, I would say that this is a pretty good song that went a little off-track with regard to the implication built up in the intro. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'm reminded somewhat of Skaven's work by both the samples and style, except Skaven used samples that were a lot cleaner. There's an unusual voice sample used in this song which sounds to reflect the title, but I have no idea how the voice sample fits into this tune other than to do that; I guess that's enough, though. This also reminds me of my own poor tracking attempts--the chords are pretty weak and while they don't sound wrong, aren't really chords in a lot of places. It seems a bit like Parallax wasn't able to manage multiple sounds at once. Some of the samples, particularly the cymbal crash and bass, could be cleaner. That said, this isn't an unpleasant song, but just a very simple one that isn't exceptionally good. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A powerful and quite beautiful piano-strings-drums piece. This is yet another one that shows that it's sometimes much better NOT to make a technically advanced song. Any kind of production (multichannel echoes, synths and softer, more high-quality samples) would have devastated this mod's emotional strength. It would sound less...real. It would be like performing Beck Hansen songs with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, or something like that. It's just not the way to do it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Raul ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This one is average, exhibiting nothing spectacular, and rather unoriginal as well. There are a lot of mods like this, and many are actually much better. Still, the piano melody and percussion are good, but the tempo in the early patterns seemed too slow. I tried setting the tempo to 106% while in Cubic Player, and it turned out better. As for the samples, the pipe drums and strings used herein weren't too good. The pipie drums in particular were not only too loud, they just don't seem to fit in with this style of music in the first place. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A relatively smooth composition with only a few technical flaws. The patterns don't flow seamlessly, but this doesn't detract much from the module's overall presentation. It does sport a very impressive percussion breakdown with excellent drum samples, but with the exception of this brief bit, there isn't too much variation in the basic pattern--it definitely could have used more creatively composed patterns. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I would praise this a lot more highly if patterns 14 and 19 were the main theme of the song. The piano and synth melodies present here are so-so and the tracking and samples are likewise. Nothing stimulating here to speak of, well except for those two patterns, and their very well used bass sample. That's not entirely true either, there's a French voice sample relating the song title that I liked too. -----================================================================----- "Synth Candy" by Strago of NW/Xor (22ch XM, 02:36) (syn_cndy.zip [237K/461K]) [Demo] (SynthPop) Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Quasar 95+ 95 96 95 97 MING 94= 92 90 70 85 JuiCe 91+ 75 80 -- 70 Rebriffer 90+ 90 95 85 80 Peraphon 87+ -- -- -- 88 Raul 84+ 86 82 65 85 Mansooj 81+ -- -- 60 85 Red Death 80+ -- 70 40 65 CCerberus 77+ 82 78 68 72 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Cute, as with most upbeat synthpop tunes...the title alludes to the general feel quite well. Hardcore lovers avert thine ears. This would seem very appropriate in many non-serious demos, and as such qualifies as demo-music. Since I tend to like demo music and synthpop in general, this one essentially falls into a favorable lap. I can't quite claim this to be amongst the best of its basic style, but it is a worthy effort. Strago retained much of the better traditional aspects of such music and created something worth listening to on those merits alone. Due to my expectations of a synthpop tune being essentially fulfilled with this little bit of tuneage, I don't have a great deal to say with regard to composition or originality (those points should be obvious already, anyway, since synthpop is not exactly a rarity in the mod world). In a nutshell, this is quite nice. It is pleasant and easy to listen to, and may be capable of swinging one's mood a bit to the upside. The single complaint has to do with the extremely abrupt ending...very inappropriate in my opinion, primarily on the grounds that it sounds more like an error rather than something designed. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This really is a lovely piece of electro-synthpop. One of the first things that struck me about this piece was how smoothly everything seemed to gel. This isn't exactly a fast piece, although there is a quickish and upbeat percussion track in the background. That percussion is fairly static for the most part, but the composer does make use of some drum/cymbal fills. This song is very "full," that is, there are no parts where there are only a few instruments playing leaving the sound devoid of character, but it's not full to the point of overflowing with notes. The samples are of an excellent standard; they are all very clear, loop points seem to be near perfect, and there seems to be very little white noise crackle or hissing. In all, an excellent song that draws on excellent sound resources and what seems like excellent talent. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is classic synthpop, and possesses all of the upbeat sounds and very good orchestration characteristic of that genre. This is -definitely- a summertime tune. One of the best things about this song is that it has a very professional sound to it, like it was written for a purpose, not just thrown together (reading the sampletexts, one will discover that it in fact WAS written for a purpose, so that explains that. ;)). The primary suggestion for improvement that I could offer for this song is to consider better coverage of the low frequencies. Midrange and treble were covered -superbly-, but the bass was somewhat lacking. I think a good underlying bass thud or perhaps rubberband synth could add a great deal of "roundness" to this tune, and it could make it nearly perfect if done correctly. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Be it the samples or the style (or both), this song immediately strikes me as a Purple Motion or Elwood (who himself copied PM) clone. This is not a bad thing all around; I *do* like PM's work. The lead instrument carries with it a little something different when compared to the FC samples, which is nice. This is certainly a happy, synthy, pop-style tune (as may be guessed from the title). I like this tune very much. The samples are clean, and I can't really hear any flaws in the tracking; all the chords sound right and I like the way the tune flows, and I especially like the fact that it doesn't repeat itself too much. I suspect that any fan of Elwood, Purple Motion's non-techno stuff or Lizardking's Doskpop would enjoy this tune. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a superb module which seems to follow in the spirit of The Never-Ending Story with its upbeat, almost celebratory air. Excellent samples, a rich, diverse composition, and a great basic melody and beat earn this module high ratings. Strago achieves a very rich, very full sound with an impressive orchestration on the 22 channels used. If you would enjoy something that will make your worst day brighter, listen to this module. It's earned a permanent place on my hard drive. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Raul ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This tune starts out very well, and promises to be a very good one, but although it continues on nicely, it didn't quite meet my early expectations. Maybe a little more variation in the main theme would have made it a great tune. The percussion is good and varied, and the samples are well-chosen for this style (I think several of them were looted from modules by Elwood). Bad luck that the author didn't manage to enter it into the Music Contest 4 Rookie competition, because I think it would have made the top 5. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Yes! An airy, light and still massive sound of pure synthpop, carrying a soaring melody. This is technical brilliance that actually works. It doesn't drown the main theme, but carries it forward, upward. It doesn't even fall into the normal trap for synthpop tunes--the compare-to-all-other-demo-pop-mods trap, but has its very own style. I really like this. If anything negative is to be said, I'll have to point out the bland sounding drums, but mostly that it is way too short. More, mooooooore!!! /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ JuiCe ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song's name is very well chosen, because it's synthy and it's sweet. :] The very nice synth sounds play happy (perhaps even a bit cheesy (which is not necessarily a bad thing)) melodies, and the whole thing flows along very smoothly to an electronic beat. A very, VERY good happy, fluffy, synthy, poppy tune. I can't find anything wrong with it. :] /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ When Strago comments about people not liking synthpop, I wouldn't include myself. I'm a fan of the genre, that's what got me into MODs. And this, o patient ones, is a very, very good example of both camps. A soft synth line leads a merry group of blurbers, bleepers and other assorted whizzes and bangs through a surprisingly engaging tune. -----================================================================----- "The Castle" by Wizo (16ch S3M, 02:46) (wi-castl.zip [72K/102K]) [Experimental] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Quasar 82+ 87 87 87 76 Rebriffer 70+ 75 70 66 47 Peraphon 59= -- -- -- 68 CCerberus 56+ 84 70 80 28 Number 6 48= -- -- -- -- Mansooj 44+ -- -- 70 35 Shrift 40+ 35 35 60 50 MING 40= 70 20 70 20 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Eclectic use of repeating piano melodies is startlingly easy if you have an intermediate knowledge of chord structuring, and I've found that what shows skill in writing piano melodies is simple refinement. Minimalism has been popular recently, because anyone can do it, but not everyone can do it well. This song suffers from very poor tracking, and almost non-existent instrument-effect tweaking, which would have detracted from the irregular flow of the theme. There are a few parts, which seem to be the main concepts of the song, that completely set apart from the melodyless bridges and breaks that frame them. Several of them I like, like the pattern-sequences, 14-15-14-19, and 25-26-27. But it's very hard to look past the inconsistency of empty bridges and breaks here that are supposed to hold and link the ideas together smoothly, and don't. I wrote this way for quite a while until I realized why people were so blah about commenting on my music. Sure, they liked the ideas, but the songs weren't really songs. Mechanically, it's much simpler to create brilliant bridges than melodies, but ideas won't fly by themselves no matter how good they are, unless you get good at linking them, or get good at writing ambient music. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a bizarre one alright. Driven basically by a somewhat ethereal piano melody that's too often punctuated by a very out of place drumloop. Eerie synth voices rise and fall throughout adding to the strange air the composer was obviously aiming for. Unfortunately, Wizo bore to the right and shot the dog instead. There were too few tricks included to make it interesting, so it tended to fall flat at just about every point it could have expanded into something special, and because of this, the odd discordant tones seemed more distracting than beneficial. Also, about that drumloop sample, it was rather nicely mangled, leading me to believe it had been corrupted somewhere along the way, rather than it being intentional--music of this nature often makes use of some really strange samples, however, as I said above, it was out of place anyway, so its corruption, in and of itself, is essentially of no consideration. If you happen to like weird horror/halloween flavored music, then you might want to try this one out (maybe get rid of or replace that drumloop), otherwise I feel safe in saying that it'd be a waste of download time. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ There's a strange duality in my feelings about this song. Wizo has employed some interesting piano orchestration to achieve a mystical sound, one which invokes images of forests and forgotten caverns. The song is multifaceted, with many short "movements" of different piano melodies. This is a fairly unusual musical technique in modules, however, they don't really seem to fit together too well. The song lacks structural coherence, despite the pleasant composition evinced in each movement. However, there are some serious problems here. For one, the snare and drum loop samples are TERRIBLE! They really ruin the effect. As best I can tell, they've had their volumes increased to the point that they're clipping uncontrollably. They aren't any LOUDER, but they sound crackly and distorted (as clipped samples tend to). Oh, what a shame to destroy lovely piano music with an overdriven, crappy drum loop! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Number 6 ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'm not sure what type of music the author was going for, but I found the piece largely boring. There seemed to be three distinctly different sections to the piece, but the melody, such that it was, never ranged very far afield from four or five notes, those repeated in seemingly endless combinatorial fashion. I actually thought new territories were about to be charted when the composer switched from the standard 12-tone scale to the pentatonic, but he didn't stay there for long, and soon it was back to home base. The percussion, also such that it was, sounded like a wash rather than any particular beat the composer was attempting, and it mostly got in the way of the solo part. Overall, it sounded like something put together by someone just learning the craft. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Pianos! Pianos everywhere! Raise the drawbridge! Alarm the archers! Heat the pitch! Women and children to safety! No, wait. Nevermind them. Sacrifice them all if needed, save yourselves! Does this sound intense? The song The Castle is the total opposite. There are indeed pianos everywhere but that's about the only similarity. Some kind of medieval, melodic theme, sometimes so complex it just blurs out into nothingness. Everything is incredibly fuzzy sounding, and what could have been great, was barely listenable. There are compositional qualities here, and a lot of originality through the coolness factor, but I simply don't "understand" the song. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I hate resorting to similies, but this song would resemble trying to drive a tractor through a straw. I think this song tries to pack too much in at one time. In places, up to 8 channels will play the same sample and instead of sounding like music, it sounds a little like peak hour traffic. Everything seems to merge, becoming a bit of a mess. In other places, however, this piece sounds very nice. The samples used are of a very decent quality, but I think a couple of them could have stood replacement or filtering. I think this tune could have been a lot better with some judicious editing to eliminate the overkill effect, if nothing else. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The first thing I noticed about this track was the amount of distortion created by the first few bars, something in there definitely doesn't sound right--the main suspect being the drum track, Overall, the dire quality of the samples just didn't do the underlying song any good whatsoever which, judging from what I could hear, may have been a pretty decent track. I don't know whether the composer needs or desires to keep the samples small, but I'd advise redoing the track with better samples if the filesize isn't a problem; *then* it may indeed be well worth hearing. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The, for the most part, almost crystal-clear samples were one of this module's best features. The module has some absolutely terrific piano sequences which singlehandedly make this module a winner. The subtle supporting instruments lend quiet, yet powerful, support to the piano orchestration. One sample, however, is either intentionally distorted or accidentally garbled, detracting somewhat from the beauty of this composition. -----================================================================----- "