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Text File | 1997-10-21 | 78KB | 1,346 lines

WMR (Reviews [week #28]) __ __ __ | \ __ ______/ |_ | | | o \ | | | / o | \ |o | | \| o| |o _/ | o\ []=======| |==| \ |=| |/ | \========[] []=======| |==| \ |=| | |\ \=======[] []=======| |==| \|=| | |=\ \======[] :: | | | \ | | | / / :: :. | | | |\ \| | /| |/ / :: : | | |/\ | \ | |/ | | / : | | / \| |\ | | | | / :. | | / \ | \ | |__| | / .: :: | |/ \| \_| | |/ : :: | /\ | | __| |\ :: []=======| / \ |=| |==| | \==========[] []=======| /| \ |=| |==| | \=========[] []=======| /=| |\ |=| |==| | \========[] |o / | | \ o| |o | | |\ o\(mansooj) |_/ | o | \_| |__/ | o | \__/ |___| |___| (Originally compiled and added on September 29, 1997) (last updated 09.30.97) -----========================================----- -----================================================================----- "Purple of Never" by Shih Tzu (10ch S3M, 03:06) (st-purpl.zip [106K/167K]) [Orchestral] (Heavily Squaresoft Influenced!) "Purple of Never is actually my first module written for pure musical enjoyment. The rest are all impure musical enjo--er no they're not, but just about all my releases so far have been for a local computer game company, and while I have fun tracking those (it's what introduced me to module music in the first place), it's nice to write something just for other people to listen to and comment on. The form is a somewhat simple ABB'CB''A'B''', but I think I was able to get enough out of B (the main melody) that it doesn't grow old. Sorry about the pops in the flute and english horn samples; if I knew how to change them I would, but everything I do to them seems to make it worse." [Shih Tzu] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== MING 93= 99 35 75 95 Nova 86+ 95 85 88 70 Araneus 80+ 74 -- 73 73 Ka'PQat 79= 90 60 60 80 Mansooj 71+ 70 -- 72 76 Emit 70+ 70 80 70 60 Peraphon 62+ -- -- -- 46 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The opening of delicate lute-like harp strumming had me expecting to see young, scantily-clad Greek women come prancing out of my closet at any moment. Although my expectations on that were dashed, I will try my best not to hold it against the composer. Then comes a flute lead.... I'm not a really big fan of ye olde floutist's lip-stick, due to the whiny, sappy nature of the sounds which are too often coaxed forth. In this case, it immediately placed me in an easy-chair in front of an old, beat-up wood cabinet TV playing a bad 60's movie currently focusing on two little kids romping in a sunny meadow, all smiles and giggles, the air filled with motes of pollen and tiny frilled-seeds. Before the WOLF eats 'em! Ahem, 'scuse--a bit of wishful thinking crept in on me. This intro's flute lead has that kind of sickly sweet, color-faded nature that makes my skin crawl. Your mileage may vary, of course. For the most part, this is an airy, light orchestral piece with a balladic edge. The intro, as noted above, is via harp strums and plucks, which later also serves double-duty as that and an interlacing of flute reinvent the intro as the outro. The structure is very simple: reserved intro, mild buildup with harp and flute with a more pleasant flavor more centrally located in the mix, into an orchestral crescendo of cymbals, string-synths, horns and timpani and rather abruptly into the outro. To me, it seems as if the piece got itself motivated but quickly lost that impetus. Upon first listening, I was expecting and hoping for some more exploration during the heightened orchestral part, but instead, the bottom dropped out quite unceremoniously into the harp 'n' flute outro. This left me with a sense that the piece was a bit unfinished, or perhaps unrealized would be more accurate, in light of the fact that its structure gives it a full-circle design. Now, to deservedly soften the image I've most likely given, I will say that what part of the orchestral core that exists is pretty well done. Nice strings arrangement, subtle but forceful timpani, and well-used supporting instruments. My main problem is that I just don't care for the arrangement. This is not to say it's poorly done, it simply doesn't leave me fulfilled. Shih Tzu has the potential to improve dramatically, that much is fairly obvious, and that belief helps bolster what I find to be a creditable albeit rather unspectacular effort. Orchestral modules are said to be difficult to swing, and I'd have to agree that that's true based on personal exposure. Some are done better than others (and the best are, not surprisingly, created by the very upper eschelon of the tracking world; the likes of Skaven, NHP&BKH, etc.), but most true efforts seem to fall into the "close, but no cigar" strata, much the same as with metal modules, oddly enough. PS: Those of you on Amigas, do NOT play this with Hippoplayer v2.37 or earlier. What it does to the lead flute melody is a heinous crime taking what I don't like about the flute lead in the first place to places one can only find in a 1970's sex-ed flick, warped by bad handling and age. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is an enchanting piece of work by Shih Tzu. At the early part of the song I could almost imagine a Bard playing his lute in the courtyard of a palace while another musician was added one by one until soon we had a full-fledged orchestra. While I was listening to Purple of Never I was entranced by the intricate melody that he weaves throughout the tune and after the song was over, I was refreshed and pleased. The piece starts with a sort of lute and flute solo. Quietly, a set of strings slide in and soon become the focus of the song. If the rest of the song was like this, I would be happy. But much to my listening enjoyment, the author was not through yet. He added a deep cello and bass section, a harp, some timpani, cymbals, and a few variations of horns. Bringing all of these instruments to a climax and then fading out with the lute solo was abso'lute'ly (pun intended) beautiful. If I may indulge you a bit with a few comparisons...I may? Good. First, I would like to compare this style of composition to someone else in the orchestral field. I am afraid I am not going to be able to mention another tracker here, but rather I am going to compare Dvorak with Shih Tzu. I know that many of you may be rolling your eyes right now or falling out of your chairs, but I do have a few valid points to compare. First, both Dvorak and Shih Tzu introduce their instruments gently at first and then with growing vigor as the song progresses. And when the song climaxes it does so in the 3rd movement and not the 4th. The 4th movement was reserved for creating an atmosphere of tranquility; which both authors do. I am not saying that Shih Tzu is as good as Dvorak or that I am saying that Dvorak always ends his song with a slow movement...I am merely making a comparison so you, the reader, can turn the words of this review into a conception of what the song may sound like. Okay? So no hard feelings? Good. =) Now for the part that I dread. The part where I have to knock on the song a bit...(deep breath)...okay: There are a few samples that produce some hissing sounds. This is very evident with headphones or using high quality speakers. It is hard to pick up on the speakers that don't have a good range of sound (like the ones they give you when you buy your computer). The way I defeated the hissing noise was using the Noise Reduction feature that is found in the MOD Plug Player. The only other bad thing is that, for some reason, this song reminds me of something that you would find in a King's Quest game by Sierra. This could also be a good thing though. Because if it reminds me of the music used in a commercial game, then it must be high quality, huh? If you are any type of orchestral fan, you need this song in your collection. If you are simply curious, then Purple of Never will not disappoint you. I can almost guarantee that this light, airy tune will delight nearly anyone. --- References --- MOD Plug Player /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Ka'PQat ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song initially puts me in mind of music from King's Quest VI, with its intimate harp in the beginning suggesting one of the quiet scenes where you try to figure out what you should pick up or look at, contemplative music. A soundcard-like flute sound then picks up a warm, sweeping, very familiar-sounding theme like one would hear over a sentimental children's moral storytale. This is predictably but very pleasingly built up with strings (yes, Skaven's, the tracker admits), an oboe/clarinet in duet with the flute, the harp rippling to build the tension, and finally brass and orchestral percussion. After the grand finale, which comes quite quickly, the harp and subdued one-note flute do a modified reprisal of the beginning to bring about a quiet, happily-ever-after denouement. I can find nothing wrong with the composition of this piece, which is very intricate, balanced, and mood-enhancing. Shih Tzu, self-described as a "sucky tracker," seems to be hampered only by not having knowledge of other tracking commands besides volume control, which was used to very good effect. The notes also mention the clicking of the flute, asking for help, for which I would suggest using the one unused track to alternate notes so the flute isn't always cutting itself off. Also, on the held-out notes for both the flute and the oboe/clarinet, vibrato and other judicious pitch-modulating touches are desperately needed for realistic effect. Otherwise, the quick flute passages over strings sound startlingly real. These and the brass also need some tuning, as the orchestral part tends to take on a bit of the air of a high-school band. I don't know if it was a quirk of playing this S3M on FT2, but numerous speed settings were employed to presumably make the harp-playing sound more natural and emotional, but it seemed to end up with more of a halting sound. Generally, I don't tend to go for this sort of mush, but this one was short and sweet and to-the-point, with unique and intricate touches that made it interesting as well, and it gives me high hopes for future efforts of Shih Tzu, after having acquired more tracking skills. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I had a theory once about tracked orchestrals. It went like this: There are obviously a number of categories of tracked classical music, each quite clearly separated. First, we have those that are made by masters in the art of tracking. They have smooth, high quality samples and minute attention devoted to every little dynamical detail. But the music/composition is often on the more bland half of the scale. Still, the music they make is worth the listen. Then there is the little less brilliant (or less fanatic) technicians, but very talented composers, that still makes quite good sounding pieces with quite fantastic compositions. Those are the real masterpieces of the style Classical Mods. And there are the Notescribblers too, the people who put notes in the pattern, and devote their whole energy to that, so when it comes down to samples and track coding, they don't seem to care that their tunes sound like train wrecks more than music, even if the compositions are good enough. And last, there are those that sound like shite, made by people who wouldn't succeed whatever style they attempted. Shih Tzu falls outside every one of those categories. Instead, he makes a, trackingwise, shitty tune, but with damn near perfect samples, and a theme of celestial measures. So much for my theories there.... It just has those sequences of notes (carried by a flute and later some strings) that are so much more than just a melody. It has an aura of sorts, something that makes it radiate with well-being and instantly infects the listener with its comfort and beauty. In its simplicity it just happens to create resonance in the very bones of yours truly. I'm sold. I'm totally sold on this minimalistic little tune, tracked with the delicacy of a rhino riot, with the sensitivity of a bulldozer. But it's tracked with heart, and that is what matters. Innit? /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Emit ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Hey, am I playing King's Quest? Purple of Never is a synth-orchestral (if I may coin a silly term) piece a little over three minutes in length. By synth-orchestral, I mean that the samples are obviously synthetic sounds. I don't count this against the track though: it has many impressive features. To begin with, this track has some interesting coding; Shih Tzu uses speed changes extremely effectively, and also dabbles in esoteric codes like SD(x). Furthermore, this track is completely in mono. I'm not sure this detracts from anything--I imagine stereo panning may have done more harm than good. The progression is very smooth, even though it occurs somewhat unpredictably. The track begins with a harp playing a melody, which is joined by an up-front flute. This then builds with the addition of strings and a horn. This then builds rather dramatically as several more horns join in and low, plodding drum punctuates the beat. This ends abruptly, and the listener is escorted out by the harp and flute, creating a symmetry with the beginning. The samples are all fairly clean, although very synthetic sounding (as I already described). Shih Tzu admits that two of his samples occasionally click, but claims "I'm a sucky tracker" and isn't sure why they do. Such modesty! Even though the samples do click, I can *almost* forgive them. Purple of Never displays some very skillful tracking, which I'm sure presages more tracks in the future by the ever-modest Shih Tzu. Definitely worth the download time, especially if you once played King's Quest for hours on end! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is the kind of relaxing tune you would listen to while walking through a garden, but with its Ooriental feel would be very much at home in the traditional Japanese gardens. It is an instrumental ballad that does sound good, but with a few faults that drag the effect down somewhat. The song starts with a very nice and smooth harp melody which sets a very tranquil scene. This is added to by a wonderful flute and strings. As for why this song is called Purple of Never, I am completely at a loss. It must hold some personal meaning to the composer, but even after much contemplation I can't work it out. The song ends very much as it began, with the harp accompanied by the flute. This approach does give a sense of fulfillment, that the song has come full circle. The samples used in this song are not too bad for the most part, and are perfectly suited to this music style. There are too many glaringly obvious seams in some of the samples, especially the flute and the low strings. That is a shame, since the flute is one of the most important instruments in this song. There is also an amount of crackle in some of the samples. Some major sample replacement/reworking is in order to make this song sound the way it should. The song sounds very rich and full throughout, although the blend of high-pitched instruments does sound a little shrill. Overall, a very nice sound partly destroyed by inferior samples. Very nice if you're in need of relaxing. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Araneus ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A sweet song, for sure. Reminds me very much of the Final Fantasy game series--a traditional, medieval feel featuring instruments such as harps and flutes. This song features a simple, yet lovely flow, the harp carrying the bassline and the flutes playing a melody that brings one back in time to the happy-endings of those Zelda-type role-playing video games we used to play (or still do). Definitely a keeper if you like the medieval genre of music. Purple of Never bravely tackles the usage of broken chords. My experience is that mod makers frequently fail in their usage because they tend to sound repetitive and lifeless. Not so in this mod, where they are variant in tempo and volume, producing a realistic sound. My only complaint about this one is that it, like many other modules, doesn't care about the pause after the audio part of the song. After playing its final note, the song hangs for about 23 seconds, stuck in a FF tempo for 5 rows. Leaving about 5 seconds before technically finishing off the mod is fine--23 seconds is overkill, and leaves the casual listener wondering if his player crashed. -----================================================================----- "Four Handed Blues" by SoundGod (16ch XM, 02:19) (sg-4bluz.zip [300K/677K]) [Blues/Jazz] "This is SoundGod's 3rd Release. It's a blues/jazz style xm. This was inspired by a ST:TNG episode...read the songtext (in the archive) :D. Um... enjoy!" [Evan Korzon] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== MING 91= 95 95 78 50 Emit 90+ 90 90 85 85 Rebriffer 90+ 80 80 95 85 Anders Akerheden 82+ 85 85 40 68 Mansooj 77= 79 -- 66 70 Nemesis 75+ 80 80 70 68 /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Blues is, to me, the archetype of melancholy. One lone guy on a guitar rasping out with a harsh voice that he's lost his woman, job, friends, life, whatever. Blues is also a very special melodical niche with an identity somewhere between rock 'n' roll, black gospel spirituals and plain old folksongs. Melodically, it thus sets a standard almost every tune in the style tries to follow. From a clinically musical viewpoint, when breaking down and analysing every little sequence, Four Handed Blues is as bluesy as blues can get. The melodies are right, the tempo is right, the intonation is perfect. But still, where the hell is the blues? The B L U E S? It has all the technical identifications of blues, but I couldn't call it blues even if the composer waved a sawed-off shotgun in my face. What I picture is not a broken, unshaved fella crouching over the piano playing his heart out. Instead, I see before my mind's eye some jolly big-shiny-smile bar pianist in a tux, at a grandslam in '30s Chicago. Not really blues. There is no blood in this tune, no emotion. No real...blues. But whatever they call it, it's damn good music. As the song rides in on slick piano rolling and wispy drums, the sense of quality literally fills the room. It is a song that has been carefully planned and composed, and then with skill and knowledge, put into a module format. It's like if a jam session with some very skilled musicians were recorded, and then it were transcribed into notes and patterns, sounding so musically real-life it's almost spooky. No attempt at doing anything that could not be reproduced live with a piano, a bass and a drumset. Somehow, though the technical side of the tracking is very well done, I can't understand why they (in case you didn't know, SoundGod is comprised of two people) didn't put at least half that effort into sampling. Some piano sequences at lower pitches just sound too synthetic, and the drums are dynamically flat. I just feel that with the extreme care everything else in this production has been handled with, that the same thing should have been done in making (or stealing, for that matter) samples. Not that it really ruins anything, but I can always wish, right? As a mod this is far over the ordinary blah offered. As entertainment it really holds up too, as a very fun, laidback piano piece. As blues, though, it doesn't even deserve the title. But I'll never forgive you if you don't download this gem right now. I could also lower my praise here for their minor attack at the Techno genre in the info file ("Apparently that was easiest to make." Yup, that's what so many think, and then they proceed to make shite-souding techno mods :)), but to prove I'm not that kind of grumpy reviewer, I'm not going to mention it.... What? I already have? Oh well. I digress. Go get the damn thing. NOW! /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Blues piano is not a rarity in the mod world; Chorus & Sid and Nuke seemed to like creating such music in the 4-channel variety, but I haven't heard much of it in multi-channel formats. Why? Perhaps with all those channels, composers are drawn to make music that's more dense, giving in to the sheer numbers of intruments they can utilize at one time. Well, I'm all for that, actually. I like a nice, dense, rich sound. However, although Four Handed Blues isn't what I'd call dense, it is, as expected, rather minimalist being just piano and percussion, but it does generate a nice, flavorful sound. This is the honky-tonk vision of blues, almost sounding like a deep-south stripclub, rather than the old Bayou style. The depth of feeling in the latter style is much more tangible, and normally without much that could be construed as being upbeat. In this example, the piano rolls and various progressions invoke a kind of strolling image; sort of a showing off, spinning the gold watch, sort of attitude. It definitely leans away from what some might consider traditional blues, and as I inferred, more towards the early 50's nightclub style. As a whole, the song is fairly engaging, though I find its laidback nature a bit on the dull side. The percussion is fairly dead, serving merely as background support, with no identity of its own for the better part of the song. Near the end, though, the drummer wakes up and takes more of the spotlight for a brief moment. These two work well together, and I don't want to give the idea that that there was any inmbalance between the two sets of instruments (by the way, the percussion samples are all 16-bit, while the piano are all 8-bit, is this a little strange, or is just me?). I didn't hear anything that seemed like it would need four hands to accomplish, everything appearing to be within the limits of reality. Something, oddly enough, that isn't always the case with other piano-based tunes. One would think that this composition's name would allude to the opposite. No matter, as it plays little part in the tune's overall presence, anyway. To me, it's a good bluesy-but-not-blues piano excursion. It doesn't get me entrenched in its emotion, being a bit too light-hearted for that, but it does get the ol' head bobbing some. SounGod seem (there are, in a sense, four hands behind this moniker) predisposed towards jazzy piano tunes, and that's quite fine. It's a departure of focus from the usual, and that alone makes this and their other work worth checking out, even if you're not already too fond of the genre. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Emit ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This swingin' little jazz module is based on a Star Trek episode with a four-armed piano player in the holodeck (hence the name). When I played it, though, it instantly reminded me of the jazzy tunes from the Charlie Brown TV specials of my youth.... I expected Snoopy to come strolling through my room at any moment. This module has an extremely authentic sound to it. The samples are all quite excellent and appropriate, including some of the best cymbals I've heard in a long time, and some fairly nice piano samples. The composers (Chris Snyder & Evan Korzen) definitely display a skill which, unfortunately, not all mod composers share: the ability to make the music more than simply the sum of the samples. This is especially evident in the tracking of the piano; the sound is so full that I can practically see an old wooden upright piano, its keys discoloured and worn from years of use. While the module is short, only about 2:20, it feels like the right length, and I think if it were any longer it may have jeopardized the improvisational character so important to jazz. The music is fairly sparse--a simple, but very smooth, jazz beat with some very lively piano over it. The piano is very playful, and conjures up images of a Jerry Lee Lewis type figure. The only criticism I have of the composition is a drum-roll at the end of piece; the sample (a tom), when used alone and so rapidly, seems like it belongs in a techno-dance module. After several listens, however, the drum-roll is beginning to bother me less, but still stands out as a bit synthetic compared to the rest of the track. This is definitely one of the better jazz modules I've heard. If you care for jazz at all, you will find it impossible not to start tapping your foot and checking your TV guide for the next Charlie Brown special when you listen to this tune. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------========[ Anders Akerheden ]========-------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Though this piece can hardly be classified as original, it has some really fine qualities that are rarely seen in the mod industry; most tracks nowadays seeming influenced by the now-hackneyed Robert Miles sound. This is a very basic 'blues'-loop with an even more basic ending sequence. Actually, I used to play something very similar when jamming away on my acoustic guitar, so I may have some extra familiarity with this sort of sound. However, even though it's basic, I am startled by the way the piano sounds. At first, I wouldn't believe it possible to actually track a piano groove with such precision. I thought, "This has to be a loop-sample!" but I was proven wrong after checking out the samples. I've tried to make similar piano-grooves, but must admit I never managed to get even close to this. Let's stick with the piano for a while, since the tune pretty much relies on this very instrument. Present are a large number of different piano samples helping to create a richer atmosphere, all of which are of pretty good quality--not bad, yet nothing extraordinary. The same goes for the drum section. The rhythm doesn't exactly lift off, but it does what it's supposed to by just staying there in the background, though I still would have appreciated a drum solo or two. Finally, if you enjoy blues, and would like to check out some fine 'swinging' piano, you're bound to like this! If the idea of this type of music doesn't thrill you, listen to it anyway. You could probably learn a few interesting tricks. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Nemesis ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Not having heard anything by SoundGod before, I was pleasantly surprised upon giving this little tune a listen. Mostly, it is comprised of a lazy drum beat (I mean that in a good way) which, in itself, is nothing spectacular but holds the song together just fine, and a skillful piano lead. The samples are decent--not the best piano samples I've heard, but not exactly the worst, either. The bass samples are a bit better than the higher end, I think, as they have a nice realistic sound to them. The higher end, however, sometimes sounds a bit dull, and not quite bright enough to be convincing. There are lots of nice little touches that add to the realism of the tune. A couple, for instance: little piano trills and the general rhythm, sounding very 'human.' I suppose the song's one downfall is that it's far too short for me to really get into it, and for any dramatic changes or alterations to the main theme to occur. The ending neatly wraps it all up, although the tomtoms as used in this section are a bit too dry for my tastes. This tune could be better if the samples were all somewhat brighter; they don't quite jump out and grab me. So, for the most part, they are functional but don't do enough to convey a sense of realism. Don't get me wrong, though, because aside from being a bit short, it is well composed, and a nicely done tune, overall. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I've reviewed tracks from SoundGod before and (I think) I liked them but there's a bewildering amount of material out there and I get confused. Ever hear of 'barrel house' blues? Well, this is an absolutely *brilliant* rendition of the genre, featuring some of the most mind-blowing piano this side of Chicago. Personally, I love the blues in all its many forms, but I have a special spot for good piano based blues and this is one of the best versions I have ever heard in mod format. The piano runs sparkle and shine like they should, the boogie-woogie left hand does what boogie-woogie left hands do and the samples are so clear you would swear it was live. Hey, even if you think the blues is the purest rubbish you won't fail to be impressed by the sheer *style* on display in this track. The only real complaint I have is that at 2:12, or so, it's way, way, way too short. An elongated version of this would be very difficult to sustain so I do understand why SG kept it to that. If you like mods that are different, then grab this little gem and it may even turn out that you like the blues too. An excellent track, top marks and much kudos to the boys in the band. :) -----================================================================----- "Reminder" by Tobe (28ch XM, 05:27) (reminder.zip [485K/917K]) [Movie Music] "This one took me 4 days to make. 2 nights without sleep (at all). Over 50 hours of work. Nearly all of my songs are pretty fast, but this one is rather slow and groovy. Category? Don't know. Maybe it sounds like some kind of movie-music with cool drumbeats. If you download this module, use FT2 to hear it! And you will download it, 'cause I've really worked hard on this one." [Tobe] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Anders Akerheden 91+ 92 93 87 91 Mansooj 82+ 67 -- 80 78 Nova 81= 65 89 90 75 WolfSong 79+ 81 80 78 83 Araneus 79= 73 -- 83 76 Peraphon 55+ -- -- -- 76 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This sounds a great deal like the sort of music you would hear playing in an 80's love-story/crime-drama movie while you watch the protagonist wandering the streets and environs hunting down the captor of his latest flame. As that, it really has a nice sound, but as it is aggressively content to remain in its own shadow for the duration, it isn't listening music--in the same sense that a lot of ambient music isn't listening music; if you actually paid close attention for very long, the repetition (real or perceived) would likely cause your eyes to roll back in their sockets and stay there. Although I really do like the sound generated in this piece, the same way I like the subtle presence of the music from the game Diablo, it's very difficult to decide which angle of attack to take with this review. So I'll compromise and try it both ways. One problem with it in terms of listening music is that it kept acting like it was on the verge of opening up, but instead, just sidestepped and meandered down a slightly different path along the same road. It seems not to have been invested with any real direction or goal, as it tended to repeat itself quite a lot, and neither experimented with tempo changes nor alternate stylistic influences at any point. So as listening music, ferget it. It just doesn't have the meat necessary to fulfil that role. However, as background music, it is very capable. It has a sort of rain-slicked, lamplit-at-night flair to it which I found quite attractive right from the start. It still has no clue where it's going, and so it just kicks around for several minutes in a quite slow tempo, but the place where it exists is a nice part of town. There's a decent variety of very good quality instruments in this one, which gives it a nice sense of depth despite its rather open, 'gappy' structure. That is to say, that while there are a lot of different sounds bouncing around, they seem separated from one another, never really coming together and working as a group. For the most part, the instruments used are also to be found in demo-music style modules, being mostly synths and effects (twitches, little acidy burps, etc.), and none carry any kind of real melody, though there is a certain smooth, rolling progression throughout that forms the backbone, albeit a spindly one, of the song. In summation, I can't fault this tune for being what it is. Understanding that the composer had in mind something that fit in this 'background music' niche, I'd have to say he did a superb job in feel, but not necessarily in effect. The problem being that the piece is too much based on a single progression, changing only on the surface through the auspices of all those nifty, short-lived instruments. This is quite unfortunate, really, because even without changing direction to something that tries to engage the listener directly, there should have been some more attention paid to spicing up the track through a number of small variations on the main theme. I think Tobe could do this revision with his eyes closed, given the tasty quality of the track as it stands even now, but by the same token, it irritates even more since--over-repetition being such a hugely obvious and oft-commented on problem--one would expect a skilled musician to be thinking about this during composition. I mean, if you have the skills, what's the point of not adding some salt and pepper to the stew before serving it up? I do recommend this, but not for those who have to be grabbed by the throat in order to enjoy something. This, as I'm sure I've amply stated, is a good choice for background music, but that's about the extent of it. One should keep in mind that my overall score is based on the song's more ambient nature, rather than as listening music. Giving the benefit of the doubt to the composer, there seems to be a glitch or oversight in the Amiga replayers. At what I can only assume is the module's end, it just drops off a cliff, and fails to circle back for an auto-replay for a good minute or more. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I think this song was quite cleverly executed. What is it exactly? That's a little harder to discribe. Well, it had a softer tempo and a delicate, almost New Age, feel along with some dramatic builds and a few things that might be considered demo-sounding. Is it possible? New Age/Demo fusion? Anything's possible, I guess, but one thing that you can say for sure about this piece is that it is definitely melodic and atmospheric. I said before that I thought it was cleverly executed. What I meant by that was that the timing was very good, and I don't exactly mean the percussion (althought there was certainly nothing wrong with it). It had different phrases...different variations of its theme that were brought in at just the right times to make it very complete-sounding. I guess what I'm saying is that it flowed terrifically from one part to the next, spending just the right amount of time in one area before moving to the next. This really gives this song a feeling that it's going somewhere. I like the way the chords were expressed here. Strings were used to anchor them in the background but there were quite a few volume effects used to send them in and out in waves. There were also broken guitar-like samples in the background that added a perfect sting to the chords. There was nothing that could really be considered a melody. It was mostly manipulated chords, though there did seem to be sounds, now and then, that rose out of the concoction to take some kind of a lead in the direction. Most all of the sounds in this song were synth sounds. Synth sounds of all kinds. High ones, low ones, tinty ones, harsh ones. One thing I admire about this song is that it does seem to be put together with short pieces of sound, but it somehow manages to sound full. I did detect a bit of sloppiness in the tracking. Mostly showing up in the longer samples like the strings. Nothing really horrible, they didn't cut each other off or anything. It just seems like there could have been a few things done to smooth some of it out a little bit. What's more, I think this song sets some kind of record for its fadeout. We've all heard songs fade out before, but this song's glide into silence takes over an entire minute. The song is 4:33. That means that around one quarter of this song's running length is its fading out time. Wow! In any case, I thought this was a pretty cool song. Interesting at the very least. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The tune itself is a delightful hybrid between the ambient and demo genres. Sporting panning synths, spacey warp sounds and other unearthly musical modulations; Reminder comes off sounding like a futuristic slow dance. For the most part, this is a well envisioned mod. It seems to be thought out well and constructed with great care. I can tell this through a few different indicators: The use of the volume effect for individual samples all vary, and the way the author seems to reuse the same sample in a new way the second time it is introduced. To address the first aspect, let me say that most authors just slam all the samples at 64 (the max) with all samples being recorded at the same volume, and leave them all blaring away throughout the whole song. This will usually make the song sound flat. However, in this tune, the variation of the volumes gives the appearance of depth; an effect that makes it seem as if there are several layers playing at once: the background, a subdued middle layer, a more prominent middle layer and the foreground. All these layers intermingle and play off one another, enveloping you. As for the second aspect of reusing the samples in a new way the second time it is introduced, I say this, Tobe uses the samples in a way that keeps you from growing bored with a second use of the same sample. Often, when I hear it the second time, I actually do not remember hearing it the first time. This keeps the mod fresh and your mind on other things...like listening to the mod as a whole. There are only two minor, almost insignificant, problems with this tune: It ends way to soon and there is a one minute fade that never does quite fade all the way out before ending abruptly. TOBE has put together one of those tunes that you could play for 30 minutes and not grow weary of but, unfortunately, he either does not realize that fact or does not know what to do with the mod in the last quarter when he begins the long fade to nothingness. All in all, I suggest you download and listen to this piece; its depth will delightfully surprise and its uniqueness will intrigue. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I suppose this song fits into the soft rock with ballad influence category. It doesn't sound too bad, but a couple of things drag it down which is a little unfortunate. This song could be a 'reminder' of several things, but none fit as being definite explanations. A previous love gone bad? Possible, because of the dark and reminiscent tone that is present in places, but with no real emotion of sadness. A reminder of family and/or friends? Probably not, it just doesn't fit. A reminder of a special event? I doubt it. The song starts off with synth strings playing, interrupted a couple of times; first with a deep nuclear bass and next with what sounds like a swish of wind combined with the screech of a record being scratched with the stylus. The song then moves to the main sections, which include bass, synths and fairly generic percussion. Electric guitars make an appearance a couple of times, but only very quietly. The song ends very gradually, with the global volume being slowly decreased over the course of the last 10 patterns or so. No definite end as such, it just keeps trailing off. The samples used are of a reasonably high quality. They fit very well with the style that the composer has chosen and with what is trying to be achieved. I did notice a little fuzziness in some samples. It is especially noticeable in the cymbals, but it is not that bad. There are also a couple of samples that have definite loop seams, although the seams are not as bad as they could have been. Sample #1 is about 211k long in itself, and it only gets used once or twice. I just cannot reconcile this. The sample is very good, but it's an extreme waste when another smaller sample could have been substituted for the same effect or this one could have been trimmed down. Overall, not too bad but not something to write home about. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------========[ Anders Akerheden ]========-------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A sense of sublimity flows throughout this whole song. There's only one thing I miss, which is some kind of climax. It's quite repetitive, and would benefit greatly if, suddenly, something very unexpected brought the listener back to attention. The closest you get to that is a short sequence starting shortly before the three minute mark, where the strings suddenly die and leave a few reversed hihats, the bass and some high-pitched, fairy-like sound. I really like that transition, though after this part has ended, you're back where you started again. Maybe, if that transition would have led into a somewhat more revealing and powerful sound, this tune would have become more appealing to those with a greater need of some essence to hold on to. As movie music is supposed to just place itself in the background, it's generally not all that easy to appreciate the music by itself, without any 'live' action. Though, in this case, you can easily put yourself in the proper mood. This here is a pretty melancholic, 'dark,' synthy kind of song. If you generally appreciate that kind of music, you won't find it hard to make your way through this song either; and though you probably won't be surprised at any time throughout Reminder, you will most likely want to hear more of it, once you've heard the soft fadeout sequence. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Araneus ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ With a slow, almost hip-hop beat, this one draws you in like a good adventure or mystery computer game. Although categorized as a movie song, it sounds more like a demo song, as shown by the usage of certain types of instruments typically found in demo mods: 'artificially' generated instruments that slide, ping, and thump. Quality of samples isn't stupendous, but the selection of samples is perfect. The flow of this mod is quite original as well, starting with soft synths to create a moment of ambience, then flowing into the main part with a strong beat and melody, then a bit of a suspense as the background synths are taken out to expose the beat a bit more, and then a final progression of the melody. The ending is unusual, for mods--a complete fade out. It just seemed so out of place for a demo song, but it works quite nicely here. Overall, this mod was quite enjoyable to listen to. Not boring at all, and not exaggerating a single melodious chunk of notes to death. A pain to critique (this type of music is difficult for me to describe), but nonetheless enjoyable. -----================================================================----- "Swift" by Starf0x of theEnd/Bios (20ch XM, 05:00) (f0x-swft.zip [222K/500K]) [Rock] "Swift is a melodic rock tune using some distorted guitar samples, 6 min, 20 channels, Cruelization #10 entry. Enjoy. :)" [Starf0x] ! Cruelization #10 entry ! Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== MING 79- 90 60 40 40 Peraphon 69+ -- -- -- 79 Mansooj 67+ 72 -- 75 67 CCerberus 55+ 87 80 85 20 WolfSong 55+ 70 79 42 86 Ka'PQat 50- 45 70 50 35 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Rock is one of those musical styles that has so many forms it's hard to determine where the sometimes convenient but mostly arbitrary lines should be drawn to distinguish one substyle from another. Swift suffers no identity crisis when put into the wide rock category, but it does fall into what I recognize as an identifiable subset. I don't have a name for it, but I wouldn't be far wrong drawing a comparison that amounts to a cross between the music of Kansas and Rainbow, and then bent towards the sound of .44 Special. About now I figure many of you younger readers are likely to be wondering what d'hell I'm talking about. So, to address that generation gap, take some rather medium-edged rock, nothing hard and aggressive, but still lively and energetic; then think about the addition of synth-organ. Now, that last part is what tends to define this sort of rock away from your standard rock. We're talking something far more common in the early 80's rock scene. Nowadays, it's relatively uncommon except in those Southern-boy country-crossover type bands which want to do 'real' rock 'n' roll, but don't have the roots for it. Anyway, 'nuff about that. This particular track is very reminiscent of that older style, and it's a fair representation of it as well. However, to my ear, the organ used here is a little on the sour side in most spots where it takes a frontline position. Otherwise, it fits in pretty well. Beyond the usual instrument palette--organ, guitars, percussion--there isn't much of anything else that is used enough to make a point of. The percussion track is quite active in its rhythm role; there's a good deal of minor variation throughout, with plenty of changeovers as the surface progressions go through their various transitions. And that brings up something that is rather problematic. Despite several minor changes in the intensity of the track, it seems too samey from beginning to end, with the notable exception of a break into a nicely contrasting slower part shy of two minutes in. For the most part, the tempo remains similar throughout and the percussion, although already noted to be pretty good on the variety aspect, seems too self-involved and doesn't really augment the rest of the track in a supporting role as I think it should. This tends to leave the sound rather thick and active, but not very focused. In general, I don't see anything glaringly wrong, nor do I see any bright lights shining on the "this is awesome!" sign. It's a workmanlike piece, with a near-retro sound that should appeal, and a simple but nifty synth-sweep ending (very Rainbow reminiscent), but it doesn't have much oomph, and would fit more as a B-side to a better release, than as the hit waiting on the flipside. Still, it's worth the download time, and I certainly wouldn't recommend against it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Now, how should I vary my reviewing? Just for the heck of it, I'll split this review up into several small parts, like it or not. First: Title. Swift? Sure. With a quite limited English vocabulary, I feel compelled to grab my dictionary. And so I do, discovering that swift means 'fast' or "swallow or other similar bird." I guess 'fast' is an okay description of the song, but as it's not at all the most prominent characteristic about it, I think something more imaginative would have suited it better. Second: Style. Ingredients are: synthetic-sounding, old-school, synthie sounds, synthetic-sounding guitar chords and realistic sounding drums. This generates a mix between Good Ole Demo Stuff and Good Ole (but quite meek) Metal Stuff. Not really my cup, but it does have some of that rock'n'roll spirit mentioned in the song message. Third: Technique. What first strikes me when pressing the play button is the general sound. It is as if it were being played pretty loudly by your neighbour and you're hearing it through a wall or two. All bass and treble is wiped out and only the midrange slips through. This way, I don't miss anything of the actual music, but I can't really enjoy the composition without getting annoyed by the flatness of the dynamics. Fourth and last: Composition. As I said, the style itself is quite unimaginative and uninspiring for me to listen to, but when looking at the musical aspect (which is, when it comes down to it, the most important one) Starf0x goes though an amazing metamorphosis from boring demo-music dude to top level entertainer. The melodies and riffs in the song are, regardless of instrumentation and production, so well made and with so much personal innovation I, as a listener, can't help digging it. There are just the right sequences to twist a listener's spine, in a way you can't learn in any fancy schools or by years of practicing. It's a talent you either have or don't, or something you may succeed with occasionally by long stretches of stubborn composing. And since I haven't heard anything else by this composer, and consequently, I don't know whether Swift is an average example, or something else. All I do know is that it rocks. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song is good proof that music is more than just what it's made of. The elements that make this song are individualy well done, however, the song as a whole wasn't particularly likable. "No incredible chords, no special samples, no fancy effects" is what StarF0x writes in his song message. I could disagree. The chords were not incredible, true, but they weren't bad either. I thought the song was composed fairly well. It wasn't repetitive, it had plenty of different phrases and it had direction. He may not feel that he used any fancy effects but there certainly good use of what was there. In fact, quite a bit more than usual. His samples were crystal clear! No hissing, scratching, fuzziness...nothing. And *without* interpolation. So far, this may seem like I'm being contradictory with this review. It's good, it's not good, I like it, I didn't like it.... But there's a good reason. Whether I personally like or dislike a song, good work is good work, and this song is made up of just that. But despite the great technical work, sample quality and nice composition, I just didn't find myself being able to enjoy this song and I can attribute that to two things. The first is the originality. This is a song that we've all heard over and over. To me it sounds exactly like the music for a fight scene in a Nintendo RPG. This is just a different configuration of a song I've heard way too many times. The second thing is the sound. The samples were very good quality, but the sounds that were sampled sounded so much like FM midi sounds that I would be willing to bet that's just where they were sampled from. Are there any programs out there that turn midi files into XMs? If there are, then that could also be to blame. So, here we have a song that was written well and shows good qualities, but sounds, in terms of composition and instrumentation, just like a midi video game song. I thought modules and trackers were made to get AWAY from midi. I wouldn't want to recommend staying away from this song. It is a quality module and you might very well find it impressive, however, I think that the function isn't nearly up to the form. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Ka'PQat ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song sounds like a demo for a role-playing game, oh, say, about 10 years ago, the Wayne & Garth era (more Garth than Wayne in this one), and hearkening even further back to Rocky and Flashdance-style anthems--not nearly as lively as those, but faintly echoing the same chin-thrusting, fluffy-head-banging, earnest bravado. It inexplicably seems to start out in the middle of a riff by a hokey synth-organ pathetically trying to do a lead-guitar solo complete with button-selected pitch bends, while keyboard-fuzz-guitars eagerly "rock out" in the background. Most of the sounds are about this level of quality, though sampled cleanly. Also, Starf0x makes nice use of the stereo space to make the sound more believable, as well as some very serviceable drum work. It does advertise in the info "No incredible chords, no special samples, no fancy effects, just good ol' rock'n'roll spirit." Oh goody--thank you sir, may I have another? Rock on. Actually, it does get better as it goes along, adding some medieval-sounding, picked-instrument riffs as well as techno touches well in keeping with the computer-game theme, and as I mentioned, the tracking is rather well-done, helping in many places to overcome the keyboardy sound of the samples. I do wish it wouldn't keep just hammering away on the three chords it belabors during the entire song, but that could be just a style-preference thing. And I like the velvet rubber-band synth sweep upon which it ends on the last note, even though it seems oddly out of place. It's just a nice acidy sound to leave ringing in one's ears after having tolerated the rest of the song, like a mint after a dinner of Cream of Wheat. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The mind boggles, it truly does...happy chip-rock??? A very interesting combination of styles, I must say. I can quite honestly say that I have never heard anything like this before. It's more rock than it is chip, but it's definitely a very interesting experiment. I personally think it worked out quite well. The song starts off with a fairly typical chip synth, electric guitars and bass which goes for a couple of patterns. The chip synth is then stopped and the song launches into some rock that sounds pretty good. The chip sound is brought back often throughout the song. The chip sound does not have any of the typical arpeggio but it still sounds chippy enough. The percussion is fairly generic, but contains enough drum/cymbal fills in the right places. The end of the song sees the speed drop a fair bit for the last two patterns and finishes with a flanged synth. The samples are of a fairly high quality, and I could not hear any glaringly obvious sound faults. A couple of the higher pitched samples suffered slightly from a bit of 8-bit ring, but you have to listen extemely hard to pick it up. The sample loops are very well done, with no real seams or clicks to be heard. The song has a very good, rich rock tone throughout, although some of the higher pitched sounds get a little tedious after awhile. Overall, this is a very different piece. It lives up to its name, as it is a fairly quick-moving song. Well worth it if you are after something a little out of the ordinary. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a spirited hard-rock song, which is almost able to overcome its horrible collection of samples through sheer energy and musical talent. Unfortunately, I *did* say almost.... For me, the experience was almost ruined by the samples in this song. Musically, the tune is fantastic. It's highly harmonic, with a killer melody and even intelligent percussion! There's a lot of variety, and panning is used reasonably well. If only the samples in this song didn't sound like a Casio keyboard's approximation of distorted guitars, this song might be one of my favorites. As it is, though, I won't even keep it on my hard drive.... Overall, what I have to say about this song is that it is a good piece of music which, through the magic of poor sampling, doesn't sound very good. -----================================================================----- "Inverse Science" by CyberCerberus (5ch S3M, 04:38) (Inverse.zip [5K/14K]) [Chip] "This is my very first attempt at a chiptune. I'm not even entirely sure I understand the genre. I guess that's for the listener to determine! :) I was inspired to make this song by listening to Klaws' tune March 28th, which I really dig. Most of the samples are ganked, but none of them came from a chiptune!" [CyberCerberus] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Nova 89- 90 83 95 80 Clones 81+ 80 80 75 90 Rebriffer 80- 70 80 80 50 ChroMix 68+ 50 -- 80 60 Mansooj 53= 55 -- 75 -- Skullsaw 50- 50 50 60 50 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ CyberCerberus is known for his metal modules, not for his chiptunes. Although this is the first of his chiptunes that I've heard, and not surprisingly, the first he's produced, I can see that he does have the basics down. However, I'm much more fond of upbeat chip-tunes--what I call 'chipper-chips'--such as many produced by the likes of Mel O-Dee--whereas this piece is a rather downbeat, dark trek. Part of my favor for lighter chip fare stems from the fact that it really plays better with 'goofy' instruments like chip samples, as it's kind of hard for a song to be taken too seriously with the arpeggiating little vermin. Chip-tunes are most often techno, and when they're not, they're usually jingles or game-tune stuff. This one bucks the usual trend, being what I'd have to lamely dub dark industrial-techno for lack of something more accurate. As noted already, the tone is quite dark and somewhat brooding, though the trilling, arpeggiated edge to several of the riffs, courtesy of the chip-sample technology ;), plays enough in the other direction to keep it from blackening the sky with a sense of dread and depression. In actuality, this sounds a lot like music from an 80's fantasy wargame of some sort, probably heard during the intro mini-movie anim where the stage is being set for conflict. Although most chip-tunes are woefully short, I think maybe this one overcompensated that trend, without justifying it with lots of variety, most of the tune being repetitive in both sound and repeating patterns. To start with, there are 35 blocks, and 16 different patterns. This, in itself, only hints at the problem, however. Witness that the tune is separated into multiples of two related parts: stretches of one different pattern after another, interspersed with a set of anywhere from four to seven played in pairs (i.e. same pattern played back to back). Okay, no biggy really, but the whole tune seems a bit monodimensional as it is. And to top it off, the last pattern is an infinite loop. If one doesn't catch this fact initially, the sense of repetition REALLY takes hold--unfairly maybe, in that sense, but it seemed unnecessary to choose this option in a song that's already over five minutes long. Amidst all this, some stretches show simple melodic attempts, which, I'm afraid, don't really come off too well in this format, as they seem just too weak against the deep tones that surround them. Sort of like an Orc warrior in a tutu.... I'll stick to the chip-tune pros for now, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some more interesting chippies filter forth from CC in the future. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Clones ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ There's a lot of music in this incredibly small module. Melodies and moods abound from soft techno to quiet, tense, sci-fi to sadness. Subtle, yet attractive, 'hard' in places, yet pleasent to listen to. This piece has depth. Formally, this is a very complex song, its out line is: ABCDD'EFF'GCDFG where A is a quiet intro, bass and drums and the key e minor. B adds riffs and melodies and modulations to the mix; C is a minor, D , D' in d minor using variations of the same basic themes with different voices. At E, we encounter a nice string interlude back in e minor before going to some nice melodies in F and F'. At G we modulate to (a) minor with a smooth organ sound. There's plenty of melodic development and harmonic development in this piece, something that is often forgotten about. The only 'form' problem I have is the totally abrupt ending. Simply put, it hits a brick wall. But that's not too high a price to pay for such painstaking work. The samples sound really good. They certainly don't have flaws, are mostly unique in timbre, and are used to good effect and in context. Considering these are 'chip' samples, I am impressed with the sample work. Effects are certainly used, but they are not over done and used to either process the samples (mostly) or to add to the song. This is good and mature usage. While this piece does not sound extremely original in the sense of breaking new ground, it's an inventive and studious work that sounds pleasant and interesting. I recommend it to those who like a softer techno sound. You will not be disappointed. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Tell ya what, I always thought my own little mob were one of the most prolific trackers around but I'm beginning to think my reviewing colleague CC has us beat hands down. Seems like I review one of his tracks every week these days. Not that this is a problem, mind you, because I happen to enjoy CC's style and find a lot in it that is commendable. Besides, I do love a good HEAVY tune. This track, however, is a distinct departure for ol' CC for it be a chip shop (oops sorry, tune...chip tune...--ignore this, some obscure Brit reference). Let me be blunt here. I don't like chip tunes presented as music. I'm one of those stodgies who likes me chip tunes with me arcade games where they belong. Still, if listening to endless variations of level music is your idea of jollies, who am I to prise you out of the lunatic asylum? As these things go then, Inverse Science is a pretty decent effort for all that, and I can definitely recommend it to game developers as being a worthy contender. Personally, I found it not as catchy as most of the chip tunes in the major games--and that has to be the criteria to judge it by. Why, there were even one or two games where I had to talk myself out of taping bits of the music, mainly because I knew that I'd eventually end up throttling their squeaky little hides. Congratulations then to CC for creating yet another example of life's little irritants, but let the next one ROCK puhhhleeeezzzeeee! By the way, CC, my guess on sample #7 is from a Mario game (although I'm not sure which.) /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Man, this really pisses me off. I mean it took me almost four seconds to download this module. At over 4k in weight it's a monster. I wish you composers would think of us listeners and the time it takes to get something off the net. What we have here is a little chippy tune. I have found that it's very difficult to make a good chip tune that doesn't come off sounding like C64 game music. I could count on one hand the number of chip mods that work on a musical level. This one is almost there but not quite. The main culprit is the mix. There is some genuinely interesting harmonic action here but the chord work is just way to high in the mix, drowning out the limited percussion. The percussion seems to consist of nothing but a bassdrum that is a bit too busy for my tastes. The synth sounds are very static which is to be expected in a chip tune, but this is something that really gets in the way of the music. One thing is really confusing me and that's why doesn't this thing end? It seems to just loop the last pattern forever. Maybe it's my player, I don't know. Well, for a chip tune this isn't too bad. For music it's not all that good. I would recommend it as a curiosity but not as a listening experience. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Not bad for chip. I hate to do this, but chip tunes ALWAYS remind me of an 8-Bit Nintendo. Sorry I went there. I accidentally took us all to the land of outdated gaming consoles. HEHE. The author actually only has one sample that exceeds 1kb. WOW. And the entire song is only 13KB. Very impressive. Well, enough of the ooohh's and aaahhh's. Let's get down to it. There is one deep bass sample in this tune that gets used very constructively. The author plays with it as a bass drum and as a subbass sample that moves the speakers. The kicker drum is clear and is also well mixed. Now for what the chip tunes are all about. Synthesizer; and boy does CyberCerberus go to town on that. He uses synth to attenuate the rhythm section. Some types of synth were high pitched flute like synth, midlevel synth and deep organ sounding synth. The synth samples are faded, panned, trilled, staccatoed, and a plethora of other effects that I dare not list all in one sentence. The overall tone that the author creates is kind of gothic. The overall impression it makes on me is: Great Tune. This is what I would call cutting edge in the realm of chip tunes. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ ChroMix ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Ah, chip. How I adore the sound... makes me think of those good old days of C64, Nintendo, and Megaman tunes swimming through my mind. It's good to see people are still exploring this style, and I think this song represents that, although I think there are a few drawbacks. The author of this song used a basic Kraftwerkian beat to go along with a melody that is pleasing to the ear, but perhaps not as interesting as it really needs to be for a song composed in this sort of style, where the samples used aren't exactly fantastic. Basically, it all sounds good (the lead chords that use that good old arpeggio sound especially cool), but I think if regular drum and lead samples would have been used, this song would have been several times better. Overall, nice track, but it's painfully obvious that this composer hasn't done a lot of chip before this. -----================================================================----- "