Aminet 22

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Text File | 1997-10-21 | 88KB | 1,516 lines

WMR (Reviews [week #29]) __ __ __ | \ __ ______/ |_ | | | o \ | | | / o | \ |o | | \| o| |o _/ | o\ []=======| |==| \ |=| |/ | \========[] []=======| |==| \ |=| | |\ \=======[] []=======| |==| \|=| | |=\ \======[] :: | | | \ | | | / / :: :. | | | |\ \| | /| |/ / :: : | | |/\ | \ | |/ | | / : | | / \| |\ | | | | / :. | | / \ | \ | |__| | / .: :: | |/ \| \_| | |/ : :: | /\ | | __| |\ :: []=======| / \ |=| |==| | \==========[] []=======| /| \ |=| |==| | \=========[] []=======| /=| |\ |=| |==| | \========[] |o / | | \ o| |o | | |\ o\(mansooj) |_/ | o | \_| |__/ | o | \__/ |___| |___| (Originally compiled and added on October 14, 1997) (last updated 10.15.97) -----========================================----- -----================================================================----- "Cosmic Outflow" (Party Version) by Falcon of Pulse (attributed to both Falcon & Ice of Pulse in the Wired 96 results I have) (22ch XM, 03:40) (cosmic.zip [536K/765K]) [Spacey] (dreamy style) ! 2nd place finisher at Wired '96 ! Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Nova 97+ 99 99 95 95 Mansooj 97+ 85 -- 76 93 Anders Akerheden 95+ 94 93 80 92 WolfSong 95+ 94 89 77 90 Peraphon 85+ -- -- -- 84 Araneus 83+ 79 -- 77 92 Emit 70+ 65 70 75 65 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ First off, let me mention that this type of music sets my personal bias meter to max reading. What is it? Well, this is space-music with a kind of dream-state flair to it. Great combo. Right from the opening the stage is set and the tone of the piece is laid out: it's not hard to imagine being in a lonely spaceship traveling the vastness of space, what with the opening of reverberating knocks and a subtle thrumming whoosh portending the firing up of the engines. If you don't see yourself in the belly of a vast ship destined for the unknown, you probably won't fully appreciate the mood. The tempo is moderate, a sort of laidback dance beat, except for the occasional breakdowns where the tone is made more melancholy, almost in the vein of a 'lost ship'--you know you're going to die within this hull, but you're sacrifice is going to be remembered for eternity. The song, as a whole, does not give this impression, though, and is instead a little bit rockish in parts where an electro-guitar drops in for a brief riff-stint somewhere just above the rest of the mix. The beat is simple, and reserved, but absolutely perfectly suited to the task of delivering this song's cargo of subtle, haunting emotion (late note: so haunting, to me, I've been replaying this tune in my mind for two days, so I've dumped it to tape and listened to it about a hundred times before turning in this review--I like). The instrument palette is composed of splotches of five colors, and a total of thirty-two hues. The percussion is built from an easy-going, dancey drum-loop; I won't say Enigma-like, but it's in the same genre, and as I noted in passing above, the arrangement is perfectly designed to accentuate the mood. A plethora (meaning seven, in this case) different string/synths are present to form the second strata of moodiness, and they are also exactly as needed to accomplish this. Being a bit of space-muzak, there is the usual, but well-selected and effective assortment of sound effects (eight of 'em, including a recognizable clip from a Kraftwerk tune--but one used subtly enough, I didn't even realize it existed in the mix until I looked for it), and beep/boop samples of the sort you hear in traditional techno-demo tunes. And there's also an electro-guitar, also mentioned briefly above. The entire set is excellent in quality, and so well-suited to form a gestalt that even the scratch (which I intentionally left unmentioned earlier) fits in perfectly despite the unlikeliness of its usage in this sort of music. My bias may be showing, but regardless, this is clearly one of the more smoothly-flowing bits of music in this genre that I've heard, and as such, one should understand that despite by biases, I place this one on a high pedestal, even relatively speaking. I have mentioned nothing that could be considered wrong with this piece, but there is one minor niggle: The guitar, although its usage isn't at all out of place, it could have been made a lot warmer to fit with the prevailing tone the rest of the mix had built up. It's a bit like an I-beam on a bed of crushed velvet, however, it does not materially detract from the overall effect, even so. In summation, this song is excellent. It has a definite mood, a silky-smooth flow (forgetting the minor problem with the guitar's relatively sharp edge), and a juicy assortment of sounds. For space-music fans, this is a gem worthy of donning your cat-burglar's suit to heist. I know I've found another master jeweler to follow very closely.... /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Emit ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A pleasant space-ambient track with a rather epic feel, slightly reminiscent of Lifeforms era tracks by Future Sound of London. I was first struck by the stereo image; there is excellent use of panning. The track works up into a nice thickness fairly rapidly (using very effective reverb in the samples), while still maintaining a good frequency balance (ie: not too many highs or lows which mask one another). We begin with some spacey beeping, which leads into a smooth and deep drum loop. A few beeps and notes come in fairly quickly, as well as an orchestral string element, while some sparse tb303 samples glide around the background. Slightly upsetting to me are some of the transitions, which I find too obvious and almost distracting (ie: some instruments just disappear instead of fading out slowly). I didn't feel there was enough variation in overall volume and density. The track remained at about the same loudness and used the same amount of sounds most of the way through. I would have loved to hear some more dynamic transitions. After listening to Cosmic Outflow a few times, I began to feel like it had been compressed into too short a time. It is about three and a half minutes, but I really think it could have successfully been maybe five or six minutes, especially when I think about the slower transitions and dynamic explorations I would have liked to have heard. The samples were all quite nice and well-suited, until a screaming guitar swooped in approximately halfway through the track. I really couldn't understand the reason for selecting this sound; acoustically, it sounds far too sharp in comparison with all the other samples (it may have been fine had it been quieter, or perhaps EQ'ed so it wasn't so bright). Moreover, I think the simple fact that it sounds like a guitar bothers me--I don't like to prescribe instruments which can or cannot be used in a certain type of music, but it just doesn't work for me. It almost sounds as though it has migrated in from a chip tune. All in all, a good, moody ambient piece, probably indicative of some good things to come from Falcon. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Wow. This song made a monumental impression on me. Depth, mood, atmosphere, and so much more. This song is great! I have never given a song this high a score yet and I doubt I will for some time. Don't even bother reading the rest of my review, DOWNLOAD this song right now. The spacey ambient sounds will emotionally move you and the music will soothe you. Since I've always believed that there is nothing perfect in the world of music, let me get my only gripe out of the way: This song is not long enough. There I said it. I actually whined about the song that is the nearest to perfection that I have ever heard. I could listen to this tune all day long. Right from the opening, you are hooked. Cosmic Outflow starts out nice and spacey, but not with the traditional spacey-ness of the past. The author uses lots of new samples and sounds that I have not heard before in a spacey/ambient tune. And to get beyond the introduction of the song (since I could write all day long, in vain, trying to describe the sounds), the author makes great use of fades, pans, volume ramps and all the other technical things that we come to expect from great songs. And yes, before you ask, the composition is solid. Cosmic Outflow has slow parts that are hauntingly beautiful and 'normal' parts that are intriguing and captivating. As of this review's writing, I have listened to the song so many times that I've lost count, yet, I have not become bored with it and am still easily picking out new things in the song. Simply put, this song is brimming with good stuff. Now...we seem to be having a reading comprehension problem...what part of, "Don't even bother about reading the rest of my review, DOWNLOAD this song right now" don't you understand? =) /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very nice piece of spacey techno indeed. The song comes across as being very smooth, well thought out and well executed. It starts off with some very spooky sounds, something that would go very well in an alien movie. It then has some deep space echoes and other sounds, something a la 2001: A Space Odyssey, and using some very nice strings to give the spacey effect. The main section of the song has the strings, some nice background bass and percussion which moves to a very steady rhythm. There is a definite techno influence in the song, but it works in very well with the overall 'spaciness.' Throughout the entire song, there are snippets of spacey sound effects which add quite a lot to the song as a whole. The song has a definite end, but in my opinion, the composer could have done a little more with it. Also, one of the instruments at the end does not cut off properly in Cubic Player and instead of a clean ending we have a continual hiss (this is not the case in FastTracker). The samples used are of a very high standard, leaving me unable to hear any faults, and they sound great and work very well in this genre. They all seem to loop extremely well and have basically nothing in the way of hiss or ring. Overall, I think this is one of the better space modules I have heard, because it uses the instruments and other effects fairly well in establishing the spacey feel. I think this song has very good lastability as far as listening goes, although the space effects that help make the song what it is do get a little irritating after awhile. Well worth a listen. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------========[ Anders Akerheden ]========-------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Whooooah!! This tune almost made me wet my pants. I haven't heard such an intense and live-sounding synth track in a long time. It reminded me of Point of Departure, one of my favorite Necros tunes, though this song has a slightly slower beat...and...it's even better, overall. The intro is divine, and when the drum sequence commences it reaches even higher ground. There's an incredible depth in the bassdrum, and in the snare as well. I recognized one drumloop in the song, but I'll overlook that; hopefully, it's of his own creation, anyway. The sample quality is crisp, and the howling fx used here had a great affect on me. Frankly, all the effects in this module are interesting--acid sounds, metal hits of various kinds, even what would normally be a typical scratch sound--and they've been put together in a harmonic way so they don't drown one another out, instead, making the overall sound a great deal richer. Actually there's really nothing to complain about, save for the lead guitar sample, which is a pretty sharp and annoying sound. Fortunately, Falcon only used it for a few seconds in total throughout the song. If not for that, I would have been giving this song even more praise than I already have! Anyone unwise enough not to take a look at this track, will only have themselves to blame. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Excellent! This is the best piece of module music I've heard in months! The best way I can describe it is to imagine Enigma meets demo-style music. It has distinctive demo overtones, but is much more relaxed than the usual demo song. Smooth backing chords supplied by vocal sounds and strange noises and sine sweeps give it quite a spacey feel. Being a demo song, most all of the instruments are various synth sounds, some of them in filter-swept pieces to give more of an electronic sound. The work done in this module is superb. Everything is where it seems it should be, from chord changes to variations in volume. The sample quality and instrument selection is wonderful. The flow of the song is expertly crafted. I could not find one single thing wrong with it! Aarrggg! I'm here to gripe about music. How am I supposed to deal with this? If I absolutely HAD to make a criticism about it (and this is really reaching) I would say that it would have been nice if the solo had been extended a little and maybe taken into another area before it ended. This review is shorter than I'd like, mostly because I have nothing to complain about. This song is staying right here in my hard drive. This one gets an A+! /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Araneus ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I don't know what it was about the first minute of the song that worked so well--there's this computer 'bleop' sample that sounds just wonderful with a nice stereo. Although I'm no expert in samples, I give this song high praise for finding a perfect combination to make a pleasant, upbeat song. Falcon labels the song as a 'party version,' but I would suggest that it's more of a dance version. A slow, but strong and lively beat, demo-style samples and sequences, spacey synths, accurate effect-sounds (doors closing and so on) and tons of bleeps work effectively at creating a spacey song with a hint of Jean-Michel Jarre to it. A synthed-up electric guitar demo-izes the song, generating an interesting mix of demo and ambient music. -----================================================================----- "Sea Fantasies" by Rave-o-Tek of Nebula (30ch XM, 07:36) (n_SeaFantasies.zip [1806K/3040K]) [Trance] "So here is a very ambient trance song into which I put a lot of work. The reason why I wrote it was that my girlfriend and I wanted to go on a holiday by the sea. But as things happen, we were not able to do so this summer. So I wrote this song for her...because as long as we both have our imagination, we can be at every beach in the world when being together and listening to that wonderful song...." [Rave-o-Tek] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Cubix 85+ -- -- 90 90 Zond 3 80+ 74 60 65 70 Araneus 76+ 77 -- 57 83 Mansooj 72+ 60 -- 55 70 Emit 65+ 70 65 65 40 Nova 64+ 62 54 65 65 Skullsaw 30+ 30 45 30 50 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ An ocean waves opening, again? Yeah, well as I've said before, no sense in getting worked up over such things when the title alone should serve well enough to belay the validity of any nasty comments. Rave-o-Tek does something a tad different, though, in that he keeps the waves rolling across the soundscape, tucked well into the background--smartly placed underneath the mix so that they're not clashing with anything, but 'there' enough to provide some continuity between the opening and the similar ending. So we have a foundation point. The usual implication of ocean waves is serenity and relaxation. Well, though Sea Fantasies has that aspect about it, the percussion--mainly a simple ravey/dance beat (a rather prominent one, at that), and some incidental clips--should help keep the listener from drifting off and drowning somewhere during the seven plus minutes it takes to complete this voyage. The presence of (non-articulated) pizzicato-style sounds throughout much of the piece gives it a light texture, and also lends a bit to the nautical premise in that strange way that is difficult to explain, but easily understood. Working in tandem, smooth synths and some beepy-boopy sounds fill out the upper range of the sound spectrum, with low-toned synths falling in underneath. However, this does illustrate what might be a minor problem: there's not much mid-range to this track. I don't think it detracts much, but I do think some benefit would have been gained had this gap been filled in a bit. Atmospheric trance with an occasionally heavy beat. Feels nice, in the ear, generates the vibes--a cross between listening music and ambient background. Comes off well, and it shows Rave-o-Tek to be a clever fellow around this sort of sound. Two things, however. I noticed clicking, from bank to bank, near the end. With everything else being so clean, I was a bit surprised. It is possible this is an anomaly with various Amiga XM replayers, but I rather doubt it, as I can hear clicking in one sample when played alone. The other thing, and this is something that may well keep a nicely crafted piece of work out of the hands of many: it's a behemoth at just over 3MB. Now, as I've mentioned time and time again, I'm not a tracker, so I'm not privvy to the little things that may be of vast importance to a tracker. However, I can't help but wonder if there's really a need for a >700K sample? Or, for that matter (in this case), four others over 375K. Granted, in the days of old, there were often tracker-induced limitations, but the product still seemed excellent where excellence would still be the case (i.e. a good tracker is a good tracker regardless of his sample-set, only the raw sound will be improved by finer samples), so I can't see that these enormous samples are doing any good, all things considered. And no, I don't think this sample bloat problem counts against the module in any way other than whether it will be worth the download time. The track is quite good, satisfying, and well-rounded for its style (yes, it is rather repetitive, as is the prevailing nature of trance/ambient, but chances are this concept will come as no surprise to anyone bothering to read reviews of music in this genre...), and I think even at 3MB it was worth *my* download time, though with the acreage it eats up, I'm not sure about its lastability. 'Course, one can always dump it to audio tape, as I did, and then consider the fate of the file itself more freely.... /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Imagine, if you will, a seashore; the warm sand, the water slowly lapping at your toes, the wind blowing through your hair. Now imagine that you are all alone with no one else on that shore. Well, okay...just you and a significant other. According to the comments in the song, the above is the imagery that the author is trying to convey through this tune. Does he do it? Let's take a look. The introduction is well done and instantly sets the atmosphere with the sounds of waves washing onto the beach. Some dreamy synths with a touch of vibrato are brought in and soon hi-hat and hand clap percussion is added as well. There is a well done 'false climax' in the first third of the song where an upwelling of synth and percussion peaks in a small frenzy of sound and then drops you back onto the beach again with the quiet sound of the waves washing onto the shore. Now, to answer the question, does the author accomplish what he set out to do? The answer is yes, the beach imagery is definitely there and done well. However, the rest of the song is basically like the aforementioned first third. The author adds and subtracts instruments and sounds creating a few interesting patterns but not enough to justify the 7:37 playing time. It soon becomes repetitive and lacks any real depth. And I was shocked at this because with a 3MB file size, one would expect this song to be packed with great instruments and samples. But the author wastes 2.2MB of space with samples that, even though they do sound good, are clearly too large for the effects they create. Now let's put this into the terms of our beach imagery..."If you have seen one part of the beach, you have seen it all." With an ocean of possibilities, Sea Fantasies is a deserted isle. An occasional visit to the isle would be refreshing and relaxing, but perish the thought of remaining on the island for too long lest you soon go insane. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Zond 3 ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Now here's something I like! It's one of those laidback tunes you can chill out to after a night out clubbing. Lie back, relax, and let the melody take you to places you'll wish you were still at when you wake up the next morning with a chronic hangover. The song has been put together professionally and flows smoothly without ever faltering or loosening its grip on the listener's attention. The main melody, played with strings and accompanied by plucked 'pizzicato' string samples, stays constant throughout the course of the song, but because it's such a nice melody (even though it only consists of 4 notes!) it doesn't detract from the overall appeal. The use of traditional string instruments, together with the electronic synths and pads, is also well done, and everything is held together in fine balance with a solid drum track that has been programmed with care. But.... ...There's one problem with this song: it's absolutely HUGE at 1.8MB. If Rave-o-Tek had only cropped his samples and got rid of the stuff that isn't even played in the tune, (and converted all his sampledata to 8-bit resolution, but let's not get too technical here) he could have reduced the size of this module to less than half of what it is. 1.8MB equals a lot of download time and I would normally only grab a module this size off the net if I knew it was going to be a classic that would go down in tracking history as a landmark in mod composition. I cant say that this particular tune makes it quite that far, but if anyone's got the spare time, and is in need of some chilling out, then I'd heartily recommend Sea Fantasies. It's a pity that this module may be overlooked by some due to its unnecessarily large size, but trying to get your MODS as small in size as possible is an important part of tracking, and shouldn't be ignored. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Emit ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Sea Fantasies is a seven and a half minute hard trance/ambient track. The track begins with the sound of ocean waves (to be expected from the title). These, thankfully, don't last long (more about this below), and we go into a relaxed intro, which slowly builds into straightahead percussion, with some fairly heavy drums (pushing it well into what I consider the techno side of trance). This continues more or less for the next six minutes, and then we arrive back at the ocean waves. Compositionally, I found an interesting parallel between waves and the instruments, which come in, recede, then come back in--I almost wish this would have been explored more instead of using the ocean wave sample itself. There are also some nice pan envelopes used, which I found work much better when listening on headphones. However, I found it a bad start when the main synth came in alone, and proceeded to click, due to rapid volume changes. However, once some hi-hats came in, this clicking was masked. When I heard the ocean waves sample, I became somewhat worried; it is a very cliched sound to include in music, and often becomes nothing more than a token sound effect. I think Rave-O-Tek managed to use the sample sparingly and tactfully. I do think that I probably secretly wish it was not there. While the samples are of fairly good quality, I really don't find that this module sounds like it has almost three megs worth; there is very little variation in the sounds throughout the entire track. Overall, this track is above average, and definitely displays a proficiency in tracking. Unfortunately, more attention needs to be paid towards the use of samples. At three megs, I don't imagine it will stay on many HDDs once and if it is downloaded. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Araneus ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Okay, this mod better be good. At just under three megs uncompressed, it had better be worth its weight in disk space. In fact, because of its size, I know for a fact that Impulse Tracker and Mod4Win both miss out on samples because I only have a two meg GUS PnP sound card. Cubic Player is what I've used to critique this module, but even with that, I don't know if the song was played properly. For you mod-makers out there: Tell the listeners what the software and hardware requirements (or recommendations) are for best module enjoyment! The bassline is relatively simple, as these trance/dance-type mods can get, remaining constant throughout the entire length of the song. However, the effect is a dreamy trance mod that seems like the perfect type of mod to put on tape and show your computer-illiterate friends. There is enough variation in patterns and instrument combos to listen through the entire seven minute module without complaining. But I don't think I could listen to it twice in a row; it would sound too monotonous. The samples are, of course, very appropriate, but given the size of the module, you'd expect that. But having decent samples isn't good enough for me, because I invested so much time downloading the thing and expected a little more originality. If you have the drive space, a fast modem, and a preference for this dreamy-trance style of music, then by all means, download this one. It's definitely worth listening to. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ What!? A 700k sample! Not to mention the 400k sample. Huge file lengths are the reason I never bother with MPEGs and I certainly would never bother with a mod of this size if it wasn't my sworn duty. What makes it worse is this is a terrible mod. This is nothing but a germ of an idea, a basic motif that's beaten into the ground for over seven minutes. A simple four chord progression played over and over by various synths on top of a simple 4/4 dance beat and droning bass. That's really all there is. Of course, things drop in and out of the mix, but basically it's just an 8 bar cycle played ad nauseum. After about two minutes, you hear all there is to hear. The samples are pretty good but there are no real standouts. I could do without the sea surf sample, it's old hat and a waste of space. As a side note, for a thirty channel mod, it sounded fine on my Amiga. I can't recommend this one on any level. It's way too big with zero substance. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Cubix ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This particular piece of music is quite different from the pace of other songs of this type. With the beginning of the piece, the listener is whisked away by the crashing waves of the ocean into a dreamy place beneath. With repeating riffs, this piece conveys the sense of a daydream which, at times, does get a bit monotonous and overused. In this dream realm, the listener experiences all sorts of strange and wonderful melodies, spinning lazily about their head. The images of mythical sea creatures whiz about creating a feeling of wanting to visit such a place again and again. Overall, this piece is above average with its originality and clean samples. I would recommend this to listeners trying to find a change of pace in the fast moving world of mods. -----================================================================----- "The Once and Future King - Part I: Dawn of Pendragon" by Nightbeat (10ch S3M, 06:24) (nb_oafk1.zip [184K/261K]) [Orchestral/Atmospheric] "This is my version of the heroic tale of King Arthur and his noble knights. It's a kind of 'Mod symphony,' an orchestral soundtrack inspired by the legend of the Celtic king. This is only the first part, which pictures the king's birth and the death of his father. Five or six more parts are under creation...." [Nightbeat] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Old Wolf 98+ 97 98 72 90 Cubix 95+ -- -- 99 95 Mansooj 84+ 80 -- 70 70 WolfSong 83+ 88 72 73 70 MING 70= 70 65 80 60 Nemesis 68+ 77 72 63 60 Anders Akerheden 65+ 65 60 79 60 Walrus26 49+ 60 -- 25 50 /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Old Wolf ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The thick mist swirls around the desolate, rocky landscape. From within the mist, a horn sounds. Moments later, in the distance, it is answered. A challenge, or an acknowledgement? Out of the mist, an army slowly rides; hardened, battle worn men. They file slowly past, expressions hard, determined. Their leader rides past, towards their head. He is a tall, handsome charismatic man, that any one of his army would follow to their deaths, if need be. This is an orchestral/fantasy piece, that could have been lifted straight out of the soundtrack of a medieval movie. It is apparently part 1 of 3. It begins with low strings, and a soft heartbeat. A horn sounds, then another. From here, the piece slowly builds. Gradually, the pace changes, changing the mood, building the tension. At each change different instruments--strings, kettledrums, brass--take the weight of the piece and move it forward. The tension builds, and expectations rise until the climax. Here, the piece really kicks into gear with snares and kettle-drum driving, and the orchestra swelling and moving through a rousing melody. Suddenly, it is over, with the kettledrums and light strings holding the tension, and slowly building on it. As expected, the final climax arrives and once again the snares and kettledrums set the beat for the rest of the orchestra. The ending looms...then it hits suddenly, but satisfyingly, the tension gone, the excitement remaining. Musically, there is nothing new here. In any movie, any dramatic film piece, we've heard it all before. However, two things make this piece stand out: Firstly, it has been done well. It looks, and feels, as though attention has been paid to every detail: the instruments, the arrangement, the pacing. It feels like the work of a craftsman. Secondly, it's a mod. Okay, you know that, but I really did find myself forgetting that this was a piece of electronic music at times. Most mod pieces, orchestral or otherwise, tend to give themselves away, if only once or twice, as digital music. A sample out of range here, a fake sounding note change there or an impossible sounding arrangement. But this piece is up in the rare range of true 'realistic' music. Part of the success of this module is obviously due to the samples. Without good samples, a good arrangement will bring only a mediocre mod. The samples are all well chosen; all of good quality, and properly pitched. To top if off, all are kept within their effective range so that there are no 'strained instrument' sounds. Samples aside, the arrangement is top quality. It's almost as if the piece was arranged as if for a real orchestra, then skillfully pulled back into the somewhat limited confines of the module format. The instruments are literally played as instruments; effects being used to allow them to start, change notes and stop realistically. It was here that I was surprised to find that this was a ScreamTracker III module, and not an IT module with ITs note continue capability. Instead of the "close enough" approach (often seen with percussion) if there is the possibility that a note might be cut off by the following one, the instrument is flipped to another channel, then pulled back later. Nothing really amazing, but the surprise came from the realisation that Nightbeat has used this technique and still put a whole orchestra in only 10 channels! Effects are also used well to help the flow. Loops, speed changes and slides are all crafted into the piece as the need arises and help to give this piece its realistic feel. Is it perfect? It's pretty close, but there are a couple of minor flaws. First, and I suppose least, is that around the three minute mark, at a section change, there is a slight catch. It seems to be due to one extra drum-beat that shouldn't be there. Yes, it's minor, but it does interrupt the flow a little. Secondly, as I've already said, there's not much original here. If you're looking for something new and groundbreaking musically, you won't find it here. What you will find is a beautifully crafted piece that pulls you in, surfs you along on the crest of an emotional wave and sets you down, gasping, on the peak of a mountain, enthralled and excited. I'm off to download parts 2 and 3. In summary, this one has made it to the car cassette player: my highest honour. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Walrus26 ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The hardest genre to transfer over to module form is orchestral, hands down. A composer has to capture the subtlety of each instrument, each of which is difficult to master, and then throw them all together, weaving complex tapestries of stylized sound. The Dawn of Pendragon makes an admirable effort, but falls short. The piece begins primordially with fifths in the bass, with what sounds like a rearticulation on each beat, but is really rough looping. A solo brass sound enters next, largely out of balance with the sustaining basses. The phrygian solo line never properly resolves, which is okay most of the time, but doesn't quite fit in an exposed circumstance such as this. The movement proceeds with a two chord motive played by the strings, introduced by an excellently controlled cymbal roll/crash. The heavy articulation on the second chord sounds good, and the ninth chords are a nice touch. All during this section, though, the timpani is going nuts, striking notes that are out of range of an actual timpani, not to mention the capacity of the sample. The central theme enters in order 15 of 63, which in my opinion, is far too late. The theme could have been a part of the introduction, and could have been explored in detail by the time order 15 came around. As a result, the only variation was an entry in thirds, and a modulation. Modulations by a major second, in either direction, are used almost exclusively by popular music, and are seldom found in classical styles because of their abrupt nature. The Dawn of Pendragon has three. The next section ties in well with the introduction. The basses yield a rich, full sound, even though the pizzicato strings are slightly overbearing. With another major second modulation and a roll off, the piece vaults into a march. I have never been a huge fan of snare drums in classical music, sounds a little too contrived. Some sections of this piece sound almost like the theme from The A-Team. Even though I disapprove of the snare usage, it *was* done well. The rolls were well controlled and displayed glimpses of realism. I was also impressed by the use of different pitches of snare to simulate different attacks. After the piece finishes its march section, it recapitulates the main theme from the beginning. Here, the timpani once again far exceeds its limits, trying to carry a syncopated melodic line. The timpani should never be asked to carry any kind of scalar melodic weight. The part should have been given to the strings or brass. With a well timed suspended cadence, the piece falls back into the march and quickly finishes. Overall, The Dawn of Pendragon exhibits good thematic material, but does not successfully tie it together. A good majority of the samples were ripped from Skaven's music from Second Reality. I have nothing against ripping, in general, in fact I rarely use a sample that *hasn't* been ripped. I just had an overwhelming feeling of deja vu when I listened to this piece, primarily because the form was so similar to Skaven's piece, and the identical sample didn't do much to counteract that feeling. I would have enjoyed this much more with a little more inspiration and revision. --- References --- Symphony by Skaven ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ My exposure to modulized orchestral pieces has been growing by leaps and bounds lately, what with my newly adopted intentional focus on downloading and listening to such things. Naturally, I grabbed Jase's incredible MC3 winner Kingdom Skies (I had heard it...and heard it...etc. on my copy of the Freedom CD, but never via the module itself). Jase has set the standard for such pieces, at least insofar as my personal experience is concerned. Such a high standard can be a double-edged sword, for those who apply themselves to the same genre, they are attempting to rise to heights that may be out of reach of even good composers, and I fear that I may sometimes fail to keep the perspective appropriate. Nightbeat fares well with this first in a storyline series of pieces. Dawn of Pendragon sits squarely within the orchestral genre, with the expected sample set and progressions. Plenty of drama is included, which is, of course, another expected element. Naturally, this makes for a piece that has built in hooks to involve the listener in the goings on of the storyline being portrayed. It doesn't take long for the drama to ensue, but unfortunately, it does take a bit too long for the initial segment to move to its focus. With two minutes of timpani and string play out of the way, in come the horns and supporting background strings. The image focus changes from scene to scene (tempo to tempo, urgency to suspensefully building drama) several times throughout the remainder of the piece. Well done to keep the flow of something that can tend to bog down in its own drama from doing just that. Pizzicato strings are used smartly, first here, then a scene or two later, there, to break up the tone. And as is normally the case, a fairly dramatic and energetic dead-stop climax. This is a skillfully wrought piece of work. I am notoriously (at least in my own opinion) hard to please when it comes to symphonic/orchestral tracks, but I am pleased with this one. It isn't Kingdom Skies, but it works its own special magic quite nicely. I'm left with the desire to do as Nightbeat demands in his sampletexts: "Go get the other parts!!!" I found very little of importance wrong with this track. The various components seemed well suited and thoughtfully used, however, I am a bit miffed (and I'm all too often miffed for the same reason in regards to orchestral mods) that the opening strings were driven by a looped sample with painfully obvious seaming. Doesn't a smoothing routine exist to fix this sort of thing? It is such a major shame to be reminded every few seconds that you're listening to something fabricated on a computer, when in this day, such things should be functionally easy to eliminate. Bear in mind that this production DOES leave you with a fairly clear impression that it is not whole, in and of itself. No surprise, of course, since it is an opus part one. So, I would suggest that if you happen to like orchestral pieces, get this and the other parts at the same time, and settle in for an orchestral feast. --- References --- Kingdom Skies by Jase [download] Other parts in "The Once and Future King" series: (will be linked as soon as I get them) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Nemesis ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Now, if anyone were trying to imitate Skaven, this would be it. Some imitations are better than others, and this certainly qualifies as one of the better imitations, but the elements of Skaven's popular tune, the beginning and end-part of Second Reality, are all quite present. The samples are about 90% from Skaven's tune (the original sources, where Skaven ripped them from, doesn't come to mind, though Skaven did mix some of them together and process them a bit himself), and maybe 10% from Jase's MC3 winner Kingdom Skies. However, the samples aren't all that good--many of them with plenty of noise and noticeable looping points. This song tries to be both of the aforementioned songs, and does an admirable job at the very least, despite the similarity. (Let's keep in mind, those are two *damn* good songs to draw elements from.) A strange, almost ethereal-sounding french horn begins this piece, with a low string bass fading in and out as well. Unfortunately, the string bass has a rather annoying audible loop point that detracts a bit from the believability of the song, which could have been smoothed out with a bit more effort. Continuing on, some nice-sounding timpani is brought in, as well as strings, fading in and out, wth bright staccatos on every second strike. Unfortunately, the samples used for the strings at this point are quite bad, with a double helping of ugly noise that you can't help but notice. Regardless, the piece progresses, and begins to build its way to the climax, with pizzicato strings plucking the melody away, but with a new bass instrument, which sounds a bit better than its previous incarnation. Once the climax of the piece finally arrives, I can hardly keep myself from speculating as to where I heard that melody before. (This can be a good thing or a bad thing--in this case, I'd consider it a bad thing.) Not to be nit-picky here, but the melody at this part is pretty much one pattern repeated for awhile, with a few key changes, up a third, then down a third, then up a third, and so on--that sort of thing. Eventually, it goes into a short lapse, where everything slows down a bit, and ends up sounding a bit like the beginning again, after which it then proceeds and gives us a rehash of the same climax, only with a proper ending. I can say that I like the progression of chords at the end, however cliched it might be, and enjoyed listening to that part. The rest of the tune, however, has a few glaring problems. Still, it's worth a look, though its more skilled counterparts Kingdom Skies and Skaven's Second Reality tune, are quite a bit better. --- References --- Symphony by Skaven ([download]) Kingdom Skies by Jase [download] /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The strong point here is definitely the composition. Very classical and theatrical in design, this song does not go sparingly on the atmosphere. The instruments range over the orchestral field with the main presence being horns and strings with support from other moving sounds such as kettledrums and pizzicato violins. I would normally say that the song was too long (6:30), but not in this case and with this style of music. This is what most people might consider more of a piece of art. One thing that I admire about this song is that the composer's main focus seems to be the music itself. He wasn't concerned about filling it to the brim with mind blowing effects or trying to reinvent the speed of light in music. The whole thing seemed to be based on pure inspiration and followed whatever the composer was feeling, no matter how fast or slow. The intent here is for a good, image provoking piece of music, and might I say that the attempt was quite successful. This is one of those "I laughed, I cried" pieces. The range of emotion and intensity is very wide going from tranquil and relaxing to deperate and sorrowful, and all in good order and with precise timing. The song does have its weaker points, though. The instrument selection was good, but I thought the quality could have been better. The sounds were scratchy at times and there were a couple of bad loops. Plenty of effects were put in to affect the speed and play of the song, but I believe there could have been a few more used to help out toward a cleaner sound. It's always been my opinion that within reason, the actual music can make up for shortcomings in the sound or performance. This holds true here. In experiencing the piece as a whole, the music overshadows its problems. When listening to it, I didn't even *want* to think about the problems it had because it was too much fun just to listen and enjoy it. This is a very good piece of work which I'd recommend to any classical fan and for anyone that just enjoys a good piece of music. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ ...And yet more so-so orchestral music. Dammit, I KNOW I shouldn't have said that, I KNOW Nightbeat really is a great composer, I KNOW that even though this tune isn't the best I have heard from this composer, it is, by comparison with the lot of orchestral tunes out there, well over the average. But, the average in this genre of the mod world is so painfully low, that 'above average' doesn't really mean that much. Let's face it, writing orchestral mods is hard, very hard. Both in technical and musical terms. And not even a usually quality composer like Nightbeat fully masters that art. There are a lot of stretched out string sets, deep thumping and big orchestra hits, some flutes, woodwind, and all the usuals, but the theme, story, melody seems to have been left behind. As an epic piece, that's not so much needed as in other types, but still there has to be something that can hold the pieces together. It goes crash-tadaa-taaa-daaa all of a sudden, without really having any reason, except that the composer liked that sequence and just HAD to put it in. At least that's how it feels to me, the listener. Also, the samples are not really of any top quality: poorly looped strings and very edgy horns. A good job both in tracking and sampling of the drum score, though, while other parts are simply dynamically mediocre. And yet again, it IS better, both technically and compositionally, than many, many of the classical style mods I've heard. So the technical flaws I can stand. But, unfortunately, it had another affect on me, too. I actually had to actively listen to it over and over while writing this review, cause however hard I try, afterwards, I can't remember anything about it. This would probably do great as theme music somewhere, but as a stand alone piece of music, it didn't really make it, on being too faceless. So considering the ambition versus the result here, my judgment is: Thumbs...up...down...er...somewhere in between. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------========[ Anders Akerheden ]========-------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I get the impression this song was never completely finished, as if Nightbeat got tired of the tune and just wanted it finished off as quickly as possible; there seemed to be some sounds missing, in my opinion. Where are those 'metal hit' sounds, adding the feeling of long forgotten worlds and knights carrying their shining broadswords onto the battlefield? I sure missed 'em. In the opening section it seems one of the digital strings has been looped in a rather sloppy way. Maybe it was made that way on purpose, but it annoys me. Once the music intensifies, the addition of kettledrums and some really nice strings makes the composition a whole lot more interesting. That is, if you've managed to wait for about one and a half minutes. Some minutes later, the entrance of a sharp march drum cuts through. It doesn't sound bad, but it wasn't quite properly integrated with the rest of the instruments, playing too much on its own and drowning out the melody. The same goes for a harp that initiates that same sequence. Maybe the addition of a small echo would soften its touch. Besides all this, it's not a bad tune; generally somewhat above the average mod. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Cubix ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Nightbeat has come up with another masterpiece! Form the opening of the lonely trumpet to the powerful addition of beating percussion, Nightbeat has provided a piece of music which is in a class by itself. The beginning of the piece is set in a lonely room where a turmoil of emotions is brewing. First the loneliness, the fear and anticipation of the day's events. Then the melody turns very rigid and stoic giving the feeling of royalty marching down the street with an air of confidence, ready to ascend to the throne and take their rightful place in history. You can feel the turbulance of light fighting darkness within this piece of music, and the conflict of emotions: happiness, anxiety, relief, and anticipation. It is truly a wonderful piece of music and my only complaint is that it isn't longer. -----================================================================----- "Suffering Variety" by Shrift (16ch S3M, 03:12) (sufvar.zip [344K/501K]) [Melodic Dance/Industrial] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== WolfSong 83+ 82 72 93 80 MING 77+ 70 85 90 75 Skullsaw 70+ 75 50 80 65 Rebriffer 70+ 65 70 65 70 Peraphon 43- -- -- -- 68 Nemesis 36+ 15 20 50 60 /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I guess this is the kind of music I'd compose if I were smoking weed. It's dizzy, it's jazzy and it's totally out there. A soft, pulpy mass of sweepy noises, and soft, cool melodies. Suffering Variety is, in fact, an incredibly appropriate title. It's really not common, but this song is really suffering from variety. It simply has too much of it. The style (a very interesting one, by the way, more about that below) is well pasted out over the whole length of the tune, but there is no coherency whatsoever on the small scale. No distinct melody, zillions of little delicate side themes, and a whole lot of effects, all randomly put out from start to end. Variety made the tune so vague and...slippery, I had one helluva job trying to get a grip on it. Anyway, don't let this scare you. The tune is well worth the download, as the experience of having it passing through your ears, brain and wherever cool tunes are stored is an interesting event indeed. It is dark, atmospheric synth-jazz with delicate chip sequences, cool, dissonant piano chords (note: dissonant, not disharmonic; they all fit in perfectly), soft horn section and the most interesting, innovative, addictive and downright cool drum score I've heard so far this year. Soft snares and deep bass punches are scattered all over the place and percussion traces along in its heels to produce a hectic yet ordered mess of what must be either a whole set of drummers, or a very talented octopus. :) This is also another great example that shows you don't really need all those fancy envelopes, CD quality samples and sixtywhatever channels to make a dynamically superb somg. Shrift handles the S3M format with great care and total control, and what comes out can not, at least by me, be distinguished from most fancy IT and XM productions out there. A quite nice sounding mod with style, but without character. However, in this case, style is more than enough. Go get. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Oh dear, this title is not a good start. The last thing I need is to be depressed.... :-( "First Released Music" the sample notes proudly state and, to be honest, for a first effort this is very good indeed. Shrift has obviously paid some attention to the Mod Composers Manual (there's no such beast so don't ask for copies!!) but ultimately knowing the tracking tricks does not always lead straight to tracking glory. Firstly, let me get a personal gripe out of the way. Speaking as a composer, I find Shrift's comments about 'sample ripping without credit' a touch irritating. How can we help mod listeners to show respect to program makers by registering (and not cracking) when we don't even respect other trackers' hard earned work. I believe, as I believe many composers do, in credit where credit is due. If someone took the time and trouble to make a good, clear (and sometimes unique) sample, then the least you can do is credit them for it. Simply saying that ripping is the sincerest form of flattery is a cop out. *We* are responsible for our own industry, what we do counts.... Okay, politics aside, what's the track like? ("At last!" you say!) The aforementioned ripped samples are very good; obviously Shrift is stealing from the best. :) There's a deep grand piano sound in there that is very, very good indeed. The track is a kind of industrial/rock number that's more than a little difficult to pin down, but quite interesting for all that. My main quibble was that there seems to be a distinct lack of focus to it. You are aware that the track is very workmanlike, your ears even perk up in one or two spots but the experience falls far short of the sense of wonder a great mod imparts. In summary, this is a good, but certainly not exceptional track. One thing did surprise me, the ending felt very ragged--almost as if the composer had decided they'd had enough of it.... /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This was a refreshingly unique piece to hear. I know that complimenting something with the usage of the term 'unique' usually means that you can't think of anything good to say about it, but in this case I can. Not only is it unique but it was quite nicely presented. Being unique, it's rather hard to describe by mentioning a common style so I'll go through it piece by piece. At the base of the song is an almost tribal display of percussion using a mixture of traditional and modern instrument sounds that the piece seems to be centered around most of the time. There didn't seem to be a melody, as such, rather there were snappy pieces and combinations of note phrases done by various instruments ranging from outlandish synth instruments to a simple thudding piano. The sound that this song delivers, as a whole, is quite involved and definitely heavy with atmosphere. In fact, I could see this song seated very well as part of movie soundtrack. Shrift has used certain sounds and instruments in just the right places to express a suspenseful feeling. I found the layering of this song to be impressive. By layering I mean that many different sounds and parts are being played together at the same time, but all complementing each other and adding to the song, as a whole. It looks like this must have been quite a project to make. Two things...some of the samples were a bit grainy, though they fit quite well, and I didn't like the ending. This song needed a dramatic ending but all we got was a simple cut off and repeat. I don't know if Shrift really wanted it that way or if he just got lazy. Shame on you! Despite my gripes, though, it is an impressive song. If you're in the mood for something that you've probably never heard before, this is a recommended download. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This piece is something the likes of which I haven't really heard before. It's kind of weird--it doesn't seem to have any real sense of coherency yet there do seem to be definite recurring patterns. Based on this and my lack of experience with music as seemingly out of the ordinary as this piece, I can only call it progressive. The song text implies that this song deals with pain--I can see that. There is a definite dark and gloomy side to this piece that could very well be an exploration of pain, how someone may suffer and what they may feel. The samples are of a fairly good quality. Shrift seems to have selected samples that fit the purpose and overall idea of the song. I did notice that some of the samples seemed a little 'poppy'; they seem to pop each time a note was played. The loops seem to have been set very well with none appearing blatantly blatantly obvious. Some of the samples sounded a little crackly too, but it was hard to notice. The song seems to have a very rich sound, covering mainly the lower end of the sound spectrum. Overall, it wasn't really my cup of tea. It just got more and more tedious. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Nemesis ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ One word describes the intro to this song: OUCH. Luckily, it gets better from there, but not all that much. If it weren't for the fact that there is some actual consistency to the rhythm, the beginning would sound like Shrift let a small animal walk over his keyboard, and then forgot to change anything before releasing the song. Progressing from there, it gets a bit better for a short time, as there is actually a semblance of melody, and it isn't nearly as cacophonous. Unfortunately, it never improves itself to the point where I can say that it reaches the 'average' level, as many parts of this song, were just painful to listen to. Sorry if I'm being a bit harsh, but this is another one of those songs you could use to interrogate someone, if you really, *really* had something against them. It does have two noticeable merits, however: The samples aren't all that bad, and there is a rhythm of some sort throughout the song. In fact, the percussion isn't all that bad: it's actually listenable if you mute the rest of the channels. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Suffering Variety is labelled as dance/industrial, it's neither. I'd say it fits comfortably under 'other.' The overall feel is tribal with its bongos, toms and anvil. An acoustic piano provides the bassline and a cornucopia of instruments jump in and out with short melodic snippets. Saxophones, synth doodles and assorted electro-sounds are tossed about and withdrawn before they get a chance to bore. Unfortunately, the sound quality isn't too good, very scratchy and low rez. There are no melodies to grab onto, they flitter about like wind-blown leaves, yet I find the music to be cohesive. The mod has an improvised quality that works very well. Suffering Variety is a refreshing listen especially after being subjected to too many techno mayonnaise sandwiches. -----================================================================----- "Deborah's Song" by The Prof (??ch IT, 08:07) (blues.zip [150K/273K]) [Easy Listening/Soft Rock] "Deborah's Song is based on the classic 12-bar blues progression (with harmonic modification). I've always been a big fan of Pink Floyd and the electronic orchestral sounds in the song are perhaps a result of that--especially with the wailing lead guitar in the middle." Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Walrus26 57+ 40 45 60 70 Mansooj 44+ 40 -- 56 65 Nemesis 41+ 45 41 44 35 Peraphon 41- -- -- -- 60 WolfSong 38= 46 30 60 50 CCerberus 33= 86 40 68 13 Husanak 30+ 35 25 35 30 MING 25+ 15 50 60 80 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Nemesis ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Alright, this song starts out somewhat abruptly, which is not necessarily a bad thing, in general, but here it seemed just to sort of 'begin' without any building or lead-in or anything. Immediately noticeable, and somewhat annoying, is the percussion, consisting of a droning bass drum and ride cymbal. The bass drum is laid down in monotonous fashion, with a thump on every other downbeat, and with little fills that quickly become grating, as they continue in the same way for quite a long time. The cymbal is played in just the sort of rhythm that doesn't contribute to a groove, with strikes on every other downbeat, and in between, an attempt at some sort of triplet. Regardless, the song doesn't sound very pleasing to listen to for the first half or so, with layered chords, a 'walking' acoustic bass, and discombobulated flute melodies that made me wonder if there was some feat of miraculous musical genius at work here, whose grandiose feats of tonal imagery I could hardly understand, or if it were just put together in quick and sloppy fashion. The best part about the first half, or so, would have to be the bass which flows and ebbs nicely, travelling up and down the notes rather smoothly. One quick note before I continue: Volume envelopes are there in IT for a reason. You don't have to use those ugly sounding note cuts (these: ^^^). Use some volume envelopes and NNAs to smooth out those chords and leads, while adding some sweet reverb. You'll find the changes for the better. A few minutes into the song, the drum track finally changes, and at this point I'm left wondering if these were the rhythms the composer was trying to create earlier on in the song, since they sound very similar, only a bit more organized (traditional jazz three-ride-cymbal-hit groovin'). It gets a bit easier on the ears at this point, when it seems everything simply makes a bit more sense rhythmically, even though the same flute solo has been playing out its quite repetetive melody for a long time now. The bass continues to flow along here, as well as the almost ethereal sounding pads. However, this song continued on a bad note for me, as the composer brings in that same old overused electric guitar sample we all ripped from Necros' Realization (which, in turn, Necros ripped from somewhere else). The loop on this sample is pretty bad, and drones on and on, making me wince whenever it is played up high. To top it off, the guitar keeps playing the same melody as the flute played before, only now in thirds. I think it was at this point I noticed the song was only about half-finished. To say the least, it's pretty darned long, coming in at around 8 minutes. Of course, I've heard a few songs that length that kept my interest, but unfortunately, this one doesn't have any particular hooks or interesting changes, so I had to resist the urge to fast forward at that point. I wouldn't say this is a "failed attempt" at a sort of soft jazz piece, but more like one that could have been better, given a bit more time and practice. All told, the second half is pretty listenable, and might suffice as background music for someone who happens to enjoy it a bit more than I did. --- References --- Realization by Necros ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This could have a been a great song. Huh? Did I put my cards on the table too soon? Yes, in the hands of a seasoned composer, this could have been something. The 'feel' is there, the mild groove is there to get the mind settled in, but the character is missing and the progressions are taken to unnecessary extremes. The track is essentially three interrelated, but too similar, segments. What we have is basically a slow segment with a kind of lazy club tone to it, with flute, synth, bass and simple percussion. This carries on in a smooth, but rather tiresome way for nearly three and a half minutes. This is two minutes longer than necessary, in this case. The second segment is much the same as the first, but with a rather shrill and 'wiry' guitar sample replacing the flute (which, although flutes often tickle my cringe reflexes, was a lot nicer than this). About the only variance between these first two segments is that The Prof introduces some overly loud, and much too aggressive cymbal crashes. The last of the three segments, again, is nearly the same as the first two, but taking on something more of a haughty nature, with a in'n'out mixture this time of the guitar, flute and some rather nice tube-tone piano. This is the best segment, by far. However, it is droned on, like the first, for far too long (over three minutes), and includes the highly questionable cymbal crashes (shaddup already! ;)). Other problems are tracking, or more precisely, technically oriented. The main thing I noticed with the articulation of all the focus instruments is that they're lifeless. Totally devoid of any noteworthy inflection (and most often entirely free of such). Notes play, and stop, play and stop; raw and crude, zero inflection. Fortunately, the biggest problems with this track are things that The Prof should be able to come to grips with as he moves forward in his tracking career. Mainly, a sense of flow--the ability to realize when enough is enough--the horse is dead, stop it already; and some brainstorming with the sample effects man. Two other little things: where were the blues? This is not a bluesy track. It is mildly melancholic, but not bluesy. The other thing is the cute little ending. A dead stop, then an extra tone. Unusual. So, as I said, this could have been a great song. I actually still liked the root sound and feel, but it was overshadowed greatly by the failings of what I expect is an apprentice tracker. I would have to say that The Prof is on good footing when it comes to expecting improvement in the future. The basics of style are there, but the technical basics are sorely lacking. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ People like Sara, Eileen, Jack and Dianne have all gone down in history because of their theme songs. Well, there is a darker side to all this. Not everyone gets a good theme song, and if I were Deborah right now, I would be dumping a bag of sugar in The Prof's gas tank. To make this easier, I'll just split up this review into good things and not-so-good things. The good things first. The chords and layout of the song are not bad. It kind of reminds me of an old jazz band, the kind with a stand up bass and a piano in the corner in a dim, smoke-filled bar in the city in the middle of the night. Honestly, though, I think the biggest good thing here was the intentions. The bad things. I sense a first-time tracker here. The tracking was very messy to the point that all of the samples simply started and were chopped off when the composer was done with them. Even the rhythm sounds like a skipping CD or a streaming audio file during a lot of lag. The melodies (done by a flute and later a badly looped guitar sample) were expressionless. No vibrato, volume slides or portamento. Perhaps it's just an effect of the way the rhythm was tracked, but the entire first half of the song seems to be offbeat. During the second half, the tempo speeds up to a 'stray cat,' bringing the piece only slightly out of its pit. Most all of the backing chords and sounds remind me of Casio autochords. Keep practicing, Prof. It takes a lot of time sometimes to make a song that not only you, but others will enjoy listening to. You've got the chord and musical ideas down, you just need to work on your presentation. Study other modules you like. Check their techniques and learn from the masters. Don't sell yourself short. Keep fixing things in that module until you're happy with it. It's my overall opinion that this module probably wouldn't be of much interest to the general public. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Husanak ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The first thing I thought when I heard this tune was, damn someone forgot to tell this guy that Impulse Tracker only *looks* like Screamtracker. I really hate to come down too hard on a new tracker as I believe The Prof to be, however, this really isn't a good piece of music. In terms of composition, The Prof at least tried to do something different by using an interesting pattern length which was nice, if possibly ineffective. I did find a few redeeming qualities in some of the leads: a couple passages had interesting ideas which just weren't realized. The first bit of the song seems also to be a bit erratic in terms of beat. I may have just gotten that impression, though, 'cause a super-annoying ride sample made me want to just stop the tune. However, the tune seems to settle down near the end as The Prof adds a little more spice and makes the tune much more full. The best part of the tune would most definitely be the synth bass segment which shows some good timing. The area of technical skill is where The Prof seems to be lacking the most, and that is a good thing. Technical skill is the easiest aspect of tracking to improve upon. Technically, The Prof doesn't really use any of Impulse's features; some volume envelopes would have really helped make the leads flow. As they are, their very 'start/stop' nature, which I gather was the intention due to the note off commands in the pattern data, was a nice idea which was way overused. Well, The Prof shows some potential; this tune does have a couple good ideas. However, if he wishes to become a better tracker, he should be advised to look at some good mods and study their technical aspects. Perhaps if The Prof changed his nick to The Student and practiced for a year or two, he could become quite a good tracker. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song's filename is 'blues,' which was kind of appropriate, but not appropriate in the way the composer most likely intended, since the song itself does not manage to show enough qualities to resemble any blues whatsoever. But, it is a song that really makes me want to sing the blues. "I'm sittin' at my 'puter, listening to this shite. If no one gives me better stuff I'll sing the blues all night." ...Because Deborah's Song is a musical production of little or no merit. It starts weakly, advances to boring, and at its peaks is half-baked. It all starts with one thick sounding pad, a bassline and a drumscore. The drums are kind of special, where you have a martial rhythm, but played on a synthetic hihat. First, how did the composer ever get this weird idea? Second, why did he keep it after hearing how it sounded? Beats me. After that, a flute stumbles in and plays a rhythmically unsound melody. Yes, it does fit, but a melody has to do more than fit to sound good. This sounds anything but good. Anyway, this goes on for a while before a lead guitar and a few other instruments take turns at leading the tune forward. Never upward, though, since the same sad themes dominate it all the way through. Towards the end, we encounter a tempo change which lightens things up a bit, and the song rounds itself up in the normal way. The samples are all of highest quality sounding, individually, very good, and the composer has, if not a fair, at least an acceptable grip on the techniques. But what to do when the composition is this plain bad? Again, beats me. I do not like this song. That's it. Sorry. Next. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This seems to be a very moody blues ballad. The background is constantly filled with a quiet, deep synth organ which, to me, gives this song a very contemplative aspect. The song appears to be divided into a couple of separate sections, as the percussion patterns and rhythm change. The percussion seems pretty standard for this type of song, using a ride cymbal and quiet bass drum to set a fairly generic rhythm. There is a panpipe used where perhaps a saxophone would have been the more traditional choice. The samples are of a good quality, and seem to be appropriate for what the composer is trying to achieve (mind you, I've never heard the panpipes in a blues song...), however, there were more than a few loop point seams to be heard which put me off a bit. Some of the samples also sounded a little hissy, but it was not highly noticeable. The various percussion instruments were fairly good and were used well. The sound spectrum seems to be filled very well; high, medium and low pitches seem to be well balanced. I'm not a blues fan, so any significant deviation from the traditional style is lost on me. If you're a fan of this particular style, it might be worth a try. Note: Does not play in Cubic 1.7 with the IT loader. One pattern uses channels beyond Cubic Player's 32 channel limit. It seems like a strange move, since there are unused channels in that pattern within the limit. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This tune wants *so desperately* to be smooth, but instead, it is doomed to suffer from both a plethora of rough edges and a palette of crummy samples. What a mess! I'll start off with this song's good point--the composition. It's a nice, jazzy tune. Very laidback, very listenable. This would be a great song to sit back to, have a drink, smoke a cigar; or maybe just play as background music one warm night while you're sitting out on the balcony looking out over the city. Unfortunately, take that tune and put THESE SAMPLES into it, and the entire effect is lost. I mean, everybody knows that the MIDI 'distorted guitar' sample sucks, right? Well, there is a sample in this song that I *swear* I think was taken as a direct sampling from that MIDI sample. Horrible. And there's just not enough use of slides and so forth to make the jazz sound...HUMAN. An incessant ride cymbal throughout the song is not only too loud, but it also cuts itself off very obviously, ruining any chance of tricking the ear into thinking this is a real cymbal. Hey, and where's the cool brushed snare that always goes along with a jazz ride cymbal? I dunno, I think this song had good intentions but failed miserably. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Walrus26 ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'm not quite sure what The Prof was trying to prove with eight minutes of this monotonous claptrap. This module repeats itself twenty one times, without any kind of significant variance. The greatest example of theme and variance in music history is J. S. Bach's Organ Passagalia in C minor, and it only repeated fifteen times. It *is* ten minutes long, but it changes style five times, which is not the case with Deborah's Song. The song started out for the first four minutes in 3/4, which was refreshing to hear in a module, and offered a nice change-over into 12/8 swing, but that was about the only change of pace. The basic idea of this module is a good one, but it was unfortunately presented in this dull, bloated format. -----================================================================----- "