home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Aminet 23
/
Aminet 23 (1998)(GTI - Schatztruhe)[!][Feb 1998].iso
/
Aminet
/
mods
/
wmr
/
WMR_wk33.lha
/
wk33.txt
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1997-11-12
|
85KB
|
1,476 lines
WMR (Reviews [week #33])
__ __
__ | \ __ ______/ |_
| | | o \ | | | / o | \
|o | | \| o| |o _/ | o\
[]=======| |==| \ |=| |/ | \========[]
[]=======| |==| \ |=| | |\ \=======[]
[]=======| |==| \|=| | |=\ \======[]
:: | | | \ | | | / / ::
:. | | | |\ \| | /| |/ / ::
: | | |/\ | \ | |/ | | / :
| | / \| |\ | | | | /
:. | | / \ | \ | |__| | / .:
:: | |/ \| \_| | |/ :
:: | /\ | | __| |\ ::
[]=======| / \ |=| |==| | \==========[]
[]=======| /| \ |=| |==| | \=========[]
[]=======| /=| |\ |=| |==| | \========[]
|o / | | \ o| |o | | |\ o\(mansooj)
|_/ | o | \_| |__/ | o | \__/
|___| |___|
(Originally compiled and added on November 11, 1997)
(last updated November 11, 1997)
-----========================================-----
-----================================================================-----
"3 Hole Head"
by Skullsaw
(4ch MED, 05:05)
(3holehead.zip [119K/216K])
[Techno/Trance]
"Three Hole Head is a techno tune that happens to be in 3/4 time. A
all of my mods it was done on an Amiga using OctaMED."
[Skullsaw]
Samples -----------------.
Originality -------------. |
Technical ---------. | |
Composition -----. | | |
Overall -. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
====================
ESP 86= 88 80 92 85
Clones 75+ 70 70 70 90
Novus 65- 70 -- 90 70
Mansooj 52= 40 -- 45 60
Fanta C 52= 50 67 45 78
Rebriffer 50- 50 55 45 45
Nemesis 48= 40 50 65 35
MING 18+ 10 -- 60 --
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
I have something of a problem reviewing modules which make me wonder why I
don't try my hand at tracking. That is to say, a module which is so simply
constructed it doesn't seem to pose much of a hurdle for what would be a
rank newbie like myself. Appearances can be deceiving, but not
necessarily. If that sounds like a slight, it isn't. At least not per se.
My mindset, such as it is ;), leans more towards recognizing complexity as
something that creates a better overall effect. However, minimalistic
pieces such as this are not excluded, although I am far more inclined
towards minimalist con melody than minimalist con noodling. For an example
of what I'm talking about, avail yourself of JuiCe's simple, but melifluous
Infinite Red Shift. Granted, that's more ambient, and this is more trance,
but my point remains unaffected by that distinction.
To shoot down the big question mark that may have just popped up above your
head, I will elaborate. (Being only four channels, and also as
minimalistic as it is, it's a pretty quick and easy job to break down this
piece.)
One channel is entirely devoted to a hip-hop drumloop. Another channel is
a mixture of complementary percussion (hihat/hihat+bass/bass) and near the
end, some sine 'beeping.' Next is a wavering synth backup line which breaks
for a stretch of several patterns to allow a fat, burbling acid sound to
play through, then a fat rave bass for two more, then back to the wavering
synth. Last is what would have to be called a melody line for lack of
something more indicative. Here, there is either a discontinuos 'sfx' type
sound (sort of a white noise voice), a high-pitched, wavering sine
interspersed with the earlier sound, then a simplistic four note melody
with a different wavering sine, then back to the first wavering sine and
discontinuous 'white noise voice'; a break for a discontinuous farty
acid-synth, then a seven note pseudo-melody interspersed with that same
synth. This line is finished up with a lone hihat into some silence then
into some sine beeping in complement to the other track.
The effect is nothing extraordinary. The track is simple and unexciting,
and mostly free of the sort of interest some level of complexity or
diversity would yield.
Perhaps I'm becoming jaded now, having reviewed a number of modules I
wouldn't have sought out on my own, but which still fall partly into my
area of interest, but I don't think this is even worthy of being considered
original. By now, I've built in my mind a distinction that innovation
equals originality, and noise just equals noise. Many modules of this type
seem to be so intentionally weird/off-off-mainstream that I can imagine the
same result from someone that's new to the task just plugging in some
sounds to complement a prefabricated drumloop. In other words, different,
but not really innovative in any way.
If you like your tunes simple and unexciting, this is a fair choice.
There's little to hook your mind, so you can zone out pretty easily--in
that, it seems to fit the bill of minimalist trance. Your bag? Grab it.
--- References ---
Infinite Red Shift by JuiCe ([download]/[reviews])
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Nemesis ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
One little note about this song before we begin: It definitely wasn't
meant to be heard in stereo. Now, moving on.... We have a distorted pad
of some sort that opens up the piece, which is a very short (around a
half-second to a second long). After this single sample plays, we have
complete silence, and I was left wondering if the song had, in fact,
started, or if that note was some peculiar player bug. But soon enough,
there it was again! And finally, a few moments after the third hit of this
strange, noisy chord, we are introduced to some fast paced percussion,
banging out the same rhythm over and over. After a bit of interplay
between the drums and the chord, a wavering, resonating bass line fades in.
There isn't any bass to this sample at all, though. It sounds very much
like one of the lead samples played at an octave at which it shouldn't
really be played. Moving on again, one of the lead instruments fades in,
playing a simple, uninspiring melody. It's a quite reverbless and flat
flute of sorts, that does little to stir the imagination with its bland
motions.
A few moments later, the composer brings in a more typical
boom-tsk-boom-tsk drum track, and here's where we get to hear the makeshift
bass sample played at the speed it was meant to be played at.
Unfortunately, there's a bit of a click whenever it loops, and there's no
reverb at all. A bit more into the track, another set of resonating
samples is brought into play, only they're played in rapid succession once
every 8-16 rows or so. Somewhere in here, we get to hear this really
thick, gabberish bass drum that resonates slightly and, in general, sounds
really keen. I'm not a fan of gabber, or happy hardcore, or any of that
stuff, but I do like their samples occasionally, and this type of drum,
usually found in that style of music, was the highlight of the song for me.
Of course, it did follow the same old boom-tsk-boom-tsk rhythm, but it's a
welcome change from everything else in the track.
The ending is fairly nondescript, with a simple fade out as the flute
sample does this slow trill. The overall sound of this tune was not a high
point. Many times while tracking, empty space is a great tool, and almost
an instrument in itself. However, this tune is so sparse that there isn't
anything about it, aside from the drums, that you can really pin down and
chill out to. There's elements in here from ambient and drum'n'bass, but
it isn't pulled off very well in the end. I suppose the samples have a lot
to do with it. Save some of the percussion, the sample set is quite
lacklustre, and could definitely use a lot of work.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)------------------------========[ Novus ]========------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Whoa! An ambient/rave song in 3/4 time! Now THAT'S original! I seriously
have never seen that done before. Unfortunately for Skullsaw, I'm just not
much of an ambient/rave fan. Except for the time signature, this still has
all the qualities that make people like me despise this genre of music: no
melody, strange and annoying sounds, and a slightly repetitive nature.
It starts out with a couple of bursts of some strange noise punctuated by
total silence, which made me think that OctaMed wasn't working right on my
computer. I actually hit the stop button and started it over again several
times before I realized it was SUPPOSED to be that way. (Sorry Skullsaw,
my mistake!) Anyway, after a few repeats of this, a nice little drum
pattern starts up and stays there for most of the song while the usual
weird sounds and samples float in and out of the mix. It's all mixed
together pretty well, with no samples ever overpowering each other, and it
doesn't sound as repetitive as most of these songs usually are. But for
some weird reason, the hihat samples keep getting cut off by other drum
samples throughout the entire song.
The samples were clean and were varied enough to soften the sense of
repetition. But two of them were quite annoying: a 'lead' synth sound
about one-third into the song, and a harmonica(?) at the very end. Both
were blasted incessantly into my right ear for way too long before being
mercifully dropped. I'm not going to complain about the lack of a melody,
because I know songs like this aren't supposed to have one.
In the end, I have to hand it to Skullsaw for making an ambient/rave song
that I can actually get all the way through without screaming and ripping
my headphones off in disgust, not to mention for taking the highly original
approach of a 3/4 time signature in this type of song. It's the best song
of its type I've ever heard, but unfortunately, I just don't see a point to
music without a melody. I'll go ahead and recommend everyone to at least
listen to this one time. Rave/ambient fans will certainly enjoy it, while
people who don't like this kind of song will at least appreciate the fact
that this one sounds different (and better) than the rest.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Clones ]========------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
This piece is a nice combination of peaceful melodic high-Q filtered analog
synths punctuated by sharper synthesizer and noise with an almost jazzy
house drum loop broken twice by a heavy house beat. One almost floats away
until the composer jolts you back to the ground.
The outline: ABCDCB'CB''B'''D'BB'''' The backbone of the piece is built on
a jazz drum beat and a slow, calm analog synth high-Q filter sweep. All
the other elements play off this ostenato. Formally, there is A,B,C where
the ostenato is built one element at a time, starting with a unique
punctuation of strings/noise alternating with drums. In B, the main
ostenato appears fully and in C, a flute-like synth melody is added. At D,
a brief burst of house is given; D' is a heavier longer version. The
remaining B's are melodic and tone color variations that almost exclusively
use analog synth sounds, all with high-Q filtering. B'''' is especially
nice as it ends the the piece with harmonized synthetic flutes fading into
the distance.
The samples themselves sound very good and the colors used better than
average by virtue of their ability to paint a picture. Most of the samples
just sound 'right'--nothing else could be substituted. Since this is a
MED, I, on a PC, can't see the effect usage but I don't hear any glaring
under- or overuse of effects. Therefore, I have to say that the
effects/technical area is good.
This is an interesting piece, subtle, floating, yet with a hard edge in
places, just enough to remind you where you are. The composition, while
not unique, draws its strength from the tone colors used and the simple yet
effective melodies. This is an interesting module to listen to and I
recommend it.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Hum de dum. A minimalistically produced little tune with one big, clean
pad and smooth windtube sounds as melody carrier. This is backed up by a
combination of a drum'n'bass-ish beat and an acid beat. This theme is
twisted around, turned inside out and slowly morphs into new shapes--always
new, but never really different than the ones before. A very silent tune
all in all, without any fillouts or attempts to make any textures. I guess
it's intentional, and that it sounds very much like the tune playing in the
composer's head. It's just that the original idea wasn't that impressive
to start with.
Before I start ranting about how little I liked this song, I'll have to
acknowledge two things. First, it's definitely an attempt in the right
direction, into personal artistic waters. Second, there's a part, around
pattern 25, where things fall into place, and I actually found myself
enjoying the sparse way it's composed.
However, there's nothing else enjoyable about it. The rhythms that come
and go are never really more than constant bom-tsk-bom-tsk or a bad attempt
at making a rhythmically odd breakbeat. And the melodies, if that's what
they should be called, are either too simple to be anything but
embarassing, or just so stretched out they get boring. Even though I
suspect other people might like it better than me, I can't, with a straight
face, recommend a tune that just gives me a strong urge to DOD wipe delete
it off my drive.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
I tried this on the Windoze version of OctaMED, so I may be seeing
(hearing) this the wrong way. (Uh oh, he's going to trash this one out of
sight too.)
Firstly, the pan is REAL extreme, and even when you're used to 4 channel
tracks it can still be very offputting. Yeah, I'm back to that gripe
again. :) Operating out of the rave-techno camp, this is a good enough
track, even with all its limitations. After a few patterns had gone by,
however, I found my attention wandering. It's all a little bit to 'same-y'
for my liking. I appreciated the drum workout a lot, but felt that the
composer could have made this more 'human' by varying the pattern more.
Its initial excitement soon gets completely swamped by repetition.
Basically, whatever tune's here is held together by a series of very dull
leads from what sounds like an analog synth sample that isn't anywhere near
strong enough for its featured role.
I feel that Skullsaw has some good ideas but should maybe concentrate more
on varying the basic structure of the track. Keeping the listeners
interest is a question of putting yourself into their ears. Most of us
like the kind of tracks that can keep you guessing as to what is about to
happen next. With this track, you know almost from the first where it's
going...and it ain't going nowhere interesting for this reviewer.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Well, bit of a weird start; makes you think maybe your player has died on
you; sound comes on, sound goes off, sound comes on, sound goes off.
Luckily, after about five seconds the intro proper starts up and you can
breathe again. Unfortunately, it turns out that the intro is in actuality
the whole track; yes it's "Yet Another Repetitive MOD" - YARM(tm) and I'm
not fond of YARM's in any style.
But besides that, is it any good? Want the truth? Okay. No, I don't
think it's a good track. There, an honest review.
Now then, why don't I think it's good? Well, for a start, there's little
'music' here. What we do have is a few notes strung together. To beef up
the mix a little we have mucho offbeat can bashing and ring modulation
effects galore (like people were doing in the early eighties--I thought
we'd seen the last of that; makes me groan. A bit like electro toms
really. Painful).
So, there's no music and no originality. On the plus side, it's
technically fine, but that's as it should be; any MOD that has big
technical problems shouldn't be released in the first place.
Personally, I didn't like it much, but that's not to say that people who
like repetitive music with low music content and offbeat rhythms won't like
it, and it's technically fine...so you decide.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-------------------------========[ ESP ]========-------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Very interesting, Mr. Bond....
What a queer track this is. A lot of fun, it mixes a pushed and punched
think drumloop with a sub-bassdrum techno beat with great success at times,
they certainly pound along with very great kinetic energy and some kind of
sense of competition even. Though, I have to note that I don't approve of
the overdriven, distorted hardcore bassdrum which makes a brief appearence,
regardless of the principle of it, it sounds a little, well...silly,
really. :)
The melodic content is bizarrely made up of harmonic-rich sweeps which
sound so very much to me like the playful meanderings of a psychopath
through a nursery-rhyme book.
It's a funny thing, this. A fairly successful marriage of weird audio.
Adorable, really, you should get this one, even if it's just to delete it
after you've heard it and think "what an odd track!" It's definitely worth
a listen to, because if you don't, you might miss something very
interesting and perky.
I'd love to hear it in a club someplace....
-----================================================================-----
"Behemoth"
by Ackers
(8ch XM, xx:xx)
(behemoth.zip [337K/651K])
[Metal]
"This is my first module using my own guitar samples. Sort of a thrashy,
early-Bathory sounding tune. Nothing fancy in the tracking here, mainly a
song composed to see how well the guitar samples worked."
[Ackers]
Samples -----------------.
Originality -------------. |
Technical ---------. | |
Composition -----. | | |
Overall -. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
====================
WolfSong 81+ 78 50 66 79
Rebriffer 75+ 75 70 70 75
MING 73= 65 75 90 82
MindWalker 35= 46 36 18 72
Nemesis 29+ 20 35 20 40
Old Wolf 15+ 10 30 10 55
/----------------------------------------------------\
)----------------------========[ Old Wolf ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
This is a heavy-metal piece; and I won't try to pick a sub-category as I'm
not all that clued-in about types of metal. Clued-in or not, I like a good
bit of metal, and when I listen to it, I want one of two things: raw
energy and emotion, or something that makes the floor shake with guitars
that go right through my brain. I can't find either in this piece.
It starts out with a gradual build-up of thrashing guitars. Then it gains
a little power (which is all it ever gets) as the lead guitar hits. From
then on, it thrashes away, changing a little, occasionally broken up by a
drop to one guitar on the right. All of a sudden, it appears we're near
the end before it drops back to an earlier section. It closes with a
'false ending,' before throwing all the instruments at you for the real
finish.
This has obviously been written by someone who likes metal, and knows some
of the 'formulae' to produce a metal song. Unfortunately, they need more
practice at tracking so they can put it all into service.
The samples are of reasonable quality, and well chosen for this type of
piece; mostly thrashing guitars and a couple of adequate drums. Nothing to
get excited about, but by no means badly done, either.
Turning to the tracking, we find that absolutely no effects are used.
There is no panning, no pitch slides and no volume control (unless you
count a couple of very simple volume envelopes on the drums volume
control). In the patterns, the instruments are on default volume the whole
time! This makes the whole thing sound boring and flat.
The composition itself is also very flat. I referred to it earlier:
formulaic. Almost the whole song is lots of little formulae put together.
There is nothing new here. There's also very little old here, since it is
repetitive, on the whole. There is an occasional attempt to break the
flow, when the song drops to one guitar thrashing on the right, then
quickly builds again. It doesn't really work, and ends up sounding out of
place and fake, as well. There is little power, no energy, and no emotion
anywhere. All of this said, I loved the ending. Okay, it's really just a
cliched 'false stop' then hit-the-instruments-hard type ending, but that
particular section works nicely.
This piece needs a heck of a lot of work even to make it average. It needs
more variety in the composition, and it needs some variety--Crikey!--any
variety--in the tracking.
Overall, I was disappointed. This is a below average attempt. The samples
are average, it isn't composed well, and it's barely tracked. Don't
bother.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Yay! A song with a difference. That's about all it really takes to fall
into my favour. An obvious metal mod, but one that has taken the concept
of its style and turned it inside out. Or rather, chosen to look at it
from a totally different angle. The centerpoint of a metal tune often
seems to be the samples used, and then mainly the loud, distorted guitar
chord. Ackers instead concentrates on the feel of the style. Something
aggressive and feverish in its overloaded sense of energy. Yeah, the
sounds used are, in fact, overdriven guitar chords, but they could have
been buzzing synths or your local church choir--the way the instrument is
played and sampled is what makes the difference.
Stacatto is the name of the game. The identity of this song is carried
entirely by the hectic ratatata of the guitars, relentlessly hammering
("...like there was no tomorrow"--woo) and keeping my heart at the same
unhealthy pace. Apart from that, there is nothing that really
differentiates it from the lot. It's suffering just as much from absence
of theme as any other metal mod, and is just as filled to the brim with raw
energy.
It's this little, subtle difference in character that the stacatto guitars
create that makes all the difference. And the drums that, except in the
more 'normal' breaks, thumps and crashes on with the steadiness of a techno
piece.
The numerous guitar samples, sampled by Ackers himself, are of highest
quality, and it is also the number of them that is of great benefit as he
does not use the horrible bitchin'pitchin' on them poor chords. Drums and
bass are also very well sampled and everything sounds very real, or at
least by metal-mod measures.
Why he calls this style doom-metal is more than I can get into the limited
capacity of my head, though. This is quite the opposite of all the
doom-metal I've heard before. If this is not speed-metal, I dunno what is.
Anyway, quite an alright song with great samples. And with a difference.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
A "kick-ass black metal" tune--or so the sample notes would have us
believe. Working in the same genre as Destroyer, ZackmanO and Betrayer,
Ackers delivers a heavy enough slice of metal mayhem to satisfy even the
most scarred headbanger. As far as metal/thrash MODs go, this is a touch
above ordinary and well worth checking out because of that.
It actually carries a recognisable tune--which a lot of this genre tend to
miss--and that, to me, is another plus point. The drum and guitar samples
are especially good, and contribute a lot to the overall feel of the track.
Even if you don't particularly like the style, the samples will still make
the experience worthwhile. The mix, however, is where this track really
scores and that is soooo rare these days.
While the sample quality adds to the general overall excellent sound, the
way it's mixed shows that Ackers is no slouch with this material. The
drums are placed squarely at the centre of the mix, while the bass thunders
away somewhere waaaayyy in back. The guitars are placed left and right,
thoroughly enhancing the sound to the point where it resembles a real
performance--and there lies the talent of this tracker. Like reggae, all
kinds of metal sounds easy enough, but if you've ever tried it, you'll know
just how difficult it really is. Not composing; composing metal tracks is
actually quite simple. But getting that composition to sound exactly like
the real thing is almost impossible, as I'm sure most metal trackers will
readily admit.
So, a decent metal track at last. If you like the genre, you will already
have this. If you don't know what the h*** I am blathering on about, try
this track and you will have an excellent introduction to this side of
guitarmania.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Ackers describes this as a black metal song. The way I always understood
it was that black metal was death metal with orchestration. There's no
orchestration here, but there are plenty of thrashing gutar licks. What to
call it? Who knows? But it's definitely heavy!
I was impressed with the sound of the guitar samples in this piece. Ackers
used them without chaging their pitch (at least too much) which left it
with a natural sound. Another fascinating thing about this module is that
not one single effect is used...but it still sounds good! The way the song
is laid out, there's hardly any need for effects from the tracker.
The main focus of the song is the guitars, unsurprisingly. There aren't
many differences between this and any other thrash/metal songs to speak of,
at least technically. Crunching guitar, rumbling bass, thundering drums
and that's about it. But as metal fans know, it's not the size of your
instrument selection, it's how you use it, and Ackers has put some very
nice use to his guitar. This is real headpounding stuff! The drums have
just the right accents on them at just the right times and the guitar riffs
break down at just the right moments to create that ferocious intensity
that sends people thrashing and wailing into mosh pits.
Normally, a song like this would sport a vocalist screaming his guts out,
but without that, it does leave some places sounding a little repetitive,
though nothing seriously damaging to the song. Also, I would have liked to
have heard the drums come out into the light a little bit more. They're
not inaudible, by any means, but perhaps only slightly too soft.
Other than these minor details, this song's go for launch, and a must for
any metal fan!
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Nemesis ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Okay, to give you a rough idea of what this song is like, I want you to
picture a jackhammer. Then, I want you to picture that jackhammer pounding
against the side of your head incessantly for several minutes straight.
Without variation. Without change. Yes, folks, this one clocks in at 14
patterns, stretched out over an amazing 50 orders. I dont think I've heard
a song yet that had a ratio of about 1:4 patterns to orders that managed to
hold my interest for more than a few fleeting moments, and this one is no
exception.
Of course, the tune isn't without its good parts. The guitar samples are
nice and gritty, though a bit of hiss is quite evident, due to low sample
rates. It's been tracked at least half-decently, as the samples fit
together just fine, with only a few slight mishaps in the syncing. The
structure is its main problem, with the same, or slight variations on the
same, guitar line getting thrown out there over and over, and a rather
uninspiring thump-whack-thump-whack-thump-whack-thump-whack drum line. On
another note, the bass volume is so low, that I'm not sure if it's even
there. Furthermore, what I can hear of the bass, seems somewhat out of
tune with the guitar.
The ending is rather abrupt as well, with no real leadup, or changes. It
just plain stops. I suppose maybe if you're really itching for some heavy
metal music to listen to, and you happen to like repetition a lot, then you
might wanna take a listen to this, but it's not for me (and I'm something
of a metal fan myself).
/----------------------------------------------------\
)---------------------========[ MindWalker ]========----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Ever walked into a CD shop and had a listen to the alternative metal CD's
available? If you have, and you've survived the experience, then this mod
is for you. It resembles Cradle of Filth a lot, but without the
atmospheric parts and awful screams!!
It starts as one would expect: distorted guitar chords that don't even
have a minimum of melody. After that, the fast drums come in and...well,
that's all there is to it, really.
650K of XM is way oversized for what's on offer, and taking a look at the
samples, they all seem the same. Tracker commands are hard to come by,
leaving the track seeming all sooo "raw." If there's something good about
it, it must be how similar it is to real music of this kind. I also liked
Ackers' choice of a break using toms, but I really can't think of anything
else good about this one; but then I never really liked Black Metal,
anyway.
I think real Black Metal fans will find this tune interesting, but if you
don't fancy Black Metal, then DON'T bother with this. It will only make
you think worse of the genre.
-----================================================================-----
"Rat in a Cage"
by ZackmanO of Nebula
(7ch S3M, 03:37)
(n_rat.zip [531K/932K])
[Metal]
"This is a hard rockin' song by my band, Two Minutes Hate, put into S3M
format for your listening enjoyment. I think this is the most realistic
song I have ever released. As always I used all original guitar and bass
samples, and a nice drumset compiled over years to go along with them.
There is only one guitar in this song (unlike my normal two) which gave me
an edge in making more fills and licks than usual."
[ZackmanO]
Samples -----------------.
Originality -------------. |
Technical ---------. | |
Composition -----. | | |
Overall -. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
====================
MING 98=100 80 95 90
Old Wolf 82+ 60 68 75 92
WolfSong 78+ 70 73 64 80
Rebriffer 75+ 70 70 75 65
Nemesis 71+ 70 70 80 65
MindWalker 71= 72 85 58 82
/----------------------------------------------------\
)----------------------========[ Old Wolf ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Rat in a Cage is a nice metal piece, only just teetering on the edge of
'heavy.' A song by ZackmanO which was apparently written for his band.
It starts off quietly, and slowly, leading you to expect a metal-ballad.
This illusion is soon dispelled as the drums and guitars hit. The song
moves along, changing enough to maintain a level of interest, for the most
part. About three minutes in, it drops back to the soft, quiet ballad
introduction and you feel the end is just around the corner. Suddenly,
we're hit with a nice guitar solo. The song then briefly reverts to an
earlier heavy section, before stopping quite suddenly.
There are obviously a few influences in this song. Zack mentions Hendrix,
Tool and Slayer. I'd also add Metallica to that. This means that there
are some unoriginal concepts and a couple new ones, with a slightly
non-standard slant. This gives the song its own style, with an occasional
tip of the hat to others, making it both familiar and easily accessible,
while putting its own stamp on the world.
There are some very nice samples. Quite a lot of nice samples, in fact:
48 of them, though many samples are just different aspects of the same
instrument. For example, with a guitar you might have different chords, a
small riff or feedback. This variety really helps out the song, and gives
it a very realistic sound. It also allows a large amount of expression in
each instrument without using effects. I'm not enough of a tracker to know
if the same sound could have been created with less samples and more
effects.
From a technical point of view, what effects there are, are mostly a few
volume slides, pitch slides and delay/offset type commands all of which are
appropriately used. There is not much panning in the piece, with each
instrument tending to stay in its initial location. This doesn't degrade
the piece, but it probably could have been made just a little more
interesting with a bit of dynamic panning.
The ballad section is well done and the heavier bits of this song are
really nice to listen to. I had the volume up and was really getting into
it. It's good, powerful stuff. However, most of the first quarter of the
song is simply repeated for the second quarter, and by the end of the
second play through, it starts to become tedious. I believe it would have
been better to cut the repeat, or play a variation on the first section.
Luckily, the drop back to the ballad-style, then the guitar solo, comes
just in the nick-of-time, saving the song somewhat. Ah, the guitar solo!
This is the best guitar solo I've heard yet in a module. Good use of the
expressive samples, and careful use of pitch slides make this near perfect.
There are a few moments where it sounds fake, but they aren't many, and can
be overlooked.
This guitar solo is followed by a return to some of the earlier heavy work
from which we've had a welcome break, before the all too sudden ending. It
would have been better if this song sported a neater ending, something to
really tie it up properly. It just feels like Zack said, "Ok, end of
song," and then stopped.
So, what we have here is a good, above average, metal song, with a
beautiful guitar solo. The only thing that lowers the standard is the
repetition and the lack of a good ending. If you're a metal fan, download
this, it's worth the listen.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Okay, here is the evidence. ZackmanO is the best. Period.
Best in metal, at least. Rat in a Cage is, by far, the downright best
metal mod I've ever heard. (By the way, Zack also holds second and third
position on that list.) It is also one of the best mods I've had the honor
to download. It's heavy, it's smart, it's funky as f**k and it's something
so rare: a truly R-E-A-L-I-S-T-I-C metal mod! Holy shmoly! This is
obviously because it's a 'real life' composition from the beginning, and is
all sampled by Zack and his band. And then, of course, skillfully put into
an S3M by ZackmanO himself.
It starts with a cool, single-guitar intro, and soon lapses into Slayerish
guitar hammering. At that point I thought, "Ah, it's gonna be another one
of those lotsa-noise-no-theme tunes." And, of course, I was wrong (oh well,
I'm used to it). Instead, an impressive exhibition in innovation and
musical depth is what I was allowed to witness. A few themes from Real
Deep Damn Metal and Hard Speedy Stuff, over to upbeat rock'n'roll on
shrieking guitars, via party-funk-rock a la Primus, and even some of our
god Jimi (That's Hendrix for you, technophreaks. If you don't know who
that is, you're not worthy of my company; begone! :]), before closing up
with some heavy sledgehammer-chords, hurling the drumset into the audience
and leaving the stage with tons of fanatic fans shouting for encores.
The way it tosses around styles and ideas indicates a musical playfulness
seldom seen in the scene, without getting silly doing it, and even more
seldom in the real-life metal scene. Zack and his band seems to have the
most important quality a band can have: They really like music. They are
not just playing to have a band, they seem to be playing because they are
dedicated to the art of making music. The same thing that is seen in this
mod-scene of ours, people who make mods to "be in the scene," and people
who make mods due to their unconditional love of music. Those are the ones
that compose the gems, the all time favourites. Music with personality,
with (parental advisory here) balls.
Why ZackmanO still chooses the S3M format for his productions baffles me,
though. As it's not handled superbly (quite well, yes, but not perfectly),
the dynamic and panning qualities makes it evident what format is being
used. I can just imagine what it would have sounded like with top quality
samples, and the NNAs and envelopes an IT module could provide. Frankly,
that is what keeps this from being a hundred-percent sharp tune.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Nemesis ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Were it not for the annoying hiss, the intro of this hard rock tune would
be quite pleasing to the ears. Unfortunately, the sampling rate is quite
low, and lends a bit of nasty hissing, which is all too noticeable. After
a few seconds of reverberating, clean (except for the hiss) electric
guitar, this song kicks into one of its main hooks, building a little
progression of chords that ends up within the first 45 seconds, turning
into my favorite part of this song--it just sounds really damn cool, like
something you'd hear on your favorite metal station sometime. However,
that was the song's best moment, and though it repeats that part some more
down the line, the rest of it doesn't quite make the cut.
From a tracking standpoint, the drums are decent, and function just enough
to support everything else, but the drum samples are pretty bad. The
distorted electric guitar samples are nice and crunchy, with the composer's
talent for playing guitar clearly evident. However, his tracking skill
doesn't quite live up to his guitar skills, as there were a few times when
some of the loops sounded strange together, and weren't synced quite right.
Towards the end of the song, following a rehash of the intro, a guitar solo
is rather abruptly introduced. It's a good solo, but could use a bit more
reverb, and a bit less volume. It sounds a bit out of place when
contrasted against the rest of the song as well. (I mean the sample
itself--it sounds too synthetic, and the rest of the guitars sound very
realistic...well, as realistic as electronically distorted guitars sound,
anyways. :)) The ending is a bit abrupt as well, but serves its
purpose--to end the song. Also, I feel something about the bass guitar in
this song must be said: it sounds a bit synthetic for a rock song in some
places, where the composer applies a few portas to it, and plays some of
the samples a bit out of their range, but it fills out the low end just
fine.
So, nit-picking aside, this tune is a pretty darn good one, and if you're a
fan of the genre, I'd advise you to pick up this sucker.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Now THIS is a metal song! Sure, it isn't the first metal module out there,
but as far as I'm concerned, it has the best sound of all of them. I know
you've all probably heard me griping about how it's so hard to get guitars
to sound right in a module because manipulated guitar samples sound...well,
manipulated. This is the first metal module I've ever heard where the
guitar samples were played just as they were taken, which resulted in a
very natural sound. This might as well be a recording. And that's saying
a lot for a song of this style.
The only exception is during the solo. The sample used there was
manipulated but there's probably no way around that. Even still, the solo
itself is so nicely pulled off that I didn't care. It sounded great.
The composition itself didn't fare as well as the actual sound. It's
something that the majority of us would probably consider common. The
musical ideas expressed weren't bad, but they also weren't particularly
fascinating. Zack says he wrote this song for his band and I'm sure, in
that sense, it will be a success, but here in module world you have to take
into account that there are no lights or cheering crowds. It's just not as
exciting. Another thing that puts a damper on it is that it sounds as
though it was written with lyrics in mind, but they aren't in the module
(which is understandable because of size considerations). When you write a
song that's balanced between all the different parts and instruments, and
then you remove a part it's going to sound as though there is something
missing. Without the lyrics in this song it does seem a little repetitive.
The only other gripe I have about it is that it could have been mixed a
little bit better. It seems like the guitars were just a little bit too
quiet for the rest of the song.
Despite my gripes, I really did like this song. I'd definitely recommend
getting this one. I'm sure it will become a favorite of a lot of metal
fans out there.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
One of my favourite metal mod trackers, ZackmanO has been creating mayhem
with the genre for a coupla years now, and it shows. There really aren't
that many tracks of this ilk I would get the customary screen nutt
(headbanging on my monitor), but ZackmanO always seems to do it...with a
vengeance.
Setting aside the metal aspect for a mo, this is also that very rare
beast--a good guitar mod--and for me, that's the secret added bonus. You
can really tell that this boy is a for real guitarist because the guitar
parts are so realistic I found myself unconsciously air-guitaring like a
demented rat in cage. (Not that I've witnessed many heavy metal rat fans,
mind.)
If you like your metal highly polished, ZackmanO and his cohorts are the
firm to get, and this track is a classic Zack track. The guitars and bass
samples come from the boys in the band--yes this is a band too--and as such
are crisp, clear and very sharp. The mix is also definitive metal; the
kick drum flays the beat mercilessly, there's a wonderful tambourine sound
calling out the quarter notes and when the track finally takes off, the
snare is as sharp a sound as I've ever heard.
As far as the track goes, although I do like the occasional metal track, I
do find it often wears off quickly. Wellll, maybe not this one. There is
actually a good structure underlying this track, and it'll take me a while
before I pick its bones clean, so I'd certainly give it a few months on my
overpopulated HD--and that's really the best accolade I can offer.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)---------------------========[ MindWalker ]========----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Rat in a Cage starts off with a very weird guitar sequence consisting of
distorted guitar chords with a slow drum line made with bass-drum and
hi-hat. It then goes further with a complete drum line (bass-drum, hi-hat
and snare), a weird bass-guitar line and a few more hard guitar chords.
There are some more guitar bits here and there and a few more variations.
I specially like the break that occurs forty-five seconds in. It's
cleverly done with toms and guitars. It leads nicely to one of the best
parts of the music: another heavy part with better guitar chords. The
solo guitar part on the end of each of these blocks is also perfectly
suited. Right after this, there comes a variation which leads to a slower
rhythm, but with some very strange chords.
I also love the excellent guitar solo a minute shy of the end. It's quite
good for a tracker-made solo (ie. not using pre-sampled sequences). It
seems quite like a real heavy solo.
Sample quality throughtout is good. There isn't much to comment about.
In terms of composition, ZackmanO used many commands to achieve a realistic
effect, best represented with the guitar solo, the song's main highlight.
If you like hard metal mods, you are most likely going to love this tune.
If you don't, then you probably won't need this. In the latter case, I can
then still recommend it only for the cool guitar solo.
-----================================================================-----
"7th Heaven"
by DJ Joge of Chrome
(4ch MOD, 10:28)
(7th_Heaven.zip [688K/894K])
[Demo/Dance/Light Techno]
"This is a 4 channel module where I simulated the use of about 10 channels
with quite a few tricks (including echoes and also mixing samples together
with our own mixing software). The song is really long (about 10 minutes,
if I remember correctly) and has many individual parts joined by one main
chorus. There is also available about 560 kbytes long 'small' version that
also has an about 3 minute long atmospheric demo-like intro added in."
[DJ Joge]
Samples -----------------.
Originality -------------. |
Technical ---------. | |
Composition -----. | | |
Overall -. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
====================
Nemesis 92+ 95 98 83 92
MindWalker 84+ 80 92 70 82
Nova 83= 85 90 77 75
Mansooj 80+ 80 -- 55 65
TheKid 80= 80 80 70 70
Novus 75+ 75 -- 50 70
Skullsaw 30+ 30 45 15 45
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
This track falls into the same category as Ravebusters' My Wonderland in
that it is a four-channel release with several pre-mixed samples used in
order to pack more sound into the limited number of tracks the MOD format
can support. In this case, according to the composer's samplenotes, we are
getting ten channels worth of sound for the price of four.
First of all, DJ Joge has quite obviously been brought up in the primarily
Amiga-borne school of demo-dance-techno tracking. This and the few other
tracks of his I've heard are in a similar vein. To me, this is fine, as I
like this style just fine, and if done well, I don't mind the lack of overt
originality (a universal sentiment on my part).
Being what it is, this track has that expected semi-upbeat, almost
triumphal tone to it, and is, through use of various pseudo-spacey sounds,
reminiscent of a dance-club version of Captain's classic Space Debris.
An interesting and valid mix. For those unfamiliar with Space Debris
(where have you been?), the sound spectrum is filled mostly by synths of
many various types, the aforementioned spacey-fx (only a few, but notable),
and in this case, some rich, deep drum fills.
Several samples have unacceptable pops and clicks which, after I completed
my initial draft of this review, I fixed in about five minutes.
Unfortunately, in order to be fair in evaluating all tracks, in that I
can't fix sample errors in anything but what I can edit on the Amiga, I
reviewed this module, as I do all, as submitted. Once cleaned up, the
module fared better, but how many people want to bother downloading then
cleaning up a module? DJ Joge is a skilled musician, but as with some
other quality modulists, is apparently fairly lazy when it comes to
polishing (NHP & BKH come to mind with their often sloppy loop seams in
otherwise excellent tracks--I don't mind lousy or noisy samples in a weak
track since it doesn't matter much, but ooooh does it irritate the hell out
of me in cases like these; reminds me of an awesome game that's only really
awesome after a bunch of patches are released...).
The aforementioned problems with the samples show up quite obviously in
about half the tracks in the first four minutes of playing time, and then
are less obvious due to a high-note density which tends to mask those
problems. Fortunately, they're not all that destructive, but they are far
too clearly heard to be ignored, and like a moth on your TV screen--it
still distracts even though you can still see 99.9% of the screen.
This is indeed a reinvention of the demo-tune wheel, but with a pleasant
rearrangement of spokes. It's also quite a bit longer than your average
tune of this genre, being over ten minutes in duration. This is a good
thing for those who are predisposed to this style, though it depends on
your level of patience, as there isn't an overwhelming amount of variety in
overall sound. Although, there are a number of breaks and drum breaks to
keep things moving along, and its energy level prevents any chance of
stagnation.
Unfortunately, I have no alternative but to let the sample problems creep
into my overall opinion. Perhaps they were unknown to the composer upon
submission of this module, but because I feel it's appropriate to recognize
the efforts of a composer towards refining his chosen samples, it's equally
fair to chastise one for being remiss in that department. So, although I
don't normally like to do this, I would suggest that you bear in mind that
my overall rating is related to the song 'as is'--and to bump another 5-6
notches after cleanup (i.e. as the tune should be heard).
As a side note: this is a module released in August of '94, submitted in
May of '97, and is claimed to be unfinished. Now, I ask, why submit a
module that is so old (you must have done -something- more recently to have
even remained involved in tracking), and why one that is unfinished? In a
way, the very fact that it is admittedly unfinished makes me feel less like
I was overreacting to the sample glitches. I have to admit, though, that
I'm not sure what's left to finish--at least in terms of composition, it
sounds complete to me; certainly more complete than some tracks I've
heard....
--- References ---
My Wonderland by Dax & Turbo B. ([download]/[reviews])
Space Debris by Captain ([download])
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Novus ]========-------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
For as long as I can remember, I have been a great fan of demo-style
music. There's just something about the way these songs move, the energy
level, and the distinctive sound that sets this style of music apart from
all the other genres. Unfortunately, within this style of music, there
is little room for ingenuity or creativity. So, many demo trackers
struggle in vain to come up with a song that sets theirs apart from the
rest of the demo genre, only to see their song used as yet another
example of why all demo songs sound alike.
Unfortunately for DJ Joge, 7th Heaven is yet another example of this.
Now, this is not to say that I don't like this song. I like it quite a
bit, actually. And I'm very impressed with the fact that he only used
four voices to create a song of this high a quality level. But he just
didn't do anything noticeably different with this demo song that would
set it apart from the rest.
The distinctive feature of this song (other than only four voices) is the
length, an amazing 10:20. Now, long songs are not always bad, if the
composer does something different every time the song is about to start
getting old. And it certainly looks to me like DJ Joge tried to do just
that. Unfortunately, his idea of when something gets old is much more
liberal than mine, so when he finally moves on from one musical theme to
the next, I'm sick of hearing the first one. But working in his favor is
the fact that up until the point that it gets old, each part sounds
great! The melody is good, the bass is interesting, and the drumming
isn't spectacular but it gets the job done. And four voices? Forget
about it, because this song sounds more like eight or sixteen to me!
This song also accomplishes everything a demo song is supposed to. It
creates a high-energy, high-speed sensation that gets you more and more
excited as the song moves on. Because of that build up, I really wish
he'd have chosen a more exciting conclusion than a standard fade-out, a
real disappointment given the setup.
The samples are pretty good, the standard synth-demo variety, and they're
well used. Unfortunately, in all the worst places, this incessant
clicking starts up in one of the samples, and it's quite distracting when
you're listening on headphones, as I have to do.
If you're a fan of demo music, just ignore the length and the sample
clicking and you'll very likely enjoy this one a great deal. But if
you're not a demo fan, you won't have to feel guilty about skipping this
one, because it will end up sounding like every other demo song to you.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)---------------------========[ MindWalker ]========----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
7th Heaven is a techno-demo style mod. These kinds of mods usually fall
into one of three categories. They are either: pretty dire because they
were made in a hurry for a demo; normal demo style mods that suit the demo
they were made for, but don't make a lasting impression on us; or top music
that will be remembered throughout mod history.
Well, 7th Heaven falls somewhere between the second and third kinds of demo
mods. It's better than the average demo tune, but it probably won't make
history. It does make and impression, however.
The music is constructed under smooth ambient chords, backing synth-lines
and synth bass that is neither acid nor rave--it's made by a low-tone synth
string. Apart from that, there's the usual demo-techno beat consisting of
a bass drum and hi-hat, with a trebled snare.
It starts off with some very nice synth-lines and string chords. From then
on, some ambient samples are added. The drums come out, but not in the
usual way of repeating the snare all over with a volume crescendo. It's
cleverly done with a fine mixture of bass drum, snare and toms. I
especially like the way the toms break and hits are added to jump to new
blocks. The song proceeds with some brief pauses to add ambience, followed
by powerful drum lines and synth solos, perfectly merged together.
What makes this tune special is the way DJ Joge combined good drum breaks,
techno bits, good variations, demo-style solos and hits. This tune also
has good ambience, because the author created samples from sequences. This
allowed him to emulate far more than the four channels available in the MOD
format.
In terms of tracker techniques, there are many echoes added, and stereo
panning is also strong on some of the synth-lines. DJ Joge clearly shows
that he isn't a novice to tracking. He knows how to use tracker commands.
Sample quality is well above average, but not excellent. Some synth chords
are sampled at low rates. Most of the hits are distorted, but that's all
that's wrong with them.
Overall, I enjoyed this tune. I just don't like one thing: it's too long.
After five minutes, you've listened to most of the music. This isn't a big
problem, because the first five minutes are good enough, with many
variations and trickery. So, you just listen to the first five minutes and
then switch mods. :) Anyway, I assure you that those minutes are worth
listening to.
This is surely one more mod that'll go to my HDD. If you like demo style
tunes, this one is for you!
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Nemesis ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
I really want to poke holes into this song because of its copious use of
loops, both drum and synth oriented, but as it turns out, it's just so damn
good that the loop use really doesnt matter all that much. In fact, a lot
of the loops seem to be made using a tracker and a .WAV writer, as they
sound identical to some parts in the song that DJ Joge constructs from
scratch. Whatever the case, the tune is simply phenomenal. Elements of
techno and synthpop abound, and the end result you can hardly believe is a
four channel module.
It's a good deal longer than it should be, clocking in at around ten and a
half minutes, time in which it does repeat itself a fair amount. But like
I said, it's quality really overshadows the minor nitpicks I can point out.
It starts out with a nice synth arpeggio, fading in some chords, and adding
a bit of rezonatrix. The drums are introduced with a reverb-laden tomtom,
and they progress from there, into an excellent beat that really had my
toes tapping. At this point, it builds into something of a standard
synthpop/techno song, with expertly crafted leads, utilizing a few
four-channel echoing tricks. One small gripe here is that occasionally the
loops sound a little off, but I assume this is because of the timing
differences in PC and Amiga modplayers.
Not much else to say about this one. It's a song everyone should have in
their collection, and absolutely must be downloaded. Now. Or else!
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ TheKid ]========------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
"Another four-track module in the age of DSP, ASP, and ESP" was going to be
the title of this review. That was before I hit the play button. From the
onset of this song, I could not believe that DJ Joge actually got the
number of tracks down to four, it sounded deep and full enough to be at
least an eight track module. The intro was superb in its stereo effects,
volume control, pans, and drum sequencing. Very hip sound! Yup, I thought
for sure that I was back at the nightclub. DJ Joge has done a wonderful
job at capturing the sound and feeling of a techno/dance tune. But humm,
it's a little too familiar... was that pseudo-bridge (patterns 18-20) DJ
Joge or Ace of Bass?
As music mods go, this is a long one. I would say that it's a little too
long for its purpose, only fifty or so of the eighty+ patterns are
original. In other words, for a ten minute song, there wasn't much in the
way of a need for the length; by halfway through, you've heard it all. So
why all the extension? I do think that it is a great module, but we all
have a repeat button, should we want to hear more.
The samples are fine, I have only one 'fair' criticism, and that being,
that there is a definite overuse of the solo synth sample. This mod could
have been titled "Dance of the Insane Mosquito." It works fine as a lead
instrument in this mod, but not every second of a ten minute song.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Demo with a twist. Hmmm...I like it. This work has a lot of "git 'up and
go" mixed with several well done bridges and lots of technical work.
making a track sound so good with only four channels is a feat unto itself,
but to make one that nearly makes the channel limitation invisible to a
listener deserves a pat on the back.
The song wastes no time getting started. We start in with some running
16th notes styled after a good ol' fashioned synth sound filling our left
ear and a lower, droning bass-synth doing duty in the other. Soon, drums
are crashing in and the lively uptempo beat is in full effect. The author
fills the rest of the measures to capacity with spacey-sounding fades and
sine waves. Oh, and by the way, if you don't like vibrato on
straight-synth instruments, then definitely do not listen to this song.
The vibrato effect is apparently DJ Joge's favorite.
DJ Joge states that this is a work in progress. Well, to that I would like
to remind everyone that George Lucas could not leave Stars Wars alone after
twenty years, so go ahead DJ Joge and knock yourself out. Meanwhile, I
guess the world will have to settle for the 'unfinished' version and wait
to see what the song will end up like in the year 2018. (grin)
/----------------------------------------------------\
)----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
7th Heaven is hell to listen to. Ten minutes of techno cliches, from the
80's electro toms to the inane chord progression, this mod screams
unoriginality.
Anyone who's heard an Ace of Base techno/house tune knows what to expect
here. A simple chord progression, happy, peppy drums and sixteenth note
synth riffs. Over the top of this Swedish pop is some lead synth, nicely
coded, I must say, but out of place, in my opinion.
The samples are old and boring throughout. The overall sound is somewhat
rough-edged with too much upper mids and highs. It's also way too dense,
every nook and cranny is filled with sound, too busy for my tastes.
To be fair, I did listen to this three times, each time I hated it more.
The composer used ten minutes to present two minutes worth of material. I
will gleefully delete this one.
-----================================================================-----
"W A R"
by Awesome of Wild Bits/Exelweiss
(24ch XM, 03:54)
(aws_war2.zip [525K/841K])
[Demo/Dreamy/New Age/Pop]
"This is the final version of WAR. It finished 5th at Euskal Party
Multichannel compo, and it's one of my best tracks. I completed the
tracking in some weeks only to participate in the contest, but I was
unlucky and didn't get the first prize. But just enjoy it."
[Awesome]
[Recommendations: use FT2.x to play; avoid Cubic Player]
! Placed 5th at Euskal Party 1997 !
Samples -----------------.
Originality -------------. |
Technical ---------. | |
Composition -----. | | |
Overall -. | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
====================
MindWalker 93+ 92 89 86 91
Nemesis 88+ 91 85 88 87
WolfSong 86+ 86 83 72 80
Mansooj 86+ 86 -- 70 84
Novus 82+ 85 -- 65 75
Nova 74= 80 80 60 80
/----------------------------------------------------\
)---------------------========[ MindWalker ]========----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
This is the first tune I've heard from Awesome, and frankly, I liked it a
lot! It's nice to know some new talents on the computer music scene.
[He's not that new. ;) -Boris]
W A R is a light and melodic demo style tune which starts off with soft
hits, a synth bassline and a hi-hat line. There are some more samples to
add ambience here, such as strings, metallic sample bits and an occasional
bass drum to set the mood. Then, a slid-up synth sample and a good break
catapults the listener into the main part. This intro part doesn't sound
pretty, nor techno--it sounds cool! :) Cool, here, means an action and
demo kind of melody.
After this intro, the music changes to a more melodic feel, with a complete
bassline, drumline and ambient samples. These ambient samples are quite
good, because they have a crystalline 'feel,'; they are played one after
another, creating a fine echo effect. Leading this part, is a small synth
sample resembling a harp, and which suits the style perfectly! This part
is repeated often, and gets an added synth solo later on. I think the solo
at the one minute mark isn't so well made, though, being a bit
underdeveloped. It plays very simple notes in very predictable patterns.
After the solo, there comes the last major part. Here, the music gets
happier with very nice chords, but always in the same style introduced
earlier in the main part. It then continues repeating these major blocks
with small variations and pauses, trying not to tire the
listener--something which is achieved.
I especially like the ambient crystal sample as played at the halfway
point. It sounds wonderful as it fills up my stereo field with its echo
effect. I also love the guitar solo near the three minute mark--it's quite
well performed. The notes played are good, and the way the guitar is
played is also cleverly done, with echo effects, portamentos and everything
else possible to make it sound real. It's just a pity it only gets used
for about ten seconds.
In terms of tracking, this music scores highly. It uses many commands,
volume fades and echoes, mainly. It doesn't have excessive commands just
for the sake of including them.
Sample quality is quite good, throughout, as is the perfect merging of
these sounds. Some of those used are quite small, but they sound excellent
anyway--something I like to see in tracking.
Another thing that is good about this tune is the music design. It can be
heard perfectly the first time and it easily grows on me. The different
parts of the music all have something in common, still, they contain
several variations. This design resembles commercial music, yet it has
some demo-style arrangements, as well. This may be a good thing because
mod haters may like this song, and commercial music haters, like me, will
like the song too!
Awesome was also smart enough to finish the music before it started getting
boring.
Concluding, W A R is a fine multi-channel song! I think everyone will like
this, unless it happens to be some satanic music lover with hair touching
the ground [I wonder if Crystal Gayle is a satan worshipper... -Boris].
So...download this music at once. :)
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
Let me begin with a semi-sarcastic pick at this track's author's chosen
handle: Awesome. Okay, now everyone on the planet (that has been in the
mod-arena for more than ten minutes) has heard of Dr. Awesome--in Bjorn's
case, the name has always fit. In this case...wait for it...it ain't out
of place. The guy has talent, and lots of it, and it's easy to see.
Now, lest I be interesting and get off the subject of names, this track's
title W A R is definitely out of place. It bespeaks expectations of
martial drums and rushing sounds full of anger and desperate energy.
Instead, this war is very pleasant and is more evocative of an
after-the-fact storytelling of what it was like back in the barbarous days
that we call the present, and where now (in the future) the horror of war
is a thing of the past and we can rejoice in that fact.
This track is a demo-tune, complete with some orchestra hits (not too
many), bell-tones yielding the track an almost holiday air, and lots of
those little, high-toned beepy boopy notes that trickle around and in
between the rest of the sounds. It's one of those tracks that produces
that elusive air of triumph without the attendant, pompous attitude that
usually comes with that sort of emotion. To reiterate, it gives that
sensation that we've finally made it--we've done what seemed
impossible--we've put our greed and selfishness behind us, and we can now
explore that which we can become, instead of dwelling on what we can gather,
at whatever expense, before we turn to dust.
Anyway, it seems rather obvious that, to me, this is one of those tracks
that is better represented in terms of its feel than in terms of its
construction. But, let me drop a few lines to that effect all the same.
The piece ensues with an opening that might imply something more
appropriate to the title, but a shortlived one that quickly gives way to
the demo-tune core. Plenty of the usual suspects in terms of instruments,
but nice ones, and ones that work well together to forge that engaging
triumphal spirit. There's a break or two, sufficient in effect to keep
those ears from drifting, and the track weighs in at the very common four
minutes so it's elements haven't been stretched thin. No, there's really
nothing in specific to pick at. The song isn't perfect in the sense that
it's the best ever made, but within its particular scope, it is damn nice.
I believe this song is rather dated by now, as well, but it seems to have
held up quite nicely. I'm looking forward to more recent work from this
composer. In fact, I've just gone and created a new folder on my hard
drive to prepare for my new collection.
Go for it....
/----------------------------------------------------\
)----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
In a world of modules, there just aren't enough songs like this to keep me
happy. This song is distinctly fantasy in style and if you ask me, it's a
style that's being aged before its time.
As with your usual fantasy songs, this piece is made up predominantly of
synths, though unlike most fantasy or demo songs where the sounds can only
really be described as "buzzy bass sound #4" or "creepy noise," the
instruments here take on a rather orchestral theme, for the most part.
Synth ensembles and bells help push the lighthearted sound into a dreamy
area while a detailed bass and drum track help hold it to the '90s.
This song, as with most fantasy songs, has a Neverending Story like appeal.
That's the point of it being called 'fantasy' I guess. It could actually
almost fit into Lizardking's World of... series. The melodies and accents
are simple and happy and inspire images of dragons and wizards and make you
think of the last D&D game you played. The song flows almost like liquid
from one place to the next and never gets boring.
I have almost nothing to complain about as far as the sound goes, but with
one exception. Toward the middle of the song there was a short
guitar-synth solo that might have been better off not there. The sound
didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the instruments and...actually,
everything about it seemed a little out of place.
I'm not going to gripe too much about that, though. Sure, it made me wince
a little the first time I heard it, but it doesn't even come close to
ruining the song (thank goodness it was short). Other than that, this is a
very nicely written, tracked and presented piece of work.
The bottom line is that I'm keeping it! And for any of you that feel
fantasy is "too happy" sounding or "getting old," then fine! More for me!
If, on the other hand, you've found yourself enjoying the style of music
brought on by the advent of the FastTracker .XM, then I suggest you grab
this one.
--- References ---
World of Mages by Lizardking ([download])
World of Dragons by Lizardking ([download])
World of Unicorns by Lizardking ([download])
/----------------------------------------------------\
)------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
The thing that I find the hardest when trying to write a review for a
demo-style track is trying to sort through the minuscule differences
between each track that the demo genre allows. If you stray too much in
one musical direction the music becomes dance, and if too much in another
direction you're suddenly listening to ambient or something else. So, for
me personally, I try to let originality become a moot point and focus on
musicianship.
This tune has a very uplifting sound to it. Right out of the starting
block, we are washed over with bright and clear sounds of synths, bells,
chimes, and orchestral-synth sounds. The author makes good use of 24
channels; keeping the sound rich in depth and never lacking for sound
quality.
My favorite part was a short, synth-guitar solo during the last third of
the song. I really wish Awesome would have expanded this a bit. This type
of conservation with an instrument reminds me of late 1940's and early
1950's brass band music. Many composers saved the brass for last. So that
way they could really hammer the song home with a brass ensemble blaring
out the last 20-30 measures. Of course, this got old very fast and the
audiences became bored with that sort of style...ahhh...but that is a story
for another day.
All and all, this is a well composed piece that does not break from the
predefined demo style. It has a few elements of mild originality and a
cheery overall tone, but most importantly it keeps the listener
entertained.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)-----------------------========[ Nemesis ]========-----------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
A bonk, a few blips, and some spacey sound effects start out this tune, and
almost immediately, I was thrust into the middle of a demo-style journey of
colorful melodies and dramatic chords. I couldn't help but be reminded of
a lot of Purple Motion's songs when listening to this, but unlike many
other imitators, it's actually very good. In fact, I'd say it sounds more
like something by Lizardking, but there are shades of both composers'
styles in here.
The song structure is fairly simple: a clear introduction, verse, chorus,
verse, etc. The execution is very well done, with my only complaint being
the mixing--it sounds a bit too reverb heavy, and well, I'm not exactly
sure what, but there's quite a lot going on in the song, and having all the
instruments blasting out like they do doesn't contribute to a professional
sounding mix.
The rest of the song, is really fabulous, though, and parts of it are
clearly inspired by Jarre. The melodies are memorable, the chords simple,
but effective, and the structure is there; nit-picky as I am, I cant find
any more flaws with this one. Great job, Awesome. This one's a keeper for
me, and should be for everyone else too.
/----------------------------------------------------\
)------------------------========[ Novus ]========------------------------(
\----------------------------------------------------/
There's nothing special about this song, but that's not a bad thing. This
is a solid, well-composed, demo-style song, and that's about all there is
to it. The only down side is that it sounds a lot like pretty
much every demo song I've ever heard, complete with adventuresome melody,
techno-sounding samples, and muffled drums.
The samples could have been of better quality, but Awesome still used each
one well, giving each its own role in the song and just setting them free.
The song has a few repeated samples, but they are mercifully kept to a
minimum.
Overall, this was a nice effort, and I look forward to his next song. If
you like the demo style, this song won't disappoint you. If you don't,
skip this one and you won't be missing too much.
-----================================================================-----
