With this song, it sounds like you hastily pasted together various tropes from epic music I don't sense any meaning behind the song's structure and development, and it lacks a distinct identity - there are no memorable features. They have adventurous vibes and evoke much more emotion.
Some things I really like about some of your other recent songs are that they sound much more lively, dynamic, and most importantly, original. With that said, I have to echo the point that this is not among your best recent songs. I've been enjoying listening to your music and observing your progress since I discovered you around half a year ago. There's a lot to be said for being able to imitate the world's most well-renowned composers in your genre. That said, I think it's great you can pop out a piece like this in 2 weeks, and am not the slightest saddened to see you on the front page. So despite being well crafted for the most part - aside from reverb, your leveling and use of instrumentation is quite good - I don't get a lot of excitement or wow factor, and it ends up sounding very much like something I've heard before. It just so happens that from watching so many film trailers, film score for the pure virtue of film score has for me lost its epic sheen. However, I do feel like the track as a whole has been pretty well executed, and sounds close to, if not industry standard. That 7th to octave violin drag being a particular offender. Originality wise, I am noticing a lot of cinematic tropes, as mentioned by other judges. It sounds like with either compression or something else, the low end is getting muddied by it. I would take the heavy reverb off of your mysterious ticking noise, and also by extension your brasses and drums. Overall (how do the elements above interact?) Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety The production quality, sound design, atmosphere, phrasing, and melodies are all wonderful here. I might have asked for a little more melodic flair and harmonic depth in the more energetic sections of the piece, but that’s being nitpicky. The middle section of the piece has a really nice sense of triumph and direction to it, and the string riff at 2:24 was a fun play on the more legato version of the same riff at :32. I might’ve liked to hear a little more of the vocals at :48 in the mix, just because their part seemed a bit more mobile than the strings and brass, but the gorgeous melody at 1:14 helps keep me engaged shortly thereafter. The harmonic content is a little bare, but the texture is still rich. I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the dark brass at :15. Thank you so much for the frontpage Newgrounds! :) If needed, I could provide a midi export, the project file, and / or various screenshots.
Heavyocity Damage (Organic Percussion, Cymbal rolls).Metropolis Ark 1 (Low Strings, French Horns, Cimbassi, Bass Trombones, Male Choir, Female Choir, Contrabassoons).Cinematic Strings 2 (Violins, Violas, Cellos and Double Basses).