Espers-Remastered Version Release as well as Other Related News

This post is probably a month late, but 12 Followers/Meteo Xavier's debut album "Espers", the album that Met and myself had reviewed last summer during our first podcast, has now been remastered and re-released for our enjoyment.  The link to this new version can be found here, so feel free to have a listen.

Currently we are still in the process of creating our second podcast, which is a review of Meteo Xavier's album "Meteocrity" (we had promised to work on a review for it in late 2011, so it is about time, right?).  However, while I have been trying to find the time to work on this podcast with Xanthurian, especially during the last couple of weeks, the project will be on a temporary stand-by on my part for the next month or so while I am away on business.  This podcast will happen, even if it takes another couple months.  We'll need plenty of cooperation, coordination, and time.

We will continue to post updates on the podcast and any other happenings or events as the days go by.  For now though, be patient.  The podcast will come.

This is also twenty-three days late, but I'll say it now.  Happy New Year! We hope to spend this year moving into our own website, releasing a few podcasts, and moving forward in the best way that we can with posting and podcast releases.  I feel honored to be a part of it, so let's make 2013 a memorable and productive year for A Rather Pleasant Site.  

Song of the Day 34: 'Sagetellah -The One Who Waits for the Life to Come'

Sagetellah starts out by having low, complex chords play the bass and medium-low notes play the melody. So far the melody is in the warm key of A flat major. At 0:25 the bass notes smooth out into steady eighth notes, and the melody goes up an octave. At 0:36 the melody remains the same, but now a lower octave is added to the treble notes. The bass rhythm quickens into sixteenth notes as well. At 0:50 a sequence of arpeggiated chords are played. They are played in a pattern; the left chord plays, then the right, and so on. Each chord gradually builds up and becomes higher until a high, arpeggiated chord is played at 1:00. After this is heard, the high notes freely go down the scale while the bass fades out. When the notes are back in a medium pitch, there is a brief pause at 1:07. A new section will start at 1:08. What has been heard so far was the introduction to the song; the beginning of the final track of Espers. This semi-cheerful melody at the beginning of the track will actually make a person feel depressed; it is as if the album is saying, "I know that this has been a lot of fun, but all good things must come to an end and this situation is no exception." The new section at 1:08 is a little faster than the last, and it changes into the key of D flat major. It starts with a four-note pattern from the bass clef; before the melody comes in, the pattern plays by itself for two measures. The melody, consisting of very high notes, comes in at 1:15. This section here almost feels like a lullaby; that feeling is especially felt at around 1:24. At 1:35 the bass and treble rhythms drop an octave and become more complex; the bass has added notes and established deeper harmonies while the treble notes turn into chords. This same pattern continues until roughly 1:53 when the last bass note is played and held. After an intentional pause, the melody will come back in and bring back the same four-note pattern from the beginning of this section (1:08). That pattern plays alone for a while until 2:06. Here the pattern will remain the same, but this time around it plays different notes. These new notes play until a new section at 2:18 begins to play. The section just heard (1:08-2:18) is filled with happy, cheery, major notes, but I have to say that it is one of the most depressing sections of the song. Going into this section once the introduction is finished creates a melancholy mood when the notes create the opposite feeling than the type of mood that key usually makes. Speeding up the song and using those happy notes in such a way make the fact that the album is about to end sink deep inside of a person. The new section at 2:18 has the same bass line that has been playing; it is the melody that is different. The melody is a little lower than it was in the last section, and it is a little broader because of its chord complexity. It has a note range similar to that of 1:35. As the melody continues to play, the bass line will change notes to fit with the notes being played; it creates a much deeper and bolder effect on the listener. At 2:33 the melody is emphasized through it being played in very high octaves. At 2:36 the song will purposely slow down, then quickly start up again at 2:39. This part of the section here reminds me of Nick Lammertyn's 'Super Metroid Ending'; it has extended, yet simple, basslines, and a melody without any chords. There are moments in music where simplicity wins. This is one of those moments because not only is it simple and easy to learn (currently I am in the process of learning this entire song by ear), but it gives a complex appearance since it is blended together so nicely. After his part of the section, which was a quicker, simpler version of this section's melody, the bass goes back into that pattern from 1:08 at 3:00. However, in order to transition into the next section, the pattern goes minor. The new section will start at 3:10. This section (2:18-3:10) is one of the warmest sections. A person listening to this could think at this section, "Wow, hearing this album was totally worth it!" This section could lessen a person's depression. This new section at 3:10 goes into a completely different mood. The bass starts out with one notes leading into a jazzy chord. The treble notes play a simple melody followed by small, high runs. This continues, and eventually it will just be the bass with only the quick runs. This section doesn't last long though; a new section starts at 3:37. That section was one of the more unique sections of the song, and the one that is the most out of place. However, I do feel that it is a representation of a person's emotions cooling down; it (the song) seems to feel less emotional and more relaxing with its smooth jazz-like sound. The next section goes back into the similar mood (that wasn't depressing) from 2:18 at 3:37. Here the bass line does a simple, three-notes pattern while the melody plays in the middle octave. There's a slight ritardando at 3:57, but soon afterwards it picks back up again. At 4:07 the climb will halt with a very minor-sounding chord. After this chord there is a brief pause, which concludes that section. The section gives you peace and makes a person want to enjoy the album while it is still playing. The following section at 4:12 is very similar to the last in terms of the notes being played. The melody is exactly the same, but the notes are now bigger, louder, and more complex chords. The same goes for the bass line; instead of the three-note pattern being freely played, all three of those notes are placed together in even chords. This gives this part of the song a more even and intense structure. At 4:32 it slows down dramatically. The same melody and bass continues, but there are two arpeggiated chords added in to conclude the section. I believe that the purpose of this particular section was to emphasize that melody a little more than the last section did. In fact, that melody will make a return later in the song, so watch out for that. It is one of the main parts of the song, that melody is. While it is not one of my favorite sections, it does have a quasi-important role in the song as a whole. The next section of the song is one of my favorite parts of the track, mainly because it is minor. The melody, starting the section off at 4:48 is low and occasionally becomes high. The bass does a cool pattern where it plays an eighth note in the beginning of the measure and plays the other notes during the offbeats. At 5:12 the melody consists now of chords, and the bass plays even eighth notes. At 5:14 the melody goes up really high for a brief moment; I love that part. Starting at 5:24, the bass goes up the scale in eighth notes, and once it gets high enough the melody takes over. This continues to play, getting more free and less "on the beat" each time. Once the last high note is played and held at 5:46, it slowly fades, leading into the next part of the song. I believe that this is the only section with completely minor content. Because of that contrast between 4:48-5:48 and the rest of the song, I find that this section stands out fairly well. Also, I liked where this section was placed; having this minor part in the very middle of the song helped transition the song into the second half while giving something that hadn't been heard yet. This upcoming section will fro from 5:48-6:25. It starts out with two semi-high notes followed by a high note paired with a lower grace note. The same sequence will continue until about 5:58 when it slows down a little bit. At 6:00 the sequence picks up again, but the two high notes become a three-note arpeggiated chord. So far it sounds very happy and cheerful until 6:12. Here the arpeggiated chords turn into regular chords, the sequence changes its rhythm, and it goes minor. This part of the section becomes bolder at 6:18 when everything drops down an octave. At 6:25 the next section will start after a couple rounds of that minor sequence. 5:48-6:25 is the most delicate section in the song. The dynamic levels throughout it worked pretty well, especially when everything became lower. I liked how the minor part had the notes turn into straight chords; it intensified the section a lot more after all of the fluffy, ballerina-like delicateness heard previously. Remember how I said that the melody from 3:37 and 4:12 was going to return? Well here at 6:25 it appears again, this time in the key a A major. There isn't much to say about this section other than the bass plays straight eighth notes, making it different than the other basslines from previous sections with the same melody. The section will transition into the next at 6:55. This relatively short section from 6:25 to 6:55 is mainly used as a transition for what is to come. Bringing back that melody in this calm fashion really helps prepare for similar sections like this in the future. Starting at 6:55, one of the most, if not the most, intense sections of the song occurs. It starts with a crazy buildup; the treble notes go everywhere with sixteenth note runs that eventually turn into outrageously fast thirty-second note runs that lead into the melody. The bass plays a fast, low, octave trill. At 7:01, everything comes together to create the climax point of the song. The melody from 3:37, 4:12, and 6:25 is played again, but this time in loud octaves. The bass is playing fast, sixteenth note runs that go up and down the scale. The key signature remains at A major. While this is going on, I notice that the treble octaves aren't always on the exact place that they should be, even though there are sections during this part that are supposed to be slightly syncopated. Starting at 7:24, the bass makes a slower run up the scale, but instead of going down it continues to get higher and higher until 7:35. This is right before the next section is going to be played. That section (6:55-7:36) is clearly the most intense and the most difficult par of the song to play, and it's actually the only section with a buildup before it was heard. It puts even greater emphasis on that melody than the sections that had previously played that melody. This section through its climatic mesh of notes lets the listener know that it won't be long now until the song and the album are completed. The dynamics and the runs release the song's full potential and glory instead of the other sections that are not quite as dramatic. The next section at 7:36 has a similar, delicate feeling as the section at 5:48. It is the same pattern as 6:18, but it is slower and in a different minor key. At 7:54 it starts to fade out a little bit after a chord is played and held for a while. At 7:56 the song comes back, but it plays a different, higher, and more majorish melody. It plays the same thing a couple times, going down an octave and then up again after each round. After that plays four times, a couple mall, major chords transition into the next section at 8:20. This section brings a person back into that state of mental depression; the listener is suspecting that the album is almost done, which it almost is. They are correct, and they should feel sad about it. However, there is still a little more left to listen to. This next part of the song starting at 8:20 is the beginning of the end. It's warm melody, which has some pretty loud dynamics, let the listener know that this is going to be a bold and obvious conclusion. While the melody is playing, the bass plays even, jazzy chords in quarter note form. Starting at 8:33, the melody simplifies and becomes single notes (instead of chords) playing it. At 8:51 the bass plays the same rhythm as the melody and harmonizes with it until the next section begins at 8:59. This section have a sense of unexplainable nostalgia. Seriously, after listening to the song a couple times I could not find that melody anywhere before 8:20 even though I thought that I had heard it before. The conclusion is upon us now. The next section at 8:59 to 9:27 has the exact same melody filled with nostalgia as 8:20, but it is played differently. This interpretation of that melody is played more freely, and it doesn't have an exact tempo. The bass is also now playing quick runs while the melody (now in simple octaves) plays. The melody is especially interpreted differently at 9:13 when both hands briefly play the melody in triplets. Starting at 9:20, the song will slow down even further and prepares itself for the next and final section of the song. This section was used as a way to get from point A to point B: Point A is the last nine minutes of music that sort of represent a long goodbye, while point B is the last thirty seconds of the song that make the ending of the song official. At 9:27, the end of the song arrives. To finish it, the song brings back the bass pattern all the way back from 1:08. However, it is much slower this time, and it is one octave lower. It brings back some nostalgia of the beginning of the song, which hadn't been heard since then. This slow rhythm will get slower and slower until 9:43. Here one grand, arpeggiated chord is played and held. The song is now complete, and Espers comes to a close.

Pros: The sections of this song had something new to offer every single time. Even if there were the same melodies, they were played in different styles. There was a good balance of major and minor content, enough to have the majority of listeners feel satisfied no matter which they prefer. Meteo Xavier presented his conclusion to Espers in such a way that made the listener feel and understand a plethora of emotions. Brilliant.

Cons: There weren't too many problems I had with the piece. I did notice some uncleanliness when it came to those massive chords, especially at the section starting at 4:12. Some of the transitions seemed slightly out of place, like the transition from the section at 3:10 to the one at 3:37 for example. Honestly those were the only negative comments I have about the track.

Overall: This is a fantastic conclusion to Espers. The change of sound to a solo piano piece after the previous tracks creates a great and heartwarming ending. All the content in the song was unique. Michael Huang did a beautiful job playing this, and the song had almost everything that a conclusion to an album should have. Everything worked out perfectly in the end.

Rating: 10/10 (This is the first song that has ever received a perfect score. It deserves it.)

Halloween

Hey, not that I celebrate it at all, but Happy Halloween! Seriously though, give this day back to the monsters... ;)

Kangaskhan

You can't escape.


It will always find you.


It can come anywhere.


Any time.


Any situation.


What will you do then?


Greet it like an old friend?


Reject it and lose something precious to you?


A game isn't the only thing you'll lose.


You'll lose your sanity.


Your mind.


And yet,


You feel safe.


Secure.


Like you have the power to win.


However,


You're destroying yourself.


Your efforts are useless.


It eats away at others, but nothing stops it from consuming you.


You can't deny it.


It's here.


Nothing can stop a Kangaskhan.

Song of the Week 41: 'Avien' by Theophany

Hey, I really do apologize for my laziness in posting. These are almost like "Song of the Month" posts instead of "Song of the Week". I feel like a hypocrite for saying that I'll post often. It's even more ironic that I'm posting this on one of the busiest weeks for me this summer. Anyway, the most recent post here at RPS talks about Metroid's 25th anniversary. That was a pretty exciting time, for Metroid remixes were being released everywhere. Just because of that I got over three hours of Metroid-based music that I listen to every day. So naturally, why shouldn't I review one of these songs? This track in particular comes from a non-OCR album, although every single track was created by OCR user and remixer Theophany. He created a six-track album known as Crystal Flash EP (which may I add, has probably the coolest cover art I have seen in a long time). You can find the OCR thread for the album here in case anyone wants to download it. (If you want to download it off of the original album site, you might have to pay to get it. Fortunately for me I got it there when it was still free. :D) The name of the track I'll be looking at is called 'Avien'. So far it's been the only track from the album to be posted on OCR (you can find the thread for the song here). What's special about this song is that it's a tribute piece to former OCR remixer Avien (a.k.a Christopher Powell), who had suddenly passed away back in 2004. So without further ado, let's check out the remix.

The beginning of the song starts out with a pure mesh of atmosphere. There are a ton of sounds that can be heard here; everything from light cymbal hits, layers of synth elements, and quiet vocals. You can mainly here the vocals starting at 0:10, and their addition in the song makes the track sound even more haunting. Starting at 0:15 the piano will begin playing an intro to the main melody, which is the theme for Maridia from Super Metroid. At 0:18 though the piano will leave, and another small section of ambient atmosphere will be heard. This time however, I feel that the various synth elements used here were brought out a little bit more. The entire thing brings chills up my spine. The piano will return and play the same pattern again at 0:30, and like before will leave for another fifteen seconds or so. For this next section of atmosphere the vocals were a little louder, and new elements are added in that make the song sound like static (great addition). Starting at 0:44 the piano will play the occasional note, with all of the ghostly atmosphere still playing (and it pretty much plays for the entire track). The difference here is that there is an increase in the number of vocals and their volumes. Starting at 0:56 the piano finally starts to play the main melody (Maridia). I like how the piano stands out beyond everything else here, and the only chords used are small. I noticed that at 1:03 the piano as well as the background effects are edited a little bit also to create a different sort of sound. The progression of the melody is very slow, making it all the more haunting and dramatic. Coming up at 1:24 has to be one of my favorite sections of the song. There's now some bass in the piano that comes in every measure to intertwine with the treble melody. The melody here is playing an extension of the sequences played at 0:15 and 0:30. The addition of the bass clef for the piano really adds depth to the song as a whole, in my opinion. At 1:36 some more vocals are added in. What I notice about the vocals here are that you can't understand a single one of them, making it all the more ghostly. There's a large, yet fast buildup at 1:48, leading into one of the stronger sections of the track. We have more of a beat developing here with some light bass and bass drum. The female vocal is probably the element here that stands out the most though, even bypassing the piano (which lost it's own bass). It really defines its trip-hop genre (although on the original album site one of the tags for that particular track said "ambient dubstep"). The only time in this section where the piano is the strongest would be from 1:58 to about 2:04. At 2:05 the sequence repeats itself. When the vocals leave again though at 2:11, I notice there's a pretty cool suspended cymbal roll added in right as they leave (and after listening to the song again, there's another one of those rolls back at 1:48). The same type of pattern happens again at 2:19, although there is a difference of instrumentation; the piano plays the main melody while a saxophone plays what the piano was originally playing. Plus the power of the vocals has been slightly diminished. The entire section seems rather repetitive, but blends together wonderfully. There's a little bit of a change at 2:39 when the vocals are cut rapidly and the piano starts to trill. 2:45 is really when the song starts to shift over in another direction. The atmosphere and melody remains the same, but the beat has changed to a more complex pace. Also, all of the elements including the piano have been edited to create more of a different feel. A light synth is also playing the pattern that the piano had been playing back at the beginning and throughout the song (an example is at 0:15). This section will continue until about 3:12, where there's another big suspended cymbal buildup. Here at 3:13 is another strong section in the song. The vocals hit a high note, and everything becomes much louder. There's even the addition of bells to play the main melody instead of the piano. Everything starts to die down though at 3:27, and for some reason I love the progression of how almost everything fades out. By 3:39, everything except the low sax playing and a few of the atmospheric elements remain. At 3:40 though, you hear a vocal say "drop" and instantly the a section very similar to the one at 1:48 starts up. The only differences are a more complex beat, and a couple minor differences in the vocals. At 4:06 there's another buildup, and a different section starts at 4:08. There isn't much of a change here, but the song-dominating piano complexes and syncopates the rhythm that it has been playing all this time. This will repeat itself again at 4:22. At 4:41 the beat drops out, making the background atmosphere a little more emphasized. At 4:50 I notice that the piano rhythm goes up an octave so now it's very, very high in pitch. There are still the vocals and all of the ambient stuff going on, and there's even the occasional bass drum hit every couple measures. At 5:00 there's a major slow-down with pretty much everything. The piano will drop soon after, and everything else will follow by slowly fading away...

Pros: Atmosphere is everything for this album, and Theophany nails it especially with this track. I liked how almost every element dominated during different points of the song. Every buildup and transition was near perfect, and I love the way that the melody was played. Maridia is a pretty haunting tune, and piano made it even more so. I also liked the eeriness of the various vocals, and I loved the ending. This song is absolutely spine-tingling.

Cons: I really wish that progression of the piano at 1:24 would've lasted a little longer. Also, I thought that the trip-hop elements added in didn't quite work out with the song as a whole, especially after hearing such an atmospheric beginning. Other than that there isn't much that I didn't like about the song.

Overall: This song is absolutely beautiful. It has a perfect atmosphere for the source tune, and I can't stop listening to this as well as the rest of the album. Theophany's style really impressed me with this album, so I recommend checking the entire thing out. This is a wonderful tribute to Avien and the 25th anniversary of Metroid. Awesome stuff here.

Rating: 9.5/10

Song of the Week 40: 'A Link to the Piano' by Zylance

Hey there, I'm finally back. Due to a two-week vacation and various internet issues, I haven't been able to do much at all with RPS. So...I've come home, my internet is finally running properly again after over a month of problems, and I'm glad to be back. I have to thank Met for putting all of the links to our song reviews on OCR and also for him having many connections which will help promote RPS; I was shocked to see the dramatic rise in pageviews this month. So, this week's Song of the Week is a remix based of the game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: another great classic that I unfortunately have never played. I was really surprised that this hasn't been a Song of the Week before; it was probably one of the first (if not the first) remixes from OCR that I've ever heard back in 2009 when I first discovered the site. So here's Zylance's (he was Zoola at the time) only remix: 'A Link to the Piano'. Let's check it out now, shall we?

The first thing everyone has to realize is that this is a solo piano piece. The song starts out with the piano creeping in slowly with a rhythm consisting of the notes G, C, and D. There are no complex chords at the moment, but even the simplicity of the notes are blended together to make it sound more complex. This repeating pattern of the rhythm grows broader at 0:08; not only is the rhythm increasing in speed, but the bass notes are getting deeper. The treble notes remain the same, but the bass adds depth and change to what's being played. At 0:22 the introduction to the piece starts to conclude, for the music starts to slow down and end with a shortly-held E note. After this note is released, there's a short pause that lasts for about three seconds (0:26-0:29). Starting at 0:30 there's a new section where the more complex "Zelda chords" are introduced. Although the rhythm played here resembles that of a waltz, it's in 4/4 time instead of 3/4. Each chord is similar in sound and the bass notes in each measure are almost identical. The highest note in each treble chord becomes higher, creating a sort of slow buildup. There's a slight change of pattern coming up at 0:37; instead of the three main notes/chords being played, every other measure includes a triplet. Not only that, but the volume increases with each measure as well. This sequence will happen twice, and then there's another brief pause. At 0:47 the first main sections of the song begins to play. The melody is played by the treble notes while the bass notes cover a more major interpretation of the sequence from 0:30-0:47. When I heard this section for the first time, I could instantly tell that this music was from a Zelda game (even though I already knew where it was from before listening to it). It wasn't because I knew it beforehand, but it had that feeling in the music that presented in almost every LoZ. While this melody is playing, I notice how the volume of the song fluctuates and gets louder to add emphasis (especially at the third note of each measure). At 1:04 the piano repeats the rhythm it was previously playing at 0:47, although there's a minor change of pitch. After that melody is played one more time, a new section begins at 1:20. This new section has the bass notes playing the usual rhythm (note, note, chord, repeat) and the treble notes play a new melody that's a little more major than the last. Also, this section changes key signatures; it's now 3/4 time, making it even more like a waltz. Like the previous melody, it repeats itself for a couple seconds starting at 1:31. This repetition doesn't last long, for everything starts to slow down at 1:38. The new section starts up at 1:44 after another held note. I've noticed throughout this piece that every transition to the next section is merely just a held note, a pause, and the next section jumping in. It's simple, but I like it. This new section is much quieter in volume and a little simpler chord-wise. The key sig has also turned back into a slower 4/4 time. The treble notes, blended with very low, slightly-syncopated bass chords, play three eighth notes for every two measures-after two measures the notes will repeat but go down in pitch. There are many occasions when the pattern will go up in pitch but go back down again. This section lasts for quite awhile in fact; it goes from 1:14 to about 2:19. There's another "ritardando, pause, new section" transition at 2:14, although this new section is extremely similar to the last. The biggest difference here has to be the dramatic rise in volume. Here you can tell that no more chords are being used; it isn't until 2:27 when a chord is used by the treble notes. At 2:34 is probably the most powerful part of the piece, or the climax. Coincidentally 2:34 is exactly half-way through the song. This here is a repetition of the section back at 1:44, but much, much louder. At 2:42 the notes speed up a little bit, going from eighth notes into stretched triplets that gradually slow and quiet down. At 2:49 the next small sequence is a group of large, familiar chords that are used in many Zelda games. These chords are also quite loud, which is a dramatic contrast to the quick, quiet, treble triplets (try saying that five times fast!) that are to follow. At 3:07 the triplets from before start off another new section, but it has the same feel as the almost silent section at 1:44. This time around it's much simpler rhythm-wise but much more complex in the chords. There's only one minor chord for each measure, making the piece sound very melancholy right here. There isn't any addition of notes until about 3:20 or so. It's a long section also, but thankfully it's not too repetitive with the notes. At 3:55 (yeah, this was almost a minute long section) things start to change a little bit. It's the same melody and rhythm, but each measure will accelerate just a little bit. I love how they do that there. It isn't until about 4:15 when the sequence of chords change and the tempo slows down a bit. After the song gets back up in volume and pitch, large, loud chords are played with a couple quarter notes in between. At 4:27 the chords are now becoming even longer to change (although the only thing changing at the moment are the low bass notes that are getting lower with each hit), and even three seconds pass before the final chord of the section is hit. Starting at 4:44 the song is now starting to conclude. There's probably about four chords being played in the last fifteen seconds of the song with a medium-high G note playing before each chord. At 5:00 the treble and the bass join again for the final time until nothing else can be heard.

Pros: Excellent piano work, I have to say. It's very soothing, deep, relaxing, and the notes blended very well. The amount of chords used throughout the song was great, since it's hard to get a good interpretation of the chords used in the LoZ games. Also, I liked how almost every section in the song was different or had a different feeling. Being a pianist myself, I'm very impressed.

Cons: The biggest problem that I had with the song was the sensitivity of the volume. There were times when the volume worked for what was going on, but I thought that the volume went up and down way too frequently. It was also too loud at some points as well (2:34 for example). The song also should be cleaned up and mastered a little bit so it sounds smoother.

Overall: I have always liked a good solo piano piece, but this particular one catches my eye. It's a great arrangement for a classic Zelda game that is not only powerful, but it includes some calm elements at the same time. While there are still a couple things to clean up with this song, Zylance brings us a great piano-centered remix.

Rating: 8.8/10

Song of the Week 39: 'Super Effective' by Fishy, Andy Jayne

So...it's been a while. I'm going to post here just for my enjoyment and pleasure, and because after this week I'll be away for quite some time. Also, my internet has been screwed up for weeks, so the likeliness of another post drops even lower. This Song of the Week is based on a song from a classic franchise: Pokemon. The games in particular are Pokemon Gold and Silver. The inspiration to review this particular track came from time sitting at home, hearing this theme all over the house since two of my siblings have a tendency to play the newer games set in Johto, Heart Gold and Soul Silver. I always mention when I hear this theme that there's this awesome remix for the theme that a person hears whenever they battle a trainer from Johto. Oddly enough, this song has not yet been posted on OCR, but it is a part of an OCR album called Pokemon: The Missingno Tracks (which is why OCR is tagged in this post). Anyway, enough of this babbling! The album link will have a list of songs; the one I'll be reviewing is 'Super Effective' by Fishy and Andy Jayne (Look at the track list and click on the title of the track to bring up downloading and song info, along with what the artist's input of the track). Click on one of the mirror links on the page to listen to it/download it, and let's get this review started.

The beginning of the song starts out with a duet of strings and piano. The strings repeatedly play a low E, and the piano plays a simple melody (at about the same pitch as the strings). The whole thing blends together quite well. At 0:10 the strings play that E up an octave, and this time that rhythm from them is faster. Added to the higher pitched strings are some light high-hat hits, which are heard every other beat. At 0:18 there's a percussion crash, and the real melody starts to play at 0:19. This melody is an electric guitar. Now the beat has picked up even more, the strings and the piano have dropped out, and now it's just pure guitar. However, one guitar just isn't enough for this track. Right now, I can hear not one, not two, but three guitars. The first one plays the Johto battle theme, the second plays the harmony, and the third plays the bass. While listening to the song, I notice that my attention is not on the melody that millions have heard, but what really has me hooked onto this song is the harmony. Not only is is slightly louder than the melody, but it's lower and faster. Harmony is a must for this song, and right now the harmony here is absolutely sick. At 0:31 the melody from the higher guitar can be heard a little easier, especially when it hits those high notes. At 0:40 the song continues, but the melody is very briefly taken over by a synth that plays one of the more "recognizable" parts of this theme. At 0:45 a new section starts up, which has to be one of my favorite parts of this track. The three guitars are back, this time all in synch. The melody and harmony guitars are playing very fast eighth notes at the same time, and the lower electric guitar (note: this is not a bass guitar; it just acts like one by playing the longer, lower notes. It still has that electric guitar sound) plays once every other beat. I absolutely love the harmony here; it almost sound like one guitar and one voice. At 0:56 this section repeats itself after the lead guitars finish that rhythm. The guitar parts were recorded by Fishy and placed on this track, so I can even hear that sound the guitar strings make in the recording while changing notes. At 1:06 a solo guitar comes in for a brief interlude of the Johto battle theme while the harmony guitar drops out for a couple seconds. After this the song goes into a new section. At 1:12 the melody slows down for a little bit, although the incredibly fast tempo stays the same. The harmony is still completely in synch with the melody, although the percussion/melody has changed their rhythms into a more laid-back style. At 1:21 the upper guitars just go crazy, and the low guitar plays a melody of its own. At 1:24 there's a new section that starts back up. For this part of the song, there are two things going on right now. The first thing I'll focus on is the catchy melody from a single guitar. The melody is high in pitch and also slightly repetitve. What I really want to focus on though is the lower guitar. At first I didn't even notice this, but the lower guitar is playing the real melody, which is another part of the Johto battle theme. If you continue listening through 1:34, the low guitar and high guitar suddenly connect. Now the lead guitar is playing the melody heard at 1:24, and the low guitar is back to being the bass. To start up a new section at 1:41, the guitars quiet down while the strings come back for a mere three seconds. At 1:46 the section starts up, and the two main guitars return to play an all new melody. However, this time around the low guitar is actually playing with the other two. So now all three guitars are completely in synch. This melody doesn't last long though, for yet another new section starts back up at 1:56. The main melody is still the battle theme, but the harmony is different and strings join in to play the melody with the other guitar. At 2:05 there's another minor section which has the melody from one guitar, the harmony from another guitar, and wait, another harmony from the third. At 2:15, there's a guitar solo which picks up to a section that is exactly the same as the beginning section at 0:19. This section will continue for a while, so if the readers have already forgotten what it sounds like, please see the beginning of this review. At 2:39 everything that was in this section dips down in pitch and fades out. At 2:41 there's now more of an electronic section here, consisting of an electric-guitar like synth with a rather hollow sound to it (it's sort of hard to describe). It may be a different sound compared to what we've been hearing, but it still keeps that crazy, rock feel. Anyway, this melody is pretty crazy while the low guitar continues to back everything up with the percussion. At 2:56 this section starts to conclude with the synth going up and down in pitch repeatedly. At 3:01 the synth and the beat goes faster, and then the section ends with a very fast note run. At 3:06 there's another section repeats itself; this time it's the one back at 1:12. The rest of the song here is now pretty repetitive; starting at 3:19, the entire section from 1:24 to 1:56 repeats itself. I don't believe there are any differences between this and the sections in the past. At 3:44 the section is almost exactly the same as the one starting at 1:56, but instead of the strings playing the melody, it's just the guitar alone. Also there are a couple differences with the melody, for the rhythm has a little more flair and added notes placed. The notes of the guitar continue to get higher and higher until 4:00. At this point the guitar reaches a boiling point, and the guitar is going extremely fast. Plus, this moment of craziness lasts for a whole ten seconds! After that the same section just repeats itself. At 4:30, the song is starting to die down a little bit. The guitars have dropped, and the percussion has dropped as well. The strings now play in the background, and the piano now plays the battle theme in a more relaxing way. The rhythm from the piano is pretty repetitive, although it always sounds different because of the various harmonies from the strings. It's a nice, soothing way to end such a crazy piece. In the end one last note is played, and the song fades away.

Pros: This has absolutely awesome guitar recordings, and a great tempo that always stays consistent. I loved the harmonies that were everywhere throughout this track. I liked how everything that was in the song would change roles once in a while; I'm mainly thinking of the sections at 1:24 and 3:19 when the low electric guitar acting like the bass played the melody. I used to hate this particular theme from Pokemon, but it's because of this piece that I learned to love it. Also, I loved the ending and how this song concluded.

Cons: Alright, let's face some reality here. While the song is pretty cool altogether, it's so repetitive. It repeated almost the entire first half of the song during the second half, and there wasn't much happening that actually made this any different than what we've already heard. Also, I thought that the strings that joined in at 1:56 were a little unnecessary. Plus, the song was basically a repeat of the original theme. There wasn't much other than the instruments that contributed to making this arrangement unique to the real thing.

Overall: Usually an electric guitar remix doesn't stand out much to me, but I'm making an exception for this one. Excellent guitar work from Fishy, and this is a great arrangement of one of the classic Pokemon themes that we all know and love. Although it may be repetitive, it's a great blast into the past that takes you back to the time where the Gameboy Color was the latest video game system. Anyway, pokemon fans would love it. Awesome work.

Rating: 8.7/10

Song of the Week 38.5: 'A Hero's Legacy' by Evan Pattison (redo)

For this week's .5 edition, I'll be reviewing the song talked about in Song of the Week Reogan Style. Actually Reogan doesn't talk about the piece itself, but he adds visuals that go along with what he heard. I'll try to keep those visuals in mind while I'm reviewing this. This is Evan Pattison's second OCR piece titled 'A Hero's Legacy'. Huh, I think this is one of the first (if not the first) Legend of Zelda franchise remixes I've ever reviewed. Anyway, I'm not going to go off topic, so let's get down to business.

The song starts out with a gradual entry by a group of strings. These strings are what is mainly heard throughout this song. The group of strings had a wide range of pitches; approximately two or three octaves are used. At 0:09 a small woodwind instrument (most likely an oboe) is heard playing a rhythm while the strings are harmonizing against it. At 0:19 there's a large cymbal crash and the beginning of the song is repeated, this time much louder and dramatic. The only difference hear is the volume and the entry of some low brass to help out the lower-pitched strings. The harmony with the strings as the oboe plays this time is even stronger as well. At 0:35 another crash is heard and a new section begins. After this crash, what's heard is all of the sounds holding a note while slowly fading from the song. 0:41 is the real transition to the next major section, for the piano comes in and plays a solemn melody. The piano solo consists of the high melody without much bass to back it up. There are times throughout this section where the notes from the piano are accented, which makes the whole thing seem a little louder. After the solo ends at 1:08, all of the orchestral elements heard before as well as another cymbal crash will come back in the song. There are lots of harmonies heard here, although the four-measure-long melody is repeated the entire time. At least the harmonies aren't as repetitive. At 1:32 there's one more crash, and another break similar to the one at 0:35 starts up again. After this at 1:40, the piano will come back in once again. It plays a melody very similar, if not the same, as the piano solo back at 0:41. The difference here is that there's a small amount of flute backing the piano up as it plays. At 2:05 the strings slowly come back in. At 2:06 the oboe will now play the melody while the strings play a rather simple harmony. The melody is none other than the well-known LoZ melody that a huge majority of gamers have heard. However, this arrangement of the melody is much sadder, depressing, and slow. The strings create a very dramatic feel along with the melody. This is where I can see those visuals that Reogan described, and they actually make sense with what I'm hearing. At 2:33 snare drums come in, as well as a church bell. The melody now repeats, this time louder with a whole lot more elements added. There's now timpani, louder strings, low brass to back things us, and various cymbal crashes. At 3:02 some of the elements are slowing starting to drop out. The melody continues to play, with strong strings and great bass. At 3:16 though, the song comes to an end...

Pros: There were a lot of great orchestral elements here that made the song shine. I thought that the harmonies went very well with the melody, and I liked the dramatic feeling that it gave off. This type of music fits well with a Legend of Zelda game.

Cons: The piano solos at 0:41 and 1:40 were accented too much. The song was a little simple and repetitive; there was hardly anything new heard as the song progressed. Also, I hated the ending. There was hardly any fading (the song pretty much just stopped), and the song sounded a little weird ending right in the middle of the melody.

Overall: This song is good, although I feel that it does need some tweaking. It's a very calm piece with a lot of dramatic orchestra, yet it lacks the complexity to really make me go "Wow, that was an amazing piece". Still, this is pretty good stuff here.

Rating: 7.8/10

Song of the Week 37: 'Ochre Threads' by Oliver Sadie

Hey, it's time for another Song of the Week. The song this time for this week isn't OCR related; it's from Soundcloud. So with that in mind, this song is titled 'Ochre Threads' by Oliver Sadie. He has two versions of this song, but I'll be reviewing the original today. The piano version of the song will probably be reviewed for the next .5 post. So, without further delay, let's get this started.

The song starts out with two different synths. The lower of the two acts like a bass while the other is a little higher in pitch. The bass synth plays the first note, while the other plays and holds the last two beats. I'm pretty sure that the song is in 3/8 time. At 0:13 a much higher synth comes in to start off the main melody. The synth here is clean, yet it rings after playing, giving a bell-like tone to it. In addition to this synth, a string section joins in to play the rhythm the first two synths were playing at the beginning. However, it will only play the role of the second synth that plays. While the melody continues to play, it gives off a very peaceful atmosphere. The part so far where the melody is the strongest would be at 0:40. This strong buildup with the melody will die back down again at 0:46. At 0:52, the strings and the melody drop out for a while, leaving the two original synths that played at the beginning continuing it's light and calm rhythm. At 0:58 a new section starts up, and the melody changes. It still uses the synth with the bell-like tone, but it's now at least an octave lower. The strings this time do a little more than just playing a note each measure; it now harmonizes slightly with the rest of the track, while still keeping a nice, slow pace. There's another strong point with the melody at 1:10, and it's great that hardly anything in the melody has been repeated yet. After 1:10, the melody will die down again and eventually drop, leaving everything else. At 1:25 everything breaks off for a brief moment, and then the song will come back in very strong. Not only is the melody coming back in strong, but the strings as well. Not only until 1:32 is when the strings die down more, with the melody soon to follow. By 1:38, you can now hardly hear the melody. At 1:45 the song builds up once again, with probably the strings being the loudest here (the melody is still pretty close to it in volume though). 1:51 is a place where the harmony from the strings is heard very clearly; it's not until about 1:56 where the melody becomes a little more dominant. At 2:03 the strings crescendo one more time in a nice harmony, but then fade away. Now starting at 2:07 the original synths are now heard clearly with the melody still playing. The melody continues to play its charming melody while the strings come in for a final time at 2:19. At 2:26 the strings become stronger and then play the last note. The song will then fade away...

Pros: This is relaxing, peaceful, and completely calm. There was hardly any repetitiveness in the song except for the background rhythm that played for the entire time. The strong buildups that were used occasionally were dramatic, flowing, and always had good timing. I also really liked the break-off at 1:25.

Cons: The background rhythm after a while did bother me slightly. I wouldn't mind if there was a slight change in that rhythm. Perhaps the strings could've had a little larger of a role also?

Overall: This song is short, sweet, and straight-to-the-point. It's a great song to listen to when relaxing. I recommend listening to it. Stay tuned, because Ochre Threads (Piano version) will be reviewed this Saturday!

Rating: 8/10

Song of the Week 36.5: 'Swingin' With Death' by Nase (redo)

.5 SotW's have returned! So, this is a remake of Met's Song of the Week 13-which could hardly be considered much of a "review" (mainly because I was nonexistent on this blog back then). This song is Nase's debut remix: 'Swingin' With Death' from the game Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Without further delay, let's get to the remix.

The song starts out with a cymbal roll and an orchestral sequence. It mainly consists of strings increasing in volume and pitch, making a pretty epic sounding intro. The brass section here can be heard making numerous buildups until one of the instruments, a french horn I believe, has a very small solo at 0:10. After the french horn plays there's a minor buildup at 0:13, and then a new section begins. This next part of the song has now flipped genres-going from what appears to be a powerful, orchestral piece of music to a funky swing. Here the piano now controls the melody, jazzing up the entire track. The percussion is now displaying your basic swing beat, and the bass plays a tune of its own while backing up the piano. At 0:24 the piano drops and is replaced by the trumpet (which is apparently a brass sample). I figured it was just a sample since it doesn't really sound like a real trumpet. At 0:33 the piano comes back in with a funky trill and continues the jazzy melody that has been going on so far. There's a little more piano here, for a lower octave will come in occasionally to back it up. At 0:42 the brass will come to buildup the song even more. After the brass comes in the melody switches instruments again, and the piano is now replaced by a flute. I like the fact that there's a good variety of instrumentation used throughout the song. At 0:49 the brass will come back in to buildup the song alongside the flute, mainly to add a little more beef I think. At 0:54 a different section starts to be played. The piano has the melody again, although this time the rhythm is a little more straight than the jazz ensemble previously heard. The percussion now has the addition of a cowbell, which is pretty cool. The brass play more buildups while the melody is being played. At 1:04 the melody switches again to the brass-mainly the trumpet. At 1:12 the piano comes in to help transition the song again. At 1:14 there are really only two main instruments being played here: the percussion and the clav (which has the melody). The clav here plays a funky tune while low brass back it up occasionally. At roughly 1:24 the clav is going wild in its soli (pretty cool stuff here). At 1:32 the soli stops with the bass and the clav doing a two-part soli which transitions the song again into a new section. At 1:36 the first melody is repeated (the one from 0:13). Instead of the piano playing the melody though, the clav, one octave higher, plays it. The piano instead plays some chords backing everything up. At 1:46 the melody switches not to the piano, but to the bass. Yes, bass solo time! The bass already sounded pretty sweet when it was playing its "normal" role, but now it's playing a crazy, jazzy melody that rampages through this section. At 1:56 the bass goes back to what it was previously doing, and the melody now is played by a smooth synth. At 2:06 another section is repeated; this time it's the section from 1:04. Instead of the trumpet this time, it's more of a low brass instrument (most likely trombone) that plays the melody here. At 2:13 the trumpet joins in and now harmonizes with the trombone. The clav also joins in occasionally to play a note or two. 2:24 sounds pretty interesting; everything became muffled, gritty, and intentionally messed up (in a good way). At 2:31 the song cools down a lot by having the percussion leave and a high synth play the melody. There are a lot of synth buildups while this is going on, as well as piano playing a couple chords. After 2:41, the song echoes and then slowly dies away.

Pros: The song was fun and upbeat. It always kept that swing beat, never stopping or remotely slowing down. The bass was absolutely awesome here, I love the fact that it served as melody, harmony, as well as the bass. The variety of instruments used here was great considering how short the song was. The clav dominated section from 1:14 to 1:32 was pretty awesome as well.

Cons: It was perhaps a little too short; this has to be one of the shortest songs I've reviewed so far. Also, I thought that the brass samples could have sounded more...realistic? I know they were samples that were used very well throughout the piece, but I'm not really in favor of them.

Overall: This is a short, catchy, swing that probably make people appreciate jazz a little more. I'm neutral when it comes to jazz; I neither like it nor dislike it. This song is pretty fun to listen to though, so people should take three minutes of their time to hear it.

Rating: 8/10

Song of the Week 36: 'Damn Those Turks!' by Daniel Baranowsky

Hey, it's time for another Song of the Week. This song is another from Final Fantasy VII and is titled 'Damn Those Turks!'. Also, this is from the same FF7 album that had the song reviewed for SotW 35. It was remixed by the artist Daniel Baranowsky. I really don't have anything else to say, and I'm already writing this at the last second, so let's get this started...

The beginning starts out with three notes hit by an acoustic guitar, and then the song will play a slow, western-like rhythm (to define "western, I mean the "wild west"). At 0:08 the guitar comes back in, although this time it's an electric guitar. This plays a twangy, little melody that ends at about 0:15. There's a buildup that happens at 0:17, and at 0:19 the track will burst with some strong percussion hits and a very twangy, electric, western guitar-like synth. I can't exactly describe it. At 0:28 the normal acoustic guitar gets the pickup into the leading melody. Here the melody is controlled by the guitar (with possibly some harpsichord), and the electric guitar plays as the bass. The percussion plays rather slow here, and throughout the entire song (it plays the rhythm that everything played at 0:19). At 0:37 the acoustic drops back a little bit, and the electric guitar will take over as the melody. The twangy guitar synth...thing that I really couldn't describe in words plays that same rhythm from 0:19 as the electric guitar jams out. At 0:46 the acoustic takes over the melody again, and it goes back to the way it was at 0:28 except for the "twangy guitar" (which is what I'm going to call that sound from here on). At 0:55 the song will go back into that western groove it had going on back at the beginning of the song. The acoustic will play the melody here, which is simply it playing various arpeggios. At 1:01 a synth can be heard slowly stretching it's pitch up one level. At 1:11 you can hear some bass playing a small counter melody, and at 1:13 the percussion will play a couple times each second. The bass will also quicken to the speed of eighth notes (which isn't all that fast considering how slow the tempo is). At 1:19 that synth from 1:01 will come back again and repeat the cool, sliding sound it made from when it played earlier. At 1:28 there's a quick buildup, and at 1:30 there's a new section. Here, everything that had played before dropped out, and new stuff will take over. A male vocal will now rise and sing the notes in the melody. No words are spoken, just voice. A bunch of synths are added to harmonize with the voices, and play fast sixteenth notes. At 1:40 the rhythm from 0:19 will come back in to back up the melody even more. This section will continue to play and repeat itself for about twenty more seconds. At 1:57 the piano is now added to counter the vocal and the percussion/twangy guitar, which plays a light rhythm. The bass for the piano is also muffled out a little bit, so the treble is mainly heard here above everything else. At 2:07 the choir completely drops out, and the piano starts to get a little more flashy. It plays at a medium-high pitch, and there's hardly any bass with it. At 2:10 a buildup is beginning, continuously getting louder and louder. At 2:16 everything drops out, except for a light, percussion-like synth, the stretched note last played by the guitar, and the piano to play the melody. At 2:22 is where the piano really starts to speed up in terms of melody, and 2:26 starts with low piano at the pickup (same notes as the guitar at 0:28). Unlike 0:28, there's no guitar, and the melody previously played by the piano continues. The piano does a great job here in keeping the melody moving and not being too repetitive. At 2:42 the song now becomes a pure piano solo with nothing to stand in its way. However, at 2:51 the guitar comes back in and plays almost the exact same thing back at 0:28 except for the quiet piano continuing its melody. Then, after repeating itself a little bit, the song fades away...

Pros: The various guitars used here in the song were pretty sick. The percussion hits, starting at 0:19, were clean, strong, and powerful. What I like the most about this song though is the piano dominated section from the second half of the track. I know that I speak of my love for piano too much, but for this track I do prefer the piano over the guitars.

Cons: The song, even for its very short length of 3:11, was a little too repetitive. I got sort of sick of the sections that just played over and over again (mainly the section at 0:28). Also, the section where the vocals came in bothered me. They sounded good, but they didn't sound right with the rest of the song. To me they came in at a pretty bad place. The ending could have been better also. It would have sounded better if they did something new for the ending instead of just repeating the section that was playing all the time.

Overall: The song sounds pretty cool, but it's not one of my favorites. It's also very short, although the length is fine considering the few changes in the song altogether. Very western, very clean, and it's pretty cool to listen to.

Rating: 7/10

Note: Probably some are thinking why I placed such a low rating on this song. Well, I'm trying to change some things in terms of my rating system. I've noticed, and other people have noticed, that I rate these songs way too high. I may even fix the ratings on the other songs I've looked at or even create some .5 SotW's for the first reviews I ended up doing since I started writing on this blog. I want to limit the ratings to only whole numbers or a number with a .5. This is no longer "on a scale of 9 to 10..." No, this is on a scale of 1 to 10, which means the lowest rating I can put a song would be 0.5 or maybe a 0 if the song is a complete disgrace to music everywhere. I would only use numbers with other decimals when comparing a song with others reviewed in terms of their ratings. I'll try not to do that too much though. Now, I probably won't rate anything lower than a 5 right now, but hey, at least I'm trying to turn things around. Who knows, as I continue writing these I may change the way I write the entire review. That probably won't happen for a while; I'm just trying to take things one step at a time...

Song of the Week 35: 'Mark of the Beatsmith' by Hy Bound

Song the Week is back, which means that I myself am back. Truthfully, it's about time posting started up again at RPS; I've missed posting at least once or twice a week. After a two month break, it's time I start writing again. I may have been away from my reviews, but I've been looking into OCR more than ever now. My undeniable love for music has never stopped (thank goodness). Alright, this song is actually one that I chose myself. It's title: 'Mark of the Beatsmith'. It's a pretty epic title. We got ourselves another Final Fantasy VII mix again! It's featured on the album 'Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream'. Oh, and the remixer for this track is Tyler Carson (a.k.a. Hy Bound). Anyway, I'm glad to be back, so now let's get to the details...

The first couple seconds start out with the piano lightly playing. A very light cymbal hit can be heard as well, playing on the downbeat of each measure. At 0:09 and maybe a second before that there's a small buildup which mainly includes some bass drum. Starting at 0:10 the strings come in, as well as a hint of choir, to really set the atmospheric mood that will be continuously heard throughout the song. It merely plays stretched chords every other measure, but the section is drawn out to sound very calm and angelic. At about 0:25 is when the strings/choir change a little bit in volume by gradually getting louder; the entire song, in fact, builds up into what is now currently being heard. The choir drops here, and the strings are now what keep this calm mood flowing. There's a minor buildup at 0:38, but when the song reaches 0:41 a beat starts to play. The strings speed up too, for instead of playing every other measure they now play on the first beat of all measures. At 0:56 the current melody from the strings plays in almost perfect unison. It's great that about three octaves of strings are being used for this. This pattern will continue for about ten more seconds until the sound gets sucked away and a buildup occurs at 1:11. After the buildup a new section starts playing. Even though the basic rhythms are the same, the beat changes and becomes a little more fast-paced. Because of that, the section is therefore different than what was heard previously. This section actually continues for quite some time, although the melody never weakens or gets too repetitive. The higher octaves as the section continues will create a harmony for the lower melody. The percussion here is pretty solid also; it hits hard on every other beat while keeping the song going. The changes that occur after the section start at 1:42. There's a short buildup, but the real action happens when the chimes bust out a solid, five-note introduction at 1:44. The strings run up the scale, and then burst forth into an explosion of sound. The melody during this section is now controlled by the piano, which really does stand out amongst the percussion and string sections. This is awesome stuff right here, plus the strings aren't there to just create more atmosphere (it's playing a rhythm of its own). Every part of this piece, primarily the major three (strings, piano, and percussion), are all doing something different. At 2:00, the song continues, but the melody gets played by a new instrument. It's probably some sort of string instrument, although I can't really tell since the sound of it is so unique. At about 2:15 the strings exit and take a break for a while, while the string melody continues to do its thing. There are many short buildups here, and what's cool is that the sound is completely sucked out after each one. The percussion, after a short break as well, plays its previous beat again at 2:27. There's a ton of cymbal action here as well. The chimes will come in again to transition the song into a new section at 2:33. This section mainly consists of the cymbal crashing from before, the percussive beat that constantly is driving, and the strings slowing making an entrance (starting at 2:37). There's also some pretty cool synths used here before the strings come in. The string melody will come in again at 2:41 while the strings/synth will continuously build up, suddenly stop, and repeat the process. At 2:48 there's a pretty sweet bass drum solo for a couple seconds. After this solo, the sounds of everything in the song start to become distorted and even cut out in the middle of the rhythm. That was done on purpose though, and it actually sound pretty cool. At 2:58 everything starts to calm back down again, and the strings will play their angelic notes. At 3:05 the piano will start to play a little rhythm as well. Note the very quiet pattern of notes heard in the background, for it's foreshadowing what could possibly be the next main melody. It, and also the piano, will go away at about 3:08, so listen carefully for it. The next ten seconds are very string-focused. At 3:20 the piano will jump in to play a little ditty within all the atmosphere. Some bass will start to develop into a single note beat at about 3:31, and a high octave of strings are going to start playing with the lower strings at 3:38. This will continue to play, with the piano coming in occasionally (especially at 4:02). At 4:10 the bass and the strings start to play twice as fast. The melody that was played silently at around 3:02 will play again, this time a little louder. The beat picks up, and the volume increases. At 4:25, everything gets chopped up, and the new section begins. So basically, the last fifteen seconds were one massive and awesome buildup. The melody foreshadowed now starts to be played by everything except for the higher strings that play a counter-melody. This section has the amount of pure intensity equivalent to the section at 1:44. Awesome. The chimes will even play a part as well by hitting an F every four measures. Did I mention that there's choir here too? Yeah, they come in at about 4:37. At about 4:56, after a lot of the same stuff heard, the sound gets completely sucked up and then spat out again at 5:00. The only real change here is the uniting of the high and low strings to play the counter-melody. Plus, the bass is emphasized much more. At 5:28 there's an awesome drum solo, which then completely changes the melody back to what it was at 1:44. It took less than a second to change, yet in the end it turned out great. It's almost like the section at 1:44, except with more cymbal crashes and less strings. The string instrument from before will take over the melody again at 5:50, although this time the piano will join with it simultaneously. At 6:04 another section similar to 2:00 is played again, except the percussion will join in shortly at 6:10. At 6:15 there's quite a large ritardando which slows down the song immensely. I remember that the first time I listened to this, my fingers were tapping on my desk but then messed up the beat during this section. Even the chimes come in at 6:20 and play that rhythm at an incredibly slow pace. After that's played though, the song speeds up slightly (although it's no where near as fast as it was back a minute ago). This entire section has every sound being sucked up constantly, while the string melody (which does have a lower octave of the same sound play with it now) continues to endure the slow tempo. It's not until 6:51 when the section changes again. The percussion now drops, creating that atmospheric feeling back in the beginning of the song. At 6:57 the piano comes in to play one last little tune (which is actually one of the themes from the game, I believe), and the strings will play in the background. Starting at 7:07 there's some sort of buildup that gets louder and louder. I wish I could describe it, but it's a pretty strange sound. It almost sounds like applause. Then, just when everything's built up again, a hit from the chimes will ring, getting cut off repeatedly even, until the song comes to a close.

Pros: The percussion was strong all the way through (when it was playing though). The atmosphere was just wonderful, and I'm glad that the strings had such a great harmony with the rest of the song. The piano would always appear at the right times. I just love the buildup from 4:10 to 4:25. It was completely epic during the best two sections: the sections at 1:44 and 4:25. This is one cool song, and listening to it is worth all 7 minutes and 20 seconds.

Cons: Cons...um...there hardly is any to be found. The only con I could think of is something based off of my own opinion, which is that string instrument that will occasionally come in to play the melody. It's not that it was bad, but the sound of it sort of bothered me. The repetitiveness wasn't much of a problem though, although sometimes it took a little too long to transition into something else.

Overall: Hy Bound did a great job in making repetitiveness sound good. The melody is catchy, cool, and something enjoyable to listen to. I loved the amount of piano used, even if it was used merely to chime in during certain parts. Speaking of chimes, those were pretty awesome as well. This song is overall epic in a ton of ways. Oh, and I forgot to mention this: I've only had this song for a couple days, and yet as you can see I like this song already. This song is highly recommended. I love it, I love it, I love it!

Rating: 9.7/10

Song of the Week 34.5: 'Above Reason' by zircon, tefnek (redo)

I'm back doing Song of the Week again, sorry for my brief absence. So, this song was mentioned back in Song of the Week 9. Titled 'Above Reason', this is one of the shorter tracks that I've reviewed (it's only about three minutes long). Anyway, this song was created by tefnek and zircon who are, as Met states in SotW 9, very good electronic artists. So yeah, let's get this review started.

The song starts out with the bass playing a simple one-note melody, while a synth can be heard playing in the background. That synth starts to get louder at about 0:04, and at 0:08 it will overpower everything. The percussion starts up as well, hitting hard on every beat. The bass continues what it was playing before. At 0:16 the melody comes in which is a medium pitched synth. Everything that was playing just a couple seconds ago are still playing, so nothing has been taken out of the song yet. The percussion is a bit louder also. There's also a decent harmony heard by another synth in the background as well. What's good about the percussion is that despite the fact that it's quite loud and noticeable, it's not completely "in your face". It's a good balance right there. At 0:32 there's a brief transition. This is a short solo from an electric guitar-like synth. At 0:36 the song just explodes. There is a massive amount of synth work being done here, and the melody is played by one of the craziest synths that I've ever heard. The melody is rather catchy as well, and the speed for this entire thing is just right. At 0:53 that synth heard back at the very beginning plays at a new section, with some other awesome synths placed in there for harmony, effect, etc. This lasts until 1:09, for the synth back at 0:16 returns and plays a different melody. Again, this is just crazy synth work throughout this section and this entire piece. At 1:25 there's a brief section consisting of many different percussion instruments. At 1:33 the synths return, with perhaps some electric guitar mixed in there. However, at 1:41 some piano is introduced and now plays the melody. The synths now really act like the "background singers" here, because they play the melody only at certain times. There's a quick pause at 1:58, and at 2:00 the song keeps on moving along. This is probably the best part of the song because of the massive complexity of rhythms between each synth. First we have the obvious synth which plays a rather high melody and leads the song with its rhythm. Then we have one that isn't heard very well: it's a counter-melody played much lower; it's also the melody that was playing way back at 0:36. Then we just have everything else in the background for effect. The percussion is still driving along without getting too fast. At 2:17 that counter-melody just mentioned gets way louder, and pretty much switches positions with the other melody previously playing. The song starts to calm down more at 2:33 (the percussion doesn't though), and the only synths playing at the moment are the ones that have been in the background all this time. At 2:41 though, the regular melody kicks back in although the synth playing it isn't as crazy as the previous ones. It doesn't repeat the melody this time around, for at 2:49 the piano will return for the last time. The piano here plays a repeating rhythm, while everything else just backs off. There are two low synths backing it up however, which, after a couple seconds, ends the song.

Pros: The bass is awesome. The synths, all of them, are crazy, amazing, and completely out of this world. The percussion has a non-stop driving rhythm being played throughout this entire piece, and yet it never becomes too quiet or too overpowering. The complexity of everything was great, and there was always something new with each section. I love it.

Cons: Somehow, I think this song could be longer. I have to admit though that some of the synths were a little too crazy, so the constant changes in the synths for the melody were somewhat necessary. Otherwise I would have lost my mind.

Overall: This is three minutes of complete madness when it comes to music dominated by synths. With an unstoppable beat and catchy melodies, this song almost defines the greatness of electronic music. It's one of the craziest and overall one of the most electronic video game-based songs that I've ever heard. Awesome.

Rating: 9.4/10

Song of the Week 32.5: 'Somewhere to Hide' by Hy Bound and Loka LaFevre (redo)

Apparently this is the first real post that's been posted since I posted a week ago. Really? C'mon, I don't want to be the only one putting stuff on here. Because of this predicament, Song of the Week 32 was never posted, so I guess we're just moving on to the .5 edition...Anyway, this is a redo of SotW 4. This is the first piece I'm reviewing that has vocals in it, by the way. So here's 'Somewhere to Hide' (by Hy Bound and Loka LaFevre).

The beginning starts out with a muffled orchestral section. At 0:15 the orchestral stuff isn't heard anymore; instead it's much more elaborate and electronic. In this this section also, effects are heard playing triplets, and the vocals start up as well. At 0:23 percussion starts playing, and a transition/crescendo occurs at 0:27. The vocal will continuously rise up in pitch during this. At 0:30 the percussion kicks into high gear, an electronic synth is playing a neat harmony, and the vocal starts off by repeating the word "somewhere" (and then it will echo after it's sung). There's another vocal going on as well, and it's the same voice and rhythm back at 0:15. At 0:45 the vocals stay the same, but another synth comes to create a more complex rhythm/melody, and the percussion died down and simplified. The vocals drop after a couple seconds, making that electronic rhythm mentioned earlier the melody. There's also another, much lower synth being played that not only acts like a bass, but it also gives more of a rock feel to the song. This section continues until 1:15. At 1:16, the "somewhere"s are back, and continue to echo. There are also strings added in as well to blend in with all of the other electronic stuff going on. At 0:23, the words that the vocalist is singing are changed slightly. Added on the the usual "somewhere" will be what is the whole phrase sung throughout the track, which is "somewhere you'll be hiding somewhere from me". I guess that explains the title somewhat, but notice later how the actual title word for word is never sung. Also, there are slight pauses between every one or two words. At 1:31 more of the electronic bass returns, and the vocalist continues to repeat the phrase until "from me" is echoed (which starts at 1:36). The echoing stops at 1:42, leaving the bass and the background effects. At 1:46 there's a very low and robotic "somewhere" spoken, and the song will then continue after that. The percussion plays a whole lot more here, and it's now (rhythm and vocal-wise) a combination and repetition of the sections at 0:45 and 0:30. It will still be the same later on, but there's a change at 2:03 where the vocalist starts to sing the entire phrase again. There's a very brief percussion solo at about 2:08 after that, but then the song repeats what was just played/sung. There's a cut-off at 2:18, which leaves "from me" echoing while the introductory orchestral section played at the very beginning appears. The echoes fade out, but then a newer vocal comes in at 2:30 that's a little lower than the last (all these vocals are feminine, by the way). The vocal here doesn't sing any actual words; it's mainly there for effect, but it does make everything sound a little more exotic. As the vocalist sings, strings come in to play a rising, three-note pattern. At about 2:43 there's a crescendo, and at 2:46 a lot more strings are added as well as some light percussion. The lower strings handle that pattern just mentioned, while the higher will play the same thing (but they play it very quickly). This continues for a while, and near the end of the this section more electronic effects can be heard instead of the strings. At 3:17 is when the section finally changes. The "somewhere"s echo again, but there's definitely more electronicness going on (and percussion). Very cool sounding it is right here. At 1:31 the vocal goes back into the full phrase. The percussion is more noticeable here as well, and the electronic stuff going on really makes the song sound the way it is. At 3:47 it goes back into the section played at 2:03. At 4:02 the vocals go back into just repeating "somewhere", and the percussion continues to do its thing. The electronic stuff does a whole lot more here as well. At 4:17 everything cuts off, leaving "somewhere" to fade away...somewhere. Then the song comes to a close.

Pros: I thought that the mix of electronic and orchestral sounds was pretty neat; I could hardly tell the difference between the two because they sounded so well together. The vocals weren't half bad either. The percussion had a decent volume throughout the song and wasn't too overpowering, and all of the different electronic sounds and synths sounded very cool.

Cons: It was a little too repetitive I think. It's not really the vocals that are to blame (they obviously repeated all the words on purpose), but all the rhythms going on in the background hardly made any changes whatsoever, so it made the song slightly boring.

Overall: The song is pretty good for an electronic piece that had lyrics. It's predictable though, and its repetitiveness can get stuck in my head easily. It's pretty cool to listen to though.

Rating: 8.7/10

Song of the Week 31.5: 'Legend of the Snake 2: Snake vs. Dragon' by Reuben Kee

Okay, so this is pretty much a continuation of last week's review (a.k.a: Song of the Week 30.5). This track is still by Reuben Kee, and was originally going to be a remake of the original 'Legend of the Snake' (which was what I ended up reviewing a week ago). So here's 'The Legend of the Snake 2: Snake vs. Dragon'.

Like the first version of this piece, Reuben Kee started out with a soft piano solo. However, a couple of the major differences are the fludity of the piece, the differences in overall dynamics, and the increase in notes being played simultaneously. The other version started out with just the treble notes playing and the bass notes not coming in until way later, as I recall. Dynamics are usually a must when dealing with a solo, so it's great to hear these long crescendos every couple seconds or so. The major dynamic differences being heard are around 0:11, 0:16, and especially at around 0:19. The solo dies down a little bit at 0:23-ending this solo. Once it comes back in a second later, there's a small but significant harmony coming off of a low string section. There are then three more major crescendos; there appear to be at around 0:27, 0:31, and one of the biggest ones heard thus far at 0:33. The piano retires from the melody at 0:46, but instead quickens into eighth notes to back up the next participant for the melody: the flute. This next section certainly has a dramatic feeling to it; there are many ritardandos throughout that will not only add length but add emotion. At 1:10 the flute departs, leaving the piano and strings to fill in some empty gaps before moving on to the next section. At 1:23 a buildup will begin to play, and then the main theme that was played throughout the other version of this song will begin. As for the instrument that plays it, it's still a mystery to me. I'm leaning towards a banjo, maybe. Either way, it creates a very exotic feel as it plays the melody quite slow. The strings and other various background effects help create a good amount of atmosphere as well. However, it doesn't last very long, for at 1:38 that banjo-like instrument ceases it's playing and a newer section is created. It starts out with a small amount of percussion hits at 1:39, and with a hit of the chimes at 1:43, the melody restarts. This time it's played slightly faster, and is taken over by the brass section. With the brass playing this, it almost makes the melody sound more like a fanfare. The percussion really stands out here as well, for a ton of various hits can be heard everywhere. Oh, and the strings have a fantastic harmony going on also. This entire fanfare section lasts for quite a while; it doesn't fade out until roughly 2:26. There's a roll from the timpani that will buildup and increase in volume to introduce the next section a couple seconds after the fanfare goes away. The melody is taken over by a blend of instrumentation (mainly the banjo-like instrument is playing, with a little bit of piano mixed in there). This section, like the section at 0:46, doesn't last very long. At 2:41 though, the next section is introduced. The strings are playing rampantly, the percussion is driving with madness, and it turns out that this is only the epic introduction of what is to come. At 2:52, it gets even more insane when not only the percussion goes slightly faster, but when the choir comes in to add an enormous amount of awesomeness into the scene. This sadly doesn't last for very long either, because with a short shout from the choir at 3:02, the song peacefully calms down with that ethnic flute from the other version of this track. A couple brief hits from the percussion come in once in a while, and there are even some electronic elements added in there to create a nice blend with this mainly-orchestral piece of music. Very low strings will begin to play at 3:23 once the percussion has gone through many hits during the last fifteen seconds or so. Actually, it continues to play with the strings, and sounds even more powerful than before. Higher strings will start to play a little faster than everything else going on, and the percussion will go back to its rapid and upbeat playing from 2:52. It turns out that this was one massive buildup. Who knew? The entire transition here was great, as it completely disguised itself from its actual purpose. The melody plays here again, although it's a different theme than the previous ones. That strange, unknown instrument from the other version comes back for an encore appearance. The strings will eventually join it at 4:00, not only making the melody sound a little more complete but making it sound better overall. At 4:12 the melody changes back to the reoccurring theme that has played in both versions. It's played by the flute again, and the piano lightly plays some chords in the background. The choir and strings are also heard as well. At 4:23 the flute leaves the melody the brass which makes the melody back into a fanfare. It sounds a little more dramatic this time around, for not only is it playing slower but the piano is playing numerous runs up and down the scale, and the choir just makes everything sound a little more powerful. At 4:37 the percussion starts driving again, and the brass will start to conclude the song. A very low note hit from the choir will begin the end, and once the percussion does a few more hits the song is over.

Pros: The overall instrumentation was pretty impressive. The fact that a couple electronic elements were added in for various effects was great, as it created a superb blend for the song. The piano solo for this version was way better this time around, as it had more atmosphere, fluidity, and also a dramatic sound to it. The exotic instruments were a nice touch when they returned for this version, and it was good that they didn't control the majority of the song like the last version did. The choir was excellent, and the transitions into each section were satisfactory.

Cons: Sometimes the transitions and buildups were a little too long, and the main sections were usually a little too short. It could've been better if the lengths of these two parts of the song were reversed. The random outbursts of percussion hits were a little unnecessary, but at least there weren't as much in this version.

Overall: Reuben Kee had improved a lot since his first version was posted on OCR. It's a great orchestral piece to listen to, with a lot of variety to keep someone's interest. It has everything from fanfares to exotic atmospheres. Excellent piece of music to listen to.

Rating: 9.4/10

Song of the Week 31: 'Penelope' by Oliver Sadie

Today I'm doing something a little different then my usual reviews. Like Met's post last week, I'll be doing a song by Oliver Sadie. I've already heard a lot about him (pretty much through what Met has told me), and I've also listened to his piano works already. Now the song from him that I'm going to be reviewing is technically something that I've already heard before, although it was only the original piano sample that I had found on his home website (I have also downloaded everything from there). This sample that I've heard is actually one of my favorites that I downloaded also. Anyway, I'm usually not the type of person who will rant on and on in the introduction, so here's Oliver Sadie's song entitled 'Penelope'.

The song starts out rather softly. The piano begins to play in a light swing, while a smooth synth can barely be heard in the background. This synth, although hardly audible at first, begins to crescendo slightly at about 0:06. This definitely adds a little more atmosphere. At roughly 0:12 the piano continues to play its small swing, although it's played much higher pitch wise. Another synth is added as well, although it only plays once here. The piano is the main sound being heard at this point, since the synth completely died down. At 0:23 the synth starts back up again (although according to Oliver Sadie, he says that he used "pad layers" ...sorry, I'm not very familiar with electronic music). Nothing out of the ordinary happens for a while, although the piano coupled with the synth sounds great. You can start to hear a difference in volume at about 0:41, and soon I could hardly hear the piano anymore. However, at about 0:46 the piano as well as the synth come back with a dramatic bang. The transition to this change went well, and I really can't see how he could have made that any better. The various synths (or pad layers) will chime in to fill in all those gaps that the piano isn't covering. There's another change that's very similar to the one at 0:46, but this time it's at 0:56. There's a melody change at about 1:06, and the synths continue to do their thing. The synths usually play stretched notes, and then have a tendency to play/repeat notes about every measure or so. There's a very small buildup at 1:21, although it didn't really lead into anything other than the transition back into a similar rhythm that had been previously playing. The only real change I can distinguish among the new section is the fact that there are many more chords being used, which still make the song sound well. At 1:36 the right hand treble clef takes over to create it's own melody while the previous rhythm will lightly play in the background (with the synth of course). There's some great control here in terms of dynamics. I can definitely tell from about 1:46 that the piano is becoming much more syncopated than before. Also, at 1:56, the melody starts a different, more syncopated rhythm as well. There's even a little bit of flair at 2:03 when the melody does a rapid little triplet, which I have a tendency to love. At 2:06 the melody becomes lower in pitch I notice, and also a little more melancholy. The synth that plays alongside it does a great job creating such a dramatic effect for what's going on. We get to about 2:16 now, and I can't really put into words how to describe the piano here. However, somebody on SoundCloud did comment that this section had some "old-school melody" here, and I pretty much agree with him/her. This section is all one massive buildup, gradually rising in pitch and volume. At 2:40 the song reaches a climax I believe, and the piano being played continues to maintain that dramatic feeling throughout the song. At 3:04, the piano rises a little bit with some simple chords, and transitions back into that original rhythm that was being played way back near the beginning of the song. As the song progresses, it sounds like a unique mixture of the rhythm at 0:46 and the funky rhythm at 2:16. This can be heard at about 3:25. The "old-school" melody will continue to play while a couple higher notes play occasionally. Then it starts to die down, and the song is over.

Pros: The piano work was awesome. I can tell there's very good control with dynamics, and I liked how the swing rhythm kept going until the very end. The original sample of this-where it was only solo piano-was great in itself, but it's even better when it was remastered with the various synths/pad layers. Oliver Sadie also did a great job in keeping the atmosphere throughout also. It was dramatic, flowing, and the song also had a decent length as well. Excellent work, and it was enjoyable to listen to.

Cons: The synths could have been a little bit louder. If they were a little bit louder, the atmosphere might have been a little more obvious. There were times when I could barely hear any of the background stuff, so an increase in volume would help. Also, there could have been a little more variety with the piano; I felt like there was a little too much repetitiveness. Other than that I can't really think of any more cons.

Overall: Excellent piano piece. The whole atmosphere of it was great, and the fluidity never stops, making it a song worth listening to despite its couple flaws. It was brilliantly executed.

Rating: 8.8/10

Song of the Week 30.5: 'Legend of the Snake' by Reuben Kee (redo)

Alright, so this post was supposed to put up a week ago, but it never happened. Also, this was supposed to be written and finished a week ago, and still it never happened. So, fortunately, I'll post this time. This is another song from the people at OCR, and it's also a redo of Met's SotW 2. This song is by Reuben Kee, who had unfortunately died in a tragic boating accident in 2007. So here's 'Legend of the Snake', part one that is (part two will be coming next week).

The song starts out with the piano playing a simple pattern, going up in pitch with every repeated "wave" in each pattern. There is also some strings heard in the background which plays a very high A. This pretty much continues until around 0:20, and then the strings drop out. So now we're at the point of the song where it's complete solo piano. This solo starts out rather simple; it's just some high keys playing a light melody until a little more of a harmony is added in at around 0:35. It may be simple, but I can see that Reuben Kee was a pretty talented pianist. Sounds pretty good so far. The piano will crescendo a bit at 0:54, but then quiet down again peacefully at 1:01. At about 1:20, a small sequence of chords will play, leading to the end of it's solo at 1:28. What stops the solo is some sort of woodwind instrument, and djpretzel's review says that it's an "ethnic flute". I'll take his word for it and use that phrase to describe this particular sound. There's a short burst of percussion hits that come in after this ethnic flute, and each sound will make a pattern by playing after the other. Oh, and some low strings play in the background also. At 1:58 the drums will play for a couple seconds, and then the main melody will make a grand appearance at 2:00. This is classic Metal Gear Solid stuff right here, I love this melody. It's being played by the flute by the way, with the low strings as bass (and the percussion hits in between). At 2:10-2:11ish, there's something that absolutely bugs the heck out of me though. There must have been some sort of mistake by the one who played the melody, because every time I hear this part, there's always a distant squeak heard. At 2:13, the strings start to act as a harmony to the flute-like instrument, and does a pretty good job at it also. The last note of the melody is played and held for quite some time, until the piano will come back in for a little effect at 2:28. The percussion will also continue to be played as well. Nothing really goes on in this small section; it's only the random percussion hits, the piano playing in the background, and the ethnic flute thing that appears again at 2:38. There's a slight percussion hit soon after, and a brand new section comes in strong. The strings control everything here, which create a great buildup with each sequence that it plays. At 3:01 the strings seem to reach a boiling point, playing triplets with the percussion, and then dies down a bit at 3:07. Here it almost seems like the song is over, but no, it continues. Another brand new section will play at 3:12, which I easily recognize as the intro to the MGS melody played at 2:00. It starts out with the strings playing the intro, and just as I suspected, that melody will appear again (at 3:25). The melody is played by another woodwind instrument, oboe maybe? The piano does play a lot in the background, making this section better than previous sections in my opinion. The percussion had lightened a little bit also, it took me a while to notice that there still was percussion playing. Strings will take over the melody again at 3:32 though, and there's a large increase in volume. There's a great transition leading up to 3:44, and at that time there is a key change. The strings will continue to have the melody during this entire section, which sounds great, and there's even a small amount of bells heard starting at 3:51. With a very, very low chord from the piano, the song cools down a bit and transitions. This new section has the same instrumentation as the very beginning, with the strings in the background and the piano having the melody. This section has a couple of buildups in between it, and with a hit of the drums at 4:38, the strings go back into another melody. I'm pretty sure that this is another melody heard in MGS, but I really wouldn't know because I've only played the game once...on a cell phone. At 4:56 there's something new that comes in that plays. As to what that is, I absolutely have no idea. It sounds rather funky, but what's cool is that this strange instrument starts to play the melody at 5:03. This will create another buildup, as strings will come in to add to this at about 5:10. At 5:23 the melody will play again, this time by another funky-sounding unknown instrument. I'm not really a fan for the sound of it though; it sounds like a flute on drugs...but the harmonies here sound good. There's also another key change at 5:38 also. At 5:54 the melody will repeat the last two notes that it played while the drums and strings do their thing. I can start to hear some piano at around 6:08, and other than that it continues to play until the last note is held.

Pros: Probably the best section of this song was the section starting at 3:25. The instrumentation overall was great, and I thought it was neat how the melody was always played differently each time I heard it. It's definitely one I would recommend listening to.

Cons: I really didn't like the sound of the last melody played, and I also thought that the random outbursts of percussion were a little bit unnecessary. The transition at 5:23 could have been better also...

Overall: This is a great orchestral piece with a few quirks. If you're looking for a unique variety of instrumentation, then this is the song for you. There may have been a few mistakes and flaws, but it didn't effect the song too much.

Rating: 9.3/10