by

Lubomir Panter
(Panter)

This sing sounds too dry and noisy (for its style that is). Orchestral pieces require crystal clear sounds and smooth transitions. The author used 8bit samples, although there would have been plenty of room for 16bit samples (song size is below 600k). These 8bit samples sound like downsampled GUS patches and, due to their 8bit nature, are annoyingly noisy. The author used NNAs very sparsely (which is no reason for downrating), but where he didn't use them he did not compensate. The song sounds too artificial for an orchestral piece. The mixing volume is a bit too high, a few places are overdriven. Panning is simple, but working. The author is very conscious of his style and follows the usual clichés very well. The good thing about that is that he never loses his aim or sounds out-of-style, the downside is that we have heard this in other places before, namely in the demo "tribes".

There are a lot of good ideas in the themes in this song however this is also detrimental because the constant theme changes make it hard to follow in parts. It also suffers from a cluttered tone which is typical of orchestral mods because the author uses too many samples with complex tone simultaneously. It works effectively as a 'movie theme' epic though which from the title would appear to be its aim.

Low quality samples pretty well ruined this otherwise good entry. The tracking itself was pretty good, albeit a little too cheesy video-game RPG'ish. However, it did manage to create an effective mood none-the-less. However, it was difficult to enjoy thoroughly, partially because of low-quality samples and also because the song was almost entirely cheesy and over-dramatic.

Begin is great, but patterns 10-12 aren't bad and no more. Patterns 16-17 are good end of first part and........second part is more pretty than first. :) What about feeling? "Crusaders, battles and etc"? :) Yes, there is something here- something like the Middle of Ages. You've got one's own way.

Poor sample set here. Most of the samples are recycled more than is their due, and maximized beyond the limit so clipping occurs. You manage a decent sound with these samples, but your tracking skills could use some improving in modeling the instruments. Mixing is OK if not great. Pizzicato samples are almost unrecognizable. The chords are not basic ones thrown together, and they manage to set a good mood. You have enough imagination, but even with chords (which seem to be your strongest point) you should practice voicing and inversions. This kind of music works best as a background music for something atmospheric. I enjoyed almost all the time, but afterwards could remember few if any things about it. For this music style it is fully OK, but don't expect to win the contest with background music.