Aminet 22

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Text File | 1997-10-21 | 93KB | 1,689 lines

WMR (Reviews [week #10]) __ __ __ | \ __ ______/ |_ | | | o \ | | | / o | \ |o | | \| o| |o _/ | o\ []=======| |==| \ |=| |/ | \========[] []=======| |==| \ |=| | |\ \=======[] []=======| |==| \|=| | |=\ \======[] :: | | | \ | | | / / :: :. | | | |\ \| | /| |/ / :: : | | |/\ | \ | |/ | | / : | | / \| |\ | | | | / :. | | / \ | \ | |__| | / .: :: | |/ \| \_| | |/ : :: | /\ | | __| |\ :: []=======| / \ |=| |==| | \==========[] []=======| /| \ |=| |==| | \=========[] []=======| /=| |\ |=| |==| | \========[] |o / | | \ o| |o | | |\ o\(mansooj) |_/ | o | \_| |__/ | o | \__/ |___| |___| (Originally compiled and added on January 13, 1997) (last updated 10.07.97) -----========================================----- -----================================================================----- "Unparalleled World" by Arcturus of Quasar (16ch IT, 04:18) (aq_world.zip [105K/177K]) [Industrial/Ambient] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== S3MTrap 75= 88 78 83 80 Rebriffer 72+ 75 70 70 65 Mansooj 72+ -- -- 80 65 Peraphon 65- -- -- 80 62 CCerberus 52+ 54 61 58 46 Shrift 40= 40 40 55 45 MING 33+ 30 44 65 45 /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This starts with a really neat kick/snare sequence, where the snare moves smartly from the left to the right channel setting up an interesting counterpoint. The tune slows down slightly and then...wwwwwwoooaaahhhh...what is this??? The reason for my surprise is that almost as soon as the track starts, it takes a major turn. From the intro you were led to expect a kinda fluffy, ravish track, but that turns out not to be the case. A very heavy industrial track hammers merrily away at your brain once you peel the layers of intro away. In its own mechanical way, this is as good a track as any other in this genre, but it's not a stand-out. If anything, I feel a little more thought could have gone into the structure of the song to make it more interesting in the long run, because as it stands, it tends to repeat too much. What's there really isn't too shabby though, especially some arpeggiating synths right towards the end. As far as industrial goes, this is a worthwhile attempt, but more could have been made of it with a little more diversity in the sounds used. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The first thing I noticed was complete asynchronicity in the opening percussion, it seemed like a random jumble of drum loops each marching to a different beat. I assume the Amiga IT player (DeliTracker) isn't at fault, so I'd have to say this is a definite down point, although it didn't last too long. Within a short time, the song shows itself as a kind of ambient/industrial piece, with a simple yet interesting structure. The main line here is an electro-beepy-boopy sample that rises and falls above the industrial sounds, and really doesn't go through any variances at all. The sound is rather good, things tending to go together and such, but there was very little variety, and songs without any noticeable melody should go through quite a few changes in order to hide that fact. I happen to like this sort of noise myself, but I couldn't say it was exceptional in any area. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module took me very much by surprise, mainly because I wasn't really sure what the hell it was. It seems to be a very strange mixture of electronic, metal and demo techno. I thought it was, to put it mildly, very different. About halfway through, it became sort of likable, but quickly lost momentum as the repetition and boredom started to creep in. Once I started hearing the same stuff over again, it got irritating. The samples sound very good individually, it's just when they're put together that problems start to arise. I don't think I can truly pass judgment over this as it seems so convoluted and dynamic. If you're the gambling type, have a go at this one. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ S3MTrap ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Early on, you can tell this song doesn't have a very strong intro; you can also tell that some of the samples don't match well for this sort of music, and some of the effects are done a bit too fast. Fortunately, if you continue listening, it starts to turn over a new leaf. The composition starts to work together and eventually produces a nice song. Technically, it uses some basic IT fundamentals like panning, over pattern usage, the H effect to beef up the guitar samples, etc. It seems to be a little repetitive, but isn't that bad. If you like "mystic" tempo songs, the ending of this module, in particular, is definitely for you. Very nice chords there as well. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I would have given this piece a higher originality rating had the main melodies not been so cliched. The accompaniment is entirely original, and experimental, lending itself loosely to the influence of Skaven. Indeed, several of the instruments are taken from him directly. The problem here, though, is that the primitive tracking detracts from the originality, because I believe it likely that the author has little experience with articulate tracking, and as such, it's easy to make music that sounds edgy or experimental, because the refinement of the sound is so nonexistent. I'd pass this one by entirely. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Industrial without any trace of content. Actually, I've never heard a song where something fits as badly as this. I'm talking about the strings, or whatever they are, that are supposed to hold the main theme up. A theme that isn't as much a melody as it is an attempt to play electronic music on a kazoo. Frankly, I do not (repeat--not) like this song. There are parts that are nearly great, the rhythms and some neat instruments, but it really doesn't help when the main focus of it (the melody) is as weak as it is. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Hmmm. I think this song sounds like the author was using it just as a way to "play with" the IT format. The composition is sloppy--the whole song just comes across as one big sound after another. I think this composer DOES know what he's doing, but he should have concentrated more on writing the song than on experimenting with the IT format. -----================================================================----- "Cryo-Stasis" by Matrix Cubed of Green (30ch XM, 08:30) (gr_cryo.zip [591K/963K]) [Acid/Trance/Ambient] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Skullsaw 91+ 92 90 90 90 Mansooj 80+ -- -- 75 76 FrizFry 50- 35 70 75 70 CCerberus 28= 28 58 22 74 /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ If I were to use a single adjective to describe Cryo-Stasis that word would be spooky. Throughout the entire module a sinister, icy cold, sustained synth progression floats eerily in the background, something I really found irresistable. On the sample front there are squelchy modulated filter synths and sweeps, very tasty. A smattering of spoken word snippets here and there humanize the machine precision of the trance inducing rhythms. From a sparse opening the intensity builds oh so gradually that I felt myself pulled into the music. For a trance/ambient tune there's a lot of meat here, plenty of variation in the percussion using single shot samples and full breakbeats. I noticed some drum'n'bass style breakbeat slice and dice that was used sparingly for flavoring, nice. The sample quality is top notch, though at around the six minute mark there is a disturbing noise, a nasty digital grunge that's really annoying, but I suspect it's just my lowly Amiga choking on a strange piece of code. Cryo-Stasis is an excellent hypnotic piece of music. It sucked me in and kept me there. When the intensity is at its peak it's just paradise. This one is going to be pumped through my graphic eq, mixer and reverb unit then dumped to tape, it's a keeper. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ FrizFry ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is definitely a different piece of music, different enough that it's very hard to classify just what genre this song belongs in. It uses a blend of fast drumbeats, fast paced "noises," and slow synthesizer to create a very odd tune. This song actually would've been a lot better if it were shorter. As it stands, it's too repetitive (the whole song is basically the same beat), too long, and too predictable to be truly enjoyable. What do I mean by predictable you ask? What I mean is that the whole song is the same beat, starting with the bass drum, then the snare pops in, then the hihat, then some funky vocal, then the hihat again, then a woody sounding "tick," then the snare...very predictable. I must admit that the extensive use of effects on this tune had a positive effect on the overall chaotic sound. As for the samples, they are well above average in sound and quality. Though I must admit that the bass drum and snare samples sounded too high pitch, with very little sonic depth. There's an interesting background robot "noise" sample that I like, though I've heard this same sample in other songs. Overall, I can't really recommend this song as it stands. It's just too repetitive. If the author changed the beat once or shortened the length of the song by about a minute and a half, it would be a worthy addition to your "odd tunes" collection. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Wuttizit? As the composer says in his sampletexts, his music is becoming hard to fit into any particular genre. In actuality, this is more a case of mixing styles rather than creating something completely new. If you strip this piece down, you have a trance/ambient base, a thin layer of pseudo-industrial sprinkled with voice samples, a slightly thicker layer of an acid/spacey type mixture, rounded out by percussion that runs from junglistic to breakbeat. Interesting to say the least. I tend to like this sort of style alloy, and this particular example is done up in fine fashion. The trance/ambient base carries its usual pricetag in terms of playtime, coming in a bit shy of 9 minutes. The blending of styles also puts this between listening music and background music, mainly due to the percussion, so interested parties may need to be prepared for a long stint trancing out on ambient waves. Dive in...the water's fine. I do have one question however: why were !30! channels needed for this? It sure didn't seem like this needed anywhere near that many, and I suspect this many are rarely needed in any ambient style module. Making use of, and needing a certain number of channels are two completely different things. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song bothered me. It bothered me because I think it could've been so much better. There was just ONE three-note sequence which persisted throughout the entire song. Variety was provided (thank goodness) by a lot of interesting samples, fades, pans, etc. Clearly, the author has a good grip on using the module format, but just doesn't have much interest in the melodic aspects of songwriting. There was LOTS of sample variety, but little musical variety, if you know what I mean. Perhaps this can be traced back to my basic misunderstanding of this genre of music. Consider with caution. -----================================================================----- "Nemesis" by Euji Acha (14ch XM, 06:12) (nemesis.zip [672K/980K]) [Techno/Trance] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Skullsaw 95+ 95 85 90 90 ChroMix 81= 95 80 89 -- MING 75+ 87 86 40 75 Nova 72+ 69 65 71 80 Peraphon 65- 40 -- 45 73 Mansooj 62- -- -- 65 80 CCerberus 55= 49 46 34 65 /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I am smiling. Really, I'm sitting here with a big dopey grin on my face. Euji Acha has tracked a hell of piece of music that really gets me off. This is music for cyberpunks. This is music for fans of William Gibson, for travel within virtual worlds of silicon and germanium. Metal machine music. I could go on and on attempting to paint a picture of this mod but I'll stop. The opening is a controlled chaotic cacophony of synthesizer whooshes, sweeps and chords that melts down into an unrelenting, pounding groove that doesn't let up. Synths sweep and swirl, giggle and cough, throb and pulse as the beat goes on and on. When the drums do drop out, a dark and sinister orchestra sample fills in the gap and then that bastard beat kicks right in again and continues on until the very end. I love this mod. The runaway train beat just doesn't let go. Samples and synth lines slide in and out of the mix seamlessly, making for an unpredictable experience. The samples themselves are perfect for the music. Sure, there's a poorly looped opening synth but I could care less, it works. Nemesis is beautiful in its ugliness--fans of pretty music should stay away. If you like melodies then you too should look elsewhere. If you like raw power and the sound of malevolent machine music then you won't find anything darker than this. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Very nifty opening, at least at first. It got a little weird as it went along, verging on space-gothic, but since it was leading into a main part that was also rather strange, that's wasn't a problem. The heart of this module is a more or less traditional hardcore techno that falls just shy enough of being a hardcore that's heavy enough to keep me from wanting to eject it. The reason it falls short of hardcore in my mind, is the fact that it's blended with some hard trance which, in my experience, never quite reaches the often obnoxious stage of many really hardcore techno pieces. There's a little bit of variety in here, but mostly due to the marginal efforts of the instruments. It boils down to a fairly routine hardcore tune that really doesn't do much of anything. It needs variety somewhere, but having heard so many of these types of modules I'm satisfied that variety is a spice intentionally omitted from this recipe. Still, Euji seemed to try a little with the unusual opening and a few other things, so he deserves credit where it is due, but overall, I don't detect much to scream about, but then again, I can in no way claim to be enough of an afficionado of this sort of music to be taken as an authority. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A very dark and gothic trance with loads of sine wave synths and futuristic reverberation. This song is labeled as a techno/trance tune and I can not think of two words that would serve to more accurately describe it. What really got my attention in this piece was the introduction; I liked it. The dark spacey sounds of a deep bass-like droning synthesizer followed by sine wave sweeps with an overtone of an out-of-tune, horn-like synth. All the elements combine to create a forbidding atmosphere. Then the drums kick in and the techno element hits you hard. The thump-a-wump sound combined with the sine wave sweeps and all the other gothic synth sounds see the piece through to the end. My only major criticism is that there isn't any real variation. Oh sure, I still like the song, it's just that I would like it even more if there were some instrument variation or a more noticeable bridge. Other than that, it is a fairly good tune. If you are into Dark Trance, you will want to check this one out. If you are more of a light and airy trance lover, then avoid this one; it's gothic groove will give you nightmares. Sweet dreams. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ ChroMix ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ oooOOOooo...nice bass fx in the beginning! Reminds me of a UFO landing. :) Not much melody here, but that's to expected from this style, and it actually makes it kind of cool. This song is dangerously trippy. :) Its repetitiveness makes everything almost blend together in a total total warp of sound, rhythm, and noise that envelopes the listener. I definitely like the of use of panning joined with the crazy trance bass samples and such. This song is really sort of cool. Really, its not one of my favorite types of music, like dance or pop, but it's definitely cool anyway.... What a ride! I give the composer a firm handshake and lovely parting gift for a job well done. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The only real way to describe this piece is acidy...very acidy. After about the first 3 minutes or so, the boredom factor had me tripping in "La La Land." I've said it before, I'll say it again: all acid sounds basically the same. The idea of the composition seemed to be to take a few parts and repeat them over and over again. Whee. The samples are of a high quality, but that's the module's only notably redeeming feature. Definitely not the worst thing I've ever heard, it doesn't even come close...but it just doesn't do anything special at all. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ It's difficult for me to give a detailed analysis of my feelings about this song, because I feel like such an outsider to this style of music. To me, this is nearly totally devoid of melody, and completely boring. Just a bass thump, played pattern after pattern. However, in fairness, the samples were good, there was good use of panning, and the song seemed to have at least a degree of internal coherence. I can't say much more than that. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Speedy, nice sounding, well produced, techno-hypnotic stuff. It very strictly follows the usual composition for this sort of music (theme1, beat+theme1, theme2, beat+theme2) but it's neatly done and every variation is both logical and surprising, which keeps it interesting all the way through. Not one single original thought in it, but a good day's tracking. -----================================================================----- "Urm / Wur" by XFyL of 4Y/Thalium (22ch XM, 10:16) (urm_wur.zip [510K/1020K]) [Ambient/Industrial] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Skullsaw 85+ 85 65 75 80 Mansooj 84+ -- -- 85 85 CCerberus 82= 69 71 78 77 Rebriffer 80+ 80 80 85 65 Tek 80= -- -- -- -- Shrift 55+ 50 40 65 77 MING 55= 40 68 85 60 /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This mod's strangeness is worthy of its title, Urm / Wur. After listening to this a couple of times, I have concluded that it reminds me of The Resident's music, which doesn't do many people much good because almost no one knows who The Residents are but for those who do the reference may be informative. Wow, there's a long sentence. This one intrigued me at first but didn't thrill me. Now that I've listened to it a few more times I really like it. The samples are clean, interesting and varied. The deep bass is incredible, so low in pitch and free of harmonics that it's nearly inaudible without boosting the low end on my mixer. The percussion consists of a variety of sounds including wood blocks, tambourine, metallics and synthesized percussion as well as the usual bass and snare. The acoustic piano used here is one of the best I've heard, it sounds like it was multi-sampled, but I can't be sure as I only have a player, no editor. The overall tone of the music is understated yet driving, thanks to the throbbing bass drum. The deep bass oozes beneath some very tasty atmospheric piano lines, gentle synths and a very distant sounding sample that I swear sounds like The Resident's vocals. The music has a very haunting and eerie ambience. A few minutes into the music there's an intensifying of the rhythm part that I just love. The snare comes in accenting the one and three instead of the usual two and four, very nice. Urm / Wur definitely leans towards the repetitive but does yield some effective subtleties when closely listened to. I have nothing left to say except that I like it and you should give it a listen. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Ambient with a subtle melancholy undertone. This has quite an unusual feel to it that's hard to articulate in words. XFyL managed to weave a rather dark melody with a very subtle, almost imperceptible, upbeat thread. If you listen carefully, you can subdivide the threads. Also, the use of extremely subtle voices show how crafty XFyL is. Most composers would typically just put them in the forefront...XFyL let them remain hidden as a reward to those letting themselves drift into the music. Around a third of the way through, a new percussion beat comes in and changes the tone a little. This is followed quickly by a somewhat questionable sparse piano accompaniment, but fortunately on the heels of that is a haunting synth that changes the face of, but maintains the melancholy tone. Each of the segments in this piece are fairly distinct, but also similar in tone. The nice thing is that the whole module carries a strange mood that niggles at your brain. It keeps you at arm's-length, but still involved...very interesting, that. This alone puts it somewhat above most ambient, as far as I'm concerned. In a style that's inherently monotonous, it helps a great deal to infuse it with a subtle emotion. Ahh...it just occurred to me what this reminds me of. A twisted Ultravox instrumental. It's a stretch, but it's reminiscent, at least in parts of We Came to Dance and The Song (We Go). Two songs that always stuck in my mind and I could never figure out quite why. Urm / Wur does the same. Most likely this is a purely personal observation, but for those who can reference what I'm talking about, it might serve to form a better image in your mind. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'm not sure why, but for some reason I really enjoyed this song. It's almost entirely percussion, with only a hint of melody, but somehow it's dark...brooding...which I tend to like in music. One thing that sparked my interest was a synth bass played in the background--it was so damn LOW at times that my sub couldn't really even hit it! I mean, that's LOW BASS! I thought that was pretty neat. :) The song held my interest. I don't know what type of music this is, but...if I were to try to describe it to you, I would say it's like the music that you might hear in the background of a dream in which you're in a dark nightclub or bar...everything is moving slowly, distorted. Is this ambient? I have no idea. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Disordered and out of key, dreamy, floaty, plinking along with synthesque drums. I can't blame this song for not being innovative or retro in any way. In fact, I've never heard anything closely resembling this before. This is a bland soup where the drumming leads and the rest of the instruments just blunder about behind, finding no real meaning of being there. It is, when looking at the whole picture, a kind of ho-hum mod. A work that was put together because all other ideas were already used. When listening for harmonies and good sound images, it sometimes scores, but for pure listening-pleasure it's nothing I would recommend. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This didn't strike me at all as a good ambient or eclectic industrial piece. The samples clash, sometimes violently, having little or no mixing to blend the sounds, and the instrumentation is overdone. Decently original, as much as blending any pile of strange instruments together is original, but not very interesting as a composition or as the carrier for a melody. The melody is quite eclectic, and is adequately moody, but isn't overly inspired, and certainly not well developed in this piece. Some really interesting samples here, and fair tracking. I'm interested to hear more from this guy, but here I'm not impressed with anything other than his ability to pile sound. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-------------------------========[ Tek ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Whoa...seems like every track I've reviewed lately has put me into these deep zombie-like trance states. It's like I make it halfway through the song before realizing that I'm interacting with the music too much while I'm supposed to be reviewing! This tune has a real soft but potent ring to it (kind of like the effects of water dripping on the same rock for centuries). It kind of mellowed me and had my adrenaline goin' at the same time--is that even possible? Check it out. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Some interesting sounds start off this (Brazilian?) MOD, helping to build a very moody track with some excellent use of vocal samples. A couple of the samples (mainly pianos) sounded a little off-key but nothing too fearful usually; but in a song that lasts for a hefty 10:18, this could prove to be a problem. Quite worthy, though, if you like your MODs a little on the weird side. -----================================================================----- "Essence of the Demon" by Mordechai (8ch S3M, 03:46) (bvm-esse.zip [135K/207K]) [Ambient/Trance] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Nova 76+ 70 75 79 65 CCerberus 68+ 71 58 64 67 MING 68= 70 45 70 50 Peraphon 51= 35 -- -- 49 Rebriffer 50- 45 45 50 55 Mansooj 49= 35 -- 70 60 ESP 42= 55 50 68 60 Shrift 40= 20 40 60 50 Skullsaw 10- 10 10 10 50 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-------------------------========[ ESP ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ To me, it seems that Essence of the Demon is quite well matched to its name, but probably for rather different reasons than those which tempted Mordechai to pair the two. This track is diabolical, as in "to do with the devil," which is why I think it's aptly named, it's got a fairly special sound, and a sombre and almost morbid tone, which I personally find distasteful--it gets inside my head and irritates it to no small extent. Structurally, it's uninteresting, I felt no suprise at any of the turns it took, and really didn't notice any of the turns in the first half, anyway. Nothing, except the tone, is really gripping, and even that's in all the wrong ways. The pizzicato-style arpeggios in the second half are horrible, though, really rather unpleasant, disorienting and more hard on the ears than the rest. The lead instrument is also uncomfortable; the vibrato being too prominent, leading to a fussy sound, and too much fake synthesised emotion. The samples seem to be okay; they have better than average levels of noise, but some are quite low quality (the rising dark strings, for instance) and sound distorted in a way which is not improving. Of course, the samples are all of unpleasant, harsh synth sounds, but this (I expect) is by design, so it's not really fair to criticise it on those grounds. I find it hard to recommend Essence for any reason. It sits uneasily, is of lo-fidelity and is uninspired. On the other hand, it does have (how shall I put this?) an _interesting_ character which is attatched to a couple of the samples, and is complemented by the rest. Nothing seems out of place, because _everything_ seems out of place, if that makes sense. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Having just recently reviewed Daemon by Euji Acha, this is obviously my time for burning in hell. :) First off, I have to say this is the first module I've ever reviewed where the player program informs me that there is one pattern missing! (M4W). Doesn't seem to make any difference to the track, though, because I didn't spot any obvious errors. I'd also hazard a guess and say that Mordechai is fairly new to this tracking lark. Coding is confined to either vibrato and sample offset which, although fine in and of itself, doesn't really add anything to the track that isn't already there. I would advise the composer to take some time and study other trackers to see how they use the coding side to enhance and embellish the track. Musically, as well, the track is very simplistic, being merely an arpeggiated synth running over a fairly standard, almost balladic, backing track. Maybe the composer was after a Twin Peaks style song, in which case I would say that aim was fulfilled, but in terms of 'stickability,' I'm afraid I'd get real tired of this, real quickly. For sure, it will appeal to some people but I find this doom and gloom material all a bit tedious, even moreso when the track doesn't even try to create a suitably menacing atmosphere. --- References --- Daemon by Euji Acha ([download]/[reviews]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Yet another dark, sparse intro with bass, bass drum, synth swell and sequenced, filterd synth. I'm really starting to find this type of intro very boring and contrived. Anyway, in comes the rest of the drum ensemble to give the rhythmic foundation, a lead line supplied by a lightly out of tune synth and a secondary, contrapuntal synth part. The synth sample is weak, to say the least, as is the actual "melody." Soon, a poor piano sample is thrown in to play a sequenced line; things drop out, come back, drop out. Done. I've only done a couple of review thus far but I do listen to quite a lot of mods and I will never understand how someone can release something that has already been done to death. Here is yet another mod that sounds like it's from an Amiga game circa 1990. Personally, I've never heard any music from a game that I liked. That's not to say there aren't fans of this style, but I, for one, find this style to be beaten to death, uninteresting and uninspired. I can't recommend this mod on any level. I must, however, give a nod to a few of the samples, namely a nice filtered synth loop and the various percussion samples. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ There are only three things I like about this song. One is a minor compositional effect at the beginning; I like how the song begins darkly brooding and industrial. The second is also minor, considering how I dislike its use: I appreciate this songs originality (in terms of its combination of different and contrasting moods). Finally, and most importantly, there are three samples in the batch that I like. The sample quality is average overall. The good ones are contrasted by the others. The three I like include the bass and resounding drum samples which open up the song, and a resonating string sample used for background ambience. There are two other decent samples, but they have been clearly used elsewhere. The others I'm not familiar with, so I'll partially credit the author for them. The rest of the samples are either boring or poor (the bassdrum sample is terrible). The tracking is amateurish, but the effects used on the main melody are moderate. The melody itself is terrible and annoying, resulting in a very low compositional impression. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I would, if I thought it was fair, award a few extra points just for this guy's group name (Blind Venetians). Unfortunately for Mordechai, I'm forced to consider only the music. The piece begins with deep bass plucks which suffer from pop-n-click syndrome. Then come some minor acid beep-boop followed closely by a very poor synth semi-lead. There's some discordance here, as with many modules of a "dark" tone, and as in most cases, it's just there and doesn't serve very well to actually make the piece better or more atmospheric and interesting. What many composers apparently seem to gloss over is the fact that unless discordance is expertly applied, it has a dangerously destructive effect which can ruin an entire module. Here it's not expertly applied, but at least it's not overwhelming. Unfortunately, the rest of the song is too bland to make up for even some negative qualities. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The first thing that struck me about this song was an annoying click in the very first sample used. That sort of thing tends to put one off in terms of a positive outlook towards what's expected later on. What followed allows me to say that once my interest was gone, there was no getting it back. For the most part, this song seemed to be the wrong notes and the wrong samples placed in the wrong order. The only bits that sounded good were some parts where strings and nothing else were playing...every part beyond this just served to push it farther downhill. Sometimes a module with dubious musical qualities will be a source of outstanding samples...not so here. They're generally just average, with a couple of higher quality, and too many of them needed further polishing work to eliminate clicks and other inconsistencies. Overall, I suggest staying well clear. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Cool song. Very simple, very clean. The percussive rhythm is somewhat unusual, but catchy because of that. Also, the samples are highly, and I mean HIGHLY, synthetic-sounding, which, strangely enough, adds to the appeal of this song! Normally, synthy samples sound out of place in a song like this, but not this time. They make it sound more...exotic. That's perhaps the easiest way to summarize this song--exotic. Nothing in it really jumps out at you which gives it a soothing quality, in a weird way. I will say, however, that it was perhaps a bit TOO simple. A LOT more could have been done with this song. It was entirely based around one musical framework, which could have been varied to great effect. Not to say this is bad, it just could have been a lot better. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The author starts Essence of the Demon off slowly by letting the listener know that, "Hey, this is going to be an easy going, dark, somber tune." I think he was able to successfully paint that picture for the listener. After the intro, the author starts into a low key drum sequence led by a main synth and a background synth that was hitting minor chords which created a very eerie tone. The introduction of a running piano riff, at a point somewhere between half and two-thirds of the way through, was a nice touch that expanded on the dark and forbidding atmosphere the intro brought in. And finally, ending it all with some surging strings that faded out to nothingness was really the icing on the cake. A simple tune, but a good tune. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ An attempt at some kind of ambient demotune with some nifty drums and Arabic scales. The result is edgy, way too simple and hollow sounding. Despite this, the score is lifted by a main melody that I still (28 hours after first hearing it) have humming in the back of my head. This is, to put it succinctly, a great song in a lousy package. And since I tend not to give a zip about the technical part, unless it's unbearable, I kinda like this song. -----================================================================----- "Cycle of God" by Beacon of Sublevel 3 (15ch S3M, 07:05) (cycle.zip [292K/532K]) [Ambient] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Rebriffer 90+ 85 80 95 90 MING 90- 95 90 75 80 Nova 85+ 85 -- 70 75 S3MTrap 83= 70 90 90 85 Peraphon 80+ -- -- -- 81 CCerberus 80= 82 73 79 84 Shrift 72+ 65 65 65 65 Mansooj 60+ -- -- 70 77 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Formula ambient. Not much new here, but it has a good, clean sound to it that will likely appeal to one's ambient sensibilities. As with most true ambient, this is not listening music, it is background, zoning out music, so as usual, I am judging it on that basis. Hrmm...also as usual, with the very typical flat progression and feel of this sort of music, a reviewer may have a hard time finding much to comment about. But, rising to the challenge, I will say that this particular example is too flat and repetitive, and that because there are virtually no notable changes to be found, overall...in the first few minutes, you've heard everything. Furthermore, since what 'everything' constitutes isn't complex, it only fills out the seven plus minutes as if, being ambient, after all, it must. To give you some direct idea what I'm talking about, the majority of sound is via synths--no surprise, and no problem, however, most of the sound just lays there like strata in a rock bed, dipping and rising only slightly from one end to the other. Accompanying this is a brush-like hi-hat and light tap sequence ("ch-ch-ch--ch/tap-ch-ch-ch--ch/tap") that never changes. The only bit of 'lumpiness' to be found beyond the first thirty seconds comes from a "...sublevel 3..." voice sample which seemed sharp-edged against the smooth synths (even though it was deep in the mix), not to mention self-indulgently gratuitous--seven times over. I happen to like -some- twists and turns, even if they're subtle and not very complex, so that when I do decide to pay attention there's something there to occupy my mind for more than a second or two. In other words, I maintain some parameters which make me like this arrangement far less than many other--even similar--ambient pieces. If all you want out of an ambient piece is a -very- smooth progression (i.e. virtually total repetition from start to finish), without anything much to hook your grey matter, this is definitely the Holy Grail you're seeking. Otherwise, skip it. It sounds nice, but is, even for ambient, rather boring in its flatness. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A mist. You can hardly see your own hand in front of your face. You hear something. It's your heart beating loudly. You start to move forward...another sound. This one is coming from straight ahead. It's so hard to see. Wait, it's starting to clear up, you can just barely make out...oh, now it's gone...nothing but mist again. This ambient piece most definitely conveyed a mood to me. A bass softly drones all around you like an pulsing electrical surge. A velvety drum pounds, like your heart beating. The author puts various synth and voice samples into audible range and then withdraws them again. It's delicately ghostly, yet at the same time uplifting. The only thing I think could be improved upon in this piece is to rethink the introduction of voices at the 3 minute mark--it may be a wee bit harsh. The voice sample kind of breaks in over the top of the otherworldly atmosphere that the author has so carefully created. I enjoyed this piece; I enjoyed being enveloped in the author's ethereal world, and I enjoyed listening to what I thought was a good example of an ambient atmosphere. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very, very ambient piece of music with an upbeat percussion in the background which definitely helps to support the flow of the song. The result sounds great. It begins with a low pitched saw-wave that reminds me a little of the hum of WW2 aircraft before a raid. About two-thirds of the way through, it gets a little boring and "droney," but it eventually fades back into something more reminiscent of the beginning part, giving the song a feeling of circularity, unity and fulfillment of its apparent purpose. The sample set is generally of a high quality, with a selection of voice samples used to very good effect. Overall, this is a very smooth and relaxing piece of ambient music, a piece which I heartily recommend for listeners fond of this musical genre. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is just good ambience. Though the house-styled rhythm tracks that stay with the piece throughout its length really agitate me, because they never, for a moment, change. Simplicity of featured string synths is improved by their quite adequate effects tweaking, and represent what I would consider effective minimalism. The drums are a copout, and are not ambient, but the rest of the piece, with its odd sounds, is quite good. Good samples, good theme, good structure, good tweaking. I do, however, really dislike the voice sample used in this song: "you want sublevel-3." Fortunately, it's only one pattern ruined. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ S3MTrap ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song has a very slow, quiet tempo. If you're looking for something to entertain you, this isn't the song, but if you want a nice melody to help you sleep, this is it! The loudest sample is, oddly enough, a snare, but the rest of the samples do work very smoothly together. As for sample quality, there are few if any problems. Technically, the song doesn't really show much. The most complicated thing is a line of sample offsets. It gets a bit repetitive after a while, but once you're asleep you won't notice anyway. ;) All in all, it would be well worth your time to take a look at this. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ My understanding of ambient music (which this is) is that it's supposed to convey a mood. It's the type of music you might play in a continuous loop as background music in your home. If that's true, then I would say that this song is an EXCELLENT example of ambient! It's dark, mildly unnerving, yet at the same time very calm and relaxing. It's almost a combination of wandering in a stupor and lying in bed awake, listening to your own heartbeat. If you are a fan of ambient, I would say that you MUST grab this song. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Great start!! A truly wonderful build at the beginning of this track sets the scene for the best MOD I've come across recently, by far. Great, well spaced and panned sound, lively samples (except for a kick which I found kind of wooly) and a lazy, hypnotic beat create an absolutely mesmerizing track. There's some very good vocal samples at work too. This is also a great example of how to do a LONG song well (it's 7:00). Excellent; a quality download. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Very well done, harmonic, hypnotic high quality ambient. In the beginning I am asked "Do you want something to help you sleep?" Hell no! I wanna hear this. And despite the sound of this tune, which normally would go in one ear and out the other on me, I anxiously listened all the way through the softness and quietude, and to my surprise, I really loved it. It's slick, it's smooth, it's smart, and it's really, really great. -----================================================================----- "Inspire" by X0TherMiC (6ch S3M, 04:36) (inspire.zip [337K/501K]) [House/Dance] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Rebriffer 80+ 90 50 80 80 Skullsaw 75+ 65 85 55 90 ChroMix 73+ 80 60 75 -- Peraphon 72= -- -- -- 67 Mansooj 60= -- -- 70 72 Shrift 60- 65 60 55 55 MING 50= 56 40 65 40 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ ChroMix ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song really is pretty good, although the composer looks like he lacks experience in some areas. The song lacks any real 'melody', but the bassline correlates well with the lead instruments to create a nice flow in the song. The groove is also quite good, and the author added a few creative movements to give it variety. However, it was lacking in some areas. For example, the title 'Inspired' seems to fit it well because the song itself was obviously 'inspired' by the U4ia track Da House U4ia Built (I'm not really sure if anyone else caught that, though...). The high, prolonged lead in the song played along with some piano chords sounded remarkably similar to a movement in U4ia's song. Also, that 'dance to the house' voice sample was quite obviously ripped from there as well. Many of the percussion samples were either loops, or were samples that I recognised from my own ripped sample collection. Also, the author really didn't make use of any effects within the song. As a general comment, though, I got tired of the song really fast. I'm not sure what it was about it, but I just got sick of it. Despite its drawbacks, this song is still decent and is polyphonic enough to get a good thumbs up and a pat on the back for a job well done. --- References --- Da House U4ia Built by U4ia ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A "dance to the house" voice sample pretty much crystallizes this module. It's definitely a housey-dance style module (more towards house, though). This represents a love/hate relationship for me because I very much like most dance music, but have never found house to be very appealing at all. In this particular case, the composer tempers most of the housey bits well enough to let me categorize this as a style I don't have any strong feelings about one way or another. All that aside, this is really a very repetitive, voice-sample driven module that I find to be only mildly inspired, despite the title. It's not too bad, and it's indeed danceable, but I just don't get moved by it, literally or figuratively. There's a stuttered voice sample in here which may be cute for a few seconds, but it's just as annoying as any other voice sample that's used ad infinitum. On the plus side, X0TherMiC shows his desire to put his efforts into spicing up the usual house monotony with some pretty good mix points. For that he gets my respect, but I still remain largely ambivalent overall. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very catchy, funky house tune. It's a pretty good piece of music, but I can't really commit myself one way or the other as to how I feel about it. The song starts really well, with some nice background and percussion, a expands a bit later with some really cool bass and piano. There are also some voice samples saying "dance to the house" which sound great and add the "real song" feel to the track. Some parts did get on my nerves after awhile, as the same old stuff was played over and over again, unrelentingly. The samples are pretty good, and I can't really detect any major faults in them; some loop points are a bit clicky, but that's it. Overall, a worthy song but one that's very repetitive. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Hmm. A so-so song. A so-so attempt at a so-so style with so-so samples and so-so technical work. That means a barely endurable attempt at funky dance music with dull and edgy, but correct samples, an empty sound and a hollow arrangement. It's correct in every musical aspect (except the one about dynamics, but I've stopped expecting that ages ago. :/), but hardly entertaining. If it weren't for an absolutely insane guitar(?) sound that kicks in here and there, I wouldn't even have honoured this with a second round in the player. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This goofy piece is the S3M version of pop-dance music. It's got pop breaks, with pop melodies, and pop bass-lines. It makes very effective use of an effects trick I've never seen before, causing vibrating volume changes throughout. Cute changes, and restructuring melodies, adequately tracked with a very poppy ear for music. The effects are otherwise not there, but their thorough use throughout the song covers that fact up. Simple and obvious, but quite fun. Not my sort of music to be sure, but fun regardless. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is an accelerated techno house tune. I can tell it is cuz the "Dance To The House" sample says so. There are a lot of things to grab one's ears in this piece. Sure there's the groove provided by a four by four bass drum, 909 hats and clap, but there are also some nice details: transformed vocals, scratching, thick fat bassline and assorted breaks all work well. And, the sample quality is excellent throughout. Inspire isn't all that original in any respect but it is a well crafted, aggressive house tune. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Although this MOD is a little on the sparse side trackwise, the composer makes up for it by using a lot of inventiveness to liven up what is, on the surface at least, yer standard house/techno track. The composer obviously just used his musical ears to put this track together (judging by the lack of coding) which makes it even more of an achievement. Well done. Just one thing: is that Arabic sample in there something from a Rebel Riffs tune?? -----================================================================----- "Love is War" by Subliminal (16ch S3M, 02:49) (a_lvswar.zip [133K/190K]) [Other] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== CCerberus 60= 58 65 79 54 Rebriffer 59= 70 55 65 55 Shrift 55- 55 50 55 65 Peraphon 48+ -- -- -- 70 Mansooj 45= -- -- 75 55 TheKid 20= 20 20 30 30 Skullsaw 10+ 10 20 15 10 /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This track starts with a simulated (and reasonably accurate) rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (a la Hendrix), and that works well enough to set you up for the track proper. Kettledrums and strings gather like storm clouds on the horizon, announcing the tenor of the track. Yep, this is a dark one...moody, mysterious and, dare I say it, a little tedious. "Influenced by cannibis" the composer claims in the sample notes, and if that's the case, then it's a definite no-no to legislation. If smoky de weed makes folks as depressed as this tune suggests, then there ain't gonna be a lot of us doing it in the future! It's not *bad* though, just not up to very much. What's here works well enough except that the central refrain, which is carried by a really squeaky synth, repeats so often you find yourself wishing that it would just shut the ^&*^(* up. I tried the track on 3 different players (Seal, M4W and IT) and I found the same problem in all three: the samples tended to break up quite a lot, spoiling whatever enjoyment could be found. So, all in all, I can't say I liked this track too much. But I'd have to put that down to the composer getting a little more experience, because the idea was good, it's just that the execution wasn't too sharp. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Upon hearing the opening quote of the Star Spangled Banner, I thought that I was in for something interesting. Wrong, very wrong. This is a plodding, repetitive, tuneless bore. A lifeless martial drum beat goes round and round as strings and bell timbres play nothing. Yes, these instruments are playing notes but these notes say nothing. This all sounds like an intro that might fit into a larger piece but as is, it doesn't stand up on it's own. The samples are as crappy as the actual music. There is a synth that plays in the background throughout that is annoyingly out of tune. The rest of the samples are gritty and have a low sample rate sound to them. So, when you combine bad samples, bad music and repetitiveness what do you get? You get a bad review. Don't even think of downloading this, there's no point whatsoever. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Initially, this module sounds rather good, but it steadily goes south about 30 seconds in. I'd say my biggest gripe with this module is summed up in one word...overkill. At various stages of the song, there are upwards of 10 channels playing the same electric piano sample at the same time, and when that happens, the whole thing is a mess of sounds rather than music. The samples are of a good quality, with no blatantly obvious flaws. I also thought at one time that the end of the snare drum sample was corrupt, giving a rather scratchy sound. Instead, it seems a loop was set. I turned the loop off, and the snare drum tracks sounded a lot better for it. All in all, I'd have to call this song an electric piano assault--all those piano tracks playing at the same time sound like an assault on the ears. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ TheKid ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module starts great, but the greatness ends soon after. At first, I thought that the intro was too long, then the module ended, and I realized that the intro was the song...oops! From the start, I also noticed that this 16 track song could have easily been reduced to 6 tracks. This module may be a great first attempt...but it never should have been released as is. I understand artistic impressions and license, via music, better than anyone else, but this 'song,' err...rather, 'sounds,' left me with a raised eyebrow. (I guess we could call it confusion.) I'm not sure what the author was getting at, and even with an explanation (which wasn't included), I'm not sure that I would even understand it. Perhaps if 'bell chords' were used for the high-end parts, it might have been tolerable. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ An opening befitting the title leads slowly into the main song. There's a good deal of discordance here, and I'm not sure, as usual, what the intent is. It didn't appeal, and didn't seem to be playing off any other instruments...it just stuck its nose in where it didn't belong. By the time this song is nearly over, it's done absolutely nothing impressive. It sounded, at first, as though it would lead to something interesting, but it got slogged down into a pseudo-military march which was, frankly, not only pretty boring but had few musical qualities. As a standalone song, this has little merit. The discordance even ruined it as an interlude--unless perhaps the soldiers doing the marching are assumed to be zombies or ghosts. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This military-styled piece really does have some fine (albeit repeating) melody going on in it, and it uses some nice samples. But, it's primitively written, with exactly the same drum track playing throughout. The instruments are decently tweaked by themselves, but the only special attention any notes get in this piece are at two places where tone-bends are used. Both of those attempts are awkward and seemingly disharmonious. A flute-synth bend is obviously out of tune, and would have been much better off without it. It also comes up short as a composition. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ What a truly bizarre little tune! It's short and not complicated at all. The whole thing is very...very "wavy." It sort of makes you feel like a ghost floating through a Civil War battlefield, completely oblivious to the fact that there's a war going on. Now that I think about it, that may be the reasoning behind the title. I'm not sure that this song is terribly valuable musically, but it's small, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend against downloading it. It's okay. -----================================================================----- "My Wonderland" by Dax & Turbo.B. of Ravebusters (4ch MOD, 04:50) (my_wonderland.lha [526K/682K]) [Dance/Light Techno] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== ChroMix 99+ 93 100 90 -- Mansooj 90+ -- -- 85 90 MING 89+ 90 88 65 70 Rebriffer 85+ 75 85 85 80 Peraphon 82= -- -- -- 72 PanDuh 80= 86 65 80 82 CCerberus 73= 67 61 72 70 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ You know, when I listen to these modules with their pitiful lack of channels and old format lack of special effects and such, it really makes me sit back and wonder why many of these are so much better than others made in trackers dripping with channels and special effects options. Granted, some of the samples in this tune are not articulated "live" and are instead mixed and resampled. Even so, it reflects the dedication that remains in some 4 channel modulists even to this day. It's by no means purely a clip-and-paste job with sample slabs. This is very well constructed and is impeccably sequenced, and illustrates that even 4 channels can sound much like 8 or more with some skillful work. In fact, now that I read the sampletexts, the claim is that this was laid out over 12 tracks and mixed down to 4. Sure as hell sounds leagues better than other such modules. Sweet. This has a really nice sound to it, very dancey and somewhat unique in its flavor. I found it very easy to fall into the beat (well, that's fairly common with dance tunes anyway), and it was a pleasurable ride. There's nothing here to complain about, and how often can a careful reviewer say that? Rarely. Kudos to Dax and Turbo.B of the Ravebusters...I was going in expecting some tired old rave tune (I'm thinking I didn't pay close enough attention to the groupname...I hooked on the "Rave" part instead of the "busters" part), but I doubt any rave tune I'll ever hear will appeal half as much as this does. Just download it, play it and get into it. This gets a very high recommendation from me, and dare I say it...I've got great taste. :) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ PanDuh ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ DOH! Why, oh why, did the authors of this song release it in the 4 channel format? They openly stated that they originally created this song in 12 channels and resampled it to fit into this constricting MOD incarnation. It doesn't seem to be because of file size since it weighs in at an ample 660k. After listening to it, I wanted so much to give it more praise than I eventually could in all good conscience because the sample timings were off just enough so that it provided an effect somewhat akin to a skipping record or a halting transmission, which was mildly distracting to me. I might note that setting the tempo to 152bpm (or 98 in some trackers) fixes this. Surprisingly, the only player that didn't show this "skipping" problem was MOD4WIN, whereas FT206 and CP16 (with headphones, mind you), I noticed a very discernible halt after the end of every sample. When I listen out of speakers it sounds pretty normal. The tune itself is wonderful! it has a very catchy synth melody which could easily be used in a new-age or ambient format. The instruments are also very adequate and I could really get into the drum beat. What we have here is a good song with a fantastic melody that is just badly marred by the format it's in. Hey, Ravebusters, could you pretty please release this in it's original 12-channel format? I would eat it up. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ ChroMix ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song is beyond a doubt one the very best mods I have EVER heard. Can you say 'ready for radio'? :) The vibe produced in the song by the specially mixed samples was almost mind stopping. To be honest, I almost cried the first time I heard it, it was so beautiful. The boyz definitely produced a very modern and legitimate form of what I consider true dance music. For me, personally, it goes right up there with Miles' Children and the like...and this song is a MOD! The mixing job they did is truly incredible. They deserved the utmost technical score for that deal. Overall, this song really isn't quite as complex as some of the songs I've heard, but it really grabbed me. They obviously put a lot of heart into this. Like Bill Drummond once said, "after playing two songs of bass drums played at 125 bpm, one will still always sound better than the other simply because of the amount of themselves they put into it." I give these guys the highest reguard for a job well done. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ After hearing so many modules with 16+ channels, it's refreshing to see what can still be accomplished with only 4 channels. This is a somewhat atypical techno dance piece. It's not hardcore techno or dance, but has a very light and airy feel to it. I think it's a great song. The music, for some reason, brings to mind images of a mountain dotted with skiers, or a light forest. I wouldn't call this module "composing" in the strictest sense of the word, as many of the samples are small segments of music in themselves and it seems as though these segments have been put together somewhat like a jigsaw puzzle. Nonetheless, it's a fantastic job of mixing that sounds great. The samples used are pretty good and there are no real audible clicks or fuzzy sounds in them. Overall, I think this is worth downloading as it sounds great and is something a bit different. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Well, let me start off by saying that this song employs a method which I absolutely HATE. It uses large, long samples of pre-recorded music to make up a good portion of the melody. HOWEVER, in this case, that is not used to such an extent that it overwhelms the song, or that it makes me think the composer didn't know what he was doing, choosing to pre-record rather than track. No, rather it actually allowed the music to audially extend beyond the 4-channel limit of the MOD format, so that's good. As far as the music itself, I liked it. It was pleasant to listen to, catchy, and just appealing in general. It honestly didn't sound like it was restricted to 4 channels, which impressed me. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Whoopee. A light, speedy and very nice sounding 4-channel piece. It's obviously tracked on multichannel, recorded and re-sequenced into a MOD. It really sounds like a 20 or so channel module, with loads of harmonies, percussion and such. A slick melody on an airy set of instrumets, all wonderfully blended together with dancebeats and a demo style bass. 'Tis wonderful. Simply wonderful. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This track reminds me of music folks used to refer to as "eurobeat." Very dense, keyboard-driven lines on top of what can only be described as a "boom-boom" beat. Not too shabby though, at least it kept me listening way past the mid-point in the song, which generally means it'll hang around on my suffering hard drive for a while. Not earthshaking, but a very slick piece of work indeed. -----================================================================----- "Slim Kim" by Qen of Sunshine Prod. (4ch MOD, 02:07) (ssp_slki.lha [179K/321K]) [Light Jazz/Light Rock] ! Placed 2nd in the Halloween '96 4-channel Music Compo ! Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== CCerberus 82+ 84 83 65 64 Rebriffer 80+ 85 85 85 75 Mansooj 80= 90 -- 74 77 TheKid 70+ 70 80 70 70 Peraphon 67- 80 -- -- 68 Husanak 65+ 80 70 50 60 Fanta C 42= 51 45 32 50 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Warning! Old Fashioned MOD alert! Okay, there is a time and a place for four track MODs, and it's not 1997, right? Hmmm, maybe. However, if your machine is really hard pressed on the MIPS front, then you'll appreciate the low playing overhead and miserly memory requirements that four channel MODdies possess. Thus (hopefully) you'll have determined that I'm not going to immediately consign this to the great magnetic trash can in the sky; I'll judge it on its merits, as I should. So, ignoring the fact that Slim Kim is a four channel MOD (you've said that; get on with it already!) and it's just possible you can't play XMs or ITs, would it be worth the download? (Do you detect a reviewer 'padding' lots here? Hmmm.) Well...it's short and to the point and could be described as a 'jazzy' ditty. Unfortunately, the instruments are, well, poor. We are talking 80's Casio here. I mean, we don't get many MODs to review, so forgive me if I forget how bad these things can sound unless the author has gone the 'extra mile.' I guess, allowing for the fact that it is a MOD, then the instruments are on a par with the quality you'd expect; i.e. not good compared to a decent IT. The 'acoustic' bass sounds very electronic. Most of the samples show aliasing artefacts if not interpolated 'heaps,' and the sound stage is pretty sparse. However, I do remember having heard some absolutely stunning MODs in my time; Dr. Awesome's 12th Warrior, for example, which did actually fill the sound stage quite nicely AND had decent samples. But having said that, even if this track were to be redone as a 16 channel IT or similar, I still wouldn't rate it that highly simply because the music is, well, rather cliched; yes, it's a little boring, sorry to say. The music is rather "as you would expect a two minute electric piano, cheapo synth, hihats and bass mix" to sound. A pretty yucky, kind of cheapo, 'smokey, holiday night club' sound. So, it's old fashioned both from a technical and creative point of view? Yes. Nothing to get too excited about. --- References --- 12th Warrior by Dr. Awesome ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Some very fine light rock, funk/jazz with this one. It also has a few definite demotune points to it as well. Mostly this is a laidback guitar and electro-horn piece with a brisk tempo and clean sound. It is, however, one of those tunes that you can like but still not find a lot of hooks upon which you can hang comments. This is good, in a way, because even a few bad points at critical points can really drag a tune down into the gutter, and those few points normally drown out the ability of any good points to make the song worthwhile. Anyway, general excuses aside, it does have at least one high point worth mentioning, and that is a skillful guitar lead. Very nicely done and it blends well with the electro-horn and bell tones. Overall, the samples and composition are very slickly contrived, absolutely nothing seems out of place or unbalanced. Heck, I guess there are some hooks to comment on, and it's happy news that they're all good things. I'd definitely recommend trying this tune out, especially if you're the type that's still able to appreciate the oft underestimated 4 channel format. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Husanak ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Oh, how I do love 4 channel MODs, let me count the ways.... All joking aside, I do have a collection of MODs and this one is now among them. Back in the good old days everyone tracked 4-channel MODs and the musicians were separated from the sheep. This song represents the reason why. Slim Kim's composition is quite good. There's a nice melody bolstered by excellent lead work. The bass booms away but is still nicely out of the forefront, the percussion beats a steady beat, and the chord work is pretty good. I thought some of the timing was just slightly off, but only in a couple of places where it doesn't affect the overall quality. The only real problem I have with this tune is the originality factor. It seems to me that I've heard this same MOD about 200 times or so. Although with four channels it's a little harder to dress up a good tune. The samples were not of the quality I've heard in many good MODs, that's the standard to which I compared them--I don't expect 16bit, 44khz samples in a 4-channel MOD. The samples were, however, extremely well used and that's all that really matters, I suppose. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ TheKid ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module sounds better on my system when played in mono, but that is to be expected, and forgiven, considering the author did this module in only 4 tracks. I expect some technical skill to be shown in a four-track mod (a lot of portamento/slides/volume fades), and it was present, so this front was well covered. The solos were competently done also, being non-standard and with a good tempo feel. On the negative side, however, the samples seemed a bit offhandedly chosen. In particular, the chording instrument (synth-brass) could have been a weeee-bit more full and dynamic; synth-brass is supposed to sound something like a big bumble-bee. But apart from that minor problem, this module is well worth keeping in your collection. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I like songs like this because they really show that the composer is a MUSICIAN, not just somebody stringing together some random samples and trying to call the result music. Catchy bassline, intelligent percussion, and a complex melodic structure are the sorts of thing that make this song fit into my "good music" category. The panning restrictions inherent in 4-channel MODs made this song suffer, but only very slightly. Considering the limitations of the format, this was executed quite well. It did seem to end rather abruptly, but I've gathered that that is not uncommon in this type of music, so it's hard to view this as a point worthy of complaint, so consider it a note only. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A very jazzy MOD with some startlingly clear and sharp samples. Once or twice I had to remind myself that I was actually listening to a MOD and not MIDI, so startling is the style. Really interesting, though, so don't just count it out because of its jazzy style. Nice little tricks keep the main (guitar) lead happening, which is just as well as it carries the whole thing. One point, I found the actual samples used so "synth-y" that I could have sworn they were part of the GM set. This would have killed if the composer had used actual pianos, trumpets etc. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Definitely funky, somewhat jazzy. Not my favourite style of music, but then it'd be a boring world if we all liked the same stuff. This piece does redeem itself, though, as it's very well composed and does not sound ugly or discordant at any stage. The samples used are not all typical of this genre, but seem to work well with the music. Overall, my mild biases make me lean towards saying that this one is fairly good, but nothing to write home about. -----================================================================----- "