Celtic music on NG... Sounds like my dreams come true, thank you! Brilliant work, music like this has always touched my deepest string. Please countine with these masterpieces! And omg your opponents are LucidShadowDreamer and SnowTeddy? That's one amazing deathmatch! Good luck to all you!
Reviews for "War and Peace"
etherealwinds responds:
I aim to please! I'm not sure I'd call this true Celtic music, by any means, I guess it's a bit new-agey with an ethnic and celtic twang here and there. I'm glad to have plucked on yo deep strings hahah! Yeah... tell me about it. I have so much love and respect for those two and LSD is someone I've worked with more than anyone else on Newgrounds, so it's a bit ironic! Only in the NGADM eh?
Thank you <3
I can't handle how wonderful this is and you are, your soul is textured with the graciousness of beauty omg
etherealwinds responds:
<333 queen of babeland kor-rune
This is beautiful. Your voice is stunning and sincere and the melodies and instrumentation are perfect. Good luck AND DON'T FUCK IT UP.
etherealwinds responds:
thank you mcgorilla, shantay you stay xx
The nature FX at the beginning was pretty quiet, and I think the (electric piano?) at :20 has a bit too much attack. The tranquil mood and atmosphere were great, though. The vocals were amazing, of course. Very smooth and reassuring - they fit the mood well. The thematic elements of the piece are really enjoyable, too - avoiding conflict in a deathmatch, while getting samples from your opponents. :) The minimalism adds to the emotional quality of the piece, yet by around the 2-minute mark I was itching for a little more textural fill. The lyrics themselves are quite strong, though, and I love the melodic content in the piece. I think the part at 4:20 is my favorite (no marijuana reference intended). The vocal riffs there were just really calming and flowy. I did think that there were a couple of transitions that might’ve needed a little smoothing over in the piece, such as 4:45. The sense of climax, however subtle, the piece has at 4:45 is great, though. I think you could’ve done more to add some more emotional heights and energy to the piece at times, especially since it’s so long, but overall this is stunning work. Great job with the atmosphere, mood, and instrumentation. I couldn’t help but admire the production quality as well. Keep it up, Etherealwinds! ;)
9/10
I can actually kind of see what AlexFalcon is saying when he calls this Celtic. While the music itself isn't intrinsically Celtic in nature, it does indeed exist within the spirit of the track, especially in all those lovely grace notes that speak of Emerald Isles and majestic highlands.
Those first few seconds of the song actually seem to be completely devoid of sound, but when I crank my volume WAY up, I can finally hear the very first bird calls. I might personally have preferred if you had started with the second set that are a bit more audible, but that's nothing more than a personal observance and nitpick. I would really hate for anyone lacking in patience to click away without experiencing your track to its fullest, but then I suppose it wouldn't be much of a loss.
Okay, so honestly--where do I start? I haven't given out a perfect 10 yet in this competition, but yours is one of several that comes oh so close. Let's just jump right to the end, shall we? It ends a bit like it all begins, with some lovely running water that almost makes me feel as though I'm about to get my feet wet. Suffice to say, your ambient elements exist very realistically within the mix, and are quite appropriate within the ebb and flow of the piece.
As for the instrumentals, they begin with such a delicate layer of piano, and oh! There are some of those beautiful grace notes already. The percussion used here also lends itself well to the mix, and while it's softer than most drums I've heard of late, I cannot really imagine anything else working as well. Then there's that soulful low flute incorporated into the mix here and there, and I simply love how the vibrato sounds on that, not to mention how perfectly it comes in at just the right time. The track itself could be overrun with very high frequencies considering the instruments used, but you've made excellent use of the full range of sound, and the lows and mid-ranges come across just as wistfully and ephemeral as all the rest.
Moving on to your written lyrics and vocalization, once again--what can I say that I haven't already? Such beautifully rich harmonies, and they are mixed incredibly well. You have truly come a long way with your vocal mixing, Jordi. Your singing matches the tone of the lyrics so perfectly that it almost brings a tear to my eye. Those side-yodeled notes sound right on target the lion's share of the time, although things do still get a little bit dicey on the lower end at times.
Suffice to say, for not having a lot of time to really work on this due to a sudden increase in busy-ness, you really knocked it out of the proverbial ballpark. My biggest complaint is that you had to go and boot the team of Lucid and SnowTed from the competition, but hey--it IS a Deathmatch, after all.
Keep on doing what you're doing, Jordi! You'll be up against JacobCadmus in the Round of 32, and now that he's added vocals to his already quite solid repertoire, it's going to be quite the anticipated battle. Be sure to bring your A game to the arena. Excelsior!
9.55 out of 10