Battle of the beats 2006 - V: reviews by ruffian

Bin Juce by Mike Native: i think this is my fave

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Submitted by ruffian on Mon, 2006-09-18 01:18.

i think this is my fave track of the comp. nice drums, love the distortion on the snare. perhaps a little variation in drum arrangement tho. LOVe the bassline! personally i would have used different intro pads/organs/chords to more fit the dark bassline. could use with more energy-building elements added ea. four/eight bars, gets a little repetetive. very nice mixdown!


When Push Comes To Shove! (WIP) by Vex aka Rezidue: nice fx/synthwork on this

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Submitted by ruffian on Mon, 2006-09-18 01:33.

nice fx/synthwork on this one. great buildup/drumfills in the intro! vox fits perfect - from the ghost and the darkness? great distortion on drums. after the breakdown the drums lose some of their impact tho, wouldv'e rather heard some rippin intro-style drums. very nice bass and mixdown.


psycosis by kit: nice drums! intro pads don't

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Submitted by ruffian on Mon, 2006-09-18 01:28.

nice drums! intro pads don't quite fit tho - need to be darker Eye-wink really love the fucking drums tho, truly well done. good switchups/variation. but with no real 1st breakdown, could be tough to mix. nice bass too. excellent fills. perhaps needs another layer of synth in there as a 'melody', or following the b-line. perhaps i wouldv'e distorted/pitched down the PE vox to fit the hard ass drums.


The Prophecy by King Louis: love the bass on this one!

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Submitted by ruffian on Mon, 2006-09-18 01:13.

love the bass on this one! right up my alley. good use of the 'prophecy' vox too. could use some harder/punchier drums IMO though. with some more variation on drums too. the gregorian-choir vox is a bit overused, would sound better used a little less. decent mixdown.
i assume this is just a clip of the whole song, so i won't deduct for the way it ends Smiling


Dawn Shadow by Virus: nice arrangementsome

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Submitted by ruffian on Mon, 2006-09-18 01:07.

nice arrangement
some elements seemed somewhat out of place though, too many 'lead' synth sounds... would sound better without the brassy, fast-paced one i think.
also the drums could use more punch/variation
EXCELLENT mixdown IMO


Chaotic Minds by QuiVeR: nice haunting intro

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Submitted by ruffian on Mon, 2006-09-18 01:46.

nice haunting intro melody... builds nicely. don't like the square-waveform bass so much, needs something....stabs thrown in? distortion? detune? unsure. nice warping reese-like synth in breakdown! sounds like outboard stuff? too much high-pitched synthwork for my taste. drums are nice, could do with more variation/fills/edits. i do like the chorus melody just before the second breakdown. that high-pitched flute-like synth sounds nice alone in second breakdown too. not much time to mix out of it after second breakdown tho, kinda ends abruptly.


by : scored higher for orig on

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Submitted by ruffian on Mon, 2006-09-18 01:23.

scored higher for orig on this one. gotta deduct for fruity preset sounds i hear tho Eye-wink could do without the detuned/panned/spedup vocal loop, gets too repetetive. needs another layer of something... i love the reverse-reverb vox, don't like the bleepy sounds.


Timerun by DMJ A.K.A Jossi: nice intro hard-bangin

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Submitted by ruffian on Mon, 2006-09-18 01:39.

nice intro hard-bangin drums. melody bounces around too much imo tho. end-measure 'wump-wump' sound is too loud. flow is nice, but i think i heard an off-measure in the breakdown? piano clashes w/the 909-kick... nice vox/crispy bacon synth! i like the drums better after the breakdown too. still too much melody stuff goin on tho.