1. Burn This M F Down
   TheVideoGamer
2. the ruins
   NickC
3. Lament for a Dynasty
   Koekepan

1. Heavy is the head
   nukage
2. the ruins
   NickC
3. charge!
   upd|ate!

Nukage's unexpected genre delivery still managed to be very evocative. Well done.

1. What Remains But Ruin?
   DDRKirby(ISQ)
2. king of my king
   relaxd
3. the ruins
   NickC

DDRKirby brought the brightness and it vibed with me.

I really liked the unfocused vibe of relaxd's track, where it kept on bringing new things and making things stable, yet novel.

NickC had a really depressed-sounding track but there were really nice low ends and high chimes and that scooped feeling gave me that somber feeling.

1. raze the crown up his head, and with this fire anoint
   cotmm68030
2. the ruins
   NickC
3. Ashes And Dust
   Misael.K

All comments are replied to on Discord making this section irrelevant. Onto the voting!

TheVideoGamer - This track is about as Metal as i can be with the tools i have. Thick sampled guitars, going against super distorted basslines, intense drumwork from a kick to a breakbeat, as well as various saw synths playing some really syncopated melodies, that add to the intensity. There's also a 303 being filtered, because what track is complete without the 303 lol. In the middle we break it down to a nice chord progression in E Minor to keep it from being too repetitive, but also to add a slight emotional depth to the sound. Since the image is of a burning castle, i wanted it to go really hard, without it going to the point of noise music. I've just got some new headphones that emphasise a bit of the bass, so i don't know how bass heavy it is, i'm still adjusting. Overall the idea sounds pretty cool, i like it, the mix though i'm a little unsure, i don't think it's terrible but again i am using new headphones. All in all i'm glad you liked it ether way. Thanks!

DarkShadow - Ooh a new sound from DarkShadow, this reminds me of a SNES soundfont for some reason. The overall melodic sound just reminds me of Castlevania i don't know why. It just screams Castlevania. Honestly this one is actually pretty awesome from you! Super theme fitting, extremely hard hitting but not so much it just becomes this unprecedented wall of chaos, and even though the melodies aren't too tonal, the haunting vibe just really fits this theme. Yeah this one was super top notch man, i could actually see myself voting for this if i was allowed more than 3 picks. Awesome work!

Koekepan - Space music, i'm all for it. Not my first choice for the theme, but man it's also haunting yet cold and weirdly relaxing. Those bell sounds are super nice, lots of intense tings going on, and a really nice smooth decay. Even with a simple bell sound, there is enough going on to really make it a nice melody i love it. Based on how expansive that single sound is, i really feel like i'm in space, it's just great. Lovely 2 minuter from you, definately voting worthy, awesome work!

cotmm68030 - 6 minute man returns, i missed this. Those drums are super theme accurate, you really captured what a canon would sound like. The tubular bell sound is also interesting, it feels like a synth. Totally emphasising the soundscape over the music, and i am all for it. I love me some good sound design and this is no exception. Very distorted, but not loud at all, more like a wash of cool wind like effects, but in a very unsettling way. Sometimes the tubular bells is overshadowed by the intense synths, but it doesn't get to the point where it's a problem. The canon sound effects are so cool, you must have used a drum kit of some kind to recreate it, i love it. I just really like the detail in adding a theme appropriate sound effect that isn't pointless or in the way. I just absolutely love the developments in this, for the whole 6 minutes you really took me for a ride, almost to the point where i was sad it was over, as i want more. This one was amazing, in fact the sheer theme accuracy and sound design immediately made me put it on the top spot, it was that good. Incredible work!

Nukage - Cool dark synth work here, i feel like i'm in a metal track, but yet the beat is full on EDM. I'd probably call this industrial trap or something, but with an EDM edge. The metal drop was quite....unexpected and in my opinion a little too loud. I know you make hard drops, but this is maybe crossing into the threshold to where it's clipping. I like loud hard hitting stuff, but not when it goes into the red zone. However the rest is pretty amazing though, the vocal work is incredible, but then again Metal is a hard one to sing to. The synth work is also extremely top notch, so i was really itching to put this one on the awesome section, but man it's...you gotta tone down the levels a tad, i felt uncomfortable listening to it. Sorry man, good job though!

DDRKirby(ISQ) - Now were into cute mode, despite the images lol. Not too cute, it's of course got minor keys, but i do feel like i'm really relaxed for such a theme. Despite that the track is really nice. The melody is catchy as hell, and the synth work is hyping me though. Even the drop is very cool, probably because i don't often hear Future Bass from you, it's kind of a rarity. Personally and this might be a nitpick, but the kickdrum is a bit upfront for me, which gives me the feeling you might have overcompressed the mix a tad. However you do make up for it with a lovely melody and harmonic background. Even after some delegating i decided to give you it, because you lovely melodic writing overtakes the slight mixing issues. Well done!

Relax.D - Sick rock drums, i really feel the hype. The guitar does not match the level of the beat, to the point where the guitar is kind of a background element, and not the focal point of the beat. Some drum parts are also very robotic to the point it sounds like a drum machine, yet it's a live kit. Synth swells were really cool, i dig the cool modulated sounds here. Vocals are extremely quiet, i have no clue what you are saying i'm sorry lol. Boost levels on the vocals, and maybe a bit of boosting of the guitar, could make this epic. Still though it's not all bad, i didn't left feeling negative, it was a lot of fun, and a really cool idea. It just needs a fair bit of polish. Good job!

Updlate - Ooh i like that stringed instrument, don't know what it is, but i think it's a dulcimer. It sounds super medieval. Drum work is quite hetic, i totally feel like i'm ready for battle. The chords are soo medieval sounding it's great. Now that DnB drop was definately WTF. I would never expect it to go there, but man i'm all for it. I love that jarring contrast. The melodies are soo catchy, and it goes so well with the drums. Some of the impacts are perhaps a little loud, but the overall vibe is really great. I just love the melodies in this, and the transitions are on point too. Even love how you manage to go full circle back to the original tempo, that was really smart! It's just such a cool piece, that despite some smoothing, sounds really great. Yeah i loved this, definately voting worthy, awesome work!

NickC - Lots of wind sound effects and deep pads. This goes hard on my headphones. I love the moody effect here, yet it's done in a way that feels very dystopian it's great. Not super relaxing, but yet still i feel kind of chilled out. I feel because of the intense sinewaves we get a bit of that distorted effect it's neat, but almost too aggressive. I love that 3 note arp, it's soo beautiful. It feels cold and empty. That synth pad is crazy, it sounds like it's filling in both as a bassline and a pad. Of course NickC can't make straight ambient, he has to add a beat in lol. At least it's not Drill n Bass haha. I'm kidding your beats are always great. The groove is extremely catchy for one, but that melody is soo nice. It feels so spacious, this is absolutely beautiful. Is it my favourite from you? No, but it's a contender for sure this was just wonderful. So wonderful i picked it for the 2nd spot, incredible work!

Misael.K - Great piano and pad combo. Also very dark and sombre, but with a hint of Jazziness in the progression. Strings don't often make an appearance in a Misael.K track, but when they do, it sounds lovely. The fade on the strings is also great, really amps up the emotion in this piece, despite the fact this is more of an aggressive theme. Because of the attack on the strings, you don't often hear a lot of notes in the melody, it's mainly reserved more for texture. The key change to F# was extremely satisfying my god this chord progression is amazing. I absolutely love this progression. It's dark but not creepy i found this to be extremely beautiful, so beautiful i picked it for the 3rd spot, incredible work!

Arcana - Those drums already let us know were not playing around, this is some epic orchestrations going on. Loving those dark strings, although i do think a bit of reverb would work on them, to me they sound a tad bit dry, however this is actually extremely fire! Great drum sounds, and sick melodies, i really feel like i'm in battle. The vocal work was also really fire too! Amazing background effects, and some really tight phrasing too. Some parts were mildly detuned, but really that one was more minor. Yeah, i don't see much problems here, if anything i'd consider this a really strong one from you. Well done!

Top 3 - cotmm68030, NickC, Misael.K.

Struggled to choose between Misael and Nick for the 2nd spot, both were amazing. So it could change on any day.

These 3 are incredible and also deserve to be on the list:

DarkShadow (Strongest entry to date, i could totally see this being voted on)

Koekepan (Amazing melodies, another voting contender)

Updlate (Also wonderful, i'd consider this a voting contender as well)

Awesome - DarkShadow, Koekepan, cotmm68030, DDRKirby(ISQ), Updlate, NickC, Misael.K, Arcana.

Needs Work - Nukage, Relax.D.

1. raze the crown up his head, and with this fire anoint
   cotmm68030
2. the ruins
   NickC
3. charge!
   upd|ate!

Last minute voting

awesum: DarkShadow, cotmm68030, DDRKirby(ISQ), upd|ate!, TheVideoGamer, NickC.
good: Koekepan, nukage, relaxd, Arcana.