Storming the Gates (epic orchestra/choir)

I just finished an epic orchestral track called Storming the Gates. It took quite a while for me to finish it. I was going for an intense Two Steps From Hell/Audiomachine/Immediate Music kind of feel. While it doesn't sound as good as their music, I think some parts, especially the choir, worked out quite well. Check it out if you're into this kind of music and let me know what you think. Thanks!

-Malcolm

Really good piece, there's many things going for it, the pacing, the slight changes to keep it interesting, the overall build up and the vocal part sounds amazing. What libraries did you use? The rhythm also deserves credit.

It's kinda like a mix of soul calibur, yoko shimomura and dark souls.

Thanks! The main libraries I used were Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass. I used a combination of EWQLSO and Stormdrum 2 and 3 for percussion and Venus Women's Choir + Shevannai for the choir. I also layered in some Spitfire Albion here and there and a bass synth from HALion sonic SE 2 towards the end.

It's interesting that you mentioned Shimomura and Soul Calibur. I've listened to her work and the SC2 and 3 soundtrack a lot over the years, so they definitely have had some influence on me. I didn't know that influence extended to this track through. I guess I should also check out Dark Souls.

Thanks! The main libraries I used were Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass. I used a combination of EWQLSO and Stormdrum 2 and 3 for percussion and Venus Women's Choir + Shevannai for the choir. I also layered in some Spitfire Albion here and there and a bass synth from HALion sonic SE 2 towards the end.

It's interesting that you mentioned Shimomura and Soul Calibur. I've listened to her work and the SC2 and 3 soundtrack a lot over the years, so they definitely have had some influence on me. I didn't know that influence extended to this track through. I guess I should also check out Dark Souls.

Ah thanks, I didn't recognize the sound of hollywood string and brass nor the choir. Dark Souls is more dire or bleak sounding but you should definitely give it a listen.

I was going for an intense Two Steps From Hell/Audiomachine/Immediate Music kind of feel. While it doesn't sound as good as their music, I think some parts, especially the choir, worked out quite well.

I disagree. I actually think yours sounds better in a lot of ways. I'm not dissing the artists you mentioned, but a lot of trailer style music just sounds impressive (in terms of sound design, mixing and powerful percussion libraries) but the composition is often fairly minimalist and rely on fancy audio and orchestration tricks rather than good writing.

This piece is well composed I'd say. Definitely has that "last stand" kind of vibe. Great melody, chord choice, lovin' the choirs. Honestly the piece kinda reminds me of the opening to Fire Emblem: Awakening (possibly my favorite game ever) in terms of style. Great stuff!

I'm sure you'll get more feedback on how "real" your sample usage is, but I can't really give advice there because I quite honestly don't care how realistic it sounds unless it makes it painful to listen to.

Really awesome, nice job!

Sounds very good man! I think most instruments could use some additional reverb for that extra immense feeling (especially the brass and percussion - the last of which also mises a bit of low-end IMO). But otherwise this sounds really good!

For me it wasn't really as epic as I anticipated. The strings aren't super punchy (try layering more staccato and spiccato layers), and indeed, the percussion was lacking in the bass contribution (what happened to the timpanis? Why are they so background? Any bass drums? Gran cassas? Toms?). I reserve "epic" for what wows me, puts me in awe, and has a strong impact (for example, this: https://soundcloud.com/stephen-anderson/the-black-flag), so I think this is more majestic and heroic than it is epic. Sounds good compositionally though. That aside, I do think this is great work overall.

Thanks so much guys for the awesome feedback! I really appreciate that you guys took the time to listen to it and give me your thoughts. I'm going to pay special attention to the points that you mentioned (lack of string punchiness, lack of low-end percussion, slight lack of reverb, etc.) in my future work.

Thanks so much guys for the awesome feedback! I really appreciate that you guys took the time to listen to it and give me your thoughts. I'm going to pay special attention to the points that you mentioned (lack of string punchiness, lack of low-end percussion, slight lack of reverb, etc.) in my future work.

Great job on the song. The mix is really well done. Everything is in it's spot and you have great definition.

About the lack of punchiness - I might suggest to experiment with some aggressive mastering. For example, if you throw on a multiband compressor on your Master fader, and then going for a -6dB limiter with an -0.1 output. This will thicken up your sound and can help with punchiness.

Layering is also a really good idea as already mentioned.

I like your track a lot - especially the vocal work. Well done as well with your velocity and dynamic editing of the libraries. Fantastic