FREE ALBUM RELEASE - Meteocrity Vol. 1 by 12 Followers/Meteo Xavier

[Nabeel Ansari]

Not going to comment on arrangement. These all sound like VGM themes so I'll treat em like that. Plus there is more than one melody in these too, so it's fine. If you overhauled this entire album to real instruments with phatter beats and more sizzling and variant synthesizers, this would make one kickass modern game OST.

Tempest Rush -

Took me by surprise. It sounds a little lo-fi, but it's more reminiscent of the Megaman Zero (GBA) soundtrack then being just a bad quality song. The lead synth not having any filters and the harmony at parts really help with that, too. Sounds pretty retro, but not traditional chip retro. Has a very strong melodic drive to it, which also seals the deal to sound like it's from a GBA Soundtrack.

Caveat Emptor -

Now this one sounds like something from Paper Mario, 'specially with dat high shakuhachi sample (or what have you). Would work great for an underground level or a main character finding himself in a city of funny little engineer gnomes (yeah, I've been playing too much WoW) that the world didn't know existed. It's got a melody with a populated background, so bonus points for strong soundscape.

Bitter End to a Thatched Ray of Light -

This whole thing sounds like you made it with Wingroove or a MIDI sheet music writer. It's ridiculously similar to the kind of stuff that my brother used to write years ago in something called MusicTime Deluxe. Granted, I could be biased because I loved hearing that stuff, but lo-fi and older quality of the instruments doesn't bother me. That melody is pretty uplifting, sounds like a battle theme for an RPG.

Five is Average -

Nice Mega Man references here. It obviously has ties to the ol' NES soundtracks we all know and love, but it's got elements of the more modern generation with delay, reverb and those pitch bends. Again, nice work on those melodies. You have not yet failed to get full score in that category, though the production on this album isn't perfect, the writing makes up for it.

Bright Dreams from Empty Vessels -

This really sounds like the ending to some stupid dramatic SNES rpg. Nice work, the melody is great. The synth string sample really sells that RPG feel with the painfully same attack to it. I'm just gonna stop commenting on melodies, they're all great.

Wealth of Knowledge -

Ugh. So good. Again, sounds like an RPG track. Perhaps the home town theme?

Asymmetrical Conflict -

Ok, a little less perfect. It's a little overcompressed... but that's the only gripe. This one sounds like a stage theme to the Megaman Zero series. The electric guitar sample is amazing(ly lo-fi) with the way you use it.

Lofty Goals From a Forest Epitath -

Love that acoustic guitar in the background. It's a pretty good riff. Sounds like a more modern game music piece. Love that reverb, the flute instruments and the dance beat. Could be in a sci-fi/fantasy RPG, where they use swords and magic in a time of hovercars. (*cough*)

This is possibly my favorite on the album, alongside Asymmetrical Conflict and Caveat Emptor.

Colossus of Egypt -

ANOTHER RPG-esque gem. It's a great cave theme of just a nice, more chill overworld theme. Perhaps it is the overworld theme, but only when you're finally traveling to confront the final boss.

Need Insurance? Get a Bullet -

MORE MEGAMAN ZERO(-esque)! YES! LOVE IT! That synth choir in the background is pretty cool. I like the breakdown at :55. Nice use of different scales for the solo. That's a must when I'm writing a solo.

Red Dim Lights and Old Stories -

Another RPG like song. This one reminds me of Cosmo Canyon from FFVII and could be used in a similar situation.

Lunar Eclipse Millenium -

I like the beat here. This song sounds like it could be used in an underground level or something. That percussive bell thing in the background reminds me of FFVII, the level where Aeris dies. ( :'[ )

Isolate the Variable -

Your synths are better here than any track. The drums are pretty thin (and default FL Studio sounding) but I guess that's ok. I would've preferred a driving bass kick. Would've worked better. Could be in a side-scroller game, a factory level in a snowstorm perhaps.

Vestigial Dance of Blades -

Phat beats shine here more than anywhere else on the album. Pretty cool track, good synths too. This one sounds like a Megaman Zero stage theme, maybe a power plant level or something. Reminds me of the power plant level in Megaman Zero 3. (Reborn Mechanics is its name on the remastered OST)

Exploring the Temporal Lobe with a Bo... -

That plucked string instrument is kinda weird, but it works. Koto, it sounds like later on. I have no idea what this song could be used as. It sounds a little dark, with a bit of a "story time" feel to it.

It Was Written on Your Tombstone -

This is definitely the main villain's theme. Sounds pretty badass. FIRST THE SONG PLAYS, and then the villain shows up. Awesome. And then the battle ensues, but he GETS AWAY. Hahaha. Pretty dark. That instrumentation at :04 reminds me of old Metroid ost's.

The Heavenly Integer -

Pretty laid back. If you added some shuffle to the hi hats, it would help kick back a bit, To be honest, I don't know what this song could be used as in a game. Maybe a level where the main character goes to an Observatory that has the key to finding the final boss or something. The soundscape is pretty spacey. I like that.

Starry Nights -

Cheesy credits theme? Mhm. The beat is like pop music, with the chordal pianos and strings making it sound really cheesy and dramatic (in that annoyingly happy way).

[Meteo Xavier]

Wow, THIS was a nice surprise to an otherwise dull Monday! I greatly appreciate your attention and acclamation.

Awesome review, 'blix. You went into a lot more detail than I would've expected. I would've LOVED to completely overhaul the tracks on here if I had the time and resources to do so, but all I could really afford to do where to mix them much better and get Usa to master them (there's also the problem that I don't have the project files to a few of these anymore).

I'm really glad and sort of surprised people are enjoying this as much as they are because some of the tracks (Asymmetrical, Temporal Lobe, Tempest Rush in particular) really are that strange and don't work as well as they should. Part of that is using GM collection soundfonts to replace a 16-32bit sound, another part were the weird directions I received when I was working on them ("Exploring the Temporal Lobe, etc." for example, was literally that. The guy told me he wanted a short weird track that was something you could explore someone's brain with and be used as a standoff scene later) and because they're old and I wasn't very good years ago. So absolutely if some tracks on here suck, go ahead and say it. It's a free country.

I owe you an album review, 'blix. Send me a copy of your dnb album when it comes out and I'll return the favor.

Edit: Also, its actually the cheapest GM Banjo sample I have and not a Koto.

[WillRock]

Ok i'm posting... half a review for now, since i've only listened to the first half of the album right now - Its a pretty long one and needs more time for me to digest it all.

So my first thoughts are as follows - I think that the album has plenty of variety considering its obvious vgm PS1 sound throughout so far. I'm catching influences from franchises like sonic, final fantasy and the tales series. It seems to me that this isn't the type of album that is suppose to flow from track to track particularly and thus, if there are any tracks people don't like, they can be deleted without ruining the experience.

So far, i've listened to the first 8 tracks in depth, and its hard for me not to pick out my favorites due to the style differences from each and what appeals to me personally. One thing I will say about these tracks is that they all carry great moods and are very true to their influences - the instrumentation and feel has been nailed here imo.

I've always found hooks to be of utmost importance in this style of music. Catchy tunes is important in this style of music and songs such as "Tempest Rush" and "Wealth of Knowledge" have very catchy melodies, and in the case of melodies not being particularly memorable, there is a backing riff that will keep you coming back to the music. I've found that "Five is Average" has the most going for it - a hummable melody, Great backing riff, very nostalgic feel and the use of SFX from mega man really gives this a different flavor and makes it stand out amongst the others.

However, there are some tracks that I didn't quite get into, the biggest offender being "Caveat Emptor" with its three note riff eventually getting on the verge of annoying for me. If there is a flaw to this album, there are a few tracks that don't hold up to repeated listening, which is something that is crucial for this style of music imo. Thats not to put too much of a shadow on the album however - there are 18 tracks after all, and you can delete the ones you don't want due to the stylistic contrast of the album.

Good stuff Meteo - I'll be posting more as I keep on listening

[Benjamin Briggs]

this album is relevant to my interests

hopping on this shit as soon as I get home tonight!

[Meteo Xavier]

Last bump and we'll let the topic go:

Updates to include:

* Bandcamp address for this album - http://meteoxavier.bandcamp.com.

* New official record label release for ESPERS - physical copy at Kunaki for $7.99

Finally, I just wanted to thank everyone who showed even the slightest interest in my music here. Yes, I had to beg some of you to look at it, but I will never take for granted the attention you gave to it and for helping me distribute it out across the interwebs.

I will have more to come soon for those who are interested - including a free chiptune album with ubiktune as soon as time allows for me to get started on it.

Thank you again!

[Tables]

This is actually quite good. I can imagine it being used in a bite-sized Tales game, that's what it sort of sounds like to me. I'll be sure to share it!

[Meteo Xavier]

Thanks man! Every little bit helps.

[Kanthos]

Some neat stuff here. A few of the tracks reminded me of Secret of Mana, not melodically, necessarily, but in the choice of sounds and the way they were used. Fun mix of synthesized and other sounds too.

[Meteo Xavier]

Well some of them were actually samples from Secret of Mana's soundfont set (particularly in Need Insurance), others are just similar sounding GM soundfonts. That's probably the best way to go for a retro sound without getting into the nitty-gritty of tracking and more complicated sample work.