1. Clash Again
   obScene
2. Nebula Collision
   Forty-Two
3. Alpha Strike
   Acuity

Cuz stuff and stuff.
the end

1. DDRKirby Arrives
   DDRKirby(ISQ)
2. Brace
   A-zu-ra
3. Nebula Collision
   Forty-Two

Can't say that I had pizza this time, but I did have a beer. Pretty tasty

1. Meteor Mission
   Usabell
2. Massive Impact
   blastron
3. DDRKirby Arrives
   DDRKirby(ISQ)

Usa: Very full and dramatic. I love the early 90s movie vibe here, kind of reminds me of something I'd hear from the sci-fi movies in that era.

blastron: You picked a lot of great sounds for this track. They worked really well together.

DDRKirby: Full and developed and everything, all what we love about your music.

I also considered voting for Transcient, johnfn, Forty-Two, DarkShadow, Acuity, Bren

1. DDoS~! Splat Goes Network!
   Arcana
2. Brace
   A-zu-ra
3. DDRKirby Arrives
   DDRKirby(ISQ)

Very very hard to vote this round! You guys need to stop making so damn good comps every week!!! :P

1. Brace
   A-zu-ra
2. the aliens are here
   johnfn
3. Soft impact
   Zedd

A-zu-ra: I love the harmonies in this that you've created. It's so playful and childlike.
Johnfn: I think you captured the theme very well, and the piece definitely suggests 'aliens' to me.
Zedd: Great piano bass line, fitting very neatly with the drums. Very nice atmosphere and feel overall. If anything the drums could have been a little quieter. This is the sort of piece that if I was channel surfing the radio and came across it I would definitely listen to it the whole way through.
Usabell: Very nice atmosphere created at the beginning. The strings being slightly off rhythmically to start with was a bit of a dealbreaker to start with but they got in time fairly soon. Nice drum beats, fit fairly well with the strings. I think the piece overall was a bit too repetitive for my tastes, I would've liked to see even one small second melodic motif.
Trancient: I also really like the feel and atmosphere of this one. I think the drums were at a good level. If anything it was slightly too repetitive, and too melodic and upbeat to really get away with it.

1. Brace
   A-zu-ra
2. Aftershock
   Trancient
3. Nebula Collision
   Forty-Two

Two of my favorite songs ever in this compo.... great stuff

1 A-zu-ra, Brace is my all-time favorite OHC entry.
2 Trancient, beautiful tune. Played it many times after the compo ended. Gorgeous piano.
3 Forty Two, lovely lo-fi sound, some great moments in this. Great atmosphere that fits the title perfectly.
4 Misael K., Unique and enjoyable.
5 Johnfn, gratts on making one of the catchiest tunes evar. Stuck in my head.

1. Brace
   A-zu-ra
2. Soft impact
   Zedd
3. Nebula Collision
   Forty-Two

I missed OHC again because I'm a terrible person!

BLOW BY BLOW COMMENTARY INCOMMING

sci - that was actually pretty neat, neat concept, cool vocal sounding things
cj - I'm so embarrassed that i didn't even hear the remix of my own song during the listening party :X For what it's worth I thought that this was really well done. Neat interpretation of the melodies. Plus, wobbles. Cuz everyone needs wobbles. :D
Dijitwitch - Nice trance sounds yo. Though it could do with some buildup breakdown stuff.
Zedd - That clap is lame, but I like the chord prog a lot. Good combination of piano and synth pluck. By 2:15 I am really impressed. This song has a lot of power behind it.
Tomapella - Goodness, the percussion is SO weird. But I like the chords a lot, they keep surprising me pleasantly. Nice stuff.
DarkShadow - I see you didn't take my advice from OHC260 comments to heart at all about the limiter and levels and stuff. I don't really blame you because you only had 30 minutes to read it before the compo started. Haha. But seriously this song is really insanely brickwalled. You need to turn down your levels until you're not in the red and remove that limiter, it's seriously messing with your mix. Other than that though, nice stuff.
A-zu-ra - dem chords... yes... that looping chiptune thing is giving this a heavy gameboy cheerful feel. That was a lot of fun to listen to.
DrumJ8 - Funky sounds. Melody sounds really dissonant, bass is moving all around D: funky drums. melody at the end is interesting. Though if you wanted to indicate renewal you probably shouldn't have persisted the pads.
Acuity - Dat Acuity sound. That diminished chord in your chord progression is really nice. Your lead towards the end sounds organ-y though, might want to choose something sharper?
Forty-Two - Song was peaceful and nice at the beginning, but then a really really nice melody comes in at 1:58. That plus the swelling strings is making this a strong contender, but I swear there are some strings/flutes in the background that didn't change at all. Also strings are too loud. Oh but who cares.
A2Z- I actually like the pads at 1:06 a lot. This reminds me of aphex twin quite a bit. Also... dat ending.
Usabell - Yess... great melody on the strings at 1:00. And then that drum roll at 2:10... :O Oh my god I love that little distorted melody at 2:20. I felt like the conclusion was lacking though. The drum rolls punch through the mix but the normal drums (not part of a roll) don't which is kind of disappointing. Also y u no bring back that distorted melody in the finale? >:O Meh... it was great anyways. Lol what was that ending?
Misael.K - The instrumentation is bizarre... but intriguing. 1:55 and things seem like they are coming together. Was there a tempo speedup? I actually like this. The only problem is that that lead melody could do with standing out a little bit in the mix.
Bren - Dat Bren sound. That was fun thanks!
Zovi - Zovi doing actual composition? -5000 points. Ok this is quite dissonant, I am actually fine with this.
blastron - Is it called massive impact because you used massive? Some of those sounds sound like massive. Ok, wow. this is awesome. Production value is so good... :O.
swordofdestiny - That...
was...
different
O_O
Good job singing though, I don't have the guts to do that. Nice blues. :D
Arcana - Dude you are getting better at buildups... This song builds up awesomely. Nice job gradually dropping in bassier elements. It gives a constant rise to the song. The melody that comes in around 1:56 is strong too. Nice work bro.
Somasis - WHAT IS HAPPENING OH MY GOD. Thank god for the amen break. Lol dude and you have the rest of the amen break song...awesome
DDRKirby(ISQ) - This song already has the best title/description combination. Nice happy chords at first. Then some jazz chords later. Must be A-zu-ra's influence. I feel like the melody isn't as great as some of your recent works... still it's pretty great though. I really like the break at :57. Also, the glitching. I haven't used dbglitch in a while but it doesn't sound like that's what it is.
johnfn - I actually liked my song, though on a relisten I should have cut out the first half. Also, needs better beats. And better mixing.
Duosis - Yeah I really liked Reservoir Dogs too. Tarantino is the best.
Trancient - ... it's THAT chord progression... oh god preparing to cry already. You want to know something sad though, I think I've listened to too much music, because this chord prog doesn't really have that huge of an effect on me. At least, not as much as it did. Impressed by your restraint on bass. Melodies are all super tasty. Enjoying the vibrato on the synth. :D

Favorites:
* Zedd
* A-zu-ra
* Forty-Two
* Usabell
* DDRKirby(ISQ)

Also

* Trancient
* Misael.K

Good job everyone. Maybe I will actually make it to OHC IRC next time o_O

1. Meteor Mission
   Usabell
2. DDRKirby Arrives
   DDRKirby(ISQ)
3. Aftershock
   Trancient

Great week, everybody!

So, no, I wasn't trying to tell a story with my voting... "Meteor Mission", "DDRKirby Arrives", "Aftershock". =P

Usabell: Pure epicness.

DDRKirby: oh oh oooh, you.

Trancient: great job, as usual!


What I liked a lot:
A-zu-ra; blastron; DarkShadow; DDRKirby(ISQ); Forty-Two; johnfn; Tomapella; Trancient; Usabell; Zedd.

What I also liked:
A2Z; Acuity; Arcana; Bren; DijiTwitch; DrumJ8; Duosis; swordofdestiny.

1. DDRKirby Arrives
   DDRKirby(ISQ)
2. Massive Impact
   blastron
3. Meteor Mission
   Usabell

Impact

obScene
The composition overall did make some nice use of real instruments, especially with some beautiful backing strings to accompany guitar riffs, piano riffs, and a leading violin. Unfortunately, there wasn't really much that stood out aside from the strings that would have noted impact for me, and the drums were a tad bit weak, which might have slightly hampered the effect you were trying to reach. I'll let all of that slide, though, since this was a bonus track.

sci
I suppose you tapping on a bunch of things could have worked well for this theme, but the composition as a whole was a bit light, and the way the layering progressed through the song might have hurt the impact just a tiny bit. The song itself was alright, though.

CJthemusicdude
Although a bit damp, I can kind of feel the impact of this track as you build in to the main melody of this remix. The song was more or less basic, but it at least met the theme somewhat. It could have used a little bit more, however; the buildup kind of takes up a good amount of the song in my opinion.

DijiTwitch
I kind of dig how the drums slowly become less bitcrushed as the song goes on, but the composition was a bit flat in its progression, not to mention how short it was.

Zedd
There were plenty of moments in this song that I thought were filled with impact, whether it was the introductory drop or the sudden change into a solo, it left me leaving for just a bit more. The noise fade-ins on the latter half could have potentially been another contender, but it ended up disappointing me when the 'drop' ended up being somewhat flat, with the beat still going on up to that point. I guess that could've fit your thoughts of a "soft impact," on the other hand.

Tomapella
The drum line is rather pronounced in this track, and while this track's progression is kind of straightforward, it was somewhat enjoyable to listen to, what with a mix between an interesting choice of lead, strings, some chiptune chirps and other trinkets, and the aforementioned drum track.

Electronic Wave
Interesting that you decided to go for a 7/4 time signature for this song, but that doesn't really stop this track from being very full overall, what with a powerful drum line, some aggressive piano lines, and some nice harmonic synth leads to go along with the song. The final stretch kind of gets a bit muddy due to having all of those elements playing at once, sadly.

A-zu-ra
[ my own piece ]

DrumJ8
The amount of dissonance seen in this song building up to the "impact" of a world destroyed works well on this piece, but that and the "impact" is really all it had going for this track.

Acuity
The drum lines are strong and the leads are, for the most part, rather aggressive, which are pretty nifty ingredients for making something with impact. Although I felt quite a bit with this track, there were some parts that were kind of muddy, mostly in the parts where the square lead stacks with its own echo.

Forty-Two
Minimalist tracks like this one can still pull off impact in some way, but it's kind of difficult to pull it off successfully. This track at least manages to fit some in through its song-wide build up to the end, which, while it isn't particularly as shattering, works for what it's trying to accomplish.

A2Z
The fast paced nature of this song, alongside the slight IDM in the drum line, had potential for driving some of the impact seen, but how you handled impact (or at least how I think you handled impact) kind of surprised me with what you had building up in the end. If BARBECUIN' YO ASS is your unique way of showing impact, then I guess I'll take it.

Usabell [3rd]
This piece is rather filled with action, interpreting the theme in its own unique way by having it relate to something that literally causes impact (like a meteor striking Earth). Granted, there's also a hint of impact when the drum fill kicks in at full force, bringing the best of both worlds of interpretation, both thematically and audibly.

Misael.K
Even though asteroids are known for potentially causing impact (as also seen in Usabell's piece), this piece is a little mellow in its interpretation, opting to go for a feel of leisurely venture rather than a mood of urgency. While this is also a nice way to interpret the theme, it doesn't really have that much audible impact like how Usabell's does.

Bren
I suppose that there's some impact to be seen when the drum line gets more pumped up, but otherwise, I'm not really feeling much else with this piece. The song is somewhat simple in its progression, but it's not really too bad of an effort.

Zovi
The title you give is exactly what describes this song. I do appreciate your efforts to make a song, but it still ends up being somewhat experimental, what with the amount of stacking heard in the organs as the song progresses. Even so, it still sounded somewhat neat.

blastron [2nd]
Whoooooooa this tune screams impact. From the in-your-face intro and outro to the high energy melodies, there is just a lot that's coming from this piece. I really like it. SMASHIN'!

swordofdestiny
A bomb is another way to physically note an impact, yes. Nice 12-bar blues, but otherwise, I don't really know. I like living, thanks :<

Arcana
I like how this piece builds up, emphasizing the impact with somewhat strong drums and a progression that gives the piece a sense of urgency. Although the ending kind of falls a little flat, it was a pretty good piece.

Somasis
youre silly
nice amen breaks tho

DDRKirby(ISQ) [1st]
You never fail to deliver with your compositions, and this piece especially has plenty of oomph that is to be heard, whether it's the crescendo that leads us to the meat of your craft, or the crazy impact of your melodies and crashes. It roars for impact, and it never lets up at all. Awesomeness.

johnfn
The way things progress in the first half of this track is rather amazing, if you ask me. I wish I could say the same for the latter half, but there isn't really much that impresses me there. The fading modulation effect was amusing, though.

Duosis
It's a somewhat...alright mix of Stealers Wheel's Stuck in the Middle with you. I understand how Reservoir Dogs is supposed to be something that's had an impact on pop culture, but other than that, there nothing really noteworthy with this mix.

Trancient
While it was a rather soothing song, there wasn't really that much impact that I felt with this. The overall feel of the song throughout just came off as flat to me, but otherwise, it was an alright conclusion to OHC.

THEME OVERALL
It's interesting how a theme can be interpreted in many different ways, and this compo definitely shows that. Whether it's through making associations with things that make an impact (literally or figuratively), or whether it's by having a powerful composition in general, it demonstrates how a theme can be worked with in many different ways to suit one's goals.

1. Bang
   DrumJ8
2. Alpha Strike
   Acuity
3. Secret of the Stars remix
   CJthemusicdude

There we go

1. DDRKirby Arrives
   DDRKirby(ISQ)
2. Meteor Mission
   Usabell
3. Brace
   A-zu-ra

sci - haha literal impacts, nice.
A-zu-ra - nice gating in the intro. feels like it's building up in anticipation overall.
Usabell - great song, catchy rhythm. has an appropriate amount of tension.
blastron - great song, lots of components. those filters!
swordofdestiny - nice vocals with the blues.
DDRKirby(ISQ) - glitchy chiptune awesomeness! amazing transitions.
johnfn - great ambiance in the intro. great use of flangering. nice song.

1. DDRKirby Arrives
   DDRKirby(ISQ)
2. Nebula Collision
   Forty-Two
3. Meteor Mission
   Usabell

Hey, I've been busy the past couple OHC's but I'm hoping to be back this week. Since I wasn't in the listening party, I thought I'd give a rundown of all the tracks. Great work this week, everyone (as usual).

obScene - Keep those strings and winds coming, I'm a sucker for any of that eastern-influenced sound.

sci - I really like the layered percussion a lot, the recorded percussion over the breaks drums really worked out well.

CJthemusicdude - The orchestral/dubstep take on this track was unexpected, but worked out really well. Definitely enjoyed this track. Good job keeping the core ideas recognizable but giving it your own spin.

DijiTwitch - I wish you'd had time to expand this a bit more. The bitcrushed drums sound awesome, crank the volume up on them next time.

Zedd - Great textures and chord choices. The only negative thing is that you took the claps away halfway through. Keep the claps coming.

Tomapella - I really like all the filtering you put into this and the adjustments to the chord progression you made partway through. Everything felt like it was evolving as the track went along.

DarkShadow - I'm a sucker for anything that breaks out of the normal time-signature patterns, and everything sounded great in the mix. Really enjoyable track.

A-zu-ra - Man, that intro is brilliant and it just gets better as the track progresses. Great blend of 8-bit and sampled sounds. This needs to be put in a video game.

DrumJ8 - This reminds me of all the old 8/16-bit space shooters I used to play. Nice militaristic tone and creative use of harmony.

Acuity - Nice blend of styles, the switchup in the middle was incredibly satisfying. Definitely like what you did with this track.

Forty-Two - Your instinct for composition is impressive. The shift to the Bb minor chord was perfect, you gave me exactly what I wanted to hear before I knew I wanted to hear it. Really strong writing (as always).

A2Z - I loved the spastic drums and choppy synths- everything really felt like it matched the theme.

Usabell - This sounds exactly like your description. Those drums and synths are perfect, this is exactly the type of track I hoped someone would make for this theme.

Misael.K - That first synth had me hooked from the very beginning. I really enjoyed the tempo shift and then the reintroduction of the original drums.

Bren - I really enjoyed the shuffled drum beat and how attack-heavy all the lead lines were. Really cool vibe going on through the whole track.

Zovi - Loved the organ sound. Some of your chord choices were brilliant, but some areas could use a bit more polish. Definitely keep trying this type of composing.

Blastron - This feels like it would fit as the opening track for an 80's movie about skateboarding ninja hackers. A lot of fun, and really fit the theme.

swordofdestiny - Yes. Just yes. Drop the bomb on those monsters. Drop it hard.

Arcana - Really like how you built this. Synth selection was awesome and the drums gave me just what I wanted to hear (although they could be boosted a bit in the track).

Somasis - Spastic and chaotic and thoroughly entertaining. Nice sample usage. And horses.

DDRKirby(ISQ) - Stop being so good at this... Great stutter edits and sound selection. Yet again, I can't believe what you're capable of accomplishing in an hour.

johnfn - Nice and dark intro transitioning perfectly into the dance sections. The percussive elements are awesome, aggressive but never overdone.

Duosis - Great remix of this track. My ears are hurting now, but that has everything to do with Michael Madsen and nothing to do with your track. ;)

Trancient - I absolutely love your lead synth and all the elements really worked well together. Great track and great track description.