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Pirate Pete's Page of MOD Reviews

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Last updated: 25 Jul 00 at 11:12 AM

Welcome to Pirate Pete's Mod Reviews Page! You'll find here a collection of my reviews of mods which were either emailed to me or I have picked up in my travels on the Web.

If you are interested in how I began reviewing mods and the methodology I use to review them, see "Notes about the reviews".

Reviews are grouped in pages of 20 reviews per page. Use this index page to select a review to read (reviews are sorted chronologically); clicking on the song title will take you to the review. Alternatively, you can use the navigational links ("next", "previous", "first", "last") to view the reviews a whole page at a time.

If you want to listen to the song for yourself, click on the song URL (beneath the song title) to download it [Note: some songs which I have on my local drive do not have links -- I will email you one or more of these songs if you request it...but only ONE song per day!]

Reviews 1 to 10

Song #1	"Walk in Fire"
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/g25-fire.zip
Date reviewed:	09 Aug 1998
Style:	Psychic Trance
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	5:59
Artist(s):	DotH ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	6.50 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 6 Middle: 7 Closing: 5 Headphone: 8
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Definitely
Review:	On first listen, the song irritated me. I thought, "I'm not that big on 'psychic trance' tunes, obviously." But wait, what's this? Do I detect a techno sub-theme (is there such a thing?)? After listening to "Walk in Fire" a few more times, I begin to appreciate the artistry that went into making the song. Maintaining the level of tension with a solid percussion track (a trance trademark, as I understand it) while varying the ever present primary synth, the artist manages to maintain my interest level throughout the song. I wouldn't recommend this as a dance track necessarily--not unless you're in the "younger than Methuselah" age group--but to me at least, the song is great for kicking back with the headphones to blot out the day's cares. Be a great soundtrack to a spy thriller...
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Song #2	"Journey Outward"
File size (uncompressed)	642 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/g_j-out.zip
Date reviewed:	10 Aug 1998
Style:	House/Dance
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	4:35
Artist(s):	Bad Jake/The Fox/Autolycus of Golden Trackers ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	8.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 8 Middle: 8 Closing: 8 Headphone: 8
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Definitely
Review:	Rhythmic, hypnotic, gyrating...pick the dance adjective, look the word up in a dictionary, and you'll find "See 'Journey Outward' by Golden Trackers." From the muted percussion track (which could be a little louder, I suppose. What the heck...I gotta nitpick sumpin'!) to the echoey piano samples, to the manic "rick-i-tick-i-tack-i-tick-a, rick-i-tick-i-tack-i-tick-a" backbeat (hey, I'm no musician, remember?), this song has it all for dance lovers (translation: "this song has everything Pirate Pete loves about dance music in it"). Grab this one quick before they start charging you for it!
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Song #3	"Superfocus Lenz"
File size (uncompressed)	961 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/g26-sfc.zip
Date reviewed:	10 Aug 1998
Style:	Trance
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	6:59
Artist(s):	DotH ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	5.50 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 5 Middle: 6 Closing: 5 Headphone: 6
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Hmmm....yes (had to think about that one!)
Review:	My main beef with this piece was the number of repeated tracks. Except for a refreshing synth lead about 2 minutes into the song, most of the tracks were repeats. (I can hear the artist hollerin' now: "But that's what trance is supposed to do") Granted. All this means is trance is not my number one favorite type of music (as we all know, I'm a "techno pirate" to the core). But if yer into trance, this piece is definitely for you.
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Song #4	"The Garden"
File size (uncompressed)	908 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/garden.zip
Date reviewed:	11 Aug 1998
Style:	Easy Listening/Contemplative
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	3:53
Artist(s):	djzip ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	7.50 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 8 Middle: 6 Closing: 8 Headphone: 8
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Most definitely!
Review:	I thoroughly enjoyed this relaxing melody. The only reason I gave it a 6 for the middle part is because some of the chords and instruments sounded slightly dischordant in combination (in a few bars of the song, there was an annoying "wobble-wobble" effect, which may or may not have been the artist's original intention). But all in all, the tune is beautifully done. The backup guitar arpeggios are superb!
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Song #5	"Tenhle Svet Je Lodka"
File size (uncompressed)	1227 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/gasmask.zip
Date reviewed:	11 Aug 1998
Style:	Light techno/light trance
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	2:59
Artist(s):	Pinky of Pipin Worx ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	7.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 7 Middle: 7 Closing: 7 Headphone: 7
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Most definitely!
Review:	A very catchy tune. If you're not careful, you'll find yourself becoming addicted to this piece. The cool vocals are Czechoslovakian (I think), but who cares? (Well, actually I do...I hope those words are...well...you know...G-rated. After all, I am a G-rated kind of pirate!). Load this song into your favorite player and put it on loop--I'll bet you could listen to it 20 or more times in the background without ever tiring of it.
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Song #6	"Gate"
File size (uncompressed)	315 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/gate.zip
Date reviewed:	11 Aug 1998
Style:	House/Dance/Techno
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	3:00
Artist(s):	mcbyte ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	6.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 6 Middle: 6 Closing: 6 Headphone: 6
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Definitely
Review:	A bit minimalist dancewise, but saved from an otherwise humdrum existence by a series of kickin' piano arpeggios at 01:26, followed by an echoey-synth with a clean-cut ending. Good to dance to, but I'd imagine the song would be perceived in today's dance houses as more "disco" than "dance."
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Song #7	"A Glimpse of Shadow"
File size (uncompressed)	337 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/glimpse.zip
Date reviewed:	13 Aug 1998
Style:	Contemplative Techno
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	5:13
Artist(s):	Jadriel
Pete's overall rating:	7.50 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 7 Middle: 8 Closing: 7 Headphone: 8
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Definitely
Review:	I love the haunting piano melody of the opening bars, but I believe the song's middle part (the part the artist describes as "a little kick" in his/her notes) should have been introduced a little sooner--either that, or the middle part should have been increased in length (I dug the heck out of the middle). This song would make a great theme for a tragedy/"Love Story"-type movie. Excellent work!
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Song #8	"Sleepless in Gdansk"
File size (uncompressed)	880 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/gdansk.zip
Date reviewed:	13 Aug 1998
Style:	Jazz/Ethnic
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	1:59
Artist(s):	Optic of TRSI
Pete's overall rating:	7.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 7 Middle: 7 Closing: 7 Headphone: 7
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Most definitely!
Review:	The high-frequency synth lead in the middle of the song reminds me of a snake charmer's pipe and evinces visions of the Middle East or Turkey (although the title--and the words of the song--tell me the song's origin [or at least the author wishes me to think] is Polish). Great blend of two seemingly very different ethnic cultural styles. In any case, the use of major-minor guitar (or some guitar-like instrument) arpeggios greatly enhances the mysterious and sensual quality of this masterpiece.
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Song #9	"The Gee Song - Part 3"
File size (uncompressed)	443 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/gee3.zip
Date reviewed:	13 Aug 1998
Style:	Humorous/Novelty
Format:	ProTracker compatible (.mod)
Time (via ModPlug):	4:09
Artist(s):	Salvorite ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	4.25 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 4 Middle: 5 Closing: 4 Headphone: 4
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Hmmm...maybe. One or two listens, for sure. Any more depends on how much you are into "novelty" type MODs.
Review:	There were a couple of humorous parts--including a "Beavis n' Butthead" style dialogue ("Uh, where are we going with this song? Huuuuuh...I don't know, let me check..."). This was cool for an opener, but it got rather old when repeated several times throughout the song. And I have no idea what the significance of the ringing telephones was...maybe I'm "out of the loop" because I missed parts 1 & 2. But hey, it works as an entertainment (read "novelty") piece. If you like getting chuckles from your music (a la Ray Stevens, Frank Zappa, or perhaps "Beavis 'n Butthead: World Tour"), I think you'll find this song to your liking. If yer searching for straight "pure" music MODs (whatever the heck that is)...err...keep searching. ;-)
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Song #10	"Grenzelos" ("Limitless")
File size (uncompressed)	559 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/glos.zip
Date reviewed:	13 Aug 1998
Style:	Dark Techno
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	3:46
Artist(s):	Melcom of Hoax Arts ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	6.50 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 6 Middle: 7 Closing: 6 Headphone: 7
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes
Review:	Like Hawaiian "poi", this song is an acquired taste. You have to listen to it several times to get the "feel" of it--the question is, will you feel like hanging around after the second listen? I'm glad I did, but the dark, moody texture of the song with its slow "something is coming after you" ambience won't be to everyone's taste. I'm divided over how much I like the song--on the one hand, the song is a technical marvel. I enjoy the buildup and solid percussion track. Yet on the other hand, the dark melody line seems to suffocate you. And the title--"Limitless" what? "Limitless jaws of death," maybe. This piece would be an excellent "Aliens" type tune (on a par with "AlienBreed3D-FZ" by Feekzoid). Excellent work, Melcom!
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Reviews 11 to 20

Song #11	"Paradise Lost"
File size (uncompressed)	245 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/gr_plost.zip
Date reviewed:	14 Aug 1998
Style:	Contemplative/Moody
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	2:56
Artist(s):	Garlick of T.N.T. ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	5.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 5 Middle: 5 Closing: 5 Headphone: 5
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes, provided you're in the mood for this kind of music
Review:	A very moody piece. It's difficult to rate, as I'm not really in the mood for this kind of piece, but I'll restrain myself for now.... Reading through the artist's notes, I can understand why he chose this particular style (apparently, a close friend had betrayed his trust). The instruments and chord selections bear well with this theme. Technically, a very sound piece: if the artist was trying to convey sorrow, sadness, and suffering, he succeeded--perhaps too well...after three times listening, my heart grew too heavy to continue listening!
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Song #12	"Guitar Piano Solo"
File size (uncompressed)	1437 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/gr_guitp.zip
Date reviewed:	14 Aug 1998
Style:	Contemplative/Rock Fantasy
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	2:30
Artist(s):	Garlick of Main Brain Corporation ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	3.75 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 4 Middle: 4 Closing: 3 Headphone: 4
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	If you like this kind of music
Review:	Aside from the abrupt tempo and mood changes in the song, I found the piano chords clashed with the guitar chords, producing a most inharmonious sound. Now, granted, harmony isn't everything, but it's "meat and potatoes" to me. A dischordant song will consistently receive lower ratings from me than a harmonious one.
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Song #13	"Nevermore"
File size (uncompressed)	596 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/gfd_nvr.zip
Date reviewed:	15 Aug 1998
Style:	Contemplative/Ambient
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	5:04
Artist(s):	Garfield of RD ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	8.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 8 Middle: 8 Closing: 8 Headphone: 8
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Is the Pope Catholic? You bet!
Review:	This song is like Jim Beam--it goes down "Smooth as Silk." Very relaxing tempo and clean beats. Plus the melody is AWESOME--simple, yet elegant, uncluttered yet profound in ways I'm unable to fully describe (yeah, you can tell I've had "Music Appreciation 101" in college...). If you'll notice, I don't grade a song on sample quality or how "cutting edge" the song is--I grade a song strictly on the way it makes me feel. And I'm here to tell ya--this song makes me feel GOOD!
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Song #14	"Quantum 3"
File size (uncompressed)	942 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/g/gr1_q3.zip
Date reviewed:	15 Aug 1998
Style:	Light Rock/R & B
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	3:33
Artist(s):	Andr0meda of Green ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	6.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 6 Middle: 6 Closing: 6 Headphone: 6
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Definitely
Review:	Hard to classify the style of this piece. On the one hand, there are rock lead guitars and synths; on the other hand, there's a Rhythm & Blues style percussion track throughout the song. Kind of like something "Huey Lewis And The News" would've done. Good technical work. This song would rock with some lyrics--it's practically crying out for them!
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Song #15	"Carribean Island"
File size (uncompressed)	772 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hag-cari.zip
Date reviewed:	15 Aug 1998
Style:	Carribean
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	2:21
Artist(s):	Haggis of Anti-Matter ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	6.25 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 6 Middle: 6 Closing: 7 Headphone: 6
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes
Review:	Definitely Carribean in style. You can almost see a bunch of Jamaican guys playing those steel drums in the background. Nice blend of symphonic texture with island music. Also good use of major-minor chords and chord changes.
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Song #16	"Synthrock Song 2"
File size (uncompressed)	486 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hag-song.zip
Date reviewed:	16 Aug 1998
Style:	Synth
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	1:35
Artist(s):	Haggis of Anti-Matter ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	4.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 4 Middle: 4 Closing: 4 Headphone: 4
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	You may not feel like it, but to do the song justice, you need to hear it at least 3 times...
Review:	The song is pleasant enough sounding--sort of like the stuff you might hear on elevator Muzak systems--and there are no obvious technical flaws. I wouldn't mind hearing it once in a while, but it's not the kind of song I'd find myself listening to on a steady basis
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Song #17	"AMP War Dance"
File size (uncompressed)	446 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hag-war.zip
Date reviewed:	16 Aug 1998
Style:	Synth Pop
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	1:23
Artist(s):	Haggis of Anti-Matter ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	4.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 4 Middle: 4 Closing: 4 Headphone: 4
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes
Review:	As the artist states in his / her comments: "Done in less than 30 min...this is not a proper release, just an idea I thought I'd finish." While I enjoyed the song as a spot of pure entertainment, like Haggis' two other songs I've reviewed thus far, "AMP War Dance" is a neat little ditty as far as that goes, but not something I'd listen to on a regular basis. This is not based on any technical flaws--I didn't notice any, at least, other than the fact that the song was so short--it's based on my own subjective reaction to the song. Yet, I must admit, after listening to the song for the 5th time, it is a right catchy tune...I especially like the synth organ arpeggios at the very end of the song (a la The Doors)...the song would have received two more points for Middle and Closing had the artist increased the length of the organ rhapsodies by a minute or so....
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Song #18	"Ridin' on My Harley II"
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/har-2.zip
Date reviewed:	16 Aug 1998
Style:	Metal rock
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	1:06
Artist(s):	Klm of Unity, Inc.
Pete's overall rating:	2.25 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 2 Middle: 3 Closing: 2 Headphone: 2
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes, if you're into ZZ Top...
Review:	Sounds like the artist wanted to imitate ZZ Top's "Eliminator" album. Now, I love ZZ Top, but this ain't it--at least it's not enough of whatever it's trying to be. Give me more music! One minute is just not enough to fairly rate ANY tune. The tune is fine, just make it longer and add a little variety!
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Song #19	"Simple Harmony"
File size (uncompressed)	689 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/harmony.zip
Date reviewed:	16 Aug 1998
Style:	Ambient
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	2:39
Artist(s):	ZPP ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	4.25 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 5 Middle: 5 Closing: 4 Headphone: 3
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes
Review:	I was distracted by the center-to-right panning of the guitar chords; in my estimation, they detracted from the song; when I used ModPlug's built in Surround and Reverb effects, the problem pretty much disappeared, but my "Headphone Factor" rating is based on how the song sounds in headphones WITHOUT any special effects. I enjoyed the relaxing, Zen-like opening (opening of the song would be easy to meditate to, if you're into that sort of thing). One thing--I think the bird sample loops were overused.
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Song #20	"Her Beauty Face 2"
File size (uncompressed)	609 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hbface2.zip
Date reviewed:	17 Aug 1998
Style:	Light Rock/Pop Fantasy
Format:	ScreamTracker v3.21 (.s3m)
Time (via ModPlug):	5:12
Artist(s):	melcom & dynamite of Hoax Arts/Lost Patrol ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	7.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 7 Middle: 8 Closing: 7 Headphone: 6
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Definitely
Review:	Excellent percussion track. The melody line really grooves ("Excuse me, ma'am, my age is showing..."). The see-saw effect of the major-minor string chord combos in the background really make this piece stand out. The chord change at 2:12 is situated at the perfect position to bring out the maximum sound dynamic (Pete's alter ego sez: "Arr...methinks 'Dynamic' be a lilly-livered landlubber word! No self-respectin' pirate be using that fancy talk...") Although the song does tend to get repetitive in stretches, it more than makes up for this by the perfect chord progressions and strong melody content...
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