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Pirate Pete's Page of MOD Reviews

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Last updated: 25 Jul 00 at 11:13 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 21 to 30

Song #21	"Hydrofluoric Bubble Bath"
File size (uncompressed)	198 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hfbb.zip
Date reviewed:	17 Aug 1998
Style:	Dark Techno
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	3:04
Artist(s):	Zarathustra ([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
Review:	Good backbeat. The chords and staccato "rat-a-tat-tat" effects embedded in the melody seem to clash strongly at first, but after several times listening, I begin to see why the artist chose this title (it does indeed sound like an HFl Bubble Bath)--the over all effect of the song is dark and sinister, a la a Hitchcock movie starring Vincent Price...
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Song #22	"Shades of Grey"
File size (uncompressed)	521 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hfz-grey.zip
Date reviewed:	18 Aug 1998
Style:	Jazz
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	4:22
Artist(s):	hyperfuzz ([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, if you're into Jazz (an eclectic taste)
Review:	I'm not a big Jazz fan, but from what I've heard, this piece fits right in with that genre. Kind of reminds me of New Orleans, espresso coffee houses, and "Cool, Baby!" Jazz-and-Poetry recitals. Of course, since I'm not really into Jazz, I'm probably way off base here...
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Song #23	"Hot Iron"
File size (uncompressed)	223 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hi.zip
Date reviewed:	18 Aug 1998
Style:	Metal Rock
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	4:14
Artist(s):	Traxx of Hoax Arts ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	3.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 3 Middle: 3 Closing: 3 Headphone: 3
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Could be...if you're into hard rock....
Review:	Technically, this is a good metal rock piece, yet there's not enough variety for my taste. The metal guitar chords start out promising, but after two minutes of the exact same chords, the lack of a strong lead instrument and melody line becomes noticeable. Toward the final minute of the song, a melody does emerge, but it was too little, too late. The song would've received a higher Middle rating if the aritst had brought about the stronger lead sooner.
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Song #24	"Heartland"
File size (uncompressed)	972 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hl.zip
Date reviewed:	18 Aug 1998
Style:	Pop Fantasy
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	5:26
Artist(s):	Lizardking & Codec
Pete's overall rating:	7.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 8 Middle: 9 Closing: 9 Headphone: 9 Technical: 0
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Hoo boy, is it ever!
Review:	[Pirate gushing mode=ON] Oh yeah...this be a Lizardking tune, fer surrrrrrrre! (And Codec, of course) If you're a LK fan (which I am--way to go, LK!), this piece of ear candy belongs in your collection! Everything about this compo delights my ears...the quick tempo (162 BPM) of the baseline gives it a Disco/Techno feel; the chord progressions are magnificently done [dagburnit! Why didn't I write something like this???? Answer: I'm not Lizardking!]; the ending melody has an ethereal quality that brings tears to my eyes... This song belongs somewhere in the movie "Xanadu" (my absolute all-time fav. Olivia Newton-John movie)-don't laugh: to me, this is the ultimate compliment! [Pirate gushing mode=OFF]
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Song #25	"Hockeyfever!"
File size (uncompressed)	562 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hockey.zip
Date reviewed:	18 Aug 1998
Style:	Pop
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	2:50
Artist(s):	Makke of The Einstein Crew ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	7.25 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 8 Middle: 7 Closing: 7 Headphone: 7
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yea and verily!
Review:	Picture the scene: It's the final period with 1 minute left to play...your favorite team, the Wakosha Warriors, are locked in a battle for their lives with the Duluth Devils. The Warriors are down by two pucks. All of a sudden the organist breaks out into a rendition of "Hockeyfever!" by Makke. The two forwards (Hmmm...are there 2 forwards on a hockey team?? ;^) ), LeFranc and LeBeau make a break for the goal....and SCORE! That's how I picture this rousing team spirit song...a hockey cheerleading session, complete with the famous "Charrrrrrrge!" organ call, which permeates the melody of the entire tune. If the organist played this tune, I'd be dancin' in my seat! (And, I'm sure the hometown boys would rally on to win the game...)
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Song #26	"Did You Love Me?"
File size (uncompressed)	702 Kb
URL:	http://www.geocities.com/paris/rue/1316/999_dyl.zip
Date reviewed:	19 Aug 1998
Style:	Breakbeat
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	5:04
Artist(s):	Loukas
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:	The artist states in the sample comments, "Please take into consideration that I'm only 12 years old." There was no need for him to write this--if I hadn't read those comments, I would've assumed Loukas was much older and more experienced! Excellent job!
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Song #27	"Vampire's Castle"
File size (uncompressed)	83 Kb
URL:	http://www.simcity.it/dipa/modpage/mods/vampire.zip
Date reviewed:	19 Aug 1998
Style:	Velveeta
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	1:28
Artist(s):	Dipa of Day Zero Deflection ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	2.75 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 3 Middle: 3 Closing: 3 Headphone: 2
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Only if you're "Barnabas Collins" (ex-Fanged Wonder of "Dark Shadows" fame) ;-)
Review:	Can you say "cheese"? Seriously though, the music is functional--the title adequately describes the musical content--and so-so technically, but IMO the tune goes nowhere (besides which I can't get images of "the Groovy Ghoulies" [a mid-70's cartoon] out of my head now, thanx a bunch ;-). And the constant phase shifting (left-right-left-right) of the primary instrument gets old after a while. But take heart, Dipa--I've done worse and you're very likely to do better!
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Song #28	"Mars [v1.0]"
File size (uncompressed)	400 Kb
URL:	http://www.in.on.ca/~reversed/songs/mars.zip
Date reviewed:	19 Aug 1998
Style:	Techno
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	4:30
Artist(s):	Prelude of Reversed Logic ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	6.75 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 7 Middle: 7 Closing: 6 Headphone: 7
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Definitely
Review:	Good use of major-minor chords to promote thematic content (there has to be a name for that; I can't just keep calling it "major-minor chords" forever!). The overall effect is a spooky tenseness that goes well with the title (well, after all, Mars IS still an unknown). This song would be an excellent "man goes to Mars" movie soundtrack. Nice headphone balance. I'm not too excited about the closing, but the beginning and middle parts are top-notch.
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Song #29	"Melodic Explorations"
File size (uncompressed)	1515 Kb
URL:	http://www.concentric.net/~grommit/rafusion.zip
Date reviewed:	20 Sep 1998
Style:	Fusion of different styles
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	4:13
Artist(s):	Ryan Avery ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	9.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 9 Middle: 9 Closing: 9 Headphone: 9
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Heck yeah!
Review:	Everything about this delightful piece impressed me, from the fantasy opening chords, to the exquisite stereo balance, to the mood change 3/4 of the way through the piece, to the finely crafted ending. Now some may find flaw with a sample or two that sounded a mite "scratchy", but as I said before, my reviews are based solely on the musical content, and there's plenty of that to go around with Ryan's masterful composition (can't stop playing the thing now, dagnabbit!). Hay, caramba! I just turned back on ModPlug's bass expansion, surround and reverb.... I think I'm in Heaven!--let's just call this one "a natural high!" By the Cap'ns beard, if Ryan doesn't win any awards with this piece, I'll mutiny!
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Song #30	"Short Story of Love"
File size (uncompressed)	346 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hooter12.zip
Date reviewed:	20 Aug 1998
Style:	Pop Fantasy
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	4:13
Artist(s):	hooter ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	6.25 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 7 Middle: 6 Closing: 6 Headphone: 6
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes
Review:	A very relaxing peace...er, piece. The melody is terrific, and the underlying backbeat keeps you from falling asleep! Guys...you in the doghouse with your girlfriend for some sophomorish prank you pulled last month? Play this tune in the background, drop to one knee and say, "Baby, yer the only one fer me!" Guaranteed to work. [Pete puts on his "speed leg" and hobbles off quickly before the feminists tear him to shreds...] Great job, hooter.
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Reviews 31 to 40

Song #31	"Hopeful"
File size (uncompressed)	1117 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hopeful.zip
Date reviewed:	20 Aug 1998
Style:	Jazz
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	5:43
Artist(s):	staticElevation ([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:	A very laid-back jazz-type groove. I love the bass line, and the melody is pleasant enough, but I think the primary riff and chords need to be varied a bit more. I'm not sure, but the manic snare rhythm seems a bit too fast for this type of piece. It's almost as if the artist wants to mix Jazz & Demo & Rave...
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Song #32	"Horizont of night"
File size (uncompressed)	1066 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/horizont.zip
Date reviewed:	21 Aug 1998
Style:	Techno
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	3:16
Artist(s):	Renat Ibragimow of C-Sonic ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	3.20 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 4 Middle: 4 Closing: 4 Headphone: 4 Technical: 0
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes
Review:	The oddly-placed percussion track distracted me for the first half of the song. A few of the instruments jarred my ears. But the song opens well and has a solid groove. About the opening: I expected an entirely different tune! The dark bass guitar foreshadowed doom & gloom, yet the tune blossomed more into a song of hope than of disaster. Interesting change of pace!
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Song #33	"2 Decades Remix 8bits"
File size (uncompressed)	1910 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/ht-2dcr8.zip
Date reviewed:	21 Aug 1998
Style:	Breakbeat/Rave
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	5:34
Artist(s):	Heatseeker of Nebula ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	3.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 4 Middle: 2 Closing: 3 Headphone: 3
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes, if only for the sheer artistry of the piece and hard work that must've gone into its production.
Review:	Here's another piece that is technically quite masterful for the given style, yet not exactly my cup of tea. I could find no underlying melody (although there did seem to be a consistent theme--something dark and ominous). The ambient background chord that wails mournfully throughout the piece is very irritating. I found the rave rhythm the artist used to be irritating also, yet you may think it's manna from heaven (I'm just not into this style). I did enjoy the placement and echo effects of the voice samples.
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Song #34	'Biopic"
File size (uncompressed)	1056 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de/pub/audio/rr/rr-biop.zip
Date reviewed:	22 Aug 1998
Style:	Techno
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	5:16
Artist(s):	Rebel Riffs ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	7.20 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 9 Middle: 9 Closing: 9 Headphone: 9 Technical: 0
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Is my "nom de Internet" Pirate Pete? You bet!!
Review:	Pirate Pete discovers Rebel Riffs! Jumpin' cat-o-nine-tails! Where've I been all these years? RR music has a distinctive quality...definitely an acquired taste. Non-traditional in more ways than one, their music excites and inspires new trackers to reach for the stars. You download one of RR's mods and you might think, "Yeesh! This stuff is weird!" Some might find RR's stuff to be gritty, crude and hard-edged (NOTE: I caution parents--some of RR's music is not suitable for children under 10 years of age; preview with caution); but after spinning one of their tracks several times you think, "I want more of this!" It grows on you! Rebel Riffs is definitely not "your father's MOD Music"...yet they are an integral part of the MOD legacy, an extension of tracking, pathfinders of a sort to that little slice of Heaven we've all come to know and love as "the Scene." And with that gushing bit o' Blarney out of the way, here's my review of "Biopic." To say "This is a cool song" would be the understatement of the year. More appropriate to say "I dug the heck out of it," yet even this still doesn't convey the total joy I experienced listening to it. The hard driving bass guitar set the pace for the entire piece, and the voice samples were superbly suited. I loved the change-up at 3:15--totally different, yet still in keeping with the overall mood of the song. I don't know from which movie the opening clip was taken (one of the actors sounds like Steve Gutenberg of "Police Academy" fame), but the dialogue, reminiscent of Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?" bit, was too cool and evinced quite a few belly-laughs from this old pirate... You call yourself a "mod-phile"? Get this song for your collection!
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Song #35	"Happy tears"
File size (uncompressed)	156 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/htears1.zip
Date reviewed:	23 Aug 1998
Style:	Alternative
Format:	ScreamTracker v3.21 (.s3m)
Time (via ModPlug):	2:31
Artist(s):	Kain ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	3.50 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 4 Middle: 3 Closing: 3 Headphone: 4
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Hmmmmmm....yes, but only if you've taken your Prozac ;-)
Review:	I enjoyed the opening bars, but I felt the middle part sounded flat and dimensionless. The percussion, bass, and lead instruments and used sounded too harsh for the ambience suggested by the title -- instead of making me think of unrequited love or perhaps a love tragedy, the song came off sounding too dark and ominous.
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Song #36	"We are all illusions"
File size (uncompressed)	791 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/ht-weril.zip
Date reviewed:	24 Aug 1998
Style:	Ambient
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	3:38
Artist(s):	Heatseeker of KoS ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	6.75 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 7 Middle: 7 Closing: 5 Headphone: 8
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes.
Review:	Very smooth, relaxing opening that blends smoothly into the main body. Sort of sounds like one of those "relaxation" tapes on the market. Ouch! I was all set to give this song a 7 or 8 for closing when I was unceremoniously kicked out of my groove and back into reality. I hate abrupt endings! Of course, the artist may have intended this song to be looped into the background (as most ambient MODs usually are), but I like a song with completion.
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Song #37	"Hue"
File size (uncompressed)	1045 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hue.zip
Date reviewed:	25 Aug 1998
Style:	Pop/Light Rock
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	4:41
Artist(s):	CaesaR of ProFound Sound ([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?	Sure is--ah, sweet lost love! Just tears your heart out (make it hurt so good...)
Review:	I gotta stop and ask myself sometimes, "Can I like a song and not give it a high score?" The answer is "Yes." But not with this song. The primary criteria I grade by in these reviews is "how many times would I play this track?" The answer for this song--and the reason for such a high score--is A LOT (I'm reminded of Paul Reubens in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer": "Kill them--A LOT!") "Hue" has a beautiful melody with bittersweet overtones that I find irresistable. So, bloated rating or no, I give this one 8's across the board. The piece reminds me of something from ELO (Electric Light Orchestra for those of you non-greybeards ;-) in the movie "Xanadu" (ack! My disco is showing...), or more recently, something from Steve Winwood or Eric Clapton. [Pete wipes a tear from good eye...] Brings back [sniff] many memories of me fair lady Guinevere...
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Song #38	"Humanoid"
File size (uncompressed)	555 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/demos/music/songs/1998/h/humanoid.zip
Date reviewed:	25 Aug 1998
Style:	Demo/Techno/Hardcore
Format:	FastTracker (.xm)
Time (via ModPlug):	2:48
Artist(s):	Jozef ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	4.00 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 3 Middle: 5 Closing: 4 Headphone: 4
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes.
Review:	Although the opening dragged a bit, when the artist finally got down to business, the beat really began to fit into a groove. The melody line was minimal to non-existent, but the beat was hopping! The hihat zipping back and forth from the extreme left to the extreme right irritated me a little, but not too much. The ending was a bit abrupt, and the song was a mite too short for my tastes (should've kept the groove going for another minute or so).
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Song #39	"Logic Bank"
File size (uncompressed)	149 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hus-bank.zip
Date reviewed:	26 Aug 1998
Style:	Demo
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	2:42
Artist(s):	Husanak ([email protected])
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?	I didn't find it to be so, yet you might. Might be okay to hear this every once in a great while, when you're feeling cranky...
Review:	This primary synth instrument in this song made my ears bleed at max. volume. Sounded way too scratchy (of course, you have to take into account that demos are not usually meant to be melodic pieces). That, in combination with the lack of a driving force behind the melody made me give the song such a low rating.
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Song #40	"Hyll"
File size (uncompressed)	886 Kb
URL:	ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/h/hyll.zip
Date reviewed:	24 Aug 1998
Style:	Symphonic Techno
Format:	Impulse Tracker (.it)
Time (via ModPlug):	6:31
Artist(s):	majoon ([email protected])
Pete's overall rating:	3.75 (out of 10) [Your mileage may vary]
Rating categories:	Intro: 4 Middle: 2 Closing: 6 Headphone: 3
Worth a 3^rd or 4^th listen?	Yes, if you can get past the middle part!
Review:	The opening bars reminded me of the intro to the theme music from the original "Star Trek" series. I was all set to groove to a "space adventure" track, but then everything got hard amd gritty all of a sudden. The melody (such that it was) disappeared abruptly, replaced by a hard synth "wot-a-tot-a wot-a-tot-a" that drove me buggy. Technically, a marvel to listen to, yet still too hard on the ears of this old sea dog... The last two and a half-minutes saved this song from a much lower rating. As the song progressed, it lightened up a bit on the synths, ceased being an irritation and actually started to sound good. The artist's use of symphonic techniques greatly enhanced the ending.
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