Pirate Pete's Page of MOD Reviews

The song opens with some nature sounds and flows smoothly into a series of melodious guitar arpeggios. This leads into a heavenly chorus of pan flutes and background vocals.

Not an irregular transition to be found--simply beautiful! Que magnifico, Yannis!

The mod starts out with a *very* heavy intro, something straight out of a Styx video -- Chris uses a Metallica-style Fender guitar to rip into a few quasi-Hendrix riffs, which set the stage for an almost mythical exploration into a dark theme pulled kicking and screaming from the deep recesses of Chris's grey matter (I couldn't hook the song title to the brooding theme -- If I were naming this mod, I would've called it "Death March" due to the extremely heavy metal nature of the opening and the middle.).

At 1:05, we get a brief break from the doom and gloom intro with some lighter riffs, still dark in content, but easier to process than the those heavy distorted lead Fenders of the opening.

Then, at 1:54, we're back to "Death Metal" mode, with some more Fenders holding up the melody line and a solid bass drum line to hold up the back beat. Things slow down briefly at 3:00, then we move right back into the "Death March" movement. At 3:59 there's a smooth transition to a lighter metal riff, which together with the "fade to black" at the end seems to bring hope (in some strange undefinable way) for the mystical "Traveller" of the title .

Like, dig this...

I knew something was up as soon as I heard the first voice, a mad chipmunk mumbling something or other (why spoil the effect by getting into FastTracker and slowing down the voice samples? I'll let you discover it for yourself). I began to doubt Steve's sanity when I reralized that *all* the voices (well, *almost* all) were drunken chipmunks speaking Japanese. No matter how hard I listened, I never *quite* could make out what everyone was saying, but I found myself laughing so hard I didn't give a damn in any case. Wiping the drool from my chin and holding on to my aching sides, I continued to listen.

The whole track is more of the same -- quite monotonous, from one point of view, but on the other hand (okay, so now I'm Tevye), this song gets high marks for the ultra-high quality samples (a trademark of Rebel Riffs), the side-splitting antics of the characters, and the cool groove maintained from start to finish. As usual, Rebel Riffs delivers quality on a grand scale. Take a bow, Steverino!

Now, some might nag about a bit of sample clicking here and there, but in Modplug, this baby R O C K S and that's how *I* see it.

This song is a * M U S T * for any music aficionado, no matter what your preferred style. If you don't download it, shame on you! ;-)

Way to go, CSM! I'm yer number one fan!

Now, don't think I mean "strange" by "interesting", either...I mean "interesting" as in "Hmmmmmmmmmmm....lemme think of JUST the right words to say..."

The song has a long intro (deservedly so; there's almost 9 minutes of goodies here, so I'm thinking it needs a big intro) which doesn't seem to blend in to well with what I perceive to be the main theme, but as with most of RR's tracks which share a similar "alternative" format (which is another way of saying I can't pin down RR's style, I suppose), after listening to the song a few times, you think, "Hmm. Steve says '3 + 2 = 9.' Hmmm...I can see that..." ;-)

The song retains RR's hard-edged signature (no matter how much they protest to the contrary in the "readme" file ;-), and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now, granted, RR is not your traditional group, but they've made their mark in the Scene to such an extent with their work that to me, they are the *definition* of the word "Alternative." Forget popular--think A R T I S T R Y. RR definitely seems to have a vision, and nothing's going to get it their way...

"Chorale" has a lot of interesting stuff. I love the eerie-sounding vocal samples--this piece would make great atmosphere for a Halloween party. And, of course, there's the driving bass line and beat, a RR trademark. The melodic range is a little constrained, perhaps, but when your ear is in the mood for this sort of aural stimulation, "Chorale" fits into a well-defined groove.

Very melodic, yet it has enough hardcore acid passages for trance lovers everywhere. One buzz-synth does an excellent job of sustaining tension throughout the piece. Good use of percussion, excellent blend of several primary instruments (piano, guitar, synth, strings, velobell). Very balanced in frequency spectrum, in the headphones, lots of color.

The extended opening is entirely suited for the piece. Building to a fiery crescendo with a series of eerie vocal sounds, cool "Star Trek" door opening sound effects (okay, so sue me, it's the best description I could come up with!), and a super-evil demonic laugh, Outlaw takes us on a manic journey through the annals of Heavenly history, from the time when Lucifer and his demons fired the opening shots in their incessant war against the Almighty, until the time when St. Michael will fulfill his Heavenly destiny and chain the Evil one in the Pit of everlasting fire and torment.

Everything about this majestic piece bespeaks of the eternal battle going on in the Heavens above us--Good vs. Evil, St. Michael vs. Satan, etc. The gravelly basso-profundo voices are positively demonic, even as the angelic choirs, violin arpeggios, and an awesome series of chord shifts throughout the piece bring a touch of the Divine. The ending is magnificent, and fitting (Satan chuckling in the Pit, seeking the ruin of souls?) To Christ be the Glory and Honor forever and ever, A M E N ! (Hmm...can you tell the song affected me?)

"Down From Heaven" filled my heart with joy to overflowing! As of this moment, Outlaw's masterpiece is Number One on my new Top 100 list!

[Gush mode=ON]

Oy vey es mir...this song is incredibly beautiful. I'd give it 11's across the board, but my scale won't reach...c'est magnifique! (Well, I did discover one thing that dropped the overall score to a 9...the piano volumes were a bit loud in places; but hey, this is only a trifle...) If this song was written in a moment of anguish, my heart bleeds for the composer's grief.

Play it with *no special effects* -- the song is so well crafted, it doesn't need any boost from ModPlug! Of course, for an extra bit of ecstasy, turn on your favorite effect (I recommend Reverb, Bass Boost, and Dolby Surround).

I was turned on to "Crying Soul" by my buddy and partner-in-melody, Trib the Brit (together we form "2-Tarz", a group of two old sea-salts with musical inclinations...We'll be announcing our website soon, so stay tuned...so much for the blatant plug...now back to my review of "Crying Soul").

I'm a sucker for a well-crafted piano piece. Eniac knew right where to aim to pierce me black piratical heart... (BTW: Anyone know where I can contact Eniac and express my appreciation for this fine work?) The background violins and horns didn't overpower the piano -- they intensified the main theme, bringing it to a height unattainable by a solo instrument. The key changes were absolutely heart rending -- listen to this with tissues at the ready; I guarantee you'll be sobbing over lost loves, past injuries and injustices, and anything else you can think of that'll put you in a melancholy mood.

Eniac is obviously a composer of high caliber -- I'd be interested to know if he has any other works (particularly ones in this genre) on the Internet. As for "Crying Soul", I know I'll treasure it forever (at least as long as Y2K doesn't nuke my computer back into the Stone Age) and keep it on my list of oft-played tracks.

'Nuff said.

The symphonic brass opening is full of grandiose, sweeping chords that make your heart soar above the clouds, promising relief from ennui -- and it delivers, one-hundred percent. The opening leads into a foot stompin' techno theme that'll get your heart pounding and your blood flowing. One caution -- don't play this one at high altitudes...you may faint from lack of breath!

The song is absolutely amazing in every respect. I love the way Swan uses the background synth as a pseudo-percussion line, in perfect counterpoint to the primary theme. The brass instruments and violins in the background really liven things up, bolstering the primary synth lead. The pounding bass drum really stirs things up, but unlike many mods I've heard, it doesn't overpower you. True, there are long stretches where the drum becomes noticeable, but the majority of the time the drum/hihat riff blends in well with the percussive synth so as not to disturb the primary theme.

Here's yet another song destined for my Top 100 -- perhaps even my Top 10. I absolutely *love* stuff like this. Mind, I'm not a total jungle fan, but "Mama Jungle" has enough techno elements to keep me happy.

From the opening bars, the overall mood of the piece is dark and foreboding. Yet in a strange way, it's also uplifting...it's one of those songs I classify as "bad" -- but bad as in "good" (hey, I'm from the 60's generation, what can I say?). There are certain songs that make you feel tough, that lift your spirits and make you feel like you can take on the world -- this song is one of them. If you're down, if you feel like nothing is going right, or if you're trying to psych yourself out for an upcoming fight, listen to "Mama Jungle." You'll be ready to take on Mike Tyson after listening to this (although I wouldn't recommend it -- Iron Mike doesn't take kindly to challengers...)

This fast-moving piece practically *defines* modern techno. The sample comments read "a masterpiece of modern audio design", and this appellation is no lie -- "Tekhaus" *is* a masterpiece, and a classic to boot.

I am absolutely amazed that the artist(s) were able to cram so much sound into 4 tiny little tracks. But then, this is the defining characteristic of the older 4-channel mods.

The opening fairly sizzles with a bouncy, instantly recognizable synth riff. If these tones don't make you want to get your boogie shoes on, you'd better check your heartbeat. The synth is followed by a hihat / bass drum riff, then some cool the-DJ-is-on-a-roll style voice samples. Somewhere around 1:40, a buzz-synth introduces a circular note buffer that -- with the exception of a few brief breathers -- keeps repeating over and over thoughout the remainder of the song. I hesitate to bring a fly into the ointment, but...I found the buzz-synth a teensy bit irritating, endlessly repeating the same four bars of notes. I wouldn't have minded that much had the artist(s) sliced the volume of the instrument by half. But hey, 9's across the board ain't nothing to sneeze at. I chalk the buzz synth up to artist boredom ("Am I done yet? Hmmmm..let me introduce this here instrument to liven things up....")

Oh yeah, this be some cool stuff, all right...gimme more!

I've played this thing a hundred times already -- I sh*t you not. (Ack! There goes me Christian image...) Wait, let me catch my breath...picture a one-eyed, one-legged pirate doing a jig around his bedroom, tripping over every noodle in sight...(Jumpin' cats! Pete's finally lost it!)

I am c-ah-RAAAAAY-zy about this mod!

(Pssst! Hey Pete, over here! Yeah, you .... how many other big one-eyed, one-legged dancing buffoons d'ye see around here?....Wait...whaddya doing with that pig-sticker there? Er, did I say *buffoon*? I mean BALOON! Now Pete, get back there...watch it lad...I'm gonna hafta take yer out...AUGGGHHHHHH!")

Sorry about that...hadda take care of a little narrator problem. Back to my review....

This song is 6 minutes and 40 seconds of pure, unadulterated FUN. "Resonator" sounds a lot like a few of the disco greats I'd give another leg to be able to recreate, sans the "oooh baby" sexist lyrics (Har! Boy howdy, now my age *really* be showing!). In fact, there's only a couple of lyrics -- "Ah...oh...ah...oh....ah....oh....wait....ah...." repeated over and over again. But what makes this kickass song so much fun and saves it from a "ho-hum" existence is the smashing, stomping, crashing, bumping, stumping, storming (Gee, how many ways can I SAY this??) beat that absolutely, positively, MUST be danced to unless you wanna tear your hair out in frustration (Don't worry, I've already done this long ago ;-)

The ending is out-STAND-ing! A perfect conclusion to an ALMOST perfect song -- by George, I can't think of a single 'ting I don't like about it, so this baby gets (you guessed it) 10's across the board!!!!!