Pirate Pete's Page of MOD Reviews

I think I'm finally beginning to understand what it is about Rebel Riffs' stuff that attracts me so much--these guys consistently write kick-[the nether regions] drum lines (hey, I'm a *Christian* Privateer, remember? ;-). This track is no exception. I've got a sneaking suspicion that one or more of Rebel Riffs (or all of them) are professional musicians masquerading as poor lowly mod musicians like the rest of us... *8^)

But seriously, folks, all of RR's tracks are professionally produced, and it makes you wonder when Rebel Riffs are going to go the way of Moby, the mod artist who turned pro in a big way a couple of years back, eclipsing his contemporaries. Heck, if *I* were a music producer, I'd have Riffs on the first plane to New Yawk in a heartbeat. Their music is IN, it's NOW, it's WITH IT, it's [insert your favorite "cool" synonym here]....

"All Messed Up" may be a bit "tamer" than the standard Riff fare, but by no means is it any less *enjoyable*. The bass line just drives me wild (arrr, calm yerself, Pete..I think I see the lads in white coats be headed yer way..). The drum lines are superb. Ack, if I heap any more praise on this ting I'm gonna start turning GREEN (with envy)....grab this song, ye blasted bilge barnacle! What are yer waitin' fer? *8^)

Strongly Oriental in nature (more Mideast than Far East), "Oblivion" may grate heavily on most Western ears, yet there is simple elegance here, and harmony too (in a twisted fashion typical of Clones musics).

I have no idea what scales are being used here, nor, for that matter, could I identify a key signature. But despite the perceived lack of tonal structure (which is not to say it does not exist, merely that my untrained ear is incapable of detecting one), "Oblivion" does have its moments, particularly in the atmosphere department. Listening to the song, I found myself transported to some exotic world, like something in a Frank Frazzetta painting (you know, the guy who does the Conan paintings, with nubile females, hell-spawned monsters, and all men with bodies like Schwarzenegger). "Oblivion" would be good as a background piece for a movie like "Blade Runner" or perhaps even "2001".

As usual for Clones musics, the real artistry becomes evident when you look under the hood. Using Impulse Tracker, I found "Oblivion's" main strength to be the technical wizardry underpinning the piece. The love and care given to this mod during the creation process is all too evident.

By me beard, this be one beautiful mod. It's well worth the large download size (2 Mb, compressed by .ITZ format). The artists write in the sample comments, "You won't believe but it took us more than ninety (92!!!) hours to complete this one." I believe it, and then some. The hard work that went into this piece is only too evident.

Composed of two major movements, "A Step to the Stars" is a wonderful blend of high-quality instruments which the artists skillfully blend in well together to form a tightly-knit little harmony. I especially enjoyed the skillfully laid out drum tracks; this is not your typical bass +snare + hihat riff laid out in haphazard fashion -- the percussion in this piece was well designed and perfectly timed.

Much as I enjoy ModPlug, you simply MUST listen to this song in ImpulseTracker! It is I N C R E D I B L E ! To convert the song from .ITZ (which IT doesn't understand) to IT, simply load the song in ModPlug and click the "Save As" button (thamk you, Olivier Lapicque for this wonderful feature!)

The ethereal bells and haunting chord progressions of this mod reminds me of "Don't Cry" by FBY (even though FBY used violins as the primary instrument) [note: the sample comments give credit to FBY for one sample; I wonder -- were the artists influenced by Fabio's style? I think so].

I found the piece to be a bit shy tune-wise. Although all of the requisite parts are in place to classify this as "techno"--plenty of percussion, synth and voice samples in just the right places--to make this a good club beat, at least IMO, there needed to be a more definitive melody line interwoven throughout, not necessarily something you can walk down the street whistling, but at the very least the semblance of a strain of a melody line that sticks with you.

Still, if you're a techno fan, this is an enjoyable listen.

But wait, you ask, if I love this song so much why didn't it get a 10? I gave it a technical rating of 7 because of the overamping effect of the brass samples (one sample played across multiple channels so that the sound level produces distortion). But, since this was only noticeable in Impulse Tracker, I did not take points away from all of the other rating categories, which are based solely on how the module sounds in ModPlug; as to the other ratings (8 instead of 10), I asked myself, "How often would I listen to this on a regular basis?" Because I'm primarily into techno/dance/house, the answer was, "not often."

"Jesus Loves Me" had 3 seductive female voice samples--"Do you love me?", "I love you" and "Do you love me too?" Try as I might, I just couldn't attach the words or the voice to an image of Jesus. What my black piratical heart envisioned was a typical club/dance floor scene, with wildly gyrating bodies filled with high-energy sexuality, where folks are more interested in giving in to their carnal desires than expressing their love for the Lord.

It almost seemed to me that the artist wanted to have the best of both worlds--a light nod of recognition to Christians, while at the same time trying to cater to the secular world with a sensual, erotic piece which would be popular in almost any dance club around the world. Not that I mind--far from it; dance is one of my favorite types of music. But with a title like "Jesus Loves Me", I expect much more than the standard "bump and grind"; give me something that will both *inspire* me AND keep my feet a ' tapping. It can be done--it has been done by others--and with a little work and an examination of the artist's motives (who is the intended audience? If the audience is strictly dance aficionados, forget the extra effort and simply change the title; if Christians AND dance aficionados, some rework is necessary), this mod could meet both objectives.

In "Under", Rhino presents us with an intriguing opening sequence--he begins with a slow ambient breakbeat, which seques smoothly into a hyperfast Hi-NRG riff for a couple of bars, followed by an abrupt change into the main Dance / Techno beat that takes your breath away with its purity and clean beats.

The track is what I would call Euro-dance--nothing I can put my finger on, per se, but there's a certain *je ne c'est quoi* which European dance music seems to have, as distinguished from American dance music. Whatever you want to call it, this tune rocks--or rather *shimmies*--yer socks off (and other varied articles of clothing, if ye be of a mind)!

I'm enamored of the female vocals in this track, which remind me of the group Philly Beats. Although not all of the words are unclear, the meaning is crystal--"Rock the house (dance yer butt off!)" In some dance mods, the composer tends to overuse vocals, but Rhino holds back, giving us just a pinch for flavoring, letting the main tune carry us through to the end.

And of course, the hypnotic, thumping beat and right catchy tune leads me by the nose (though I be a pirate, I don't wear a nose-ring like Omar the Magnificent used to...until the Cap'n yanked it off, complete with half the poor sod's nose!) through the twisty little passages of this track. I'm particularly fond of the rave piano chord/rave organ progressions which serve as perfect counterpoint to the enticing vocals and smooth percussion line.

And, you guessed it--This little baby is headed straight for my Top 100 (I'm about 70% finished with it, so be patient!) Great job, Rhino!

This artist takes no prisoners -- he gets out there on the dance floor, does his business, then steps gracefully out. He doesn't waste time with needless mewling intros or other flash-in-the-pan: when DJKiKe is the artist of a mod, you come to expect a certain level of quality. "The One" delivers for me, both in style (Dance), mode of attack (zip, zap, zup, buddy if you ain't movin', you're either deaf or dead).

I don't know if the woman in the voice samples is Sharon Giselle (of "Trance of Heaven" fame, one of DJKiKe's earlier works), but it kind of sounds like her. Machts nichts...this is one hoppin' mod, no matter who's doing the singing...with DJKiKe at the helm, you can be sure the finished product will whet yer appetite fer kickin' pirate musics!

This is another tune in my "right catchy" category. Relaxing, yet still retaining enough energy to lift the spirits of its listeners and drive them to the dance floor in a mad, lemming-like dash, I find "Enhanced" to be a subdued piece, just right for a laid-back mod-o-phile's consumption.

The opening bass line lulls you into a comforting semi-slumber, but all of a sudden you find yourself assailed by the whoop-wup-whoop-wup of a techno bass drum which titillates your inner ear and makes you grab your partner (or the first available sentient being from Proxima Centauri).

The middle of the piece buoys your spirits with its echoey piano/synth arpeggios and rat-tat-tat-a-tat-tat wood block/stick effect. I found the closing to be a tad bit abrupt, but hell, with grades like these, who's counting negatives? The rest of the song more than makes up for it.

Let me put it this way--8 minutes and 13 seconds of pure bliss...

Okay, I think ye be catchin' my drift by now..."Into the Light" has got to be *the best mod I've listened to thus far* -- move over, Outlaw, Rayden's masterpiece has just nudged you out of first place--well, maybe. ("Ack, ptoo!", I hear you all gasp with one breath. "Better'n 'Down from Heaven'? G'wan, ye silly Pirate, yer pulling our legs...") T'is true, me buckos, t'is true. Hard for me to believe as well, but...there it is. I'll be fightin with myself (hmmm...wonder who's gonna win? *8^)) over the first two slots in my Top 10 list. The two songs("Down from Heaven" and "Into the Light") are in a dead-heat, right now. It's gonna take some hard concentration and a measure of the Wisdom of Solomon to separate them.

I positively love the opening in "Light". Rayden uses a gradual crescendo of instruments to introduce a short piano melody which sustains the entire melody like a carrier wave in a CB transmission. He segues gracefully into the main techno groove, introducing more instruments and sub-themes as he goes along, each following a haunting Fm-A#m-Dmaj/Ddim chord progression.

When we're finally allowed to feast on the main course, Rayden pulls out all of the stops, exploding into a 4-on-the-floor bass riff with bass guitar back that knocks your socks off (I especially dug the metal pole line woven into the bass drum line).

He holds back, delaying the major theme by teasing us with a minor variation of the main piano melody. Then, when it suits his purpose, Rayden lets loose with all he's got. The main theme reappears in all its glory, resplendent in its new accoutrements, bringing down the house with its power and majestic explosions of sonic intensity that bend yer mind like silly putty.

(Take a breath, Pete...take a deeeep breath) Well, hell. This is one fine composition, lads & lasses. Better batten down yer hatches afore ye start this one up, otherwise yer deck will be awash with yer tears as ye begin to realize it wasn't *ye* who thought this baby up.

Rayden, you de man! I may be the best privateer there is (and I'll carve the gizzards of any swabbie who sez otherwise), but Rayden is, fer my doubloons at least, the bestest in the Westest as far as composing Ambient Techno (don't pout, Outlaw and Moby, yer still my favorites, too!).

Let me put it *this* way...I'm thinking of moving to Sweden -- if this is the kind of stuff their musicians put out (MiCa is from Sweden--or at least he was when he released this mod), then I'm gonna go move next to Maestro MiCa (not to intimate that *my* tracking skills are on a par with MiCa's--heh, heh--but I gotta move closer so I'll be the first to catch his next release!)

Eep -- how to begin? Expecially after my gushing review of Rayden's "Into the Light"?

Well, for starters. Rayden's mod is Ambient Techno, utilizing an ambient synth in its opening, whereas MiCa's mod is Dance through and through, chock full of bass guitar riffs, stomping drum sequences, and echoey lead synth lines.

Lacking the technical skills to *really* do justice to this mind-boggling piece of ear candy, I'll try instead to describe it in cinematic terms.

"You're All the Same" sounds like the opening / end title credits to a Tom Clancy superspy thriller. Every time I play this mod, I can see the leading man as clear as day: Thirty-something, six-even, athletic, strong, chiseled features, cool, suave, debonair, and an abolute rakehelly with the women. By gorry, I even see the lad's name: Dirk the Daring (all ladies in the audience please refrain from fainting...)

Let's see, this is much fun...I'll extrapolate the storyline...the mission, should our man accept it, is to find and disarm a nuclear weapon that was stolen from NATO HQ by three semi-sentient beings from the general vicinity of Mizar 9 (subcontinent Gruen). The beings, known collectively as the YxTlllPxK, have holed up in the maintenance room in the lower sub-level of the East End Mall in Lower South London (help me out here, Riffs--I'm reaching...you know London a *whole* lot better'n I do...) Along the way, our hero encounters a ferocious gang earthbound YxTlllPxKians, (cleverly disguised as London accountants), who pursue Dirk the Daring as he races to the East End Mall to confront the terrorists, who have threatened to nuke London and every sentient species in a 7 mile radius....Oh my, I could go on, and on....but I'll spare ye all and simply say, either ye check out this magnificent creation, or I'll send a gang of wild-eyed kangaroo rats your way (which, of course, everyone with even a modicum of sense knows, is a horrific threat)...

Just curious, MiCa, but which of the following scenarios below (if any) is closest to the original meaning of the title in relation to your masterpiece?:

o A woman, to all men in general, for some perceived offence: "You men, you're all the same!"

o A man, to all women in general, for the same reason: "You women, you're all the same!"

o A musician, to all his/her listeners, who never truly seem to appreciate his/her work:

"You listeners: You're all the same!"

o A sailor to the landlocked: "You landlubbers, you're all the same!" (Just *had* to toss that one in.

I realize there are hundreds of variations which also apply (with the exception of expressions of disgust directed towards the denizens of Rigel IV, who are immune to that sort of thing), but what

was your original meaning of the title?

Whatever it was, I'm naming my next male child after you! [Whap! Oh, sorry dear, of *course* I'm just blathering here...]

I agree with the artist regarding the fascinating plot line (about a guy named "KAI-ser SOH-zay" [sorry about the phonetic spelling, but I'm not good at Polish/Czech/Rumanian names] who wreaks havoc on a few naughty fellows caught in his spell of intrigue and criminal behavior)--I saw it a few times myself.

The ambience of this piece fits the movie like a glove. I love the "scratchy record" sample, which gives the mod a unique mystery dimension. Setec sets up a suspenseful opening and maintains the tension throughout the piece. While not my favorite type of music, once I got into the music, I found it a highly enjoyable listen. As Setec says in his notes, you need to be patient with this mod; it isn't obvious at all from the opening where its going, but the payoff is tremendous, especially if you enjoyed the movie.

I also enjoyed the quote from the movie in the comments. It's Kevin Spacey saying, "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world that he didn't exist." Good tie in with the title.