I wanted to create something fast and agressive with a lot of amphasis on punchy kicks and a rough bass. The goal was to try and keep the energy high at all times and to slow down as little as possible.
(Note to Star: I split everything into individual sheets to make reviews easier. If you want to review it that is)
Dem glissandos.
Thanks for the feature! <3
Love it! Thanks for the critique guys! Always a pleasure to read what you guys have to say.
I’ll try to be better next time Kraw! 
Limit Breaker Review
Star and Kraw
Thoughts on first listen:
WOO NEW HELLSTICK SONG HYPE. Love how Hellstick is literally are trying to be the first guy to unironically use every sample in notessimo in a song. Also these freaking builds wtf man. Only Hellstick can make a complete clusterfuck sound coherent. Admittedly, the song seems very straightforward even a minute and thirty seconds in. Ah yes the chords section from the teaser trailer (or unfinished version). I can already tell how this review is going to go, so as a spoiler, it starts off rigidly and repetitively builds to an amazing crescendo (how’d I do?). Also the song is remarkably brief.
Right off the bat I can say this song isn’t amazing similar to Midnight Rush, at least in the melody category. It hits an amount of repetition uncharacteristic of Hellstick songs, and ultimately this and a lack of mid-tones (sure, there are some, but as I’ll explain later, it was the high and bass tones that really took over, and there definitely needed to be some countermelodies or harmony lines or something). Probably the best part of this song is the transition then the first few seconds of each section thereafter. Once you get passed those sections, there really isn’t that much more to the song that makes it interesting. I do, however, think the length makes this less of an issue, but even with it, it still feels lackluster.
Times displayed are in minutes:seconds format
Section 1 (0:00 - 0:19): (3.5) (4.5)
Time to break out the old standby, simplistic. Simplistic, simplistic, simplistic. I overuse this word to describe these kinds of sections because there isn’t a better one, but in referencing the critique for Midnight Rush, I found that it especially applies to Hellstick intros for some reason (I used it twice in talking about the intro in separate paragraphs). The way I used it then and now implies that there is something more I expect of the intros, though they are serviceable in their own right. The notable things are the reuse of filters (which I approve of), which create an interesting dichotomy with the next section, and, this being a Hellstick song, the effects. Without these effects (and I did take them out for comparison), the intro becomes unbearably bland, however to me this is more akin to using a band-aid than fixing the root issue. The riser in the latter-half is more of a help, which leads me to believe a third melodic instrument may have been helpful. But I digress, the intro is short and fleeting, and accomplishes its task adequately, if unremarkably.
Star is being a little too harsh on this section in my opinion. An intro does not necessarily have to be amazing, just allow you to get ready to hear the first section of the song. Anything extra here would’ve been unnecessarily complex and I feel as if it’s almost perfect in transitioning to the next section. I have few qualms with this section, only that we see the usual Hellstick tropes: Synth Voice Aah Buildups and uninspired snare rolls. The drumming (besides the snare roll) is effective and conveys the speed of the song well for the next section. I also really like the Taiko and Bass at the beginning of the section to put some atmosphere, but it’s too obvious when it ends, the fade out is too short.
Section 2 (0:20 - 0:58): (4.25) (5)
I love the aggressive feeling here, the hard-and-fast kicking really suit the song’s tone and add a sense of brevity. I’ll deduct some points because I thought the door-creaking effect was grating and seemed forced, which is offset by the extremely creative work with the rimshot (who knew granular sampling was possible in notessimo?). And the simple addition of the synth strings really helps tide me over until the more complex build ups start working (which is what I was referring to in the previous section, about needing some third thing). It’s minor (both the chord and the instruments effect) but it really does wonders instilling a sense of tension and apprehension with minimal effort.
Sure, it starts off bland, but damn I love this section. The door-creak is absolutely amazing, and complements the rimshot perfectly. Measure 80’s singular door creak, a kind of anti-melody (not countermelody) in sections 88-89. Then at measure 90 the silence with rimshot alone to hit hard in the second half of the measure. If I had any complaints, it would be the synth string chord doesn’t last long enough, making a lot of this section just a bass and sound effect.
Section 3 (0:58 - 1:28): (4) (3.5)
I love a self-fulfilling prophecy, because here comes the ultimate and most holy of words a Notessicritic ever uses: REPETITIVE :D. The release of energy here feels unwarranted given that we already spent the first minute of a three and a half minute song just listening to the intro building up only to seemingly lose the plot. Using a low-pass filter instead of reusing the high-pass in the intro is a decent way to combat this feeling, but once the energy starts building up again within 10 seconds of its release, I have to question whether or not this wouldn’t have worked just as well if it had been switched with the first section (with some tweaks I’d wager). I will say that the chords give you something new to focus on, which is appreciated, and as a buildup, this is the most committed and fully realized thus far.
I don’t feel any repetition here. I think this section is pretty effective at building up for the next section. Sure, we just listened to intro only to release energy here, but it feels warranted because the last section had run its course. Now the chords that were previously given little limelight in the last section are brought to the forefront. The crescendo of synth strings works well until the last two phrases of it, where it just doesn’t work (m140-145). Not sure why 145 is building down, this section itself is a buildup. What this section is missing, even though it isn’t particularly repetitive, is some rhythmic diversity such as what m132-133 and m140-141 did. It isn’t a good section, it holds its place, but doesn’t properly buildup.
Section 4 (1:28 - 1:47): (4.25) (1)
I said there was no repetition in the last section, but all of this section is purely repetition. It transitions badly into it from the previous section (just sounds strange). I would just remove this section, maybe swap out the last 2 measures in this one with section 3’s. This section adds nothing and is skippable: unusual for a Hellstick song.
Krawkyz is being too harsh here, this section is actually my favorite in the song so far. All the best elements from previous sections converge here for a last hurrah before the crescendo (those being the driving beat, better without filters from section 2, the creative rim shot effect, along with the riser introduced in section 3, which acts as a nice foreground, even lead synth for the section.
Section 5 (1:47 - 2:16): (4.5) (4)
Crowbar. A song with a long intro and the last half of the song is the chorus. This song emulates that very well, and has a similar structure. It even has the fast grating of the rimshot, similar to the very high pitch Open Hi-Hat #2 from v2. I really love the transition (m180-187). The tempo slowed down, but not a continuous, linear slowdown. It was…organic feeling. The melody is okay, better than Tarrasque but nowhere near something like Crowbar or Midnight Rush. The concert choir is completely drowned out here by the high Synth strings (where the octaves aren’t mid, as they just add texture to the highest note) and bass. I should mention here I love the ding at the end of the section with the cowbell+marimba+woodblock. It works well, even previously.
Ah yes, the eargasmic chordal section. I really have to contain my emotions while writing here, as it’s tempting to simply gush out my inner awe at the brilliance of the…well you get the point. This is how a release of energy and subsequent buildup should be accomplished. The creativity here is astounding, both the tempo slowing during the beginning and the pitch slides throughout sound absolutely flawless, and the hesitant silence and the end is just the perfect transition into the subsequent section. I have no suggestions or critiques on how this could have been better executed.
Section 6 (2:16 - 3:00): (4.5) (3)
This is where the problems with this song are really highlighted. This entire section sounds like it’s missing something. An amazing rhythmic melody, awesome sound effects, some backing melody lines, really good progression, drooling pitch bends, perfect filters, great backing bass, significantly effective phrase transitions (I’m running out of synonyms for “good,” ok?), but all the while missing that mid-tone range. The backing chords try to give some sense of it, but this section would’ve really benefitted from some sort of countermelody. It just…feels like it’s missing something, it’s hard to explain. Compare it to Crowbaw (I know, I shouldn’t compare 2 completely different songs, but I am), where the chorus is significant and hitting, while here it falls flat and the only thing making up for it are the phrase transitions.
Finally, we get to the drop. This is the uncontested high-point of the song, everything has lead to this moment where finally, the tension is released into an explosion of rhythmic chords and a hard beat. Here, as well, is where all of the little details really come together in support of the section, keeping you on your toes and making sure that, despite essentially being a simple 4-chord pattern that repeats 9 times, the word repetition is nowhere to be found. Again, I wouldn’t recommend any changes.
Section 7 (3:00 - 3:21): (3) (4)
Basically it’s the intro with some added effects from the song previously. Nothing astonishing, just an okay ending. If there had been some sort of countermelody previously, it could resolve here, but I guess that’s not really a complaint. It’s just…the intro! Alright? Ya, it’s nothing remarkable, but it isn’t bad!
I have to say, I’ve always hated sections like these personally (I prefer to end the songs after the drop, so that the listener is left with that as their final impression of the song). I’ll give it some points back since I’m obviously biased to my own compositional style and the fact that this is one of two places (the other being section 5) where the rhythmic door creaking into a single bell hit works really well.
Closing Thoughts
I feel like I was really harsh on this song. I feel like for a Hellstick song it feels average We know that Hardstyle is possible, look at Crowbar! This song is just an inferior version of Crowbar. They both have similar structures, the only difference that this one tries to be much more HARD in hardstyle rather than STYLE. It has a significant portion of the song feeling lost and has some poor sections, unorthodox for Hellstick.
Average Rating: 3.57/5
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
Final Thoughts:
A lot of my personal gripes with the song are more than made up for with what I feel are the fantastic climaxing sections (5 and 6), however I do feel there was some missed opportunities. The song is incredibly quick and brief, and yet things still feel repetitive in sections 3 and 4. To me, that speaks to problems with pacing and overall structure, whereas compositionally the song is pretty good. And it can never be understated, but the standards Hellstick has when it comes to utilizing interesting effects in creative ways to make otherwise boring sections sound full of life is on full display here in every section of the song.
Score Average: 4
Weighted Score: 4.44/5 or 8.88/10
It’s things like this that led everyone to believe Hillary Clinton would become our next president >:3
How did you read the review before it was posted?
I’m guessing they made some changes and decided to reupload it in a new post or something. Either that or i’m a wizard.
Jesus Christ, Kansei. Did you really have to go ham?
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