This review covers the hardstyle track Frontliner & Seri – Rains of Fire.
This track was released in 2014 as a single.
The track starts off with a kick. From there, a number of synths come in to build the track up. Some of those synths are sidechained. After this, the drop hits, leaving only a subtle synth.
From there, the track does begin to build up with the vocals. Additional snare and synths are added to help build the track back up. From there, the track switches to the main melody.
After this, the track breaks down, leaving only the vocal elements which make a return. Synth elements help build the track back up. After some effects, the main synth melody returns and is eventually joined by the main vocals.
There is some additional synth, a final build-up, and the track just leads out normally.
What I will say is that the vocals are probably the strongest part of the track. They work very well by themselves. My question for this track is if the vocals actually fit the genre. Euphoric vibes can be mixed down into a hardstyle track for sure. The question for me here is if it worked this time around. In this case, I’m not entirely sure on it.
Part of the problem here might be the main melody used. It is OK in my view, but it seems like the track pretty much emphasizes the vocals and everything else was built around it as an afterthought. So, probably the question for me is if hardstyle sounds don’t quite fit, what will? The answer that pops into my head is either hard trance or uplifting trance.
The production quality is good and the way it flows is nice. I think the effects added to it work quite well.
Generally speaking, this track does have a lot going for it. There are a lot of aspects that make this track worth listening to. I think the vocals wind up being a bit out of place for the genre is all. While I have heard euphoric vibes successfully mixed down into a hardstyle track, I’m not sure it is quite as successful here. A solid effort, but not exactly as mindblowing after a few listens.
Score
7/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
