2013-12-01 1:41:00 ¶ ●

By Robert J! Lake

It’s a pretty little synth tune. Bouncy, cheerful, and deceptively simple, at least for the first minute or so.

2013-12-01 4:20:00 ¶ ●

By Malcolm Brown

The dropped-pitch tubular bell intro (the same motif as Stellarum Salve) falls away in a hurry, in exchange for a heavy metal guitar jam. It meanders on from there, from high shrieking electro-thrash (1:20) to a calm, echoey bridge (2:00), to a gothic synth march, complete with chanting (2:30 on). The whole track foreshadows Eternity Served Cold a bit in tone.

2013-12-10 1:40:00 ¶ ●

Arranged and composed by Clark “Plazmataz” Powell. Original ‘Crystalanthemums’ melody by Alexander Rosetti, 'Endless Climb,’ 'Doctor,’ 'Explore’ melodies by George Buzinkai, and 'Atomyk Ebonpyre’ by Toby “Radiation” Fox.

What a way to kick things off: a long crescendo from a deep strings section that echoes Endless Climb. That’s followed by a tease of a few more memorable tunes, all backed by those same strings and a forceful percussion beat.

That percussion line is best featured at the 4:25 mark, where the toms really take over (Plazmataz must have brought Ron Bushy in as a studio musician for that one).

2013-12-12 4:02:00 ¶ ●

By Clark “Plazmataz” Powell

A return to the energy of the album’s start: this composition is similar to Overture, if not quite a continuation. It features a fanfare version of Homestuck, and though it’s neat to hear the melody treated a little differently, I think it works a little better on the more low-key side.

2013-12-14 4:02:00 ¶ ●

By Clark “Plazmataz” Powell

The strummed mandolin in the first half inspires visions of calm Mediterranean beaches. The second half skews a little more cheerful, shifting the scene to Caribbean shores with a bit of calypso rhythm. With a pretty strong honorable mention to Rain, this one’s my top track for the album.

2013-12-21 4:01:00 ¶ ●

By Thomas Ferkol

I like the intro, where it sounds as though half the melody is played by the not-quite random whim of the wind through a set of chimes. And the give-and-take between ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ and Sburban Jungle fits well.

2013-12-22 4:02:00 ¶ ●

By Mark Hadley

A nice, solid, jazz quartet cover of the old standard. It’s my second favorite version of this particular song (a lot of terrorists have to die before my favorite version can play, though it’s somewhat similar in feel to this track).

2013-12-23 4:03:00 ¶ ●

By Toby “Radiation” Fox

I’m a fan of Carefree Victory, even though it’s on the short side and not much more than a fanfare. This track fleshes it out a little more and wraps a counter-melody around it, all for the better.

2013-12-30 4:02:00 ¶ ●

By Mai Yishan (Catboss)

Of the three mega-medleys arranged for each of the LOFAM albums, this one’s my favorite by far.

The first two (MeGaDanceVaNia off of LOFAM 1 and Dance-Stab-Dance off of LOFAM 2) are really frantic and sort of muffle the melodies with crazy, spastic, techno-rave-apocalypse energy. This newest track, though, is energetic but not rushed. The percussion isn’t so booming and dominating, there’s little quiet breaks here and there, and the meter is just a little slower.

These little tweaks give each individual piece of the tune a little more space to shine. And the melodies are quite well done to boot. I like this one a lot.

2013-12-31 4:01:00 ¶ ●

By David “Dirtiest” Dycus

Ultra-light glockenspiel (?) set against a lead electric guitar straight out of the 80’s. The chiptune bridge starting around 1:10 makes for a fun break in the middle.