There are a couple of things I really like in this one, most notably the way that fuzzy riff kinda fades in and out early on, which is a great effect. Unfortunately the song as a whole kinda gave me a bit of a headache, that rhythm is so insistent and pounding and I don't find the result very enjoyable, or particularly interesting compared to some of the other implementations of the challenge.

Shadows:

Muse fused with Puce mixed with something that I stepped in, is what I think of every time I think of the words "Max Bombast", so please blame Glenn for that. But then again, so much Muse! The riff is badass, the solo was not so much, but again, this song felt like it needed another section or something to bring it down so you could really blast off, I don't know, I just felt like it got to a level and stayed there. It's like, maybe to really feel max bombast I want there to be more bits of, sort of, slightly less bombast? I mean, they'll always have the intensity of course, but like, totally quiet intensity like the look in a tiger's eyes before a big pounce to finish off its prey. Bombast 4eva!

I like the way you incorporated the alarm beep as part of the challenge, and your approach to the challenge felt confident and fluid. Well performed, you kept the various elements crisp and tense. Good energy in the vocals, suitable for the frantic feel of this track, and the falsetto harmonies are excellent, but I will say I wasn’t a huge fan of the low growly “I”/”A”(scending)/”De”(scending) vocal delivery in the first prechorus, partly because I just didn’t find it very appealing to listen to, but more because it places emphasis on the wrong spot in those words/sentences and I found myself wondering why you were emphasizing it. In theory, I thought it was fun to do a sequel to someone else’s song, but in practice I ended up feeling like I had heard basically this whole exact song before... the music, arrangement, and instrumentation is all very much in your comfort zone, and then I feel like the verse melody quotes “Space Oddity” (“shining green and blue” = “really made the grade”), and the lyrical content didn’t feel fresh to me either, since the idea came directly from Grumpy Mike’s “Rear Window” with a dash of Planet of the Apes thrown in there. (YMMV, I know Ben said he loves space opera stuff so I would anticipate that not particularly bothering him, but we’ll see.) I liked the use of the ship’s voice to give a brief little break from the relentless rhythm and introduce the solo section, and the little heartbeat detail at the end.