SkyeWint's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Children's Overture]

Here is your personal review for round 2 of the NGADM! Keep in mind, this review will be harsher than the round 1 review! I will be poking at songs more in each consecutive round, because it will naturally be more difficult to advance.

The Good:
-Oh my gosh this reminds me so much of something that I can't remember. It's like the largest feeling of deja vu ever. Mainly the chords and staccato in the woodwinds.
-I love how you build up the piece, it's very nice.
-Personally, I don't think your samples are bad at all. Though since I don't make orchestral music and personally consider soundfonts to be adequate, that might not be the biggest compliment.
-The staccato in the woodwinds is something I don't normally hear in music.
-Mixing is fine by me.

The Not-So-Good:
-The development of the piece, while being a great buildup, really could either use some reiteration of the main melody toward the end or an extension and a drop of tension more than the sudden ending you had.
-The ending of this is... well, I'm sure you already know it - it's not too good. Could have used quite a bit of improvement.

Overall: I really really really like this. I think I'll give it a 8.8/10 if you promise to develop your song more, particularly giving a proper ending to it.

BlazingDragon responds:

I've had two different people tell me it sounds like the music from UP!, so I might have been subconsciously hearing that as I composed! I can't remember the music except from the fact that I loved it, so I'll need to go back and listen...

And yes, I definitely know about the ending. I had this epic idea in mind but could not figure out how to execute it for the life of me. After this contest is over, I plan on going back and giving this piece some TLC.

Thank you for the review! It is much appreciated.

[Child of the Trough NGADM]

Here is your personal review for round 2 of the NGADM! Keep in mind, this review will be harsher than the round 1 review! I will be poking at songs more in each consecutive round, because it will naturally be more difficult to advance.

The Good:
-Nice intro, and really nice chord progression in there.
-Mixing's fine. I really have no problems with it at all.
-Great humanised drums, like in the previous song.
-The arpeggios at 1:28-2:01 and 2:01-2:12 (yes, I separated them for a reason) are sweeeeet.
-I like the wahs you have on the guitars.
-Jazz/rock fusion is something I REALLY like.

The Not-So-Good:
-Ouch. The lack of good transitions at 2:01 and then later at 2:39, 4:19, around 4:50, around 5:15, and the outro hurt a lot. Of course, I'm a transition lover and think that they're the most important parts of a song, but still.
-I feel like this song is a technical display rather than a song since it doesn't have the vocals. There doesn't seem to be a cohesive idea through the whole song, so it kinda drags on and on without feeling like it has a point.

Overall: I really like this, I don't think it quite lives up to your round 1 song, but holy crap it's about 7 and a half minutes long? No wonder you didn't have time for the vocals. Might want to cut back on the length of your song for the next round so you can finish it! I'm giving this a 9/10. You can definitely do better.

P.S. I made this review before you added the vocals and extra guitars. So sorry for the comments about their absence. It's a bit more consistent with the vocals, and the extra guitar parts. However, I will comment a bit on them here - the overall quality of the vocals could have been improved, particularly at around the third set of lyrics. I'm also definitely not a fan of the growling. The outro is definitely better now, though it's still fairly boring.

Kor-Rune responds:

Thanks for the review!

Yeah, I agree about the boring outro, that's my least favorite part. I was so frustrated, I ended up giving up. I growl when I can't think of melodies LOL. I also agree that it was too long to finish within two weeks, too much is going on and the vocals were hard to squeeze time in for, since they take the longest. Therefore, they became rushed :C

Yes, this song is a technical display, you're right. I tried to compensate for lack of repeating ideas with the lyrics, but it still doesn't work. oh well I got the crowd pleaser arpeggios

Thank you for the review and constructive criticism! I know it's not the best I can come up with, so I'll try harder next round!

[Transcendence]

Whoah. Okay, when I started listening to this, the intro totally blew me away - I was not expecting it. I gotta review this one.

The Good:
-As you probably already figured out, that intro is absolutely amazing.
-Come to think of it, most of this is amazing - the quick synth stabs on the 3 of most measures sound really cool.
-The side chaining is well-placed.
-I absolutely love the percussion in this one, it's just *so* well-done, pattern-wise and effect-wise. Reverb coming in at 2:10-2:30
-This still has your glitchy style while going a bit more upbeat, as you said.
-There's a really nice amount of variation, and it shifts between themes at a pace that I really like.
-Transitions are good in this one.
-The outro sounds much better in this song than in some of your other songs - I think you're catching onto the idea that an outro is essentially just another transition. The only difference is it transitions to silence (or the beginning again if you're making a loop) rather than the next section.
-I have no complaints on the mixing - no clipping I can hear and everything is clear-sounding.

The Not-So-Good: Sadly, yes, it still has some not-so-good parts. :< Of course, that's natural. This has relatively few of them though compared to some of your older work, so honestly. REALLY nice job on this one.
-First of all, while there's a lot of variation, there could still be a bit more of a tune. As it is, there's some really amazing harmony with really slow chord melodies (for the most part).
-Second, the outro could still use a tiny bit of work. It's loads better and definitely works, but it's a little bit too sudden of a cutoff. There's not much you really need to do to fix this, fortunately - I think just having the bass do a drop, and *maybe* a kick come in right when the rest of it cuts off would be fine. You know, just a subtle little tail off the end rather than having EVERYTHING cut out there.
-Similar to the end, there's a second of silence at 0:40 which seems a bit awkward - might want to have something at really low volume be playing so it's not COMPLETE silence.

Overall: This is really great. I am seriously impressed. This is one of the best songs I've ever heard period - not just from you, but overall. I'm going to give this 5 stars in the review (which I rarely do) because it's that close to being the best song I've heard.

-Swint

RunningShadows responds:

Hey man,
Wow. In the top songs you've ever heard? I didn't think it was that great, but I am truly honored! I know you rarely give out 5 stars, so I am really glad you liked it so much.

I am glad you see the good I do. Balancing is one of the things I am proudest of in this one. It took soooo many hours. To the point where the song gets annoying because you've heard it so much.

I also really appreciate all of your criticisms. I agree. MELODY is my WEAKNESS. I can understand your other complaints as well. Thanks for being my toughest critic :). Your input really has helped me grow as an artist. I will check some of your stuff out soon to make up for your many helpful reviews.

Thanks,
Pugilator

[Pixelated Rainbow]

Well now. Even though we didn't have enough time to score this (Please post in the thread next time. :<), you should get reviews anyway. Sorry for taking so long. ^_^`

The Good:
-That's a sweet intro, I like it quite a bit!
-0:40 and 2:44! PIANO ARPS. YES.
-Transition at 0:49 is nice, along with the other times you use similar transitions.
-There's some background percussion I hear at 1:27 in my right ear, echoing to the left. It appears in other places, but that's the clearest I heard it.
-So many different melodies and ideas in this song, it sounds really cool.
-That ending is the best I've heard from round 1. Perhaps a *bit* sudden, but it works great!
-Love the little bell melodies. They're quite cute.
-Also good use of pitch slides.

The Not-So-Good:
-Sounds like there's some mixing issues in my right ear at about 1:13-0:16 as the filter moves up.
-...please, please, please, please, PLEASE vary that drumline a bit more. It pretty much never changes throughout the entire song. :(
-The bassline barely changes either.
-As much as I like this overall, the main synths are a bit harsh after listening to this for more than once or twice.
-Almost the entire second half of the song seems like it was pretty much copy/pasted from the first half. Me no likey. More variation, please.

Overall: I actually really like this. It's definitely a break from the stuff that was in the rest of round 1. If I were scoring this for the contest, I think I'd give it a 8.7, which would be my third highest score. Keep up the good work, and I think you'll win, or get close!

[This is where it ends]

Here is your personal review for your round 1 submission! Remember that the score might be a little lower than I would normally give, I'm being a tad harsher than I'd normally be for the NGADM.

The Good:
-This is actually really catchy. The organ and bassy synth with the drums sounds pretty nice, as does the second section with the strings and organ.
-Mixing is fine.

The Not-So-Good:
-Yeah, you already know, it's not finished. I'll leave this point at that and say nothing more about it.
-At around 0:22-0:25, the organ seems a bit random and the tune could have been improved.
-I suppose I will be forced to say one last thing about it not being finished - even if it's not finished, there could have been a slightly better ending. Something to close it off, at least.

Overall: As much as I like it and wish I could have given you a better score, the most I can give is a 3/10. Sorry. :<

FairSquare responds:

It's okay. This piece of music deserves no more :p
And perhaps you're right about giving it an ending, but i just became frustrated with this track and decided it didn't even deserve an 'ending' (because even if i gave it an ending, the track wouldn't be finished or anything, so it wouldn't feel like a real ending).
Thanks for the review!

[timeslip]

Here is your personal review for your round 1 submission! Remember that the score might be a little lower than I would normally give, I'm being a tad harsher than I'd normally be for the NGADM.

The Good:
-That is a nice guitar, that's a nice bass, and that's a nice drumkit.
-I'm putting the saxophone separate because it's awesome. That has a really natural sound.
-The composition is pretty cool, some jazzy influences and other awesome ideas in it.
-Mixing is pretty good.

The Not-So-Good:
-The drumkit, while sounding natural, also doesn't sound overly good with the snare hits at 0:23-0:34 (and similar places), as if it were recorded in a room with pretty crappy acoustics. Another problem with the drumkit is that the kick is really hard to hear initially, it's so far in the background that it's almost invisible. Eventually it does get better, fortunately.
-There's no change in feel, it could use a bit more variation in the type of ideas.

Overall: I really enjoyed this. It has a very nice, calm, groovy feel. Also, the instruments are played pretty darn well, I feel like you actually played them yourself. If you did, then you're talented at playing instruments. If you didn't, then you're talented at making instruments realistic. I'll give this an 8/10, one of my top 6 scores this round (two were tied for 8, so).

acmeDyne responds:

I definitlely would like to redo the whole drum part, compositionally and mixing-wise.
Honestly, it was thrown on haphazardly in the last minutes before the deadline.
Thanks for reviewing!

[under siege (ngadm)]

Here is your personal review for your round 1 submission! Remember that the score might be a little lower than I would normally give, I'm being a tad harsher than I'd normally be for the NGADM.

The Good:
-You used some synths, so your instrumentation is more diverse than most metal. Nice!
-The guitar playing is pretty good.
-I liked how your song wasn't REALLY REALLY LOUD like most heavy metal songs are.

The Not-So-Good:
-Your snare is WAY too loud, particularly in comparison to the kick. The kick is a bit too soft, put a tiny bit more punch in it and bring the snare down.
-Also concerning mixing, try amping things up a little bit. Remember to use equalizers to lower frequencies that overlap between instruments and compressors to bring down the obnoxious loud frequencies. If you want to keep dynamic range, don't do makeup gain on the whole thing, but rather put gain on everything overall if you really need it.
-You need an actual outro... just letting it end isn't all that good.

Overall: The mixing on this is pretty crap, but if you could get the mixing to be better, I think you would definitely have a good song, and would be able to do more. As it is, I'll give you a 6.7/10 and say that I'm doing this because I think you have more potential than Demon-Slayer... IF you improve your mixing. Look up some tutorials if need be.

[What's Ahead (NGADM 1)]

Here is your personal review for your round 1 submission! Remember that the score might be a little lower than I would normally give, I'm being a tad harsher than I'd normally be for the NGADM.

The Good:
-Okay, your composition is wonderful, and you have an obvious talent for that.
-I love the organ and the carefully crafted background behind it, it truly does fit the atmosphere for your 'story'.
-The flute and pizzicato sound wonderful.

The Not-So-Good: "I bet they'll say "Percussion! Reverb!" =P"
-Well, since you apparently want it... Percussion! Reverb! :D Honestly though, you're half right about that. I'll go for the percussion first - There's really a lack of it in the song. While it's not REALLY needed, it definitely would have been nice to have more. The snare I hear starting at 0:38 would have been wonderful if it had been brought out with a few more rolls and flourishes, and a big bass drum thumping away would have been nice too, though alternatively you could have had a kick sounding more like a heartbeat to increase tension.
-Now, "Reverb!" No, just kidding. The reverb is actually fine IMO. However, instead, I'm poking at the other EXTREMELY problematic thing - the mixing. Your composition on this is awesome, but I can't hear it! D: Honestly, I have to REALLY strain to hear anything. Remember, many instruments together will have clashing frequencies. Try using a spectrometer and a parametric EQ to lower the frequencies that are loudest in all of them. The spectrometer can help with finding these frequencies. Also, you can use a compressor to take out really high annoying frequencies, though for orchestral music DON'T USE MAKE-UP GAIN.

Overall: I don't have much to say about this, actually (even though I typed a ridiculous amount there). There are only two problems I can really comment about, though if the mixing were fixed I'd undoubtedly have more. Unfortunately, the extremely poor mixing kills the great composition, and so I'm going to have to give this a 4/10.

CheckeredZebra responds:

That's fair enough! Everything I've done here is basically self taught, including the software itself. I've read step's review and now know what to at least LOOK for. I've always had trouble with volume, heheh.

Thanks for this, it was pretty helpful, and paired with the other review here I can definitely -attempt- to solve some of these issues. That's a lot to step up on in only two weeks, though. =P

EDIT: Also, all those rolls are done manually. Literally as SOON AS I SUBMITTED I found exactly what I wanted. Ohwell, until next time. xD