SkyeWint's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Sacrifice - Megakill]

Alright, here we go...

Time for a bit of composition advice. There's not much I can say about the mixing other than that I can't hear any problems with it. :P The instruments are also all high-quality, and I really enjoyed the thunder sounds.

Unfortunately, while the mixing is top-notch, there is literally almost nothing in the composition. I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm saying it because it's true. :/

To make a really simple way of checking this, skip to random places in the song. While there is skipping for the first... 4 seconds (at the most), it sounds almost exactly the same after that. The one difference is at 2:26, with the chromatic scale of the voices. However, it's a minor difference, and still sounds almost exactly the same afterwards.

To improve this, I would suggest adding in a tune. What you have here is a drumbeat, and background chording. This song desperately needs something that keeps it interesting. Having a tune, some more rhythmic chording, and a few more types of instruments to carry it along (I would recommend strings, perhaps a sub drop, several large, sweeping pads, and definitely some kind of bass, probably a cello). For a tune, perhaps a voice singing in an incomprehensible language, or more choir, taking out one of the background ones (or changing it to a different instrument). I actually think a female voice would work great there, it could have a "scared" feel to it. Obviously this is just what I think would work, but it's at least worth a shot, right?

I won't say that this is bad, because obviously a lot of effort went into it. However, it truly needs more composition in it.

Hope this is helpful to you.

-SWINT-
-Review Request Club-

megakill responds:

Hey thanks for the review!

I do get what you're trying to say, but it's not my intention to add any form of lead tune or melody. My goal in this piece was to progressively build up layers with the percussion, excel in the mix and mastering of the piece, and give the feeling of something ritual.

I appreciate it may sound somewhat repetitive and droning, but that was intentional to some degree. Maybe I over-did it a little?

Thanks for the advice and for taking the time to review it though!

[(ESTAR48) Mirrored Memories]

Ok, thought I might as well review this.

I can't give much fine-tuning advice on this, but I can point out some things that desperately need working on.

1. Equalizing the reverb kick. It causes too much of a disturbance in the other levels, and takes over the track when it hits. This isn't an extremely big problem though.
2. Repetitiveness. The song is basically the same throughout the whole thing, just introducing and dropping out different instruments. I notice that there's not much other than quarter notes and chording in it (not counting the bass).
3. Intros/outros/transitions. They are a lot more important than you'd think. The opening of this is boring, the same thing repeated twice. Only strings as well. I think that it should have a bit more than one instrument opening it up, or at least varying the notation more, shifting the volume or some filters. The same kind of thing for the outro, rather than just a loooong fadeout. While the transitions part doesn't matter that much, that's because there isn't really anything to transition between.
4. What is with the "This DJ's so funky, man!" at 3:01? It seems EXTREMELY out of place to me.

Ok. Now for the good bits.

1. The bassline is awesome. I enjoy basslines, especially when they're well-done. The bassline in this song is generally really good.
2. The drums are executed pretty well, aside from the one reverb kick.
3. The instrumentation is decent, there's nothing wrong with it that I can see.
4. It truly does sound like something hip-hoppy. While I don't particularly like hip-hop, I do have to congratulate you on getting the right sound, it definitely succeeds there.

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

ESTAR48 responds:

Thanks for the critics, really apreciated! ...about the dj´s so funky, i just decided to do it for fun, nothing special :3 i did it kind of simple and repetitive because i did it thinking of rap verses, and some vocals, i´ll put some lyrics later... And yeah, i know the begining is really boring, but remember im new in this kind of genre and im just experimenting and exploring, its new to me, and i´ll take all your advices, besides, we have to start from anywhere :P

[==(MINDMINER)==]

I always wonder.

Where do you get all your sound effects, drones, background noises, pads, leads..? Do you make them? They seem to be custom in almost every single song of yours. I think it's what makes your music more interesting than other people. You don't have most of the normal synths that most people use and have TONS of sound effects, chimes, and various things that I've never heard anywhere else.

Now, aside from little questions like that, which I'd really love an answer to...

The song.

It seems to have one bassline that repeats throughout the whole song. This can be good, but... it phases. A LOT. This happens when the higher synths change to a different key, and the bassline stays exactly the same. It's cool, but I think it could go slightly higher as well to a different key to make it better.

Musically, there are a lot of ideas in this. I just wish that it could be formatted better. It seems to do something like this: Intro->A->B->A->C->Simultanious AB->Outro
Not really a good format to have in a song, it doesn't quite work and makes it just "go". Because of this, it just ends and doesn't really have anything leading up to the end.

While the composition isn't the best, and there are some problems with phasing in the bassline, the music creates quite an effect and is quite good. It is deep and immersive, but my music trance is broken somewhat by the little problems in it, keeping it from being a 10.

-SWINT of the Review Request Club-

[Journey to the Afterlife]

Very interesting.

I just had to review this one, at least, even if I couldn't get many other reviews done. It's quite well-done, the composition is also very good, which was a bonus for me.

0:00-0:20 Beautiful build-up of the strings and piano, it has a distinctly wistful and sad tone to it.
0:20-0:40 I'm not quite sure about the shaker here. It doesn't seem to fit, but it does work with all the other parts. I think there could have been a bit more of a buildup with other instruments. It does tie the percussion together though, so I suppose I can't go after it overly much.
0:40-1:00 I love the choir(s?) behind the tune and doing some chording. They flesh the song out a lot more than it would be otherwise.
1:00-1:22 The piano makes a comeback! And with some incredibly good percussion underneath it. I know there's a lot underneath the piano, but the piano stands out the most to me in this section. I really liked the little percussion triplet (I think it's a triplet) at the end of 1:05. The section ends with the tempo slowing down, which works extremely well. Kudos for that.
1:22-1:32 Wow. That's a very nice flute you have there. My only problem with it is the vibrato. Doesn't make it seem as realistic, and everything else, I think sounds like it could have been played by real people.
1:32-1:44 The little string and horn doubling of the melody works very well here, it brings it out a little more before going into a piano section once again.
1:44-2:07 This has to be my favorite part. The piano sounds wonderful here, very realistic, and full of emotion. It ends with a tempo change going back up to the initial tempo, along with a bit of percussion.
2:07-2:29 Back to the part at 0:40-1:00. Not much to say about this, other than it fits quite well.
2:29-2:38 Interesting little part here. I don't think it's quite as good as the other bits, more of a transition to the outro.
2:38-3:00 Very nice outro, it has a recognizable tune, tying into the rest of the piece. This fits so well, and the way it ended was quite good as well. I much enjoyed the little wind-chime sound fading in the background after the last note.

Overall:
Melody: Beautiful, it has quite a sound to it. I enjoy that you made a tune that could have sounded like more of an emotional song into one of the "epic" songs that sound like a journey. Whether that journey is to the afterlife... well, that I don't think fits quite as well.
Percussion: Fits in extremely well, and has some nice catchy rhythms.
Backing harmony: Also very good, it doesn't get in the way, except in the part at 1:00-1:22. Perhaps the levels could be tweaked a bit, but I don't think it really needs it, to tell the truth. It still works.
Intro: Good. I don't have much to say here that I haven't in the first time-sectioned bit.
Outro: Very good. I said everything I wanted in the last time-sectioned bit.

A solid 10/10 from me, in the end. Awesome job!

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

Step responds:

Wow, this review is fantastic. Thanks a lot!

I appreciate that you went and reviewed this among all of the requests. To be honest one of the reasons why I requested this is because I was hoping that you'd review this because your reviews are awesome :P.

I'll respond to most of the points in your review...

To be honest the intro isn't something I worked too hard on. I wanted it to start very softly and progressively move on to the 'epic' part at 0:40, without making the progression too gradual. I see exactly what you mean about the shakers. They do stand out a bit too much over there and don't seem to mingle well in that part. I'm not very creative with different percussion sounds so I just wanted to add some soft percussion there and the shaker is all that came to mind xP.

Yep, those are choirs. Just an 'ooh' choir that comes with the orchestral VST I'm using (East/West Symphonic Orchestra Silver). Really awesome VST.

The part at 1:00 is actually a harp not a piano, believe it or not :P. I should've turned it up more and turned down the strings a little, so that it can actually make some more significance. The piano comes in a little later playing low notes at 1:11.

I'm also very happy you like the percussion. I like to think that I'm not terrible at orchestral percussion, even though I may lack in other areas :3.

The tempo-change is something I do very often in my orchestral songs. Really helps to give a little more variety, I think, although transitioning to the slower part can be tough sometimes.

The flute is from East/West and all the instruments there are recorded from actual instruments, so I wasn't surprised when you said it sounds like it could have been played live. I love using vibrato on my flutes though, you're not the first to point it out. Must be a bad habit. D:

Haha 1:32 is probably the part I'm most proud of.

I play piano myself so I'm glad you like the piano solo. It's not the first time I did a piano solo (actually I use pianos in my songs a lot. I love piano). The sample is also from East/West, it's got a very nice Steinway B sample.

This song is actually a remix of SBB's song Shadow People, so I shouldn't take full credit for the composition. I changed his melody around a lot though, completely changed the structure and the flute/piano melodies were all by me, but the main melody is still his. You should check out the song if you get the time: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/362888

If you go to 2:42 of that song you'll hear the melody which I remixed.

So yeah at 2:29 in this song, that little transitional melody is part of a melody that plays in Shadow People. It works as part of the melody in his song but here I just showcase it as a buildup to the outro.

Good thing you think 2:38 fits well as an outro. I originally didn't have it but SBB suggested I add it. I'm not so good at changing stuff in a song once I've finished it, so I was hoping that part would fit alright after I edited it in.

All in all, thanks a lot for the great review and the constructive criticism. These types of reviews are the reviews I enjoy getting the most!

Glad you liked it, and oh well, I suppose the response ended up bigger than the review. I'm sorry xP.

[Zelda Soundtrack Style]

Errrrrrr.

This does sound /kind of/ LoZ-like, but... I think this track will focus on what can be improved.

-Syncing tunes. The tunes go off-key, and considering there are only two tunes, that's a feat. I think this needs to be a bit more "flowing" rather than having seemingly random notes going together.
-Instrumentation. As said before, there are only two instruments and a wave sample. They don't go together very well, and they're kind of dull and empty.
-Repetitiveness. It's really repetitive, and even though no part specifically repeats (I think), it's so similar that it's just boring. It has the same feel throughout the whole thing, without varying it at all.
-Style. Ok, you want it to sound LoZ-like, right? Then I have a few more suggestions. (A) Have more sections that have similar tunes, but different instruments and different ideas behind them. (B) Use LoZ instruments. I've noticed that LoZ (in OoT, at least) focuses heavily on harps, strings, piano, and wind. That and ambient noises, like the waves you included.

Hope this is helpful to you.

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

KieranNG responds:

"Syncing tunes. The tunes go off-key, and considering there are only two tunes, that's a feat"
This didn't make any sense.

[Hype the Core (Silv3Ster Mix)]

Whoo!

Time-sectioned review time, due to the style and length...

0:00-0:45, same thing without variation other than the crowd and a kick being added.
0:45-1:08, still the same thing only with a bass.
1:08-1:32, it's the same thing with a vocal and echo...
1:32 transition need work, it kind of just "happens".
1:32-2:22 is the same tune with some vocals added halfway through. I don't think this fits in well with the intro, as it's MUCH happier, and the intro made me think that it was more of a dark track. The vocals don't quite fit either, they don't seem happy to me with the stuttering.
2:22-5:18 seems like the same chording, there isn't much of a tune. I admit, I skipped through this, but here's the main problem. I skipped to random bits between these times, and it sounded almost exactly the same. This is a large problem, it means there was almost no variation at all.
5:18-end was alright, it went back to the intro and seemed dark again to me for some reason. The outro was alright. Fading out of things until the end. The very ending was actually really good, nice work there.

Now. This is well-put together, I will not dispute that. The problem, the only problem, is that it is repetitive. As I said, I skipped through the majority of the song, and there was virtually no change whatsoever other than a few drumbeat changes and switching between piano and synth chording. There is no tune to speak of. A tune is what this needs. Other than that, it's good.

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

Dj-GST responds:

0:00-0:45, breakbeat fades with a low pass filter, when the kick hits, the crowd goes into a 1/4 step time filter, clap comes in.
0:45-1:08, sweeping effect punches in along with the kick, bassline, and high hat loop. Main hat and clap come in.
1:08-1:32, buildup, then vocals come in along with another clap that fit's in beneath the kick, ride comes in.
1:32 Most genres of Hardcore have fast, sudden transitions.
1:32-2:22, The only part of the intro that sounded "dark" was the bassline, it's supposed to be happy, the majority of UK hardcore tracks are happy, since it's a modern Happy Hardcore, vocal glitching and stuttering are very common of this genre.
2:22-5:18, there are 3 lead melodies in there, each being the same style but with different chording, if you didn't skip most of this and actually listened to it, you might have noticed that.

As stated above, there are 3 lead melodies in this track. I appreciate the review, but listen to the whole track next time, it's like skipping through a movie and then trying to review it. It doesn't work, because you skipped past everything.

[Disco Beats - DaddyCat]

Interesting vocals.

It really just fades in, which is pretty cool. You don't hear that much. The vocals in the beginning are also quite cool. The break at 0:45 is DEFINITELY good. It sound really well-done and interesting. I definitely liked the little filter that made it sound background at 1:16. What filter is that? After that though, I didn't really like it that much...

Problems:

-I've definitely heard that rhythm on the synth before.
-The drum kit is totally overwhelmed.
-It was disappointing that it went back to the main part at 1:30, I thought some crazy crap was going to come out and take over the track.
-Not a good transition at 2:00.
-The kick is distorting everything from 2:15 onward! It's making a little dip in everything else, I'm betting you intended that, but it really doesn't quite work.
-Ending. Needs. Work. I'm sure you know about this, I don't think I need to say anything more.

Other than the problems that I mentioned, it's pretty good. Just try to EQ a bit more, make sure the kick isn't messing stuff up, and have it be a bit more continuous rather than having different sections that don't quite relate to each other. The first half of the song is the best, personally.

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

[Hyper-Vigilance]

The intro sounds like ambient.

It really does, it doesn't have much in it. There's a bit of popping, which I'm assuming are drums. But they come in so slowly, and softly, popping, that it seems ambient. When the chording synths came in, it seemed really sudden, and I couldn't hear the little bit that goes in at the beginning very well anymore, which disappointed me tremendously. The repetitiveness of it kind of works, but by the time I got to 1:50, I was bored. It doesn't change much, just adds on more constantly. Once it got to the tune, starting at 2:03, I was honestly wondering if there was going to be a tune at all. Please open it up a little faster, it's kind of dull as it is. Unfortunately, after this, it gets REALLY repetitive, and is the same thing for another 40 seconds, before getting more chording. There's not a melody at this point, until the same melody that was there before came back in. Even if something is repetitive, it needs something to change constantly for people not to get bored, unless this is just background music or ambience. I enjoyed the sound effects that come in after 3 minutes. They enrich the track at that point. Unfortunately, from 2:44 to 5:01, you can skip anywhere, and it will /probably/ sound like you didn't change it at all. The outro works, taking out individual bits slowly. It's still a bit sudden though...

What I would do is bring things in a bit faster, and have it be in different keys. Maybe have a few different kinds of synths, some breakdowns, some openings... As it is, there is Intro->Rise->Top->End. No real changes at all, just the same thing. While it's interesting the first time, about 60% through, after that, it's pretty boring. We've heard it all before.

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

[M3- Prepare for Launch]

T minus 3... 2... 1...

This sounds like it would work great in something like a climbing game. The tune is quite nice and uplifting, the background noise works great overall. My only qualm is that there's not more of a tune than there is. The loop works great, seriously.

The fact that this is dance music means that I /should/ excuse the repetitiveness of the track a bit, but I'm not going to do that, sorry. This needs a bit more of a change in the background, I think. Maybe put it into a different key in the middle, then bring it back? That would make it more enjoyable, I think, and make it more complete.

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-

[Phlegmatic Undergroan]

Ooooooo.

REALLY nice work. It is a tad stagnant at places, and it doesn't really go anywhere, but... it works really well for ambience. This is truly ambient music, and actually creeped me out. I think it would work well in a horror movie or something. I don't think there's much I can review here, for what it is, it is good, and it works, and it is beautiful in its own eerie way. Now, I could go on and on about the individual aspects of it like I normally do with music, but I don't think that would work for this song, as it's not lively enough. So I'll content myself with saying that this is ridiculously well-done, and asking you to make more like this.

Please make more like this!

-Review Request Club-
-SWINT-