SkyeWint's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Drawing Blanks]

Still good, but... still also meh.

I don't like how the guitar just vanishes at about 3:00, seems too sudden. Then it comes back in surprisingly. There also seems to be some distortion on the guitar.

The intro threw me for a loop. I thought it was at a completely different timing than it actually was.

Drums are good. The guitar is pretty good, aside from the distortion.

Some of the transitions could be improved, as well as the length of some of the sections. Some sections seem to just drag on and on...

The outro could use some work. It seems to leave a big empty patch, making me think, "Wait, it's over? I thought it would drag on for another 20 minutes."

The last thing I have to say is that it has the common failing of many songs in this day and age. It doesn't really have structure. It just "goes", without a real format like ABA, ABCA, ABACA, etc.

Honestly, I think you have a lot of potential, a lot of good ideas, but it needs more form. I'm still learning form, admittedly, but... this could be so much more.

Overall, to anyone who reads this, don't let it be said that this isn't worth your time. It most definitely IS worth your time. Everything can be improved, and it's always worth the time to listen and learn from mistakes, whoever makes them.

RunningShadows responds:

Thank you so much for your advice!

[Tuscanic - Figurehead]

The irony

is that you rated a different song lower, when it was about as good as this.

But then again, I go after other songs for what some of my own don't have. So I can't really complain much about that. I'll judge this song on its merits alone, rather than bias it in any way.

-Variation. Need. More. Variation. The whole thing honestly sounds like the same thing throughout. I honestly skipped from, like, the beginning to 0:42, and it could have been there. Just about the whole song could be rearranged any way you want, and it would sound pretty much the same. This is [u][b]NOT A GOOD SIGN.[b][u] (if anyone here uses BBcode in forums, they'll get that.) Try making the chording different in different areas throughout the song. As it is, I'm bored in about 20 seconds, also not a good sign. If you have it more variable and attention-drawing, that would make it a much better song.

Now, on to the good parts.

-Mixing. Very good. Not many complaints about that, not much to say about that. I don't really factor in the mixing job as much as other things (provided you can hear things, there's not much distortion, etc.)

-Instrumentation. Very good. You obviously took time to make the instruments. (either that or searched through Reason or something) If you did make the instruments, I would love it if you could make some for me. lol. Great job here too.

-Transitions. Eh. They're transitions. Not overly good, not overly cool, but not bad. Of course, I could definitely make "transitions" singular, since there's not much of a change in the song.

I really don't have much else to say, but... here's your general rundown.

Yes, it's cool, but as ESTAR48 said, far too repetitive and empty. Your music production is top-notch. Your composition element, however, is MAJORLY lacking.

Tuscanic responds:

In my learning years of music production, I focused on the sound rather than the composition. As a result, I am a huge perfectionist on the mix and I don't pay attention to the melodic portion of my songs. I can come up with some cool riffs, but I need to expand my knowledge on music theory to help me make a full story out of my ideas. Don't worry, I am getting there step by step.

Thanks for taking the time to review. :)

[{ESTAR48} Oriental Drum N Bass]

Tuscanic, it's not THAT bad.

The mixing could use some work, true, but it's not that bad. I can hear everything if I try, even if it doesn't stand out.

Now. Since my previous review is gone at this point... Points that I hear need improvement!

-Transitions. This is self explanatory. The transitions are zilch to nil.
-Variation.
-Instruments. Yes, it needs different instruments. Just techno pads/synths/leads won't cut it. If you want it to sound ethnic, put some more interesting instruments in there. How about a flute? A guitar? A kanun/qanun?

There's a lot you could do with this, and it shows promise. Good work overall though, worth a listen.

ESTAR48 responds:

thanks for tips SkyeWintrest, well everybody is free to rate zero if they want lol!

[{ESTAR48} Black Lightning]

Trance-like beats don't all need repetition.

It's pretty good, but yeah. Too much repetition and "same-ness". There's also the lack of transitions, but on the whole, reasonably good.

ESTAR48 responds:

well, i now know thats a mistake, but in those days i composed that song, i didnt know that at all, im with you in that... now im stuck, my pc is running low so i cant make more songs, but im about to fix it, so ill make better songs, these song has like 7 months, just uploaded today lol...

[Cervid]

Eh...

Pretty good overall. But, I have to say, it is FAR too repetitive and "wub, wub, wub, wub, wub, wub..."

I have to agree with the bit about the guitar. While it coming in suddenly isn't bad, the fact that it just goes and goes, then stops so abruptly makes me, at least, and probably several other people think: "What just happened?" It kind of hurts. Same thing for the ending. It just stops dead in its tracks, like suddenly a brick wall appeared in front of the music, making it smash into the wall and fall to the ground cartoon-style. That's what it makes me think of.

I also think the bass and drumbeat could have a /little/ variance. I mean, really. It's just the same thing over and over again. Yes, it has a pulse. No, it is not as fun when it just stays like that the whole time.

Overall, very atmospheric and well-mixed, but... a bit boring. Doesn't really make me feel "fulfilled" if I were wanting music.

RunningShadows responds:

Yeah you're correct about most of this. I think we got excited about the beginning and then totally ran of inspiration. Stopping the reverb did basically what we wanted it to do and that is to catch the listener off guard. I think we hoped that it would grow on the listener, but now I'm not sure. Thanks for the review, I think it would be best if we retooled this song a bid, maybe streamlined it

[/---Weird Song Song---\]

You do not need random mishmash.

If I were you, I'd put some coherence, instead of putting in random clips from FLS9.

:|

There's really not much else to be said.

DDDavid responds:

OK thats fine

[Dead Legion - Military Theme]

Good, but...

Kind of just... boring. There's not much variety. :| I'd put in more variety. Admittedly, it's cool, it's put together well, but... Meh. Just like, *yawn* throughout the whole thing.

NTReverbFilms responds:

Yeah, admittedly, it's clear that it was meant to accompany a scene as opposed to stand alone.

[Aqua Village I]

Sorry.

No. :| Just, no. The intro is ok, but at about 12 seconds, it just collapses and fails. Only one instrument, no tune that works. What this sounds like is that you just took a piano roll and clicked on keys with your mouse, recording the sound from that.

Try layering it, and having a little bit more variety in the instruments/tune. Make sure the tune is in one key or in keys that go together. From 0:12 onward, it's just monotonous, going up, down, up, down, up, down without any real coherence. It doesn't fit with the beginning either.

That's my two cents. Hope that it can be improved, because with the introducing tune, this could be interesting.

Bryan636 responds:

for real? i thought it fit because it is all aroud D well...

[Hangover (Unfinished)]

Eh... the intro made me interested, but...

The individual parts are good (aside from that weird overdriven bass that seems to be going up less than a half-step).

The intro drew me in, the overdrive bass didn't sound bad there. But then it just... stops. I thought there should be more development instead of stopping each bit and replacing it with another section that has pretty much no relation aside from the same instruments. Try keeping it all in the same key, or using transitions that work. This could use a lot of work. I'd change the key of some of the things as well, so they fit in with the rest. You have good drums, they could be used a bit better as well.

Again, the intro is good. I'd just take it from there instead of making it random clips, because that honestly is what it sounds like.

-SWINT

TheSoulScream responds:

Sorry for late Reply but i mean it "literally hangover"