kevs91's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Dark Conviction]

Pretty neat song here.

First, a couple of complaints: I don't like that space-y synth that plays scales over and over...and some of the pads you use kinda sound in the same vein, which to me sorta split the track into two distinct sounds, the heavy-industrial stuff and the goofy sounding techno stuff. It made the song sound pretty aimless, and really ruined the mood that the other stuff would've made pretty awesome.

I guess I'd advise you to focus on honing down that sound, because the composition all around is really quite interesting. And the ending is pretty awesome. I think with a bit more focus and maybe some different sound selection this thing could be really moody and interesting. But then, that could be completely away from what you were going for, in which case it's not really my place to try to change around your vision for the sound.

Anyways, the effort really shines through here, so good job. If you get the time, could you check out my latest track, "Run, Darling, Run"? I'd really appreciate a review on it, thanks.

cycerin responds:

To me, "heavy industrial stuff" and "techno stuff" isn't separated at all. It's not like industrial is a rigid genre either, but I can see why you'd react this way. I guess I just have a thing for fab arpeggios and I can't help using them - oh god someone help me!

[Fantasia Nocturne No.2]

Very nice composition.

Well, first off: yeah, the mixing/recording quality could really be improved alot...I get worried because I think I hear some really interesting use of dissonance, and then I worry it's the sound quality tricking me, etc.

Anyways, this is really nice. A very strong mood, interesting dissonance, melodies, and overall very good composition. If I close my eyes and concentrate, I can really get swept up in this piece, which is a testament to its beauty.

I suppose the main flaw composition wise is that it does get very repetitive on the repeating left hand (I assume) melody, if I focus too much on it instead of the track as a whole. Also, I'm not too sure with what you did for the ending, because despite the very nice rhythmic finishing I didn't really hear anything cadence-wise that finished the piece off nicely, to me.

Otherwise, those are a couple relatively minor complaints that really don't tarnish a very beautiful piece. Keep it up, definitely. And if you get the chance, could you check out my newest song, Burj Dubai? (http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/list en/153166)

I'd really appreciate it, thanks.

sarias responds:

will do and i very much appreciate the review it helps out loads, the disonance was supposed to be there, i just need to work on my mixing like i said, im new with the mixing aspect of it, i just recently as in yesterday started so this was my first real thing that i mixed, so thats why its like that, other then that i thank you and look forwarf to future helpful reviews from you

[I'm Away]

Hmm...

...this one seems a little safe. That makes it kinda tough to review; you didn't do anything wrong here (in fact, you did a number of things exceptionally), but you also don't take many chances compositionally-this makes this something that gets old quickly and is, to me, entirely unexciting.

First off, the good stuff. There's a definite mood here, and it's a very cheerful one. All parts of the song (although at some points the bass seems a bit out of place, mood/texture wise) do go really well together. Also, structurally you do a great job with variation and interesting direction. It's very whole and complete sounding. The drums, additionally, are very well put together and sound great.

However, everything goes together a bit too nicely for my taste. Everything is very similar melodically, with a very strong sense of theme, but this actually hurts it for me because it does get old. It doesn't really create a moving, interesting atmosphere...a big part of music is that tension and release, and there's no tension here for me. Also, there's a real lack of layering here...I don't hear anything new after a second listen, and that's always pretty disappointing.

Overall, you have a pretty piece...just not one that really holds my attention. Also, I don't get the title at all. Still, the thought and effort are apparent, so keep it up.

DMKE responds:

Thanks Kevs for that very helpful review. I also agree with you on most of the points now that I've listen to it *several* times!

Strangely, I also agree that the song needs maybe a lot more work to be what I would like it to be.

I will work on it when time will allow me to do so because I still feel I could come up with something very good with this one.

Thanks again.

[Coersion of Euthanasia]

Adventurous....

I'll get the vocal part out of the way: you probably knew when you recorded them that not everyone would like it, so I won't dwell on this. Still, I really didn't care for the vocals...I know it's a genre style, but they really didn't add to the song. I mean, the section at around 3:30 kinda highlights this; the music during that part is really good, but the vocals take away from it.

Anyways, on to the important stuff. The guitar work is very well written, and the dissonances in here are neat and used well. The drums are creative, and they really add to the feel. Honestly, the only thing here I would change musically is that some of the hihat hits (the higher pitched ones) seemed way too high up in the mix compared to the rest of the drums...it seemed almost like they were mixed as if it were a dance song, and it's clearly not a dance song.

Also, about the ending: it was definitely inspired, the mood switch was really cool. Like the rest of the music, it was very creative. The ending was a definite highlight, if only because of the mood the various samples combined with the change from metal to ambiance created.

Overall, there are a few questionable things in here, but you are really quite a bit above most of the generic techno stuff on here that might get reviewed better, so keep on being creative.

DekapitatoR responds:

Thank you for the review, this was truly helpful for me.

[Human/Machine [LOOP] -GWC-]

Pretty sweet...

First off, good job on the sounds in this. I really liked all of them, especially the background synth playing the melody the whole time. I also really liked the way the percussion sounded...not quite typical, but not really out there. And the miscellaneous noises you used were pretty sweet too (breathy synth was awesome), whether they were adding to the ambience or the beat, and they were nicely spaced out.

I think the percussion may have gotten a bit repetitive, but it really wasn't too bad because you kept it parsed nicely with some buildup and the additions at times. Also, I would have liked to hear maybe a bit more ambience in there, because after only a few listens it felt like I had heard everything, and that's not really a great sign.

The dynamics are interesting...it gets quiet towards as it goes along, but then sorta ends quite abruptly, and I don't really think I liked that. I think some cadence would have really helped with the ending, because as is I was really left hanging.

Anyways, good job on this, it's certainly an enjoyable, interesting listen. Keep it up.
And if you get the time, could you check out my newest submission, "Warrant"? I'd really appreciate it, thanks.

loogiesquared responds:

i checked out your song.

you need to check out the original version to see why it end abruptly.
(super-+'d)

[Rig - Concentrate 2]

Hmm...a bit of a bind...

Woah, I'm a bit stunned. This track has all the stuff I like to look for in music, like some really, really cool sounds, alot of depth, and alot more going on than you hear on the first listen.

But I still didn't really like it, and it's tough to put into words why. I guess the first thing is that I don't like that one background synth that comes in loud, panning while fading out, sort of popping the whole time. And this gets used alot, so that wasn't great. The typical-trancey bass quarter note thing that you have going here also gets a bit on my nerves, although that's more of a genre thing, I think. In fact, alot of this is very repetitive, especially the real melody thing, which you have going for most of the song here. It's a bit stuck in my head now, sure, but not really in a good way.

And while it may seem contradictory considering I just mentioned that I found this repetitive, at about the three minute mark when you really change it up, I didn't like that either. It felt really disjointed, and didn't really have any weight to it, and there wasn't really an impact on the track afterwards.

My biggest complaint about this track, I think, is something that I'm aware is probably something that is my own opinion and probably won't be shared by anyone else- but I had a really tough time getting into a scene with this music. With such a long trance song, it's nice to be able to listen to the music and get transported to someplace scenic...but it really wasn't happening with this song. My only explanation would be that the different sounds you use don't really seem to blend together, as you have a mixture of organicy sounding stuff, with very digital stuff, with noise stuff (and I should mention I loved the noise/drone synth that comes in around 2:00) and I guess it seems a bit out of place sometimes.

So yeah, I it's obvious that a lot of work went into this, and you have something here that I know a lot of people will probably like, but it just didn't really do it for me. Still- keep it up, you're clearly talented.

Lastly, if you get the chance, could you check out my latest submission, "Warrant", and maybe consider leaving a review? Thanks.

[FNLN: Take Them Down!]

Well...

...I suppose I should preface this by saying that this isn't really the type of music I'm in to, or that I really listen to at all, so I probably have no business offering any constructive criticism at all.

Regardless, I think the biggest issue I have with this track is the drums. A good amount of the time, while I was trying to listen for melody or interesting structure, the drums really got in the way. I think it's more a compositional thing, as opposed to a mixing issue, as I was bothered a number of times by what the drummer was doing. It's like, "Great! You can use the bass pedal really fast! But that doesn't mean that you should do it all the time..." So yeah, the drums were annoying, and not just with the going crazy pedals...there wasn't really anything that the drums did that I liked or that seemed really in place.

The guitars weren't bad. Again, not really my type of music, but I would have preferred a bit more melody or more interesting point/counterpoint type stuff since you do have two guitars and a synth in there, which can typically open up some interesting opportunities. I did really like the sound of the guitars, as they sorta reminded me of like a Queens of the Stone Age thing.

Some of the composition/structure stuff seemed odd, too. But I suppose that could be explained by missing transitions or whatever. Also, having a bassist might've done wonders for the track, so I guess it's unfortunate that he/she wasn't there.

Still, I do like the fact that you're recording stuff, and there's definitely a touch of the live element in there that's really nice (especially for a change on Newgrounds), and I do like the fact that there's alot of energy behind this, and you can really tell. Wish I had more to say about the synths, since that's what you played, but they didn't really take a huge role and sorta just complemented everything, which is probably what they should do anyways.

So I'd say good job, and remember to keep in mind that I really don't get the genre.

If you have the time, could you check out/review-back my latest submission, "Warrant"? I'd really appreciate it, thanks.

RyeGuyHead responds:

how could i refuse with a review of this magnitude!?

[<Me & the expression of Me> V2]

Hmmm...not really fleshed out.

I like the sound of this, and I really like the strings in the background, but the main synth (the least subtle one) really gets annoying after repeated listens, which is worse because of how short the loop is. If you'd rework that, and try to expand on this and add stuff, I think you could have a very interesting soundscape thing going.

It's actually pretty weird how short and basic it is because it seems like if you wanted to make a song purely about the expression of yourself you'd have to have a really fleshed out space where you could really say something. So I guess I was a bit thrown off by the title.

Anyways, I do like most of the sound here (especially the background strings), but you really need to rework some parts and try to expand on it, I think.

If you have the time, I'd also really appreciate it if you checked out/reviewed my most recent submission. Thanks.

Conal responds:

For show.

[Brain Stew Acapella cover]

Haha, alright.

Not really sure how to review this. I guess the singing is pretty good. You probably had fun doing it, so that's good. It's a cover of a song I haven't heard, and it's acapella, so I guess that accounts for the fact that it's a bit repetitive and annoying.

Sorry for the really lame review.

[sumthin demo]

Awesome...

I love the contrast between the different elements in the song. The guitar and the percussion are especially cool together. It doesn't sound perfectly blended, but maybe that's part of the charm and either way it's obvious that all the parts of the track stand well enough on their own.

As for the vocals, I think the the lyrics are good, although I haven't read the source so I might not get it entirely. Either way, the lyrics make sense with the music, which is important. I really like your voice on the "hold on to your eyes" part..the melodic dreamy thing you have going really serves the track. I don't really like the way you sung (sort of) the rest of the song though, because it didn't really (for me) fit with the track and didn't not fit to the extreme which would've made them interesting at least.

But yeah, this is still awesome, regardless. Very unique sounding, very focused and poetic lyrically and musically. Shame it's so short, would've been nice to see what you could do with it if you went on.