kevs91's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[C'mon]

pretty good, but a couple things

first off, i really loved the little panning bit for the main melody (how it'd do the melody bit, then the note in the left speaker, then the note in the right). great work on that. the percussion wasn't original, but it was pretty good.

the background pads were awful though, in that they pretty much just went from a bar or two in the beginning to the very end, aside from the little breakdowns, droning on monotonously even though it really coulda sufficed to not have them there at all. they seemed completely outside of the rest of the song, and they were mindnumbingly repetitive. i'd suggest changing those.

the little techno breakdown bits were pretty bad as well. they sounded like garageband preset loops, and they disrupted a track that otherwise had a really nice sense of rhythm and flow. it was ok sounding when the track continued on top of that synthy thing, but by itself it was really pretty bad.

the second techno breakdown was pretty bad as well-it retained that garageband preset sound, and the transition wasn't handled very well that time around either. for both breakdowns, you can't just have all the other sounds stop--there really has to be some resonance.

the track also didn't really go anywhere-the structure seemed overly simplistic (main song-breakdown-song+breakdown-breakdown-ending) and there wasn't any big buildup, and the ending wasn't great.

still, the main song part, although repetitive, was good, and went well with the percussion. it would be interesting if you redid this track keeping that melody intact-maybe varying it up a bit more-and keeping the percussion elements, leaving out those pads and the techno-y breakdowns and adding some interesting synth doodles or whatever. so a pretty good job, especially for your first in a genre.

if you get the time, check out my most recent track and leave a review, if you don't mind.

Logini responds:

Now THATS what i call a review!! :):):) i agree with everything you said. I don't really know anything about hip-hop, so i listened to a few NG songs before i made this. Sorry about the structure, I had a synth solo, but it was 20+ seconds long and if i shortened it, it sounded terrible. the techno breakdowns were so the melody didn't get too repetitive. I guess it's kinda hard to explain... Oh well. if i remake this song, i'll keep the techno breakdowns out. I'll definitely check out your newest track and much more songs of yours. I REALLY appreciate this.

[Ej_The_Third_Ferment_Demo]

Straightforward, but good

yeah. pretty expected trance stuff, but very well put together. there was a very good mix of bass and treble. although it got a bit repetitive within each voice, there were enough layers added to make it feel more diverse than it actually might have been. there was good buildup and pretty good mood changes. the synth sounds were very basic sounding, but that's not bad-just safe.

the pads might have been a bit strong in the beginning, made it a bit murky before the percussion kicked in, but it wasn't too big an issue.

so overall, good job.

[Diamond Rimz]

not a typical hip-hop track

i can see the hip-hop elements here-the big bass, snappy percussion, the danceable parts.
but this also had that upbeat piano melody and cheery synth sounds that aren't typical of whatever hiphop i've been exposed to (admittedly, not much.)
i do really like this track.
i didn't like one of the transitions though. when the piano goes silent, the snapping continues, and there's that sweeping synth, then a bit of snapping by itself, then the first dance part. it sounded a bit too segmented, and i think it might've sounded cooler if you had put that sweeping sound on top of the piano, then instantly hit with the fast part. all the other transitions were handled really well though, especially ones where you had sounds drop out, leaving (most times) that piano loop going.

a really good effort on this one, and it shows. very original, at times unexpected, and lovely on the whole. so great job.

Suspended-3rd-Chord responds:

thanks a lot for the detailed review, man. I appreciate it. glad you like the sounds used in this track, I was trying to go for a different hip hop feel.

now that you mention it, the sweeping part does seem a bit awkward without the piano loop in the background- kinda like something is missing. I think I'll add/experiment with a little bluesy riff in that part and see how it sounds.

thanks once again for the review man!

[Slim Alleyway]

alot different than what you'd normally hear..

..on newgrounds, or anywhere.
you've definitely got a unique sound here, even if it is a short track.
the main organ/synth/voice is interesting sounding, but it does sorta keep that same melody throughout the whole thing, which gets slightly annoying when i listen to it over and over again.
i really like the way you worked in different synth sounds throughout the whole thing that really worked well together and made for a very interesting loop.
speaking of loop, for such a short track its pretty vital for it to loop well, and this track didn't really loop well at all. i guess if you weren't going for a loopable thing, just a short experiment, that's fine. but it is much easier to listen to such a short piece if it loops, so yeah.

my favorite part of the whole thing, though, was the percussion. it was varied, interesting sounding, and it progressed from softer, organic stuff into hard hitting drums with lots of embellishment. so great job on that-it made this track, in my opinion.

overall, this is a very unique, interesting sounding thing. keep it up.

Suspended-3rd-Chord responds:

thanks once again for the review dude.

I definetly agree with the melody bit, it could have changed throughout the course of the loop to make the overall track loop better..I had more of a buildup going with the second phase of the track, but it sounded awkward and didn't connect well so I through it out.

thanks for the nice comments on the percussion, I tried different types of stuffs to give the track a little bit more variety.

once again, thanks for the insight and good score. appreciate the well written review man!

[ParagonX9 - Chaoz Fantasy]

Its been a year, and it shows.

Well, obviously, it took you more than a year to submit this one. I was around for the submitting of your last one, but just barely. Listening to all of your stuff, its pretty clear why you are probably the most revered audio artist.

However, I feel like in your year of absence, your style has been reproduced (in some cases, 'ripped off', even) or built upon enough to make even your tracks sound somewhat stale and repetitive.

This piece is a perfect example of that. Everything was predictable, to the point of annoyance. Honestly, when listening to this short piece, there was not a single moment where I went "woah, I've never heard that before!" From the beginning with the solo synth and its growing augmentation, then the cymbal, then the somewhat generic sounding percussion that seemed to lack any originality, the the change in melody for the lead synth when keeping the secondary going as normal, to the wholly lackluster ending, nothing in this song could objectively be called original. The piano addition has been done many times, and the way you used it (keeping the same exact upbeat, uptempo feel of the rest of the song) didn't make it attention-grabbing at all. And then there is the sweeping "song over" sound that seems to end all tracks like these even though there has been no emotional buildup of suspense or otherwise, and then it starts all over again.

While you are obviously extremely talented at getting everything "perfect sounding", your track seems overproduced and glossed over. It feels like , to me, that you hadn't submitted anything for awhile, and were afraid of your popularity waning, so you whipped this thing up in a couple of hours because you knew it would be a 'safe choice' that would certainly please your fans. And, although you really do fail to do anything original or mind-blowing with this track, it would seem that you accomplished that. But you did fail to avoid the trappings that many of the songs fall into here in the audio portal, and that is that your song does sound the same as many other people's songs.

I guess what this long review that you will probably never read is trying to say is that you do have a very nice, listenable track here that clearly shows your immense talent, but I feel like its all been done before and isn't musically exciting, which could be a result of your absence or the abundance of other artists who produce music that sounds very much like this.

I hope your next track, be it submitted next week or next year, strays from this choice of keeping it safe so that everyone is pleased, and really does something unique that will put your great talents to use.

I'd look forward to that.

[Hard Craft]

A song about itself?

First off, not even sure what you mean a song about itself.

Whatever, to start off, you'll have to forgive me because I heard the beat and thought "ugh, another random, way-too-fast techno song". But this really turned out alright.

A few problems though, in my opinion:
The beat was really cool, but it didn't really change up at all, which made it pretty repetitive and that was only worsened by the fact that it didn't really fit the rest of the song, feel-wise.
The song had pretty good buildup, with all the different sounds and the growing cymbals, but then it sorta looses all that momentum when you had the silent little breakdown. After that, the music was still good, its just that it lost alot of impact because there wasn't really a sonic explosion, just more of a lame silence.

Still, the synths went together well and were well written, even if they were pretty standard sounding. And there is a pretty epic feel to the song, but the silence breakdown(s) does hurt that. The beat was cool, if repetitive and slightly out of place sounding.

So a pretty good job on this track, I'd just to see it with a more varied beat, a bit more length, some cooler sounding synths, and with a real musical climax in place of the silence.
Just my opinion, of course, and keep it up.

[The Pink Elephant FogHorn]

Glitchy, pretty cool.

First off, please turn down the asian-style percussion (that sounds reversed?) or at least vary it up more or compress it or something. Because of its level, its really tough to ignore which sucks because its pretty annoying.

Anyways, the main glitchy beat sounds really great and it well done. The main synth was pretty cool too, but with that asian-sounding percussion (for lack of a better term, of course )it sorta ruins it. And even worse, sometimes when some of the coolest stuff is going on around it synth-wise, its still really loud and even seems off beat. ouch.

This would be really awesome, except for one sound which is a key theme for the track and is almost constantly going in some variation. It gives it that "chineseish" feel, sure, but it also makes the other stuff almost unlistenable. Which really sucks because the other stuff is really cool and would make me want to listen to it more than twice, if it weren't for that one sound.

Of course, it might just be me, and I can't even really explain why I hate that one sound so much, and other people might like it. But to me, it really tarnishes what might have been a really, really cool song, as is shown by the few parts where that sound is absent. So its tough to grade this one--I certainly don't want to take off so many points for just one sound that is annoying and off-beat at one part, but I really don't want to listen to this song over and over again.

Still, good job. Just consider removing/reworking/remastering/releveling/whatever that one sound (and I really hope you know which one I've been talking about this whole time-the one that's alone at the very beginning, right before the cool percussion kicks it, and at one other point.) Anyways, if you get the time, please check out my newest song "Follow Me and You Will See" and leave a review. I'd really appreciate it, thanks.

Sylacone responds:

im not going to take out the Pole Hit because thats the main part of the song... it wouldnt be industrial without it. Thanks for being honest.

[Jungle Battle]

Battle?

This started off really promising, 'cos I dug the first couple of sounds (the drum sound especially) and thought they were really fitting for a battle-tribal-jungle thing. But then the lead synth note comes in, and it sounds like its in the wrong song. It really just didn't fit the track at all, in my opinion. That really detracted from the song. Then it drops out, a lion roars, and right when I expect it to build up to something substantial or battle-worthy, it sorta stays the same and then ends.

So, this track is pretty cool sounding, and interesting at first, but it really fails to go anywhere. The energy that would be suitable for an intense battle song isn't here, and although you said a mild battle, that seems more like an excuse for a failure to express something. Because what's the point of expressing a 'mild battle'? It clearly doesn't make for emotional, charged, exciting music.

Still, there are some good sounds here, and the structure is pretty good, aside from the fact that the track doesn't build towards anything or move anywhere. It doesn't look like each of your songs is taking you very long--try to spend lots of time with each track to make sure its worthwhile and says everything you want it to.

If you have the time, could you check out my newest song ( "Follow Me and You Will See" ) and leave a review? I'd appreciate it, thanks.