kevs91's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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)

[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.

[Celestial Skies]

Very nice.

Just a few thoughts:
Pretty noticeable "pop" at 0:15ish (messy clip editing?). Doesn't show up anywhere else, so not a big issue. The bassier pad that comes in at around 0:50 is great for depth, because until that point it's all very high end. The dynamics are a bit much at around 1:30...gets a bit too loud, and doesn't really seem appropriate for the tone of the piece.

Otherwise, you have a very nice ambient song here. You obviously had a theme in mind when you wrote it, and it shows through all the way, from the instrumentation to the melodies to the general progression. However, such cohesiveness means that nothing unexpected ever happens. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that after repeated listens the track gets a bit boring. Of course, if you were going for menu music, this really isn't a problem.

Anyways, good job. Keep it up.

Suspended-3rd-Chord responds:

thanks for pointing out the little pop noise at 0:15, I never even noticed that. i don't think it's because of clipping, but because the chord comes to a halt instead of ringing out, resulting in the little pop sound. (i guess a filter would work to edit it out) as for the dynamics around 1:30, it is does indeed overpower the main themes a bit, thanks for suggesting that I soften it up a bit. i'm not good at all with mixing.

anyways, thanks for the good, in depth review and numbers, and I appreciate the criticism dude, it helps so thanks!

[Ground And Pound]

For such a fast song, it's actually...

...pretty boring. Sorry. I appreciate that you try to vary up the drums, but they never really sound any different, and then as the song goes on the variation pretty much relies on either taking out the bass, putting it back in, taking out the main beat, bringing it back in, or using that annoying guttural vox thing.
At 2:06ish, when it really seems like there should be a change, it's the same trick of just subtracting elements and bringing them back in, which really comes of as laziness, to me.

And there's nothing really musical here- it's pretty much just you playing with rhythm, instead of melody or progression. Which I'm well aware that some people like (speaking of which, I think this belongs more in the hip-hop section, although it's certainly "wierd" enough to merit miscellaneous), but they aren't writing this, and I am. And I really am not all that interested in awkwardly dancing to cut-up beats while sitting here with my headphones on, which could be why I find this so boring too.

Still, I'm aware that this is all my preference and opinion, and I'm also aware that I'm sure you could find a good number of people who would love this track. I also am sure that cutting up samples and working at a very fast tempo requires skill and talent, so I'll commend you on that. However, it really isn't my sort of thing, and since the effort doesn't really shine through in the final product, I found it to be pretty boring and very repetitive.

Sorry for the criticism, and again, I'm sure that some people would really like this track. It just didn't get to me, I guess.

Anyways, if you get the time, could you check out my latest submission? I'd appreciate it, thanks.

DjCHAOS-EZPOT responds:

Listen to my other songs there way better then this one.

[Lathe]

Pretty awesome.

I love the guitar, all the synth stuff was really well done, and you have a pretty awesome feel to the entire track.

Only complaints: it gets a bit repetitive (especially vinyl scratch+ drill) which kinda sucks for such a short song. You really only change it up majorly at one point in the song. Same thing goes for the drums.

And yeah, the drill does get a bit annoying.

Anyways, this is a very cool track. Very cohesive. I'm torn between 8 and 9, so go ahead and consider this a high 8, if that sort of thing matters to you. Keep it up.

InsaneSmilie responds:

Well thanks for the feed, I do get the idea from other reviews that the effects were a bit over emphasised. As a side, the effect you were hear was not a vynal scratch, it's etching blade on a sheet of lucite (high dencity plexi-glass). As I said we actualy recorded this in a machine shop so thats were we got all the sound effects from.

[KR- Megaman X3 Vile remix]

hmm...

First a disclaimer: I haven't heard the source song for the remix, so it's tough to review a remix fairly.

So with that in mind, I really don't like this piece very much. The main synth that voices the progression sounds pretty basic and somewhat cheesy. The lower end piano-sounding thing is pretty flat too, and doesn't really seem to fit the progression, or the rest of the song. It's pretty awkward, in my opinion. And while you do change up the lead synth a couple of times, there's not much that keeps the track interesting, because you have like four different voices max going at the same time, sometimes less than that. There really isn't any depth- and nothing sounded new the second time through, which is generally a bad sign in my book.

The ending is pretty cool, with the extra synth in the right channel, but it wasn't so fantastic as to make the whole thing worthwhile.

Overall, yeah, this sounds like a videogame track, but I guess it just doesn't really appeal to me. But yeah, keep in mind I haven't heard the original.

Anyways, sorry for the low score. If you have the time, could you check out my latest submission? I'd appreciate it.

knuxrouge responds:

Thanks for your honest review. I'll try to get better. I'll get down to your submission in a minute.

[(::Towards The Sun::) =Master=]

uhh...what?

Lame sounding pad, pretty standard progression. The other pads that come in are throw-away at best. Repetitive. This sounds like the synth presets in Garageband. There's a real lack of anything here. All this stuff would be fine background music if you actually had a song up front. That would be some good depth- but this is just awful. There's nothing in here that suggests thought out ambiance...

There's no movement- nothing at all to keep anyone interested. The ending is lame: you don't build to anything, and then nothing happens.

Repetitive to the point of easy annoyance, and then the track drags out for much too long. Perhaps it is relaxing and calm, but honestly it's more than boring.

I hate to leave a harsh review without any positives- but I really cannot find anything positive in here. I'll just suggest that you start thinking before writing, and spending actual time on your tracks. I don't know if creativity can be learned, but I hope you do try to learn it.

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

I really still can't figure out why you didn't like it... but, some people just don't like this sort of music without beats. You have got to look deep into and feel like you will fall asleep. Sorry you didn't enjoy it.

Oh and, it was a pre-set instrument, but isn't that like saying, "Oh, I am giving you a 2 for that song "Free Bird" Because you played it with a guitar that somebody else already tunes and made for you.

Of course my song isn't anything NEAR free bird lol, but I hope you get the gist of what I mena. =)