kevs91's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AuECS- Rock da Boat]

Cool.

I really don't listen to things like this enough to have a real experienced opinion on it, but I'll go ahead and try anyways.

There's alot of really cool stuff in here, from the breakdown-y part in the middle, to the glitchy sounds right after it, and then the vocal sampling (again), and the glitchy percussion and stuff is awesome.

This might not be completely accurate, but it's my best guess: all the sampled stuff is awesome in this track, but the synth parts aren't great.

The synths create a very specific feel to the track, so that's good. But I just find the sounds you used for the synth parts to be kinda corny and generic. It'd have been cool to have some more uniqueness in there. Of course, you might've wanted them to sound just like they do for a reason I'm not getting, and again, I don't really listen to this genre enough to get it. So take this tiny criticism with a grain of salt, I guess.

Anyways, you're obviously good at this, so keep it up.

Auecs responds:

Thanks for a great review! I like what you said about the synths and over time, the more i listen to the track, I can agree with you. They are cheesy. I think they fit the track very well and I dont really know what else I would replace them with. Unfortunately, i lost this project when my hard drive crashed. A real bummer because this song was not even done. Thanks s much for your review!

[scotland teh brave]

well..

...first off, its cool that you're recording stuff, which generally does take more work than writing things.

However, this is a really, really short loops that is still pretty simple. It gets old, especially listening to it over and over. Also, as has been mentioned before, the quality is really bad. I know it sucks not to have great recording equipment (...from experience :c), but I think you could try to play around with it and make it sound a bit more presentable.

Anyways, yeah, could use some depth, but for something so simple it's alright.

frozensnakee responds:

thanks for the review. i was at first didnt really want to put this song up there because i felt it was unfinished but i figured sense i am a procrastinator and would probably never finish it what the hell. but now maybe i will look into finishing it. i already had the second part transcribed but i just didnt want to a temped to find the settings agen. maybe ill just start from scratch

[(::Goodbye::)]

Alright, a bit on the long side...

This was pretty good- there was definitely a sense of progression and emotion, and the pads you used in conjunction with the violin was beautiful. Gave it a very distinct feel; from the opening bar it was easy to imagine where the song would be heading/what it would sound like, because you do have a pretty iconic and recognizable set of voices. That said, it sometimes got too predictable, and somewhat bland. There was a somewhat lack of things to, well, listen to. I felt like there were times, especially in a two and a half minute song, where they main voices weren't enough to hold my attention. A low, somewhat funky bass would have been a great contrast and really driven the piece, the same could be accomplished with hard-hitting drums.

However, I know that you probably weren't looking for such a contrast, and you might not even be interested in such a thing. So I'll rate you on what was there instead of what wasn't, and what was there was a very nice set of voices with some moving composition, albeit a bit too long for its own good, and sometimes bland.

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

That was the most helpful review I have had in along time, thanks for devoting 5 minutes for typing an extra long message.

[(WF1) A Monks Prayer -Demo-]

good, just unfinished.

this track is pretty great. i love the overall sound- the layering of the instruments, the different pads in the background, and the way the voices play off each other. you have a pretty defined, professional sound here, its just too bad you didn't elaborate on it (yet?).

it could certainly use some direction or movement, and probably some percussion elements, if you do finish it.

honestly, im more interested in listening to this if you do finish. let me know, and ill be happy to leave a more complete review on that one.

wyldfyre1 responds:

yah, i've been slowly working on more music as i go.. I kinda came out with 3 demo's and i'm working on them till i get tired of hearing one then moving to the other so i don't get burnt out. I've not worked on this one to much as of yet however i'm excited about it. When i do finish this sucker or at least add more to it and have it as an updated demo (Depends on how i feel it sounds) i'll get a hold of ya and tell ya fo sure! Thanks for the great review!!!

[do you know]

could definitely use some improvement

i know you've said this is only a demo, and that'd you'd like to improve it, so ill give some impressions/criticisms.

firstly, the guitar strumming sounds almost bowie-esque for some reason, and it doesn't really match up with the melancholy feel that you seem to be going for (judging by the vocals-which weren't great...) and sometimes seems out of tune. its repetitive, and it just sounds off sometimes. this is really a case of a track where some more layers or voices would really help out the variety and flow.

also, i do applaud you for recording vocals, something many people are pretty afraid of doing, but it seems like you don't put much effort into it. most of it is mumbling and off-key, but it seems like you have at least a manageable voice if you really put some effort into it.

anyways, i know this is really an early, rough-draft type of thing, so please don't take this too hard, and just try to improve if you do feel like revisiting/reworking it.

sonbout responds:

well gee thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

["Hemisphere"]

Good music, spotty vocals.

The music for this track is pretty good. I like the way you sorta explore a different sound than generic rock, with different voices/instrument roles, but still have a pretty straightforward rock appeal, which brings along alot of energy. It gets a bit repetitive at times, but due to the vocals, its not very noticeable. The ending, musically, is particularly well done.

The vocals however, I didn't so much care for. The lyrics weren't very good, not especially insightful or poetic, even after a few listens. I could be missing out on some key lines, or maybe its my fault for not grabbing a bigger picture, but I really didn't think the lyrics were great. The vocals weren't very well sung however. I think the vocalist (you?) has a good voice- and it definitely shows at times- but its very inconsistent. There are times when it just sounds like it wasn't sung very well. Also, the screaming bits sounded out of place, bland, generic, unnecessary, ect. One of the worst parts of the track. The digitized effects seemed a bit out of place too. I can appreciate that you're trying to do something different- but those vocals aren't very appealing and sound like a bad 90's pop song or nu-metal band.

Still, I do want to stress that although I think this could be better this is still better than alot of the techno-y stuff on newgrounds. The effort put into the music is obvious, so certainly keep that up.

If you want to check out my new track, I'd appreciate that, too. Thanks.

Setu-Firestorm responds:

You know, for the first time I can shrug the blame (of the lyrics) on someone else. My friend Brian actually wrote the lyrics. I never try to make interpret his lyrics because he has his own way about writing them. As for the screaming, the lyrics called for it which was why I did it, but I too thought it sounded a little out of place (granted, I could've chosen to not do it, but whatever).

The vocals I accept criticism on. They are my vocals, and with every new song I consider it more practice. I'll openly admit that I have a long way to go, but I indeed came a long way (I was even doing the harmony parts in realtime).

The music is always the best aspect of my work because that's where my soul truly is. I only make rock for fun; I much more prefer to do orchestral music. It's also true that I put far more effort into the mixing of the music (let alone the composition). With every new rock album (I believe this is my 6th or 7th one dating all the way back to 2004 -- my singing really blew back then. "No Face" on my Audio page is from one of the first albums from back then) I try a different approach to the rock sound to give it a different atmosphere altogether (this one being a more industrial/electronic rock, my "Twilight" album (on NG as well) being to create a soft astral rock sound, and so on).

Thanks for your review. Also, thank you for being honest, frank, and objective.

[65% incomplete]

Wow.

First off, this is easily the best song I've heard on this site (and from a great number of other places) that I can remember. Maybe its the best I've ever heard. I love the jazzy feel of the horns, the layered electronics, the great bass stuff, the percussion, the voice-everything is pretty much perfect. Its alot of stuff, but its put together perfectly and I really needed to listen to it a couple of times before I felt like I heard everything-and that is what makes a great song in my opinion. You really vary it up too- the beginning is different from the middle and the end is different from the rest. But its not random different, and that really shows how much time you spent on this. Honestly one of the few songs I've felt compelled to put on my ipod and listen to from this site.

I do hate you for not finishing the ending though. :/

Anyways, amazing work. Let me know if you finish this, certainly.

snoballandthmonyshot responds:

wow yourself...
thanks for those words, glad u liked it. won't get finished unless i start it again as i've lost the file for it. is a shame, i like it too but production wise it sounds like shit compared to my last couple, didn't get the opertunity to tweak the production plus i had to use some shatty prog to convert to mp3 and it took a battering, whinge whinge
;ped

[Fleeting Times]

Very good overall, but a few things...

Well, to begin with, the percussion was a bit weak. It wasn't particularly well put together, and it sounded really soft. This sorta hurt the track, because it really seems like a more reserved sounding song could've used some nice contrasting, hard hitting percussion.

Otherwise, the main melody and structure were both good, if a tiny bit repetitive. You did vary it up quite a bit, but it didn't really go anywhere. I kept expecting some big conclusion or exclamation mark or something to come up, but it didn't. Additionally, the ending was weak. A poor transition into what seemed like a tacked-on outro.

Still, I did like the overall sound of most of the voices you used, and there went together perfectly. It's pretty sophisticated sounding actually, and seems like its very well written. So you did do a very good job with the main parts of the track.

Keep it up.

Cosmos8942 responds:

Starting at the top,

Wow, someone that says that the percussion was weak. (Do you use vista...I noticed on my friends computer that with vista running that things just seem to sound different...but probably just me ><). You know, you are the only person that has said that the percussion was weak, but to each their own.

Agreed there :), it took me too long to put the main part(s) of the song together that I don't think I am going to be making something this complicated for sometime. Ending are not really my strong point though, I am much better at the introductions to songs then what I place in at the end. I have no idea why this is...but with the edit button in place I might go and revise a couple things.

Well...it seems that there is just a couple things wrong with this piece, and those can be fixed easily enough, thing is I kinda like it the way it is...so yeah >.>.

Thanks for the review though, almost always appreciated ;]/

-AJ-

Now onto my next project...

[Eat This]

Just a few tweaks, maybe.

The only real criticisms I've got are that the percussion is much too repetitive and that there isn't alot of depth to the song. The percussion just gets to the point of annoyance- even when it seems to be changing sounds, that same pattern just goes on and on, it seems. I know this is a symptom of most drum and bass songs, but for a six minute song, it just gets to be too much. Also, most of the time, there just isn't much to the song. Most of the time, its just percussion, guitar, and a bass sound. When there is a pad in the background, something else drops out, like the guitar or bass, or percussion elements. Again, this doesn't really hold up well because the song is so long.

All that said, I still really liked this. The riffs were nice, the track was moody, aggressive, angry, and it changed moods effectively and surprisingly. It was the embodiment of a temper tantrum, to me, except maybe a bit scarier. I actually liked the vocals, they added to the track at the best parts, and were dismissive when they didn't. I never felt they took away from the song, so that's good.

Just one more thing: this is a long song. It could do without the drum loop intro, honestly. That part was a long 45 seconds. I'm sure you could find other parts to trim down, too, if you were so inclined. But that's just me, I guess. Maybe its suited for a shorter, even more aggressive mix? Dunno, but again, this is a really nice track, even professional sounding. Very, very nice, with a great mood.

I'd say keep it up, but it seems like you've been doing this forever, so you're not exactly going to stop, right?

WizardSleeve responds:

I absolutly agree with you on the drum front, it needs alot more variation, and most of my dnb tracks (at least the modern ones) are all about the variation on the drums and nothing else really matters that much.. however this one i spent most of the time trying to get everything to sound right and alot of people thought doing more to the drums would have been overkill.

I plan to have 2 or 3 new versions of this track though, all with more drum edits.. one of which will be a shorter mix.. maybe remove the first intro.. make the second intro half length, the main bit the same...

another version is going to be a version that my friend has done.. i dont know what it is going to sound like as i havent heard any of it yet, but his production is alot better than mine...

the 3rd version is going to be a combination of all the best ideas.

and yeah i wont ever stop, i love music, listening to and making it. One day maybe some one will pay me for it, or that game i was doing music for will get started up again and i will get known.. till then i'll just love making beats!

Thanks very much for the review

[[Kriz] - Revolution of dreams]

Woah, good.

I liked the subtle crowd noise in the beginning. It made the track stand out instantly, whereas without it, the very basic bass line would have left a poor first impression.

The piano, in particular, is very good. It was a very wise decision to only have the piano going at parts-because if it had played that melody over and over the entire song through it would have gotten pretty tired. The string sounds are good, the synths are good, the percussion and bass are good, if a bit pedestrian in composition. Most importantly, all the parts in this song play very well together, and they form a really energetic, danceable song with a nice melody. Top notch stuff, much better than most of the stuff on here by far, and its only your second submission!

All that said, I do have a problem with how unoriginal this track is. You do the whole dance-y techno energetic track extremely well, but there isn't much more to it than that. There isn't really anything in here that I haven't heard before, or that made me sit up and go "!, that's an amazing idea", you know? Still, this is only your second submission, so it could very well be that you are getting the fundamentals down (and they're here, leaps and bounds over lots of other stuff) but I hope in future tracks that you really try to think out of the box and make something that is completely your own.

Anyways, a very nice, energetic track, keep it up.

Kr1z responds:

wow excellent review, thx for ur time :) !!

ur right, right and right, its dancey, but not very much more then standard dancestuff
as my experience will raise, originality will raise too i hope :D