Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[In the end]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

Considering the issues you had, I expected a much worse track than this. This is actually quite fantastic. Alright sure, it's not as good as your Round 1 track (which I've decided has one of the best main themes of all of Round 1, by the way), but man, this track really has its moments. First and foremost, it hardly sounds like an improvisation; your chord changes are great (did you think of those spontaneously or did you have them in mind before you hit the record button?) and the melodies are gorgeous. I love your simple approach in the intro; it sounds beautiful, and as you slowly make everything sound more busy I was genuinely captivated and interested to hear what happens next. Then, at the very end, you introduce a jazzy, upbeat section with even more fantastic composition.

Considering the track is mostly piano, with a bit of strings, bass and drums at the end (and some super subtle strings in the first half), there's hardly a reason to give you lots of credit for the mixing, but nevertheless, it was a clear and very dynamic mix, and the instruments you use sound good. I love your piano sound so much - it's a real piano and not a sample right? Whatever the case, it sounds bright, well-balanced and expressive. All the other sounds were fine too - bass needs more presence, but otherwise, I enjoyed hearing your other instruments and how well they worked with the piano. Props on going the extra mile and adding more instrumentation to this track; most people just play it safe by having a piano playing for the whole track, but you added more instruments which made for a more satisfying listen.

The issues here are probably things you already know about. The transition to the upbeat part was rough and unexpected. A more thoughtful approach to that final section would have made more sense. The left-hand accompaniment from around 0:46 till 1:30 was a bit dull/bland. The track lacks a structure, and mostly progresses from melody to melody before bringing in that final section. The outro could use a little work. It makes the track feel unfinished, and even though this isn't the most polished and developed track out there, I was hoping for more of a conclusion. Lastly, the track is a little on the short side.

Still, what the heck, this is a lovely submission. The tracks you work hard on are brilliant, and even the ones that may have been a bit rushed are great. Nice work, can't wait to hear more of your music. P.S. Do you plan on making that track you had planned for this round anyway? pleasesayyespleasesayyespleasesayyes.

Score: 8.3/10

BlazingDragon responds:

One of the best themes of round one? Aww, shucks! :')

I don't clearly remember if the beginning was a cold improvisation or if I had warmed up and played around with chord ideas for a few minutes. Probably the latter. Either way, those are chords that I use very often. There are certain things in here are are kind of signature for me. Pedal tones for building drama. Borrowed chords, especially the minor iv. Melodramatic use of the iii to IV progression which you don't hear too often these days. Of course, I also used those secondary dominants that I love so much to create chromatically moving inner parts. <3

The piano sound I use is most definitely not real. I wish I had a grand piano to play on and the knowledge of how to correctly mic it! I think that for this track I used the piano sound that comes in EW Goliath. I'm now using Alicia's Keys and The Giant from Komplete 9 which I like even better. I do play everything on an 88-key weighted MIDI controller. I think that the realism comes from the natural velocities and timings of an actual pianist as opposed to using a mouse to input rigid blocks of notes.

As for making the track I originally planned, I feel like it has been doomed to never be produced. I haven't touched it in forever and I have fallen out of touch with the drummer and bass player who do so much to make it great. :/ Maybe it'll come to fruition sometime in the next year or two, but I really can't say. It's definitely not high priority.

Thank you for the WONDERFUL review, and my apologies for taking so long to respond! Thank you for all your hard work on this contest. :)

[Coast Totems]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

How can someone not have a smile on their face at least once while listening to this? You absolutely nailed the mood. This is literally one of the most chill tracks I've heard in NGADM history and it's so nice to hear you executing a totally different style from what you're used to like you've been doing it all your life. The rhythms are just great; even though you keep the track firmly on one single rhythm most of the time, you've got plenty of rhythmic variety on all the other instruments such that it isn't that much of an issue, and you even introduce some cool new rhythmic stuff on the percussion at times as well, such as at adding that subtle percussion at 4:28 whose rhythm is then adopted by the hat line later on. And, while your production value is a little lower than what I've come to expect from you, it's still great. Awesome guitar tone at 6:13!

The composition is remarkable, as it always is from you. I very much enjoyed all your melodies, dynamics, and cool ideas like the pauses you incorporated at 5:49 and 6:33. And, to my delight, this does not feel directionless at all. Everything is so much more structured and well-thought-out. And, I mean, apart from your great structure, you have a brilliant progression (it's a bit slow, but extremely well-made nonetheless) and the transitions are all perfect. In your other music, at times your transitions would be a little iffy because you're be transitioning between one idea and another fairly unrelated one, but here since the ideas are pretty unified in style, you had no problem at all with the transitions. Everything was smooth and nothing interrupted the flow.

But damn it, man, you're either one extreme or the other! Sometimes you make directionless tracks which have brilliant atmospheres and compositions that keep the song interesting till the end, and other times you make more standardised tracks with masterful structure and progression that don't have that unique touch I want from you. You made a conscious effort to make everything more sensible and less haphazard, but unfortunately at times this track can get a little boring or slow-paced, and lacks the interesting elements your other tracks often have. That being said, it's definitely memorable since it has a more relatable style, it's more structured and I would imagine this appealing more to the casual listener than some of your other works. Oh, and the vocals are really thin; they definitely need work. Additionally, the mix could be a bit more roomy in general, but it's still a great mix.

Of course, I'm only being a fussy bastard. This track is still outstanding; it's still head and shoulders (and knees and toes) above a lot of music here on Newgrounds in terms of quality, and I still fantasise about being half as good as you one day! For providing a more memorable and sensible experience, I'm rating this higher than your Round 1 track, but I'm still waiting for that glorious structured track which doesn't have ideas all over the place but still sounds revolutionary.

Score: 8.9/10

[Juste Une Blague]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

Oh man, for something like 3 days of work, this is excellent. For 2 weeks of work this is excellent. I don't think at all that this sounds rushed! This track takes a few listens to fully digest but I found that after I few listens I was deeply enjoying it. The composition is brilliant. I can hear a strong jazz influence in your melodies, which I agree isn't something typical of your style, but dear lord does it sound fantastic. I love the grace notes, trills and little articulations here and there. They fit well in this style and give the piece a certain authenticity, contrasted interestingly by your cute electronic synths in the background playing rhythmically rigid accompaniment. Said accompaniment, by the way, is just spellbinding. It's got the extremely enjoyable and smile-inducing obscurity I've come to expect from you.

Before I move on to the production, I'd like to mention that the atmosphere/mood is great. The mood is a bit cliché in terms of circus music, but your unique style certainly makes up for that, creating a song that's both relatable and original. The production is stellar (apart from a miniscule quirk I'll mention in the next paragraph). You don't have a huge amount of different elements playing together so I can't credit you too much for making this so clear, but nevertheless it's commendable. The sounds you've used are good as well (although not nearly as good as your use of them). The sounds you use in your music always seem to be an enigma - I'd love to know what VSTs/soundfonts you used in this track actually. Finally, props on the low-key intro and ending! They do their respective jobs considerably well.

This track is a pretty decent length; not massive but quite sizeable. Despite this, like johnfn I was left wanting more at the end. I felt like this track slightly lacked development - it's kind of the same problem your Christmas MAC submission from last year had (although perhaps not to that extent). I heard so much variety in the different sections of Make a Scene and I was hoping to hear the same variety here; while compositionally you vary it plenty, the mood is stationary throughout the track, and you could've made the track longer by introducing unpredictable new sections that temporarily take the track to new directions. I'm a stickler for varying moods in music though, so this is entirely personal preference, and it really doesn't detract from the listening experience that much. Also watch out - as much as I LOVE your timpani (sounds great at high volumes), they drown out the foreground melody a little, especially in parts like 0:32!

The more I listen to your work, the more it grows on me and the more I look up to it. Superb job with this - I felt like it would be unfair to give you a higher score than johnfn since his track was more fleshed out and developed, but quality-wise, you two are very, very close, hence my very, very close scores for both of you.

Score: 9.4/10

[inside the machine]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

Oh hell yes. This is fantastic. The sounds you've chosen are just excellent. The lead synth has a spacey texture to it that I just love, and yet most of the time it seemingly forgets all its trippy and spacey qualities and plays the groovy and energetic solos with the badassery of an amazing lead guitar player. Your pad and bass elements are highly fitting, giving this a very deep sound and doing wonders to the atmosphere. Your drums are, as usual, punchy, varied, and absolutely fantastic. And then you mix all those sounds so well! Everything has its own space in the mix, and the production is lovely. Of course, I also turned the volume up to the high amount just to hear how clean your low end is, and I was not surprised to hear that it is as always spick-and-span. You are the unofficial master of clean low ends.

The composition is great too. I don't think anyone can help but smile once they've heard the main riff that instantly plays during your wonderfully understated intro that doesn't waste any time to introduce the track. The track only gets better from there, with a huge variety of melodies and excellent progression between them. I love the moments where your synth just trails off into the low or high register like 1:20 and 1:36. Despite not being very tonally cohesive, it somehow gives your melodies a great tinge of excitement and energy. One little detail I appreciated was how you repeated 2:25's melody at 4:01 except quicker and developing it even more. I laughed at you mentioning that you might've worked extra hard on your transitions because SkyeWintrest is judging. Good thing he's so picky about transitions though because in turn your track has fantastic transitions from beginning to end.

Regarding any issues... well, what can I say? This track has all of the good qualities of your previous one and then some. Not only that, but it improved over all of the bad qualities of the previous one. The compression is tighter and more fitting during the harder-hitting parts (and yet still loose enough for dynamic variation), the intro is great, the piano fits this time... hell, even the reverse cymbal is just the right loudness. Perhaps 2:08 - 2:24's section was a bit unnecessary since it didn't really offer much to the track (apart from the badass transition to the next part which you could've implemented into the part before it). Also, the fade-out ending! It fits for this kind of song, but just barely. I can't help but feel that if you had a more finished ending with the same "boom factor" that your previous track's ending had, then it would've worked better.

Really though, this is absolutely fantastic. Jam-packed with detail, variation, and sweet production to boot. Brilliant job.

Score: 9.5/10

johnfn responds:

Man I'm super psyched that you liked it so much! You even caught the 2:25->4:01, which is something I sneaked in wondering if anyone would notice! Also, holy smokes, your review length doubled from last time. Must be because of 1/2 the number of submissions! I tremble in fear in anticipation of your round 3 review ;-)

Phew, it's going to be tough to improve upon this song for the next round... Still trying to think out a strategy :-) I will definitely be thinking about arrangement more for next time, since that's something I still struggle with (and you called me out with the 2:08 thing).

And finally, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all the work you do with these reviews! I know that this must take a TON of time, and I (and everyone else in NGADM I'm sure) am MASSIVELY appreciative.

P.S. Want to know the secret of how I do my bass? I actually use an electric bass! I know right, seems crazy that an acoustic instrument could fit into such an electronic song, but it actually works pretty well eh?

[When a Good Man Goes to War ~P]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

Now that's more like what I was hoping to get from you. Your Round 1 track was short and lacked much of a wow-factor, but here we have a fully-developed, 5-minute-and-half ballad with a lovely mixture of moods and a fantastic structure. High dynamics incoming indeed; there's a lot to commend in the dynamics of this track. Similar to Veneox's style of composition, you're able to tell a story by giving the track a clear direction but still varying the moods and emotions that the track conveys, which is a very pleasant difference from your dynamically-flat Round 1 submission. What also helps the dynamics is that you have so many different instruments, and they're high-quality and sound great.

The composition is, as expected, solid. Your leitmotif (the one that's played by the pipes at the beginning) was just the same four-bar melody repeated various times, which was a bit of a shame (I would've musicgasmed if with each repetition you introduced harmonic layers from different instruments) but really it's a great melody, and when you introduce it again later on in the track it succeeds in giving the track some great structural meaning. I feel like you excel more at the softer sections, because the captivating piano and guitar solos, and delicate woodwind passages, were where your composition shined the most (especially that piano section at the end).

The production, while quite good on the whole, was a bit lacking. Maybe that's why your composition shined more in the softer sections, because needless to say it's harder to mix when you have a lot of instruments playing in a louder section. When the guitar came in, I felt like it was a bit of a weak attempt at portraying anger/vengeance, since it's really hard to make a guitar sound good when it's a VST. If you brought in a real guitar player, the idea of adding a guitar among all those ethnic and orchestral instruments would've worked better, and even then I still question the use of a guitar in such an instrument setting. The track in general could do with some more mastering and levelling, so I can feel the power of the percussion and the depth of your background instruments. Props on making everything sound clear though.

Production quality is the biggest issue in this track. Composition, structure, dynamics, transitions, etc... are all beautiful. Keep it up!

Score: 8.5/10

Phyrnna responds:

I'm glad you enjoyed the ballad nature of this track. I was indeed trying to vary it up a bit. Whereas usually I'm writing tracks that are focused on just conveying one mood/imagery for games, I decided to make one that stands on its own and tells a story by itself.

I still feel like my best works are with softer pieces. >.>; It's where I started and feel most at home. I need to work on that. xD

Production I had a lot of trouble with this one, trying to get the.... 24 or so instruments to all fit in properly with each other, especially during the louder sections where they get very crowded. Needless to say I think the mix probably took a hit from it.

And the electric guitar... T.T So much that I want to do with it but the VST lacks in what it can do and I can only barely play anything. D: I'll figure it out....

Thanks for the review! :D

[A Long Way Home]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

Yes. Just yes. You have improved on literally everything that Blind Maiden lacked. When I said focus more on your instruments in Blind Maiden I didn't mean make more instrumental parts; rather I meant to blend your vocals in a bit more rather than have them drown out the instruments - that said, you make brilliant use of your instruments this time. Your composition in Blind Maiden was a tad bit simple at times and occasionally generic, but that's certainly not the case here anymore - the harmonies and melodies are just exquisite. There is also nothing at all generic/overused about this track, except maybe the name but who cares about the name?

Let me also mention how excellent that vocal intro is. Joy has a magnificent voice, and your vocal harmonies work perfectly with it. I love your subtle increase in volume of the vocal harmonies, which made the intro progress very well, and by the end of the vocal passage we've got a wonderfully thick and rich vocal sound that I get goosebumps when hearing. The piano can't really get any better - huge props to BlazingDragon for that. The technical side of the composition such as structure, transitions, ending, etc are mostly nailed. Hearing some lovely japanese influences in your instrumentation/melodies by the way! Also heard a bit of it in Blind Maiden too - is it intentional?

Like your Round 1 track, this has a few issues here and there. Your use of reverb is a tad too heavy. It worked perfectly for the vocal intro, but once that was over it caused your track to be a bit muddy, and not just in the part that you intended to be incohesive. I would've preferred a better transition between your vocal intro and the piano. Nothing too smooth because, of course, you're trying to symbolise the start of a journey, but right now the vocal intro feels detached from the rest of the track. This detachment might work with the story you wrote in the author's comments, but musically it doesn't quite work. Also, a few clicks/pops in the vocal recording but nothing I'd reduce marks for.

This is an incredibly good track. As I said in a review response to you, you're swiftly becoming one of my favourite artists on Newgrounds. Excellent, excellent work.

Score: 9.3/10

[The Great Ocean]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

Quite a great track you've got here! What I find to be really interesting is how you started the track. It's a very low-key intro that doesn't solicit much interest. The lead synth sounds pretty plain, the drums are lacking intricacy, and I was thinking "no way, surely Hurks can do better than this". Then, I'm blown away by an explosion of well-produced sound at 1:10. Personally, I think starting the song that way worked brilliantly. Your production was good in your Round 1 track but I think you do your skills far more justice in this track. Excellent, well-balanced, polished mix which isn't tiring on the ears and has suitable compression while still being dynamic. Bravo!

You've got some pretty good composition! What I liked most would be your transitions. I see what TheDoor6 means about those transitions but personally I think that their abruptness worked very well. You've got great, smooth transitions, and some very interesting ones like 3:19. You've also got a solid (if a bit simple/predictable) structure that makes for a very satisfying listen. Your atmosphere is also quite good! Maybe the ending was a bit lame, but it's a matter of personal preference I think. You've got great sounds by the way. Fantastic bass, and great use of the piano at the beginning. I especially like your percussion samples. They're somewhat generic but nevertheless very pleasing to the ears and suitable for this track, especially that distorted snare.

Like ForgottenDawn said, you need to work on making this less repetitive. The "main" riff that appears first in the intro is repeated many times, and when it's not constantly being iterated, you've got other repetitive elements such as the high bell. You've got a good idea of bringing all of the different elements together at the end (which is, again, another indication of how good your structure is) but even then you repeat them all to the point that the listener would start getting tired of them.

Really, the repetition is the only big issue of the track. You gave ForgottenDawn a run for his money with this rock-solid Drum'n'Bass track. Great work.

Score: 8.5/10

[FD - Moontears]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

I was looking forward to hearing your Round 2 track, and I am sure as hell not disappointed. I'm going to start with the obvious atmosphere praise. You have such an incredible atmosphere, and while I personally would've preferred some more melodic elements in the intro (this is entirely personal preference, may I add), you've expertly crafted an atmosphere that depicts all of the moods and themes you mentioned in the author's comments with mathematical precision. What I was also very impressed with was the amount of detail you put into the piece. It doesn't seem like it at first, but there's a hell of a lot of subtle elements in play here. Once I turned the volume up I was engulfed in the atmosphere and was able to hear these miniscule details, like the static noise or what sounds like whispering/muttering in the 0:55 section.

The composition is beautiful. Melodically and harmonically, this track really excels. Your melody has a fantastic progression and is played on a very solid foundation of suitable chords and, of course, the dreariness and bleakness of your atmosphere. I like your idea of introducing low strings before bringing in the high strings; not only did the low strings help deepen the soundscape, but they made your introduction of high, emotional strings amidst a synthy, drone-like ambience sound more sensible. There's also nothing wrong with the production of this track. Everything's clear, and sounds amazing, especially those strings.

I would've liked some more textural changes in the part with the high strings. The texture over there is relatively unchanging, which feels like a disappointingly "safe" way to handle that section when before you used so many experimental and unique sounds that added to the atmosphere. That section also seems to be lacking slightly in low end. I would've liked the accompanying string chords to be deeper/bassier, or maybe some kind of atmospheric rumbling sound or bass synth to really cover up the full range of the mix. This is a slight issue, because that section is suitably deep, and if you introduce a low-end rumble, your timpani roll will lose a bit of its effect, so it's something I'm torn about. Speaking of the timpani roll, it's a bit abrupt; you could've let it ring out a little more. Lastly, I felt that when you finally do introduce the high strings, it was a tad bit abrupt; I would've liked a more subtle approach, where the high strings are kind of edged in smoothly.

Overall, that was an incredible listen, despite a few issues in the string section WHICH WAS BEAUTIFUL REGARDLESS. It's an improvement over your Round 1 track, and really provided the experience I was hoping to get from you.

Score: 8.8/10

ForgottenDawn responds:

Thank you Step, that was a great review and I absolutely agree with the points stated about the climatic part of Moontears. To be perfectly honest it was quite intimidating to handle for me at first since I felt like having indeed a great potential, especially considering the emotional value of a track like this, and in the end I chose to stuck my axe to a tree instead of cutting it down completely with the risk of ruining the wood if you know what I mean by that metaphor. I'm still sort of learning the dynamics in a mix, how to not leave audible "gaps" between the sounds without letting them sound either too sparse or, on the contrary, too intrusive. To share I guess, and keep up your insightful reviewing style.

[The Last Prince]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

There are some pretty great ideas here. You have a wonderful intro. It's soft, and sets the mood beautifully. When the low strings come in during the intro, I feel like the intro started to spiral down in quality because it started to get a bit bland and boring, but before that you have a great piano sound that creates a wonderful atmosphere. 1:17's percussive elements are subtle and very effective. What I really like at that point is how you build up and introduce some heart-pumping staccato strings, die down again, and do the same thing later on. It's an interesting structural approach that works very well.

In general, structure-wise, you have a pretty interesting structure. You saved the climax for the very end, but still added plenty of dynamics beforehand. Unfortunately, saving the climax for the end and making it so short and detached from the rest of the track transition-wise is a bit of a dissapointment, so there's room for more development in this track from where you left off. The transitions in general are pretty smooth! 0:25's strings should be far more subtle, a nice drum fill before 1:17 would've been awesome, 1:52 came off as a bit abrupt and let's face it, the transition to 2:46's part was lame, but otherwise, everything else is smooth.

Your composition has some good aspects and bad aspects. In the softer sections you have far more interesting melodic material. In the climax at the end you basically just repeated the same short riff many times over, which is similar to what you did in your Round 1 track during the climactic sections. Could be something to work on in your future tracks. I feel like your buildups could have been more pronounced. As I said above, I love how you build up the staccato strings halfway through the track, but I didn't quite feel the increase in intensity I was hoping for. The buildup to the climax at the end could've been far better too. Lastly, despite such a fantastic intro, your ending is a pretty average "unfinished" ending you usually find in trailers, which didn't do the track justice, I feel.

Deadlines can be tough, especially when you get technical issues or you simply don't manage to get inspired in time. I know you can do much much better, but still, you've certainly got good ideas here and hopefully my review will help when/if you revisit them! Good job.

Score: 7.6/10

TitanMusic responds:

Thanks a lot for the review.
My songs have dropped in quality over the last few weeks and I am honestly quite happy I got knocked out. I don't have enough time at the moment and I feel I am just releasing tracks that aren't good enough just for the sake of the competition.
It's interesting to contrast yours and SkyeWintrest's reviews.
Thank you for taking the time to give such an in depth review, it is much appreciated.
I don't think the song is worthy of the 7.6 you awarded but I do agree that there are some pretty cool ideas in this song that I should and will work on.
Thanks again!

[Ode to the Reader]

This is an NGADM Round 2 review.

--

The NGADM has been accused in the past for favouring cinematic orchestral, and time and time again I've said that the only reason there are lots of cinematic orchestral tracks in the NGADM is because there were a lot of good cinematic orchestral tracks in the auditions, and that we try our hardest not to favour any genre, but I am now going to proceed to making myself look like a total hypocrite and drool all over this track. You've got the kind of production quality in this track that I'd expect only from NG orchestral musicians such as PeterSatera and MaestroRage. Sound-wise, you have nailed everything absolutely flawlessly, and make it look (ostensibly) effortless.

I literally went looking for synonyms of "enormous" to describe your climaxes to see if I can find something that sounds bigger than enormous since that word didn't quite cut it, but I couldn't really find any, so I'll go with... tremendously enormous, I guess? And I mean, this is helped by your excellent samples, and in turn your fantastic mixing. Like any good track in this genre, you don't blast everything at max volume all the time and put in some wonderful dynamics. Your percussion-driven sections like 1:06 and 3:56 are excellent, by the way. Really, the only thing I don't like about your production is how your drums get drowned out in the climaxes, but this is a minor issue because over there, the drums are used more as a way to keep the pacing quick, and not as a way to provide power to the track (of which the other instruments provide plenty).

Having said that, I feel like the focus was a bit too much on showcasing power and in my opinion, the compositional side of things were somewhat neglected. The bulk of the complex composition was in the soothing piano intro, and even that felt a tad bit gimmicky. During the climaxes, the real focus was on making something that sounds colossal, but none of the composition was really memorable. Also, johnfn literally took the words right out of my mouth - the structure is a bit off. You've got such great transitions and audible buildups that you can really feel while listening to them, but then it's tainted by the fact that your structure can feel a bit random (especially your, in my opinion, unnecessary 2:22 climax). The track is quite generic too - as you said in a review response, you do need to think more out of the box!

Really though, that was an amazing track. Sure it's a bit generic, and the composition/structure needs some work, but damn, that aside, you've got a track here that's not only an improvement over your last track but really convinces me that you're one of the most capable cinematic musicians in the Audio Portal. Keep up your strong pace!

Score: 8.9/10