Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Midnight Lights {7x}]

This is your NGADM Round 2 Review.

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Yeah I can hear the effort in this. It's an entirely different genre than your Round 1 submission and it still sounds like you've got experience in this genre. Massive kudos for that, I always respect an artist that can do different genres!

Sorry to start the review like this but I really wanted to point out that the saxophone is just so good. Honestly, when I was discussing this track with the other judges on Skype they said "oh look, a saxophone in a drum'n'bass track" and I was like "pffhahahaha I must hear thi-whoa cool". It's really good, I'd say it's pretty much the defining characteristic of this track. It also plays some really cool melodies too, which brings me to my next point...

You've got some good composition here. Like I said, fantastic sax solos, and I like your pad chords. Cool bell-like synth, and that main synth with the cutoff LFO or whatever on it was nice. You've got some good sounds and effects, like the filter automation at 1:29 and the sweeps. Also, good mixing. Tight mixing on the drums (they're too loud but more on that later) and overall you have a great, clear mix and good mastering too. This is all really well-made, you're a talented composer and it shows in this piece of work.

However, I have complaints. Biggest complaint would be that there isn't really much sound processing going on here. Sure, you've got some nice effects but you're not really showing off any kind of technical prowess since sweeps are pretty standard in electronic music, and so is filter automation/LFO. You don't really do much with the effects even though the effects you have right now are great. I would've loved to hear some glitching on the drums, different kinds of effects like pitch-bent effects, maybe some more organic hat lines, and more sounds in general...

...You don't really go anywhere with your sound set and stick with a pretty limited sound set. Throw in some more sounds! It'll diversify the experience to hear different sounds come in like some bassier pads, arps... anything really. Your lack of sounds made for a pretty empty mix that seems entirely overshadowed by the beat which is just too loud and stands out too much compared to everything else. The song also gets pretty repetitive. The latter half of the tracks need more different-sounding sections and new stuff to maintain interest.

All in all, what you've got here is impressive. Just work on that repetition and throw in some more interesting stuff in there!

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SCORE:
7.5/10

EbonHawk7X responds:

Your reviews are without doubt some of the best and most constructive criticism I have ever received. Like with each of the other judges reviews I've learned much more about my own compositions from your sharp ears and stellar advice. While improving, I'll be certain to keep each of these teachings in mind so as to one day become as skilled as many others who have entered this competition. Thank you again!

[Mass Extinction]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Man, this is one hell of a good track. I don't know why you were worried about your track sucking because this could easily be one of the best submissions this round. I have some complaints, but overall I'm highly impressed!

Fantastic intro. The strings set the mood flawlessly, thanks to those dissonant diminished fifth chords and ominous atmosphere. On top of that, they sound very warm and realistic. What VST did you use for them? I think the intro dragged on for a little long but it was worth it in the end when the part at 1:35 kicked in which was absolutely fantastic. I love that transition. It creates such a contrast from the uneasy and suspenseful intro and yet it was transitioned to so perfectly.

Fantastic progression from then on. That motif you introduced at 1:35 is great and I like how you kept on repeating it while throwing in new layers of strings, drums and that square synth. 3:10's effect is absolutely fantastic and introduced that busier part so well. Most of the time the amen break makes tracks in this style sound awfully generic but you made it work very well. The bass slides were EARGASMIC and I in fact would've probably highlighted the bass end of them even more.

Among the issues I think this track has to fix, there are a few mixing issues. I don't think the part before 1:57 is too bassy unlike SkyeWintrest since I enjoyed that bass thump offered by the kick, but I agree with him wholeheartedly that after that, the drums were too rough on the high frequencies. The hats sound too clicky and harsh. I would've also given more low end reverb to the strings. Lastly, the amen break's hats suffer the same problem as the hats at 1:57 too IMO. My other issue is the part at 3:10 which sounds a bit too anti-climatic. However, you save yourself at 3:59 (after a lot of repetition) by introducing the strings and that awesome little motif you first played at 1:35. However, I would've made that motif a lot louder and perhaps played on a rougher instrument, to really highlight it. Oh and I think the ending note should be held for longer.

Overall, this is an incredibly well-produced and enjoyable track. For me, it's just a few minor mixing, structural and transitional problems away from perfection!

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SCORE:
8.5/10

RetromanOMG responds:

Well, I kinda covered the problems in SkyWintrest's review, but I can mention what I used for the strings.

I just have a lot of soundfonts that Blackattackbitch posted years ago. It shocks me how people don't use them as much, since some of them are really, really good.

[Isis]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Such a catchy tune! I love this track, it's got really good composition, an excellent mix and such a great style. Extremely enjoyable and I can see this fitting in a game very easily. I'm going to have a hard time finding anything wrong with this track and I know it.

The two key features of this track that shine would be the instrumentation and composition. I LOVE the little tune you had going in the background and all of the melodies you played above it were memorable and fun to listen to. 0:19's legato strings had among my favourite melodies in the whole track as well. You really seem to know what you're doing when it comes to composition.

Maybe your foreground melodies could've been a bit more developed since you seem to favour playing different melodic phrases on top of a constant background tune, rather than actually developing all the melodies and having a leitmotif of sorts, but that isn't really much of a problem for me. Oh and wonderful mixing too. Everything's really clear.

The main problem that I have with this track is that in some lights it's not very varied. It doesn't really get repetitive, but the thing is, you keep pretty much the same background for the whole track and you don't venture off much into instrumentation other than strings, some soft percussion like woodblocks/tambourines and mallet instruments. I think I'm hearing some subtle brass (might be my imagination) but otherwise I didn't hear anything really that new throughout the whole track. Right now it sounds more like it'd fit in a game than be an actual standalone song to listen to. I would've absolutely loved some more development, dynamics, etc... It'd work very well. And more instruments too, especially woodwind instruments. English horns and bassoons would be pretty awesome.

Anyway, that's all I need to say about the track. Recap: fantastic composition, mixing, instrumentation, etc... What this could do with is some more development in the instrumentation, dynamics and so on, to keep it sounding new and interesting throughout the whole track.

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SCORE:
8.5/10

BenTibbetts responds:

Thank you Step!

[Zebra Tangerine {7x}]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

You've got some great ideas in this track that really stand out with your great guitar work, good structure and clear mix. However, the track's got a lot more potential than what you've got here.

Fantastic intro. Really, I love it. You can't go wrong with a soft plucked guitar intro and you've executed it so well here, with a fantastic melody and awesome ambient effects in the background as icing to the cake. I'm currently reviewing this with headphones on (which isn't usual for me) since I'm in an airport on my way back to Malta, and I can safely say that through the headphones this intro gave me shivers. Oh and the guitar note sliding also gave me goosebumps. It all sounds really good, and led me to believe that this is a track I'd really enjoy.

However, the part at 1:11 was unfortunately a disappointment. The intro led me to believe that this was going to be an awesome progressive rock track, but you just went right in with the heavy strumming when a more gradual progression would've been preferred. Why not continue with the mellow guitar patterns you played at the beginning and add a beat over it, instead of moving on to the strumming? This opens the doors to many more directions that you could take the track. Right now the part sounds pretty anti-climatic without a good gradual progression to lead up to it.

Another reason why that part is disappointing is that there really is a lack of a good melody in that part. You introduce string staccato patterns after a few bars of strumming, but they're not providing much of a melody other than playing patterns that support the background strumming. If you made this a more progressive track, you'd be able to introduce leitmotifs during the progression and then repeat them with full force in a climax. Also, the drums aren't bad but they lack in power, particularly the kick. Moreover, the open hat is a bit too loud, harsh and dry for my likings. Having said all that, I love how you transitioned back to the mellow intro for the outro and the ending is brilliant. A modest ending that isn't expected but isn't abrupt. A quick note on the mix; I must commend you on how clear you made everything sound. Sure, the mixing on some elements of the track could do with some touching-up, but other than that I love your mix.

Overall, you have some excellent ideas here, but the execution of these ideas could have used some work. A more progressive approach would have fit this track a lot more. Keep it up, though!

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SCORE:
7.5/10

EbonHawk7X responds:

:( Sorry, yes the beginning I think was some of my best work, only to be put off by the painfully average middle section. I feel like I run into this problem of not being able to carry out an idea to its full potential quite often, but your suggestion about taking different approaches I think is very constructive and I will keep it in mind during future projects. Thank you very much, this review was both excellent and informative!

[Outside the Atmosphere]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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This track has some really good ideas, some decent ideas, and a fair amount of bad ideas. Some of your piano melodies are honestly fantastic, but the synth parts are unfortunately not cutting it. Still, I can't say I didn't enjoy the track as a whole. Good job with it.

So, what I absolutely adore in this track would be the intro's melody. Not that I dislike all the other composition in this track but I think that melody really stands out above the rest. Some of your other melodies are pretty impressive too. 1:48 has a great melody, for instance. I also like how at the end you played the left hand's accompaniment in a calm setting and then introduced the right hand's melody later on. Transitions are all smooth, especially at around 3:05 where you re-introduce that melody. That was a really good idea, and worked very well with the melody before it. Great supporting melodies/chords too, even if they were a bit simple.

Having said that, I'm sure you've noticed that all of the parts I've mentioned so far that stand out to me are the piano parts. The synth parts unfortunately sound very annoying and lack the warm and intricate texture of the piano parts. That square lead got really obnoxious after a while, and by 3:35 it was really getting on my nerves :P. It just didn't fit with the piano that well. In addition, the drums have too much kick to them and get very repetitive after a while.

Speaking of repetitive, I think you hold on to melodies for a bit too long, in particular the piano melodies. For example, when you repeated the intro's melody again towards the end of the track it started to feel far too overused as it just kept on repeating without much variation at all. The only variation I heard to the intro's melody was at around 4:07 which sounded pretty uninspired, and even then was repeated too much in itself. That, coupled with the fact that you don't have many instruments and the instruments don't fit well with each other makes this track unappealing, especially since you stretch it out for a whole 6 minutes when it barely has enough content to last for 3 minutes. This is a real shame because some of the melodies have tonnes of potential.

In a nutcase, you've got some impressive melodies in here, but it's sadly a pretty repetitive track overall that needs touching up in various places. This track has heaps of potential though, perhaps a revisit will do wonders to this track!

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SCORE:
7/10

OpenLight responds:

I agree about the intro melody being repetitive. The reason I used it at the end and in the middle was because I had been told by a few people that I should do so.

Thanks for the review!

[Insurgent [MSB] (NGADM)]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Now this here is dubstep done differently. Not only does this have brilliant production value but you've even strived for originality too, with all those crazy effects, different sounds, loads of pauses and breaks, and all sorts of interesting compositional elements.

You've got some cool composition in here. I was desperately hoping that you don't use a generic chord progression but to my relief, you didn't, using a more interesting chord progression. Other than the melody at the beginning, you don't really have many other clear foreground melodies that aren't covered up by a crap-ton of effects, so in the end that makes this track seems to lose its sense of direction at times, considering all the effects and sounds you jam-packed in there, but that isn't much of a problem for this kind of genre in my opinion, even if I would've appreciated some more foreground melodies in there. But yeah, nice composition! By the way, you may want to leave the ending note to echo a little longer. Right now its reverb is getting cut off because you didn't leave enough silence at the end of the track.

Anyway, not only do you have good composition, but the sounds and production are all superb. You're honestly nearing professional level in your tracks, I swear. Everything sounds so clear and punchy. I'd imagine this was hard to achieve considering all the crazy automation and sounds you've got going all over the place, so massive props for making the mix so clear. All of the sounds are really great. The wobble bass wasn't overbearing and the foreground synths weren't annoying (well, most weren't - more on that later). Nearly everything here is absolute ear candy.

I've got two issues with the track, one is related to the progression and another is related to your use of certain sounds. Starting with the former, I think the progression of the intro is a bit odd. You start off *relatively* softly, the song kicks in, then the drums go away and the track loses a lot of its energy, before kicking in again right after the 1-minute marker. This is a really weird way to structure your intro, I would've gone for a constant buildup to the part at 1:01 instead. Secondly, some sounds seem to stand out too much. The synth at the beginning, for example, felt too loud. Perhaps a cutoff filter automation to sort of ease it into the track instead of starting the track with it at max volume straight away might've been a better choice. Also, that 'wuh' female vocal was nice but at times it was too loud and towards the end of the track it got unbearably annoying.

So yeah, I've got a few stylistic/structural issues with this track and a few issues with your volume levels on certain sounds. Otherwise, I think that this is a really well-produced track!

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SCORE:
8/10

GrantBowtie responds:

Wow I've had some majorly differing reviews on this song but I'd have to say you pretty much summed up every problem that was bothering me with this. Thanks for such a constructive review and I will consider most of this when working on my submission for next round : )

[This is where it ends]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

This isn't the first time that you post a promising song to the auditions, pass to the competition, then your Round 1 submission is made in the last minute and comes out half-assed :P. It has some good ideas, but it really isn't nearly representative of your musical capabilities, which is a darn shame.

If I had to go in any detail on what I liked, then I'll admit that I do find this quite catchy. It's a pretty good tune, albeit sounding extremely uninspired at 0:09 and in the second half of the track. The sounds you used are pretty good, and the drums in particular are punchy and fitting. There's also a decent amount of variety overall, but the exaggerated use of the organ and lack of mood or stylistic changes make it hard for me to maintain my interest after a few play-throughs. The rhythms of the organ are quite interesting though, especially when the organ goes off-beat. The strings later on are pretty cool too.

And now to tell you about the things you probably know about already. The track is too short. The shortest submitted this round. Being under a minute long it has insufficient time for its ideas to be fleshed out fully, and there's no form of gradual progression or development either. Like I said above, some of the melodies are pretty catchy, but overall the composition sounds awfully uninspired and it sounds like you're trying to force the melodies to sound cool. There aren't any interesting harmonies or progressions.

Furthermore, the song doesn't really do justice to its name considering that this track has pretty much no ending at all. I can see why, considering that this is just an idea, and you have no interest to continue it, but needless to say I can't just ignore the fact that there is no form of ending. It doesn't loop either, despite the intro leaving quite a bit of room to allow it to loop.

Yeah, you probably knew this was coming. You're an AWESOME musician, but you need to work on your approach when making music under a strict deadline. I applaud you for actually submitting something instead of just disappearing, since nobody likes walkovers, but yeah, this isn't a very good track I'm afraid!

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SCORE:
4/10

FairSquare responds:

Yeah, i know.. i don't really know why that happens. I try and try.. nothing good comes of it when i have in mind that i HAVE to make a decent song, i guess. Maybe i'll just skip the next NGADM, because i feel bad for delivering this 'song', while someone else who didn't get through the auditions actually could have made a decent song.
On the other hand, i don't like giving up. So, i'll just see next time there's an NGADM.
Oh, and about what you said.. ''the song doesn't really do justice to its name considering that this track has pretty much no ending at all.''
Well, ''This is where it ends'' refers to the NGADM, because i knew i would be eliminated :p

''Yeah, you probably knew this was coming. You're an AWESOME musician, but you need to work on your approach when making music under a strict deadline. I applaud you for actually submitting something instead of just disappearing, since nobody likes walkovers, but yeah, this isn't a very good track I'm afraid!''

Thanks.
And you're right, i do need to change my approach.

Thanks for reviewing!

[Focused Noise (NGADM '12)]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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I'm going to hand it to you, you really wanted to make a statement, being one of the few metal contenders for this NGADM, haha. It sounds like you've got a tonne of experience writing metal (and slaying demons) since it shows a lot in this track.

The track already sounds really meaty and mighty right off the bat, with those guitar chords at the beginning. When I heard them I instantly knew this had very good mixing. Maybe the low end on the guitar was a bit much, but that just might be my god-awful Beats soundcard fluffing up my audio with its horrible bass boosters. Anyway, not only do the guitars sound powerful but so do the drums. Hearing weak drums in metal is a huge pet-peeve of mine, and for me these are metal drums done right. Mastering-wise, you've pretty much nailed it. Nothing is sounding over-compressed and yet nothing is clipping. Fantastic guitar-playing too.

Technicalities aside, this has some glaring problems. You've got some SWEET riffs, but you focus way too much on thrashing the hell out of that guitar and too little on making creative, memorable melodies. Most of the track is the rhythm guitar strumming at crazy quick speeds, and there isn't much to keep me interested. Your problem isn't the lack of vocals (although vocals will help) but it's a lack of melody. The only melodies that catch one's attention come in at 0:51 (incredibly catchy riff right there) and during the guitar solo (which was a bit too all-over-the-place composition-wise for it to deserve much merit from me).

To top that, some of your transitions are unfortunately bad. I'm referring to 0:51 and 2:31. They just feel too abrupt and odd. On a relevant note, the intro was good but the ending just stops. There isn't any semblance of an approach to an ending, it just decides 'right, I'm done now' and stops. I think all of these compositional issues are things that you need to watch out for, because composition seems to be your opponent's strong point this round and could easily be your opponent's strong point in later rounds.

All in all, you've made an extremely heavy and well-mixed track here, but without some memorable melodies and/or vocals, this can get pretty uninteresting, which is a shame, because you're crazy good at what you do and the fact that the composition is lacking here is really bringing down the song's potential. In any case, great work!

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SCORE:
7/10

Demon-Slayer12 responds:

I agree, I wrote some awesome riffs, but then I brainfarted after that haha. I tried to spice things up a little with some octaves on the second riff, and a guitar solo towards the end. But, I knew that still wasn't very creative, yet I figured it was better than just the riffs. I spent most of my time mixing and mastering, and mastering being a new thing for me. If you go through all of my songs I guarantee you won't find anything that sounds clearer. So, I'll take that into the next round, but I'll at least try to be more creative with the song structure. Thanks for the detailed review, I wish more reviews could be like that, it really helps an artist to improve!

[The Mare and The Tortoise]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Now this has some of the most impressive vocals I've ever heard on Newgrounds. I mean, I knew you were really good at singing, but I never knew you were this good. And other than that, you've got some interesting rhythm-guitar stuff, great structure, excellent mixing... yeah this is really good. Nie work!

As you might've guessed, what I think is the most enjoyable aspect of this submission would undoubtedly be those vocals. There we just a few rare instances when the vocals were a little off tune, but otherwise they sound really really good and I'd expect to hear this standard of vocal quality on the radio (especially that little phrase at 1:47). Fantastic vocal harmonies, you can form a one-man acapella band on your own, I swear. The lyrics are awfully cheesy, but I've never cared much for lyrics before and cheesy lyrics don't really retract much from the song. You're probably one of the best male singers on Newgrounds, I swear.

The mixing is all very impressive too. Everything is really clear and easy to hear, despite it all being recordings rather than samples (which are inarguably a lot harder to mix). Sure, I don't have much to commend you on considering you're not really using many instruments here, but still, one can notice that this is extremely well-mixed regardless. Flawless amounts of reverb and perfect EQing. The good mix also made it very easy to hear what the vocals are saying. The instrumentation you used is also good, albeit simple. You've modestly recorded so little melodic/percussive instruments that the final result sounds wonderfully "home-made" and laid-back, especially when you threw in those moderately reverbed claps. Structure is good, intro and ending are both fine, transitions are nailed, composition is simple and likable (love that little chromatic phrase at 1:54)... really this is all so good.

My only real issue with this track is that it gets pretty uninteresting later on in the track. The sole thing that really saves this track from being outright boring would be the different lyrics. I mean, it's not repetitive or anything, but you can only keep a simple guitar and percussive pattern going on behind vocals for so long before it starts feeling like there's something missing. While I love the simple and relaxed feel you were going for here, throughout my first listen I was secretly wishing that the song would move onto something new. You know, a new instrument or a totally different mood or anything to keep the track sounding fresh and new.

That's me just nitpicking though, really. This is a nice refreshing track that seriously sounds like something I wouldn't find out of place on the radio. Excellent work man, keep it up!

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SCORE:
8.5/10

midimachine responds:

Lyrics are dumb and I hate writing them but I can't just slap random words in or nothing but oohs and aahs or it sounds even stupider to me :v UMMMM yeah I should've definitely thrown in another instrument to pad the mix out a bit more, was a little pressed for time though. Also all my hardware synths are either packed up or out of batteries haha. So yeah, cheers for the review! With these and BFP's reviews I think I'll have a really good idea of what you guys are fully expecting from the participants of round 2 and should hopefully be able to meet and exceed expectations :)

[Chemicals [NGADM]]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/498899

REVIEW:
Alright, I'll give it to you straight. This is amazing. I've never heard of you before the NGADM so for me you honestly came out of nowhere and started posting this amazing stuff like magic or something. You're brilliant, I have honestly never heard anyone so good at this genre for a long while. Fantastic work.

So, yeah, everything is amazing. I love your guitar playing so much, you're a very talented guitarist. The quick descending and ascending phrases you do on the guitar all over the song are just sublime and you integrate them so well with your melody. You've clearly got a good grasp of music theory too because some of your chords are just phenomenal (I especially like the one at 1:10). All of the instruments you used are just so good. They fit with each other wonderfully.

Transitions are even fantastic. You had tons of sweet drum fills and even some awesome melodic fills (like BlazingDragon said, the chromatic phrase at 1:32 is out of this world). I love how you seamlessly transition from one mood to another so easily. Examples include the transition at 1:36 where you switch to a more playful mood very well, and 4:22 where you switch from the busier part to the softer part.

Mixing is also extremely good, but unfortunately it's not perfect. The drums in particular feel a bit too dosed in high-end reverb. Also, they feel too compressed around 5:07. The open hat later on sounds a bit too loud too. Lastly, the vocals seem a bit awkwardly mixed in and sound strange at times. Your voice is REALLY good and in-tune, but sometimes they get drowned out, other times (1:47 for example) they stand out too much and sound pretty odd.

Anyway, that's all I have to say about the track. It's sublime, let me know when you get a record deal k thx.

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SCORE:
9.5/10

Kor-Rune responds:

Thank you Step! I'm happy my sound is well received!

I'm also glad my transitions work! I feel like I struggle the most trying to write them, since I do more chord progressions than riffs.

I'm glad the problems here lie in the mixing! All it takes is opening up the DAW and your helpful reviews side-by-side to get a good mix going. I really appreciate the constructiveness, I'm sure it will help in the next round too!

Thank you for the great score, great review, and great help!