Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[timeslip]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

Fantastic, man. It's not often I hear this kind of jazz, but when I do I'm almost always amazed by it and this is no exception. It's incredibly soothing, has some impressive composition, and the fact that nearly everything's recorded makes it have a lot more feeling and authenticity in it that makes for a very solid track. Brilliant work.

The overall composition is what got me the most. It's very mellow and can relax the most hyped-up person, I swear. Lovely guitar melodies, and the sax work is amazing. I also love how the track starts up softly, builds up, gets busier at around 1:07, and then dies down to a satisfying ending note on the sax and strum on the guitar. It's a good structure that doesn't try too hard to sound good and works well for a fairly short track such as this. Perfect transitions and lovely chord changes too, can't really fault them. You've got a good firm grasp on composition, man.

Instrumentation and mixing-wise are two things this track shines in. Everything sounds great. The instruments all fit together wonderfully, especially that guitar whose sound I think is phenomenal. The mixing overall is very good, and you make full use of the frequency spectrum. I especially like the mixing on those drums. They sound clear, and yet that kick especially has a bassy thump to it that makes the drum line highly enjoyable. I would've personally added more reverb to the drums, the snare and cymbals in particular, but I wouldn't worry about it much. I think I'm hearing a bit of a background hum from your mike or something, but my ears are crap at noticing this kind of stuff so it may well be my imagination, and again, I wouldn't worry about that either.

My main issue with the track is that it gets a bit dull. I can hear that you did make an effort to keep it sounding interesting and varied throughout the whole thing with such a varied usage of chords and new melodies on the sax, but unfortunately everything is in a slow tempo and you don't really move away from your current instrument set, limiting your sax as the main instrument for the track for pretty much the whole 2-minutes of the track, so it's inevitable for it to get a bit dull. I'd suggest introducing more elements to the track, and perhaps introducing some compositional elements that you had already used earlier in the track, to catch the listener's attention.

That's really just a minor nitpick. This is otherwise an amazing track. Fantastic work.

--

SCORE:
9/10

acmeDyne responds:

Thanks for the nice review!
You do an excellent job running this contest. I had a lot of fun and I hope to be back next year...

[What's Ahead (NGADM 1)]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

What could've been a really good track here is unfortunately ruined by a considerably bad mix and poor instrumentation. You're a talented composer but notes alone aren't enough to make a good final product. The mix is poor and it's really hard to hear everything clearly.

First thing that needs working on is the realism. I assume you're not using anything ground-breaking in terms of VSTs and sample libraries, but there are some things here that will improve realism and make for an astoundingly better final product, even without having crazy expensive sound libraries. For starters, all of the instruments remain at roughly the same volume throughout. Wouldn't it be so much better if you had a volume control on some instruments and make them rise in volume during more intense parts and lower in volume in less intense parts? It's even noticeable when the notes stop; instead of fading out, you just stop the notes which sounds awfully unrealistic. You can also do things like play melodic phrases with one instrument and respond to the phrases with another instrument. You can add solos, vary velocities, add more subtle instruments, and articulations/grace notes. Glissandos, trills, etc... these are all things that make your track sound more natural and enjoyable and less MIDI-sounding.

Secondly, the mix is unfortunately in shambles. The instruments are all mashed together in a mess of sounds and it's hard to actually focus on one instrument when there are so many other instruments clashing with it and drowning it out. You need to make your mix more spaced out. Give some brightness and high end to the main instruments and dampen the background instruments, giving the bassy ones more low end. Some instruments such as the strings and choir are very dry too and could do with some reverb.

Still, I have to commend you on the composition. The melodies were great and have tonnes of potential. You've got a good progression and I love your approach at the beginning. The transitions were smooth on the whole, and you can't go wrong with your structure either. You've got a good amount of variety, the chords are fine and you created a good mood. This is something that, with a lot of polishing and some more intensity through the use of percussion and whatnot, will sound fantastic during a boss battle in a game.

Overall, you're great at composing, but technicalities such as mixing, realism, etc... need a LOT of work. I admittedly enjoyed your audition track and other tracks much much more than this, so I don't consider this your standard of music. Better luck in Round 2 perhaps!

--

SCORE:
5/10

CheckeredZebra responds:

I see, so basically expand upon the track and add counterparts to what is there. Thanks for using more basic terms, it makes it easier for me to find what I need to do! I'm sure this program can do all of that, it's just a matter of finding where everything is and applying it.

Thanks for this, I appreciate it.

[Hymn To The Fallen]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

I had no idea you were this good haha. This is fantastic. The melodies are excellent, the atmosphere you achieved is very good, if not slightly cliche, and the sounds are very high quality (but I can expect no less from East/West of course). Sublime work overall.

So yeah, starting off with the composition, I really don't see much room for improvement. The melody's progression was particularly good. I love how the melody seamlessly evolved without ever sounding awkward or out-of-place. Even when the melody was shifted to different instruments, the flow never wavered or got interrupted. I especially like how you made the song die down at around the 1-minute marker.

The instrumentation is also incredibly good. You've used a lot of instruments without overwhelming the mix too much and each instrument sounds amazing. I especially like your use of glockenspiel, that sounded particularly fitting, as did all the woodwind. The choirs, not so much, but they still sounded great nevertheless. Oh and the high strings gave me chills.

My prime issue with this track is the general mix and mastering. I mean the mix is very good, but at times it loses in clarity and it isn't very easy to discern the main melody. This might be because you paid a bit too much attention to the bass in this track. The whole mix could do with sounding a bit brighter. Also, the levels need work. If you take a look at the waveform, everything is very quiet except the rises in intensity which are much much louder. A more leveled mix that still retains dynamics would be preferable. Not that I didn't enjoy your rises in intensity though. They were incredibly good.

Just work on those mixing and leveling quirks. Otherwise you've got a very solid track here.

--

SCORE:
8.5/10

Rampant responds:

Darn you and your in-depth reviews! How do you expect me to actually respond to all your feedback???

I guess I'll start with the composition bit. I'll admit I took 6 years of music theory. However, some time ago, I came to realize that, while it had made me a better orchestrator, it wasn't making me a better *composer*. So I threw a lot of it out the window (I still check for parallel 5ths... when I can be bothered!), and decided to start going with what *felt* right.

This track could be extended, and it could take the listener on much more of a journey than it does right now. And that's something I want to do in the future. During those two weeks, though, I could feel that what I was trying wasn't working, and I didn't want it to feel forced; so I decided to let it sit as it is.

As for dying down at 1:00... emotion... sadness isn't consistent. It wavers and faults, it grows and it fades. It becomes depression, it becomes anger. Emotion is dynamic and changing: so should the music be that represents it. The orchestra has so much more range in dynamics and emotion and timbre than most people realize -- especially those poor woodwinds! Damn, those woodwinds get nowhere NEAR enough love on the Audio Portal!

Now, regarding the glock/bolt/celesta combo... if I didn't use them efficiently and generously, how the heck could I ever call myself the illegitimate love-child of Danny Elfman and John Williams? Hahaha :D

I'll admit the mixing was kind of a last-minute job. I check my mix on a pair of Tannoy 501's, but my ears still haven't adjusted to them yet: I'm too used to mixing on headphones.

Thanks for the in-depth review, Step; I'll definitely pay more attention to my mixing in Round 2.

[King Bosa]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

This really shines in composition. It's masterfully composed, and while it follows a story just like Bosa's track does, it still has a great structure and unique melodies. I regard you as one of the top composers on Newgrounds and this track just gives me more of a reason to do so. Fantastic work here.

Like I said, the melodies are phenomenal. The oboe at the beginning had a fantastic tune that started up the song very well, and was complimented wonderfully by those string/chime entrances. The harp's arpeggio was a great way to indicate the end of a section at 0:20 and 0:55. The chords at the end were particularly good and I loved the changes to major chords towards the end too. Tasteful use of dissonance and very warm and deep cello chords were just icing to the cake. Instrumentation was great too. I really have no room to complain in when it comes to composition.

Unfortunately, some transitions need a bit of work. I'm mainly referring to the transition at 1:01. The section before that length of silence and after it didn't have much to do with each other, except for the high violin, and the lone timpani roll wasn't enough to indicate such a drastic change of mood. It needs to be a smoother transition because as it is now it makes it painfully obvious that you're following a story. Another transition that needs work is the transition at 0:20. The introduction of the violin is a bit loud, but that might be because the violin is too loud... which brings me to my next point.

The mixing needs work, especially the mixing on that violin. The violin stands out way too much in the mix. It sounds tinny and loud. The vibrato on it is also ludicrous. I'd suggest either turning it down and dampening its sound or a better option would be to buff it up with more instruments of the string section. Secondly, the mix sounds a bit too heavy on the mid frequencies, which is something that I find is hard to avoid when making orchestral music. Lastly, on a smaller note, this could do with more percussion, especially in the busier part. Right now other than the subtle timpani and chime, there isn't much percussion.

Overall, this is a very impressive piece, with fantastic composition and instrumentation. Needs some work in mixing and transitions, but in general, keep it up!

--

SCORE:
8/10

samulis responds:

I think you missed the gong, which surprisingly adds a lot to the piece. I do agree that it would do better with more cymbals and etc.

The violin sound I used is one that I actually enjoy greatly (see my comments on Buoy's feedback regarding my inspiration to delve into the upper register of the violin)... I do see however that it does come in a bit loud. I like to imagine that it is played by a soloist standing at the front of the stage.

I'm really surprised the melodies shined through- I mainly compose chordally and a melody is built to serve the motion of the piece most of the time I write.

I do agree that I need to work on mixing quite a bit... I have never really studied it and simply mix to ear when I write and say "okay, that's good."

[Clicky]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

I have no idea why I like this so much, but I do. This has such a cute atmosphere, unique choice of sounds and interesting composition that in retrospect it leaves me wondering what's not to like. You've got a knack for grabbing sounds that seemingly have nothing to do with each other and make them sound like they were made for each other, producing a professional-sounding and highly enjoyable finished track. Great work!

What I really like about this track would be the sounds. All of those sounds are just pure ear-candy man. The clicks and pops are bright and don't get the least bit annoying even after the tenth listen, and I'm hearing quite a few sounds in there, including beeps and even a guitar. That, coupled with interesting melodies and soothing pads make this considerably likable. It even has a wonderful atmosphere. Very light and mellow, and held together by those eargasmic pops and clicks.

Having said that, what this lacks in is actual content. There really isn't much to it. What you have is fantastic, but the track is so short! And you don't use a massive variety of sounds either. The song remains in a consistent mood and even the mixing is pretty empty. The sounds seem to choose their own small, limited ranges of frequencies and fit cozily in them instead of having a full use of the frequency spectrum, which is something I admittedly look forward to when hearing ambient.

This unfortunate lack of content doesn't leave me with a lasting effect, and forces me to give you no more than a 7.5. What you've got is great, but it leaves me desiring more.

--

SCORE:
7.5/10

TheBenjerman responds:

Thanks for the review! And you're right of course, the content is pretty blah.

[-*}CaSH{*- King Benjerman]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

Alright now this is seriously really good. With such strong composition, fantastic instrumentation, and incredulous amount of detail, you've really outdone yourself with this one. I had trouble getting started on this review purely due to the fact that I wanted to keep hearing it and didn't want my listening experience to be interrupted by having to write this review.

If I had to make a list of all the well-made aspects of this track, it'd start with the composition. Everything was just so detailed. In every play-through, I heard something new in the background. And everything is just harmonised so beautifully that it leaves me wondering why you're not more popular than you already are. The dynamics are just amazing, and you put a lot of care in the composition of each and every instrument. Extremely well-executed tempo, mood and time signature changes throughout. Oh and that leitmotif is one of the best melodies I've heard in a long while, and I absolutely adore how you brought it back towards the end of the track. You're just SO good at this.

Instrumentation is also a big plus. You have a fantastic variety of instruments, and while I think the brass is a bit of a weak point, everything else was just out of this world. The piano fit a lot better than I expected, and the harp glissandos and arpeggios fit so well (they were one of my favourite aspects of this track). Together the instruments created the regal atmosphere you were going for.

I have a few negative points to mention though. Firstly, I feel that you sometimes hold on to melodies for too long. This is apparent with the melody at 1:11 and 2:22. Secondly, the mixing isn't brilliant. The mix sounds too cluttered and a lot more EQing is needed. The lower-mid and mid frequencies are especially too heavy. This can lead to the track having quite an over-bearing sound, especially during the massive chords like at 1:51 and 4:20 (although I love those chords). You need to EQ much more, because East/West instruments won't sound good without good EQing. Sometimes the track feels a bit too dry too, but not that much. Oh and your waveform is clipping quite a bit too. Finally, the ending was also a disappointment. That finale is just too weak and unfitting for such a grand song like this.

Overall, this is an incredibly good song. It has very very good aspects, but some quirks here and there that reduce your score to a 9. That said, I enjoyed this IMMENSELY and I think you've easily become one of the most talented orchestral composers on the site.

--

SCORE:
9/10

camoshark responds:

Heyo, wasn't expecting these so soon!

In any case, this is quite the review you've got here, this is gonna be a challenge to respond to. Good thing I enjoy challenges!

"If I had to make a list of all the well-made aspects of this track, it'd start with the composition. [...]"

I do feel that all of the special attention I gave to the song really payed off in the end, though I feel there's still a lot that could have been improved in retrospect (more on that in a second.) In any case, I'm really glad that you enjoyed!

"Instrumentation is also a big plus. You have a fantastic variety of instruments, and while I think the brass is a bit of a weak point, everything else was just out of this world. [...]"

And that's one of the things that, on retrospect, I should have put more energy on. My original plans for the song were a simple woodwind ensemble with a piano and xylophone, but then I decided to integrate a vibraphone, and then a supportive bass drum, and a snare, and a trumpet, and then a string sections, and by the time I had finished most of the first movement, I was pretty much left with a full orchestra with a few instruments missing. I actually adding some Wagner Tubas and a bassoon later on, but by then I was so far into the score I didn't bother to integrate them into the previous part, since I felt that giving them a doubling role would just be copping out. I also kept the solo woodwinds from the start throughout the song, even in segments that would have necessitated a full ensemble, so again, there's a lot of things I could've improved, but decided to rush forward instead.

"I have a few negative points to mention though. Firstly, I feel that you sometimes hold on to melodies for too long. This is apparent with the melody at 1:11 and 2:22."

Hmm, I dunno, I really like repetivism, though I know that a lot of people hate it. I guess I probably should've added more counter-melody to support the length of the movement, but I ran out of instruments and didn't feel like adding more instruments. Sorry about that.

"Secondly, the mixing isn't brilliant. The mix sounds too cluttered and a lot more EQing is needed. [...]"

Wow, that is some extremely constructive criticism there. I'm actually really bad at this, so that's actually incredibly useful insight. Thanks for that, I'll definitely keep that in mind!

"Sometimes the track feels a bit too dry too, but not that much."

You have no idea just how many times I messed with the reverb throughout the creative process. maybe it's because I used Fruity Reeverb 2, but nothing ever felt real, and in the end, I just put it really tight. (±18) On hindsight, I should probably have used the built-in EWQL reverb, even though I really hate adding reverb to a track. Dunno why.

"Oh and your waveform is clipping quite a bit too."

Really? I made sure that there was absolutely NO clipping inside my track, and I'm hearing it now and still can't find any. Then again I suck at that kind of stuff, so maybe if you could tell me exactly where next time you log in on MSN?

"Finally, the ending was also a disappointment. That finale is just too weak and unfitting for such a grand song like this."

Tell me about it, I hate it just as much as you, but that's all I could think of because of the stress (I made that within the last 3 hours of the competition's deadline.)

"Overall, this is an incredibly good song. It has very very good aspects, but some quirks here and there that reduce your score to a 9. That said, I enjoyed this IMMENSELY and I think you've easily become one of the most talented orchestral composers on the site."

You have no idea just how honored I am to hear this coming from you! I still can't believe I'm getting this much positive feedback from a genre I just happened to dabble upon less than eight months ago!

Once again, thank you for the review, and thank you for having created such a fantastic way for composers to gain exposure and amazing feedback from talented artists!

Cheers,
Samuel Hebert

["The Last Ship" Short ver.]

Yeah there's a reason why you're one of my favourite orchestral composers in this whole site. This just sounds so dynamic and melodically it's beautiful. Other than the short length (which is understandable considering this is the SHORT version) I'm finding it hard to actually criticise anything. Also why does your music always remind me of the Skyrim soundtrack?

The chords were wonderful. You're especially good at chords IMO. All your chords suit the melody so well but each one has a unique feel to it. The progression's all fantastic, despite your varied usage of chords. I can't stress how good your chords are, seriously.

Dynamically, this track really shines. Those little rises in intensity on certain chords made all the difference, even if they were subtle. The little pauses at parts like 0:21 and 0:36 are so quaint and you've managed to integrate them without sacrificing the progression of the track. I find that really hard to do. Then again a lot of my music is rhythm based with drums and whatnot so I can't really perform those little fluctuations in tempo and pauses as seamlessly as you're doing over here.

The instrumentation is out of this world. The strings have a lovely warm sound and the low brass (not sure if there is any low brass, could just be low strings) sounds great without sounding too menacing or rough. The choirs, despite being an almost unnoticeable addition, are fantastically soothing. What choirs library did you use? Sounds like VOXOS, although I could be wrong. Not very versed on choir libraries myself.

The mixing is great. I don't really have anything to complain about here. I'd imagine a track like this wouldn't be very hard to mix so you don't get many kudos but still, the mixing is great. Like I said, the strings sound very warm. Everything sounds warm and cinematic and whatnot. I can't really find anything to complain about mixing wise. Any more changes in the mixing will probably make it sound worse haha. It just sounds perfect.

My main complaint with this is something that I doubt you'll be able to change without changing the whole concept of the track. It's that it doesn't sound very memorable. Sure, you've got wonderful chords, a great progression, awesome instrumentation... but in the end this sounds more like something you'd hear as a background to a game or movie (probably movie) rather than something I'd listen to casually.

Other than chords, you don't really have a main melody, and I don't think I can hear any leitmotifs in there either. This needs something to make it memorable. A particularly defining aspect of it that makes it unforgettable. This is, of course, a stylistic complaint and I doubt it's something worth working on considering the amazing atmosphere and composition you've done already. It's probably more personal preference than anything. But yeah, I do feel that this isn't something that I can remember very easily. The typical instrumentation you'd hear in a film score doesn't help much either.

Looks like I'm not reaching the character limit this time! Overall, this is incredible. Like I said, I regard you as one of the top orchestral composers here on Newgrounds, and this track just screams professionalism and talent. Other than that one issue I have regarding it lacking a defining aspect that makes it memorable, this is seriously amazing. Keep it up dude.
9/10
5/5

BrokenDeck responds:

TL;DR ;P Just kidding! Holy sh*t you really wrote an essay on this one! I really appreciate the feedback provided here.

[-Awakening- (Preview)]

Man, I am a SUCKER for orchestral/rock hybrids. Orchestral and rock just seem meant for each other, and you executed it really well. I've had it on loop for a long while now (at least 20 minutes) and I have not gotten bored of it, despite it being just a minute long. In fact, the more it plays, the more I like it. You've clearly got experience writing orchestral/rock and that shows in this badass piece of work.

First order of business I have to address is the composition. FANTASTIC composition. The string melodies were intense, and complimented the guitar so well. That, coupled with the fact that the guitar's riffs were sublime and added a lot of meaty texture to the track, really made for an impressive result.

The drums actually complimented the composition too. Stuff like that epic drum roll at 0:27 and the incredibly varied rhythms of the drums didn't make the drums an extension to the track, but rather fully integrated into the track's composition, which is something I always find hard to achieve. also, 0:27 is a GENIUS melodic phrase, which you even extended at 0:37. I thought that was really clever and it worked very well.

The transitions are wonderfully smooth. The time signature change from triple time to quadruple time had a slightly 'off' sound to it, but the more you listen to it, the more accustomed you get to it, so it's not much of a problem. You've got a knack for melding melodies together really well, like the introduction of that excellent guitar melody at 0:51. This made for very good transitions overall.

The instrumentation made for a very epic atmosphere overall. I would've liked to hear a bit more love for the brass, since you've stuck mainly with low brass that sits comfortably in the background. It's clear and easy to hear but some more orchestral influences, mainly brass, will work very well IMO. Some choir would be badass too. This is personal preference though, it may or may not work. I'm an orchestral nut anyway. Your guitars sounded incredible, played very well, and the strings worked so well with it that I shouldn't even be complaining.

The progression so far is impressive. I predict a lot of mood changes and awesome climaxes and whatnot later on in the track. You've kept me interested and wanting more, which is the point of a preview I guess.

My only gripe with the progression is that the drum beat at the very beginning feels a bit premature. If I were you, I'd keep very minimal drums at the very beginning, then some massive crashes and snares to highlight the guitar chords that come in at 0:10. Something like the guitar at 2:55 in this:
http://goo.gl/1zvz6
Right now when the guitar comes in its introduction feels a bit unimportant. If you make the drums highlight those guitar chords as opposed to just making the drum beat itself more intense I think it'll make the intro sound a lot more suiting. If you try and achieve an effect like that of the guitar at 2:55 in that video I linked to, it'll be perfect.

Now for some mixing complaints. Your mix is actually quite good! It's really easy to hear everything and it's all very clear. However, the song seems to lack power at times. This is, as you probably know, due to the unfortunate lack of bass that there is over here. The guitar chords at 0:10 could have sounded devastating with some more bass, and the drums are seriously weak. Not to hate on EZdrummer because as a VST I love it, but I wanted to hear a bassy thump from the drums which, to my dismay, was absent.

Other than the lack of bass in the drums and guitar at 0:10, the mixing is really good. The guitar from 0:20 onwards was really well-mixed and sounded phenomenal. The strings sound bright and clear... perhaps the mix is a bit dry? I dunno, I'm deaf from one ear so mixing intricacies like this aren't very easy to hear for me...

Right then, that's all the character limit allows me to say about this track. It's really awesome, I can't believe I haven't heard that many of your tracks, this is seriously really really good. Good luck finishing it, it's got heaps of potential!
9/10
5/5

Back-From-Purgatory responds:

Thanks for the extremely TL;DR review! (I promise I read it all!)

I've already gone over everything you touched on basically in skype while I was reading this, so I'll skip going over it all again in this response.

Either way, glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the feedback!

[For My Angel]

First off, sorry for taking AGES to review. I'm very occupied with the NGADM, lots of school and music work, etc... You probably know by now how my schedule always is! :P

Anyway, onto the song. Now this is interesting. Don't be modest, you're VERY good at getting ideas out. It's the execution you need to work a little on. I'm seeing quick improvement though; at the end of last year you were just starting out with guitar right? What you've made here is really good; it took me YEARS to play decent stuff on my piano and here you are making awesome stuff like this after a little over half a year like it's nothing :P. This trumps any metal music I can do and I'm impressed!

The composition really shines here. FANTASTIC little melody at the beginning. Really, that tiny leitmotif there is such a great way to tie the track together. Rhythm-wise, this is great too. I love the rhythms of the guitar strumming and I also noticed how you made the drums occasionally match the rhythm of the strumming, which worked very well. The lead guitar work wasn't anything special though, but you maintain variety for long enough to keep me very much interested till the end. Composition-wise, this is good stuff.

Transitions are also phenomenal. All of the transitions were wonderfully smooth. Some highlights that caught my attention were the transitions at 1:28, 2:20 and the building down at the end. 1:28 was great because it's not very easy in music to have a busy section that suddenly transitions to a quieter section but achieved that contrast perfectly. 2:20 is an incredibly well-placed transition that re-introduces that strumming rhythm wonderfully. The building down at the end was also great since it led to a very satisfying ending so smoothly.

Structure-wise, you've got some very good ideas here. You've got certain melodic and rhythmic components that you place cleverly in different parts of the track to hold the structure together, like that strumming rhythm and the intro melody. These are all really good ideas that bring out a lot of the potential in this track. The guitar-playing is also pretty good. A bit iffy with the lead guitar (I'm hearing a few notes that are off rhythmically and melodically) but it's really not bad at all!

First quirk I have with this track is a structure-related problem. I think the progression felt a little rushed in the intro. I mean at the very beginning it has a smooth and gradual progression and a nice subtle cymbal pattern to add that finishing touch to the intro (if that makes any sense), but then at 0:27 you just go right into it with a new melody and throw away the intro's tune.

Sure, you bring it back at 0:44 (which is great) but I would've liked to hear that melody playing with some heavier drums in the background before you move on to the part at 0:27, since it just feels a bit wrong to hear the song switch to a new melody so quickly, even if the melody comes back later.

A more general and larger problem I have with the track is the mix. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. It's clear, doesn't clip and there's nothing which is too hard to hear, but to put it bluntly the mix is a bit weak. First off, the song can be louder. If you take a look at the waveform you'll see that it's pretty roomy. Don't be afraid to clip your waveform. Clipping is a bad thing, sure, but unless you really know what you're doing, you can't really achieve a loud sound without clipping your waveform. In my opinion, if the song doesn't produce any clipping sounds, then it's OK to peak the waveform above 0 dB.

Secondly, the mix just doesn't have the power the song deserves. When I hear tracks like this, I want to hear some meaty, powerful low frequencies coming from the bass and drums. The drums especially need to be more powerful. Their rhythms are GREAT, but they're pretty wimpy compared to most drums in metal tracks.

Anyway, I've got a bit more to say about the track but I've reached the limit, as usual :P. Overall, other than an iffy mix and some other small quirks, this is an excellent track with some great ideas.
8/10
4/5

UltimateCJ64 responds:

Whoa... the "super" part needs to come back if you're writing reviews like this...

It's alright for takin' so long, people get busy, that's why you left RRC, right?

Yeah, I agree, it's the execution that kills me (haha, pun not intented). My rhythm guitaring is definitely a lot better, but my lead skills are, well... *fart sound* ...but I'm slowly working on it. This was more of a rock attempt than metal, but some parts turned out a little heavy.

Sometimes I don't have problems with transitions, sometimes they're hard as hell to pull off. This time, I think I got off easy...

Yeah, like I said with that lead, not my slice of cake (or whatever that saying is). Some of it, I'd do multiple takes, didn't like the sound of it, give up for a little, eat a sandwich, and come back to it later, sometimes days later, which is probably why the guitar sometimes sounded out of tune. (Damn sandwiches, detuning my guitar... *beats sandwich to death*)

Man... intros... I always seem to have a problem with rushing into things, I guess music isn't an exception...

Oi! Mixing... another one of my usual problems, I never was one to mix well... I mean I could've made it a little louder and EQ'd those drums for moar power (MOAR POWER!!!), but shoot, I'm still a newb on some stuff...

Well dude, thanks for the review, you're helpful as always. We need more constructive reviewers like this, help give a lessons-learned for the next go-around. Hope to see more of your work up soon too. :)

[Summer Nostalgia]

I love it! You know, you have a way of setting out with a plan for an atmosphere of a song, and then executing this plan perfectly and coming up with a song greatly reminiscent of the atmosphere you had in mind at the beginning. This fits very well with the NAC theme and I wish you luck for it!

So, let's get started. Like I said, atmosphere-wise this is a winner. It's very clearly summer-like. So much so, in fact, that I think that summer would have come to my mind even if I hadn't seen the name and the fact that this is for the summer NAC. You've really nailed those sounds, man. Very warm and inviting. The composition is quite happy too, also fairly representative of a summer atmosphere.

Speaking of that, the composition is very nice. I felt that the main melody was repeated too much in a small period of time, but otherwise I like that melody. Quite catchy and it's easy for it to grow on you too. Lovely chords on the choir too. However, two aspects of the composition that I didn't like were the flow and structure. I think those are the weakest points of this otherwise awesome track.

Flow-wise, I felt that some parts were immensely anti-climatic. I'm taking about the really long drum fills/rolls/transitions/whatever you want to call them, for instance the one at 0:50. The crashes came in early making me expect a much more climatic/busy part, or at least a part with an obvious new element or two introduced, but instead you just kept on going with the same melody (with a little change at the end of it) and same sounds.

Another anti-climatic part is 2:03. After that break I expected a lot more than a slow ambient part, and it made me question why you put that break there in the first place, even though it is very well executed.

In terms of structure, I know I had problems with your song structures before and I'm having them again I'm afraid :P. Your structure is very predictable and obvious. Starts off with an intro, then introduces Section A, Section B, small break, Section A, Section B, small break, and then the outro. I find that a structure like this will work really well for some sort of game music (in fact I can easily see this in a game) but for a song to listen to I'm afraid it doesn't work out as well.

What would work a lot better IMO is something like Intro - Section A - Section B - Section C (a section with a new dynamic introduced) - (the outro you have now minus the ending note) - Section A - Ending. The reason I don't like the outro how it is right now is that I assume you made that slower part for the end to reflect what you said about the memories of summer experiences, and I think a better idea is ending on a happier note, as if you're enjoying summer experiences, you stop to reflect on past experiences, then continue enjoying summer, rather than just ending on a sadder more reflective tone. Or something like that. D:

Now, other than the structure/flow, the composition is awesome. Next up, the mixing, and I've got to say that I'm impressed. You're improving in your mixing, I swear. This song is so clear. Everything that's supposed to be in the background is fitting cosily in the background and providing a wonderful amount of depth without cluttering up the mix. The drums are nice and punchy, and while I do feel that the snare is a bit harsh, the drums are clear and make a statement and at the same time they're not distracting.

Well, I wanted to say a lot more about this track but it seems like I've reached the character limit :(. I remember just about fitting the character limit with my old reviews before, but now I have so much to say about songs that the limit just isn't enough. Oh well! Overall, great work on this song. Nice drums, good transitions, fantastic mixing and great melodies and atmosphere. Just work on that structure/flow of yours, and see if you can fix those anti-climatic parts.

9/10
5/5

Also, I feel like an ass asking you for another review after you've reviewed me so much but do you mind telling me what you think about my medley? I worked on it like crazy :P.

http://goo.gl/gJbhY

Birdinator99 responds:

You reached the 4096 character limit?!?!?

Shit just got real.

Well, I'm glad it fit the theme. Main goal: accomplished.

Glad the atmosphere did it for you. When I think of happy, almost generic-sounding songs, I immediately think of common bass lines that I've heard. It was easy to build the song around that once I had it.

That melody, haha, it'll get you, for sure. I was hoping it would be catchy.

When I first made those long drum fills (like at 0:50), I thought, "Oh snap, this is awesome, I've got to use this everywhere," which turned out to be a really shitty idea, heh. Wouldn't have hurt to change it up a bit.

The crap at 2:03 is actually just so typical of me, it's starting to make me sick. You're completely right about the structure and flow, and it bothers me that I haven't woken up and smelled the java with this recurring problem. What went wrong was my thinking and my approach to writing this song. I envisioned this to be a simple little "jingle" type of track when I started. This was clearly not what to do, and the song as a whole suffered, being compressed, or limited with respect to it's full potential.

Next time, I'm going to force myself to do something different structurally, even if it makes me uncomfortable. You're only as strong as your weakest link -- a great atmosphere can only be so great if it's constrained by lousy flow. Thanks for the ideas regarding that, and for opening my eyes a little.

I'm really pleased that the mixing went over well. My brain seems to favour clearly mixed and well fitting instruments over other parts of the musical process. I'm going to experiment with low passing my snares to try and get a more desirable tone in the future.

Sorry that you didn't get to fully speak your mind, but, uh, dude, you wrote a freaking essay, haha. More than I could've asked for. Thank you.

I was listening to my Soundcloud stream while playing a game on my iPod the other day, and I got to a song where I thought, "Man, this is long. Wait, this is orchestral -- who the hell is on my stream that-- oh, yeah. Sweet." It turned out to be your Trinity. I was really impressed then, so look out for good things in my review!