Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sibm]

Superb.

I had to review the flash game which uses this song since it was requested in a club I'm in, the Review Request Club, and in it there's a choice of 3 songs. This one beats each one of them by far and I always keep it playing while I'm playing the game. It's actually quite unique for a techno song, especially the beat, and choice of synths. Excellent job on this, you really seem to know your way around your DAW, especially if this was made a year before you uploaded it :P. Also, what does Sibm mean? Does it have to do with B Minor (bm)? xD.

The melodies are great. Loved all of the new melodies that came in, which all built on the first melody that plays at the beginning (even that was catchy). I would've liked to see a bit more changes in the chord progression, but still, the chord progression you used wasn't generic and sounded great. Loved the small break at 2:54, and the great melody that followed it. I think one of the few things I would've wished to see more of would be solos. You had some really awesome sections in the song, yet there were rarely any parts where the song goes a bit quiet and some synth plays an epic solo before continuing with the song. Still, I'm a fan of solos, so that's probably my bias :3.

The synths were also amazing. None of them were unoriginal or cheesy. I mean really, I expected some cheesy dance/techno saw lead to take over and make me go 'Oh alright, this is just like the other cheesy songs...', but all of the new synths were interesting and fit with each other very week. While I would welcome a few more pads, I'm not that much of an expert at techno as much as I am at Orchestral and Trance, so maybe pads won't work. Basically, all of the synths were chosen really well. I really like the Video-Game-like feel that the sounds you used give out. Nice job!

The transitions were all pristine and I can't seem to point out any transitions which sound weird. At first I thought the transition to the small break at 2:54 was way too abrupt, but when the song kept on playing, I was impressed so it doesn't matter. New synths were all introduced well, and I also liked the fact that throughout the song you had a lot of sections where you introduce a new synth every few bars, building up to some fantastic climaxes. Transitions/buildups were superb.

Structure was very cool, and I enjoyed every new section you threw in. However, as you said, the variety could use a bit of work, but strangely, even though I really hate it when songs repeat a lot, this song didn't end up that repetitive, to be honest. Probably because it's so awesome. The intro was an excellent way to start the song, although I think the ending could be a bit better. In my opinion, you should go to 4:58 where there's the last note with the heavy plucked saw, and add a crash cymbal right where it plays. Then, fade out whatever plays after it. If you don't get what I mean but want to get what I mean, send me a PM :P.

The drums are probably some of the most original and unique drum styles I've ever heard in a techno song. Hell, the drums had a hip-hop style to them, with snaps, hi-hats and a hip-hop beat, yet they fit so darn well with the song. I mean wow, I expected a song like this to have techno drums, but I was so wrong. The beat sounded excellent, and while at times it got a bit too drowned out by the synths and was a little hard to hear, and at other times it got a slight bit repetitive, I still think the drums are near-perfect. Good job on the drums!

In conclusion, overall I really like this song. Trust me when I tell you that I'm no fan at all of Techno songs, since I prefer Orchestral or Trailerscore much much more, so getting me to download a techno song these days is a feat that only a very small amount of talented Techno artists have done, and you're one of them :D. Keep up the amazing work, I hope to see (hear) more excellent songs like this from you!
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd.

-Review Request Club-

Hey if you don't mind, can you maybe review my song Racing Through Eternity? :3.
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/322854

Drawoh responds:

wow O.o
Awesome review!!

I gotta say, you sure do know how to review a song with all that wisdom on your side :P
I'd like every review to be like this one, expressing everything they feel and hear about the song.

Thank u very much for just stopping by and taking your time to write a review.

( and yeah, its B minor, didn't know how to name the song at the moment :D )

[{-=Bugg=-} Fresh Start]

Hm...

I have to admit, for your first Trance song, I'm very impressed. The production is decent, it has some good effects, and it's well structured. The drums were also pretty good too. Actually you seem to know what you're doing, as if you've been doing Trance for at least a month or two :D. Unfortunately, while I was extremely impressed by this being your first Trance song, it still requires a bit of work.

Melodies are probably what annoyed me the most here. They were very simple and repetitive. Whilst they are slightly catchy and echo in your head a little after you finish hearing the song, they just don't cut it. It sounds like you used only like 5 or 6 different notes for the main melody, and this combined with the fact that it repeats so much makes the song get quite boring, unfortunately.

Another thing is, as Fro said, that this song is quite generic. I agree with Fro that Trance songs such as this one limit what you can do quite a bit, but if you look at some songs here on NG (such as this one [remove space]: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/300653) you can see that even with such a limited genre you can achieve a unique sound (if you hear the song I linked above, you'll hear a guitar, a melody made of voice-like sounds, and some cool snare/sweep effects. This song has quite generic synths, and I think it could definitely benefit with some cooler, more unique sounds :).

The synths, as I said above, were generic. While I like some of the reverb you put on the synths, this could do with some better synths. Heck, maybe even add a real instrument like a guitar, or maybe F-777 style and add a pan flute xP. Also, some pads in the break would work well.

The transitions were great. There were some reverse cymbals and sweeps to transit from one section to another, and new synths were introduced really well. The transition at 3:23 was also very good. The only transition I'll complain about is the one at 2:00. While it's not actually a bad transition, I think it could definitely do with being more interesting or smooth. Also, as Fro said, the break that follows was too quiet. Well, not exactly too quiet, but just too plain. Add some soft pads, maybe a few subtle sound effects and stuff. I don't think that break really achieved what it supposed to achieve, which is the listener going "Oh wow that is so cool" because instead I just went "Eh?" :P. So while it's good to have a few breaks here and there, I think this break lacks in the epic department a little...

The structure was a typical Trance structure. It starts with a minimal beat, a kick/clap comes in with a sweep, the kick disappears for a bar, a melodic synth is introduced, the main melody fades in, plays a little, then a break, a buildup, repeats a bit more, and the the song ends. It's a good structure, but I think you should be a bit more creative in your structure. I really don't know how many times I've hear the same structure in Trance songs... As for the variety, it wasn't too special :/.

Intro, albeit generic, was good. Transitions over here were professionally executed, and the buildup was good. I've heard the exact same intro in another Trance song though xD. Anyway, as for the ending, it was OK, but you might want to end it with the percussive hit you did at 2:27. Right now, it sounds a bit unfinished, if you get what I mean :/.

The drums, whilst being typical Trance drums, were good. I was hoping to see some cool percussive sounds here and there in the drums, although all I got were open hats, kicks, and reverbed claps. Still, the drums fit pretty well in the song, and although I think your kick could be a bit bassier, drums in all were good ^^.

Overall, this is excellent for your first Trance song. My biggest gripe with it would be that it's really generic, so I think that in your future Trance songs, originality may be what you should go for :). Still, even though I gave you an 8, I must say that I'm still impressed by this, so keep it up and good luck in your future submissions :D.
8/10
5/5 - since it's your first Trance :3.

-Review Request Club-

BuggMusic responds:

Thank you for such a long review! I will take all this advice!

[Stargenx - Summer Sun]

Very nice!

This really is relaxing, and although at times in the song I started to lose interest, this still has soothing melodies and a great atmosphere to it, and it surely is not deserving of its current score of 1.90. This definitely fits with its name too, and when you can imagine yourself in the scene that the song is depicting, then you know that it's a good song. Keep it up!

The melodies are all very nice and calming. The lead guitar's melodies sounded excellent and the pitch bending on it was very well executed. You also definitely can't fault those string melodies which really bring the track forward. The high strings set off a great mood and the acoustic guitar in the background had great accompanying melodies. You also had a decent amount of different melodies, sometimes played by a piano, other times by a guitar, other times by strings, etc... This gave the track a good amount of variety as well.

Unfortunately, some parts still need some work. To be honest, at 1:16-ish I started to lose interest, until 1:26 when the calmer part came in, so maybe that part could use a new addition to it. Also, I think that having a few crash cymbals, or at least splash cymbals, would definitely help introduce new parts to the listener, especially at 0:21, 2:13 and 2:48. Finally, the 'climax' of the song before the end at around 2:49 didn't leave as much of an impact as I would've wanted it to.

The instruments, on the other hand, were brilliant. I loved the sound of the strings, and the guitar was great, The piano was also a nice addition and I wish I saw more of it, especially playing piano chords and stuff. Ah well xD. You know, even though the instruments don't really sound like it, this seems to really remind me of the game Okami's soundtrack for some weird reason, especially during the intro when the strings come in or in the more busy parts of the song. Anyway, whatever, overall the choice of instruments was great, and I don't think I'd ask for any new instrument since they all sounded excellent with each other.

The transitions on the whole were nice and smooth, just like a relaxing song like this should have, although some transitions did sound a little rough, still. Yeah, I know, I'm fussy with transitions xP. Anyway, I think some transitions sound a little rough or abrupt because they suddenly cut off all notes for a few milliseconds, which I personally don't like much :P. I'm talking about the transitions at 1:15 and 2:12. Still, I like the transition at 2:46-ish, although as I said, what follows could be more climatic and powerful as the song comes to an end. I also liked the transition at the beginning when the drums come in, and even though I think that it could do with a crash cymbal, I was surprised how well the drums fit with the melodies.

As for the structure, it's very good. Aside from the fact that it lacks a climax at the end, your structure was fantastic. So was the variety, since the song never seemed to get repetitive. When it comes to the intro, it was also amazing since you introduced new things gradually, plus the guitar started the song up well. The ending was good although the last note could definitely be longer and resonate a little more, since it ended really short and abrupt like that...

The drums fit extremely well with the song, and while they did get a bit repetitive, the drums overall sound great. I think you could add a few open cymbals a half beat before the second snare hit of the beat sometimes, since that always comes out cool. The kick sounded nice, and so did the snare. An all around good job with the drums!

To summarize, I like this song. It has its problems such as the short note at the end, the repetitive drums, the slightly rough transitions here and there, the lack of open cymbals or crash cymbals and the uninteresting part at 1:16-ish, but the melody as usual is excellent and the atmosphere is awesome. So yeah, I think sixflab was a bit too harsh xP. Keep it up!
9/10
5/5 - Oh my god, this got so badly 0-bombed T_T. I'll 5-bomb for a few days.

-Review Request Club-

Stargenx responds:

Thanks for the review! :D
I think that it could use some cymbals, actually. I haven't listened to it in a while. The parts you say sounded boring were originally meant to have some vocals but I couldn't finish them. :(
Your point about the transitions is duly noted.

[Pimp that Space Ship]

You gotta love this song...

Wow, man. Never knew you were so good at making music xP. I mean, heck, if you took part in the NG Audio Deathmatch you would've gotten far. Lol, whatever, this song is really cool. I think it deserves its spot as Miscellaneous, because there's a mixture of Funk, Groove, Blues and Techno, all blended together so flawlessly to create something worthy of the 9 I gave it. Good job!

The melodies are just so catchy. Some aren't really that memorable, but others will echo around in your head for ages, especially the ones played by that quirky synth at 0:59. The stuff playing in the background was all awesome too. The bass, the pads, the drums, the high bells, the square-synth-ish thing, and the guitar, along with a few really nice effects. I mean, wow, there's so much to listen to! Best part is, the song never gets too cluttered or messy at the same time :D...

My only complaint over here is that this lacks some really epic guitar or synth solo. If not for a decent amount of time, at least for a few seconds, making it a sort of memorable moment to the song (a good example would be 1:04 in the de Blob main menu theme - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wQ2r8 o4w8A [remove space]). While I really like the melodies, I can't really say 'Oh, this is my favourite part!' to this song, since it doesn't have any climaxes or breaks. I was practically dying for one, even if for a few seconds :P.

The instruments all sound very good, and the amount of instruments were varied, with all of them sounding different to each other, as EmperorCharlemagne said. I think the guitar sounds a little thin and the bass could give a bit more of an impact in the song since it's a bit weak, but other than that, the instruments all sound incredibly awesome. The synth sounded very cool and the pad was spacey and yet still fit with the funk/groove-like instruments. Effects were also well done, although I would've liked to see some more space/warp-like effects. Might be just me though, I like space sound effects :3. Stellar job with the instruments! :D.

Transitions were also out of this world. The song flowed really really smoothly, and I love the transition at 0:57. Some notes cut off abruptly in this song (such as the note at the end [2:31]) which provided a weird and rough transition to the next note, but still, who cares about nitpicks anyway. New instruments were introduced really well, except the guitar which could've come in a little more smoothly with, maybe, pitch-bending. Small buildup in the intro was cool :3.

The song structure is good. Aside from the fact that this could do with a few more memorable parts in the song, the song was very well structured. The variety, on the other hand, could definitely use some work. The more I listen to it, the more I think that it needs a few more changes. The beat stayed the same for the whole song, the main instrument only changed once, and the background was somewhat the same for the whole song. Give it a few more changes, I'm sure that a solo of some sort will help you out in stopping the song from becoming repetitive :).

Still, the intro was among one of the best intros I've heard in a very long time, with a really nice filter effect automation to start the song up. I can't say the same for the ending though... It sounded really awkward, to tell you the truth. The synth played on its own for a bit too long and sounded as if all the instruments deserted it and left it to try and entertain the listener, until it finds out it's failing so it goes quiet too :P. Maybe you might consider a fade-out, I think it'll work well in a song like this...

The drum beat was really nice, and so were the samples, although the beat didn't change throughout the whole song. Just some shakers and a snare every other beat. I think if you vary it a bit more, at least giving it a few small changes here and there, it'd sound much better.

Overall, I enjoyed this submission a LOT, and even though it has some problems, I'm still downloading it :D. Keep up the awesome work!
9/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

Syntrus responds:

Maybe i'll shoot some keyboard solo into this to diversify. I am in the market for a modern FM synth at the moment. So I think once I have saved up for my new synth this is item one. Yeah man I wish more people knew about my skillz. Thanks for the wordy insightful review. I have always struggled a bit with transitions. I am working on it.

[Etude #2 - Valse de la Chagrin]

Love it!

I think this is better than the other submission 'Minuet in F' (even though that sounds good as well :D), although that's probably because I prefer minor way more than major, but whatever, this song is absolutely amazing. I never really liked songs with an acoustic guitar only, but this is probably why I make exceptions. Keep up the great work, this really is awesome :D.

The melody is obviously the strong point of this submission, and it sure is good. I definitely can't find anything wrong with the melody. It was fast-paced, yet at the same time soothing and calm. Good use of arpeggios too. I think the only thing I can complain about would be that I think some of the plucks at 0:37 were a bit too loud and seemed to stand out too much in this. Other than that, amazing melodies. Atmosphere was brilliant as well.

In this paragraph I usually comment about your choice of instruments and instrument quality, but since you only have one instrument being a guitar, I guess there's not really much to say :P. The guitar sounds great and the recording quality was also good ^^. One thing that might make this better is if you add some strings (i.e., a violin, or maybe a cello instead). I'd really love to add some strings to this myself if you don't mind (I have some extremely high quality string samples from East/West Symphonic Orchestra Silver) but I don't have the time and I'm too inexperienced in music to figure out all of the notes of this :C.

The transitions are all extremely smooth. Like sixflab, I love how you transitioned the notes to create such a smooth melody without any roughness or abruptness (except those plucked notes I mentioned, although that could be just me). The structure was amazingly well done, and so was the variety. Intro was perfect, and the outro was as well. Gah, do something wrong for once, I'm tired of complimenting :P.

Overall, this is a really nice piece. You definitely know how to make nice melodies, and you're awesome at playing the guitar. Nothing much wrong with this submission, so I'll have to give it a 10. Keep it up!
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

Darkmaster603 responds:

Thanks for the lengthy review, I had bad nails at the time, and I think my ring finger nail was broken, so the picking was pretty...meh. I'm glad you liked it though, and thanks for the long review. I always keep this stuff in mind in future compositions.

Thanks for the review!

[Big Cats]

Cool :D

I like this submission. While I don't think it's your best, I'm still impressed. The lyrics are pretty cool, and the music itself is very catchy and I really enjoyed hearing it. The song picked up quite a bit towards the end, which I really liked, and now it's stuck in my head. Ah well, awesome job on this, man!

The melodies are brilliant. Well, I don't really like the melodies of the vocals much, but the guitars' melodies sounded really good, especially at 1:02 onwards. There isn't really much wrong with the melodies of the guitars (even though I think that the bassline could be a little better), but my main gripe with this would be the lyrics.

As sixflab said, the microphone is a bit too close to you when you're singing. In addition to that, the recording quality wasn't too good, even though I heard worse, but then again that isn't really your fault so I won't really whine about that. The singing was decent, but I think the lyrics definitely need to be a bit more lively, since they sound as if you're singing them while half asleep xD. Also, the lyrics were quite hard to understand, so I'm grateful you posted the lyrics.

The guitars were all nice quality, and the instruments all complimented each other extremely well. I think I heard more than just guitars in this submission, which really makes this song distinguishable from any other indie songs similar to this. Not really anything wrong with the instruments, nice job! Volume levels were also fantastic (except the lyrics which should be louder).

The transitions are also really smooth, except the one at the beginning where the vocals and drums seemed to jump out of nowhere (this might sound better if you did a drum roll before this part starts or something similar). The structure was really good, and as I said, I like how the song got more and more busy as it progressed. However, I think this lacks some bass or guitar solos though. The structure wasn't really that complex; you simply built the song up, introducing element after element, and then faded the whole thing out. Give it a few more solos and stuff to keep the listener interested. Variety was great, but the lyrics at the end got very repetitive. The intro was alright, but the outro was simple a fade outro and I don't usually like fade outros.

The drums were excellent. I liked the beat, even if it was quite simple, and the samples were great. The drums were also the right volume and I could hear them pretty well even though there were so many different instruments playing in the foreground. My only complaint which has to do with the drums was that they were so repetitive. I guess it might be me and my bias, but I don't really like drums which stay the same beat with a few open hats as small changes for almost two minutes and a half. I'm not saying to completely change the beat to other random beats throughout the song, but giving it more changes, maybe even adding some parts where the drums are softer would definitely help.

In conclusion, I think this is a really cool submission. I don't really like the vocals (although that's a biased opinion, since I never like vocals in general unless they're REALLY well done and not cheesy) and some aspects of the song were repetitive, but still, this is a great submission. Keep up the awesome work!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

Sawdust responds:

THANKS SO MUCH! Man it feels great to know that a submission of mine is good! I'm not a singer by trade but I really felt like writing a song with lyrics, so sorry for making the song suffer with my singing :P

I'm so glad that you liked it, thanks so much for the review, I'm glad just reading it. THANKS AGAIN.

[Our Nova Pt. 2]

Aboslutely amazing...

While, just like every other submission, this isn't perfect, I was extremely impressed by this. This is clearly better than part one; it's much more catchy, the atmosphere is much deeper and more powerful, and I think I agree with sixflab that this is an excellent example of when not everything sounds epic in a fast tempo. This is a really good submission, and I seriously think you've improved greatly from your older submissions (not to say those were bad, though =P). Keep up the constant improvement!

The melodies are obviously really happy. They have this sort of emotion to them which really fit with the theme of 'start afresh, fix errors'. I think the only thing that I don't like about the melodies would be that they suddenly jump up to a really high note (for example, 1:17 and 1:26). This sometimes works in music, but I don't think it's the case over here. The notes seem to stand out too much, and when listening to your amazing melody and hearing those notes play, you think 'ouch, what was that?' and it shifts your attention away. Probably the simplest and best way to fix this is just shifting those individual notes down an octave.

The harmony, well, I can take it for granted that it's extremely well done :3. You had loads of different instruments playing together, and some playing entirely different notes and melodies, yet dissonance is nowhere to be seen (or heard in this case). Atmosphere is also brilliant. You found a cross between spacey and emotional/joyous, which might be what makes this piece so distinguishable from other trance/VG music out there. Alternate melodies this time were all over the place, although at times the song got really cluttered and it was hard to keep track of, which brings me to the complaint I did in the other review; that this has no calmer parts, no ambient parts, nothing. I think if you play a calm part before some sort of climax, the climax itself will give more of an impact. Even then, the listener does need some sort of break...

The instruments are pretty similar to the ones in Part 1, although there were some new additions I think, such as the sound at 2:33 which added a nice layer to the piece. I liked the gated synth at the beginning too, although the rhythm you used was terribly generic. The bassline sounded REALLY awesome, I won't complain about it, and the mix was nice too, even though the song got really loud and blaring at times. As for effects, I was impressed. The filter automation on the synth at the end was great, and so were the sweeps you used around the song. That little portamento-like effect you did on one of the notes at 3:02 was really cool as well :3.

The transitions are all very impressive, and although there weren't any which actually standed out, the transitions were smooth. New instruments were all introduced pretty well, except the gated synth at the beginning, which came in too abruptly in my opinion. The structure is interesting and unique. Not too simple, but not crazily complicated either. Variety on the whole was very nice too, since you had quite a lot of melodies. The intro was OK, although I think the bass started the song up a bit too roughly. Maybe you can add a sweep to start the song out instead? Ending, on the other hand, was great.

The drums were pretty well done. I think the main problem I have with them was that they were so hard to hear. I can't really give much criticism on the drums, since a lot of the time they were drowned out by the synths. Still, from what I heard, the drums were decently varied, the samples were cool, and I also really like the beats you did with the drums; they were definitely a nice chance from the usual kick every beat, clap every other beat, an open hat in-between and a hi-hat line if we get lucky. My only complaint with the drums would be the fact that they were so soft.

In general, this definitely beats Part 1, and I enjoyed it a LOT. I hope you continue making masterpieces, because you sure are good at it! :D
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd.
Fav'd as an artist.
*PHEW*

-Review Request Club-

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Haha thanks! I really love your reviews! I really like your suggestions. I always take your suggestions into consideration, and that's why my songs get better and better, because of the advice of you, and other people as well, thanks!
I was in love with the portamento haha. It was totally accidental too, but I was like "wow that sounded amazing." Yea, some people said the drums were a little soft. Idk, I found them to be smooth. But in my next song, I will make them a little more prominent. Lol, I know that the gate was generic, but I just love that generic gate rhythm lol. And even, it wasn't meant to be interpreted in a generic sense. Just think of the bass and the gate as one, then you will feel its warmness. This song started out with me dicking around in FL, and i was playing the bass line and the gate at the same time, and got this idea. This is probably my most golden track, I really love it. I'm glad you loved the bassline. Haha, it's the happiest bassline in the world. Every song with a Do Mi Fa So progression always brings joy.
Thanks for the review! I will continue to make great tracks, don't worry!
Btw, you can check out my new song, Golden Paradise. It's probably one of my favs.

- Isomatic

[Deep in the <3 of Us (instr)]

Nice bass :3

I like this song a lot. It has meaning to it, and sounds really well done. I can definitely picture this in a scene in a Flash movie where there's a suspenseful and daring atmosphere. I think I prefer this instrumental more than the version with vocals, IMO, since I think that while the vocals are extremely well written, they seem to ruin the cool atmosphere you've set in this version, although maybe that's a biased opinion since I never really liked songs with vocals. Whatever, great job on this!

The melodies are just great. As Shellac said, these definitely sound sloppy, but sloppy in a good way. I'd hate it if this song had everything perfectly the right time, since it would definitely take away from the smooth and natural sound of the track. This song is actually really relaxing, with a variety of different melodies. I usually don't like songs like this; played by a guitar without any fixed melody, but I'll have to make an exception over here. In addition, as the review summary might lead you to believe, I really like the bass. It sounds so catchy and fits really well in the song. I'm starting to wish I didn't have to use my old crappy subwoofer instead of my new one which decided to break out of nowhere. Every sound comes out thin on this subwoofer and I can't hear that bass to its full extent X(. Oh well...

I think I'll have to agree with Shellac again on the fact that this could do with some repetitions to give the track a more solid structure. You should add some sort of climax since the song never seems to reach a new level. Don't make some epic climax beyond proportions, but some part where the song gets a bit faster and the drums get a bit stronger would really help, since I can't really say 'Oh, this is my favourite part!' in this song, if you get what I mean. Sure, the song has a few small parts where the song becomes a bit more powerful, but maybe somewhere towards the end you can add some climax.

The instruments all sound awesome. The bass was very deep, and the guitar sounded great. 1:46 also has some sort of instrument that I can't seem to make out, which sounds really cool too. I also like the delay/echo effects you put on some guitar notes, that was a nice and interesting touch. Excellent use of the static as well, it DID add some overall warmth to the track.

Regarding the transitions, I can't say I didn't like them. The song flowed really smoothly from one melody to another. I like how you introduced the guitar, although you had a whole intro played by the bass and drums, and then after around 40 seconds you finally introduce the guitar. Not saying you should introduce it earlier, but perhaps you should play a few really subtle and quiet notes with the guitar here and there in the intro as an indication that the song is about to add a guitar eventually.

The structure, well, as I said, this doesn't have some sort of fixed structure, which works excellently in this song, but I strongly agree with the fact that you could repeat a few melodies with the guitar. On the other hand, the fact that you kept the bass playing roughly the same rhythm and notes throughout the song really kept the song in place and gave it a good structure, so while you didn't repeat any of the melodies at all, you added repetition with the bass line to stop the song from getting random. Intro was very good, the only thing that could help it is what I said above; adding some subtle guitar notes. The ending was awesome, but maybe some splash or ride cymbal accompanying the ending note would help it a bit.

The drums are absolutely brilliant. Loved the use of snaps, and the drums fit really well in the song. Maybe you could add a bit more of the snare, but heck, this is fine as it is. Fantastic job with the drums!

To summarize, I was impressed by this. Relaxing and suspenseful at the same time. Just work on some of the nitpicks I mentioned and this'll be perfect in my opinion. Keep up the amazing work and good luck with your future submissions!
9/10
5/5 - Ouch, this got 0-bombed badly :(.

-Review Request Club-

MarkArandjus responds:

Yeah I don't blame you, I prefer this version too and I thin kthe vocals kind of distract you from the neato details of the instrumental.

1:46 is actually an organ. I just love to put organs in the back sometimes, maybe even too much I even put one in this metal song (though it was a pleasy part of the metal song).

Thanks for the sweet score, and yeah there are always a few trancefags 0-ing non-trance songs. Not that I have anything against trance, but those are some mean folks.

[Our Nova Pt. 1]

Wow :D

I suppose there are some different opinions on this. Some people think that Pt. 1 is better, some people think Pt. 2 is better, most people like the melodies, some people don't, some people don't mind the loudness, some people do, etc, but personally I think this is one of your best submissions. The only reason why I'm giving you a 9 is the usual reason: the length. You seem to stretch the same melodies or the same beats again and again till you drag it on to a huge length. I'd love it if you make a condensed version of this, because then I'd download it for sure. Wow, long intro xD.

The melodies are amazing. They're very catchy, upbeat and euphoric, plus they all compliment each other very well. Still, the beauty of this submission doesn't only lie in its fantastic melodies and great blend, but also the amazing harmonizing you've done, as usual. However, not to doubt your godly harmony skills, but I think 3:27 sounds a little weird. Could be just me (I suck so much at harmonizing), but I think there's a note somewhere there which sounds a little off. I won't reduce any points for it though, since as I said, it could be just me. Chord progression was awesome. Still, I agree with Shellac about the loudness. Turn it down a little, and EQ it. It'll definitely help fix some static and clipping too.

One thing which I don't really like in this submission would be the fact that it never changes mood. It's happy and upbeat for the whole song. No tempo changes, no breaks, no ambient parts, and no noticeable climax. Sure, the song has its moments, but I never seem to find any grand climax in the song. Heck, even a quick and noticeable change to a minor scale for a few bars would be nice.

What I'm trying to say is, while I REALLY like the joyous and fast-paced mood that the song has, I think it lacks a few dynamic changes, and if you add them I think they might even fix your repetition problem a little. Dance music doesn't have to be all powerful :). Perhaps F-777's We Believe Ep's might help you out, namely Ep. 1 which has quite a few changes to ambient, Ep. 6 which has nice buildups and Ep. 7 which has a very well transitioned key change.

The instruments all sound very nice, and there was a good amount of different instruments. Loved the choir sound at the beginning, and what I like is that the saw waves you used weren't that rough, even though saw waves are usually rough, and so they didn't interfere with the happy mood. The gated rhythms used in this were also pretty good, if not a bit generic. The effects were good, so nice job there. My only complaint is that the synth at 3:12 was quite ear piercing.

Transitions overall were nice. Some instruments came in a little suddenly, but that's not much of a problem. I liked your reverse cymbals, they provided some good transitions (damn, that reverse cymbal at 0:20 is long xD). There was a nice buildup in the intro too, although I would've liked to see some buildups somewhere else too.

The structure was all over the place. Melody after melody came in, complimenting each other, and although the piece never got too random, at times it got hard to follow because of the crazy structure. Condensing this song to around 3:00 or so would definitely help keep the structure solid. Variety was good, although the only problem with the variety is what I said above: this needs more style/mood/rhythm changes. The intro was amazing, and I won't complain about it for sure, although the ending was a little weird. It leaves you saying 'Eh? Thats how it ends?'. I even checked if it matches well with Pt. 2, but it still doesn't.

The drums sound really nice, and I like your beat, but the drums surely need more variety. Sure, drum variety in Dance isn't too important, but you only had about 2-3 drum beats for a whole 6 minutes, so I think you should vary them more :).

Anyway, overall, keep it up! Hit me up if you condense this, I'll be sure to download it. Also, if you respond to this, you'll be giving me my 300th Audio Response :P.
SPARTAAAA!!!!!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Wow! Thanks's so much for the review! I'm sorry I wasnt able to respond to it earlier, I've been pretty busy. Haha, I like how you called me the "Harmony god" lol. I try my best to make harmonizing my trademark haha. I read and reread everything you said. I will make a shortened version, but I need to finish some other projects first. And I hope this would be your 300th response, but I guess im a lil too late lol=P
Thanks for the wonderful advice! It was really helpful! I'm looking forward to more of your reviews!
P.S. lol, before you reviewed this, it was a 4.24, and after you said you five'd it, it was still a 4.24 lol.

[Stargenx - Epic Jam]

Yet another nice song from you :)

It's become obvious that you're an extremely talented artist by now. This reminds me a bit of Spring Fling, although it doesn't have as much of a nice melody as Spring Fling. Actually, while it does have some nice melodies and a good blend of different instruments, unfortunately it sounds a bit 'rushed'. You'll see why I say that if you have enough patience to read the massive review that follows...

The melodies, as I said, were very nice. You had a slightly generic chord progression, but what the heck, the chords used were nice and the melodies were euphoric and catchy. Loved the bassline at 0:17; it instantly made me smile, and the progression of melodies was decent. My main gripe with this is that it actually lacks 'epic'-ness, contradicting its name. Maybe it's because of the fact that the song is so quiet. I'm sure that amplifying it like 1.5-2 decibels will make it sound much better. Still, it could also be that bigbluechevy is right about the synths. They could be more powerful and mighty. The pad was alright, but the bassline could be a little more prominent and give more of an impact and the synth at 0:49 was weak at best.

Well, apart from the fact that some of the instruments sound a little weak, the sound of the instruments themselves was very nice. I liked your use of the pads the most. Yeah, I've noticed that your pads always sound excellent in your songs :D. What I like most about this would be the blend of different instruments. The acid bassline, joyous pads, upbeat synth and a mixture of rock/trance drums never fit so well together. This fact adds a nice bit of uniqueness to this submission, which makes up for the slightly overused chord progression. This song lacks sound effects though. You could add some sweeps, pitch bending or any other effects to keep the song interesting, like you did in Magical Pipe. Still, what the heck, the song sounds nice without that many sound effects anyway. Overall, good instruments although slightly weak, lack of sound effects, but fantastic blend.

The transitions would probably be my biggest gripe with this song. The drum roll at 0:17 was loud, and then what followed was quiet, leaving an anti-climatic and abrupt transition. You can say the same for the transition at 0:33. Then, as for the one at 0:49, I think the drum beat/pads/bassline disappeared way to suddenly, only to be replaced by a random synth solo. The transition at 1:04, on the other hand, was superb. Then, the transition to the ending note (1:37) was really bad. That ending note sounded completely cut off from the whole song. It was louder than any of the other instruments, and it made the ending sound very sloppy. New instruments were introduced pretty well, and buildups were very good.

The structure was alright. Basically, you had a buildup, then a synth solo, and at 1:04 you went back to the theme you originally set at the beginning, before ending the song. The variety was decent, but this song definitely needs a bigger variety of chord progressions. As for the intro, it was great; you can never go wrong with pad intros ^^. The ending, as I said above, was weird, since that note seemed to come out of nowhere.

The drums were actually really nice. The drum rolls, although too loud when compared to the rest of the song, were brilliantly executed, and the beat was catchy. Still, I'm not too sure about that clap sound you used. I can't seem to negate the fact that the clap is played utterly randomly throughout the song. I'd suggest that you either give it a fixed rhythm with a few subtle variations or you take it out entirely. However, drums on the whole were great, and I liked the kick you used.

In generak, this is a great song, although I still thing Magical Pipe is better than the rest of your submissions :P. Ah well, keep up the awesome work, and good luck on your next submission. I'd like to hear what you can come up with next, so I can have an excuse to fav you as an artist :D.
8/10
5/5 - Because this song got really badly 0-bombed, and nobody likes 0-bombs...

-Review Request Club-

Stargenx responds:

Thanks for the long-ass review! I love 'em. I know there are a ton of things to improve in this. :(
I like the honesty in your review and I agree with a lot of it. I'm not debating that my transitions are bad; I know they are. I just haven't gotten around to fixing it. My mentality at the time of the upload was: upload something and fix it later. I realize that that mentality has led to me uploading a lot of flawed work and I don't like that. I have more time now to contemplate what is up here and what needs to change. I'm spending a lot more time in the development stage, rather then just getting something out to get it out.
My latest song that I'm working on is still brewing even though I've deemed it ready. This is because some days it sounds different. I'm constantly fiddling with the volume on it because what I hear some days sounds worse. But I digress. I agree with what you're saying. I'm still working on finding ways to extend the songs and give them better transitions. Including the one I'm working on now, I have only two songs that are over 3 minutes.
Damnit I keep digressing again. XD
Some of the mixing problems in this song come from only using one speaker.
Anyway I know I can improve. I'll prove it to you. :)
Long-ass review = Mostly long-ass answer. :)