Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[MH16: Lonely Plains]

Not your best...

...But the fact that it's not one of your best doesn't make it a bad song at all. This sounds really awesome. Still, I know you could do a little better than this, so what I'm trying to say is, this is an awesome song, but not so much of an awesome MH16 song :P.

The melodies are really nice. There are some parts in the melody where I expected the notes to go higher in pitch but they didn't, although that may just be personal taste. The melodies are extremely well done, and very majestic indeed. Piano provided some good depth to the song, although some small piano solo somewhere instead of keeping the piano mostly in the background would be cool. Maybe somewhere towards the end you add a piano part with some strings in the background before getting to some epic climax. I liked the string part at 0:58-ish. It's good to not always keep to brass as the main instrument but vary a little, since it gives the song that little extra variety to keep the listener enjoying it to its fullest.

As for the instruments, obviously great quality, that's what's expected from Edirol I suppose :D. What I'd ask for would be a flute. I don't know if you did add a flute somewhere in the song (I'm deaf from one ear so I can never be too sure...) but I'm not hearing any flute... I was practically begging for a flute to come in somewhere :P. I think that if done correctly, it'll make the song even more majestic and flow even more smoothly than it is now. I think a pan flute might be even better at this case, to give that sort of 'natural' or 'primitive' sound, if you get what I mean. If Edirol doesn't have a pan flute sample, I can send you one if you want. Anyway, other than the fact that I think this song needs some more woodwind, I think the instrument choice is very good. I didn't expect choirs in a song like this, but I was surprised how well they fit. By the way, I think the instruments need some more EQ-ing (unless it's my speakers).

The transitions are all really smooth. The only thing I would complain about when it comes to the transitions is that I think the reverse cymbal that you used in this song cut off a bit too quickly. Give it a little more reverb to it, since it sort of ends out of nowhere almost, and I think some more reverb would do wonders to some of the transitions in this song. New instruments were introduced very well, although maybe a buildup at the beginning would be better. Maybe start with brass only, and then introduce the piano, then the strings and finally the drums, instead of starting with the brass, piano and strings altogether and then introducing the drums after. I think by gradually introducing new instruments at the beginning, you'll make the intro a bit more interesting.

The structure, as always, is flawless. The song was very well structured, and the variety is also excellent. There were many different melodies, and the song never got repetitive. The intro was also awesome, except for two things. Firstly, as I said above, I think the intro could do with a more gradual intro, and secondly, maybe starting it with a bit more ambience and then moving on to the part at 0:06-ish later would be better (for ambience, you could do stuff like birds chirping, leaves rustling, some wind effects, maybe a river splashing in the background, some subtle ambience with the strings, maybe, etc...). The outro is perfect, except that I think the final note could use a crash cymbal to accompany it and give it a bit more importance than any of the other notes.

Gah, running out of characters... Anyway, onto the drums: I don't really have much criticism for them. They were nice and laid back, complimenting the majestic and calm melodies, plus the beat was nice, they were just the right volume and they never got repetitive. Samples weren't really anything too special, but it's not much of a problem when the beats and variety are so good.

This is an awesome submission, with great melodies, excellent structure/variety, etc, and although it's not your best, it still rocks. Keep it up!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

FairSquare responds:

:O <-- that was my face when i saw this review, because it's incredibly long :p
Also, i find it hard to respond to long reviews like this. I don't really know why. Anyway, there's a lot of useful advice in your review that i'm going store in my brain and i'm sure i will use it in other songs. Heck, i might even edit this song, if i'm not too lazy :p
But seriously, thanks for this review. Btw, i didn't use any Edirol in this :p Oh, and your speaker is fine, i just suck at EQ'ing and mastering.
Once again, thanks!

[O' (Finished)]

Nice!

I knew I was going to have some good competition for the contest. This sounds really cool, keep up the good work.

Yeah, the melodies are very catchy. You're really talented when it comes to melodies, and here is no exception. The main melody is catchy, and when the beat comes in, I was like 'wow, those match perfectly'. Also, towards the end, the song really picked up, and was really fun to listen to.

Unfortunately, I don't agree with a lot of the 'notes that are held out longer than what they probably should' in this. They feel as if they're 'forced' into playing for longer than they should be, instead of having that 'natural' held back feel, if you know what I mean, and at times the piano lingered behind the beat which was a little weird. I'd suggest making some parts where the piano plays some high notes on its own, and THEN adding some notes which are longer than they should be, since those notes sound weird when played with the beat, making the listener lose track of the song.

Still, on the bright side, the offbeat notes were fun to listen to, and the chords you used are really well done. By the way, I'll have to agree with RiotProof that this song needs some EQing. By the way, the synth (?) that you added sounded a bit weird, and sort of ruined the feel you originally set with the piano. Replace it with some strings, or possibly a woodwind instrument such as a pan flute.

The transitions overall were decent, even though there were a few transitions which made me lose the song's rhythm. Also, the transition at 3:13 doesn't sit well with me, I think maybe it's because you took away the piano and drums a bit too suddenly. Still, a lot of the other transitions were cool, such as the way you introduced the piano and beat at 3:30. The song structure is very good - perhaps at times a little random, but a good song structure in general.The intro was great, I can't find anything to complain about, and so was the ending, so great job ^^.

The drums had good samples, and the beats were very cool, and fit extremely well with the piano. The drums in general were well varied. The only thing I would ask for would be some more cymbals. You mostly had tomtom drums, a kick and a snare. Some parts in the song could do with some ride cymbals and maybe some hihats, and I think this definitely needs some crash cymbals too, namely when you took away the drums from the song, since most of the time they exited from the song quite abruptly and suddenly, so by adding a crash cymbal right after they exit the song, I think it would provide a smoother exit.

Overall, this is a really cools submission, and Darklight and I sure have to work if we want to beat this :P. Keep up the great work, you're an excellent piano artist, and you have quite a large chance of being $50 richer towards mid-April xP. Keep it up! Also, I'd appreciate it if you check out my latest WiP, I'm about to post it on the WiP advice thread ;).
8/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

Kirbyfemur responds:

A lot of those extra held out note where by accident, and where mostly me just being lazy and not wanting to fix it, but it ended up making it hard to put the beats and melodys/harmonies together lol I'll try to fix some of the more forced sounds here and there. Though luckily we have a few months to work on this. The Synth i used was mainly because i like that sound, and it was just an easy go to for me, i'll figure out a better sound for that part. As far as the drums go, i'll try to add more toms and other cymbols, but my main problem its the evenness when i do, i'll figure it out those. Thanks for your rather kind words and good luck to you as well sir, i'll be looking forward to yours and the other's sumbissions =3

[Electric Pulse [PDM]]

...What's with all the spaceships?

I don't think of being in a spaceship when I hear this :S. Oh well, what the heck. Spaceships or no spaceships, this rocks, and although some issues stop me from giving you a 10, you almost got a 10, and I hope you keep developing your awesome talent.

Melodies, like in Blinder, the other song I reviewed, are very catchy and awesome. I liked that egyptian-ish guitar you used, and the rhythms and melodies of the main guitar rocked. Overall, the melodies were well done, and like Korgazoid, I liked that sound you used at 0:58-ish. 2:05 was a pretty cool part too. I don't really think there's anything wrong with your melodies, they sound awesome. Still, I think that in the middle of the song you should introduce a style change, since the song gets a little boring. You could try a rhythm change, or an ambient part. That's just a small nitpick though, not much of a problem. Good job with the melodies!

The instrument choice, like in Blinder, is very creative and original. I still don't know how you manage to make a guitar sound so good with the electronic synths that you had over here. I mean, I don't even know what genre to call your songs. They sound pretty industrial, yeah, but they are so original and creative that you can never be too sure. Again, the guitar sounded fantastic, and the other instruments you used such as that heavy saw synth (?) at 2:05, and the desert-ish guitar. I liked the 8-bit sounds you incorporated which can be heard most clearly at the beginning of the song. I liked your guitar effects as well, they added a lot to the submission and were a nice touch.

Now, the transitions are probably my largest complaint in this. Some transitions were decent, but the majority of the transitions were abrupt and weird. 0:51 felt really off, and was a weird and abrupt transition, and so was 1:07 where the guitar switched from those long notes to the short notes so suddenly. The drum transition at 1:31 didn't quite fit either, and the transitions at 2:05 and 3:09 switched from loud to soft much too abruptly, IMO. Even though this may be small nitpicks, altogether I think they ruin the song quite a bit. Also, I think the transition at 2:37 needs a crash cymbal to indicate the beginning of the chorus, since after hearing the drum roll before it, I expected something a little more powerful, so I think a crash would do the job well.

New instruments on the whole were introduced pretty well, even though some instruments sort of came out of nowhere, but on the other hand, there were a few small buildups which were well executed. When it comes to the structure, it's pretty well done. Aside from the fact that the song was transitting from one melody to another almost randomly, in my opinion the structure was decent. However, the variety wasn't too good IMO. The main melody was repeated a bit too much, so in some parts you should substitute the main melody for an alternate melody instead, and by adding some style change inbetween the song, you'd be adding some more variety.

The intro was awesome. The guitar smoothly came in along with the powerful drums and provided a great intro. Unfortunately, the ending was weird. Apart from the fact that the transition was rough, It was a really weird way to end the song. I think a powerful final guitar chord would do the trick, instead of ending it like that. Maybe you could consider a fade out, but I think a proper ending would be better...

The drums were rock-style drums which fit very well with the theme of the submission, and their volume level was just right, plus the beat you used was catchy and well executed and the drum samples were great. At times the drums fit pretty well with the submission too, although as I said, you should add a crash cymbal at 2:37, and even some other parts in the song could use a crash cymbal. Also, the drums badly need variety, since it was the same 2 bar drum beat for almost the whole song...

It has a few issues, but overall it's a decent song. Keep up the great work, and thanks for reviewing my song!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

Elfire responds:

Thanks dude, yeh basically this was one of the first things i ever made when i started out and looking back its pretty shit, if i had cubase still i reckon i would be able to make this into something decent I.E produce it better/compression and add the sparkle like the crashes you mentioned. Had vocals in mind for it but never found anyone willing to do it in the end *sigh*

and yes, transitions are my bane =(

Thanks again for the epic review dude!

[Hyperactive (WIP)]

Cheesy...

...But overall a pretty good job. This is a nice submission that overall fits pretty well with the name, and although sounds a little generic and at times rather repetitive, it's quite fun to listen to. For your first submission to NG, this sounds great, and I hope you keep up your good work, since you clearly have talent when it comes to producing ;). By the way, this is R4R, since you reviewed my song, so as I said, I'll return it.

The melodies sound nice. Not all of them are too catchy but some stick in your head, and go with the whole 'Hyperactive' vibe. Piano could use a little more than 3 notes played by some simple chords, though. I think this song could really benefit if you added some epic fast-paced piano solo or something. The saw lead melodies were pretty good. First one sounded a little off-tune or something (could be my not-so-musically-experienced ears, or my poor excuses for 'speakers') but overall the melodies were nicely done. I liked the melody at 3:27-ish, that was probably the catchiest. Also, the portamento you put on the saw waves was a nice addition, since it furthermore added to the cheerful, upbeat and fast-paced rhythm that this song has. Overall, decent melodies. Some melodies could be a little more complicated or have a bit more of a hook to them, but in general, melody-work was fine ^^.

As for the instruments, I don't really have much to compliment you about them. The piano was good quality I suppose, but other than that, the synths were nothing new or special. Just the same generic saw lead, and maybe you get some originality points for not using an offbeat saw bass, but even then the bass you have now is pretty uninteresting. Did you try an acid bass? Maybe that'd work, or possible some arp or bass pad. You have to find a bass which isn't generic but at the same time is interesting to listen to and fits with the overall theme of the song.

The effects, well, it's probably one of the main things which pulled your score down to a 7. There were none or almost no effects at all. No filter automations, little or no reverb, no delay, etc, and you also didn't use any sound effects like sweeps or something. In my opinion, this song could do with some more effects here and there, possibly instead of fading parts in, you can automate them in with filters or something. Use your imagination: you have the talent, now you just need the imagination to execute it well :). Also, some well-timed vocal sample in this song would be awesome (for example at about 0:26 or so).

The transitions weren't really too special. There were no sudden transitions or anything, but for most of the transitions you simply faded a new introduction to synth in, which although provided a smooth transition, wasn't really too special. It's OK to fade a few things in here and there, but many transitions in your song were simple volume fade-ins. Buildup at the beginning was good, though.

The structure is very simple, and I wouldn't complained about it if you didn't have that name. The fact that the song is called 'Hyperactive' makes me imagine some hyperactive person running around all over the place, first doing one thing, then quickly getting tired of that, and moving on to another thing, which sort of matched the song, where when one melody was tired of playing, it simply faded in onto the next. So yeah, it shows pretty clearly that the name and the song are a perfect match ^^.

On the other hand, the variety didn't impress me much, TBH. I mean, you said yourself. 22 patterns, and you spread them into 4:30. Usually, in any songs I make which are around that length, I'd have around 50 to 60 patterns, normally 4 bars or 8 bars long. So yeah, what I'm saying is, you need to introduce some more variety in this. There are some parts where I think the melody gets repeated too much, and gets boring to listen to. Either you add some more counter-melodies, or take out some repetitive parts, therefore shortening the song.

Hmm... almost out of characters already, lol xD. I'll continue the review on my alt, DarkShadow166...

Dj-GST responds:

Haha, thanks for the review man! First of all, this isn't my first submissions to NG, It's just my first sumbission to this profile (I have another one on here with older songs, PM me if you want the link).

I respect your honesty and eye for details, I'll be looking at this review quite a bit for my changes, there's a lot of good suggestions.

The reason that this song is very simple and has hardly any effects is because, mainly, I was lazy and threw this together quick, as well as I don't know how to do sweeps or any of those kinds of effects (If you know how, can you PM me and tell me how?).

I'll work on the complexity and pitch of the melodies, as well as make a couple more to make it less repetitive.

I was actually thinking of doing a fast piano melody but didn't because I was being lazy...I'll make sure to make one or two for the full version.

I'll try your ideas for the bass, I just found a happy sounding one and put it in.

Long review, but very helpful. I appreciate it man.

[<EagleGuard> Frozen Forests]

Wow!

This seriously sounds really good, and I definitely enjoyed listening to it. What I liked was how you managed combine a forest feeling to a cold and snowy feeling. Good stuff.

The melodies are amazing, especially the harp's melodies, and the flute was out of this world. I think the flute gave a sort of 'nature' feeling to this, and sounded very eerie, in a good way :D. 0:56 was a cool harp part, and when it got to the end, the song really picked up and I enjoyed listening to it even more. Perhaps you could add some more background depth to this, such as more strings, and maybe even some louder/more brass or choirs. Right now, a few parts feel slightly empty for some reason and I think this could really do with some more depth.

Also, I noticed a few discordant parts in this. It could just be me, since I'm unexperienced in music, but I noticed some parts which sounded a little off and discordant, such as the part at 0:35 where I think the harp didn't fit too well with the flute. Again, it could just be me and my non-musical ears, so I won't reduce any points for that. Also, this has a very good amount of alternate melodies, giving the song more variety and making it more fun to listen to, so great job!\

As for the instruments, they were awesome quality. As I said above though, this needs a few more instruments, such as some women choirs to give more of a cold, winter feel (PM me if you want an excellent choir VST). Other than that, the instruments' quality was superb. Just one issue I'm having with your instruments, that could just be my horrible speakers, but I think that some of the instruments need EQing, mainly the harp, which had some higher notes clipping a little. To pinpoint an example, take the third harp note from the song. There are many more examples, but that's the first to come up in the song. Could just be your harp sample though. Anyway, instrument choice was awesome. The strings gave the song some cool suspense, and the flute was a very nice addition, plus the harp evoked an excellent atmosphere. I think your strings need to be a bit louder, though. Also, some forest sound effects would do wonders in this submission ;).

The transitions are really smooth and perfectly executed, IMO. No transition felt abrupt, and the song flowed smoothly ^^. All instruments were introduced very well, and there were some nice buildups in the song, although a more gradual buildup at the beginning would've been cool, such as maybe first making the harp only play, then add the strings, then add some other instrument, and then add the flute, or something like that, instead of starting with the harp and strings and then introduce the flute a few seconds after.

The song structure is superb, and among one of the best classical song structures I've heard in a while. As for the variety, it's also out of this world, which is why I never get tired listening to this song. Awesome job. Intro, as I said above, needs a better buildup, but other than that, using the harp was a nice way to start the song. As for the ending, you had a good idea on how to end it, but I'll have to agree with Joshsouza that you should expand the ending a little more. Maybe keep the final arpeggio at 2:10 keep going higher for another four notes, and then, with a ritardando, the song ends on the final harp note you did at 2:15. Also, the ending needs a bit more silence, IMO.

As for the drums, there aren't many drums, but what there was really impressed me. Very nice tambourine work, it was so fitting in this song, and the timpani gave the song some nice depth. The cymbal was also good for some transitions, and the samples sound very good. The drums were also just the right volume too, and were well varied. Good job with the percussion! :)

Other than a few nitpicks, I think this is a very good song, which has loads and loads of potential. I hope you keep up your good work, you're an excellent composer, and sorry if some parts in my review didn't make sense. I'm in a bit of a hurry =/. Great job, keep it up!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

EagleGuard responds:

That's gotta be the longest review I've ever seen on Newgrounds. Thanks for taking your time to write it!

I was thinking about putting instruments like choirs in in the first place, but in the end I thought it would be a bit too much if I did that. I can't use VST's, by the way, as I'm using Reason 4 to make my music (I have cubase though, although I don't like using it that much)

The part at 0:35 sounds right in my ears :) It could be your speakers (I use headphones by the way)

I'll think about the ending, the instruments and the sound effects. Perhaps I'll make an extended edition in the future.

Thanks for the awesome review, it's much appreciated!

[Plan of Battle]

Wow!

Man, that sound awesome. It really fits with the name, and I can barely find any faults in it. I love it!

The melodies are fantastic, especially the brass melodies. They evoke that epic 'war' theme, and give out a feeling of tension and despair. I also imagine a map being laid out and instructions/strategic tactics being thought out and discussed with solemn voices. The background depth is excellent, with flawless harmonization. I really liked the strings' melody that came in towards the end, when the song changes mood from a march rhythm to a fast rhythm. There was also a very good number of different melodies. I mean, you have enough melodies to fill in a 2:30 song nicely, and yet you manage to fit them all in just over one minute perfectly ^^.

Instruments here sound awesome. I'm guessing you use East/West? Your instrument choice here is also very good: brass, strings, choirs; you can never go wrong with them :D. I particularly liked the pizzicato strings you added, since they furthermore added to the tension and power that this song has. I also liked your hits in the song, they were powerful, rich, and were a nice touch to the song. I don't think there are any more instruments that would add to this submission, so nice job!

The transitions are great, and the song flowed very smoothly throughout, except maybe the transition at 0:50 which I'm not really too sure about. I think it goes from the march rhythm to the fast-paced/action packed rhythm a bit too suddenly. Perhaps by making the song go quiet for a bar and in that bar, bass drums and a cymbal roll build up and then you start the part at 0:50. I'm not too sure about it, but maybe it'll fix the slightly rough and abrupt transition that you have. Other than that nitpick, the transitions were epic ^^. Very nice buildup at the beginning, where you gradually introduced new instruments.

When it comes to the structure, I don't really think it's too good. It starts on a really good structure, and then it continues at 0:50 where the song changes mood. It stays like that for 4 bars and the song's ending hit sort of comes out of nowhere. At 0:50, it feels as if you started a new song, and then you end it out of the blue at 0:57. Maybe you should lengthen the song to keep the song going for at least 12 more bars, playing in the mood you set out at 0:50, and then you end it, or you could just remove the part at 0:50 and end it somewhere around there, but it'd be a bummer since the part at 0:50 is awesome :C. The variety, on the other hand, is top-notch, and I didn't get tired of the song for even a second.

The intro is brilliant. I liked that you started it with those hits, you hear a double bass playing in the background, and then the song starts. Quite an effective intro IMO. As for the ending, as I said above, the fact that you ended it a bit too early and out of nowhere sort of ruined the ending. You could try and loop it by removing the hit at 0:57 and all of the silence afterwards, or you could try and end it by lengthening the part at 0:50 for another 12 bars and then ending it with a powerful final hit or something. Yes, I'm nitpicky :(.

The drums are top notch. Loved the snare beats, they were very well varied, and fit with the song perfectly. There was an excellent variety of drum samples, and each sample sounded superb. What did you use to make the percussion? It sounds amazing. If there was anything I would do to the drums, is turn that snare up a little, since it feels sort of drowned out by the rest of the instruments.

Well, overall it sounds really cool, and the only defects I can find in it are pure nitpicks. If you would fix the ending a little, maybe lengthening the part at 0:50 for another 12 bars or so, fixing the transition at 0:50, and turning the snare's volume up a little, I think this song would be perfect. Keep up the awesome work, you're an excellent classical composer, and if your game is as good as this song, then I have a hunch that it'll be awesome. Thanks for reviewing my loop!
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

Joerao responds:

Woah, thanks for the novel! :D I agree that the end came out of nowhere- I'll try to fix that. And you're right- I mainly used some Eastwest instruments with some free VSTs thrown in. I probably should elongate that part at 0:50- it does sound kind of hurried and is too short.

Thanks again for your input!

[CT - Battle Theme]

Beautifully executed!

This, for a remix, actually sounds very original. It's a mixture of different styles, yet they fit so well together. I never knew a groovy and jazzy yet epic song such as this would flow so well and sound so extraordinary. I mean, wow, this is just so amazing, and it instantly leaves me smiling. You really deserved the top-5, and I hope you continue making amazing audio such as this!

When it comes to the melodies, I can't really credit you for them since this is a remix, but I enjoyed the fact that you did something original and creative to them, and it's amazing how different this is from the original, but you still kept some familiar things such as the awesome slap bass at the beginning to leave the listener drowned in nostalgia and amazement at the same time. I actually think that this is like twice as good as the original, IMO, because it sounds just so awesome. Oh, and very good use of glissandos. By the way, I really loved the part at 1:36, since there was a really really cool sax melody which I thoroughly enjoyed.

One issue I'm having with your song is that it maybe is a bit too fast-paced and covered in action, and it definitely could do with a break somewhere; maybe an ambient part, or a part where the song plays a heavy crash cymbal, everything goes quiet and slowly the song builds up to its former awesomeness. Maybe that's not how it is in the original, but the best types of remixes are those where you add your own little variations of the melody and change the positions of the melodies a little but keeping roughly the same style of the original, so by adding some small break from the main melody, I think it would do wonders to this song. I mean, this is supposed to be a battle theme not an overly-epic fantasy World War III godly theme :P.

As for the instruments, I was literally left in awe. I'm hearing a guitar, I'm hearing a slap bass, I'm hearing a synth, I'm hearing drums, I'm hearing strings, for sud's sake, I'm even hearing a SAXOPHONE?? And yet, this weird mixture of sounds actually fit together so well in this. Loved that funky jazz-like hit that you played throughout the song which was heard first at the very beginning. Perhaps at times you could make it play different notes other than always C and D. Still, your instruments in general all sounded excellent, and I really don't have anything to complain about with them.

Some transitions sort of felt a little out of place or abrupt, but that's probably because this song is so fast-paced and full of action that you sometimes lose track of it and see some transitions as abrupt or a little weird. So yeah, I think that if you sometimes add some slower and calmer parts to the song, and maybe making a few parts here and there a little less action-packed and crazy, then I think the transitions would all be smooth and great. Still, there were some really epic transitions and some awesome drum rolls and drum transitions which left me amazed, such as the transition at 1:57. I mean, practically after every 4 bars a new drum transition is introduced :P.

Instruments were all introduced very well, and my only complaint is that this has no buildups. The song starts action packed, continues action packed and finished action packed, without any buildups, so maybe you could add a few gradual buildups were you start with one instrument and you slowly introduce more, or as I said above, make a part where the song goes quiet with a crash cymbal and slowly builds up.

Structure is quite close to the original, and as I said above, remixes with some of your own variations to the melody and different structure are the best types of remixes IMO. Add some new parts which are close to original melodies here and there, and play around with the song a little so you won't keep it too close to the original. On the other hand, the variety was top-notch, and it was very well varied without getting too random, which made it very fun to listen to, so great job with that!

Gah, I'm already out of characters :P. I'll continue the review with my alt, Darkshadow166, then...

CandySoup responds:

I can't believe I wasted my time reading this, only understanding the word "epic" LOL
and That's only 1/2 of the review? ARE YOU MAD?

[-Orr- 4 Brave Champions [FULL]]

Holy Shrimp.

Now this is what I call Epic Classical. Wow, it just sounds so amazing. You've done a fantastic job in this song, and it sounds so fun to listen to! It's also a huge addition to the original, and I'm glad I found out you made an updated version of it...

Melodies are out of this world. The choirs at the beginning were epic and their melody was great, and then the strings that came at around 0:18, although they sound a lot like Lord of the Rings for some reason, have the most amazing melody I've heard in a big while. 0:56 just added to the amazing tension and power of this excellent song, and had a really cool buildup. 1:21 was a nice addition, since epic classical songs like this always could use slow ambient parts with the flute such as 1:21.

I also really liked the background depth in this: the double bass fit well in the song, and those choirs in the background gave a boss battle-feel to the song. 2:12 was really cool, and sounded pretty medieval too. 2:44 was really majestic-like too. Towards the end, the song picked up again, and it was awesome. I think the only part I didn't like in this amazing song would be 1:47, which sounded almost comical and was a bit too upbeat and happy. It sort of ruined the mood IMO. I don't think you should remove it, but changing it a little might make it match with the majestic and powerful theme of the song.

As for the instruments, you can't expect less from East/West, lol :P. The instrument choice was very good. The bells sounded great in this song (except at 1:47 when they sounded happy and upbeat :\), and the strings were brilliantly executed. The orchestral hits all sounded fantastic. Probably thing I enjoyed the most in this would be those choirs. They were awesome in the foreground at the beginning, and they gave a lot of background depth to the rest of the song. It's also cool that you made them say different things other than Ahh, or Ooh (I suppose you're using Word-Builder). The choice of instruments was perfect; I definitely can't complain about it.

As for the transitions, they too were flawless. Every melody had a great transition to the next, and the song flowed smoothly with melodies complimenting each other really well. New instruments were also introduced very well, and all of the buildups were flawlessly executed. Man, do you ever do anything wrong??

When it comes to the structure, it's awesome. I seriously find it impossible to build a good structure in my classical songs, so I'm amazed by the way you managed to get the melodies to match each other so perfectly and to leave the song at perfect variety - not enough for it to get random, but not to make it get repetitive either...

IMO, the intro wasn't anything too special. Maybe a gradual buildup instead of a note along with some bells would be better. Or maybe an epic ambient choir intro - I find that making choir intros is really fun if you know how to do them, and they're always a perfect way to start any song IMO (which is why I used it in 4 of my recent songs :P). On the other hand, the ending was perfect (yeah, I say perfect a lot X[ ). It was an epic way to end an epic song, and I can't complain about it ^^.

The orchestral percussion was superb. The only issue I'm having with them is that maybe your snares were a little weak/quiet at times, but other than that, your drum work was very good. The drum transitions were nice, and the drums sounded really epic along with the song. They were also just the right volume other than the snare, and they sounded really good (are those drums from Stormdrum or East/West?).

Overall, this submission is a very good improvement from the original. All I'm complaining about is the slightly upbeat and comical part at 1:47, the uninteresting intro and the snare being a slight bit too weak at times, but as you can see those are simply nitpicks. I'm fav-ing this song and you as an artist. You definitely deserve it! Keep up the amazing work, I can't wait to hear your other submissions! XD
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd.
Fav'd as an artist.

-Review Request Club-

DavidOrr responds:

What a wonderful review! A beautiful analysis, I'm glad the piece can hold up to such a in-depth review. The East West sounds definitely played in my favor for this piece, although they do have some genres they don't fare as well at. The slightly upbeat part you mentioned was supposed to represent the whimsical personalities of each knight (there are four call and responses). I was reluctant at first to include something that bouncy, but I think it fits well with the overall atmosphere of the game.

Thanks so much for this review, If I could fave it I would!

[Urban Dragon]

Hmm...

Well... to be honest, I didn't find this loop particularly impressive. The sidechaining was slightly overused, this wasn't that long, the instruments all are FL Studio presets if I'm not mistaken, and the beat got repetitive. Still, I really like your melodies, so even though you're pretty much a beginner in FL Studio, your composition and melodic skills are great, so if you just had the right resources and knowledge about FL, I'm sure you'll turn out to be a great artist :).

As I said, melodies were awesome. The bassline was very catchy, and the melody that came in at 0:27 has that sort of Egyptian or ancient feel to it and sounds nice and catchy ^^. What I think you should do is continue this song, since it's only a little over a minute long. Add some more melodies over there, maybe add some epic chorus too, and try and drag it on to at least 2 minutes and a half. Also, the bassline was the same throughout the whole loop, which was a bummer. At least at 0:27, change the bassline, and then maybe change it one more time in the song before changing back to the bassline at the beginning. Also, it'd be cool if the instrument at 0:27 had more melodies, other than that 2 bar melody that you used. Melodies in general were very catchy, but they are pretty simple and the addition of more melodies would be great, even though this is just a 1 minute loop. By the way, is it me, or did the bass just glitch at the beginning? :S

The instruments, well, they are FL presets I think. The drums can be found in the Packs > Hip-Hop section of the FL browser, and the bass at the beginning is the Digi bass. I don't know if the instrument at 0:27 is a preset as well, but if it is, I'd suggest you change it with your own sample instead. You shouldn't use presets that come with your DAW since they make your song sound generic and in addition, the FL presets aren't the best sounds out there. If you need any drum samples, instruments or anything, you can send me a PM, since it's a bummer to see such great composition and melodies falling under the hands of FL presets. Also, this needs more background to it, such as some pads/strings and maybe another instrument somewhere in the song as well, since all I can hear are drums, a bass and an instrument that sounds a bit like an oboe. Also, lyrics would help remove some of the monotony that this song has.

The transitions are OK - nothing really too special, though, since there were no drum transitions, no reverse cymbals, no snare rolls, etc, but all the transitions were smooth and the loop flowed pretty smoothly overall. New instruments were introduced well, too ^^. When it comes to the structure, it's not really too good. First you play the bass, and then you introduce the drums and oboe-like instrument, and play the same thing for the rest of the loop =/.

When it comes to the intro, I think it could use a bit more work. It's good starting it with that bassline, but sadly the intro does have its defects. Firstly, I think at times you introduced the drums a bit too early, and secondly, the drums came in a bit too suddenly so maybe a drum transition before it would make it come in nicely. Here, I made my own FLP with some changes to the intro, changes to the bass and beat and more instruments added. I faded it away at the end so that you can continue from there. I hope it's a good example for you to base some V2 of this song on ^^.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ketmjnnmcez
This did loop OK, by the way, but I think it'd be better if you turn this into a full song with a proper ending instead :\.

As for the drums, the beat was OK, if not a bit too simple, but they need to be varied more, the hi-hat was too quiet and the sidechaining, although quite good, could've been better and I think you overused the sidechaining a little (that could be me though, I'm not a fan of sidechaining).

Overall, it's a good submission, but needs work on the problems mentioned above, IMO. Anyway, I reviewed this since you reviewed my Spy Theme, I hope I've been of some help ^^.
7/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

B-RadGfromOV responds:

Wow, that was great. You are extremely helpful. I can't believe you actually made me an example of what you were talking about. That was above and beyond any help I expected. I knew from the moment I posted this that the sidechaining was too much, and I've already found a solution. As for that instrument, it's a "Broken Accordion" under the "Experimental" preset folder. lol And the drums, yes they were too simple, as I was trying too hard to emulate Flying Lotus.

Thank you for the review and criticism and help.

[Finical [Minimal Mix] ADM-R2]

Nice job!

Lol, too bad Skela cowered out lol (xP). I'll review this with a huge review so you won't feel as if you worked for the Death Match all for nothing. Anyway, onto the review.

The melodies... Well, the first part of the song was House, and there wasn't much of a melody, but when the ambient part came in at 1:21, it was just beautiful. I really liked the notes you used, they instantly put you at ease, and I couldn't help but get the goosebumps when I heard its awesomness :P. From then on, the melodies were pretty simplistic. Maybe you could've added some more melodies in the parts that felt a little empty or slightly monotonous, such as towards the end when the drums only were playing. What I liked though was your interesting use of different genres. It gave the song a nice 'unpredictable' twist to it, which made it more fun to listen to. The ambient parts would probably be my favourite parts of this though.

There weren't many instruments, but they all sounded great. The ambient pads were awesome, the acid bass at the beginning sounded nice and the square synth fit well. What I really liked was your amazing use of sound effects, such as the sweeps at 0:58, 2:12, 3:19 and the end (I just think that some of the sweeps could use some more delay or reverb, they sort of cut out abruptly if you get what I mean), plus there were loads of other cool effects too such as the ones at the beginning, and the effect at 2:47-ish, which kept me listening to the song without getting bored. I'd suggest adding a few extra instruments, such as some high bells or something, which I think would fit really well at 1:50. What would be cool is if you tried to combine all of the genres together towards the end, so you'd be playing the bass you used at the beginning, the ambient pads and the square synth along with drums and FX somewhere at the end. Sort of a grand finale.

The transitions are all great. It isn't easy to transit from one genre to another in one song (I should know, I made a song with five different genres XD) but you executed all of the transitions perfectly, especially with your creative use of the different FX. I liked the transition to Ambient at 1:13. New instruments were all introduced well, and the buildups are all really nice. I liked the drum buildup at the beginning, and the way the ambient pads built up was great too. Towards the end, the drums were built down really well too. Great job with all of the transitions and stuff :).

The structure is weird, but that's sort of expected in a song that incorporates more than one genre. As for the variety, I can't complain much about it. Maybe at 2:20 you could vary that square synth a little more, since those eight monotonous notes did get a bit repetitive during that part. Still, in general the variety was brilliant.

As for the intro, it was rather generic, IMO, but still not much of a problem. The buildup in the intro was fantastic. As for the ending, it was OK, but it could've been better if you tried to end it with that grand finale that I was talking about before. Still, not a bad outro :).

As for the drums, there were some very good drum transitions/drum rolls, and some great variety of drums, plus the beats were great, and the drums fit perfectly with the song. I liked the sound of the kick - it wasn't too hard but not too weak either. Maybe at times your clap could have had more reverb, since it felt a bit abrupt and short. Other than that, awesome drum work :D.

There aren't really that many flaws in this awesome song. It has a sort of uniqueness to it, since it's such a nice mixture of different genres. I really liked your drums, your effects, your transitions and your amazing ambient parts. The only problems you had were really tiny ones, like slightly short and dry claps, lack of reverb on some of the sweeps, slightly generic intro, slightly uninteresting outro and a few parts in the song which could use a few more melodies/instruments. Whatever, keep up the excellent work, and good luck in Round 3 of the DeathMatch!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

djInTheDark responds:

Thank a lot dude. I mean, I know its your job as a judge, but I still really appreciate it. Also cuz you added to it and made it official. And believe me, I don't think I did it for nothing. I make music because I love to, whether or not I have an opponent is up to chance. ;)

Thanx again, looking forward to another round!