Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Shapeshifter 2 (NGADM)]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

Now this, to me, is a perfect example of fantastic ideas but not enough production skills (yet) to execute them correctly. I'm going to start by saying that your approach towards this track is interestingly structured. The fact that you added that section in your author's comments for the "lazy listener" is a testament to the thought you put into the structure, and it shows. This track is wonderfully structured, with a great, gradual intro, and ever so classic buildup into the even more classic WUBWUBWUBWUBWUB parts, as you so eloquently put it. There are some hugely enjoyable ideas here, such as the spectacular intro and outro, incredibly good transition at 0:52 to kick things into full gear, 1:06's addictive little guiro(?) sound and the melodies that all in all flow well and sound great, especially those played by the piano.

However, I was very much unimpressed by your production value. I wouldn't call it bad by any means, but simply lacking. For starters, the track is far too quiet - I had to turn my volume up pretty significantly, only to turn it down again in a rush when I started hearing the bassy intro of the submission after yours, lest my subwoofer explodes. I peeked at the waveform and my suspicions were confirmed; there's a lot of unused headroom. On top of that, your track sounds significantly empty when the drums kick in, and even more so when the bass drops or during the bridge, largely due to the sounds you're using being mostly thin. In fact, none of your sounds are particularly good, with the exception of the piano and some of the drums (although the drums themselves are pretty unfitting during the softer sections anyway).

This feels like it's still bursting with potential. In the end, it's still a fun track with some excellent ideas! I decided to give you a 4.1/10, but after seeing what time your outro starts, I gave you + 4.20 bonus points because blaze it.

SCORE: 8.3/10

[Round 1]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

You know, funnily enough, to me this is exactly the kind of contest submission I would expect in the spirit of an "audio deathmatch". It's aggressive, dangerous and has this "I'm going to eat every competitor alive" kind of vibe to it! This is in no small way due to the positively vicious bass you've got going here, so props on creating such a menacing, roaring sound. To accompany this powerhouse of a bass synth we've got suitably powerful percussion, and pitch-automated sawtooth and square leads that are simply chock-full of tension. In all honesty, one of the best things about this track would have to be your synths. They synergise astoundingly well with each other to create such a great mood, and to put it simply, if anyone were to ask for a "dubstep video game boss theme" then I would direct them straight to this.

The bad news is that I unfortunately didn't find this as interesting as it could have been. It's hard to stand out in a genre that has been done to death like dubstep, but this doesn't make much of an effort to do so. Sure, I have to give it credit for being one of the more aggressive submissions of the round, but aggressive isn't enough to stand out in a genre which is almost known for being aggressive. None of the melodies particularly stand out, the sections in which you drop the bass (like 0:45) are pretty uninteresting once you get past the hype of the buildup and initial explosion of the bass, since they're pretty repetitive and lacking the variety and sound design that makes dubstep tracks stand out. On two lesser notes, I think your cymbals are a bit too harsh (they sound almost like raw white noise!) and the buildup ending at 2:04 is underwhelming compared to the MUCH better buildup up to 0:45.

Despite that, the mood of this track is so likeably angry that I can't help but enjoy it regardless!

SCORE: 8.3/10

dexarson responds:

Thanks bro <3 xoxo

[Solarex - Something Like This]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

Oh man, I was PSYCHED about what you were going to come up with after hearing your audition, and here you are, as expected, delivering one of my favourite electronic submissions of this round! While composition isn't what this track excels in, so to speak, you still have some great stuff here! Your melodies have a very identifiable Japanese flair to them, what with your heavy usage of the pentatonic scale and quick melodic passages with lots of movement. While your harmonies are nothing profound, they work very well with the melody in the bouncy sections like 1:10. Your atmosphere is also fine and dandy. You have a pretty nifty dreamy texture during the sections with the high bells. Of course, the atmosphere is helped by your amazing sounds and production...

...which brings me to my next point. The production. DAMN. I am literally in awe here. This has an absolutely beautiful mix. The drums especially are just perfect. The snare has JUST the right amount of high end to give it that crisp fizzy sound without sounding ear-piercing, the kick has a thumpy, crystal clear presence and the cymbals are there without being overbearing. All of the other sounds are wonderful too, with the exception of the lead synth playing that melody, which was great and all but it got somewhat obnoxious because of how high it can get. Apart from that, the only other complaint I have is that the second "climax" so to speak, at 2:58, is pretty much a carbon copy of its former counterpart. I guess what I was hoping for was more of a reason to stay listening till the end, but as it is there isn't enough new content in the second half to justify it being there.

This is incredible. After the audition I was impressed, but now... I'm speechless. Consider me a fan. Keep up the amazing work!

SCORE: 9.2/10

KabukiTunes responds:

Thank you, Step! Really appreciate it, and I hope I can still wow you in my next entry!

[Swan Lullaby]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

That has to be the cutest intro of the whole round, hands down! Plus, you've got a memorable and thematically-suitable melody to boot, which gets the ball rolling on the first topic of discussion - the composition. There are some things I absolutely love about your composition, such as the addictive little ditty you introduce at the beginning on the music box and use to tie the whole song together, or the absolutely wonderful harp sections at 0:43. With sections like those you're able to create these surprisingly atmospheric ambiences that are simply a pleasure to listen to. In fact, I would've not hesitated to add even more of the harp to the track since it feels like it would work so well in this track.

Now, unfortunately I can hear that this is out of your comfort zone. For instance, if you had some experience you'd know that some of the things you're doing here are simply no-no's, like repeating certain small patterns over and over again without changing them, something which is perfectly fitting in electronic music but not so much in this more expressive music which is technically supposed to be played by an array of musicians. For instance, the percussive beat that first kicks in at 1:27 got extremely repetitive and consequently sounded unnatural, and your main motif, while pleasant, is too short to have repeated many times over. It needs more flow; more progression! By the way, your transitions are very abrupt (which was already mentioned in the reviews), so that's another thing to work on. Lastly, there's a bit of dissonance at parts like 1:36/1:45 in the high string staccato notes which is a bit offputting. Was it intentional?

While this has a fair bit of room for improvement, I commend you for the experiment and I hope you keep on pursuing this genre because you have a knack for it!

SCORE: 7.8/10

Chemiqals responds:

Haha, thanks for the really helpful feedback! I'll certainly do my best to learn from it! The last bit was intentional to a degree. My thinking was that the melody of those staccato notes was being cut short. So when they come back at the end they are complete and it comes full circle. Which may or may not have been a good idea, haha!

Thanks again. I really appreciate the feedback and I will take all of it to heart!

[Where We Begin - (NGADM)]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

You know, I'm glad you decided to submit this instead of your other track. They're both solid tracks, but I much prefer this! It actually brings me back to those days where I would have tons of school work to do, so I'd search for one of those enormous YouTube videos with long progressive chillout music exactly like this, and have it running in the background while working on my school studies. Your sound design and choice of instruments/synths is simply top notch. From the smooth bass to the loungey chords to the delayed/reverbed singing to the punchy but not overwhelming drums, you've created a soundscape that works like a well-oiled machine, and then put a layer of professional-tier mixing and mastering over it to seal the deal.

My problem with this is one that you've perhaps already seen coming, and a gripe which I've had with previous tracks of yours. It's very much suited as background music, but when you really think about it, for over 5 minutes of playing time it really doesn't have much content. I mean, what you have is absolutely great and you've put it all together in a very structured and sensible manner, but I was still hoping for more vocals, more sweet basslines, new synths showing up, and distinctive sections later on in the track that break up the listening experience and create variety. I mean, it's fine to have in the background of a club, but for the purposes of this contest I was left wanting more! I also have a small stylistic issue to bring up. The autotune on the voice doesn't quite work in the vocal sections with lyrics in my opinion. It gives the voice a very nasal, unnatural sound which clashes with the more organic and smooth ambience of everything else.

Great work with this. Very professional-sounding chillout music right here.

SCORE: 8.8/10

[Almost Home]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

I can always trust you to create these fleshed out, unique-sounding tracks with beautiful melodic material. This is a gorgeous piece of work that doesn't try to sound like other music by using tried-and-true techniques, instead going for a unique blend of instrumentation to create something positively unforgettable. I'm not going to bother dissecting your sense of melody and harmony. I think it's just perfect the way it is, and have no desire for anything more. The progression of the piece is absolutely fantastic for 6 minutes and a half. You've made it interesting and structured till the end, which is no insignificant feat for a track of this length. Some of the little things which I really enjoyed in this track would be the gradualness of the intro (particularly the introductions at 1:11 and 2:00), the little bleeps that first come in at 3:41, the 1:31 flute motif and the amazing string passages at the end.

Instrumentation is another aspect that this submission excels in. Your blend of orchestral, chiptune and a drum kit is absolutely seamless, making it sound like the genres were made for each other. The only sound which I'm not too hyped about is 4:41's, which sounds simply obnoxious. I also feel like I don't understand the section at 5:00. The transition to it was fine enough, with some filter automation earcandy to seal the deal, but the transition back to the heavier section was simply nonsensical. Not to mention, the dynamic range between the section at 5:00 and the ones before/after it seemed too great, and I struggled to hear it without turning my volume up, only to have to turn it down again. Lastly, the ending was unsatisfying. Giving it a more significant ending with a longer note would have been a better idea in my opinion.

Anyway, wow, I thoroughly enjoyed this! Fantastic work.

SCORE: 9.3/10

[Attempt at Something]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

This year's contest has a very impressive electronic turnout in my opinion, and that's largely due to the amount of great electronic artists who just appeared out of nowhere. I consider you one of them - you have just three tracks and seven fans, and yet you come up with some fantastically-produced and enjoyable material that begs for a well-deserved larger audience here on Newgrounds. For starters I absolutely love the little motif you introduce as a bassline at the beginning and use as the factor to tie everything together. 1:50's breakdown is brilliant, and offers some momentary relief from the sections before which were getting pretty repetitive. Your use of white noise and square leads playing fast arpeggios also gives this a lovely video-game-esque charm which I think is one of the most memorable things about this track.

Your mixing and mastering is excellent. From the punchy drums to the thick sustained notes in the background to the silky square lead, you meld the sounds together really well, as RetromanOMG pointed out. Your sound manipulation is pretty great, as is apparent during the dubstep-like sections. So, if the compositional ideas are there and the production is nailed, then what problems do I have with this track? Well, I feel it's somewhat cluttered in its structure/transitions and perhaps rushed. For instance, it feels almost nonsensical to have a buildup at 0:42 to 0:55 when 0:55 has roughly the same intensity level as the part before 0:42, except with some quicker melodies on the lead. I also feel like after the breakdown at 1:50, there isn't much reason to keep listening to the track since it repeats a lot of patterns and gets quite monotonous.

Either way, what you have here is catchy and a blast to listen to. Good job!

SCORE: 8.6/10

introstalge responds:

Thanks Step! I really agree with everything you've said here and I am working hard on my next submission to score in those areas which I let myself down in. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback!

[Pareidolic War]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

You know, after hearing your audition and seeing that you got through I considered you one of the best underdogs of the contest. Your audition was highly expressive and atmospheric, and guess what? This track follows suit. You've got this extremely expressive, flowing compositional style, with unpredictable and pretty brilliant chord progressions, and enough variety to keep the listener interested for 4 minutes and a half. In the atmosphere department this piece doesn't fall short either. The pad in the intro set the tone of the track perfectly, and the reverse reverb you used to introduce the piano was a nice touch! My favourite part would be the ending. The way you introduced the drums and the high strings delievered a pretty breathtaking climax without you needing to go overboard at all. Beautiful work over there!

Your production, in some ways, is good. The mix is clear and the levelling is mostly good. I think you overused reverb on some of the background elements, except the drums which conversely sound somewhat dry. The high strings carrying the melody could overall be louder as they seemed pretty distant compared to everything else, particularly at 1:40. While there seems to be some controversy about your piano in the intro, I'll ultimately have to agree that your piano sound is a bit harsh and turning down the velocities of the individual notes would, in my opinion, fit a lot more effectively in your supposedly atmospheric intro. Even in your audition, I had the exact same problem with the piano! Lastly, I feel like the climax could do with a bit more depth in the low end, but that's probably personal preference.

Compositionally, I can't fault this, but the production value isn't quite there. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Great work!

SCORE: 8.7/10

Phonometrologist responds:

I have to first commend you for writing such in-depth reviews for every piece in this contest. I'd be surprised if you can even find the time to reading all the replies you get from these so I'll keep it brief for you.
After reading this review, seeing your most generous score, and reading your recent post, I realize that you're just a lover of music. That it doesn't matter so much to you if the music is too different from what you would have written or listen to, but rather if the piece maintains a sense of integrity and moves the listener in some capacity, you seem to still be able to have that appreciation.
Your critiques are well noted, and I will make adjustments to that piano when I remix it. Thank you so much

[Impermanence]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

I think your track, despite being the same genre as PirateCrab's, is quite the polar opposite. He's got insanely good production but could have made his track more structured and containing more melodic ideas, whereas yours has weaker production but jam packed with sweet melodic ideas and a pretty great structure to boot! I'll start with what I enjoyed. Your track has some pretty awesome ideas such as the clean guitar at 3:50 or the climactic arpeggios at around 5:04. You have a pretty solid structure too. I hear iterations of the motif you introduce in the introduction (namely 1:56) which help bring everything together, structure-wise. I can definitely hear an improvement in your writing since the last NGADM, so congrats!

In terms of production, while I am also hearing an improvement, I can't say I wasn't disappointed! The track is extremely thin and needs some more mixing work. The cymbals have too much high end, the snare is so thin it almost sounds almost like a rim click and the kick... well the kick is pretty OK, no problem there! The lead guitar is pretty good, but the rhythm guitar needs to be way wider in the mix, especially in the low and low mids. It's heard most clearly at the beginning where you have it playing between drum hits. I think it's a bit of a turn off to hear a thin guitar sound like that in the intro since it doesn't do your track nearly as much justice. There are a few other quirks like some inaccurate playing during the guitar solos and the weird transition at 4:39, so work on those.

You have a considerably solid and fleshed out track here with some nice ideas, but keep improving on your execution!

SCORE: 8.1/10

Metallica1136 responds:

Yeah man, I hear what you're saying, ever since I read you and Renard's reviews, I've been listening to my music again to hear what I can improve, and I definitely know what you're talking about! I've always had a habit of boosting the treble on the drums, I realize now, it actually sounds irritating, so I've cut back on the treble, and add a tiny bit of mids now, it definitely gives the drums more depth. Thanks for the review man, I appreciate it!

[Orcus]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

--

Oh sweet Jesus, this is insanely heavy, and in a good way! Probably one of the heaviest of this round, maybe competing with CoredxBitch. I absolutely loved how you once again nailed your signature aggressive guitar tone, and how, as always, the mix and master is all but faultless. I mean, it sounds like you heavily brickwalled it with a limiter or compressor, but it works for this kind of music, giving the track a noticeably heavier edge. The drums especially have this extremely meaty flavour to them, namely that really fat and heavy snare. Yet, despite the power of these drums, they never push the guitars aside, which remain the driving force of this track through to the end. The blend between the lead guitar and rhythmic chugs was great, so props to you for keeping a good eye on their respective levelling.

Now for composition... there's some nice stuff! You have this resonant pad in the background that gives the track an intriguing dreamy tinge. Rhythmically, the track is diverse, with enjoyable rhythms presented by both the rhythmic guitar and the drums. 1:46's guitar solo is well-made, and of course, needless to say, your guitar playing is just phenomenal. I heard you suffered an injury in one of your arms somewhat recently so to hear you shredding the guitar like you used to is great! My main issue with this track is one I was worried would happen - this isn't really as structured as I would've hoped it to be. It feels like it's made with the intent of having more memorable things playing on top of it. It doesn't have to be melodies by the lead guitar, per se. Vocals or some other kind of instrument would work fine. I just feel like this is just riff after riff without the structure that I was hoping to hear, and I feel like the lack of foreground elements is the culprit behind the lack of structure.

That's my honest opinion on it, anyway! You're still one of the best metal artists on Newgrounds in my books. Keep up the amazing work.

SCORE: 8.6/10