Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Threnody for Innocence]

This is an NGADM Round 3 Review

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Geoplex makes a really good point; how the hell is this a product of two people? It sounds like the result of a carefully-planned piece by a single mastermind. It flows so well and the melodies and harmonies are super well-thought-out, so I'm very impressed with how you guys both put this together. Would've required no less than perfectly coordinated teamwork. I'm actually curious - how did you two tackle the song? Did LucidShadowDreamer finish the whole piano part and send it to dem0lecule to add strings? Or was it a more progressive collaboration (one of you finishes one part, the other finishes another, etc)?

Anyway, that aside, time to judge the meat of this track. I actually find it quite interesting that this was paired with Jacob's and Chris' track, because both are similar in that they're very hard to judge in my opinion. This is a behemoth of a track, with nine minutes of beautifully written and heartfelt composition. I am actually genuinely impressed by the melodic and harmonic content here, and the brilliant use of motif. It's so easy for piano and strings to sound like noodling/improvisation, but it's clear that you put a lot of thought into this and structured it sensibly.

I have two main problems with this track. The first would be those strings. Compositionally, they are very good and fit wonderfully with the piano, but in terms of execution? Poor at best. They sound dry and artificial. The legato strings in the foreground are in desperate need of legato transitions between the notes, too. By contrast, the piano sounds excellent. Good sample, humanisation is all there, velocity work is solid (except maybe at 2:30 the piano gets a bit too grating)... but yeah, while compositionally the strings and piano are at a very high standard, the strings struggle to keep up in the production department.

Another issue is that I think this piece struggles from having TOO MUCH content. I usually complain about a song not having enough, but in this case, as much as I love what you've given us here and think that you did a great job keeping it interesting, it just comes off as overwhelming and tiring to listen to. I particularly find the section from around 3:00 - 5:30 to tire me. The song seems then transitions to an awesome climax, followed eventually by a well-placed reintroduction of theme, which allows it to pick up the pace a little, but that particular section overwhelmed me personally in terms of the sheer amount of content and super serious demeanour.

I really had a hard time judging this track and your opponents'. In the end I had to be a wuss and give each of you the same score. I think you and your opponents all have extremely solid and memorable tracks. Even though you guys didn't make it through, it's sad to see you go! Great work getting so far, and it's been a pleasure!

SCORE: 8.8/10

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hahha, wow.
Thanks a great deal for yet another wonderful review :)

We've tackled our different collaborations in different ways. For this one, here is what we did:
I came up with a few ideas, and had dem0lecule come up with a few ideas as well. His ideas were string based, and my ideas were focused on the piano. But I interpreted his ideas in a way that allowed me to make them fit with the piano, and planned the piano parts around the string melodies he sent me. Especially the third and fourth movement are based closely around his original string ideas. But I think that the main reason this is so consistent, is because all of the piano was played by me in one sitting, and the arrangement of the piano is all mine this time. That said, I have no idea how dem0lecule managed to write so great string melodies for the entire piece in just one night. I did edit certain parts, and for the fifth movement I changed it and added my own ideas, but other than that, it's mostly the same. And even if I hadn't changed such parts, it would've still sounded just as consistent (yet different), because I have an older version I can listen to as well, which already sounds great.
But we were both of a similar mindset, and the intention behind the track is mostly the same for the both of us, which is why I think it was pretty easy for us to get a good structure. And once again, I am sure that playing the piece on a piano makes pretty much anything sound like it was made by one person, because I have a certain style of playing that really shines through whether I want it to or not.

Yeah, I definitely get that our tracks would both be difficult to judge. We're very happy that you appreciate the melodies and harmonies, as those along with the arrangement, are the core of the track. I spent a lot of time working on transitions and structure especially. I am at a point where chords and melodies seem to come to me much easier than a good arrangement. So I made sure to really focus on having a motif, and a few other kinds of more hidden repetition. But I'll get more into that when I eventually gather enough time and energy to respond to johnfn's massive review.
You're definitely right. If you compare this to my unplanned improvisations, there is a huge difference.

And yes, of course. The strings pain no one as much as they pain me. But, life came in the way. That said, I have talked with dem0lecule, so when things calm down, we'll put aside some time to produce this properly, with his intruments (though I might just use my electronic piano as the piano sample). I really appreciate those tips though. I produced this very quickly in the last minutes, so even I could do so much better, but I still need as much advice as I can get for the future. Dem0 has things more in check though XD

The piano power at 2:30 is definitely intentional. But with this particular VSTi, maybe it doesn't sound as good as it could. Maybe slightly different EQ settings at this part would've made it better. I actually didn't change the piano velocities manually at all, which may be a mistake. But I felt I played it well enough, and that removing a few mistakes would be enough. And for the strings, most of my time that last night went into editing the velocities. But as Geoplex pointed out, the ADSR humanization is totally lacking.

We both knew from the start that making a track this long would be tiring for many people. But we also didn't really care, as we didn't set out to make a pop track. I get what you mean with 3:00-5:30, but I think that those parts are also very important to convey what the piece is intended to. I feel it wouldn't be at all complete without them. Maybe better production would help this too?
There is a lot of new content that doesn't really repeat much in the middle section, which is why I think you and others might find those parts especially tiring to listen to :)
I'm glad you noticed the climax after that though, even if the mix doesn't really bring it out as much as it should be!

Yeah, I figured that you had a hard time picking one of the tracks to give a higher score to. I might've given a higher score to Chrismus based on the production alone. Then again, I personally like the structure and harmonical/melodic content in this track more. But I am obviously incredibly biased XD
But I totally get what you mean. I think it's fine that you decided to score both tracks alike, and both dem0 and I are super happy with your high score, especially as the score is so high despite the length and the production.

So once again, thanks a million for organizing this awesome contest, for judging, and for leaving great and helpful reviews. It was a blast to participate, and we seem to have done pretty well in the end, which is all fine and dandy for me. In fact, I'm almost personally secretly a bit happy that we lost eventually, as I had soooo much other stuff I had to catch up with o.O
I'm still only barely managing, but I'll soon have some free time again.
I'm sure we'll definitely participate (separately or together) if you organize this again next year!!!

It has been a pleasure indeed :3

[BVYS N GVRLZ]

This is an NGADM Round 3 Review

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Jesus... this is so damn good. I was absolutely blown away after I heard the intro blast through my speakers for the first time, and even now I keep coming back to this track just to hear that funky 0:23 riff or the breakdown at 0:42 or the buildup to the main riff again for the ending. This is insanely well-executed. Nothing short of professional.

I love the sounds you used here. It's as if they're a mix between classic sawtooth and triangle-based analogue synths and more modern or less conventional sounds. There's a really nice contrast between the thick pads of the more climactic sections and the thinner lead synths, and the vibrato and pitch bending you did on the leads is just to die for. The production is also insanely punchy, yet still crystal-clear and balanced wonderfully.

When I notice myself just fishing for issues to find with a track is when I know how excellent it really is. I was certainly hard-pressed to find anything wrong with this, but honestly, if I had to suggest anything, it'd be to make the outro a bit more interesting. Beyond the excitement of changing up the lead synth for the song's main riff, and some cool vocal stuff, there isn't much to justify the outro being a culmination of the whole song's listening experience, or much to differentiate it from any other normal section, if you get what I mean. I'd have killed for another layer of harmony/melody on top of what you had, or perhaps some crazier glitch stuff for that final section (especially from 2:16 onwards). It just came off as linear and ever so slightly unsatisfying.

Honestly, though, this is fantastic. One of my favourites from the whole contest. You have a very strong pace going for you right now. Who knows, maybe you'll finally get revenge for coming second by such a tiny margin in that one NGADM year :p. Small sidenote; I mentioned it in the thread but I should probably mention it here too. My score for you in Echo's post is a typo. Should be a 9.7, not 9. Anyhow, keep it up! Can't wait to hear what you cook up next.

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SCORE: 9.7/10

[Vanquish the Night]

This is an NGADM Round 3 Review

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Is it just me or is there a tendency for NGADM submissions to sound like boss music? On top of that, it's as the contest gets closer to the final round, the music becomes more serious and epic-sounding. Maybe the tension/excitement of getting closer to determining a winner is starting to affect the music too, haha.

Rambling aside, this is wonderfully exciting, dramatic, and epic-sounding stuff. It has so much vibrance and energy, and explores so many different facets of the cinematic/symphonic metal genre of music that it's impossible to get bored of it. There's so much replay value and likeability to be found here, whether it's in the addicting melodies, huge amount of variety, intense mood, phenomenal guitar playing, or any of the million and one other things this track has to offer.

I also believe that my praise in my last review for your Round 2 track also applies here. I absolutely love how you seem to have the ability to throw in all those crazy time signature changes and modulations without any detriment to the song's casual listening appeal. This sounds like something I could dissect to figure out all the cool stuff you did with the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms, and then, an hour later, leave running in the background while playing some RPG. This is such a valuable virtue to have in the music industry, because it really increases your music's target audience and overall likeability.

I have two gripes. First is, as you would imagine, the mixing/production. I'm not finding it hard to believe you rushed the mix, because it shows. The orchestra feels detached from the guitar, especially in parts like 0:49, where the guitar is all upfront and thick, and the orchestra is somewhere in the distant background. There's a lot of clutter and muddiness in certain sections like 1:25. Also, while I'm usually a fan of how you execute your orchestra (speaking to bassfiddlejones here), I'm not too impressed this time round I'm afraid! The piano sounds a bit too bright, and the brass/strings feel very flat and lacking in dynamics, mostly prominent in the section at 1:52. Speaking of that section, do you have any samples that support legato transitions between notes? Because that 1:52 part sounds unrealistic, and some proper legato on those strings/brass would really help.

Another issue I have with this is how you haphazardly switch from one section to another. I was really hoping for some more clever transitions, and while some of them are excellent, EVEN when switching between two totally different moods (looking at you, 0:13), others, like 4:10, are almost nonsensical. Honestly, you guys kind of make it harder for yourselves to achieve a smooth flow by adding all these crazy mood/time signature changes, though! Not that it isn't worth it :p.

All in all, this is beautifully written. Both you and your competitor had stellar submissions, but I gave you guys an advantage of 0.2 because, while both you and your opponent had issues transitioning between different sections, your track has a more unified direction. It was certainly a close matchup, and I would've been happy seeing either of you win. Good luck in the semifinals!

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SCORE: 9.2/10

bassfiddlejones responds:

This super sounds like boss music to me too, haha. Yes, transitions - noted it in a response below. Some definitely got more time than others, which is what we had to do with the time crunch. Also, as this is mostly guitar driven we took a little bit of a different approach to the orchestra this time. Sometimes it's tough to balance the two. Step thank you for your feedback, we truly use it to try and get better. I agree with your criticisms, and we look forward to hearing what you have to say about the next piece!

[Past, Meet Present]

This is an NGADM Round 3 Review.

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You're getting some pretty high praise from the reviews. Guitar lord of the Audio Portal, Newgrounds' king of metal... and while these are pretty big things to be throwing out, there really is a lot of truth behind them. You are freaking excellent at what you do, and while calling you the best metal musician on NG would discredit all the other awesome metalheads I know of on here, I do consider you one of the absolute best.

There's a lot of fun stuff in this track, from the changes in time signature that are pleasantly complex to listen to, to the excellent melodic work in sections like 1:30, 2:10, and 3:29, to the usual superhuman fast-paced guitar solos, to the part at 3:01 which I keep listening back to because of how damn well you pulled that off. As always, your production is immaculate (maybe work on the stuff MetalRenard mentioned but I wouldn't be able to give advice on that because my ear sucks lol), and the guitar playing is at the same sky-high standard you've presented us with for so long now.

If I had to mention any complaints, most of them would be echoes of what the previous judges have said. I agree that the synth felt out of place and that this song gets tiring and in need of a break somewhere (but I felt like I should attribute that latter complaint to me being accustomed to more dynamic genres of music). It's times like this that I wish I didn't take so long to write my reviews, so that what I write will actually be original haha.

Having said all that, my main complaint, which is what lost the most points for me, is that I feel like this has less direction from your previous tracks. It starts off with an almost apocalyptic mood, with use of the harmonic minor and an overall tense atmosphere. All of a sudden it switches to a more upbeat, "head-banging" mood before a minute has even passed, and then at 1:30 it jumps to a more rhythmic and slow pace. While I adore the variety, it felt like I was exploring a collection of different song ideas, rather than one cohesive and varied experience, which is what you were ostensibly going for. I asked myself "what is he getting at?" while listening to this track, and when that previous melody was reintroduced again at 3:16, instead of feeling like the whole track is coming together, it simply felt like you looped through your list of ideas and went back to your first one, if you get what I mean. This is essentially a structural issue, that can be fixed with a more thoughtful balance of different sections and a more progressive and sensible flow between them.

And those are my two cents. Let me just say that while this doesn't provide the singular, cohesive listening experience I was hoping for, each individual section was truly brilliant. Thanks for taking part in the competition, and I hope that, if there is a next year, we'll see you again!

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SCORE: 9.0/10

[~Echo~ Understated (Instrumental WIP)]

This is an NGADM Round 2 Review

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First off, got to apologise for the late review. Yesterday I finished reviewing frootza's track and was like "yeah that's the last of them" and I totally missed this one like an idiot. Anyway, time to rectify that!

You know, one of the standout characteristics of this track would be how you have such reverb-doused, atmospheric, warm melodic ambience going on, and then you have bone-dry percussion section with a crispy high end. It's a pretty huge contrast, and one that I thought was questionable at first, but it's a contrast that I admit grew on me, especially when you introduced the glitching at 0:34 and the kicks synchronising with the melody at 0:47. It oddly works, and what we're left with is a unique and genuinely interesting listening experience.

Your production is also solid, so where is the room for improvement? You probably saw this coming a mile away, but it's much too short! With just 1 minute and 30 seconds of basically the same style/mood, followed by an abrupt ending, we're left feeling like we weren't treated to a full song, but something unfinished. I'd have loved to hear this properly fleshed out.

Either way, what you have here is still a pleasure to listen to. Good luck in the next round!

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SCORE: 7.9/10

[Modern Day Mafia]

This is an NGADM Round 2 Review

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Oh hey, this is certainly a step up from your previous track. I'm going to start by saying that there are a LOT of fun ideas here. The intro instantly throws us into the hyperactive, defiant, and brazen mood you've created, and you keep the excitement levels high pretty much throughout the whole track, introducing neat idea after neat idea, while still remaining true to your original theme by reintroducing a highly similar version to it halfway through the track. It's a listening experience that I can't say I didn't have fun partaking in.

What I'm going to say in the criticism department is probably going to echo the thoughts of the other judges. While yes, I do enjoy the crazy and hyper melodies that effortlessly dart through jazzy scales and passages in all sorts of time signatures, there are points where the song isn't quite as amusing and verges onto the downright nonsensical, especially towards the end (and why did you leave that drum loop trailing during the ending?). To be honest, I was dying for some more sections in the track where I wasn't struggling to discern something in all the chaos.

I have a few mixing complaints. The drums get drowned out very often. You also have a muted saxophone in there (well, I think it's a muted sax anyway) which is extremely harsh on the high end and sticks out compared to all the instruments (not to mention its weird attack time). In general, this track sounds quite dry and could do with more reverb. It's also not as wide as it could be. I was hoping for some crispier highs from the cymbals and deeper lows from the bass and drums.

Despite its apparent chaotic and hyperactive nature, I still think this is a blast to listen to. Hope my criticism helped. Was nice having you in the contest.

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SCORE: 8.2/10

frootza responds:

Thanks dude. Yep that's the muted trumpet in the free kontakt player. We all wanted to track it live with everyone but the original trumpet player I had in mind flopped, really cool guy) I think you know him lol) When things went downhill I just stopped trying hence the weird out of place edm outro. All true though dude thanks for getting to the review I can't mix like I used to but hopefully I can learn again one day.

[[IV]Mokosz]

This is an NGADM Round 2 Review

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Oh man, you really nailed this one. I'm not usually one who goes crazy about songs of this style, that are relatively low-key and unchanging in dynamic, but in this case I'll have to make an exception, because the blend of instruments and composition is nothing short of masterful. Wonderful chord progressions, excellent contrast between traditional orchestral and electronic, and nice, subtle percussion that sits nicely in the background without being too overbearing or too quiet. The ethnic vibes offered by the bongos, flute and plucked string instrument fit surprisingly well too.

Honestly, this sounds like it would fit right in a big-budget game or movie. If I had to point out anything, it would be that, first off, the ending is rather abrupt. Considering you didn't have any discernible piano before the end, and then the piano came in for a couple of ending notes, it sounds like the ending came out of nowhere. Like Geoplex, I also think this could do with a few more dynamics, similar to your Round 1 track. I don't think it's that much of an issue here since there's still a lot of emotional value in your composition, but I have no doubt I'd enjoy a dynamic experience a bit more.

Despite the small flaws I mentioned, this is among my favourites of this round. Phenomenal work.

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SCORE: 9.6/10

[Clockwork Waltz]

This is an NGADM Round 2 Review

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While this style is certainly not something I'd consider unheard of when it comes to your music, I've got to say that the most alluring characteristic of this track is definitely its uniqueness, especially compared to most other tracks this round. This sounds creepy, tense, and extremely descriptive, with beautifully-written melodies/harmonies, an excellent flow that isn't interrupted even in tempo changes like 1:45, and a strong sense of instrumentation/voices. I consider this one of most well-executed tracks I've heard from you. It's really damn good!

Pretty much all of my complaints are in the production. For starters, I agree wholeheartedly with Geoplex that your softer passages are far stronger than your louder ones. There's a lot more subtlety and a better blend in the softer parts than in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" part you were talking about. I also feel like, as a whole, there's a significant lack of low end in this track. Lastly, some of your instruments have attack times that are unfortunately a tad too long, namely the choir in the intro and the strings that carry the melody.

Anyhow, this is a super solid piece and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We've reached the stage of the NGADM where I'm bummed with pretty much every matchup since I want both contestants to win haha. Wonderful work.

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SCORE: 8.7/10

Azhthar responds:

Wow! Thanks for the positive feedback! Actually I wasn´t so sure about this track anymore since I now hear all the flaws it has... If I will do a reissue of this track I´ll definitely work on the tutti/crescendo speed up part. I really feel it´s a bit overloaded here. Sometimes I want to much and then I write a melody fill this up with countervoices until I have the harmony and then afterwards add different ostinatos which expand to melodies, too. At the end you are just confused and you don´t hear anything of it anymore...

The attack times of some of my instruments are indeed a problem. Especially the strings. I just have some parts from 8dio s adaggio series which I got when they were on sale... They sound awesome in some way but they have tons of flaws. First: It´s just a really small string ensemble so it isn´t that good for big epic scoring. This is Okay for the music I usually do. So not a problem for me. Another thing is that there are some problems with the panning of the samples. If you want to play legato they usually throw a transition sample in between the two connected notes. Sometimes this sample is panned differently than the normal notes playing which sounds really weird... This can be handled if you just avoid these notes or if you bounce them in mono and repan them. The main problem is the attack times you and Geoplex mentioned. They are horribly long in some points and fast legato sections are not playable at all... If you have any idea how to handle this issue this is really welcome... I think it would be stupid to save for another strings library only due to the attack times. For the choirs I didn´t realize that actually but I guess I can get into that.

I´m really glad you enjoyed it! It was a pitty to get paired against IglicaV since I really like his music, but that´s the game ;) His track was awesome and had such a professional sound that he definitely deserved to win this round. Not everybody can pass but it was fun to join (Actually I didn´t even expect to pass the round of four with all these awesome musicians around...)

[Self as Context]

This is an NGADM Round 2 Review

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After that one trap song we had last year in the first round, I thought I'd never enjoy a trap-esque song again. You have swiftly changed my mind on that. Like your last round, this is another really damn good piece of music, with an unbeatable hook, flawless production, and incredible synth work. My favourite bit has to be the break at 1:12. That part just sounds like such a natural continuation to the melody, and it breaks things down beautifully. Funnily enough, that smooth portamento lead synth sounds decidedly johnfn-esque. Is this an attempt to win a judge's favour I'm hearing? :p

Two small things. First off, 0:25's part doesn't really justify the buildup you had before it. I was expecting some drastic change in the mix or huge climax, but what I got was a bit more underwhelming than that. I sometimes respect anticlimactic transitions as a stylistic decision, but in this case it just comes off as unsatisfying rather than particularly novel. So yeah, drop d bazz harder, fam. Secondly, there's a bit of repetition (yeah, sorry for mentioning it again in the latter half of the song. A sure-fire technique I use to introduce variety in the final section of a song is to play the main melody with new layers of melody on top of it, played by possibly another synth/instrument. That way you're ending the song on familiar material, while still keeping it fresh.

That's going to have to do it for this review. You've, as always, nailed it. Can't wait to judge your next submission. Keep it up.

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SCORE: 9.3/10