Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[One Trick Pony]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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I would HARDLY call you from all people on Newgrounds a one-trick pony. Other than the fact that the production is pretty much nailed, the drums sound excellent, and most of the sounds are well-chosen, this song takes unique to a new level. I can honestly never even attempt to predict what will happen next in your music, and this song is no exception, with its almost random cute little piano melody at the beginning followed by a departure to something totally different.

Now for the bad news. The piano during the drum sections feels entirely detached from all of the other instruments in the mix, to the point that most of the time it sticks out like a sore thumb. This would be an interesting way to spice things up but considering that you have that piano playing almost all the time, it really ends up sounding very stale, very quickly. None of the melodic content here is particularly good, as the only semblance of a melody can be found in the piano parts that are often made to sound like they're riddled with performance mistakes and, again, don't quite fit with anything else. The piano here can be compared with an old but great NGADM track you made, Black Widow, which has a piano that NAILS the atmosphere (and even being occasionally atonal and wacky like the piano over here is), but unlike that track, the piano in this track unfortunately feels out of place.

Not quite the amazing, surprise-filled track I was expecting to get from you, given your musical talent, but on the bright side this track at least nails the "surprise-filled" part. And the production is incredible as a bonus, so I think 5.4 is a fair score.

Score: 5.4/10

Quarl responds:

Silly me.

[Utopia - NGADM '13 Entry]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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The song instantly starts with quite a beautiful melody that I think might be at least partially inspired by the fantastic Lord of the Rings main motif (although might not be). The piano sound is very soothing as well, and the strings are wonderfully warm! The whole atmosphere of this is very uplifting and I'm relieved to hear that you put in dynamic changes too, with smooth transitions on the whole (although I think you hyped up the 2:29 transition a bit too much since what followed ended up sounding a tad bit anticlimactic). This is great cinematic stuff that certainly has film score qualities to it.

There are a few issues scattered throughout the song, most of which were already mentioned by johnfn. The piano's quick notes at 2:07's and 3:36's section felt out of place, and the mix gets very muddy and full up during the louder sections, doubtlessly due to you having such massive and loud string chords playing. Another tiny complaint is that I'm not a big fan of your minor chord choice at 1:43 and all similar occurrences (but this is probably personal preference). One final problem this track has, however, is that apart from the main melody (which might have been focused on a bit too much for comfort), the melodic content in this track is a bit unsatisfactory.

That being said, this was a fantastic listening experience on the whole. Good job.

Score: 8.1/10

papkee responds:

Wow. Coming from one of the masters that means a lot.

Prepare for insta-hate, but I've actually never seen Lord of the Rings. *braces for impact*

Most of my melodies kinda just go something like this.
-*random notes all over the piano*
-Hey, that sounded cool
-song.exe

One of my biggest problems is and always has been melodic variation. Using FL Studio's patterns really makes it quite easy to "reuse" sections; something that is a very bad habit in my opinion. I have a lazy tendency to just copy whole sections over without thinking, which makes a track lose expression like nothing else.

Thanks for the great review, and keep pumping out amazing things.

[Come to Reality]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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Definitely one of the longest submissions we've ever had on the NGADM (if not the longest). The sheer effort, ambition and length of it all is already something to admire. What I like is that even though its length can be an almost irresistable temptation to just churn out riff after riff without any kind of decent structure, but you make controlled but effective use of repetition to keep things sounding sensible. The synth and orchestra works really well too. You've got some standout things in this track like how you introduce and progress the riff at 2:13, already managing to highlight the importance of that riff by giving it such hefty focus when it's introduced. Guitar-playing is solid too.

I have two pretty major problems with this. First off, I feel that there aren't many impressive melodies in here, with a large portion of the track focusing on simply chugging or ripping out quick solos that seem to focus more on marketing your skill with the guitar and less on sounding memorable. This consequently makes this track sound ultimately forgettable at times. The parts that are more memorable are in fact the slower parts, which involve more instrumentation than just a guitar and drums, and showcase your compositional skill far more. The other issue is that the production isn't quite up to par. The drums in particular are suitably varied, but weak in sound. The track in general just lacks oomph, with there being a pretty large amount of unused headroom in the waveform. This obviously isn't me asking for some brickwalled crap, but considering that the track retains a very consistent dynamic level, it would have been far more impressive had that headroom been used to create more dynamic variety (and increase the power of those drums).

I'm giving this a 7.7 for being such a long, content-filled and mostly enjoyable listening experience, with some great ideas and guitar-playing. Work on the issues I mentioned though!

Score: 7.7/10

Metallica1136 responds:

Yeah man. I completely agree, what I should learn to do is write songs that contain memorable parts, without making the song overly long. It's a bad habit I'm trying to break. I'm really glad you dig the synth and orchestra though! I knew that since this was for a competition, I had to try something very diverse, and at the same time, impressive.

Yeah man, I know you definitely expected more melody in this. Rising Power is the song that got me into this awesome competition, and that song was almost entirely melodic. I can definitely promise my next submission will focus more on melody and less on heaviness/chugging. And yeah man, it's hard to get a good drum sound when you're using VST's. My friend Seth is just a fucking MINDBLOWINGLY amazing drummer. I jammed with him today for like 7 hours, and he made my guitar playing really come to life. Of course, I'm definitely not implying I couldn't improve the sound of the drums. I've actaully been working on tweaking my drums to make them sound better. I will be sure to pay more attention to the drums for my next submission. But yeah man, I definitely hear you! I will be sure to tweak the sound and make it cut through the mix better with my next submission.

But thanks for the review man! I'm really glad that you liked the song! I'll be sure to pay attention to, and correct every flaw you mentioned. :)

[Brolo]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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There's some pretty good stuff in this submission. Rhythmically, it excels. You've got a strong primary riff that you develop to a great extent and really flesh out fully (although it did get repetitive) and there are some sweet sounds and effects in this track too (the winner for me would be the high-pass filtering you did at the beginning). Like your audition, this would fit incredibly well in a game. The progression, composition and sounds really set the likeable mood that this has.

Having said that, this truly does fall short of your audition in terms of quality, I'm afraid. The track feels very directionless, and some of the melodies are considerably bland. Your audition was enjoyable because of the undeniably catchy melody it had, whereas this just feels ultimately unsatisfying. There are some almost random aspects in this track, like the key change, and some transitions are also sadly not up to par (such as the transition at 0:08 which just felt anti-climatic). You've got the right idea for most of the drums but they seem to lack punch in them, mainly the snare/clap (I'm not a huge fan of your kick either).

The track has a hefty amount of issues in my opinion, although some redeeming factors such as the mostly good sounds, excellent mood and some impressive ideas make up for the faults this has most of the time.

Score: 7.1/10

Mawnz responds:

First of all: a huge thanks to you and the other judges for taking you time, and doing this,
I'm really happy I even made it through the auditions for my first NGADM so I'm looking forward to next year!
As for the review:
I felt the same way making this tune, and mostly for the track being directionless.
I just didn't feel where it was going, but at he same time the main riff was so catchy I basically forced myself to add more and more stuff to it. Trying new sounds etc.
I did make another track for the first round that was easier for people to relate to, but I decided to go with this in the end.

I'm taking your advice into consideration for future songs!
Thanks once again for the hard work you put in for this contest!

[~Echo~ Surreal (NGADM'13]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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Classic aliaspharow intro right there! Long decaying reverb, massive sense of space, and bright-sounding instruments. I've got to admit it works wonderfully though. After that eargasm of an intro, you successfully manage to keep up the pace by introducing new elements with a good sense of gradualness and progression, a quality that's usually important in this genre of music. You've got very tasteful effects too, like that fantastic bitcrushing! I've been a fan of bitcrushing for a while now and you showcase its capabilities very well. On a more random note, your drum fills are awesome. Great stuff.

That said, I think that your production value is as bit of a let-down from what I usually expect from you, mainly in the sections when the drums come in. The drums just don't feel as hard-hitting and airy as they usually are in your tracks. They're pretty drowned out at times. The track also feels considerably empty at parts like 1:50 onwards. That being said, the content from 4:05 onwards is melodically beautiful and sufficiently full of depth, so I can forgive you!

This is an excellent track. Some of the production had a few loose bolts, but overall, impressive work.

Score: 8/10

[- MB - Standard Behavior]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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I wasn't as impressed with this at first, but after two full listens, I've got to say; damn is this a good track. Turn the volume up and you've got a pretty encapsulating track right here. The guitars and orchestral instruments blend together perfectly, and the whole structure of it all is really well-thought-out. Also, 2:11 sounds HUGE. Massive props on giving it such an edge. Furthermore, you have some great percussion and you show off your atmosphere-building skills with effortless clarity right here too. This sounds cinematic, and on top of that it sounds unique and creative! Needless to say, the sounds are amazing, but then again, even if I open up your audio page, I look East and I look West and all I find are great sounds. OK that was a horrible pun sorry.

Pretty much the only fault in this track is repetition. I would've ideally liked some more chord variation, and the track took a hell of a long time to kick in. Doubtlessly, if it didn't take so long you wouldn't have been able to form such a neat atmosphere, but there was still a lot of repetition involved in doing so. You're slightly forgiven because of your occasional subtle changes here and there (like 0:17's little grace note thing), along with the amazing sounds and transitions, but I still think you could've kept stuff a bit more interesting.

You and your opponent both gave each other a run for his money. Can't help but give the same score to both of you. Fantastic work.

Score: 9/10

[Fading Dystopia]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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Let me start by saying that the piano solos work very well over here. I think it isn't easy to put piano solos in a genre like this without making them sound cheesy or like they're trying too hard to sound emotional/expressive in a loud and powerful dubstep track, but you do a good job of starting and ending the track with some surprisingly pleasant piano solos. The general production value of this track is brilliant. The drums are wonderfully meaty and all of the synths are suitably harsh for this song. A creative touch was the use of a marching snare as well. That worked pretty darn well, as did the tom fill you used! Finally, there's some really interesting melodic content here, not only in the piano solos, but even when the song attacks you with full force.

The problem I have with this track is a problem I've mentioned in some of your older tracks too. The overall sound is REALLY in-your-face and loud. It gives the track a hell of a lot of power, which works in its favour, but makes it overbearing to listen to. This is a production-related complaint, and I know I said your production value was good; it really is, and you probably intended such a huge sound, but it unfortunately takes away from the listening experience.

Overall though, you certainly delivered. Good job!

Score: 8.1/10

[Blind Maiden]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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Your track was one of the few that I was really looking forward to listening to. You've got an incredibly soft voice for a guy, and couple that with extraordinary singing talent, masterful composition skills, nice-sounding instruments, and good lyrics, and you've got a pretty amazing combination. The melodies might be a bit typical for this style, but honestly they're great, and supported by suitable harmonies. The instrument choice is awesome... and that singing, damn. Vocal harmonies were perfect, and unlike Braiton I loved that little trill you performed at 1:04 (hard to believe you did something like that with such precise pitch without a tuning software). This is excellent, and I'm disappointed to see you only have 11 fans. I'm hoping the NGADM will change that, because you deserve more.

No track is perfect, however, and this is no different. The singing, despite being so good, has a few off notes where your voice falls a little too weak for a brief moment. This is a ridiculously small nitpick, though. A bigger issue is that I think you're relying too much on your voice to deliver your track. This is because even if the instrumental section is nice, your voice covers it all up! You should turn it down a little, and harness the expressive power of your instruments a bit more. For example, at the very end, you have a beautiful harp but your voice is too loud and covers it up so it diminishes the softness that that section would have had if you had the harp and your voice playing in a more balanced manner. Giving the instrumental section some more love will really highlight the more powerful sections too.

Honestly though, this is masterfully made. I'm highly impressed.

Score: 9/10

etherealwinds responds:

That really means a lot to me Step. Thank you! I can see now why it's taken you so long to review so many entries. I'm really looking forward to Round 2. My first time entering and I'm doing so much better than I ever would have expected.

All the best to you! :)

[Hot oxygen - NGADM13 - round 1]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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A clear display of compositional talent right here. There are so many lovely compositional touches like the string chords, the harmonies and the ways that all the counter melodies come together, and the general atmosphere of it all. I love how you start the song and how you bring in the chimes without wasting any time but still making the introduction subtle. The whole foreboding mood of the piece works excellently. Good job with the composition. Unlike your opponent's, this also sounds highly original and memorable. His also has great composition and is good in its own sense, but it's something I'd typically expect to hear in some adventure/medieval movie. This, on the other hand, sounds interesting and unique.

Now, your worry of it being a bit too simple is unfortunately justified, because this lacks content. Not only is it short and lacking mood changes, but from around 1:00 onwards the song starts to lose its touch, and other than some perfectly pleasant (but unsatisfyingly subdued) brass and/or woodwind melodies playing over a repetitive staccato string pattern, we're not treated to much from then on. Fleshing this out would do wonders.

Great job with the melodies, atmosphere, and originality. If this was a bit longer and containing more distinguishable sections, you'd have a real winner.

Score: 7.1/10

Calamaistr responds:

Wow, i havent had such a indepth review in a long time, but i could expect that from a organized deathmatch ofc. ;)

Thanks! I agree with everything you said myself.
-Cal.