Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[ParagonX9 - Defcon (8bit)]

NGAP 10TH ANNIVERSARY CONTEST REVIEW

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It's always refreshing to hear 8-bit like this. Pretty good job on it!

What I like about this is that it's very light. You don't overload the track with counter-melodies and heavy synths, opting for an approach which is a bit more minimal. This makes it possible to appreciate the melodies and particular accompaniment a lot more than if you threw in all you had with an all-out ensemble of 8-bit glory. The original had somewhat of an 8-bit vibe to it and you did a good job of expanding on it over here.

Now, even if this approach has its advantages, it unfortunately works as a double-edged sword here. It ends up making it feel restricted and unsatisfying. The key is to nail keeping everything simple and elegant and still giving your track enough content and intricacy to make it highly enjoyable to listen to, and you left that part out of the to-do list. That, and unfortunately this gets a bit repetitive as well. I got a bit bored listening to the motif at 0:51 being repeated so much, since it's pretty much just one note for the most part. It sounds especially good in 8-bit form but that doesn't give you an excuse to keep it going for so many bars. Lastly, work on your ending, since even that is pretty unsatisfying!

Overall, you've got good ideas and this was a perfectly pleasant listen, but you should be more ambitious with your submission instead of holding back, which is the impression I got after hearing this track.

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SCORE: 6.5/10

[xKore-Entropy (Masq Rmx)]

NGAP 10TH ANNIVERSARY CONTEST REVIEW

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You should open a company called Earsex, dedicated to making music like this. Awesome cover!

First impression: absolutely fantastic production value. I can often tell when a track is yours without knowing that you did it since the sounds in many different tracks of yours often have similar qualities, like the piercing distorted snare, the crazy glitching on the sounds, etc... All of those sounds fit SO well together and are mixed really tastefully. The drums are just nailed, and the bass sounds juicy and highly entertaining to listen to. You mixed in the original well too, doubtlessly the result of skilful tweaking and meticulous production to make sure it fits in with what you're doing.

To be honest I feel pretty intimidated to criticise this since the production value is so high and an entirely different league from anything I can even dream of doing myself. However, my only true gripe with this track is that while you showed off your effect-processing, percussive and mixing skills, you haven't really shown me what you can do melodically. The truly melodic sections were just taken directly out of the original, and therefore this feels more like a "version 2" of the original track. I need to hear more creativity, because coupling it with your music production skills will certainly make one hell of a badass concoction.

You don't give much room for me to complain man. Fantastic work.

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SCORE: 8.5/10

[Sleep Wrapped in Love ~ T]

NGAP 10TH ANNIVERSARY CONTEST REVIEW

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What I've always liked about your work is that even if you may not have access to the best software and hardware out there, your exceptional compositional skills often overshadow that.

This is perhaps one of the most creative covers from the whole competition. It sounds like more than just a cover, but almost as if the original was a flower and you turned it into a damned garden. Despite that, you still keep it sounding wonderfully delicate and reminiscent of a lullaby. Your new instrumentation and new piano accompaniment works so well, and even if some aspects of it are very typical for this genre (piano, strings and vocals? Like I haven't heard that before), you still give it some uniqueness with the mallets (which had a very well-timed transition at 1:34). And the singing! Finally, you got a microphone! And the exact same model I have too. That, and your singing is very solid. So are your lyrics (love how you used the title of the original in them).

Now, this song isn't perfect. It's excellent for what it is but there are a few small flaws. The recording is pretty good but since the Samson GoMic is made for portability and stuff like voice chats rather than to record singing, your voice still doesn't sound as full-bodied as it should sound. Like I said above, your singing is awesome, but it's a bit iffy in the higher register at some points. I would've loved to hear some vocal harmonies too, to maybe make up for the fact that the microphone isn't picking up all the frequencies of your voice properly, and more importantly because vocal harmonies are awesome.

To be frank, all I'm mentioning are tiny little shortcomings here and there. You've succeeded in taking the original, interpreting it creatively and fittingly, and ending up with a beautiful and well-structured track that deserves high marks from me!

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SCORE: 9/10

Troisnyx responds:

Pros and cons noted! <3 Thanks for the review.
There's a special version with HFX's input coming soon, and I'll pay special attention to the vocals.

[The Genocide]

NGAP 10TH ANNIVERSARY CONTEST REVIEW

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What an awesome song to cover. And what an awesome cover.

To start off, I'm usually not one to enjoy over-compression but over here it works and makes everything sound clean and powerful. Parts like 1:44 have a lot of oomph. Your interpretation of the original is just stellar with a great creativity factor. How you started the song for example; the introduction of the riff at the beginning of the original is extremely well-thought-out, and you've got some great parts like 1:31 which are a blast to listen to. Transition-wise, I'm very much a fan of the transition at 1:45, and in general most are just awesome.

To mention a few flaws, first off the transitions to the main parts at 0:25 and 2:03 were the only ones I wasn't a fan of. In the original they felt a lot more pronounced and well-executed, whereas over here they were both somewhat anti-climaxes. In addition, while your mix is great, there are waaaayyy too many high frequencies man. In general the open hats were pretty high and parts like 1:31 are excrutiatingly ear-piercing. I would definitely consider killing some of the higher frequencies and adding more bass. The original had a great bass and over here it's still good but this is missing the awesomely deep rumble of the original's bass, and treating us to an overload of high frequencies instead.

Extremely well-done overall. Shame about the high frequencies, but otherwise keep up the great work.

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SCORE: 9/10

SourJovis responds:

Thanks man. Glad you like it. Like I said before I made an alternate mix with less high frequencies and more low. Unfortunately that mix also sounds less powerful, because other people weren't a fan of the over compression and distortion. It's a lot easier on the ear though.

[Origin (DJ M4C Remix)]

NGAP 10TH ANNIVERSARY CONTEST REVIEW

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Two Origin covers in one contest. I bet Geoplex must be feeling very special, haha.

This track is a lot of fun, and improves on qualities that were absent or not as prominent in the other Origin cover. This has lots of aspects that any good cover should have, and unlike some other covers in this contest, this is one of the handful that I wouldn't mind listening to even if I can just listen to the original, because this provides new elements from the original that actually work well. For instance, you've got some melodic changes that work so well. To name a few of them, 1:12 is a slight melodic change that sounds even better than the original. The chord at 2:33 is just awesome. And on top of all of that, great mixing and mastering!

Really, it isn't very easy to find that many faults in this. You do know what you're doing and this sounds great. If I had to point anything out, they'd be mostly personal preference or little nitpicks. First off, some transitions could use some work. The introduction of the synth at 0:05 is somewhat sudden, since compared to the detached synth plucks, the more legato lead synth contrasts a bit too much (along with the fact that it's quite loud), so a fade-in or ideally something more creative than a fade-in that still does the job would definitely be appreciated. The transition at 2:35 was a great idea, but a more pronounced buildup in that bar without the drums would've definitely made it a lot more satisfying. Lastly, I'm not a huge fan of some of the sounds you used, mainly the background saw synth that's used throughout the song but can be heard best at 3:19, which does not fit at all with the smooth and dreamy music box.

This is a great cover, despite everything. Excellent work.

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SCORE: 8.5/10

[Origin (Cover)]

NGAP 10TH ANNIVERSARY CONTEST REVIEW

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Aw man, this hits me right in my soft spot. I love Origin! Awesome song choice.

Just when I thought the original had relaxing qualities to it, this cover came along. This rendition certainly feels a whole lot more laid-back than the original. The rhythm guitar is a creative addition and the beats are tight (cool tom drum fills). Props for using LMMS too. Since it's a free program LMMS might sometimes be underestimated, but songs like this definitely prove the misconceptions wrong. You've got some lovely synths as well, like the plucked synth at 2:37. Great use of the organ synth at the beginning.

What this makes up for in the mood, it lacks in production. The drums lack in any kind of power and while I don't want to hear loud drums drowning everything else out, a bit more punch would be appreciated with drums in this style. In fact, everything just sits in the background and nothing really stands out that much. 0:47, for example, is very plain and understated, even if it's supposed to be a foreground melody. Couldn't you have turned that synth up and given it a bit more character, like some chorus or glitch/distorion effects? The original had silky and spacy square synths for foreground melodies like that, but sometimes over here we're just treated to a very average-sounding and quiet lead. The ending in the original was much better by the way.

As a recap, work on employing more masterful production techniques. What you've got is wonderfully relaxing though, and I love your interpretation of the original. Keep it up.

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SCORE: 7/10

K-Pone responds:

Indeed I could have turned the lead synth a little bit louder. The drums may also be a little bit quiet, but I don't want the drums to be louder than the rest. Thanks a lot for the review.

[Rose (viewtifulday Remix)]

NGAP 10TH ANNIVERSARY CONTEST REVIEW

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When I saw that Rose was being remixed, I instantly thought HOW THE HELL WILL HE BE ABLE TO REMIX THAT MELODY. But you did. You sure did. D:

Absolutely brilliant intro. What an excellent piano-like intro synth right there. Not only did it set the mood but it sounds great and works well with everything else, especially the strings at 0:32. The strings themselves actually sound wonderfully warm and fitting, and I like that you used them as a sort of tribute to the original, since I think that one of Rose's trademarks is that it has strings in it along with all of the electronic techno synths. The sounds in general are awesome and apart from that you've got solid production! This is well-rounded and clear, while still retaining a satisfying punch and rumble from the kick and bass.

To be honest, my only problem is that, like I've said to some other submissions in this contest, this does not go to any new grounds from the original whatsoever. I do like some things you've done here, like the ending synth, the different-sounding intro, etc, but this is unfortunately a bit standard and 'safe' compared to what you could've done with this track. While I certainly commend you on being so meticulous with this track and making sure you replicate the synth riffs well and whatnot, that's not what you need to do for me to call this a creative and innovative cover of the original.

Honestly though, I still have to credit you for the production, sounds and remaking that CRAZY synth riff.

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SCORE: 7.5/10

viewtifulday responds:

I'm glad you appreciate the production, even if, like the other judges, you were disappointed I didn't take Rose in a completely different direction from the original.
I feel kind of let down that I was expected, rather than encouraged, to make huge changes from cornandbeans's version, but that's just me