Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Insurgent [MSB] (NGADM)]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Now this here is dubstep done differently. Not only does this have brilliant production value but you've even strived for originality too, with all those crazy effects, different sounds, loads of pauses and breaks, and all sorts of interesting compositional elements.

You've got some cool composition in here. I was desperately hoping that you don't use a generic chord progression but to my relief, you didn't, using a more interesting chord progression. Other than the melody at the beginning, you don't really have many other clear foreground melodies that aren't covered up by a crap-ton of effects, so in the end that makes this track seems to lose its sense of direction at times, considering all the effects and sounds you jam-packed in there, but that isn't much of a problem for this kind of genre in my opinion, even if I would've appreciated some more foreground melodies in there. But yeah, nice composition! By the way, you may want to leave the ending note to echo a little longer. Right now its reverb is getting cut off because you didn't leave enough silence at the end of the track.

Anyway, not only do you have good composition, but the sounds and production are all superb. You're honestly nearing professional level in your tracks, I swear. Everything sounds so clear and punchy. I'd imagine this was hard to achieve considering all the crazy automation and sounds you've got going all over the place, so massive props for making the mix so clear. All of the sounds are really great. The wobble bass wasn't overbearing and the foreground synths weren't annoying (well, most weren't - more on that later). Nearly everything here is absolute ear candy.

I've got two issues with the track, one is related to the progression and another is related to your use of certain sounds. Starting with the former, I think the progression of the intro is a bit odd. You start off *relatively* softly, the song kicks in, then the drums go away and the track loses a lot of its energy, before kicking in again right after the 1-minute marker. This is a really weird way to structure your intro, I would've gone for a constant buildup to the part at 1:01 instead. Secondly, some sounds seem to stand out too much. The synth at the beginning, for example, felt too loud. Perhaps a cutoff filter automation to sort of ease it into the track instead of starting the track with it at max volume straight away might've been a better choice. Also, that 'wuh' female vocal was nice but at times it was too loud and towards the end of the track it got unbearably annoying.

So yeah, I've got a few stylistic/structural issues with this track and a few issues with your volume levels on certain sounds. Otherwise, I think that this is a really well-produced track!

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SCORE:
8/10

GrantBowtie responds:

Wow I've had some majorly differing reviews on this song but I'd have to say you pretty much summed up every problem that was bothering me with this. Thanks for such a constructive review and I will consider most of this when working on my submission for next round : )

[Flashbacks]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Hm, while I like the atmosphere you've created, I'm afraid this really doesn't impress me much. It's pretty much a repetitive background with some seemingly improvised guitar notes over it. This feels rushed and not as intricate as it could've been. Your audition track is incredible; I even downloaded it, but this just sounds sub-par compared to it.

The aspects of this track that I like are the mixing, atmosphere and percussion, which I think were all done well. You haven't got many instruments so the mixing wasn't too hard, I presume, but still, I've got to credit you for making everything sound so clear. Atmosphere-wise, you've set a pretty dreamy mood with the long spaced-out guitar notes and distorted hat/shaker line. Speaking of the percussion, it was really good; probably one of my favourite aspects of the track. I think it could definitely do with more gradual layering of drum sounds, also 2:27's drum kit doesn't fit much and the percussion desperately needs variety, but it sounds very good and has a lot of potential.

Unfortunately, those are all the positive notes I can say about this track. A lot of this track is just repetition and the only thing that stops it from getting all-out boring is the varied nature of the guitar notes, which weren't anything awe-inspiring in terms of composition either. The track just doesn't feel like it has a clear direction and sounds pretty dull throughout.

To fix this, you'll need to vary the drums and pad a lot more, and add many more instruments in the mix. A more structured compositional approach would be appreciated too. Right now, like I said, the guitar almost sounds improvised and there aren't that many melodic phrases that stand out. The track needs more intricacy in both composition and instrumentation. Lastly, the ending is very disappointing. It just plays a crash cymbal and stops, rather than actually having a form of outro that leads up to a satisfying ending note.

Overall, this is a decent ambient track, but it just lacks in variation and intricacy. Composition-wise, it's not spectacular either. Sorry, I'm afraid it's a low score from me on this one.

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SCORE:
5.5/10

[Impromptu - Spring]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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This is a really beautiful piano solo. If you can make this out of an improvisation, then I'd love to hear what you can do with full instrumentation and a more structured approach. But yeah, this is beautifully composed.

What stands out to me in this track is that it has a certain elegance to it, even if it's mostly just piano. The supporting harmonies aren't extraordinary, the melody doesn't try too hard to sound amazing, and almost all the song is composed entirely out of one instrument, but despite all that the track still makes a statement. Don't get me wrong, I think the track having only one instrument being used most of the time is an issue, however more on that later. My point is, you don't enter obscure new realms of composition and instrumentation and still make such a powerful track.

That being said, I do love your composition. The melody is simple but fantastic, and I love your choice of chords. The chord I absolutely adore (and the arpeggio that comes after it) would most certainly be the one at 0:56. I'm no music theory expert so I can't really name what chord that is (although I wish I could haha), but it fits really well. The melody's progression is good, and I love how the main motif of this track is repeated at the end in a more uplifting manner. Strong composition right here, and skilful piano playing.

Now, my sole issue with this track is that it's just too simple. There's a prominent hint of elegance in your simplicity, sure, but you can only keep spaced-out piano notes going on for so long before I start wishing for more. Consequently, the massive cymbal and timpani roll at 2:49, followed by strings, just comes off as a surprise rather than following the effect you intended to achieve in my opinion. Like I said, it's a great idea to repeat the track's motif at the end in such a positive note since it gives a sense of triumph, but the rest of the track needs something more. Have you considered tremolo strings before the percussive roll at 2:49 to build up the suspense and make 2:49 a bit more expected? Perhaps a woodwind and some background strings supporting the piano in the busier parts? And hey, you don't even have to go for the pure orchestral route. Some pads and effects might work well if done right. These are all things that'll unify this track more, I feel.

That's all I've got to say about this track. It needs something more. However, what you've got here is just brilliant and I can't help but give it a high score, if only for the absolutely sublime composition you've done here. Good work!

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SCORE:
8.5/10

[-Rupture-]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Now this is one hell of a track. I don't know how you do it, but you manage to create your own genre of music, and manage to adapt it to any given style or mood. Your tracks are incredibly diverse and this dark, cinematic tune harbours just one of the many styles you seem to effortlessly be able to make.

What I like the most about this would be the production value and the sounds. You've nailed that part. Your brass sounds positively terrifying, your strings sound cinematic and mighty, your synths are all ridiculously good, and the drums are just out of this world ("out of this world" seems to be what you were going for considering your author's comments, I guess). Seriously though, every single sound in there is just fantastic, especially the alien and horror-like sound effects. Your sounds really portray an unsettling, scary mood well...

...and you mix them together perfectly. Words cannot explain how well you've mixed this. You've taken care on making the hits booming, the drums powerful and intense, and all the while giving each tiny detail the amount of clarity and prominence it deserves. I especially like how you've mixed those drums in the second half of the song. Not only do they sound amazing and give a sense of urgency, but they fit so well with the orchestral elements, as if these sounds were made for each other.

Now, I'll have to dock a whole point for the issues that this track has. They're all stylistic issues that in my opinion take away quite a bit from the song. First problem is that you've spent too long building up suspense in my opinion. By the time the track actually kicks in, the listener is already halfway through. And a lot of the suspense-building feels very unnecessary, even if it serves the purpose of creating unease so well. Secondly, there seems to be no leitmotif in the track. No main melody that you occasionally reference throughout the track. For a track as long as this, I feel that it's important to have a clear, definable foreground melody that you occasionally throw in during different sections of the song. That, combined with the over-exaggerated suspense-building, can make it quite easy to lose interest while listening to this. Lastly, the ending effect could've been held a little longer. Right now the ending sounds a bit abrupt.

Long story short, this is incredibly well-made and I'm thoroughly impressed. I have some stylistic gripes with the track, which you may or may not agree with, but otherwise I love this.

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SCORE:
9/10

[This is where it ends]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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This isn't the first time that you post a promising song to the auditions, pass to the competition, then your Round 1 submission is made in the last minute and comes out half-assed :P. It has some good ideas, but it really isn't nearly representative of your musical capabilities, which is a darn shame.

If I had to go in any detail on what I liked, then I'll admit that I do find this quite catchy. It's a pretty good tune, albeit sounding extremely uninspired at 0:09 and in the second half of the track. The sounds you used are pretty good, and the drums in particular are punchy and fitting. There's also a decent amount of variety overall, but the exaggerated use of the organ and lack of mood or stylistic changes make it hard for me to maintain my interest after a few play-throughs. The rhythms of the organ are quite interesting though, especially when the organ goes off-beat. The strings later on are pretty cool too.

And now to tell you about the things you probably know about already. The track is too short. The shortest submitted this round. Being under a minute long it has insufficient time for its ideas to be fleshed out fully, and there's no form of gradual progression or development either. Like I said above, some of the melodies are pretty catchy, but overall the composition sounds awfully uninspired and it sounds like you're trying to force the melodies to sound cool. There aren't any interesting harmonies or progressions.

Furthermore, the song doesn't really do justice to its name considering that this track has pretty much no ending at all. I can see why, considering that this is just an idea, and you have no interest to continue it, but needless to say I can't just ignore the fact that there is no form of ending. It doesn't loop either, despite the intro leaving quite a bit of room to allow it to loop.

Yeah, you probably knew this was coming. You're an AWESOME musician, but you need to work on your approach when making music under a strict deadline. I applaud you for actually submitting something instead of just disappearing, since nobody likes walkovers, but yeah, this isn't a very good track I'm afraid!

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SCORE:
4/10

FairSquare responds:

Yeah, i know.. i don't really know why that happens. I try and try.. nothing good comes of it when i have in mind that i HAVE to make a decent song, i guess. Maybe i'll just skip the next NGADM, because i feel bad for delivering this 'song', while someone else who didn't get through the auditions actually could have made a decent song.
On the other hand, i don't like giving up. So, i'll just see next time there's an NGADM.
Oh, and about what you said.. ''the song doesn't really do justice to its name considering that this track has pretty much no ending at all.''
Well, ''This is where it ends'' refers to the NGADM, because i knew i would be eliminated :p

''Yeah, you probably knew this was coming. You're an AWESOME musician, but you need to work on your approach when making music under a strict deadline. I applaud you for actually submitting something instead of just disappearing, since nobody likes walkovers, but yeah, this isn't a very good track I'm afraid!''

Thanks.
And you're right, i do need to change my approach.

Thanks for reviewing!

[LO - Rush Hour (NGADM'12)]

Well, for 2 to 3 days of work, I've got to say I'm impressed! This has a crazily powerful and bassy mix, coupled by some very loud and clear synths and an undeniably catchy melody. It has quite a few problems to address though, but let's start with the good news.

The production is fantastic. I'm not a fan of massive side-chaining but I suppose that it's characteristic of this genre so I won't really annoy you about it. This has plenty of power in the low end and yet it still remains very clear and in-your-face. You should seriously look around to getting your music played in clubs and parties and whatnot, because this is exactly the kind of music that party-hungry fellows would die for. Awesome transitions too (the only transition I didn't really like was the one at 2:27 which was awfully anti-climatic). Like I said above, the melody is darn catchy too, and developed pretty well throughout the track as well (excellent idea adding the melody on chimes at 1:12).

The bad news, however, is that for starters, this is too predictable. It's predictable because of two prime reasons; it's generic and it's repetitive. It has loads of generic properties such as the low saw bass, detuned hypersaw lead and the typical drum beat. The structure also follows most songs of this genre too, which is a bad thing because the generic structure is one of the main things that make this predictable.

Furthermore, the melody is just used too much. I can see why; songs like these are made to be repetitive so that they can really stick the melody in your head (which worked on my end, may I add) but when you're actually listening to this on its own rather than in a club/party, its repetitiveness is painfully obvious. Your track basically comprises of one main melody and then another pattern for a bassline, with a few subtle changes here and there. Sorry to over-simplify it that much but this needs more variety.

All in all, I can tell that you've really got this genre nailed. Just work on that variety and originality, since those are the two main issues with this track.

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SCORE:
7/10

[Propter Te]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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Well now, this is one of the more original tracks I've heard in this contest so far. Let me get some stuff straight first - your mixing and overall production value is poor. Everything sounds awfully drowned out and weak. However, luckily enough for your score, I think your composition is absolutely wonderful.

I'll start with your voice. You've got a great singing voice but you're a bit shaky in your pitch (work on tuning your vocals perhaps) and don't drown them out so much by EQ. Seriously, you put too many effects that drown those vocals out. I want to hear them more, they're the leading instrument of the whole track.

The drums are nicely varied but I can just about barely hear them. Turn them up, they're even more drowned out than the vocals! The piano's sound is good but I think the track would've benefited a lot more if it had a brighter piano sound than that. I love the violin or viola or whatever that is. That's probably the only instrument whose sound I had no problems with, haha. On a different note, I like your intro but the outro is just a fade-out which felt a bit lazy. I would've preferred hearing an actual ending rather than the whole track fading out.

The composition is just amazing though. The sung melody sounds incredible, and so does all of the piano and violin stuff. You've got a fantastic structure, everything harmonises so wonderfully. Compositionally, this is beautiful and the iffy mix really ruins it. The only gripe I have with the composition was 3:49. When I was discussing your track with the other judges for the first time, we all pretty much had the same reaction when we heard that part, and it was "what the heck is going on here" :P. That key change is way too sudden. You save it, though, at 3:56, so if you could just find a way to make that key change transition properly, it'd be perfect. 2:49 is probably one of my favourite parts by the way, and I love how you go into that soft melody at 3:09 with a brilliant transition before building up to the chorus.

So yeah. Props to you for making a track with vocals, singing it yourself, going for a pretty unique style and still making it amazing with fantastic composition. You have no idea how much I want to hear this with a professional-level mix :(.

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SCORE:
7/10

[under siege (ngadm)]

This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.

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It's funny because while Demon-Slayer12's track has great mixing and bad composition, you've presented us with a track that has creative composition but awful mixing. You two should seriously collab sometime.

Right then, starting with the composition, you've done a lot more than Demon-Slayer12 did. All of the melodies are great. The lead guitar playing all those descending phrases actually made sense compositionally and fit quite well. You also had a healthy dosage of rhythm-guitar thrashing too, so you got the best of both worlds. A heavy track that still has great melodies. You even added some sort of synth at 1:29, which fit better than I expected. All of the transitions from one section to another were nailed, and you've got a pretty good structure too. Compositionally, this is creative and enjoyable.

However, the reason why I gave Demon-Slayer12 a higher score is because his mix is excellent while yours is - sorry to be blunt - terrible. I suppose this can be credited to not enough experience mixing, since practice makes perfect after all (excuse the clichÃffffffÃffff'Ãfff'Ãff'Ãf'Ã'©) but whatever the case, the mix isn't that good at all. The drums stand out far too much (at times that snare was way too loud). They're also dry, and lack the low-end power that they desperately need, making them more of a nuisance than actually a useful element of the track.

The guitar sounds really distant and hard to make out, particularly the rhythm guitar strumming. I'm hearing some great guitar-playing, but if you don't bring out your guitar to the front of the mix to let it shine, your track will sound very disappointing. On a slightly unrelated and smaller note, the ending of your track suffers the same problem as the ending of Demon-Slayer12's track. It stops out of nowhere. You had a great approach to an outro though, so having the track stop so suddenly is incredibly disappointing.

You've got fantastic composition, and your track is very creatively-made, but your mixing needs a lot of heavy tweaking. Great effort though, good luck getting better with that mixing!

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SCORE:
6.5/10