Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Randomocitic =RC=]

Not bad!

Dude you actually write your music on a manuscript first before turning it into techno? That is so old-school :D.

But in all seriousness, this track isn't too shabby. I'm actually quite impressed that it's only your 17th submission. It's leagues better than my 17th submission anyway.

Onto the song... The first thing that I noticed would be that the chord progression you're using is very overused. I heard that chord progression many times in the past, making this sound pretty generic. Using overused/cheesy chord progressions like this is bad practice, especially when you've only recently begun making music.

The synths/sounds are quite well-chosen. I'm hearing a few FL presets in there, but they still fit pretty well :P. The instrumentation is a bit standard and amateur, although it isn't too bad. To be honest I quite liked your use of synth strings, they contributed quite well towards the track and gave it a bit of uniqueness.

Pretty much the only reason why I'm giving this a score as low as a 6 is because it sounds amateur. The drums are bland, the melodies aren't anything particularly special, and some transitions sound rather weird. Still, as I already said, for your 17th submission this is actually very nice, and I foresee a rapid improvement.

So yeah, keep it up, and good luck in your future submissions. Hope you found my tips useful!
6/10
3/5

-Review Request Club-

Raymoclaus responds:

Thanks, I usually don't write manuscript but I felt it would have helped for this song so I did. I'm still trying to figure out everything about FL Studio so yeah I know what you mean about overusing the progression and the simplicity of it all. But overall, thanks.

[Living and Dying]

Musically it doesn't make much sense...

Sorry man, I can't give this that much of a high score. It really doesn't make that much sense musically and I don't see it as emotional, atmospheric, or particularly enjoyable either.

Like I said, this track doesn't make any sense. Sounds come in almost randomly and don't fit with each other at all. I don't see why you think it sounds deep or why you think it has anything to do with life or death because I see it as a mixture of sounds and instruments which may sound alright in the right context but mixed with each other in this track they don't sound good.

The drums aren't even your own original work. I've heard those drum loops used in many other submissions. Maybe this is why they don't seem to fit well like the other reviewers pointed out.

Sorry for the harsh comments but I think this needs a lot of improvement before it can be enjoyable. Try and make your sounds fit with each other more. For example, that weird wailing sound that begins fading in at 1:13-ish really sounds out of place and then it suddenly stops playing a few seconds afterwards making the listener think 'what was that? :S'. That sound at 2:03 also doesn't fit at all either. I just don't see a reason why you should keep those sounds there.

Melodically this doesn't have much worth to it either. It's just the same chords repeated throughout the track layered with some unfitting drums and absurd effects. I really think you should try and write some more melodies to give the piece some variety and meaning to it.

I think the only thing which really stands out as good in this track would be the transitions, which aren't too bad. There were some abrupt/weird ones, but some others (especially the one at 0:35 - the vocal sample was a nice touch) were pretty well done.

Overall, I suppose this does sound unique, but it doesn't have that much of a meaning to it, if you get what I'm trying to say. I can't say I enjoyed it and I can't say that it'll be easy to improve it either, but everyone starts somewhere and practice makes perfect. Good luck in improving your tracks!
4/10
2/5

-Review Request Club-

[Mr Noname McFannypack]

A pleasant little tune!

Firstly, welcome back to NG! Great to see you submitting music here again after such a long time being inactive :3.

The song itself is quite different from your other submissions. It's great to see that you can incorporate different styles to your work (ranging from classical to soundtrack to orchestral, and now to this) and still make each style sound refreshing and fun to listen to.

What makes this piece stand out would be the upbeat feel of the whole thing. You've got the laid-back drum beat and a *fantastic* melody playing over it, all of this decorated with a few little details such as the pitch bending on the violin, mood changes and all sorts of minor additions which make this so worthwhile to listen to, and merits it more than just one listen to truly get the feel.

I loved how you kept the style simple yet varied the song a lot. Somehow when hearing this song I feel as though it's describing an imaginary character and all the attributes of his quirky personality, and all the variety you put into the track (such as the mood change at 1:36) help the listener to think about how this imaginary person's character is. You really know how to tell a story with your songs.

Now for my one complaint - I think you overused the strings :P. I don't know, I just think that you carried the melody almost entirely by strings to the point that while listening to the track I was practically begging for a new instrument like a clarinet or something to take over. While you varied the song melodically, I would've really loved a new instrument to come in and play the melody. The only time this happens is when the brass enters for a brief moment...

All in all, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the submission. It's got a quirky upbeat feel to it, and the vague title leaves the listener to his imagination about what the song is about. All the details you put in to the song are astounding and show that you know your way around music. Keep up the great work dude.
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

[Let the Bass Kick Instrumental]

Soothing!

Hey man! Sorry for taking so long to review - I've got exams going on right now and it's been pretty hard to find some time to go on Newgrounds. Anyhow, really nice song. It's the first hip-hop song I've ever heard from you, but you've got a knack for Hip-Hop. I can clearly see your style incorporated in the track (what with all the wonderful harmonies and cool synths :P) but I can still hear stuff in this track which make it sound like the person who made all those Techno/Dance songs before is a completely different person from the guy making this track. And it's awesome to be good at different music styles ;D.

Onto the review - what I like the most about this song is that it's so nice and soothing, thanks to those smooth bassey pads playing awesome chords. I mean if it wasn't for the 'Let the Bass Kick' vocal sample you've used throughout the song, this'd make a superb backing track for when you're doing homework or studying. Really nice!

Now I'll move straight on to the mixing. Firstly I don't think I agree with kravening that the mix has a lot of space because you seemed to fill it up nicely. I agree that this song is a bit too dosed in reverb, giving it a pretty muddy overall sound, so if I were you I'd tone down on the reverb a little. Also, the vocal sample seems a bit too rough on the high end, making it a bit tired and to an extent, unpleasant to listen to, and the phaser/distortion isn't helping much either. That could probably be just me.

On another related note, the song seems a bit too loud, and I'm hearing clipping. I'd turn the master volume down a bit more. Although I shouldn't be the one talking right now because I suck at giving songs the right volume, and in my whole time using FL Studio, I never actually used a compressor :P.

One last thing - it might just be because the vocal sample sounds too rough, but I think it was used a little too much. Sure I like the slicing effects you did on it, but I would've liked some melodic synth solos and the like, rather than having half the song with that vocal sample playing. It disrupts the song's relaxing atmosphere and without it this could make a good backing beat for someone to rap to.

Now that I've got that off my chest, on to the good news. The transitions were wonderful, and other than a crash cymbal which was a tad bit too loud, none of the transitions were abrupt, and they were smooth and glued each section together excellently. I especially like the transition at 0:22, where the beat kicks in - that transition was just fantastic.

Melodically, I have nothing to complain about. The chord progression is nice, the harmony is superb and whilst, like I said, I would've enjoyed a few sections where you have a synth playing a melody, there's not much to be desired regarding the melodies. The sounds chosen were also very fitting, such as the high synth at 1:07 and the synth at 4:31. The pads were nice too.

When it comes to the percussion, I really don't have much to complain about. The beat was great, and I like that you took the time to vary it a little rather than leaving the same beat for the whole track. I'm hearing some nice drum fills and different beats (I especially like the introduction to the new beat at 4:08). The kick was great and the hat line was superb. Then again you were always good with percussion...

A quick note on the intro and outro: the intro was pretty good, nothing special (to be honest I would've preferred a slightly more progressive intro) but it worked out well. The outro was also nice, and I like that you added that cool effect at the end to sort of signify that the song is ending.

So anyway, all in all I'm impressed. It's great that you can make music in a number of different styles (Classical, Techno, Dance, and Hip-Hop too). Making music in different genres/styles really defines a great musician in my opinion, and makes producing music a lot more fun. So yeah, nice work. A few mixing problems, and a vocal sample which got a little irritating, but other than those I enjoyed it! :P. Keep it up!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Thanks a lot for the review! I'm glad you took note to my harmonies again haha, that's my main trademark that I'm the most proud of and that I want my listeners to notice the most. And most of the songs I have under current production now utilize some more of my harmonies, so in the near future you can be expecting them. I try to excel in as many genres as I can, because like you said, that's part of what defines a great musician. Thank you for the mixing advice as well. I've been recently working with samples more often so your advice is invaluable. Since the production of this song, I've learned the consequences of adding too much reverb to the master track, and have since dumbed that down. Thank you again for the review, for it really helps me to improve as a producer!

[==(Drifting)==]

Whoa...

How did I miss this track? I mean once I read your response to my other review and I saw that you mentioned another song of yours which I didn't hear about, I got curious to see why you like the transition at 2:23 so much, but I ended up hearing the whole song for a good six play-throughs and now I can't stop hearing it. This almost (read: ALMOST) inspired me to make a Jazz song. But I can't. So I won't :(.

Since the bass is pretty much what makes the track, I'll comment about it first. I don't know if it's recorded or not, but the fact is that it sounds so realistic. I mean, the vibrato, the offbeat notes... they all make the bass such a pleasure to listen to, and even without the drums and the synth, just hearing the bass alone will keep me entertained for the whole length of the song. On an unrelated note, it's a good thing I have a decent subwoofer now. I think if I kept with the one I had before, I wouldn't even notice that this song had a bass...

Now, I still think the bass is overpowering everything else. Sure it's the focal point of the track but I still want to enjoy the other elements of the song (synths, drums, etc...) and that bass is drowning everything else out. It's not really much of a problem because it's so darn catchy and varied and I can still hear the other sounds nicely, but I think you should give a bit of space to the other sounds so they can shine too. Perhaps go for a part where the bass goes minimal and you play a solo with another instrument. But damn that bass is so good that I don't think I should be complaining...

The composition is very nice, and I can see you took the time to vary the rhythmic aspects of the bass melody too. I'm hearing plenty of funky rhythms and basslines throughout the whole song, which give out that jazzy laid-back feeling.

What I do like the most about this track (other than the awesome bass) is how it fits so well with the title. The pads and miscellaneous sounds you used throughout the track instantly take me on a large or medium-sized boat drifting by the coast, coincidentally with a good subwoofer and exotic drinks immediately available :D. But yeah this song really makes you feel like laying back and doing nothing especially in the more minimal parts like 1:47.

And naturally I'll always dedicate a paragraph to the transitions, and I loved them. The only quirk in my opinion is that the part at 2:25 seems to come in a bit suddenly. A little build up right before that part (maybe a little drum fill or something) might make it smoother. Still I see exactly what you mean about it being one of your favourite transitions. I REALLY like it and even though I have no clue what a cadence is, that part really stands out and takes the song to the outro flawlessly. That transition is never going to get out of my head...

Regarding the intro/outro, as usual I don't have much to say. Again, you go with a fade ending, which works well here too, because it feels as if the song is drifting away, and the intro is great too. Reminds me a little of the intro to my song 'Dancing Flame'. The little snare roll works very well and when the bass came in I knew I was going to love the song.

The drums are nice - while I don't think they stand out as your best, the beat's great and the samples are well-chosen (especially the snare). I think your cymbals are too drowned out though. I'd make them easier to hear, because they seem to be the most unfortunate victims of the bass's conquest to drown everything out :P.

Production is pretty much pristine (alliteration intended :3). The mix is really clear and I like that you didn't fill the mix up with loads of sounds, keeping it simple but effective. Making a mix like this without making it sound empty is something I wish I could do :C.

All in all, this is extremely enjoyable. No need to review me back if you don't want to, I'm just writing this review because this song is too awesome to not be reviewed. And because I downloaded it, as promised you're now my #1 favourite artist ;D. Congrats!
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd.

-Review Request Club-

[Endless Day of Grass Fiel]

How can one song be so relaxing...?

Yep, an obvious 10/10 as usual. This sounds incredibly relaxing and dynamic too. Not only can this fit in grass fields, but I can even see this as background music played by a band in a restaurant or even as soundtrack to some game. It has such a pleasant, relaxing sound, and I can thank the guitars and echoed effects in the background for that. Seriously dude, I will never get how you manage to pump out one amazing song after the other.

Like I already mentioned, the main feature of this track is that it's literally perfect as relaxing background music. I've been listening to it for well over 40 play-through's by now (while responding to your review, doing the RRC update, while writing this review and many other times on my headphones/while studying). It just organises your thoughts so well and it's great to help you work, which is the complete opposite of 'Deep Man' where I often periodically blank out if I use it as a background while doing something else...

The sounds you used are pleasant to the ears which is the main thing you should go for when making relaxing background music like this. The guitar is perfect for the style you went for, and its composition is incredible. This doesn't have any particularly memorable melodies because you use so many different ones but then again that was probably intentional. Also I love the bassline.

Still, I'll have to agree with WildeKeizer. Some of the sounds you used were a little eerie or weird for a song like this, especially the little thing that first came in at 0:30 - 0:31, and the trippy synth melody that played in the background (0:19). However, this is such a small problem that it makes no sense whatsoever to acknowledge it. Moving on! :D

What did it for me would be the transitions (yes I found a song which has no transition I didn't like. It's a miracle). The song moved from one section to another flawlessly, without interrupting the great flow you've got going. My favourite transition would undoubtedly be the one at 1:44. That little part there made my day. I've heard similar transitions in your other submissions, but this one by far stands out as one of the best.

I think you've paid particular attention to your introductions/exits of each instrument. I can tell that you tried to make each one as smooth as possible. For instance, the introduction of the main beat at 0:28 was very well done, and the introduction of the guitar was so subtle that I hardly even noticed that it entered. Even in the parts where you took out elements from the song, I can tell that you did that carefully too, such as at 2:28.

The drums were wonderfully simple, but fitting. You had simple hat lines, most of the rhythms weren't too complicated, and the drums were even pretty quiet too, but they blended in perfectly. I also like that you had two different styles of drums, and yet you matched them together so well. If I had to complain about anything, it'd be a more powerful kick. While I'm not asking for a floor-shaker, it's nice to have a bit of a bassey thump which doesn't disrupt the flow.

The intro and outro were superb. You go straight to the point with the intro as it immediately leads me to believe what the song is going to generally sound like, and the ending was fantastic. You've got a really long outro; maybe a bit too long as it does feel stretched out, but it was still executed excellently and the fade-out fit nicely with the theme of the song and the title. I mean it wouldn't be an endless day of grass fields if the song had an ending, would it?

Overall I'm very impressed. You're by far one of the best artists I know of here, and it's a shame you didn't win Musician of the Year (even though I voted for you because I'm in the judging panel :C). This song sounds so good that it gets to the point that after one whole play-through it doesn't feel at all like a whole 4 minutes and a half passed. Excellent work, and it's official. If you make one more song which I download, you're going straight to the #1 spot in my favourite artists list.
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

[Eric Freeman - Equilibrium]

Not bad at all!

This actually isn't so bad. I enjoyed it all the way through, and even though I have a tonne of suggestions for this, it has plenty of potential to be turned into something better. It's also quite an original-sounding song. In my opinion when you can't think which genre a song fits in, then it's a good sign, meaning that you took a different direction in your song and didn't follow any strict genre rules. And I like it when people take different directions :3. On to the review.

Like I just said, this is quite a different-sounding song. You've got a heavy general rock influence in the song thanks to the guitars, but I'm hearing a well-incorporated synth in there too, which makes for quite a unique sound in all. You also seem to change from using trance-style drums to a more metal/rock style, which is cool too.

The composition was well-made in general. I really liked the synth melody - it had a nice frantic sound to it which fit well with those powerful drum hits. The chord progression was pretty nice too. If I had anything to complain about here, it'd be that I would've liked to see more melodies, especially guitar melodies because I think you could've been a bit more creative with the guitar, but anyhow...

Instrumentation was good. The guitar sound was nice, as was the synth, and I liked the drum hits you introduced in the second section. I can also very faintly hear the harp, although I don't see the reason why you put it there unless you want to sound even more original :P.

Now here's where my biggest complaint is. It's been mentioned by many other reviewers so far so it won't be anything new to you, but it bugged me too much not to mention it. This does indeed sound a lot like a buildup to a climax which never came. Sure, the song has its moments (such as when the synth came in) but no part really stood out and actually gave that satisfying feeling you get from hearing a well-transitioned climax.

For instance, take the part prolonged buildup at 1:11 to 2:09. In this part you're constantly introducing new elements to the song, new rhythms, new sounds, and more hard-hitting drums, and I was seriously expecting to be blown away at 2:09 with some epic climax, but instead I was met with a disappointing exit of the drums, and a quick transition to the metal style you had going in the intro.

My suggestion: make the buildup at 1:11 to 2:09 not so long, because it was getting a bit boring after a while. Then, towards the end of the buildup, play the synth in a higher octave or something, and then at 2:08 leave like half a bar of silence for a little break, and then give the song a massive climax.

The transitions were also decent. I liked the transition in the intro where you introduced the drums, and the transition to the synth part was great as well. I may as well talk about the intro and outro too - they were both well-made. I really liked the progression in the intro, and there isn't much room for improvement in the outro too.

The production was alright, but nothing that special. If I were you I'd work on incorporating more detail into your tracks, because to be frank this sounds a bit amateur and I feel like you could've done a lot more to the track in terms of detail, effects, etc... but all of that comes with experience, so I wouldn't worry about it much!

The drums were so-so. Like I already said, the drum hits in the second section of the song were great, but the metal/rock drums sound pretty weak and drowned out. I'd use different samples, mainly for the snare, or at least EQ and compress them, to bring out their power out a little more.

Anyway, all in all I enjoyed the track. It's a very interesting change from what I usually hear on Newgrounds, especially with the unique instrumentation. Some things irked me a bit, mostly the lack of a good climax, but like I said, this has a lot of potential. I hope this review helped, and keep up the good work! I'll add you to my favourite artists list because you added me, I enjoyed the song and you deserve way more than 15 fans :3.
7/10
4/5
Fav'd.

-Review Request Club-

[.:Blues in Dublin:.(NAC)]

Thought I should review another of your songs :P

This is a really nice submission. If it was a bit longer I'm sure you would've made it into the finalists of the NAC, because it really is a shame that it's only four minutes long, which is mostly why I was reluctant to give you a score higher than an eight. That being said, what you have here is still very enjoyable to listen to and there isn't really much wrong with it. Nice work!

The composition really stands out here. You manage to fit jazz into every song of yours eh? :P. But yeah, I love the melody you did here. It had a nice rhythm, and had a certain hook to it which fits well with the criteria of the contest. The alternate melody you did also sounded great in comparison with the first melody that plays in the song.

The background you did compliments the foreground melody very well. I'm hearing plenty of different instruments, among them a bass, piano, strings and drums, and these gave a lot to listen to, and even though this is just a bit over half a minute long, it almost feels like a whole song after around two play-throughs because you manage to fit so many different instruments at one go. A very interesting result! Also the instrument-choice was great too.

Something which is a bit of a let-down, though, is obviously the fact that this sounds rather fake. I know I've been saying this countless times, but MIDI sounds are pretty useless when it comes to sounding realistic :P. Granted that this is definitely really well-made for a MIDI-based track, the instrument quality leaves much to be desired, and some parts, especially the parts where the main instruments play really quick notes, sound quite fake. Still, humanizing a MIDI track is a pain, and at the time you only had access to MIDI sounds so I should stop complaining now...

The transitions are all spot-on - no complaining there. The transition from one melody to another was particularly well-done, especially when the strings entered the song in the second melody. The song loops flawlessly too, although I've noticed that you've pretty much mastered song-looping anyway :D. Regarding the structure and variety, I don't have much to say. Basically this is two repetitions of two melodies. While I would've liked the second section to have a few subtle changes, this is just a small loop so I wouldn't worry about it.

Percussion was very fitting. It had a beat which fit wonderfully with the song, and progressed well too. Sure, it's nothing really that special, but simplicity works wonders sometimes, and the drums you did here are an example of this. So yeah, good work on the percussion!

Obviously I won't have much to talk about when it comes to the production. It's just the right overall volume and the volume-levels were all great. The background instruments were loud enough to be heard clearly, but not overly loud either. Sure, you don't have those little subtleties such as reverb, EQing and other effects, with this being a MIDI song, but to be honest this song doesn't sound that dry or lacking in terms of effects - probably because of your variety of different instruments.

In conclusion, I don't think there's anything big that needs to be improved here. It's a really nice little loop, and even though it's basically two melodies played over a jazz-like foundation, it's enjoyable, unique, and fits well with the theme of St. Patty's Day. Good volume levels, great percussion, smooth transitions, excellent composition, fantastic instrumentation, but I would just wish for it to be longer, because that's the main reason you didn't get a higher mark. Keep it up though!
8/10
5/5 because this song is getting 0-bombed and deserves a higher score...

-Review Request Club-

camoshark responds:

Wow, thanks, I guess it's a trade!

First point : Length. pretty sure we talked about this not so long ago, but whatever. :P In this case though, it was somewhat intentional, for I really did go for the minimalist approach and mashed up the quickest and most efficient pot-pourrit of the style, either that comes to be a positive factor or a bad one. Wich brings me to my next point.

I REALLY gave myself the challenge to systematically incorporate in some way or another Jazz into my contest entries, and even my compositions in general. Not too sure why, I guess I just want the genre to get some exposure...

Song elements : Theme. For the theme, I really just bathed myself in Irish music and wrote down a faux of the recurent elements, thought in the end I scrapped most of it and just went on with the feeling I had going. Of course in that case, my music courses have finally started to pay off, since I made sure to properly structure the theme in the form of a classical period (16 bars, A-A'-B-B')

Background. The funny thing is, at that time I was transcribing a Chet Baker solo, and I ended up transcribing the background elements to understand the structure, and since then I've incorporated them in most arrangements I make (I will maybe post one here at some point), and this on is no exception. As for the instrument choice, there's not much to it, it's really just standard.

As for the sound quality, you know the drill, I won't even bother writing it down...

Transition. I'm quite proud of this one, since I did put quite a bit of effort on this one. I had to re-write the melody countless times in order to make it fit seemlesly like it does. And for the structure, If you pay attention, you'll notice the call and response of both segments of the song are the same. I managed to make the melody have this sort of ambiguity, so that the end of the theme can sound just as much as a question as an answer.

Percussion. As you afformentioned, percussions are nothing special, I stuck a basic pattern and put a few fills to make it sound pretty, so there really isn't much to say about it.

Production. It's a thing I'm constantly worried about, because the sounds just sound so shitty. Seriously, the bass guitar is so vaporous I have to boost it up to max almost all the time, and even then I can't clearly hear what it's playing, and don't even get me started on guitars...
Anyways, I'm glad you think it's good, because being on a biased point of view, I can't tell.

Conclusion. Thanks alot, I'm glad you enjoyed and thought it was unique, that's what I was aiming for! And feel free to ask for other songs to review, you know I'm always up for lending a hand!

Cheers,
Samuel Hébert

[Metical - Revolution]

Sucks to ruin your 10/10 score...

...but I can't give you a 10/10. In my opinion the melodies in this song are GENIUS, and you seem to manage to retain such brilliant melodies for the whole five minutes and a half that this song plays in, but the song feels rushed. Certain aspects of it feel somewhat half-assed, for lack of better word. Even though I downloaded this song and listen to it constantly because of all of its amazing melodies, I can't help but think this has quite a way to go before I can call it perfect.

Now, like I already said, in the paragraph above, the composition really shines in this track, and it's the main reason why I downloaded this track and listen to it so much. I just loved each melody you did - not only were they really well-made and catchy, but they have a certain uplifting sound to them, more so in the second half of the song. The piano melody at the beginning would probably be my favourite though - it really sounds beautiful, and leaves me pretty much speechless.

The instrument choice was great too. While some of the instruments aren't amazing quality (the high strings especially sound a tad bit thin), this is hardly a problem because you manage to fill the mix with a wonderful amount of depth thanks to your use of plenty of instruments - choirs, brass, double basses, you name it. You also have an interesting set of instruments - a piano playing emotional melodies, an orchestra with a more uplifting sound and all of this complimented by a hip-hop beat throughout. It works surprisingly well.

Moving onto the structure, and here's where I'll have to complain. Sorry but your structure is pretty much all over the place. While I like it that you're introducing melody after melody and each one sounds excellent, I can't help but think that the song's structure is one of the reasons why I see this as rushed. Even by reading your author's comments you almost say yourself that the song's structure is messy. The bad transitions didn't help much too, which brings me to my next point.

Transitions were... not good, I'm afraid. Sure, you have some good transitions, but on the whole a lot of them were iffy and they're another indication that this song sounds rushed. I'll comb through the song pointing out some transitions which in my opinion need work and others which were nice:

0:12 - I like the entrance of the drums. A good transition.
0:24 - Not liking this one :(. Drums exit out of nowhere, and then come in out of nowhere later on. Sounds a bit weird.
0:56 - No offense, but this transition is by far the worst in the track :P. Far too abrupt.
1:25 - A bit of a smoother transition. Not phenomenal, but decent.
2:34 - Here you randomly take the drums out and put them back in again. Like I said before, this sounds weird, although I wouldn't worry about it too much.
2:40 - I would've liked another long note from the orchestra to play and fade out gradually over here to smoothen the transition a bit more.
3:31 - Another abrupt transition.
3:56 - A bad transition. Quite random...
4:15 - Ah, this is an excellent transition. Love it.
4:34 - That's MUCH better. By far my favourite transition in the whole track. Really superb man - it's got such an uplifting sound to it. Too many random snare roll and cymbal hits later on though :P.
4:56 - Not terrible, although another sudden transition to 4/4 here.
5:23 - I suggest fading your final note out a bit, because when it loops to the piano intro it sounds odd.

I don't have much to say about the production. EQing was decent, although it has room for improvement, especially in the percussion section because the drums often got drowned out by the cluttered mix. Volume levels were spot on though.

And that's about it. I have more to say about the song but alas, I'm out of characters. I hope you find my review useful, and let me just say that this is still a really great submission. Sorry to ruin your perfect 10 score, but in any case, I still enjoyed this submission a lot. Sublime composition and a great atmosphere too. Keep it up and work on those transitions!
8/10
4/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

[ECHO - Goddess WIP]

As much as I should be studying right now...

...I can't help but review this. Sure I told you a bunch of stuff about it already, but I still think I should review this, especially because it's basically a work in progress that is literally bursting with potential. This could really turn out to be one of your best songs, and it probably has the nicest atmosphere from all your songs so far. Also credit me for the name, or else :P.

The composition is great. Even though it can be a bit generic, that's really not much of a problem. I especially liked the melodies of the plucked instrument you used throughout the song, and the abruptness of the plucks made a nice contrast with the smooth, lengthy notes of the choirs, brass and strings. I also really like the idea of adding pitch bending on some of the notes of the plucked instruments, but I suggested that to you before so I'm basically complimenting myself here :3. The staccato strings you used provided a fantastic background by the way. Thought I should mention that.

What I liked the most about this submission would be the REALLY good atmosphere. I can easily relate this to a desert thanks to the melodies you used and arabic-style instrumentation. The choirs helped to give an atmosphere of a goddess too, so I can't say that this doesn't fit with the title either.

Instrumentation was pretty much flawless. Sure, it's a somewhat standard movie score-ish instrument set, but like the melodies, it worked out very well. You also had a really subtle xylophone/marimba or whatever it is (I know you already told me what it is but I forgot :P) which can be heard clearly at 0:28. Subtleties like this give the song that professional, detailed sound to it. I'm also hearing high strings playing along with the plucked instrument. This is also a nice touch.

Now for the transitions. I LOVED them. I agree with Andre about adding more of a buildup at 0:28 and creating a better contrast to the section that followed, but other than that quirk, all the transitions were very smooth. What did it for me would be the introduction of the brass at 1:18. That part literally gave me the goosebumps. Just hearing the choir build up in volume, and then the brass enter in a really subtle manner made my day. Seriously dude, that part sounds just excellent.

The intro is a very nice way to start the song. Rather than starting off slowly and then building up, you immediately began with that awesome atmosphere, helped by the fading choir voices and the shakers. Not only that, but you progressed really well from the intro, introducing element after element. By the way, the ending sucked. It was way too abrupt and there's an annoying clip in the silence at the end. You suck :P.

Structure-wise, this is basically a constant buildup. You must be playing with a lot of volume automations because I'm always hearing the instruments rise in volume which helps create this buildup. I hope that when you continue it, you add a climax, since I'm tired of all these buildups :P. Then, maybe after the climax you could go into a really atmospheric, minimal part, and then slowly begin introducing more melodic elements and continue from there. Anyhow those are my suggestions if you continue it :3.

Now, my one complaint. The production; while the mix was filled up nicely, and you produced this well, the song is really quiet. I don't want to have to turn my volume up just to enjoy the song so I think you should work on mastering the song a bit more. There's too much headroom.

Nothing much to say about the percussion. You used Stormdrum loops for them, like you said, but at least you went and varied the percussion with different percussion fills and rhythms, so I can't complain. The percussion fit well too.

All in all, this is bursting with potential. I hope you can continue this because so far it's excellent. Just work on that mastering, but other than that, this is great and you put a lot of thought into the little details. Good luck continuing this, and keep it up! Feel free to thank me for not ruining your perfect 10 score, by the way :P.
10/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-