Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[dB] The Abyss]

YES.

Now this is good music. I'm not saying it's the best I've heard, but seriously, your rate of improvement in music is one of the quickest I've seen on NG, and this song is just proof of it. I liked this track quite a bit, and while it has its problems, this is definitely one of the better tracks I've heard in a while. Great job on it man!

I'll split my review into a pros and cons section...

-PROS-

- The main melody is very catchy and well-made. I find myself humming it in my head quite a lot of the time, and it fits so well with the 'abyss' feel you were going for.

- The background fits very nicely with the stuff playing in the foreground. I especially liked those plucks you introduced for the first time at 0:36-ish (the ones which you ended the song with). Again, this also did the song's title justice.

- The transitions on the whole were beautifully done. While the transition at 1:50 has room for improvement, I loved the transition at 0:51 and the way the intro bass synth came in at 2:12 was so cool.

- The structure is probably one of the main things that impressed me in this track. Every new section was interesting, and the amazing transitions from one section to another section helped too. Every melody fit perfectly in its place, good job!

- Variety was just right. I have to admit that this is a fantastic improvement from your other tracks, which aren't as varied as I'd like them to be, at times, but this one has perfect variety. Not too much, not too little.

- Piano solo was awesome.

- The synths and sounds you used were almost all perfect (I'll mention which one wasn't in the cons section :P). I especially liked the bass synth you used at the very beginning, and the background plucks too. The piano fit better than I thought it would too. All of that combined with some well-placed and well-made sound effects and sweeps makes this a song to remember.

- Intro was pristine, nothing at all wrong with it, except maybe the sweep sounding a bit generic, but heck, not much of a problem there.

- Same with the ending, it was excellent and I must admit that I would not have thought of a better ending myself :D. Just one thing though, I would've preferred it if you faded the plucks out a little more. They sort of end out of nowhere at 2:49 if you get what I mean. I would've preferred it if they kept on fading out till they run out of volume, so to speak. Might be me and my nitpickiness (Google Chrome says it's not a word but I don't care) though.

-CONS-

- I think this song lacks in the low end. It sounds too empty, and while I know that an abyss is supposed to be empty, I don't think it works too well over here. Easy solution: add a bass pad. Don't make it dominate the whole background, but give it some space to fill in the background, it'll definitely help give the song a deeper feel. Maybe you can consider some male choirs instead...

- That one synth at 0:14 annoys me. It sounds alright at 1:21 and at 1:54, but playing alongside the main melody it sounds a bit weird. Maybe you can add some synth bell sound, or a square lead instead. You can keep the synth for 1:12 and 1:54, but I would suggest using a different synth when playing the main melody.

- Drums aren't particularly good, I'm afraid. The hat line was too simple (the rhythm was good but you only used one hat which was a high hat and cut through the song too much if you get what I mean) and the kick is too weak, not to mention the clap sounding a little plain. Don't like the percussion in this one, sorry :(. Reverbed kicks were well placed though, and the beats were good. I just didn't like the sounds themselves.

-OVERALL-

Three cons against nine pros, I suppose (rhyme unintended). Shows that I think your song is awesome, and it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out :D. Seriously, this track is catchy, gives out a nice abyss feel and is deserving of the 10 score I gave it. Keep up the great work, I definitely hope to hear some more amazing tracks like this one!
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd.
Fav'd as an author.
Shutting Up Now...

-Review Request Club-

Decibel responds:

Woah, I am pleased to tell you that i read everything O.o
Naic Review, I have better thangs comin up so watch out =]

>DJ<

[AF - Vitality]

Beautifully done!

Hey man! Sorry for all that inactivity, with me being in Australia right now, but I finally found some time to borrow my dad's headphones and listen to this. I have a limited connection right now so my review's going to come out pretty half-arsed, but I can't help but review this masterpiece right now :D.

So I'll start by saying, well, wow. This song seamlessly walks the line between Ambient and Trance and has such an awesome vibe to it. I don't have many bad things to say about it, it sounds pretty much like something I'd expect from you, i.e. something epic and amazing.

I'll split my review into a pros and cons section.

-PROS-

- That intro is just amazing. Not perfect (you'll see why in the cons section :P) but the instant I heard that intro I knew I was going to like this song. The pad which fades in and abruptly stops to play a delayed saw pluck made a very cool effect to start the song with.
I must say that the intro sounded really awesome with headphones on, even if they're crappy mobile headphones (or maybe I'm just too used to speakers). The cool sweep and noise filtering effects after that were just icing to the cake.

- The composition, as usual, is pristine. The melodies are very catchy and each melody flows beautifully to the next. I love the chord progression you used, it's not often you hear such awesome chord progressions in NG Trance music. Seriously, it's melodies like these which I look for in Trance songs, and I'm glad I've finally found them. Good job!

- The atmosphere you managed to evoke with the plucked sounds, awesome melodies, and amazing pads, was out of this world. I never knew something like this could be so atmospheric.
All I'd wish for would be a few more bass sounds in the backgrounds to make the atmosphere deeper, but that's probably personal preference and it's such a minor nitpick that I didn't even bother to put it in the cons section.

- The sounds you used all left me amazed. Not only do you have some cool plucked sounds with the perfect amount of echo/delay to them, but also an awesome-sounding pad. Like I said above, the noise-filtering effects, such as that powerful hit at 0:47 and the various sweeps throughout the song, were all brilliant. You probably know by now that I'm a fan of sweeps, so my opinion may be a bit biased, but what the heck, the sweeps sound amazing.

- Transitions were perfectly executed. The filter automating with the drums was a great way to introduce and exit the drums from the song, and all of the transitions were great. I especially liked the transition from the ambient intro to the busier part at 0:40.

- Finally, the ending to the song was fantastic. It was a satisfying way to end the song and worked really well. Maybe you could have made the final note a bit more powerful with a more epic hit, instead of just a clap, but other than that nitpick, ending was flawless.

-CONS-

- Percussion. This might come out as slightly annoying and nitpicky, but to be honest I think the percussion was a little on the rough side for an ambient-ish song like this, namely the snare which sounds too distorted or dry to fit in with the song in my opinion...
Don't get me wrong, the rhythms your used for the percussion were really good, and the filtering, like I said, was great, my only problem is that the percussion themselves cut too much into the atmosphere if you get what I mean. I doubt it would be easy to get the percussion to fit with the atmosphere while keeping them trancey like they are right now though, but heck, worth a try right?

- I think the intro could have a bit more to it like some reverse effects, for example a reverse kick on every louder part of the intro when the pad reaches its loudest volume. Just a random idea I'm bringing up, might improve this already awesome intro.

-OVERALL-

That's pretty much it. This song truly sounds brilliant, especially for a 5-hour work. I'm probably never going to get that melody out of my head. Just work on those 2 tiny things I mentioned, but keep up the AMAZING work!
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd

-Review Request Club-

aliaspharow responds:

Yay! Love you man xD. Epic review, as usual. I totaly agree about everything =D. I should totaly re do the drums. Im not very happy with them at all now that you have brought them to my attention. The intro itself could use a bit more detail to it too. Your the best!
-Simon

[Oceanic Expedition]

Wow :3

I must say that I was really impressed by this. It's so relaxing that I had it on loop for hours while doing my programming project, no joke. This deserves all the high review scores and votes as it can get. There are a few small things which annoy me, but on the whole it's very soothing and calm, and fits the story you gave it flawlessly. Nice job on it.

The melodies are excellent. Maybe you could have added a key change somewhere in the song, but other than that the melodies all flow so smoothly together and are extremely relaxing. Hell, I'm lucky I'm not writing this review at night or I'd fall asleep instantly xD. I especially liked the melody at 1:52, but all of the melodies were wonderful. Not really much to say about the melodies except awesome job, I suppose.

The instruments are also very nicely chosen. The main instrument you used was very relaxing, and the other instruments filled the background up nicely. The part at the end had awesome pads which fit well with the underwater theme you were going for. I don't think this song is short at all, actually. Just the right length for a song like this. Loved the wind/sea effects you had going in the background, by the way.

The transitions were all very smooth. Like I said above, the song flowed very smoothly from one melody to another. The only one transition which ruined it for me would be the one at 1:04-ish, where you fade in a long snare roll. That part sounded plain and I think it lasted a bit too long. I think you should cut down maybe 1 or 2 bars from it and keep the ambiance in the background going on for the whole duration of the transition. What I'm trying to say is, the snare sounded weird on its own :3. The transition at 2:23 could have been a bit more interesting, maybe with some sort of splash of water or cool water effect, I don't know, but on the whole the transitions were very nice. Good job.

Structure-wise, this is superb. The song flowed extremely smoothly and the variety was great too since you always had new melodies to interest the listener. Structure and variety were both awesome :D. Intro was great since the great ambiance and relaxing melodies immediately come in which provides a great effect, and the ending was also awesome. I don't really agree with Soapbubble on this one, I think the ending didn't sound too long. The length was just right ^^.

Hm, the drums were good. I have to admit that the drum beats fit perfectly with the melodies, but the drum samples aren't too good. They're mixed well, and the EQing was fine, but I just don't really like the drum sounds themselves. Check out this site:
http://www.darkbeats.com/sampleswap/
The drum samples there aren't professional in any way, but some are nice quality and there are loads of drum samples to choose from.
By the way, I hate the snare at 1:16-ish :P.

Overall, this is soothing and relaxing, and fits perfectly with the story. Just work on maybe adding a key change, fixing up a few transitions, and working on the drum sounds a bit. Other than that, this is a great song. Sorry for the somewhat short review, I usually write longer than this, but I guess this song made me short for words :3. Never knew you were such a great author, I suppose I didn't know what I was missing when you requested other stuff and I didn't review them xP. Keep up the great work!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

Birdinator99 responds:

How is this review short? XD

Thank you so much for all the feedback; I agree with you on that snare roll being the weak part of the song haha. Smooth and relaxing is definitely what I was going for, so I guess I got that right :D

I try to limit my key changes, but I suppose it wouldn't have hurt somewhere in there, huh?

I don't know if I could listen to it for hours, but it clearly did something for you :)
Don't feel bad; it wasn't always this good lol.

Thanks so much for listening and reviewing!

[==(Mindmangler)==]

My ears were just raped.

And I loved every single bit of it. Seriously, you left me speechless. Wow. I've *NEVER* been left speechless when reviewing an NG submission, but this song has pulled it off. I was almost tempted to write a one liner saying it's amazing, but of course that's totally out of my nature, so I'll try my best to make a big review not consisting entirely out of praise; I doubt that'll be easy though.

I'll split my review into a pros and cons section, I'm starting to like that layout :3.

-PROS-

- This song is incredibly catchy, just like any of your other songs. All of the melodies just sound so cool, and the chord progressions you used were really quirky and awesome. The portamento gives out such a great vibe too. 1:40 was amazingly catchy, by the way.

- The synths go really high in pitch to the point that I'm wondering whether you ran out of space in the piano roll, but for some weird reason, I love it. To me it seems like they're *supposed* to sound ear-piercing and hurt your ears, but they do the exact opposite. How the hell did you pull that off? O.o.

- It goes without saying that the synth at 2:14 is the most epic thing I've heard on NG.

- The drum beats/rhythms you did are excellent. They fit so well with the melodies and the bassline, and compliment them a great deal. They were also varied flawlessly.

- Speaking of varied drums, hell, the whole song is varied extremely well. You introduced new melodies non-stop, and so many new synths and rhythms that it's basically impossible for this song to bore you. You still managed to keep the song well structured and not random too, which is something I really like with your submissions. How do you do it? :3.

- The synths you used sounded very unique. Actually, for some reason, the main synth somehow reminds me of I'm a Robot except this is so much better :P.

- Transitions were almost all spot on (notice the almost, I'll mention the transition I didn't like in the cons section :D).

- Yet again you manage to mix the deep ambiance with quirky melodies and a drum kit, like in MindMiner. This song's genre truly is my definition of Miscellaneous. I've never heard anything like it before.

- I can spot loads of similarities between this and MindMiner but it's also quite different; this sounds more deep. Still, the bassline and drums are very similar to MindMiner. I must say that I prefer this one more though.
Haha if I had to rate all of the songs I've reviewed from in order of preference, it'd be this, Absentminded, MindMiner and then Glass Tree in the Sky. That's not to say that they're not all absolutely amazing.

- Intro was wonderful, and that goes for the very smooth transition to the main song too. The ending was also great. The ending note was powerful and finished the song perfectly.

- Did I mention that it's amazing?

-CONS-

- Not too sure about the drums here. Like I said, the beats were awesome, and the drum sounds themselves were nice, but they just sound too drowned out and flat. I think it might just be me though, but personally I think the drums in MindMiner were better since they sounded much more open and more prominent than over here.

- You already know how fussy I am with transitions, so I still manage to find a transition which I don't really like: 1:40. It takes me by surprise too much, I feel. The one at 2:13 is quite abrupt too, but not as much, especially since the transition to the melody at 2:16 was so well executed. Again, this could be just me, as I said, I never really liked abrupt or sudden transitions...

-OVERALL-

All in all, this song really impressed me. It's so catchy and quirky that I couldn't help but smile throughout all of it. This is definitely my favourite from you and one of my favourites from all of NG. Probably if Danman87 didn't come on NG, this song would be my favourite from all of Newgrounds. Seriously though, keep up the awesome work, it's hard to believe you're only 15 and you're making such amazing masterpieces xP. So yeah, amazing job! :D
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd.
Worship'd as a God.
Song stolen.

-Review Request Club-

[Eden massacre - TTC CHG]

Excellent.

Like in that last submission I reviewed from you, this one fits very well with the story you gave it. This seriously sounds very well made, I'm sure that if you were asked to make background music for a flash you'd do extremely well. Nice work on this, it sounds like awesome background music and I really enjoyed listening it, to the point that I've honestly been listening to it for the past half an hour or so.

I'll split my review into different sections corresponding to the different scenes of the story.
--------------
0:00 - 0:20: Quite a soft way to start the song. Problem is, it sounds very quiet, like in your other track. I don't think I should have to turn the volume up higher than I usually do just to enjoy the song, in my opinion.

Still, this has a nice atmosphere and the bells were a very nice touch.
--------------
0:20 - 0:34: Here you add a new instrument. I can't make out what it is; is it a harp, or a guitar? That being said, the melody is superb. It has a peaceful vibe to it and sounds great.

I don't know if it's suspenseful enough to fit with the scene of secretly filling the cannons with explosives instead of fireworks, but it does its job as a peaceful and calm part.
--------------
0:34 - 1:05: Wow I loved this part. It sounds much more lively than the previous parts but still retains its peaceful atmosphere. The congas and bongos were also a very, very nice touch, which I quite enjoyed.

I was hoping for a new melodic instrument to come in at 0:47 though, maybe a flute or some sort of woodwind. I think it'll definitely add to that part.
--------------
1:05 - 1:24: This is a really chaotic part indeed. The percussion style is similar to the one in the last track I reviewed, and it's very powerful and epic. The piano sounded very good too over here.

The only thing that ruined this part for me would be the abrupt transition to it. I had to turn my volume up to hear the intro, and then quick turn it down once I heard that powerful hit at 1:05. I think you should make a really quick buildup beforehand, or just turn that part down a little.
--------------
1:24 - 1:39: Loved the transition to this part after the previous chaotic part. The percussion slowly died away as this section entered which was perfect.

The soft percussion in the background was nice and the small part with the choirs in was great too.
--------------
1:39 - 2:15: Hmm, I think the silence before this part was a bit unnecessary. It sounds as if a totally new song started, which is a bit weird and I definitely would have preferred it if the transition was smooth.

Having said that, this part was awesome. I particularly liked the strings at 1:52. This actually sounds like it came right out of the soundtrack of some movie...
--------------
2:15 - 2:42: The choirs over here really sound amazing and the atmosphere is good. Still, again, I think the transition before it didn't need that much silence, or maybe that's just me...

Anyway, in short, awesome choirs :D.
--------------
2:42 - 3:28: Here's another very calm and peaceful-sounding part. I loved the piano playing over here, it was so soothing and instantly puts the listener at ease.

Also, on an unrelated note, this track also loops very well :3.
--------------
Conclusion:
I must say that I was impressed by this submission. It has such a unique sound to it, which is probably what I like most about your submissions; they always sound so unique yet still sound amazing. This is no exception, and I really think that it sounds awesome.

The atmosphere, like I said, was extraordinary, the melodies were superb, the instrumentation was unique and still fantastic, and the fact that this is basically 8 different styles in one song makes this very interesting to listen to and unpredictable. The only things which might need fixing would be the volume, some transitions and any other minor defects I mentioned :D.

Overall, this fits nicely with the story you gave it, and has such a unique atmosphere to it. Keep up the amazing work man, this sounds excellent!
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

Calamaistr responds:

I cant match the size of your review but let me say thanks for taking the time so to review this, it shows the more that it took you into the story, if you love this track already youll go nuts over the rest of the album for sure. :)

Greets -Cal.

[Kieranmau5]

Not bad for thirty-three seconds...

I don't know if he sounds like Deadmau5 or not, since I don't listen to trance/house or all of those electronic genres most of the time, I'm more interested in Classical/Orchestral/Trailerscore/etc , so I can't judge this on how well it imitates another trance artist, but still, for a small loop, it was pretty cool. Good work.

The melody is very simple. Actually the melody only consisted of three different notes, F, G# and F#. I suppose it's not such a bad melody, although I really would've liked to hear more changes in the melody and maybe a little more of a complicated melody rather than just three notes. Perhaps some rhythm changes would work too.

As for the synths you used, they were a bit generic, unfortunately. The plucked bass thing was pretty generic and the saw synth was cheesy as hell xD. Heh, that being said, they still worked fine. I would've really liked to hear some more unique sounding synths (maybe some higher pitched ones, since this is a pretty bassey song), not only to make this more interesting and original, but even to break up the repetition a bit. On the other hand, the effects were fine, and I liked the sidechaining.

The transitions were all great, even though it isn't too hard to make smooth transitions in a half-minute long loop :P. New sounds were introduced very well but I think that the part at 0:07 could've had a more powerful buildup and then a crash cymbal, or maybe a reverse cymbal before it or something. Probably personal preference, though.

I usually dedicate this part to the song structure, but there isn't really much to say about the song structure I suppose. Variety was alright for a small loop, but as I said above, this could use some more synths/melodies. The intro was good, and the loop was alright, but it could've been better since you had a lot playing at the end of the loop and a lot less playing at the beginning of the loop, making a rough transition.

The percussion was mediocre, not too good but not too bad either. I liked the kick at 0:15, but the drums did get a bit repetitive and the other drum sounds were nothing too special either. Not only that but the beat was very generic and overused (kick every beat, open hat every other half-beat and clap every other beat :/). Still, percussion wasn't too bad.

All in all, this loop is good. It doesn't stand out in any way due to some generic elements and aspects which it has, but I can't say that I didn't like it. Keep up the good work.
8/10
5/5 because of 0-bombers.

-Review Request Club-

KieranNG responds:

It loops well in Fruity Loops, not so well in Newgrounds... :(

[Pulp Fictionstep(demo)]

Cool...

Before I start, just going to say that you'd better be careful with those vocals. I hope you made sure that they weren't copyrighted because that'll break the rules and could get you permanently banned from submitting audio or maybe worse...
Anyway, not-so-comforting note aside, this is a cool track. It sounds a little amateur at times, and it's pretty short (I suppose that's because it's a demo, though) but overall it's somewhat enjoyable to listen to. Nice job!

The melodic section, like in your other songs, is good over here. I did enjoy listening to your melodies, and even though the melodies were quite simple, they weren't generic and sounded good. The background depth was decent, but I think the pads which you used sound a bit closed and could do with filling up a little more of the background. In addition to that, the wobbles on the bass weren't that good, although I suppose that's what practice is for.

The synths you used sound like FL Presets to be honest, especially the lead towards the end. I think you should really consider learning how to make your own synths, maybe by using Sytrus:
http://blackhole12.newgrounds.com/new s/post/80532
You could even consider getting VST's like Pro-53 and z3ta+, or even free ones like P8 Superwave. I think that these'll definitely help improve your overall sound. Also, the bass could've been rougher. Still the choice of synths wasn't too bad, although I would've preferred it if the bass come in earlier in the song. By the way, the vocal sample was well placed at 0:48, but for the ending I think you could've used a different vocal sample instead.

The transitions are all fine. At first I didn't like the transitions at 0:47-ish, but then once I heard the vocal sample I smiled, so I'll let that transition slide xD. The transition at 0:40-ish could use a bit of work, though, since the drums exit a bit too suddenly and could do with some crash or something to indicate that they've left the song. The structure was a bit weird but worked out well, and the variety was good, so nice job there.

I liked the intro, it has a creepy sound to it, which is pretty cool. The ending, however, could use some work. The melody ended suddenly and then the vocal sample from before randomly came in. Maybe that's just since this is just a demo, but if you're using that ending in the full version, then I really think you should fix it up a little.

The drums were good. I really don't know much about dubstep so I can't tell if they work well as dubstep drums, but they seem to do the job well. I don't see why the first and second section of the song should have a totally different drum kit each though. I kind of liked the snare of the first kit and the hat and kick from the second :3. Other than that, the drums fit well in the submission and were just the right volume. Nice work.

All in all, it's pretty good for a demo. Just work on the minor problems I mentioned above, but it's an all around good dubstep submission. You're actually quite good at dubstep, just work on making your sounds a little better, but it doesn't take a genius to notice that you're talented at dubstep. Good job!

Oh I'm sorry, did I break your concentration? :D.
8/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

[Post Rigor Mortis]

Not something you'd hear everyday...

This is one heck of a weird submission, to be honest. While I congratulate you for making all of the sounds yourself, I still think that this is too random and weird to enjoy, and even then I never really enjoyed experimental/noise tracks like this. Sorry... :(.

I think the weirdest sound in this would be at 0:38. You used so many times in the song and it really got monotonous. Some other sounds were almost ear-piercing or sound really really distorted, but I suppose that it's part of the genre so I won't complain too much about it. The only melodic element of this song would be the one at 3:11, and that sounded quite out of rhythm and off-tone.

I suppose the things I liked about the song would be that it was always a constant buildup, which made it quite interesting to hear what would play next. Even at the end the song started to speed up and have loads of things playing together, and since all of these things came in gradually throughout the song, it became quite interesting towards the end, to say the least. Also, there was a variety of different sounds, and if you say you made all of these sounds from scratch, then that is pretty impressive. The transitions were all great since you gradually introduced everything, and the percussion elements, albeit repetitive, were good.

Sorry if this review is a bit short. My extremely limited amount of knowledge about this genre forces me to make such a short review... Anyway, overall, good job on making all of the sounds, but if I had to be completely honest with you, this sounds quite ear-piercing and it's not something I'd listen to. Sorry for the almost useless review.
5/10
3/5

-Review Request Club-

PizzaBox responds:

I like this review :) You made it apparent you understand the song, just didn't enjoy it. And I appreciate it.

And yes, the melody at 3:11 that comes in is supposed to be very off :) haha. As was the song supposed to be unpleasant and ear-piercing, but I'm glad you appreciated it for what it was rather than telling me to fix what was intentional. That's a huge pet peeve of mine. I'm not making music to please people.

Thanks for the review dude!

[Jungaloo [Box-Killa]]

This is a good loop for a loop! :D

I was actually quite impressed by this. It sounds really good, and the percussion is almost professionally executed. This doesn't really sound like it'll work well in a flash though; I think it has too many changes in rhythm/structure and doesn't loop to well either, but for just a song, I enjoyed it. Never knew you were this good with congas :D.

So, I'll do a pros, cons and overall section layout which I occasionally use for my reviews these last few weeks :3.

-PROS-

- The sounds you used are very realistic, namely the conga sounds. I can easily imagine some tribe playing congas when hearing this song, which is a sign that the sounds you used were high quality and realistic :3. Where did you get the conga sounds from, out of curiousity?

- The atmosphere you made was great. It's not hard to picture some sort of chase scene in a jungle when hearing this song, and the gongs/effects you did in the background just made it even better.

- The rhythms sound awesome and I definitely enjoyed hearing them.

- There was a variety of different sections and rhythms throughout the song so it never got boring or repetitive.

- The panning was awesome. (Or at least I think it is. I'm deaf from one ear so it's really hard for me to pick up any panning)

- The intro was cool, and the ending was good too.

- The rhythms at the beginning gradually get faster/busier, which I quite like.

-CONS-

- The song's transitions from one rhythm to another could use work. I'm not trying to be a fanatic of my own work, but check out the transitions I did for this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyIkzC 6889U
The transitions are smooth because instead of switching from one rhythm to another, I make one rhythm, and build on it with another rhythm, and keep doing that until I need to move to a completely new rhythm.
When I need to move to a new section for a completely new rhythm I start this section with some sort of hit like a crash cymbal or something. I think it's better than just randomly switching between one rhythm and another.
Also, the transition at 0:32-ish needs something like a cymbal or conga roll before it becomes powerful.

- The new sound at the end sounded really weird.

- I would've preferred it if the congas faded in for the intro or had a smoother transition from the gong, since they just come in out of nowhere.

- You could've used a few more shakers/maracas, especially instead of that sound you first introduced at 1:15.

-OVERALL-

Yeah, other than a few defects which I pointed out, I think this is a really cool submission, better than a lot of jungle songs I've heard. Just work a little on some transitions, incorporating more shakers/maracas, and removing or changing that weird sound you did at the very end :P. Keep up the great work!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

[Waltz No. 7 in Am Orchestrated]

Hm...

Unlike Chomposaur, Classical surely is my musical preference, and when I heard this song, I was quite impressed, although I think your guitar works are a bit better xP. The quality of sound wasn't too special, and this is pretty short. Still, what the heck, I still enjoyed it nonetheless. Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, your 'EDIT:' author's comment makes no sense xD.

The melody, like in all your submissions, was superb. Maybe I just like it because I love minor keys, but still, that's one awesome melody in my opinion. Not only that, but there were a lot of changes in the rhythm of the melodies, and even though I think you could have varied the rhythm of every bar a little more, even if with just subtle changes, I still like the rhythm as it is so nice work there. It's also nice to see that this piece is in 3/4 time instead of 4/4, I'm kind of tired of hearing 4/4 here on NG all the time :P. So yeah, basically the composition of this piece was excellent, and I can't really expect less from you.

The instruments, on the other hand, weren't as good. I think you should have used the East/West samples instead, I'm pretty sure that they're much higher quality. Also, I think that the instruments were dosed in too much reverb. Either that, or the mixing in this isn't that good, since it sounds a little blurry and muddy... In addition to that, I'm a little confused as to what instrumentation you used. I can hear strings, but I *think* hearing an organ too O.o. Maybe it's the bad quality of the instruments, or it could be the low quality of the MP3 which makes me unsure of the instrumentation, I don't know...

The transitions are all fine, and I can't really find any abrupt transitions. The structure was alright, but I would've really liked to see some new sections of the song with maybe some solos, since a lot of the time the song stayed on the same level and didn't really go anywhere, if you get what I mean (i.e. it doesn't reach any climax or some sort of calmer part). The variety was good, although it would've been cool if you introduced some new instruments to keep the variety going. As for the intro, to be honest I think it dragged on for a bit too long, but the outro was fine.

So yeah, overall, I don't really think this is one of your best. It doesn't have as much of a clearness of instrumentation as I would've wished it to have, and it's not something I'd listen to a second time if I had the option to. Still, the melody, as usual, is amazing, and it's still a cool submission nevertheless. Good job, keep it up!
8/10
5/5 because of 0-bombers.

-Review Request Club-

Darkmaster603 responds:

I see what you mean. There is no organ in this piece, and you're not the first to make that comment. It uses a harpsichord, oboe, brass section, strings (staccato/normal) , flutes, and violins. I am considering redoing this with a better library, but I liked the way this one sounded. I agree about the reverb, I think I was trying to go for a realistic sounding recording with the reverb, but I ended up have a song with a crappy library doused in too much reverb.

I have a habit of writing in 3/4, it's the natural time signature for me. I agree, this doesn't really go anywhere musically, it's pretty stagnant, but that's kind of what I wanted. It's hard to explain.

I'll have to use a real library instead of DSK free stuff.

Thanks for the review!