Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Luminous_Odyssey [Box-Killa]]

Not bad...

You've really improved from your old submissions, and this song shows it. Good job man, I enjoyed it. It's not exactly dance-able, since it needs a bit more of a 'boom', but that doesn't make it a bad song. Overall, good job! Here comes a long review!

The melodies are OK, could use a little work since they aren't that particularly catchy, but still, they're pretty upbeat and have a happy feel to them. It's good that your melodies are unique and don't sound generic ^^. I liked the part at 0:41 where you got to that break, since it stopped the song from being that repetitive, although the parts at 1:00 and 1:56 were too anti-climatic. What I mean is, you sort of gave it a bit too much power beforehand with that epic sweep and kick roll, and then it sort of sounded as if it's letting you down since you expected an epic climax, yet you just heard the song move down into a calmer rhythm. Even before the ending at 2:23, the song had a lot of power and then sort of ended like that. So yeah, melodies overall are alright, but you should fix a few anti-climatic parts since they really take away from the 'dance-able' feel of this track...

Yeah, the main synths you used are pretty original and non-generic, but unfortunately, that bass is extremely generic. Still, it's hard to make a bass which *isn't* generic so I won't reduce any points for that. What this song lacks is a pad. The song at times felt a little empty, and I think that if you add a pad, or at least a reverbed arp (but I think a pad will work out better) your song would have a lot more depth and fullness to it, and makes it more enjoyable to listen to. Pads are your friend xD. Maybe you can also try to vary the main synth a little more, since throughout the whole song, the synth which carried the melody was the same, or at least similar to the same synth that was always playing. You could try and add some bell or something. Anyway, other than those defects, your instruments are pretty good. I really liked your use of kick effects and sweep effects, so good job with that :D. Not a bad job with the instruments/effects. Good use of filters too.

The transitions were alright, but nothing really too special. The anti-climatic ones which I mentioned above were a bit of a bummer, but overall the transitions were smooth and well done, so good job with that. New instruments were introduced well, and you had a great amount of buildups, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Maybe your buildups could be a bit more gradual, since sometimes the buildup reaches its peak too early, such as when you're fading in the synth at the beginning, it could do with a longer fade in IMO. Just a tiny suggestion though ^^. Yeah, transitions and buildups were fine ^^.

The song is well structured, and the only issue I have with the structure is that the climax at the end wasn't powerful enough, which led to a bad structure. At the end you expected a powerful finale with the way you structured the song, yet it was quite a weak part at the end. The variety could use a little work, since it was just the same melody repeated a few times with a few subtle changes. Try adding a piano solo, yeah it's a generic way to go, but it surely can fix your repetitiveness problem. The intro was awesome, but the ending was a bit weak, maybe you should end it on a more powerful note so that the huge buildup you put in before is satisfied...

The drums weren't too bad, but that kick could be much more powerful. The snare was also barely heard and the hat line was pretty generic and simple. Overall the drums were pretty basic and bland at times, but still, they fit with the song pretty well, even though they aren't that varied. I liked your use of the snare roll :).

Whoo, harsh review. Sorry =/. Anyway, your song does have a few defects, but overall it's a decent dance song. Still, not one of your best, IMO 'Dark Awakening' would be your best. Whatever, keep up the good work, I hope you turn out to be a great dance artist! :D.
8/10
5/5 - because of the horrible 0-bombing this song has...

-Review Request Club-

Box-Killa responds:

lol thanks for the massive review!

[[AMP] See You Smile]

Has some problems...

Overall, this sounds like a professional song and I is pretty fun to listen to, but unfortunately it has its defects, and although it's a good song, these defects ruin it a little. Still, in general, you're a good producer, and the production in this just shows this talent of yours. Not a bad job :).

The melodies are one of the biggest defects of this song. The melody sung by the vocals is Basshunter's, so I can't really give you any credit for that, and the melodies you made weren't too good to be honest. They just didn't have that 'hook' to them. The one at 1:15 wasn't too catchy. Also another problem with this song is that it's very generic. It starts with the usual dance buildup, and the chord progression you used, although it isn't the usual dance chord progression, it still is pretty generic. The structure itself is generic and the vocals are slightly cheesy, but still, the vocals in general were alright, and sung very well. I liked the part at 1:44 where the piano came in, it broke up the monotony and repetitiveness of the song quite well. As for the number of alternate melodies, you could add some more synth melodies, since IMO having one synth melody wasn't enough.

The instruments themselves are, like many elements in this song, generic. Still, the fact that they're used in so many dance songs doesn't necessarily make them bad-sounding. Maybe your piano could be a bit less muddy, since at times it has so much reverb on it that it's a little hard to understand. Overall instruments were alright. As for the production, it was pristine. You seem to be really good when it comes to production, and I can't complain about the production at all. As for sound effects that you used, I liked your reverse cymbal, it provided great transitions, and I liked the sweeps you used a little after the 2 minute marker. Sound effects were good :).

The transitions are very smooth, and as I said above, your use of reverse cymbals and sweeps were effective and gave good transitions. I liked the transitions at 1:42 and 2:12, and overall the transitions were pretty well done and the song flowed very smoothly. Buildups were done well overall too, but I suppose that's almost automatic since good buildups are always key elements to a good Dance song. Good job with the transitions/buildups ^^.

The song is well structured. Too bad the structure is so generic, but still, it has synth breakdowns, it has buildups, it has solos, so yeah, the structure is fine. When it comes to the variety, as I said above, you could've added another synth melody, and also the song's lyrics got a little repetitive, even though they were well-written and well-sung. The intro was superb, even though it's similar to a lot of dance intros, and the ending was also very good. Ended on the right note and was a very satisfying ending, although maybe the last note could use a bit more of a 'boom', if you get what I mean, maybe some powerful slightly reverbed kick or crash. After all, an ending note most of the time should be more powerful and significant than any other note, at least in my opinion.

The drums overall were good. Kick was nice and powerful, clap sounded good, crash was alright, if not slightly weak, and the snare rolls throughout the song provided some great transitions and sounded nice. The hat you used in the song was too quiet, though. I think overall your cymbals should be a little louder. Still, the drums overall were pretty well done, and fit with the song pretty well. Not a bad job with the drums ^^.

This is a good submission, professionally done with fantastic production, smooth transitions, great buildups, well-sung lyrics, excellent intro/outro, decent structure, pretty good variety and OK drums, but my main gripe is that it's very generic, and it's not really new or interesting, and the melody also wasn't too special. So yeah, I think that if you apply your excellent production skills to something more original and less generic, it'd be awesome :). Not a bad job overall, sorry for the long review.
8/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

AMP responds:

I didn't request a review, but im glad you did :P

It seems your main problem with the song is how generic it is. As I've mentioned to previous reviewers, i made this song to practice my vocals and its easy to practice on a basic standard song. I also made it so that it can be easy to listen to so people don't have to think when they listen to it, they just enjoy it.

So i don't find the generic attributes of this song to be a flaw just a technique i used to make the song simple and easy to listen to.

As for the synth melody, yes it didn't hook but this is a song with vocals. Had this been a normal Dance song than the synth melody would be catchy and memorable but thats why I have vocals in the song. When's the last time you've heard a song with a Catchy Vocal Melody AS WELL as a Catchy Synth Melody, you can't have both in my opinion because one should stand out and they shouldnt take away from eachother unless you just take the Vocal Melody and make it the Synth Melody and vice versa :P. The synth break is a filler not the main aspect of the song.

As for chord progression i think people should stop whining, i didn't use the standard one and people are still complaining? Give me a break guys. There are VERY few catchy song songs with a crazy complex progression.

Yea, the vocals are cheesy as shit XD, i'm just awful with lyrics and I suck at making meaningful ones.

I am very happy you enjoed my production and enjoyed the song. Thanks a crap load for the long and detailed review, i will look back on it on my next songs so i don't get people saying my songs are "generic" :P, thanks man!

[AF+T888 - Lightspeed (DM Edit)]

Wow, just wow.

OK this is amazing. Just flows so easily, keeps to its name yet is so relaxing and puts you at ease. Yeah, you ROCK at Ambient, and I'm sure that this is probably your best submission so far. Too bad it has such a bad score :C. Anyway, keep up the amazing work, this is the stuff that the Audio Portal should have! :D.

Alright, those melodies are just godly. They're really, really catchy and beautifully done. You seriously have talent when it comes to making melodies, and this is just another song that expresses that superb talent. The piano (is that even a piano?) has amazing melodies. Loved the part at 2:03 where the piano chords and pad play, and then the arp comes in so smoothly that you don't even notice it came in. Speaking of the arp, it was fast paced, yet still puts you at ease at the same time, plus its melodies were really cool. Maybe you could add some soft piano solo in-between, since at times your melody could use something new in the middle of it to keep the listener interested yet still relaxed, but heck, that doesn't really matter at all. I think I'm hearing a slight bit of clipping in the middle of the song, but I'm almost 100% sure that's my crappy speakers. Fantastic job with the melodies!

The synths and instruments you used were also really cool. Very spacey, and sort of make you imagine yourself soaring through the clouds at light speed, or at least that's how I see it. The piano sounded really nice, even though it made me doubt if it was a piano or not, but heck, as long as it sounds great, it doesn't have to sound like a piano ^^. Arp sound really cool, and that pad was just beautiful and sounded so calm and soothing. Yeah, instruments are out of this world, nothing to complain about them.

The mix is slightly muddy with all the reverb you threw in, but that added to the awesome spacey feel of the song, and I think the reverb makes the song feel really relaxing and smooth. When it comes to the sound effects, I think this song could REALLY benefit with some sweeps. If you don't have any/don't know how to make some, I can help you out :). Anyway, other than the fact that I think this could do with some sweeps, effects/mastering was great.

The transitions are all pristine, except maybe the one at 2:03 which could do with some reverbed reverse cymbal, or even better, a sweep like I mentioned above to indicate that the song has reached a new, calmer mood. Other than that small defect, smooth and flawless transitions, which is always important in an Ambient song such as this. New synths were introduced very well, such as the arp in the middle of the song which as I said above entered the song so smoothly that I didn't even notice it entered. Buildups were excellent.

The song structure is perfect. It's very well structured and all of the melodies compliment each other very nicely. Variety was excellent, except for the lack of a soft piano solo somewhere inbetween, but even without that the song is still well varied and never got boring, because whenever you got tired of one melody, another melody or another element comes in to keep you interested ^^. Intro was REALLY well done, and started the song very smoothly. It started spacey, and then built up as it introduced new elements, which is just how a song intro like this should be. The ending is also extremely cool. A smooth ending with a powerful piano chord and percussion hit to compliment it. Perfect :D.

The percussion wasn't really that audible, but I think making it any louder would ruin the beautiful and spacey ambient atmosphere you've got going. Maybe you could make the bass percussion a little more prominent. Not louder, just slightly stronger and easier to hear without ruining the atmosphere. Still, the snare or clap was really awesome. Drums were well done in general, good job ^^.

Other than the really tiny defects such as lack of sweeps/piano solos, this song is really cool, and a few more songs like this and I'm definitely favouriting you. Keep up the AWESOME work, man!
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd.

-Review Request Club-

aliaspharow responds:

Wow right back at you! You freakin rock steph! but i still wish i would of thought of putting sweeps in my song ^^!

[-:YRX:- MR.VanVizuard]

Thought I should review this :D

I'll start by saying that this is really damn catchy. Most of the Drum/Piano submissions are probably made with only strings accompanying the piano and stuff, yet you managed to make such an awesome piano/drum *techno/drum'n'bass* song, so yeah, points for originality. Good job with this man, I loved it!

The melodies really shine in this entry. The one at the beginning was very catchy, and by very catchy, I mean, like, it'll stay in your head for weeks. Then, when the song became really fast paced with loads and loads of fast piano notes, I couldn't help but smile. When it comes to the amount of alternate melodies, this could do with one or two more, especially somewhere in the middle, and particularly a slower/calmer melody, because after all no song is a song without different dynamics and moods, but still, your melodies are so quirky and all over the place that this doesn't REALLY need that many alternate melodies, although it won't hurt to add 1 more in the middle. Anyway, overall, the melodies were awesome, and they had a sort of comical twist to them, which is probably why you chose that title. Good job with the melodies!

The instruments are alright. I wasn't really too impressed with the quality of your piano, but that really isn't much of a problem, since this is drum'n'bass and that genre doesn't necessarily need a pristine piano. So yeah, the piano itself sounded really awesome, even though it didn't sound like a top quality piano. The bass pad was great, if not a little thin (maybe you could add some more pads to add more fullness to the song), but it really complimented the piano and sounded great. Loved the parts where the bass pad was playing on its own ^^. The bells sounded nice too ^^. You know what would REALLY fit with this song? Don't know about you, but some really cool well-timed vocal sample saying 'MR.VanVizuard' at around 0:41 would really do wonders to introducing that really fast piano a few seconds after. Just a thought, but in general the instruments and stuff were well done. I even liked the strings you had at the beginning and later in the track.

The transitions on the whole were excellent. Maybe you could've introduced the drums a little more smoothly, but other than that you had great transitions and the song flowed really smoothly. The buildup at the beginning was also really good and introduced the fast piano melody really well, so all it needs is a vocal sample to spice that transition up, as I mentioned above. The structure is pretty unique, but I liked that at the end you added that effective climax to the song, it added to the song quite a bit and sounded great. Variety was alright, you could've added more alternate melodies as I said above to break the repetition, but overall the variety was decent.

The intro was pretty good, since it left you wondering what was about to happen next, but outro was a definition of average. Not too special, but not bad either ^^. If I had to do anything to the outro it'd be to do something along the lines of this (maybe a little less of a sudden ending):
http://www.mediafire.com/?0mmtzewngjz
Yeah, may not be the best of examples, but I think if you do something a bit like that outro, it'll work pretty well ^^. Just an idea :).

The drums were great. Drum samples were amazing, and the beat was really catchy. Maybe you could make the drums a little quieter, since at times they sort of penetrate the light-hearted piano in the song with their roughness and it doesn't sound too good. Another thing I didn't like about the drums was that they were too repetitive, so varying them a little more would break the monotony of this song :). Still, overall the drums were very nice, so good job with that :D.

To summarize, this is an excellent track, which I enjoyed listening from beginning to end. Maybe you could change the outro a little, fix some stuff with the drums and work a little on the little nitpicks I mentioned, but overall, this is a piece that Darklight and I will have a hard time beating. Keep it up!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

YouriX responds:

Wow i love getting these kinds of reviews. Anyways i think i feel obligated to respond to your review. Well i'll start by saying that the recomendation where pretty good and i heard that outro example and i understand where your going. But that voice idea is really good i think i might actaully do that.
Thanks for the review even thou i didnt request it from your club :P
But i like how you took the time to review my song thanks! ;)

[Stargenx - Magical Pipe]

Yes!

I really like this song, and if it wasn't for the very flawed Audio Portal system, this would surely be somewhere in the Top5/30. Extraordinary job, this is so well done, it's even good enough to be called professional. Also, to answer to your response to the review below me, even I make my really good songs at night, so I know what you mean xP.

The melodies, as ChampionAnwar said, were REALLY well done. Had a sort of Egyptian feel to them, which really added a touch of uniqueness to this submission. The way the melodies are done and the atmosphere you evoked sort of made this perfect in a stealth-like game such as Metal-Gear or some stealth-ninja game. The melody was very catchy, and my favourite part would definitely be around 1:30 where the song reaches a cool climax. The amount of alternate melodies was superb and the song never got boring to listen to since you kept introducing new melodies and new changes to your melody to keep the listener interested till the end. So yeah, when it comes to the melodies, this song is a pure WIN. Great job!

The instruments are also really good. The woodwind-type main instrument was so cool and added to the submission, and the synth strings in the background added a lot of depth and were a really good addition. Loved the instrument at 0:52. Still, this is the paragraph were most of my complaints'll go too. I have two complaints. Firstly, I think the intro could use another instrument, since that instrument all on its own at the beginning felt a little empty, and although it added a lot of suspense to the intro, still felt a bit empty. Add some really soft bass pad starting at 0:02-ish, maybe like some sort of Double Bass.

Second complaint would be the square wave plucks at the beginning. The song is really ambient and smooth, but those square wave plucks are rough and they sort of play in the song as if to say "I'm here to ruin your beautiful ambience". Maybe you could add something a little less rough such as a shaker. Anyway, when it comes to the bass, the pads really provided a lot of rich bass which added a lot of depth. Perhaps you could add some catchy bassline played by a bass guitar starting at around 0:52. Don't know if it'll fit though, but it can't hurt to try. The sound effects you added were superb, such as that weird reverse cymbal, the sweeps, etc.

Nothing atl all wrong with the transition. Loved the type of transitions when the song went quiet and then picked up at the end of the bar, such as the one at 0:50. New instruments were introduced very well, and I really liked the gradual buildup at the beginning, where you slowly introduced new elements to the song as you went along.

The structure overall is extremely well done, with a noticeable climax in the song which makes the song very interesting. My only complaint with the structure would be the fact that at the part at 1:30 stopped so quickly and suddenly at 1:40, when I expected it to stay going at least 12 more bars. I'm not saying this because it's my favourite part, but because it's the climax of the song, and it calms down so quickly leaving that part very anticlimatic. Variety on the other hand was sublime. The intro, other than the fact that I think it could use a soft bass pad, was superb and added to the suspense. Ending was also very well done, so good job over there.

The drums, wow... This song is calm, and you managed to make the drums so interesting yet still fit wit the calm atmosphere. These drums are probably one of my favourite drum lines I ever heard on Newgrounds, and trust me, I heard a LOT of NG songs. Variety on the drums was also amazing.

What I like the most in this would be the drums, but everything is so amazing. By the end of the song you left me like O.O. Really love this submission, just has a few nitpicks I mentioned above which you may or may not agree with, but overall I LOVE IT, so please, keep up the amazing work!!! A few more songs like this and you're going straight to my Favourite Artists list!
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd as a song.

-Review Request Club-

Stargenx responds:

Wow... Thanks for the incredibly long, helpful and positive review! This song is mostly supposed to be in the treble which is why I didn't add a lot of bass instruments. I might re-do this song with more bass but I rarely have much time to work on music and most of my time is spent on my later songs. I feel guilty because I rarely get to extending/improving existing pieces. I'll get to that though, I promise! Again, thanks for the review.

[Kaleidoscope Eye]

Umm...

Yeah, not exactly something you hear everyday. I suppose you have some points for being original, but to be brutally honest, this song is rather dull. It doesn't have enough to keep the listener interested for 1:15, and even then the 1:15 that it plays sounds a little weird and could use work.

There was only one melody, and that's already taking a lot from the submission. The one melody you used was very simple and quite weird too. The instant I heard it I frowned, since it wasn't really that interesting and it was just plain strange. I think you should try using a better chord progression, add more melodies, and give your melodies a bit more of a hook to them other than just 4 different notes played again and again. Also, the vocals at the beginning really sound weird and the fact that they were played so early in the song puts you off to listening the whole song. I think you should remove them, or at least make some sung vocals instead, because the ones you have now are really eerie and out of place, not to mention hard to understand.

The instruments, actually scratch that, the instrument, was some weird synth brass with a strange note attack time. The fact that it plays such a simple melody doesn't help much either. Firstly, I think you should change the instrument you're using. This sounds quite bad on its own, and the fact that the note attack times are longer in lower notes than in higher notes doesn't help either. Secondly, I think that you definitely need more than just one instrument. The fact that you're using one melodic instrument makes the song feel very empty, so to fill up that little background depth I'd suggest adding some pads or something. Besides, having one instrument by itself is boring anyway :\.

The transitions on the whole aren't TOO bad, although I really don't agree with the transition at 1:00-ish. The song just stops out of nowhere, and then a fade-in played by seemingly different instruments, or at least differently EQ'd instruments comes in. I'd suggest adding a crash cymbal over there to end that part, or just fade that part out, before moving on to the fade-in. You could also just remove that part, since adding a fade-in out of nowhere doesn't sound too good. Also, the instrument at 0:22 could have been introduced a bit more smoothly, such as with a reverse cymbal or a fade-in of that instrument, etc. The buildup/fade-in you did at the end was well executed, but the fact that it really didn't fit and seemed very out of place ruined it.

The structure, like a lot of aspects in this song, is quite strange. You start with an intro with vocals, yeah, but then you introduce an instrument out of nowhere, fading out the vocals, and then to make matters worse, you add a fade-in which didn't fit much with the submission. The variety isn't too good, since you only have one melody which keeps repeating itself, so as I said above, this definitely needs more melodies, and better melodies at that.

The intro is eerie. Namely the strange part of the intro is the fact that it starts with the vocals that really don't sound too good. Maybe you should take away the vocals altogether and add a simple drum buildup for the intro. As for the outro, the song feels as if it's not finished. The buildup leads you to believe that there's more to come, yet just at the end of the buildup, the song simply stops, which unfortunately doesn't provide such a good ending. Maybe you should go for the usual trance ending and add a crash/splash cymbal. Your call.

Strangely enough, behind the strange melody, strange synth, and strange vocals, there are some suprisingly well done drums. I think the drums were great. The beginning of the song had drums which were hard to keep track of, but from then on, the drums were enjoyable, so good job with that.

Overall, this is quite a unique submission but sadly it's more 'weird' unique, rather than 'wow this works' unique and I believe it needs a fair bit of work before it can be enjoyable. Sorry for the particularly harsh review :'(.
5/10
3/5

-Review Request Club-

TheSongSalad responds:

Thanks for the honest review man. This was really a one off submission I did when I got inspired to do it by something. Thanks for the really great review man.

[SN | Obscene Amounts of Steam]

YES!

Definitely your best track, man. I absolutely loved it, from beginning to end. I think your songs really got me interested in glitch/IDM :P. Excellent job, you excel at this genre, and every song of yours always has something fresh and new to keep your listeners interested.

The melodies, wow, as usual, your melodies are extraordinary. The melodies really set off the creepy and suspenseful atmosphere, and although they were only played by one instrument throughout the whole song, I never got tired of them. The beginning melody was very catchy, and from then on it evolved into so many different yet effective melodies that it left me amazed. You had a very good amount of different melodies, and I really liked the fact that throughout the song you switched between soft/calm and hectic so smoothly instead of keeping to hectic or keeping to soft, since it made the song very interesting. Yeah, nothing wrong with the melodies but then again, that's how it usually is with your songs anyway.

There was only one main instrument, but as I said, it never got repetitive since it played such awesome melodies. Maybe you could add more than just one distinguishable (unsure if that's a word) melodic instrument, but strangely enough the instrument you used gives itself its own depth and sounds great on its own. What I'm trying to say is, the song sounds great with one melodic instrument, although it wouldn't hurt to have 1 or 2 more. As for the atmosphere you evoked, it was brilliant. Again the crazy and glitched drums fit so well with the ambient melodies, and the atmosphere is beautiful. You could add a few more sound effects such as wind/steam effects (hence the song name) or you could throw in one of your awesome pitch bent vocal phrases if it doesn't ruin the atmosphere xD.

The transitions are great. As I said, this song had many changes from soft to hectic, so it's impressive that you managed to pull off such smooth transitions. The reverse cymbal you used provided some nice transitions too, and 1:26, although it may seem a little abrupt since it switches from loud to soft so suddenly, was actually a really awesome transition, and the echoed sweep complimented it well. I liked the buildup at the beginning, where it started with the main instrument, then the drums (or should I say fingers xD) came in, the main instrument and drums got more powerful and then with a reverse cymbal you reach the first climax of the song. Buildups and transitions are awesome.

The song structure is unique, and that's what I like about this song. It doesn't have any fixed chorus, but simply drifts away with different melodies, without sounding random. Variety was very good, so yeah, structure/variety-wise in this song is a win :D.

The intro was superb, as Darklight said. Still, I think a few nitpicks could improve the intro slightly. Maybe adding some long and reverbed sweep playing first, and then the melody comes in as the reverb of the sweep dies away. Maybe adding some other element to the intro such as a soft kick, wind or something close to a heartbeat could set off the mood too. Still, overall, awesome intro. Outro, as Darklight also said, was amazing, and I can't complain about it.

That percussion left me :O. The finger tapping at the beginning was insanely original, and added so much to the submission. Seriously, where do you come up with these ideas? The other drums were obviously out of this world. I mean, towards the end, the drums got so hectic and crazy that I had to listen to them more than once just to understand them xD. Yeah, drums are brilliant, what else is new?

Overall, I was really amazed. No wonder you think of this as your best submission, because I think it is, or maybe tied to 'Lost, But On Her Way' which was also an amazing track. Well whatever, keep up the great work, when it comes to glitch, you're the only one in the site who does it properly as far as I know. Sorry for the long review, it's sort of standing out in the middle of all the other short RRC ones xD.
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

SessileNomad responds:

i love your reviews long or short

while the track's name involves steam...i was focusing more on elements associated with steam, warmth, wetness, that kind of stuff, i thought of this track when i was taking a shower, and when i got out there was a ton of steam all over the bathroom, so yeah xD

i have another 'drumkit' set up with odd recorded precussives, you'll have to wait for that one though :)

last drumkit is the amenbreak, pretty common in this genre

lost but on her way is close, but it has some quality issues that i havn't addressed yet, but yeah they're pretty close

thanks for the review man, great review as always from you

peace

[.:A New Life v2:.]

It was terrible...

...Terrible that it lasted for such a short time, because damn, this is amazing! Yeah, I feel guilty reviewing this after I worked a little on it too, but what the heck, 99% of it was made by you and great job on that, because this seriously sounds superb, and if the Berklee guys don't like this song, then they must be mad. D: Brilliant work, this song is just epic!

The melodies are probably what make this piece shine the most. The melodies are simply beautiful. Loved the chord progression you used, it's a nice change from all of the generic chord progressions here on NG, and I was also impressed by the great harmonizing you did over here. I really liked the harp glissando and violion glissando at 1:20 and 1:34 respectively. They really added a lot to the submission and were great ways of introducing new instruments. 1:35 would probably be my favourite part from the whole song since it was so full of action and epic, complimented by the wonderful melodies and awesome harmony. The detache violins were a nice touch and really got the song to its climax, before calming down for the outro. Amazing job with the melodies!

The instruments, wow, what VST did you use? :P. OK, lame jokes aside, the instruments were perfect quality, as expected, and added a lot to the submission. I noticed a few EQing problems, but that's probably just good old Darklight not knowing the difference between EQing and twisting shiny knobs xD. Still, not much of a problem. Your instrument choice was extraordinary. Loved the pizzicatos at the beginning, they started the song up perfectly, and I also really enjoyed the strings you added, esepcially the high strings towards the end of the song which really set the mood. The harp was a nice addition, you could've added a little more of it in the song, although I doubt it'd be that easy. Piano was great, and the double bass added a good amount of depth to the song, so yeah, awesome job ^^.

The transitions are all smooth and flawless, and no transitions felt a little abrupt. At first I didn't like the transition at 2:03 since I felt it skipped from loud to soft too suddenly, but the more I heard it, the more I liked it, and it sounds fine now ^^. New instruments were introduced extremely well, and as Haggard said, the gradual buildup from the intro to 2:03 was fantastic. Perfect transitions, perfect introductions to new instruments, perfect buildup, do you do anything wrong??

The structure is extremely well done. Sort of how life starts small, but gets larger and larger until it gets to the end where it slowly fades away. It's a bummer that the song is so short, I suppose the new life you were talking about must've been a short life. The variety is very good, since you kept on introducing new elements to the song leaving the listener interested till the end. The background rarely changed, but I think that sort of joined each melody together to avoid making the song random, which was cool :).

The intro, as Darklight pointed out, was a great way to start the song up, and the pizzicatos immediately get the listener interested in the song. As for the ending, it was also perfect, and I can't find anything wrong with it, since as I said, it sort of depicts life fading away.

I'll leave the paragraph talking about the drums out, since I'd basically be criticising myself =/.

This is indeed an amazing song, and I really enjoyed it. The climax of the song is amazing, the melodies are beautiful, harmony is flawless, instrument choice is great, transitions, wow, buildup is awesome, structure and variety are superb, intro and outro are excellent and the drums are great. The only downfall is the fact that the song is so short. I don't know if you have some sort of limit for going in to Berklee, but if not, this song would really benefit being at least 3/4 of a minute longer. Other than that, songs like this are what the Audio Portal needs, if you could submit a version with the guitar too, that'd be great! Keep up the amazing work, have fun in Berklee xD.
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

GronmonSE responds:

I thought I used to get long reviews before but damn, this is a new record.

I think I'll just say "thanks for making the drums" awesome :3

Thanks for the super uber long review. I haven't made it to Berklee yet, cross your fingers!

[Aeon.]

Cool :)

Sorry to ruin your perfect 10 score, and I'm also sorry for taking so long to review back, but here's the review returned for reviewing my song "Land of Kings".
This an epic composition, and although it sounds a bit cluttered and as if it was made in a hurry, that's not much of a problem, since it sounds awesome!

The melodies are great. I liked the contrast between higher notes and lower notes of the strings, and the melodies towards the end were becoming really awesome and epic. Unfortunately, as you already know, this is rather short. I'm sure that this already-awesome submission would benefit a lot if you added at least 2 minutes to it. But still, it works as a loop and although I think it'd be awesome if you turn it into a song, I suppose it's not such a problem to stick with this as it is now ^^. The background depth and harmonization is superb, no problem there :). Well, yeah, no issues with the melodies, loved them!

The instruments are awesome quality, but you said you used East/West, so that's sort of expected :P. Maybe you could add a few more instruments, such as more woodwind instruments, and possibly a little more power on that brass, since I think you kept the strings as the main instrument a bit too much, and I always enjoy classical songs which incorporate a variety of different instrument as the instrument carrying the melody, so possibly when/if you make this longer, you could add some woodwind solos, some parts where the strings skip to the background and the brass becomes the main instrument, etc. But it could be me, I'm a fan of brass :P.

The transitions on the whole are great, but the only transition I don't agree with is the one at 0:29-ish. It seems to skip from loud to soft almost out of nowhere and really abruptly, so perhaps by slowly building the song down you could make a smoother transition to the softer and calmer part. Or you could just remove it and continue with a really epic part, since after that very powerful buildup from 0:17-ish to 0:29, I expected some epic climax, but instead it just skipped to calm, which was rather anti-climatic. Still, other than that transition, transitions on the whole were great ^^. New instruments were introduced well, and the buildups in this song were extremely epic and well-executed, and it's the buildups that shine in this song, IMO.

I can't really say much about the structure since this is a 37-second loop, but it was a pretty good structure. The intro plays, it does a long buildup, skips to soft and does another smaller buildup. There were some anti-climatic parts, but the structure was decent on the whole. Variety was superb, nothing to complain about, since the submission never got even slightly repetitive. The intro was a slight bit abrupt, but that's expected because this is a loop. It was a pretty smooth loop too, although maybe you gave the buildup at the end a tad too much power, since yet again the loop from the powerful buildup to the intro was slightly anti-climatic.

The drums are really impressive. There weren't many different types of drum sounds, but the drum sounds that you had were great and fit well with each other. The drums were also nicely synchronized and lined-up with the melody and rhythm, adding to the powerful and epic buildups thoughout the song. The drums were also very well varied. If I had to say anything about the drums, it'd be that I think that (at the beginning of the loop, mostly) the drums were a little too quiet. Other than that tiny defect, I think the drums are perfect and the drums and melodies seem right at home with each other.

Overall, it's really impressive for a small loop. You had loads of variety in the drums and melodies, the instruments were awesome quality, and the melodies themselves were well done, played along excellent harmonization and background depth. Just a few defects make me give you a 9, but keep up the great work, and thanks again for reviewing my submission! Oh, and sorry if there are any typos, I'm in a hurry and can't re-read my review.
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

Animith responds:

Well first...wow, thanks for the awesomest review I'll ever likely receive. Don't even BEGIN to apologise for ruining my score or anything crazy like that; given the amount of advice you've given I wouldn't have minded you giving me a 2.

I'm definitely thinking about expanding this into a fuller song when I have the chance to, and if/when that gets accomplished there'll be a lot more instruments/changes between them. I just didn't want to have too many changes in so short a loop in case it just ended up being a little jumpy and cluttered.

I'd have given the brass a more obvious part, but it got to a point where I couldn't think of a way to get it back to a loop-able level, which is why the end transition is so quiet in comparison; I needed to get the song back to a quieter dynamic. Of course the saner solution to this would have been expanding it into a song, but instead I chose to make a trade-off between climax and loopability. When I revisit this I'll definitely give the buildups of the song more justice than they're given here.

And the drums are a little too quiet, but I couldn't seem to get the levels right for the beginning; they either seemed too quiet or they totally dominated over the strings. And yay that this wasn't repetitive! That's always been something of a huge problem for me...though I guess it's hard even for a repetitive person to be that repetitive in the space of 40 seconds :P

Thanks again for taking the time to write this epic review. I really, really appreciate all the advice and pointers you've given.

[Zeviron - Guilded City]

Awesome, but needs variety...

I really liked this submission, although it does have its defects. Still, it's really fun to listen to, and has such a fast and action-packed rhythm that you can't NOT enjoy listening to this. Good job! Lol, sounds like a song from ParagonX9 :P.

The melodies are what impressed me most in this submission. They were so catchy and fast-paced, and I really enjoyed listening to them. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a fan of all of the sidechaining you did in this song. The song sounds pretty cluttered and it occasionally gets a bit hard to listen to the melody properly when the drums are always in the way and making the melodies bounce from soft to loud and loud to soft all the time. Also, in my opinion, this badly needs alternate melodies. Although the melody you have is brilliant, it still gets repetitive like any other melody. Add a few more melodies, since around one melody with a few changes isn't enough to last for almost 3 and a half minutes, even though the melody is catchy and well-made. I mean, if you can make such a good main melody, I'd love to hear what you can do with alternate melodies too.

The synths are excellent, IMO. They had that 'Video-Game'-ish sound to them, which I really liked, and I'm sure this'll fare really well in some vertical shooter. The main synth was very cool, and I also liked the square synth you added, pl8us the synth at around 1:50-ish was awesome. Maybe you could add some more pads, specifically bass pads, since at times I think this song slightly lacks depth, although it could just be me. Other than that small nitpick, I think the synths are very good and the synth choice was amazing. The sound effect at 2:34 was also really, really cool, and added a lot to that transition. When it comes to the synths and effects, I don't really have much to complain about, although perhaps you could add some more effects, such as sweeps, and a well-timed vocal sample saying something catchy in a robotic voice might be cool. Still, good job with the instruments/effects ^^.

The transitions on the whole are excellent, althought at times some reverse cymbals or sweeps would help out in some transitions to stop them from possibly being abrupt or too sudden. The only transition I'm not too sure about would be the one at 1:49, when that crash sort of comes out of nowhere with an abrupt transition. Maybe, although I'm not too sure about this, if you add a little tempo change when the song goes slower for a like 2 seconds and then speeds up, just before that transition at 1:49, the crash cymbal might be a bit more 'expected' if you get what I mean. New instruments were introduced pretty well, but what impressed me quite a lot were the buildups. I LOVED the buildup at the beginning, and the buildup at 1:49 onwards was extremely well executed.

The structure is very good, and I can't complain about it, but as I said above, one melody with a few changes is definitely not enough variety, so more variety would be great. I really liked the break at 1:50, maybe you could add some more breaks, or maybe some key changes and ambient parts when the song goes slower and calmer. Things like these help with the variety. Intro was great, and the buildup made it even better, but as for the ending, it was quite abrupt and sudden. You had a good idea, but the fact that it's abrupt ruins it a little, and it also could do with an ending note. Maybe you could add a ritardando at the end, and then a final note along with the crash...

The drums were decent, except that they sidechained everything so much, which was annoying. Samples were pretty good, if not slightly generic, and although the beat was simple, it did the job well ^^. The drums were a bit weak for this song, though, maybe you should make them more powerful and aggressive. Still, not bad percussion work :).

Overall, it's a great song, with a cool melody, but variety is the main problem here. I believe that if you vary your songs more, you'll be one of the best artists on NG, so work on that a little. Keep it up, though!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-