Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cast From the Stars]

Yeah, definitely epic :D

Loved it. Really great job, it sounds great, and shows how hard you worked on it.

The melodies are really well done, and sound great, especially the guitar melody and the melody towards the end. The instruments were what really impressed me over here, they were so varied and awesome. The only instrument I didn't like was the one at 0:52, and also that part needs some more fullness to it with maybe some soft bass in the background or a kick drum every beat.

The transitions, as the other reviews said, were out of this world. The melodies fit so well with each other, and the reverse cymbals and drum rolls here were great. New instruments were introduced excellently, and everything flowed together nicely. The structure was great too, and this was so well varied too; it never got boring.

The intro was awesome, and the buildups from then on were great, and the ending wasn't too bad, but needs much more silence at the end of it since it felt like a badly looped loop as it is now, and maybe you could add some delay at the end or a lot of reverb, just something to fill in a bit of the silence at the end so it can feel more like an ending and not a sudden stop.

The drums were awesome, and quite varied too. Amazing drum samples which fit really well to the song. I like how you introduced them earlier around the song and making them never come in too suddenly or anything, which helped the flow of the song a lot.

In all, an above-average song which sounds really good; just some problems regarding the ending, and one of the instruments. Fix those, and you get a 10 from me (although it's too late now XP).
9/10
5/5 - and I might 5-bomb this a little because of the 0-bombing :\.
Download.

-Review Request Club-

Bracksta responds:

wow, another awesome review from the review request club! Thank you so much for the tips and great advice, peace

[[dj-Jo] Contingency of Music]

Epic XD

Loved it. Quite an original idea, and it shows that you have some great genre skills.

The melodies are awesome, especially the drum'n'bass and trance ones. The house melody was nothing really amazing and the ambient melody was a little generic, but apart from that, the melodies were great. All the instruments fit perfectly with the song and sound great, too. In general, excellent melodies and instruments.

The transitions from genre to another were excellently done, and I don't see why people complained. My only concern over here is that you should vary the transitions from one to another sometimes, like one genre plays and then fades into the next, instead of starting a new genre so suddenly. Still, the drum rolls used here were great and nothing felt off here. Obviously, this is very well varied, so it never got boring, and the structure was fine too, even though this constantly changes genre. Very nice intro with the bass, but the ending had ended in a wrong note, and felt as if there were more notes to go.

The drums were excellently varied, and I heard no fixed drum beat which got repetitive or anything. Good drums in the house section, but that's expected from house anyway. I just think that the kick in the hardstyle section should be a little harder.

To conclude; it's an original and awesome song. Has some problems, but the advantages outweigh them. Great job! :D
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

[[dj-Jo] Drum Acerbity]

Not one of your best.

It's a really good song, but I'd expect a little more from you.

The melody did have some notes which sound a little wrong in my opinion, especially the 6th note you played, and the 12th one. I dunno, they just felt wrong, in my opinion. On the other hand, the instruments were great, especially the one in the beginning, and the guitar you used here sounds very Goukisan-ish :P. The quote was awesome, but I think you should add a small reverse cymbal before the melody starts again.

The transitions, as usual, were awesome. Nice buildups, drum rolls, etc. Good ways of introducing new instruments too. This is a little repetitive though. It's practically the same melody all the time with maybe a few changes here and there. Good structure though. I liked the intro, and the buildup after was really good. The ending, although slightly on the strange side, was fine as well, but it ended in almost exactly the same way as at 0:55, so either at 0:55 you change the note it uses, or you change the ending, since in the ending, you expected it to continue like it did at 0:55, which I think is what Fro means by 'it shouldn't have ended yet'.

The drums were awesome, but that's the AmenBreak, so I can't expect any less. Still, you made some nice buildups with it here and there.

In general, it's OK, but definitely not your best. Still, it's a nice song, keep up the great work :D.
8/10
5/5 for harsh 0-bombing.

-Review Request Club-

[[dj-Jo] Raving Zombies]

Whoa... here comes a long review ^^.

Whoa. One of the most powerful songs I ever heard on Newgrounds. Amazing job, you captured the essence of zombies XD.

The melodies sound all much more zombie-ish in a minor key, which is what you've done, so I can't complain. Very nice melodies in general. My only complaint over here is the piano at 0:36; it needed more fullness to it. I suggest adding accompaniament in the bass of the piano, and maybe some chords. It felt a little strange on its own. The instruments chosen were excellent for the name, especially the one that first appears at 0:17, which sounds a little like a piano (although it probably is). The melody you used there does feel slightly familiar, but it's really evil-sounding, and out of this world. Outworldly effects used here, as well. Did you find those zombie groans on the Internet or something? They sound so... real. All the other effects you used here were really good too, but what impressed me most were those awesome zombie groans. Melodies, effects and instruments are a big win in this song.

The transitions were amazing, especially those drum transitions. There were some very clever ways of introducing new instruments over here. Amazing song structure. There wasn't really a fixed chorus over here, but it still didn't feel random. Excellent variety too. The intro is the best intro I've ever heard, especially since it fits so well with the name. At first I thought 'Uh oh, a sudden saw synth at the beginning. Here comes a boring saw buildup -.-', but then the drums, effects and instruments came in so powerfully, I noticed I was wrong. Clever way to end it to. Usually I complain about endings that don't have a proper ending note to them, but not this one. The gun reload was a clever thing to do, and the gun shot and groan ended the song very well. It's good that you didn't add much silence to the end, it would've ruined the powerful and awesome feel of this song.

The drums were so good. Percussive hits, drum rolls, amazing beats, fantastic samples, great variety, perfect drums. They fit really well with the song too, and gave the song that powerful feel to it.

An almost flawless song. Just an annoying part at 0:36 which felt so weak compare to the power of the rest of the song, but apart from that, you've got a perfect song over here. A little short, but then again, so is the life span of zombies, so great job. Man, one more song like this, and you're going straight to my favourite artists list. Sorry for the long review, I like making them when I enjoy a song :P. Amazing job, keep it up! XD.
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

dj-Jo responds:

Holly crap man!

This song is kinda old too XD.

Really glad you enjoyed and song.

I have a sequel song to this one too.

Its call Raving Egyptians
But I'm submitting that one to the Electronic EP #2

Wish me luck!

[Tattoo (Trance Mix)]

Yuck, vocals

I never really like songs with vocals with them, but that's just my taste; I can't lower your score just because of that. In general, it's an awesome song.

I don't know if you were the one who made the melodies in the background, but I must say, they're excellent. Very nice choice of instruments too, they fit really nicely with the vocals, which are obviously nice quality. I think the part around 0:50 was slightly too quiet. I know it was a buildup, but in my opinion it's better if you either start the buildup with the volume louder, or you lessen how long the buildup is. Also, I'd suggest adding a piano in this, I think it could fit really well with the vocals in some parts.

The transitions were godly. All the melodies fit so well together, and the drum rolls you did and the effect transitions all help make this song flow together so awesomely. Really amazing structure too, you made it clear where the chorus was with the melodies and instruments you used in the background, and this song isn't repetitive, actually the opposite, very well varied and awesome. Very nice intro, I always like the intros which start with a percussive boom. Really amazing ending as well, one of the best I've heard on newgrounds.

The drums were one of the best parts of this song. They were varied quite well, the drum beats were nice, they made great transitions, were just the right loudness and had some really amazing samples. No problems concerning the drums. Perfect.

In all, a very good remix. As I said, the vocals kind of ruin it for me since I prefer instrumental songs, but they sound really good with the song. I can barely find any flaws in this: great job!
10/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

[The Outsiders]

Nice :)

Never heard trip-hop before, but now I get an awesome first impression ^^. Nice job :D.

The melodies were what impressed me quite a lot in this track. The instruments sounded very unique as well, but awesome at the same time. The bass was very catchy as well, and I enjoyed it. Nice melody at the beginning too. In general, the melodies and instruments sound like someone infiltrating a building or something, which is fine with me.

The transitions were great, and nothing felt wrong. Every melody flowed really well with the next. Nice song structure as well. I just think that this gets much too repetitive. Still, as you said to Fro, that's what the genre is about, I guess, so it isn't really your fault. Really awesome intro; it started the song up extremely well, and the key change before the end was epic. The fade fit quite well with this song too.

Really amazing drums. They got slightly repetitive in parts, but were just the right loudness, and could be heard clearly without messing up the song. Extremely good samples too, and the drum beats were nice as well. My only complaint was that throughout the song there was a sort of static-like noise which got quite annoying.

Overall, a really nice track, especially since it's your first try at a new genre. Keep up the awesome work, you could make a great trip-hop artist :D.
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

LightKeeper responds:

Hey thanks a lot man. It's amazing what a little bit of delay can do for your tracks that's really what helped with the melodies. As for the static, it was probably the saws I used to counteract the rest of the "pretty" feeling of the song.

Thanks for the long review. :) Getting reviews like these are always nice.

[Adagio For Strings Cover]

Nice :D

Really nice cover, it sounds great.

I've never heard Adagio For Strings, but the melody it has is quite catchy, and you performed it quite well over here. The instruments used here were great and chosen very well. Melodies and instruments are great :).

The transitions were awesome too, and everything flowed together nicely. Fantastic structure over here too. The intro was quite good as well, but the ending bothered me a little. It ended much too suddenly, since it did a huge buildup which resulted in just an echo for an ending. You should try and end it with a crash cymbal and loud ending note or something.

The drums were nothing too special, but the snare rolls you did over here were great and made superb transitions. I liked the faded cymbals that first appear at 1:22.

I don't really have much to say about this track. It's a great song, but the ending is what really needs fixing over here. The rest was OK.
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

[I am Sad]

:\...

Nothing really that special, but I did laugh a little, so you get some points for a funny song ^^.

The melodies are quite strange, especially the one that starts playing at 0:10. It just didn't really agree with me. The melody at the end was pretty good. The instruments are kind of strange too, like the one at about 0:10. I don't know if it was supposed to sound like a square synth, but it didn't do such a good job. The instrument at the end was kind of strange too and didn't fit with all the other instruments. It sounded a bit like the computer-rendered voice, although it probably was. Either that, or a very deformed accordian... I like how you combined it with the 'I'm so sad' at the end. The lyrics were pretty funny, so I'm not going to lower the score because they sound awful, but judge them because of their humour.

The transitions were fine, one of the good things about this song. All the melodies fit well together, and this wasn't that repetitive. The intro was fine, but I think you introduced the deformed square synth a little too early. The ending wasn't bad, but what made it good was how you comined it with the melody before, as I said, which made it sound pretty good.

The drums were the best thing about this song, since they were quite well varied, had great samples, and the drum beat was introduced really well. Drums are a win.

In all, it's a funny song, which is why you get a high score from me. Still, you asked for constructive criticism, and that's what you got ^^. Not a bad job in general.
7/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

Scrototype responds:

Thanks for your long detailed review! Once I learn how to tweak synths a little more I'll get that melody fixed. What I worked on most with this song was the transitions so I'm glad you liked them, I didn't really spend that much time on the melodies because I really just wanted to release the song and see how people liked the beats. I hope to go back to this song later in the year to fix some of the things you mentioned. I'm glad you thought it was funny, not many other people did. Again, thanks for the review it helps me a lot knowing what I need to fix!