Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

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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!

[.:When Sadness Builds Up.2:.]

Almost perfect!

I quite enjoyed this :D. Really not bad at all ^^.

The melodies are a win. If I had to go through this song, I wouldn't dare touch these awesome melodies. I especially liked the melody 0:43. Very nice choice of intruments too, but there were really just two or three instruments playing at the same time mostly in this song, so adding another instrument, maybe some alternate melody with a plucked instrument at 0:43, to give it a maybe more climatic feel.

The transitions were excellent for a small song like this. I was impressed by the drum transition you did at about 0:41. The structure is really good as well, and it never got repetitive. The intro started the song very nicely, and had a catchy melody to it as well. Still, when I was reading your Author's Comments, I expected this to be a loop. As a song, it sounds OK, but I think you should add more melodies between the beginning and 1:11, and then take away the stuff from 1:11 onwards, and loop it, if you want it to loop. It'd match much more to what you said in the Author's Comments.

The drums were very good and varied. I especially liked the drums at the beginning, and the effect you did at around 0:57. The drum samples were excellent as well, and they fit really well with the song. I just think the drums that appear at around 0:14 were slightly too loud and I could barely hear the melody.

In all, a nice little track, with awesome melodies, instruments, transitions, intro and drums, but adding another plucked instrument, lessening the drums at 0:14 and maybe making it loop would help a little. In general, good job, keep it up :D.
9/10
5/5

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[2'29'']

Quiet...

It's pretty good, but a lot of aspects of this song were just too quiet.

The melodies were, well, quiet, and I couldn't hear them, not to mention the instruments which although fit very, very well with melodies, were actually quite quiet.

The transitions... well, some were too quiet, but the good news is nothing felt wrong in the song, and everything flowed so well. The intro was OK, but similar to the rest of the song, and the ending was actually just as good as the intro, if not a tad too quiet. Oh, and I think you should remove a bit of the silence at the end; there was much too much silence.

The percussion over here was actually quite good, and didn't disrupt the flow of the song. My only concern is that it's just a little, yeah, you guessed it, quiet.

In all, it's an OK song, but needs work concerning the loudness of it. It's just too...................... quiet. Still, you get a 10/10 for effort! ^^.
10/10
5/5
Download - heh, as if :P.

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Haggard responds:

Lol, nice review, thanks.

Yeah, I agree it's too quiet, but if I turn up the volume there will be statics, which kinda ruin the song. :P

[(FMC) -=Edge of the Unive]

Arps FTW! XD

Wow, this song is amazing. Really good job, on it, I enjoyed it a lot.

The melodies are definitely some of the most awesome melodies I've heard before. They sound excellent, especially the one that came at around 0:54. Excellent instrument choice as well, they sound very Video-Game-ish, and the arps sound fantastic. Instruments and melodies match up very well with each other, excellent job. My only complaint over here is that some of the melodies are much too quiet, especially the one at 0:54, and what's supposed to be the background melody is covering up the main melody.

Really great transitions: all of the melodies and instruments were introduced excellently and very professionally. The effects you used here made nice transitions too. The only problem concerning the transitions is that the snare roll at around 2:18 sounded much too glitchy and completely ruined the awesome feel of the song. It's nice to have some snare rolls like that around songs but the way the snares were played sounded really strange. Instead, you could either make a less glitchy-sounding, or remove the snares completely and a reverse cymbal instead.

I really liked the intro, I haven't heard an intro like that before, and it didn't feel like it started too suddenly or anything. The ending was superb as well. Fade endings usually sound awful and boring, but this one seemed to represent the fact that the universe is infinite, or that we haven't found an end to it yet, and what's more, it was quite well done too, and the long sweep effect at the end fit with the fade very well too.

I liked the drums over here as well. They had some really good transitions (apart from that snare roll, yuck :P), and although are simple, they fit really well with the song. Really good samples over, here, especially that kick; it sounds great.

In conclusion, this song is really awesome, with only the two problems that the melody is too quiet and the snare roll was too glitchy. Other than that, everything else was perfect. Keep up the amazing work ^^.
10/10
5/5
Download.

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FunkmasterCatking responds:

Thanks!

You've got a good ear, that snare roll is actually one long sample that I cut to fit that transition. I didn't really do anything to it, which probably why it seems to stand out. I'll try to tweak it a little to sound better, or just get rid of it like you said.

Lol, I actually replaced the kick at the last second. I'm glad I did, it really does make the whole thing sound a lot better.

Thanks for the review!

[SN |Of Stars...| SN]

Here comes another 9 XD

Great job on this. It sounds really well done, even though you threw it together really quickly.

The first thing I thought of when I heard the piano was 'Wow, fantastic melody'. I enjoyed the melodies a lot over here, especially the small piano solo that came towards the end. Instruments were really nice as well, but I was expecting some high bells or something to depict the picture of stars. I think that if you do add some high bells, they could fit pretty well at the beginning of the song. Still, all the other instruments fit with the name and felt right at home in this song.

Awesome transition work over here. I liked the transition at 0:26, and in general, the melodies matched well with each other. Really good structure as well, and it didn't get repetitive either. The intro was quite good, although as I said before, some high bells, and maybe some wind chymes which play right when a new note is played would make it sound better. The ending was a little abrupt too, as THS1984 said. I think it'd be better if you remove the last five notes, and end song with a sweep or effect of some sort.

The drums were not really too special, and they kind of were introduced a little too suddenly, so if you could add a buildup where the drum beat gets from soft to loud, softest part at 0:26 and loudest at 0:31, it might sound a little better, since I think the drums should be a little more flowing in a song that has to do with stars. On the bright side, the drum samples were very good.

In general, a really good track, with great instruments, melodies and transitions. Keep up the great work :D.
9/10
5/5

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SessileNomad responds:

bells are actually a thought that didnt occur to me, but is a really good one, im actually surprised i didnt think of that

i almost did have a little part where some drums were starting quite and rising in volume, but ive been doing that in alot of my ambient tracks and i was kind trying to diversify my tunes

plus i made this in like 2 hours or somthing

i wanted the ending to be abrupt, even though its probably a musically unwise choice for a piece like this

a nine is good enough for me :)

thanks for the review dude

peace out

SessileNomad

[Dark_Awakeining [Box-Killa]]

4 hours only? Impressive...

Really nice job, and since you only managed to do it in 4 hours, that impressed me quite a bit. Realy good job!

I really enjoyed the melodies you used over here, and they fit quite well with the name. My favourite melody was at around 1:19. The choice of instruments was decent, but I think you should take away the piano. It has some really nice melodies to it, but didn't fit too well with the name, and disrupted the feel you get after hearing the other instrumenst. Also, the bass at around 0:52, although was quite cool, was much too loud.

The transitions were great, especially the drum rolls you used here, and in general the song had quite smooth transitions. I just didn't like transition at around 1:45. The piano was introduced much too suddenly, and I think you should do one piano note at around 1:44, which is the same as the one at about 1:46, and then the piano starts (*sniff*, I'm no good at explaining...).

The intro was very well done and started the song really well, and the drum buildup after was excellent. The ending was what bothered me a little over here. It ended on the wrong note and quite strangely. Just one more note and it would've sounded great. Try and grab the note you did at about 2:32 and use that as the final note but one octave higher (I assume you use FL Studio; select the note with the selector tool, and press Ctrl + [Up Arrow Key] to move it up an octave). If I'm hearing the note right, it should sound better. (Told you I'm bad at explaining =[ ).

The drum beat you made here was awesome, and in all, the drums were very nicely varied. They had some good transitions, and fit really well with the song. As for the drum samples, I don't really like the snare. Try using the snare similar to the one you used in your submission 'Pirates_go_ahhrrrr_{flux}'. That one was great.

Overall, a really good song, with just a few flaws here and there. Excellent job, this song is awesome. Keep it up.
9/10
5/5
Download.

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[Fredgy - Dream Away]

Very nice :D.

Really good job on it. I enjoyed it loads XD.

The melodies are very well done, and sound really awesome. I was looking for more variation of instruments, though, I only heard a saw synth and a piano-like instrument. Still, the instruments used here sound really nice and fit well together. I think you should make some parts where a piano plays a solo which is a little more high-pitched, or maybe add some chimes or high bells or something in some parts, so the song can sound more dream-ish. Really amazing use of sound effects over here, though.

Transitions were extremely well done, and everything flowed really well. I liked the effect you used at around 0:23, it switched from a calm melody to a louder melody really well. What really impressed me over here are the build ups and the different changes that the song goes through. Good drum build up at the beginning, and I like how you changed the sound of the instruments at around 3:26, and at the end. My only complaint is that the melody was overused quite a bit and it got repetitive. I'd suggest adding some more alternate melodies to play instead of the main melody sometimes, or shortening the song by taking away the repetitions. Nice vocal sample at 1:19, it sounded great and didn't disrupt the flow of the song.

I really liked the intro, it started the song up very well with the buildups, but the ending was a little strange. Overall, it wasn't bad, but in my opinion it needs more of an ending note to it. You should end it with a long ending note, and maybe the effect you used at about 2:16.

The drums were one of the best things about this song. As I said before, they had great buildups, and they're really well varied, have great samples, and fit really well with the song. Nothing to complain about over here, drums were perfect.

Anyway, in all, this is one awesome song. Keep up the great work, and great job on this.
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

Fredgy responds:

haha cool, i'll look at it ^^
glad you like it ;)
btw, i didn't use only one saw synth
i used like 5 synth's for making that sound :) :p

[Super Mega Hyper Idea Mas]

Heh, you wanted a long review?

Yeah, you guessed it. I'm not the kind of one-line reviewer, so I'm going to comment on each and every one of the interesting ones. (Let's hope the character limit helps me out here...)

'Idea 184': Those pan flutes sound really amazing. Nothing to complain about here. It sounds difficult to make a song out of, but sound great as it is :D.

'Bunnyinspired': One really catchy melody, and the guitarish melody you use in the background harmonized perfectly. You could definitely make a song out of this one, if you get the inspiration.

'Your Journey': Now this one is my favourite. It sound so well done, and even though it's only a small melody, I can imagine this as an amazing song. Some strings could help over here.

'footstepsofbunnies': I didn't hear the original, but this sounds quite familiar. Doesn't sound anything like footstepsofbunnies O_o.

'elmtail_idea2': Not too bad. The choirs sound excellent, but I suggest some male choirs in the background to give a mighty feel to the song.

'Elmtail': Not one of the catchier melodies you made, but it sounds OK. Strings, like in 'Your Journey', could work out here too.

'pokemon_trailer': A little quiet, and I was looking for more of a buildup with the instrument that was playing the main melody, maybe getting a bit louder, and have some drums in the background too. That is, if by some miracle you want to continue it :P.

'HP_TheArena': The piano flows vey nicely in this song. You could add something a little more impressive than just a kick every 2 beats.

'Mountain_Flowers_rmx': Wow, this sounds really good. If you're planning on making a mellow mix of Mountain Flowers (which would be awesome. The original has too many loud saw synths >[ ) this is a great start. The notes after don't sound exactly like the original, but maybe that was intentional.

'idea286': This is quite short, but it sounds like a really good transition to use in a future song. Needs a bit more fullness to it, IMO.

'quasm': Lol.

'ryanide_wingsofbluefire': I didn't hear the original, so I can't compare this to that, and probably if I google it, the only preview will be on youtube, which doesn't work on my hunk of junk; sorry, computer. Anyway, this needs a bit more fullness in it, but overall it sounds ok. I'd suggest some heavy piano chords in the background.

'twoheroesvillage': Can't critique this. You already made it into a song, and it rocks.

'UniversalRisermx': I didn't hear the original of this either, but the remix you did sounds cool. Nothing to complain over there ^^.

'redwallthemething': Sounds really good. Needs some more instruments in it, but the flute melody sounds very well done. Good job.

'redwalltheme2': Hey, this sounds quite good when paired with the one before it. Maybe you could try and combine them into a song?

'idea 138': Slightly strange, and I don't really think you can make a song out of it, but if you do, I suggest more synths in the background.

'idea 164': A little too slow and dull, but doesn't sound too bad. A fast drum beat might make it have a seemingly faster rythm, if you don't want to increase the tempo.

'idea 169': Definitely needs more fullness to it, if you're aiming for ambient. It sounds fine, but needs a synth in the background which sounds good when playing long notes.

'idea173': Sounds really awesome. I don't blame you about not being able to turn it into a song, I can't seem to think of a way either.

'idea204': I don't think you stole it. Sounds original to me. Plus, it doesn't sound too bad.

'idea239': A more climatic melody with loud drums and some choir voices and you have a perfect battle melody ^^.

'idea251': You scrapped the song? :(. I'm sure it would've sounded fine. I like the melody you used over here.

'idea269': 324 unnamed ideas? Wow... This one sounds pretty awesome, especially in a menu theme for a game or something.

Phew, just made it through the character limit. Nice job on it overall.
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

And the limit ends right... over... here......

ErikMcClure responds:

You suck :C

'bunnyinspired' Yeah, but i lost it

'stupidbunniesthing' Its the most ridiculously generic trance melody ever.

'Mountain_Flowers_rmx' - The change in notes is deliberate, yes, but I had no idea what to do for the rest of the song. The intro works, but then it just dies.

'idea286' - its an IDEA for gods sake

'redwalltheme2' - I doubt combining them, but they are related.

'idea251' - I got sick of it. It was trying too hard to sound cool

'idea269' - technically its about 302 since many of them ended up getting finished and given names

So shouldn't we put this here as like, the longest song description ever and the longest review ever? :P

[~BH~ The Rain Never Stops]

The rain never stops... neither do my reviews :P

Wow. Your emotional songs are always amazing. You've made another awesome one...

I really like that melody. The strings' melody is very well done, and the piano is just epic. I liked the melody you used at 1:32. My only suggestion here is that you could maybe add some heavier or more full chords with in some parts of the song. When it comes to the instruments, as usual, amazing choice. I lost track of when there was a choir playing, and when there were strings playing, since I was too busy hearing how superb this is, but I honestly never heard a choir sound so good in a song. Excellent job on the melodies and instruments, they both sound great for a song like this. The rain effect gave the song a nice touch.

Really, really nice transitions. The melodies flowed very well, and I liked the sweep/reverse cymbal/whatever it is effect you first used at 0:15 to move from one melody to another. It seemed to represent wind gushes, which are usually present in rainy weather. The structure of the song is really good as well. Nice job with the intro. You could hear the rain clearly, along with the piano, and they sounded excellent together. Impressive buildup afterwards too. I loved the ending as well. I don't really recognise which instrument you used, since you only used it over there I think, but it sounds very good, and I wish I saw more of it in the song. I think you could've kept the rain going on a little longer, too.

There isn't much percussion around here, but the little that's used is just enough. I liked the kicks you used in the background, they were not too soft, but not loud enough to interfere with the main melody or get annoying. Some shakers in a few parts of the song might help out a little, but it's just a suggestion. Drums as they are now are excellent.

In conclusion, here we have another example of pure awesomeness. I think Lost in the Storm was a little better, but this one still is fantastic as well. Keep up the utterly amazing work; I won't give up till I've reviewed just about all of your masterpieces. Congrats for receiving one of the longest reviews I've ever written O_o.
10/10
5/5
Download.

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ErikMcClure responds:

I've seen longer :P

thanks :D

[Reasoner- Living Transparent]

You didn't make this...

Oh no, you definitely didn't make this. You crafted it out of the very essence of godly music (Ugh, how cheesy). Simply amazing. 0.0

Those melodies are unbeatable, are very calming, catchy, beautiful and all the other good things a melody could be. All the different melodies matched up so well with each other. I definitely can't begin to explain how purely epic these tunes are. The harmony was amazing too, and this sounds like something Mozart or Beethoven made, if not BETTER.

The transitions were simple yet flowed so well in the song. Nothing felt off in the song, and all of the ritenutos, quiet notes and louder notes and variation just added to the indescribable greatness of this song. I thouroughly enjoyed the slow and soft part that comes in at around 3:05. I absolutely loved the intro, it was a really nice melody to start with, and the ending was very good too, if not slightly strange. There was a lot of silence after, but I feel as though the above-average amount of silence fit very well with the song, strangely. It's really wierd, but when I heard the silence at the end, I can still imagine that piano playing those amazing melodies in my head. THIS SONG IS MESSING WITH MY MIND!! :P

There's not much more I can say about this. With just a piano, you can create such a masterpiece. Keep up the terrific work!!
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd.

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