Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Utopia - NGADM '13 Entry]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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The song instantly starts with quite a beautiful melody that I think might be at least partially inspired by the fantastic Lord of the Rings main motif (although might not be). The piano sound is very soothing as well, and the strings are wonderfully warm! The whole atmosphere of this is very uplifting and I'm relieved to hear that you put in dynamic changes too, with smooth transitions on the whole (although I think you hyped up the 2:29 transition a bit too much since what followed ended up sounding a tad bit anticlimactic). This is great cinematic stuff that certainly has film score qualities to it.

There are a few issues scattered throughout the song, most of which were already mentioned by johnfn. The piano's quick notes at 2:07's and 3:36's section felt out of place, and the mix gets very muddy and full up during the louder sections, doubtlessly due to you having such massive and loud string chords playing. Another tiny complaint is that I'm not a big fan of your minor chord choice at 1:43 and all similar occurrences (but this is probably personal preference). One final problem this track has, however, is that apart from the main melody (which might have been focused on a bit too much for comfort), the melodic content in this track is a bit unsatisfactory.

That being said, this was a fantastic listening experience on the whole. Good job.

Score: 8.1/10

papkee responds:

Wow. Coming from one of the masters that means a lot.

Prepare for insta-hate, but I've actually never seen Lord of the Rings. *braces for impact*

Most of my melodies kinda just go something like this.
-*random notes all over the piano*
-Hey, that sounded cool
-song.exe

One of my biggest problems is and always has been melodic variation. Using FL Studio's patterns really makes it quite easy to "reuse" sections; something that is a very bad habit in my opinion. I have a lazy tendency to just copy whole sections over without thinking, which makes a track lose expression like nothing else.

Thanks for the great review, and keep pumping out amazing things.

[Come to Reality]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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Definitely one of the longest submissions we've ever had on the NGADM (if not the longest). The sheer effort, ambition and length of it all is already something to admire. What I like is that even though its length can be an almost irresistable temptation to just churn out riff after riff without any kind of decent structure, but you make controlled but effective use of repetition to keep things sounding sensible. The synth and orchestra works really well too. You've got some standout things in this track like how you introduce and progress the riff at 2:13, already managing to highlight the importance of that riff by giving it such hefty focus when it's introduced. Guitar-playing is solid too.

I have two pretty major problems with this. First off, I feel that there aren't many impressive melodies in here, with a large portion of the track focusing on simply chugging or ripping out quick solos that seem to focus more on marketing your skill with the guitar and less on sounding memorable. This consequently makes this track sound ultimately forgettable at times. The parts that are more memorable are in fact the slower parts, which involve more instrumentation than just a guitar and drums, and showcase your compositional skill far more. The other issue is that the production isn't quite up to par. The drums in particular are suitably varied, but weak in sound. The track in general just lacks oomph, with there being a pretty large amount of unused headroom in the waveform. This obviously isn't me asking for some brickwalled crap, but considering that the track retains a very consistent dynamic level, it would have been far more impressive had that headroom been used to create more dynamic variety (and increase the power of those drums).

I'm giving this a 7.7 for being such a long, content-filled and mostly enjoyable listening experience, with some great ideas and guitar-playing. Work on the issues I mentioned though!

Score: 7.7/10

Metallica1136 responds:

Yeah man. I completely agree, what I should learn to do is write songs that contain memorable parts, without making the song overly long. It's a bad habit I'm trying to break. I'm really glad you dig the synth and orchestra though! I knew that since this was for a competition, I had to try something very diverse, and at the same time, impressive.

Yeah man, I know you definitely expected more melody in this. Rising Power is the song that got me into this awesome competition, and that song was almost entirely melodic. I can definitely promise my next submission will focus more on melody and less on heaviness/chugging. And yeah man, it's hard to get a good drum sound when you're using VST's. My friend Seth is just a fucking MINDBLOWINGLY amazing drummer. I jammed with him today for like 7 hours, and he made my guitar playing really come to life. Of course, I'm definitely not implying I couldn't improve the sound of the drums. I've actaully been working on tweaking my drums to make them sound better. I will be sure to pay more attention to the drums for my next submission. But yeah man, I definitely hear you! I will be sure to tweak the sound and make it cut through the mix better with my next submission.

But thanks for the review man! I'm really glad that you liked the song! I'll be sure to pay attention to, and correct every flaw you mentioned. :)

[Brolo]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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There's some pretty good stuff in this submission. Rhythmically, it excels. You've got a strong primary riff that you develop to a great extent and really flesh out fully (although it did get repetitive) and there are some sweet sounds and effects in this track too (the winner for me would be the high-pass filtering you did at the beginning). Like your audition, this would fit incredibly well in a game. The progression, composition and sounds really set the likeable mood that this has.

Having said that, this truly does fall short of your audition in terms of quality, I'm afraid. The track feels very directionless, and some of the melodies are considerably bland. Your audition was enjoyable because of the undeniably catchy melody it had, whereas this just feels ultimately unsatisfying. There are some almost random aspects in this track, like the key change, and some transitions are also sadly not up to par (such as the transition at 0:08 which just felt anti-climatic). You've got the right idea for most of the drums but they seem to lack punch in them, mainly the snare/clap (I'm not a huge fan of your kick either).

The track has a hefty amount of issues in my opinion, although some redeeming factors such as the mostly good sounds, excellent mood and some impressive ideas make up for the faults this has most of the time.

Score: 7.1/10

Mawnz responds:

First of all: a huge thanks to you and the other judges for taking you time, and doing this,
I'm really happy I even made it through the auditions for my first NGADM so I'm looking forward to next year!
As for the review:
I felt the same way making this tune, and mostly for the track being directionless.
I just didn't feel where it was going, but at he same time the main riff was so catchy I basically forced myself to add more and more stuff to it. Trying new sounds etc.
I did make another track for the first round that was easier for people to relate to, but I decided to go with this in the end.

I'm taking your advice into consideration for future songs!
Thanks once again for the hard work you put in for this contest!

[Blind Maiden]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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Your track was one of the few that I was really looking forward to listening to. You've got an incredibly soft voice for a guy, and couple that with extraordinary singing talent, masterful composition skills, nice-sounding instruments, and good lyrics, and you've got a pretty amazing combination. The melodies might be a bit typical for this style, but honestly they're great, and supported by suitable harmonies. The instrument choice is awesome... and that singing, damn. Vocal harmonies were perfect, and unlike Braiton I loved that little trill you performed at 1:04 (hard to believe you did something like that with such precise pitch without a tuning software). This is excellent, and I'm disappointed to see you only have 11 fans. I'm hoping the NGADM will change that, because you deserve more.

No track is perfect, however, and this is no different. The singing, despite being so good, has a few off notes where your voice falls a little too weak for a brief moment. This is a ridiculously small nitpick, though. A bigger issue is that I think you're relying too much on your voice to deliver your track. This is because even if the instrumental section is nice, your voice covers it all up! You should turn it down a little, and harness the expressive power of your instruments a bit more. For example, at the very end, you have a beautiful harp but your voice is too loud and covers it up so it diminishes the softness that that section would have had if you had the harp and your voice playing in a more balanced manner. Giving the instrumental section some more love will really highlight the more powerful sections too.

Honestly though, this is masterfully made. I'm highly impressed.

Score: 9/10

etherealwinds responds:

That really means a lot to me Step. Thank you! I can see now why it's taken you so long to review so many entries. I'm really looking forward to Round 2. My first time entering and I'm doing so much better than I ever would have expected.

All the best to you! :)

[Hot oxygen - NGADM13 - round 1]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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A clear display of compositional talent right here. There are so many lovely compositional touches like the string chords, the harmonies and the ways that all the counter melodies come together, and the general atmosphere of it all. I love how you start the song and how you bring in the chimes without wasting any time but still making the introduction subtle. The whole foreboding mood of the piece works excellently. Good job with the composition. Unlike your opponent's, this also sounds highly original and memorable. His also has great composition and is good in its own sense, but it's something I'd typically expect to hear in some adventure/medieval movie. This, on the other hand, sounds interesting and unique.

Now, your worry of it being a bit too simple is unfortunately justified, because this lacks content. Not only is it short and lacking mood changes, but from around 1:00 onwards the song starts to lose its touch, and other than some perfectly pleasant (but unsatisfyingly subdued) brass and/or woodwind melodies playing over a repetitive staccato string pattern, we're not treated to much from then on. Fleshing this out would do wonders.

Great job with the melodies, atmosphere, and originality. If this was a bit longer and containing more distinguishable sections, you'd have a real winner.

Score: 7.1/10

Calamaistr responds:

Wow, i havent had such a indepth review in a long time, but i could expect that from a organized deathmatch ofc. ;)

Thanks! I agree with everything you said myself.
-Cal.

[Anthem of the Adventurer]

This is an NGADM Round 1 review.

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The reason I liked your audition was because it had such a great atmosphere, coupled by highly sensible composition. You deliver these qualities again in this wonderful piece. This has really nice composition that follows well with the premise of medieval/folk adventure and excitement that you offered. I can't really describe the composition in any way other than saying that you certainly know what you're doing. The instruments fit together nicely, the melodies progress beautifully, there are little pauses here and there (like 0:35) and the key change at the end was very well-placed.

The sounds leave much to be desired. They sound very much like soundfonts, which will never give you the crisp quality of high-end VSTs like East/West. Because I understand that not everyone can afford that stuff, I won't deduct marks for it, but I will deduct marks for the following. Firstly, the strings that appear at the beginning have the right sound but they need to be harsher and more spiccato (it's mostly noticeable in the pause at 0:35 where instead of having the harsh, sudden sound that would work for something like that, the note trails off lamely). There are a few levelling issues too; when a lot of instruments come in, it becomes hard to decide which instrument to focus on. There's a slight muddiness that's constantly present in the track that might be due to release times that are too large or too much reverb.

Anyway, if you've noticed all the issues I mentioned have to do with the sound of the track, and not the composition, which was great (albeit a bit generic). You're a highly talented composer!

Score: 7.8/10

ChronoNomad responds:

Many thanks, Step! There's no denying the quality (or lack thereof) of the SoundFont instruments, but as I am still learning my way around FL Studio, that also means lots of room for improvement. I'd love some awesome East/West VSTs, and anyone who wants to contribute to the cause by floating me a few hundred dollars will be my best friend for life! ^_~

Seriously, I'm a bit jealous of all the awesome orchestral suites that many of the other entrants possess, but I've been able to spend some time hunting down some really great stuff lately. Still SoundFonts, and of the relatively inexpensive or free variety, but they sound even better. Here's hoping that I can really bring the heat in the next round! I'm working on something entirely different for Round 2, and we'll just have to see how things go. A bit of chill D&B, which is something I've never really done specifically, and it's a blast. Look forward to it! :D

I'm extremely happy to hear that the composition is nice and tight, if a bit generic (I will probably hate that word for the rest of my life lol), and I am taking all of the sound critiques to heart. I'm trying to make things more dynamic going forward, from stereo effects to velocity, so hopefully that will be evident going forward and reduce that muddiness. I can't wait to dive headfirst into Round 2 with all these other hyper-talented artists! Tally ho!

[Seeing Spots]

Hey! Sorry for taking so long to review this. With piano lessons, the NGADM, music work, and other reviewing to do, it was tough to find the time, but I finally got round to it!

This has some pretty good qualities! First off, I can tell you worked on the mixing/mastering because the production in this track is quite clean. For a track like this I would've liked a stronger bass, and maybe an even harder-hitting kick, but what you have right now is airy and pleasant to the ears, so good job in that department. The piano in this track is lovely. Overall there are some pretty good ideas, and a nice amount of variety to boot.

Now, the main issue is the wow factor in this track. Unfortunately it's a bit uninteresting, and doesn't stand out among other house tracks as much as I would've liked it to. A lot of the sounds you used are cheesy/generic, especially that hypersaw, so a good place to start is being more creative with your sounds. This could mean looking into synthesis and making your own sounds, or investing in some new VSTs (I'd recommend Omnisphere but then again I recommend Omnisphere to everyone; I love it to bits. Shame it's very expensive though).

Another issue is that the composition is bad. So while you have nice production and some good ideas (like that ending; what a nice way to end the track), the melodic department is lacking. This is unfortunately not something I can give you constructive criticism about because to this day I don't know how to explain what makes a melody good, but all I can say is that with a bit more experience you'll be able to make great melodies to complement your good ideas and production.

Hope that helped, good luck with your future tracks!

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks so much for the review Step. This actually helps a lot and I feel better about not getting into the NGADM this year.

Strong kicks and basses are a weak point for me. I'm still learning how to EQ and properly compress everything, and I still use a lot of presets. But I'll work on making that better.

With this being an experiment in House, I was a little afraid to make my own sounds for it, so I used the generic ones, just so it would sound more house-y to me. I'm sure that if I continue working at house music, I'm sure I'll get better at it, but I tend to stick to my Trance.

It's a shame you thought the composition was bad, but I guess I didn't focus on the melodies in this as much as I do in my trance tracks. Probably because I was so afraid to step outside the boundaries of house when I was writing this, and I don't hear much house music with amazing melodies like Trance or Complextro.

I really appreciate this Step. This is going to help me a ton if I decide to try House again, and in my other tracks as well. Thanks.

[Lucid Dreaming]

As usual, I love your avant-garde kind of approach to music. I'm hearing techniques and approaches I've never quite heard before. You've got some highly interesting piano composition and sounds. The whole idea of this song is well-thought-out, and it's easy to tell you put a tonne of work into it. One of my favourite things about this is how it builds up an atmosphere, especially at the beginning. With those effects it really does sound like I'm dreaming.

Now, I can't guarantee you that what's following will tell you why you didn't make it in to the NGADM, but it will tell you what points of criticism I can bring up. My main issue with this is that it needs more movement. Boring isn't quite the word I'm looking for; it's more of a monotonous kind of thing. The main instrument only ever changes at one point, for a brief period. The mood also hardly fluctuates. Sure, the song has its moments, but never does a section truly distinguish itself. This is more like something one would zone out to, which was probably your intention, but like we always do in the NGADM, we judge a piece of music for what it is, not for how well it can fit in a background of a game or how well you can zone out to it or whatever.

In a normal year this track would make it through easily, but the quality level was through the roof this year, and we had to decline some really good tracks like this one because of one or two negative flaws they had. Hope to see you next year though man.

Birdinator99 responds:

I agree with your point that this piece lacks a memorable, distinguishable section. A mood change would have been a good idea to break things up. The piano isn't something I usually use, so I guess once I got a result I liked with it, I got carried away. If the main instrument you're referring to is the pad at 1:13, I stick by my usage of it (made it myself!).

I did spend a lot of time on this, so thank you for noticing. Best part is, I've got a whole year to get better for next year!

Also, thanks for taking the time to review; I know you're a busy organizer at the moment, so this was a nice gesture.

[Mr Brightside/Somebody]

You were very, very close to making it into the NGADM. This sounds like a really well-meaning audition that you've put together here. The singing is near-perfect, the harmonies are absolutely lovely, the timing is very precise... it would've been a pleasure to have an artist like you (and your acapella group as well) in the NGADM. Great work with this.

The reason this didn't make it was production-related. The reverb in here is too much. It's probably natural reverb from the recording environment (unless you purposefully added it afterwards), but it made the vocal layers sound considerably muddy. This sounds like a small problem but it was actually enough for you not to make the cut. Like I said, you were extremely close and in fact you're mentioned in the honourable mentions. Great job with this, shame we couldn't accept you through!

raggd46 responds:

Hey thanks for the review! really helpful; I've only just started into the muddy waters of producing/recording very recently and I'll take into account the production tips for next time.
And I'm now flattered, this one is all me singing the different parts, so I must have done something right! I hope to record one with my group though after the summer...