Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Krowe - Differences]

The creativity.

That's what I've always liked about your tracks - the creativity. Even though Dubstep is so common and pretty much overdone, you still manage to keep your track sounding fresh and new. Having the talent to be so creative in something like this is a big plus, I think. Nice work :3.

One thing I like the most in this track would be the variety and structure. The song never got boring, and even when the bass came in, you had a great amount of changes in the beat, new sounds and new effects to keep it interesting. Considering the track is relatively long compared to other audio submissions, it's nice to hear all this variety.

Another thing I liked was, as you already know, the creativity. The melody sounds unique and caught my interest, and all the effects are just out of this world. The drop was awesome and I love how the bass came in, suddenly went silent and then continued playing.

At 2:20, you fade everything out and then fade it back in again, and you're constantly messing around with filter automation too. The outro was a creative way to end the track as well. That's what I like to see in Dubstep - new ways to keep it interesting.

There's not much I can say about the composition and the sounds. I like all the melodies and I don't have anything to point out about your choice of sounds, except perhaps the bass which is a bit headache-inducing I'm afraid :(. It does sound quite a bit like FL Slayer, actually...

The drums are fantastic and varied well. I agree with fishfood2021 that the snare is a bit too loud and distorted, and it got to the point that I started to get tired of listening to it after a while, although that might just be my lack of interest towards the genre/style.

I think the mix is the worst thing about this track. I think I heard some clipping in the second section of the song with the bass playing, especially when the kick plays in certain parts (2:37 for instance). The loud and distorted snare isn't helping much either. This is an old track though and I doubt its mixing holds a finger to what you can do now, although it's worth pointing out.

Great track overall man. The effects/composition are unique, and the production is generally great. I would work a little more on the mixing and other random nitpicks that I mentioned throughout the review, but for an old track I'm impressed. Keep it up!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

KroweMusic responds:

Hey man thanks for the awesome review...love getting reviews from you

Hahahae yeahhhhhh....the main synth does sound like Slayer, which sucks. I made it myself and I didn't really realize the horrible sound until it was pointed out, but I don't really care about it too much. This isn't a serious song.

And the mix sucks. No doubt about it haha.

But I'm glad that you liked it overall. Thanks for the awesome review!

[[Kieda] Yearning Hearts]

The effort shows.

Before I start, just wanted to say that I love how you take criticism. A lot of people here on Newgrounds seem to dislike and shun harsh/honest constructive criticism, so I think more people should have your attitude when it comes to accepting criticism :3.

Anyway, onto the song. This isn't the first time I've heard mellow Drum'n'Bass in the past few days, but it's one of the better ones I think. It has its own problems, but as I said in the review summary the effort shows!

To begin with, I love the piano. I think it could have been humanised a bit more and if you you used a few more octaves of the piano's range (some high notes would've worked nicely), but it's rare to find a piano in a DnB track and hence I'm glad you added it here. Moreover, the melody it plays is lovely.

The drums are nice as well. You varied them a little and added a few drum fills here and there to keep them interesting. The drum sounds are cool too, although I think the snare is a little too rough for a song like this. Transitions were nice and the intro and outro were both great.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's much to listen to here, and that's my main gripe with this song. It does sound anti-climatic - the only two main sounds are the drums and the piano - and anything else is in the background and doesn't do anything revolutionary to the song. It even gets repetitive, and by the time I finished hearing the song once, I didn't find anything memorable.

To put it bluntly, the song sounds empty and it sounds like there's more to it. It sounds pretty underdeveloped and it needs more variety and new sounds. I mean, it sounds good, and the melodies are great, but there isn't much that I can remember the song by.

Overall, it's a nice track, but it doesn't particularly stand out. It seems to have unreleased potential. Now it's your job as a music artist to release that potential, whether it be new synths, new sections, climaxes, solos, anything to make this more than just another mellow DnB track. However, what you've got right now sounds good, and as I already said, I love the melody. Good work, and good luck in your future submissions!
7/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

Kieda responds:

I have nothing against well written and reasoned criticism. It takes more time and thought to write constructive criticism than just write "I like it, it's perfect" (:

Anyway, I didn't even realize the piano was very playing very unrealistic (only one octave). I'll look on this on my next song... I suppose I should add more synths and sections to my future songs to make them less repetive, but I've kinda had the problem of having 10 different songs smashed to one in the past (the sections haven't had really much in common), which I suppose ain't too good xP

Thanks for the review (:

[[FR] Siege]

A little repetitive, but pretty good!

I enjoyed this more than your other track 'Void'. They're both very soothing and I can hear your style clearly in each of them, but this has a nicer atmosphere and it seems overall well-produced. I still have a few issues with the track, but I like this.

I'm pretty impressed with how relaxing this is. Again, I don't think it fits with the name since Siege would make me expect a mightier track with a bit more tension. A name like 'Isolation' would fit here, but hey, a name doesn't make a song, does it? The pads, bells, bongos, slow paced beat and subtle effects certainly made this song memorable but still calm. As megakill said, it's got a charm to it.

I think all the sounds are great, but I especially like the drum samples. The clap/snare was awesome (I like the little whoosh that comes in right before the sample plays), the kick was just the right volume and the hats were still there to fill the drum beat but not interfere with the song. Bongos were surprisingly a very nice addition, and I would've liked to see you do more with them. The crackling effect you used in the song is pretty cool, by the way :3.

The beat is interesting. It's a Dubstep-styled beat which plays over a song which is anything but Dubstep. I think you could've varied the beat a bit more since it was basically the same thing for the whole song. By the way, the sub-bass you used along with the beat was really cool and filled the low end rather nicely.

Anyway, unfortunately this song is repetitive. Not only is the beat quite repetitive, but the melody gets repeated a lot and played by the same sound throughout the whole track. Don't get me wrong, the melody's nice, but after the beat comes in, there isn't anything else to catch my interest for the whole song. It's just the same thing playing over and over again.

In fact, I think vocals would work nicely here. There doesn't have to be lyrics, but any soft vocals will do - they will break the monotony of the song and I'd imagine that they'd fit nicely as well. Right now the song is too repetitive, and it's not exactly a long song either, so some vocals will certainly make it more interesting I think, or if not vocals then some lead synth or something to be played over what you have right now.

In conclusion, it's a nice mellow song, but it's not exactly interesting. Try and vary it more, and add something like vocals to make it stand out while still keeping the soothing atmosphere. That said, it sounds quite unique, what with the soft Dubstep beat playing over the Ambient pads and effects. Nice work!
7/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

Frazmaster responds:

Thanks for the words. I plan on adding vocals to combat the exact problem to mentioned, so hopefully all is well in the end. :)

[2011 Rabidsquirl Voice Demo]

That's how it's done.

Brilliant stuff, man. I won't be able to write a big review on this because I'm not that big on voice acting. However, I will say that I really like this and you've got a hell of a lot of talent!

What I liked the most here would be the acting part of voice acting. The voices were all very good and you've got a decent variety of voices, but the acting really brought them to life. You put a lot of emotion into the voices and I think that certainly made a big difference. The background tracks are all well chosen and fitting as well - I especially liked the one at 0:36. Gave me goosebumps on the first listen :D.

Honestly, the only issue I can point out is REALLY small. I think some of the transitions from one music background to another were a little too abrupt. It's not too much of a problem since the voices are the main feature here, but I think smoother transitions would be nice. Naturally a wider variety of voices would be cool too, but what you're showcasing here is awesome in any case.

That's all I can say - it's all very good. I think some transitions from one voice to another were abrupt, but that's not really that much of a problem. You've got quite some talent when it comes to voice acting!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

Rabidssquirrel responds:

Loads of thanks! Quite the long interview if you were to ask me!

Thankyou very much! One of the aspects that I think is constantly over looked by Voice Actors making their demo is the actual acting portion while throwing out a variety of different voices. Totally something that I was going for.

Noted! Though, it was something that I was sort've going for, trying to transition the listener between the different voices with a mild jar to trigger something along the lines of 'Oh, another one?' but I completely get what you're saying! :)

Again, thanks! And sorry my response isn't as long as your review!

[A Bowl of Spaghetti]

That is one badass bowl of spaghetti.

Hey, this isn't too bad. I've got a few issues with it, although it's a unique concept, and it's quite fun to listen to as well. Also the song name is absolute brilliance :D.

I like the instrumentation and choice of sounds quite a lot. The strings, bells and brass sound amazing, the Dubstep influences were well done, and you even add whistling at the end. It all works out well and it's reminiscent of Western music. I'd imagine a guitar would fit excellently over here, too.

The composition, albeit a bit generic, was good. I like the chords you were using in the background and the progression of the song was great, or at least great until 1:14 where I think there's too much of an anti-climax. Towards the end the song picks up with the whistling and some more instruments, and it ends quite well too. Nicely done.

I also love the portamento on the violin (or viola, I was never able to tell the difference...). No matter how hard I try I can't seem to get pitch-bending sound natural on strings, but you make it work out very well.

Now, here's my main complete. This song is weak, to put it bluntly. Not only does it sound pretty undeveloped and short, but there's a lack of depth and the drums sound really really tinny. I guess this might well as background music, but for a standalone song this barely leaves an effect on me.

The idea of mixing Ennio Morricone styled orchestral music with Dubstep is a good one, but you could've executed it better. There's only a very soft bass in the intro and a brief part in the middle of the song which has Dubstep elements, and even then they don't make a massive difference. To be honest I preferred the Orchestral influences and the Dubstep influences felt like they were there to spice things up a little, but not actually do anything revolutionary to the song.

To summarise things up, this is fun to listen to and the concept is original. You've also got some really nice sounds and the composition/harmony was spot on. Even though the song sounds pretty tinny and doesn't leave much of an effect, and even though I thought you could've added the Dubstep elements a little better, this is still a great submission. Keep it up!
7/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

Rampant responds:

Hello! Wall of text alert - I'll try and respond to as much of what you wrote as I can :)

1) I actually thought about adding guitar, but there aren't any really good VST's or soundfonts, and it would take way too much effort to make them sound right. I looked into it, though, and found out that the guitars primarily used were Baritone Fenders with Flatwound Strings... a bit too specific for most sound libraries!

2 & 3) This was really my first attempt to incorporate dubstep elements into a track, dubstep or otherwise; the anti-climatic segment at 1:14 is my failed attempt to build-up before the drop - if I rewrote this piece, I would probably add a rising progression, then a longer pause as a solo violin sustains a high D, before bringing in the drop.

4) The ending, with a solo violin over sustained first and second violins, and cellos, was where I imagined the actual film beginning: the credits, horse-riding, and wide-angle shots of huge expanses of desert fill the first 2:00, but the film begins as the music slows down. Like how John Williams' main theme for Star Wars segues into the quieter section as the film begins.

5) The portamento on the instruments is really the work of L.A. Scoring Strings, which makes it easy to attain very realistic strings with minimum effort. (That sounded a little too much like an advertisement...)

6) Regarding the drums, they're miked using 60's microphones and mixed as they would have been in that time period; there's a mic on the kick, two overheads, and maybe a mic on the snare. That's probably why they sound tinny and, although I could have augmented them to make them sound more 'modern,' I really wanted to emulate the mid- to late-60's mixing techniques as closely as I could.

7) The song itself is undeveloped and short; it's primarily a test for writing a main theme in Morricone style, and for adding the dubstep elements. As I now have a better understanding of the orchestration and arranging involved in both of these styles (neither of which I've really written seriously before), future pieces can be longer and more developed :)

8) The dubstep elements *were* there to spice things up lol I wanted to gauge the audience's reaction to mixing the two styles (which so far seems to be mostly positive) before I went ahead and spent a long time tweaking and perfecting the two sections.

9) The synth bass is present throughout the whole song, but as I was mixing, if I bought it forward in the mix any more, it overpowered the string section. So although it is now not quite so present in the mix, it was a compromise I had to make.

Thanks for the detailed review, Supersteph,
- James

[KKS - Contact]

Absolutely brilliant!

Wow, this song is excellent. I've listened to it more times than I can count on one hand. Making a song this long stay interesting till the end is quite a feat, but you pulled it off wonderfully! Since this is so long, I'll split the review into different sections and say some things about each section.

I. Signs of Life (0:00 - 1:36)

Very good introduction. I like the progression, the soft beat, the bass, everything. It's a rather unique mix of different sounds which work well together. I think the coolest part of the introduction would be how it fit well with the scene you wrote about that section in your Author's Comments. The radio static was a creative touch and the occasional outworld-ish sounds echoing very much helped me imagine small traces of an alien signal.

I think the radio static was a bit annoying since it's basically the same sound played for a long period of time and something like that gets annoying no matter what sound it is. I would automate it a bit to make the sound a bit less... stationary, for lack of better word.

Still, other than that I definitely don't have anything to say which might improve this part. In this first section you introduce some key elements to the song that are consistent for the whole track such as the plucked synth with it's filter constantly being automated, and the simple rhythm of the beat too.

II. Excitement (1:36 - 2:24)

A pretty abrupt transition to this part. The strings seem to come out of nowhere, although I think this represents how quickly and suddenly excitement kicks in. I wouldn't change the transition if I were you since it fits so well with the theme.

Not too much to say about this part. The strings sound REALLY nice and the drum beat is awesome. This is the smallest section of the song but it works very well. Also I love that little sonar-like sound you did before starting this section. I heard it in other key transitions of the song too - nice touch :D.

III. Preparations

I love this part; it's sublime. What I probably enjoyed the most about this would be the progression. This part really sounds like preparation - you slowly introduce element after element to the track which symbolises progress. Towards the end I really started to imagine everything coming together, and best part is, you introduced each new element extremely smoothly. Great work.

The beat can be heard most clearly at 3:11 so I'll comment about it here. It's a catchy rhythm and sounds right at home in the song. I love it. The sounds are nice too, especially the snare. I would increase the lower mid frequencies of that snare to give it a bit more body though, since especially later on when the track gets busier, the snare seems to lose its importance.

IV. The Great Cruise

My favourite part. Not only did the song transition so smoothly to it but it's definitely the part I enjoyed most. The strings really shine over here, and at 5:11 when a climax is reached and the beat is introduced again, MAN I had goosebumps just listening to it! That part just has so much depth and sounds amazing. That transition made my day.

Two things I would change: firstly, the cymbal hit sounds a bit loud. If I were you I'd turn it down and make its sound ring/echo a little longer (say, 4-6 seconds before the sound fades out). Secondly, I would've added some more high string chords at 5:36 to give that section a bit more importance. That's personal preference though.

V. We Come In Peace

I don't have much to say about this part because this kind of ambient music isn't something I enjoy. The static got a bit annoying, and the transition to it seemed to drag on for a while, and personally I'd make the ambiance shorter and add a more melodic, exciting part towards the end as the crew explores the planet, to give the listener something to look forward to after the fourth section ends. However that's just my opinion because I don't really like this kind of music.

OVERALL:

Awesome track, man. I do have a few complaints here and there, but I enjoyed it thoroughly!
10/10
5/5
Download.
Fav'd.

-Review Request Club-

KKSlider60 responds:

Now that's a pretty detailed review o_o

Don't worry about "complaints", I actually haven't think of those cons till you showed 'em up to me. I too think the crash cymbal is either too loud or with too much reverb, in fact, if you listen to some of my most recent tracks, it is much more clearer and less muddier. I tried fixing it but I failed miserably, so yeah, I guess this is final. Lol.

If I added more stuff at 5:36 I think it would have sounded a lot more crowded and mastering would have been really difficult at that point, since everything was like on max. As for personal tastes, I can tell you that both the choice of white noise being that static and the textural atmosphere at the end was of vital importance for me and for the whole project. You know, I think every instrument tells its own story, and it's all part of greater scheme of things. It's fine though! I respect your tastes, np.

It's definitely a review I'll read every time I screw up with the cons you listed, and it'll be a fair reminder indeed. Thank you again for such beautiful technical insight, good luck with the audio moderation on the boards ;D
KKS

[Malaise (NGADM '11)]

Sweet!

I love it. I can see that your mixing has improved since your last NGADM track and if Rig submitted for the competition then I'm sure you would've given him a run for his money :P. Nice work - I do have some complaints but this is an improvement!

Like in your last track I like the atmosphere. It's actually a pretty similar spacey atmosphere (from now on your name is Space-inator99) but the other one had a lighter mood than this which feels deeper and ominous at times. I love the effects and occasional synth notes you incorporate quite sparsely throughout the track. They all help to make that cool atmosphere.

The synths and sounds are just superb. I love the pads, the sound effects, the leads, and the guitar sounds nice too. Unexpected, but still fun to listen to. The part with the pad at 4:06 would probably be my favourite part though. The pad really shined over there. The transition to that part was pretty abrupt and I disliked it, but from then on it just sounded amazing.

I like the structure a lot more than your previous submission too. You've really nailed it - the song still sounds very unpredictable and varied, but the structure is stable and solid.

One thing I quite liked structure-wise would be how you introduced the drums at 1:29 and then introduced them very similarly at 4:41. Even though in the foreground there's a different melody, the transitions to the introduction of the drums in each part were almost identical. I thought that was a very nice touch since it helped the song's structure while still sounding new and interesting.

In the mixing department, as I already said you've improved. I still think the low end could've been used a bit more though. I want to feel the deep vibrations of the low end when I turn my speakers up. I want the atmosphere to captivate me. I'm just not feeling it right now - perhaps a sub-bass or some more low-end reverb might help out. Other than that, mixing was generally awesome!

Now for my biggest complaint - the drums. I love the beats, and I like how you incorporated them, but MAN I do not like the sounds at all, sorry :P. The open hat got somewhat annoying at times, the kick was really weak and I do not like the sound of that snare at all. It just sounds tinny and dry. If I were you I'd go for much deeper and bassier percussion, and some serious low end reverb on the snare. Give your drums a mightier feel. They're still too dry and weak. D:

Still, that's my largest complaint. Everything else was great - most of the transitions, the intro, the ending (especially the ending - love it) and the composition - all very unique and fitting. Keep up the awesome work man!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

Birdinator99 responds:

I'm really glad that you found this to be improved over last time -- mixing/mastering was the name of the game here for me.

Transitions, eh? My skill in that department seems to fade in and out (no pun intended) from song to song sometimes. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Yeah, the structure was one my focus points here as well. Looks like it did alright.

The low end may be the fault of my slightly bass-heavy headphones (not sure if I mentioned this at another time); I might be compensating for them, although I do go back and forth from my headphones to my speakers to make sure anything doesn't sound too out of proportion.

Regarding the drums, for the most part, I agree with you. I'll definitely be trying some layering techniques now that I've cleaned up my mix. Synth creation is relatively high on my list as well.

I like the ending too -- it just felt right, y'know? Not sure what the hell that means, but oh well.

Thanks for your time and your helpful tips as usual, Steph.

["The Guardians"]

Incredibly cinematic

Hey, this is your Round 1 review of the NGADM competition. Enjoy!

--

Like I said to LogicalDefiance, orchestral is by far one of my favourite genres, and again I have a very hard time trying to be unbiased. I just enjoyed this piece so much.

The atmosphere is fantastic. You've got an incredibly good amount of depth, which makes for a very warm and cinematic-sounding submission. Your sparse but extremely effective use of percussion added a lot to the submission, and the instruments themselves are so well-chosen and sound sublime. Compositionally, I really can't expect it to get any better. The melody is just amazing, and it flows *brilliantly*. This honestly sounds like it came straight out of a movie, and I'm thoroughly impressed by it.

My only complaint is personal preference. If I were you I would've incorporated more woodwinds in the song, especially to answer to the main theme in certain parts of the song, but it sounds great as it is and this minor issue certaintly isn't enough to put your score down.

I'm trying hard not to give out 10's, especially for songs which go under my favourite genre, to avoid bias, but despite my efforts I can't find anything that this song is lacking in (except length. I want MORE). Keep up the amazing work.

-Review Request Club-

BrokenDeck responds:

Oh thank-you kind sir!

[Breathe With Me]

I can see why you're proud of this!

I won't lie that drone music really isn't my thing, so I won't be able to give this much critique, although I also won't lie that I really think this has a wonderful atmosphere. I've literally kept it on loop for hours while doing all sorts of other things and at times I'd almost forget that it was playing because I was simply pulled in to its atmosphere so much, if you get what I mean. Even with a fan droning behind me, my lights on, my eyes open and my volume pretty low, I still felt the atmosphere this conveys. Now to move on to the review.

I like its overall sound. With the pads and slight sound variation you've incorporated throughout the whole track you've managed to create a very mystical, spacey but peaceful atmosphere. Admittedly this does get quite repetitive while I'm trying to review it but I've noticed that you did work on variation. One little variation I liked about this track was when the song did that brief pause at around 4:20-4:31-ish, and the long outro which had a different sound than the rest of the track. You've added a few effects here and there which also add to this variation which makes this sound new every time it's listened to.

The song transitions from one section to another incredibly smoothly too. You've taken extra care to make sure that no sound comes in as abrupt and interrupts the meditative state the listener might be in when hearing this. Regarding the intro and ending, they were both fitting. The intro was a simple fade in which worked very well and the outro has a long, satisfying ending note which makes the listener feel at peace when at the end of the whole 8 minute track. A very nice way to end it.

Now for the complaints. Firstly, this song has nothing which can define it other than spacey pads and effects. I would like something to remember this song by, whether it's a unique and prominent sound effect, or a particular melodic phrase. Perhaps this is just personal preference because I'm not used to drone music much but I found this quite hard to analyse because it's sole purpose is to convey an atmosphere and state of mind to a listener, and not to be listened like any other song. I do think you could add that little defining piece to the track to make it have a more solid, definable structure, but this is entirely personal preference.

One more thing - the overall sound is a bit metallic and penetrating (for lack of better word). I think that this may lack a bit in the bass department. I think if you added a noticeable bassy sound to the mix you can make the atmosphere more encompassing. And as Kazmo said, some parts could do with more sound layers, especially around 5:30-ish. I was dying for the high shrill chords to play and then build up and repeat with a prominent bassey sound layer playing right along with those chords. Something which doesn't interrupt the atmosphere but gives the song an interesting and definable touch to it.

Anyway, that's my opinion on the song. I'm quite sure that if this had to take part in the NGADM Auditions then I'd choose it along my Top 32 list to take part in the competition (I don't know about the other judges though) because it has such a wonderful atmosphere which pulls you in and it works as great ambiance. I've got a few complaints here and there but those are either because of my lack of experience with this genre or because I'm a nitpicking bastard :3. Keep it up!
8/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

Awesome stuff there man, thanks a bunches.

I do agree that this track needs some sort of bass added to the equalizing, but I found it very difficult to add any more layers and still pertain to my overall structure and goal, which is to make something that is extremely atmospherical and deep. I wanted to make a track tht doesn't nescesarilly have a main melody, but has a main theme with an array of moods that differ depending on the listener.

The melody, as you are craving, can be found inside yourself when listening to the track. As corny as it might sound, this song can speak to your heart and play a melody in the form of memories or thoughts sparked from the imagination. I wanted to really get people in a trance, and I felt that creating a certain lead melody or bass line would be far to distracting and start to make people think in technical terms about this song.

I also didn't want to include anything else after I played this because I plate it all in one recording. What you hear is what I felt atthe time of the recording. I thought about how I was going to play it for quite a while, and then inspect careful time on programming the pad, but the song itself was played in one sittig after I did a bit of meditation.

I consider this a piano piece. One instrument, conveying a series of moods that are solely dependent on the listener. Everyone feels different things from this. Thanks again for the review! It certainly satisfies my craving ;)