Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sordid Avenue]

Enjoyed it - could've enjoyed it more

Alright, first things first - it's really refreshing to hear a song played live by a band on Newgrounds. When you sequence your instruments, you can never get that realism that you get from recorded instruments, and the vocals here are a big plus because you rarely see songs with vocals on NG. Well-written lyrics are just icing on the cake. Unfortunately I haven't ever sung, played guitars and have only dabbled a little in an electronic drum kit, so I can't give you any technical tips in that department. Hopefully my experience reviewing music will make up for it :3.

SO, onto the review. I'll start by commenting on how each of you played/sung - it doesn't take a genius to tell that you guys have a good amount of experience playing in a band. The guitars were all well-played (apart from a few tiny mistakes like the one at 0:13 which sounds a bit off :P) and your drummer's great at keeping his rhythm. The singing wasn't perfect, but it was pretty darn close. Just a few slightly out-of-tune notes (3:03, for instance), but all in all the singing is really great. Is it you singing? If so you've got a pretty soft voice, which works well in this song.

So, now that that's over I'll talk about the composition - the lyrics melody is somewhat of a standard/generic melody for a song of this type, but it works well. I love the guitar riff you played at the beginning and repeated a few other times later on in the song. My only complaint regarding composition is throughout the song, when you sing the chorus you repeat it more than once. I would've preferred it if each repetition had a slightly different melody - for example the first repetition's melody can be used as a question and the second melody can be used as an answer, rather than the same melody for each repetition.

Rhythm-wise, there's not much to improve. The only thing here which I'll complain about is the rhythm of the melody when you sing the phrase 'The pratfalls'. The word 'pratfalls' sounds a little, I don't know, abrupt? I would've much preferred it if 'The pratfalls' was sung with a straight rhythm (i.e. a syllable sung every beat) since it sounds odd as it is. This is just me nitpicking though...

Now for the mixing/production, and I have a bit more to talk about this time. To begin with; volume levels. I don't know if this is a recurring problem for you guys or it's just apparent in this song, but the vocals are far too quiet and completely drowned out by the guitars and drums.

If you hadn't posted the lyrics then I would've just managed to make out a few words here and there rather than understood what the lyrics are talking about. It's a shame because I was trying to figure out what the lyrics are saying (when I wasn't following them from the Author's Comments) and didn't get to focus on the other elements of the song as much. Turn the vocals up plz.

More about the volume levels - the cymbals seem a bit too loud at times, and I wish I could've heard the snare/kick more. I really can't hear the kick at all, which is a bit of a bummer. Lastly the song is a bit too loud.

The recording quality isn't so good, which is why in the summary I said that I enjoyed it but I could've enjoyed it more. This is out of your control, but if you ever get the opportunity, I really would suggest getting better recording equipment. The instant the song started I heard the dull hum of the bad recording equipment and the track would get a much cleaner and more enjoyable overall sound with better equipment.

The song has a very solid structure, and the transitions are fantastic. The only transition I didn't like was one at 3:03 which sounds a bit anti-climatic. Other than that, transitions were great. Intro was brilliant, ending was satisfying.

So, all in all I enjoyed this a lot. The only reasons why I gave this an 8/10 are the mixing/production flaws and a few very minor issues here and there, but all in all this is really awesome and I hope you guys keep up the good work. Enjoyed the song, and I enjoyed writing this review. Dissection complete :D.
8/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

Sawdust responds:

Haha wow, what a lengthy dissection :P

First, thanks for the compliments on our technical ability! Haha, we're relatively new when it comes to this type of thing. The group only formed in February. Also yeah lol, I'm the one who's singing.

On topic about the composition of the lyrics melody... well... it's pretty much improvised most of the time. I rarely think of how the lyrics will be sung when writing songs so I guess that explains a lot. That explains how the intervals tend to monotonous.

Also, as for the recording/mixing aspect; well, the studio is just a rehearsal studio so this is pretty much just a demo :P And Newgrounds is a great place to get feedback on demos. When they give me the tracks, what I do is either put filters and overdub or put compressors and overdub. I wish I could do something to pump up the vocals, however.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the review! It's very helpful and it'll give me things to think about while recording the polished version of this. Hope you'd check out a bit more of our tracks! I'll definitely keep following your stuff!

[Stargenx - CardiacDistillation]

Totally not deserving of its score.

Dude, your songs are literally 0-bomber magnets. I've never seen such low and undeserving scores in my life. If I remember I'll spend every day 5-bombing your recent songs for a good few weeks. 0-bombers can go die in a hole >.>.

SO, rant aside. The song itself is wonderful. I gave it a 10 because even though it isn't my thing, it just sounds so pleasant and I really can't find anything at all wrong with it. Maybe it sounds ever so slightly cheesy in certain parts, but that's hardly worth mentioning.

The song is just so flowing. You have very simple but effective instrumentation. A piano, plucked instrument, background pad and a very straightforward drum beat, and keep to these for the whole piece. It comes together fantastically and I honestly don't see where you can improve in the instrumentation, except that I would've liked a new instrument to be introduced later on (like high strings), to maybe strengthen some buildups/transitions, but that is solely my personal opinion.

The composition is great, and one of the stronger points of this piece. The plucked instrument and the piano complimented each other excellently, and I do particularly like the background pad's chords. You always had a knack for making awesome melodies, and this song is just easy proof of this fact. Nice job!

When it comes to production, I don't have much to say. Maybe you can turn the song's volume up a little because I had to turn my speakers' volume up to enjoy the track. In terms of the mix you've got a nice clear mix, definitely due to the fact that you don't have that many instruments to clutter it up. The song isn't that bassey but to be honest I prefer it this way. The pad provided just about the right amount of depth for a track like this.

So to conclude, I'll just say that I'm giving this a 10 because I can't find anything wrong with it, despite my efforts. Keep up the great work dude.
10/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

Stargenx responds:

Thanks for the review, and also for voting this up, haha.
0-bombers gonna bomb I guess.

[<EagleGuard> Last Stand]

That title is so generic :3

Really nice stuff man. It's got a pretty generic 'dramatic epic' sound to it with the choirs, strings, guitar and rock drum kit, but to be honest it all works out very well. I enjoyed it throughout. It'll definitely make a great background for a boss battle in a game. Nicely done!

Instrumentation is great. I like the sound of each instrument you used, especially the guitar which sounds pretty realistic. The sounds are all well-chosen and I love the choir too. What VST did you use for it? East/West Symphonic Choirs? But yeah instruments are great.

Production-wise, there's not much room for improvement. This time I think the song is just the right volume, thankfully. Your mix is also quite clear, although I would've liked a bit more bass, especially in the drums. The kick is wimpy, for lack of better word. To be honest all the percussion (except maybe the crash cymbals) could do with a boost in power. That being said, this song has nice production quality, and there isn't much I can nitpick about.

The composition is good, albeit a bit cheesy. The foreground melodies are memorable, well-written and supported well by the background that you made. One thing about the submission is that I can't really find a part of it which I can call my favourite. While this isn't necessarily a good thing because it may make the submission a bit monotonous, it makes it great for background music, because every section compliments the next but doesn't stand out.

Having said all that, I agree completely with Sawdust that after the epic orchestral intro I expected a bit more. It was a bit anti-climatic.

So, as a recap, other than the minor nitpicks, this is an enjoyable track. Smooth transitions, nice instrumentation/composition, and it'll make great background music for a battle. Nice work!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

EagleGuard responds:

Choosing the right instruments and tweaking them (equalizing, reverb) took me about two hours alone, so I'm glad you like the sound of them xD I used Tonehammer's Requiem Light for the choirs. Instead of a wordbuilder, like EW/QL's Symphonic Choirs, you get pre-selected wordphrases you can mix and match to make them sing gibberish like in this song, which is pretty cool.

I made the kick/bass drum a bit softer on purpose, because it would've been to noticeable had I not done so. This is of course my opinion and I'm still rather noob when it comes to EQ'ing, so I'll try to improve on that in the future.

About the 'no part standing out'... Yeah... I've been having trouble with that for a long time now. I just can't seem to think of proper climaxes for my songs. Hopefully I'll get better at that soon, because people have mentioned it before.

Sorry about the anti-climax at the start, I just didn't want to go with the whole epic-orchestral thing again x)

Thanks again for the review!

[Pseudo-Insanity]

*Twitch*

This is really awesome :D. I can easily feel the atmosphere that you wrote in the Author's Comments and the sounds you chose/melodies you created really fit well with the overall feel of the track. There are some transitional issues between the sections, but that's not too much of a problem. Overall, this is well-made!

There's not much I can add to DonCarrera's review (so this is how the other RRC members must feel after reviewing a track after I reviewed it with a large review...). The first thing I noticed was the way you incorporated cheesy/generic elements such as the typical suspense strings you hear in a movie score, or the typical pleasant sound you get from a piano solo, but yet you add your own unique sounds such as the weird effects and pitch-bending. It really does make for a unique, cool track.

I'll also comment on how good the intro and outro were. Well, maybe the intro was quite generic, but I do think that the part at 0:30 was a great way to get things going. The ending was great too. Nice work there :D.

Additionally I love the effects you did, especially the pitch bending effects. That pitch bending you did on the background strings just sounds so odd and unnatural, making it fit perfectly with the theme. The pitch bending on the synth at 2:19 was equally weird and fitting.

Quick note about the drums: they actually flow really well. They sound so perfect in this track that at times I didn't even notice they were there. So yeah, great job there too.

Now for my one complaint. Some of the transitions were good, but others have quite a bit of room for improvement, especially the ones at 2:32 and 3:10. They sound like you ended one song and started another. Most of the time the transitions were smooth, but some other times they could use work, which is the main reason why I gave you a 9.

Other than the transitions issue, this track is really cool. You mixed generic horror and suspense perfectly with odd and disturbing effects to create an atmosphere of insanity. Keep up the good work.
9/10
5/5
*Twitch*

-Review Request Club-

Birdinator99 responds:

Looking back on this track, I really don't like the transitions -- and being cheesy isn't always a good thing!

lol

It seems the pitch bending was a success -- yay!

Bad intros are bad D:

I'm quite pleased with the drums -- a little echo here, a little echo there, etc... seemed to work well in a "frantic" atmosphere. If I can get the overall theme of the piece working for me, then all is well.

Except all those bad things!

I wasn't trying to be generic, but it does totally come off that way. Uh-oh.

Ahem.

I love the huge reviews you do, dude. Thanks for stopping by again!

[MoL- Shadow Conflict]

Nice composition, drums don't fit

Not bad at all. This sounds like it came straight out of a Video Game, and the melodies you incorporated were really nice.

So yeah, I'll start by saying that I do like the melodies. They give a sense of desperation and I can easily associate this to a boss battle in a Video Game. I agree with Sawdust that you've done a good job of building a well composed song over a simplistic melodic line. Nicely done!

The atmosphere is great. Like I said, the song reminds the listener of despair and conflict, with the strings evoking a sort of ominous/suspenseful feeling, and with the bass adding a unique touch. Somehow the song, mainly the bass's melody and sound, is a bit reminiscent of some BGM in Ratchet and Clank 3, or at least for me.

The sounds you chose, unfortunately, weren't excellent. I do like the bass, it gave the piece a bit of originality, and the strings were nice too, but as I said in the review summary, the drums don't seem to mesh together with the track as well as I would've hoped and this seems to be because of the sounds you chose for them. The beats were good, but the sound of the samples themselves just didn't compliment the song well. Also, I don't like your use of the organ (probably personal preference). It made the song pretty tiring to listen to after a few play-throughs.

Also, the track is a bit short, which is one of the reasons why I gave you an 8. Because of this, I feel the song is a bit underdeveloped. That said, it works great as a background loop, especially due to the fact that the loop was seamless.

In conclusion, this is a nice track. The melodies are fantastic, the atmosphere you created was good, and it looped perfectly making it excellent for background music. The only issue I have with it is that I don't agree with some of the sounds you chose, especially the drums. Keep it up.
8/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

MeteorManMike responds:

LOL, drums have always been my weakness. I will agree that it's a bit repetitive, I got kind of lazy composing this (as often happens with my remixes :P) The organ was just a way to lengthen it... I could possibly throw in some variation in the main melody, as well as change the percussion samples. But thanks a lot for that detailed review, I'm glad someone takes the time to listen so carefully to my music.

[[dB] Menu Loop]

Sweeeeeeet

Won't be able to make a large review because this is only 17 seconds long, but maybe you'll find my review to be slightly useful.

Anyhow, even though this isn't really jazz, it's still awesome. The drums are minimal but fit nicely, the sounds are well chosen and the composition is good. Nice work on this!

What I like about it is that despite it being so short, you still put detail in it. I particularly liked the effect you did on the open hat where it sort of fades out for 2 bars before going back to full volume again. The reverb is also used nicely here.

The sounds are nice too. The brass doesn't sound much like brass with all the effects you put on it, but it still sounds pleasant. That cool pad thing you had in the background is really fitting and the piano (?) was a nice addition too.

To be honest for the 17 seconds that it plays this is a pleasant little track. It's really a shame that it doesn't loop. I'd probably extend it to around half a minute and then loop it. This shouldn't be too hard to loop.

So overall, keep up the good work. Relaxing, well mixed and would be a great menu loop... if it looped.
7/10
5/5 because this got 0-bombed.

-Review Request Club-

Decibel responds:

Thanks for the review :D

Why You no log on msn anymore? Bitch.

[Randomocitic =RC=]

Not bad!

Dude you actually write your music on a manuscript first before turning it into techno? That is so old-school :D.

But in all seriousness, this track isn't too shabby. I'm actually quite impressed that it's only your 17th submission. It's leagues better than my 17th submission anyway.

Onto the song... The first thing that I noticed would be that the chord progression you're using is very overused. I heard that chord progression many times in the past, making this sound pretty generic. Using overused/cheesy chord progressions like this is bad practice, especially when you've only recently begun making music.

The synths/sounds are quite well-chosen. I'm hearing a few FL presets in there, but they still fit pretty well :P. The instrumentation is a bit standard and amateur, although it isn't too bad. To be honest I quite liked your use of synth strings, they contributed quite well towards the track and gave it a bit of uniqueness.

Pretty much the only reason why I'm giving this a score as low as a 6 is because it sounds amateur. The drums are bland, the melodies aren't anything particularly special, and some transitions sound rather weird. Still, as I already said, for your 17th submission this is actually very nice, and I foresee a rapid improvement.

So yeah, keep it up, and good luck in your future submissions. Hope you found my tips useful!
6/10
3/5

-Review Request Club-

Raymoclaus responds:

Thanks, I usually don't write manuscript but I felt it would have helped for this song so I did. I'm still trying to figure out everything about FL Studio so yeah I know what you mean about overusing the progression and the simplicity of it all. But overall, thanks.

[Let the Bass Kick Instrumental]

Soothing!

Hey man! Sorry for taking so long to review - I've got exams going on right now and it's been pretty hard to find some time to go on Newgrounds. Anyhow, really nice song. It's the first hip-hop song I've ever heard from you, but you've got a knack for Hip-Hop. I can clearly see your style incorporated in the track (what with all the wonderful harmonies and cool synths :P) but I can still hear stuff in this track which make it sound like the person who made all those Techno/Dance songs before is a completely different person from the guy making this track. And it's awesome to be good at different music styles ;D.

Onto the review - what I like the most about this song is that it's so nice and soothing, thanks to those smooth bassey pads playing awesome chords. I mean if it wasn't for the 'Let the Bass Kick' vocal sample you've used throughout the song, this'd make a superb backing track for when you're doing homework or studying. Really nice!

Now I'll move straight on to the mixing. Firstly I don't think I agree with kravening that the mix has a lot of space because you seemed to fill it up nicely. I agree that this song is a bit too dosed in reverb, giving it a pretty muddy overall sound, so if I were you I'd tone down on the reverb a little. Also, the vocal sample seems a bit too rough on the high end, making it a bit tired and to an extent, unpleasant to listen to, and the phaser/distortion isn't helping much either. That could probably be just me.

On another related note, the song seems a bit too loud, and I'm hearing clipping. I'd turn the master volume down a bit more. Although I shouldn't be the one talking right now because I suck at giving songs the right volume, and in my whole time using FL Studio, I never actually used a compressor :P.

One last thing - it might just be because the vocal sample sounds too rough, but I think it was used a little too much. Sure I like the slicing effects you did on it, but I would've liked some melodic synth solos and the like, rather than having half the song with that vocal sample playing. It disrupts the song's relaxing atmosphere and without it this could make a good backing beat for someone to rap to.

Now that I've got that off my chest, on to the good news. The transitions were wonderful, and other than a crash cymbal which was a tad bit too loud, none of the transitions were abrupt, and they were smooth and glued each section together excellently. I especially like the transition at 0:22, where the beat kicks in - that transition was just fantastic.

Melodically, I have nothing to complain about. The chord progression is nice, the harmony is superb and whilst, like I said, I would've enjoyed a few sections where you have a synth playing a melody, there's not much to be desired regarding the melodies. The sounds chosen were also very fitting, such as the high synth at 1:07 and the synth at 4:31. The pads were nice too.

When it comes to the percussion, I really don't have much to complain about. The beat was great, and I like that you took the time to vary it a little rather than leaving the same beat for the whole track. I'm hearing some nice drum fills and different beats (I especially like the introduction to the new beat at 4:08). The kick was great and the hat line was superb. Then again you were always good with percussion...

A quick note on the intro and outro: the intro was pretty good, nothing special (to be honest I would've preferred a slightly more progressive intro) but it worked out well. The outro was also nice, and I like that you added that cool effect at the end to sort of signify that the song is ending.

So anyway, all in all I'm impressed. It's great that you can make music in a number of different styles (Classical, Techno, Dance, and Hip-Hop too). Making music in different genres/styles really defines a great musician in my opinion, and makes producing music a lot more fun. So yeah, nice work. A few mixing problems, and a vocal sample which got a little irritating, but other than those I enjoyed it! :P. Keep it up!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Thanks a lot for the review! I'm glad you took note to my harmonies again haha, that's my main trademark that I'm the most proud of and that I want my listeners to notice the most. And most of the songs I have under current production now utilize some more of my harmonies, so in the near future you can be expecting them. I try to excel in as many genres as I can, because like you said, that's part of what defines a great musician. Thank you for the mixing advice as well. I've been recently working with samples more often so your advice is invaluable. Since the production of this song, I've learned the consequences of adding too much reverb to the master track, and have since dumbed that down. Thank you again for the review, for it really helps me to improve as a producer!