Step's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[<MWA> Erroneous Glitch]

Hehe, this is awesome :D

I really like this submission. The fact that you mixed ambient and glitch/IDM so well together really worked well in this song, and overall this song is enjoyable to listen to. I can barely find any problems with it: it's catchy, calming and a great song all around. Keep it up, I really enjoyed it :D.

The song's composition is superb. I really enjoyed the melodies you used, especially the main melody that first came in at 1:35, and the guitar's melodies were really soothing. Those staccato thingies at 1:52 were really cool too, maybe you could add more of them throughout the song. The amount of alternate melodies was also very good, and overall your melodies were really cool. At times the song felt a bit empty though, like at 1:36, and for Ambient I expect it to have more depth, so maybe you could add a few more bass pads; it would definitely help in fixing the high frequency that ChampionAnwar was talking about. On the other hand, panning (at least I think there's panning: I'm deaf from one ear so I can never hear panning properly) was a nice touch.

The instrument choice you had was really great. You're really good at making pads, they worked very well in this song and sounded great. I also like your addition of guitar, it added to the atmosphere a lot. I just think that the guitar could have more reverb; I always liked guitars with a lot of reverb. Still, overall the instruments sounded awesome, especially the main lead which has that unique sound to it, and I liked the pad at 3:19-ish. The glitch stutters were also very well placed, although I would've liked to see more glitching on those drums. Also, the reverse snare or whatever reverse effect it was penetrated the atmosphere at the beginning and ruined it since it's so loud, as Heith said.

The transitions are all extremely good. The song flowed really smoothly, and while I think you could have used some more sound effects to transit from one part of the song to the other such as sweeps and more glitch effects, overall the transitions were very impressive. You introduced new instruments really well and the buildups such as the buildup in the intro were excellent. Nice job with the transitions :D.

The structure, as ChampionAnwar said, was very good. New parts came in which made the song never get boring and yet never get random either. I can say the same for the variety, which was superb, with a great amount of different melodies and something new all the time. Variety and structure were also fantastic, so good job there :).

The intro was pretty good. At first I thought it was going to be some generic trance crap, but as it progressed with a good buildup, I was wrong. Maybe you can make the intro a bit more interesting with some more effects and maybe a few pads too, but to be honest the intro was fine. The outro was superb though. A perfect way to end the song. Intro and outro were great ^^.

The drums, wow, they were amazing. The beat was really nice, and the drums were so varied that they not only added to the background and fit so well with the song, but I bet I won't get bored listening to them even on their own because they're so well done. Kick sounded powerful but never got in the way with the song, the open hats sounded awesome, so did the hi-hats and the snare, sounded great too. The only thing which would make the drums a bit better was as I mentioned above: glitching them a bit more.

Overall, this submission is really well done. It's amazing that you managed to combine calming ambient with some glitchy stutters and effects to produce something as extraordinary as this. Just work a little on the mastering, maybe making the intro a bit more interesting, softening the reverse effect at the beginning and filling up some parts which feel a bit empty with some more pads, but as you can see, these are all small nitpicks which don't take much away from the awesomeness of the song. I hope you keep up the outstanding work, and I hope to hear more awesome songs like this from you in the future :D...
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

mjattie responds:

wow......

It's been a long time, since I got my last great review! Thanks a lot!!! I'm glad that you took the time to write such a long review and listen very carefully (with one ear) to this song. I must say, you're right about everything :O Sometimes I not agree with reviewers, but this is not such case.

You're right about the (too) few glitches, lack of bass, improvable intro. But I also think the lack of bass makes it sound clearer.

So, I can type a hundred words more, but that won't make my response more interesting.

I thanks you once again and will upload something similar next week (or maybe 2 a bit similar songs)

[I have a potion]

Lol, cool :D

I enjoyed this. It made me smile, and although I'm not really a fan of 8-bit, I really enjoyed this. Good job on this, for an older submission of yours, it's actually well done ^^.

The melodies are awesome. I don't know what DaveGuy means by random, TBH. It sounds fine to me. I liked the part at 1:11, the melody over there was great, and then the song picked up quite well before getting ready to loop. To keep things simple, I really enjoyed the melodies in this piece. They weren't too complicated, but did the job perfectly. Vocals also complimented the melody pretty well, even if it's a synthesized voice. I'm pretty impressed that you took the liberty of tuning the words properly too. Vocals should be a bit louder though, since they can't be heard so well with the 8-bit synth in the way, as yours31f said.

The synths themselves were great. I liked all of your 8-bit sounds, and the pad sounded good too, although it sounded a bit out of place among all of the 8-bit sounds. Still, I don't mind if you keep the pad as it is since it's pretty hard to hear it anyway, and even then, as you said, it adds more body and texture to the piece. Synths on the whole were great :D.

Transitions to different melodies were perfect, and even for a short loop, the structure is good too. Variety was fine, since the song never got repetitive because of so many different melodies to keep the listener interested in the song. The intro was a perfect way to start the song, and the loop was flawless too.

Drums were also a very nice addition. They fitted very well with the melodies, and were just the right volume, with good beats and decent drum samples. Good drums overall, I have nothing to complain about them.

Overall, this is a great submission, and among the best of 8-bit submissions I've heard. I can just imagine this being right at home in an old-fashioned RPG. Keep up the great work, the only problems with it would be obviously its length and the vocals being too quiet. Great job on the song!
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

Calamaistr responds:

Wow, i think i never had such a elaborate review not even by coop or haggard :þ
Im flabbergasted here, i didnt expect people to like this so much since its so different from most of my recent work, i can hardly listen to it when ive been listening to my newest album, not that i dont like it anymore but because its a whole different kind of sound, something you almost have to seep into in time/loops.

Admitted when i was done with this track i msned a friend of mine that i probably had made something that would go all over the internet because it was just such a fun theme.

Im still hoping someone will find this track and make a flash on it. haha.

Thanks for your amazing review man, i look forward for more from your hand..if you want ofcourse. (wait till i start posting my new album in the review crew topic, not anytime soon though. Even though i gave a buzz asking why it took so long im actually patient about requesting itself)

:)

Greets Cal.

[Initiate]

Reviewing as I go along...

Sorry for not writing a proper review, but I prefer commenting as I'm hearing songs with this length. So, here goes nothing...

Alright, I'm at 0:01. Hearing some pads. TBH, I don't really like their sound. They sound a bit too plain and lack effects to them. Give them a fuller sound, maybe some reverb to them too.

0:15, weird note cutting off as djJPA stated. Ooh, hearing an awesome buildup. Yes, that's what I call an intro. Epic buildup.

0:50-ish, the song starts. Hmm, I expected some epic crash cymbal to play right after the peak of the buildup and the song starting really dramatically if you get what I mean. I mean, the buildup really sounded anticlimatic without an epic climax right after it. Drums come in, they're very, very well done. I really like that beat. The only thing I'll complain about is the fact that the drums are in the treble so much. Give them some more bass, they get a bit annoying.

0:59: Aww man, vocals ruined the atmosphere :(. The atmosphere you set at the beginning was spooky and dark, and then it built up to some really epic atmosphere, and I really imagined a crazy chaos scene set in a parallel dimension with mutant beings surrounding me, but then the vocals came in, and all that chaos disappeared, and the scene I imagined was a DJ with his turntable and an audience around him. Obviously, this shows that the atmosphere is pretty much smashed to bits with the vocals. So while I think the atmosphere you have set is REALLY epic, the vocals just ruined it, IMO. So anyway, the song continues with some nice scratching effects and other than the vocals, I'm enjoying it.

I'm now at 2:07. Yay, the vocals ended. There are some really cool effects, which add to the song a lot. Good job.

2:40, alright now it's getting pretty repetitive. Same beat, same melody, and although the addition of so many new elements keeps the listener interested, the song still isn't varied enough.

3:50 - it's starting to get pretty cluttered and full of different sounds, not to mention loud. It's also still repeating :(.

3:38, awesome break effect. It's repeated again at 4:13, 4:31, 4:46, 5:02 and 5:17, and then never again for the whole song, which is a bit weird, so maybe instead of fitting all these small break effects into one small part, you can spread them out a little more in the song.

At 4:37-ish an extremely awesome piano-like synth is added to song. Really nice addition. Still, the song is getting pretty repetitive. It keeps repeating basically the same things with a few different elements added till 6:20ish

6:20 - alright, this is a good break. I was hoping a break like that would come in eventually, since by now the listener's probably out of breath with all the drums and synths playing so powerfully. Still, after the break, it starts removing some of the elements from the song for the outro...

9:01: yeah, this is a pretty weird ending, IMO. Maybe you can consider a fade out, when remembering that this is just an experiment. Better than ending it so suddenly as you did right now. Still, you had a good idea for the outro by removing elements until getting to the ending note, so either you end it on a powerful note, or you fade it out.

--

Overall, this song is really cool, with some _EXCELLENT_ atmosphere (albeit ruined by the vocals), amazing effects, a cool melody, and some extremely epic drums. The only real constructive criticism that I can give you other than the few nitpicks that I mentioned above would be to make the song much much shorter. Grab some of the best elements from this extended version, and add them to your song. Add some variety, give the song a better outro, and try and aim for around 3:00, maybe 3:30 too. Also, as you already know, the song gets pretty cluttered too, so maybe calming down on all the blaring synths and effects a little might sound a bit better.

In general, for your first song in Ableton, I truly am amazed. If you ever release a condensed/better version of this, be sure to drop a PM :D. Good job all in all.
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Wow! Thanks for the AMAZING review! You know what? I'm going to take everything you said into heavy consideration, and use your tips in my shortened version. I will make the shorter version before the end of May.

[Nature Is The Law (WIP)]

Cool :).

This is a cool song, really great to have songs like this on Newgrounds. You just gotta love Indie. Still, you can tell that this is a work in progress. Some things seem unfinished, this needs some little touches here and there, and some of the volume levels suck. However, in general this is a very good song, well-written and I enjoyed it from beginning to end, even though I never really liked songs with vocals (yeah I'm weird I know). Great job man!

The melodies are excellent, and catchy enough to make you hum it when the song's over. Piano was a very nice addition, you don't usually see guitar/drum/vocal songs with a piano too, but it was an awesome addition, and me being a piano player myself, I really liked the fact that you added it. Vocals also have great melodies, and as MonkeyV said, the singing style was unique and cool. Lyrics were really well-written, and I also liked the bridge in the middle, although it felt a little plain with the drums only, but I suppose that's why this is a WiP. In general the melodies were really cool and I enjoyed them, good job :D.

The instruments were superb quality. Those drums sound like a real drum kit, and the guitar sounds real too (although it probably is). Did you do this in a band or are those drums and piano samples that you found on the Internet? Anyway, basically, the instrument choice was awesome, and I won't complain about it. Maybe this could do well with some strings, although that's just a suggestion, since the song already sounds really nice as it is. Instruments were excellent ^^. Volume levels, on the other hand, could use work. The vocals and guitar were too quiet and the drums sort of drowned them out a little...

The transitions were just superb. The song flowed really smoothly from beginning to end, with some really epic transitions. I liked the drum rolls you added to the song, since they provided great transitions. Actually, the only transition which I think might be a bit better would be the one at 0:22: maybe you could add a small snare roll to indicate that the drums are about to kick in and the song is about to start. Still, it sounds good as it is, so I won't complain about it much. Nice job with the transitions, they were good ^^.

The structure was a basic structure, and you see it in a lot of songs of this genre. Still, the fact that the song structure is basic doesn't make it a bad structure, since it fit well in the song. The variety, on the other hand, could use some work. Your probably already know this, but the vocals are repetitive. Still, if you're going to change Verse 2 and 3, then the repetitiveness of the vocals won't be a problem anymore.

The intro was an excellent way to start the song. You can never go wrong with soft introductions I suppose ^^. The only thing which might make it better would be what I said above: adding that small snare roll or something to indicate that the song is about to start at 0:22. The ending, however, could use some work. It sort of skipped from loud to soft all of a sudden, providing a really abrupt ending. That final soft note seemed to come out of nowhere. I don't know if you're planning on making the ending a bit better when you finish this, but if you're not I strongly recommend that you do, since the ending right now is pretty weird in my opinion. Maybe give it some sort of slowing down towards the end until it final ends with an epic loud final note with the piano, voice, guitar and a crash cymbal or something.

The drums were great in general. Beats were good, and the drums fit with the song well. The only thing I would suggest would be to make the drums a bit less repetitive by adding some more drum beats, since the drums got a slight bit repetitive throughout the song. Other than that, I was really impressed by the drums.

Overall, this is a great song, really fun to listen to, and even for a work in progress it already sounds awesome. Keep up the great work, and good luck finishing this :D. Sorry for the long review, I tend to go over the top :/...
9/10
5/5

-Review Request Club-

StickyRemnant responds:

No need to apologise for the length of the review! it's great. Thanks.

Yea the bridge is just abit of a filler at the moment. I have a chord sequence in mind that i'll probably be going with.
The intruments, except for the keys, are all real instruments. The drums are a sample of real drums aswell but I'll be recording live drums on it at a later date when I can. The keys are VSTs. I used to be in a band but not atm, tho im looking to put something back together
. I was thinking of putting some strings in towards the end actually, good shout.
I'll look at adding a drum break at around 0:22 and put your other advice (re: levels, ending etc) into practice. Oh and yea the other verses will get their own lyrics. I tend to leave lyrics until the end.
I'm glad you like it and thanks very much for the excellent review. Feel free to review my latest tune "Alot of Heart" if you fancy it ;) Cheers

[New Qualification V2.0]

Feels empty...

Don't get me wrong, it's a good song, but lacks depth. For a new direction to music, I must say that I'm impressed that it turned out this good, but it feels bland and empty. Still, sounds pretty cool overall, so good job on this. Sounds almost frightening, which I quite like :D.

This lacks a melody, which may be why it could sound so plain at times. Doesn't need to be too complicated, but something to fill up some parts such as at the beginning and in softer parts of the song would be nice. Maybe even some ambient notes, since the only melody is played by that gated synth which first comes in at 0:41-ish, and it doesn't play much of a melody either. So yeah, a little more of a melody, possibly an ambient, slow melody, would really help in this song. The atmosphere, on the other hand, is excellent, with a dark feel playing throughout the song. So yeah, what it lacks in melody, it gains in an amazing atmosphere which is really the strong point of the submission. So good job with the atmosphere, it was spooky, dark and all in all brilliant :D. Also I loved the part at 1:49.

The synth you used fit very well in the theme of the song. Still, you lacked different instruments and sounds, which is another reason why this feels so empty. Add some bass pads, maybe more unique sound effects. Give the song a bit more depth, since it feels plain and bland with only a maximum of two synths playing at the same time. The vocal samples were great, since they added more to the submission. They were a bit hard to understand, but still, that's probably just me. Basically, what I think needs fixing would be the lack of different instruments to add depth to the song. Also, I think those vocal samples clip a little, you may want to consider EQing them (although it's probably my extremely retarded speakers).

Some transitions were a little weird, but they seemed to fit in this song. I liked how you introduced the synth at 0:41, and I don't really think there are any transitions which sound out of place. The structure was pretty unique and weird, but there's a noticeable climax in the song, and the fact that the structure is so original and strange gave the song a unique touch which makes it stand out from the rest. Variety was good, since the vocal samples never got boring, and the synth didn't really get repetitive. Good job with the transitions/structure/variety.

The intro, after hearing it for the first time, sounds a little weird or out of place, but now that I heard it like 10 times when writing this review, I'm actually starting to like it :3. So yeah, good job with the intro. The outro, on the other hand, was really strange. I'm not sure what you can do for an outro but I don't really like the outro as it is now. Maybe you can consider a fade ending or maybe even loop this (when remembering the words at the end: 'Next Test Subject' [at least I think that's what the words are], looping it would make sense), but something a little less weird would work a little better, since this ending leaves the listener with a bad impression of the song, because the whole song has a great atmosphere and interesting vocals, but then it ends so plainly and strangely...

The drums, unfortunately, are very repetitive. I think this could really do with more drum beats. On the other hand, the drum samples were really unique-sounding. Hi-hat got a little annoying after a while, but other than that, your drum samples were fine ^^. Drum beats were good, and the drums were just the right volume, although I could barely hear that bass drum, but as you might already know my speakers are absolute crap so I won't be able to hear it properly. Overall, drums were good, albeit repetitive.

In general, this is a unique submission, and although its main defect would be the fact that it's so empty, the atmosphere was just fantastic. Good job with it, it was enjoyable. It's nice to hear a unique Industrial song once in a while, among so many generic dance songs you hear on NG... Keep it up :).
8/10
5/5 - because this got 0-bombed...

-Review Request Club-

DaylightsEnd responds:

Thanx for the review man. You had some great points, and I'm shocked and surprised at the length and depth of the review. I appreciate the time and effort you put into it. I will look into what to add for the depth without killing the atmosphere (I'm glad you noticed the amount of effort it took to get the feeling), as well as a more creative way to end it. In my opinion, if your' not already sick of hearing it (10+ times, really?! lol), download and put it in a nice system. The bass drum rattles my car. Thanx again for the great review! :D

[[dB] Isolation]

Moar credit!! xD

You just say 'LOADS of help with the melody and a lot of construcive critisiscm'. I MADE the melody, not to mention the bass and the sweep too xD. I deserve more credit than that xP.
But apart from all jokes, this is a decent song. I'll have to be brutally honest, it's not one of your best, but heck, it's still a great song, and I can hear a lot of creativity in it. Basically, from all of the problems that this song has, yours31f mentioned the "big'uns", but I'll mention ALL of the problems, since a critic's got to do what a critic's got to do, and that is, be an asshole - err... sorry, review songs XD.

The melody sounds amazing, how in the world did you make it so catchy?? Alright, enough complimenting myself xD. I liked the fact that you chose to make the melody in the minor, really beats the usual happy/upbeat dance songs you find so frequently nowadays. What I don't really like is the fact that you didn't use that many melodies. You just stuck with the melody I gave you for the whole song except the parts where the bass was playing and the part at 0:54 which is similar to my melody anyway. Yours31f is right, this does get rather repetitive. Add some sub-melodies and alternate melodies, since a full song should never be based on one melody only. Also, I don't agree with making the bass part at the end so long. 8 bars is already quite long, let alone 16 bars. Still, the part at 0:54 was spot-on and I enjoyed it quite a bit, so good job on that.

The instruments on the whole are fine. Piano sounded great and the bass was excellent (I should know, I made it xD). My issue with this song is not that the instruments sound bad, but the variety of instruments is lacking. You just had a piano as the main instrument, and the bass a little at the end, which is why yours31f is right again by saying that this sounds plain. For starters, this has no pads, making it sound really empty. Secondly, there are no melodic synths other than the bass: just a piano. This can really benefit with some epic multisaws, maybe arps too. Anything to fill up the lack of background depth that this song has. Still, effects were pretty good, especially the sweep in the middle of the song.

The song's transitions are great. That cool reverse cymbal effect that you had made great transitions (although I think it could some reverb to it to give it a bit more of a ring than just a plain reverse cymbal) and no transition was off. You seem to be really good at transitions =D. New instruments were introduced well, and the buildups in this song were great, although at 0:40 I expected the bass to come in, and then after the sweep part in the middle you introduce a new element to the song. What I mean is, introduce the bass earlier so for the part at 1:08 you can reserve something a bit more epic.

The structure is alright. The first 3/4 of the song had a very good structure, but then the bass part really didn't fit with the structure. Maybe you should continue the song a little more and end it somewhere at 3:00 with some epic final note. The intro was pretty good, and I liked that you gradually introduced new elements to the song: it helped the song's progression a lot. Unfortunately I don't really like your ending. I know you were going for the "sudden lights turning off" or some creepy ending like that, but I don't think it worked too well. Either you end it with an epic final note, or a fade out where the final note is held back a little and really really soft.

The percussion at the beginning was unimpressive, but as it built up it was pretty good. Still, I wasn't impressed by your cymbals: the hat line was almost a hip-hop hat line at first and you didn't use any open cymbals, which made the drums sound bland and dry. Still, decent percussion :).

Overall, this is a really awesome song. I'm noticing that you're rapidly getting better at music making, and although this isn't your best, it still sounds great. Keep up the awesome work, and I hope you enjoyed my overly harsh review :P.
8/10
5/5 - Because of 0-bombers...

-Review Request Club-

Decibel responds:

Errm...........To be honest I can't answer all this cuz it's late and I;m weally tired but, i read all of it, I assure you and I understood everything, It's hard making songs these days and with me it's much harder.
Personally I dont understand you though which is my best song, cuz i suck at this but w/e

Thanks for the awesome review.
><Deejay><

[AgeisZero]

For your second song...

...This actually isn't that bad, TBH. At times it can get a little annoying to listen to, but I must say, for a beginner to FL Studio, I'm actually quite impressed. I remember my second submission. Oh God, it was horrible :P.

The melodies are alright. I won't lie to you, they didn't really have much of a hook to them. This song consists most of arps, but it has some alright melodies such as the one at 0:37. It actually sounds a little off-key, but it's OK, way better than a lot of beginners' attempts at melodies. I'd suggest adding a few more melodies though, at times your range of melodies gets a little limited throughout the song. Try adding some solos too, maybe a few breaks (the song goes quiet for some time and stays calm with some ambient stuff, then a buildup and the song reaches its climax) and stuff to break the monotony. One thing that I don't like about this is that a lot of the time it feels as if there's too much going on at once. Sometimes, simpler is better, and this is one of those times in my opinion. Still, for a second try at melodies, not bad, not bad at all :).

The synths, to be honest, sound a little annoying. Overall they were alright, but the one that came in at 0:07 was pretty weird and I think it would work out much more if you had a softer or lighter synth to take its place. Still, I have to admit, the sound effect that first came in at 0:13, although annoying, actually sounded pretty cool and fit with the song. Maybe you could turn its volume down a little, since when it comes in, it drowns out all of the other instruments (this may be because of the fact that you have a limiter in your master channel. Go to your mixer [Press: F9] in FL Studio and there should be 'Fruity Limiter' written somewhere in the horizontal bars on the right. Click on the arrow next to it, and choose 'none'. That limiter is messing up your volume levels, PM me for more details if you want). Synths overall were alright...

The transitions aren't really too special. There was nothing abrupt, but the transitions overall were pretty weird, for example the ones at 0:54, 1:01 and 1:05. New synths weren't introduced too well, such as the one at 0:06 which sort of came in out of nowhere. Also, that sound effect I talked about (the one at 0:13) played at random times in the song, so when it came in, it felt as if it came out of nowhere. Still, some transitions were alright, and no transition was THAT bad. This song definitely lacks buildups and build-downs though. Instead of building up to a climax and building down to a calmer part, you simple skip from loud to soft really suddenly, and it doesn't work out too well. Try and fade things in/out, and add a few buildups here and there. It could really do wonders to this submission...

The structure is pretty weird to be honest. You don't really have any noticeable structure, and the variety was so good the song became pretty random. I'd suggest for a structure that you have a chorus playing every 16 bars or so, and in the 16 bars that the chorus doesn't play, you have a few alternate melodies. There's already a good start to a solid song structure. The intro wasn't too bad, but the song immediately starts crazy and random, maybe if you build it up and gradually introduce new elements to the song instead of starting straight away it'd be a smoother intro. Outro was pretty weird, try and give the outro a final and satisfying ending note.

The drums, well, I'm not really sure if there are any drums. I might be hearing a kick in there, maybe a hi-hat too unless that's a synth, but if you do have any drums, I think you should turn them up a little, since theyr'e drowned out by the synths. If there are no drums, add some :P.

I want to stress the fact that even though this may seem like a harsh review, for your second song this is way above the normal standard, so if I were you I wouldn't give up on music since I'm sure that if you continue at this rate, you'll be a great producer, and if you need any help with FL, feel free to PM me ;).
7/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

Fishtales responds:

Lol to be honest I have no idea what i'm doing with FL and still don't I was just playing with stuff and was hoping for a review like this. Unfortunately I canned everything I had. Still have FL so maybe ill give something other than a loop a try. I don't think there were drums though. I can't remember. Thanks though., I do appreciate your time.

Also I use to listen to this a bit. and it use to hurt my head so that's mostly why I stopped trying.

[p4c-Maleficence [Short Mix] HQ]

For a House song...

...This is very original. House is so common nowadays that it's very hard to invent something original to put in a house song, but you achieved this very well. So yeah, this is a really awesome track. I think you're one of my favourite House artists, since although I find House really boring, you really spice it up and make it sound interesting and original, so great job with that :D.

The melodies are well done. I really liked the harpsichord (?) melody that you incorporated to the song, since it really gave a unique, 'medieval' touch to this. I wish I saw more of that harpsichord throughout the song, since it only played twice and played the same melody. You seem really good at making harpsichord melodies so I think that if you add a few more harpsichord melodies I'm sure it'll make the song really interesting. I really liked the hits you added to the song such as at 1:37, 1:41 and 2:03. They were very mighty, were a really nice touch and were fun to listen to. That bass had good melodies too, and fit in with the song very well ^^. In all, the melodies are just wow.

The instruments also sound really amazing. That harpsichord was surprisingly pretty good quality, and sounded really nice, and the hits, as I said above, were extremely powerful and sounded really unique. Distortion FTW xD. I liked the high plucks at the beginning, it made the intro a bit more interesting. The bass was really deep and powerful, plus it wasn't that generic which just adds to the fact that this song is so original and well-done. I liked your effects such as the sweeps you incorporated in the song, since they really added a lot to some of the transitions. Yeah I don't think there really is anything wrong with the instruments over here. Production is also superb, and I liked the sidechaining you did over here even though I usually despise the use of a lot of sidechaining since it completely drowns songs out. The sidechaining over here sounds fine ^^.

The transitions are all perfect, except the one at 1:52-ish which I don't really like. The song is all powerful with those hits, and then the square wave randomly plays one high note and the song goes silent before continuing again :S. I think it was a pretty weird way to transit from one part to another, although it could be just me. Other than that, smooth transitions. Instruments were introduced very well, and the buildup you did at the beginning and throughout other parts of the song was cool too. Excellent job with the transitions/buildups :D.

The song has a unique structure; another thing which is unique in this song. I liked the structure, since it wasn't the usual house structure: buildup, synth breakdown, buildup again, the song continues playing, a few breaks, build down, end calmly or with some sweep/percussion hit. You changed around the structure a little which sounds great. The variety is also very good. Even though you didn't have many melodies with that harpsichord, the song never got repetitive at all. You seriously never do anything wrong, do you? Intro was slightly bland, but you introduced new elements to it so quickly that it hardly matters. Ending was also REALLY good, since it had such a powerful ending with a powerful hit. Structure/variety and intro/outro are both wins for me.

The drums are great. Your kick isn't weak, but isn't loud or powerful enough to start becoming penetrating and annoying, and your use of cymbals was good. The only thing I didn't like about your drums would be that clap, like the other reviewers said. I'll have to agree with Haggard about adding that snare drum instead. The clap sounds so dry and plain, and I really didn't like the sound of it. Still, overall, the drums were excellent, and were just the right volume. Good job.

To summarize, this is an amazing song, which I really enjoyed, and this is coming from someone who VERY rarely listens to house. Heh, I remember reviewing another song of yours, even that rocked. A few more songs like this and I'm fav-ing you, for sure. Keep it up!
10/10
5/5
Download.

-Review Request Club-

p4c responds:

epic review, man. yeah it all flowed to me soo quickly on this one. the idea was all in the intense chords, since its such a common sequence for a lot of classical music. so with baroque in mind, the harpsichord was jst the most logical thing at the moment. im glad you like the track and thanks for the thorough review :)

[Luminous_Odyssey [Box-Killa]]

Not bad...

You've really improved from your old submissions, and this song shows it. Good job man, I enjoyed it. It's not exactly dance-able, since it needs a bit more of a 'boom', but that doesn't make it a bad song. Overall, good job! Here comes a long review!

The melodies are OK, could use a little work since they aren't that particularly catchy, but still, they're pretty upbeat and have a happy feel to them. It's good that your melodies are unique and don't sound generic ^^. I liked the part at 0:41 where you got to that break, since it stopped the song from being that repetitive, although the parts at 1:00 and 1:56 were too anti-climatic. What I mean is, you sort of gave it a bit too much power beforehand with that epic sweep and kick roll, and then it sort of sounded as if it's letting you down since you expected an epic climax, yet you just heard the song move down into a calmer rhythm. Even before the ending at 2:23, the song had a lot of power and then sort of ended like that. So yeah, melodies overall are alright, but you should fix a few anti-climatic parts since they really take away from the 'dance-able' feel of this track...

Yeah, the main synths you used are pretty original and non-generic, but unfortunately, that bass is extremely generic. Still, it's hard to make a bass which *isn't* generic so I won't reduce any points for that. What this song lacks is a pad. The song at times felt a little empty, and I think that if you add a pad, or at least a reverbed arp (but I think a pad will work out better) your song would have a lot more depth and fullness to it, and makes it more enjoyable to listen to. Pads are your friend xD. Maybe you can also try to vary the main synth a little more, since throughout the whole song, the synth which carried the melody was the same, or at least similar to the same synth that was always playing. You could try and add some bell or something. Anyway, other than those defects, your instruments are pretty good. I really liked your use of kick effects and sweep effects, so good job with that :D. Not a bad job with the instruments/effects. Good use of filters too.

The transitions were alright, but nothing really too special. The anti-climatic ones which I mentioned above were a bit of a bummer, but overall the transitions were smooth and well done, so good job with that. New instruments were introduced well, and you had a great amount of buildups, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Maybe your buildups could be a bit more gradual, since sometimes the buildup reaches its peak too early, such as when you're fading in the synth at the beginning, it could do with a longer fade in IMO. Just a tiny suggestion though ^^. Yeah, transitions and buildups were fine ^^.

The song is well structured, and the only issue I have with the structure is that the climax at the end wasn't powerful enough, which led to a bad structure. At the end you expected a powerful finale with the way you structured the song, yet it was quite a weak part at the end. The variety could use a little work, since it was just the same melody repeated a few times with a few subtle changes. Try adding a piano solo, yeah it's a generic way to go, but it surely can fix your repetitiveness problem. The intro was awesome, but the ending was a bit weak, maybe you should end it on a more powerful note so that the huge buildup you put in before is satisfied...

The drums weren't too bad, but that kick could be much more powerful. The snare was also barely heard and the hat line was pretty generic and simple. Overall the drums were pretty basic and bland at times, but still, they fit with the song pretty well, even though they aren't that varied. I liked your use of the snare roll :).

Whoo, harsh review. Sorry =/. Anyway, your song does have a few defects, but overall it's a decent dance song. Still, not one of your best, IMO 'Dark Awakening' would be your best. Whatever, keep up the good work, I hope you turn out to be a great dance artist! :D.
8/10
5/5 - because of the horrible 0-bombing this song has...

-Review Request Club-

Box-Killa responds:

lol thanks for the massive review!

[[AMP] See You Smile]

Has some problems...

Overall, this sounds like a professional song and I is pretty fun to listen to, but unfortunately it has its defects, and although it's a good song, these defects ruin it a little. Still, in general, you're a good producer, and the production in this just shows this talent of yours. Not a bad job :).

The melodies are one of the biggest defects of this song. The melody sung by the vocals is Basshunter's, so I can't really give you any credit for that, and the melodies you made weren't too good to be honest. They just didn't have that 'hook' to them. The one at 1:15 wasn't too catchy. Also another problem with this song is that it's very generic. It starts with the usual dance buildup, and the chord progression you used, although it isn't the usual dance chord progression, it still is pretty generic. The structure itself is generic and the vocals are slightly cheesy, but still, the vocals in general were alright, and sung very well. I liked the part at 1:44 where the piano came in, it broke up the monotony and repetitiveness of the song quite well. As for the number of alternate melodies, you could add some more synth melodies, since IMO having one synth melody wasn't enough.

The instruments themselves are, like many elements in this song, generic. Still, the fact that they're used in so many dance songs doesn't necessarily make them bad-sounding. Maybe your piano could be a bit less muddy, since at times it has so much reverb on it that it's a little hard to understand. Overall instruments were alright. As for the production, it was pristine. You seem to be really good when it comes to production, and I can't complain about the production at all. As for sound effects that you used, I liked your reverse cymbal, it provided great transitions, and I liked the sweeps you used a little after the 2 minute marker. Sound effects were good :).

The transitions are very smooth, and as I said above, your use of reverse cymbals and sweeps were effective and gave good transitions. I liked the transitions at 1:42 and 2:12, and overall the transitions were pretty well done and the song flowed very smoothly. Buildups were done well overall too, but I suppose that's almost automatic since good buildups are always key elements to a good Dance song. Good job with the transitions/buildups ^^.

The song is well structured. Too bad the structure is so generic, but still, it has synth breakdowns, it has buildups, it has solos, so yeah, the structure is fine. When it comes to the variety, as I said above, you could've added another synth melody, and also the song's lyrics got a little repetitive, even though they were well-written and well-sung. The intro was superb, even though it's similar to a lot of dance intros, and the ending was also very good. Ended on the right note and was a very satisfying ending, although maybe the last note could use a bit more of a 'boom', if you get what I mean, maybe some powerful slightly reverbed kick or crash. After all, an ending note most of the time should be more powerful and significant than any other note, at least in my opinion.

The drums overall were good. Kick was nice and powerful, clap sounded good, crash was alright, if not slightly weak, and the snare rolls throughout the song provided some great transitions and sounded nice. The hat you used in the song was too quiet, though. I think overall your cymbals should be a little louder. Still, the drums overall were pretty well done, and fit with the song pretty well. Not a bad job with the drums ^^.

This is a good submission, professionally done with fantastic production, smooth transitions, great buildups, well-sung lyrics, excellent intro/outro, decent structure, pretty good variety and OK drums, but my main gripe is that it's very generic, and it's not really new or interesting, and the melody also wasn't too special. So yeah, I think that if you apply your excellent production skills to something more original and less generic, it'd be awesome :). Not a bad job overall, sorry for the long review.
8/10
4/5

-Review Request Club-

AMP responds:

I didn't request a review, but im glad you did :P

It seems your main problem with the song is how generic it is. As I've mentioned to previous reviewers, i made this song to practice my vocals and its easy to practice on a basic standard song. I also made it so that it can be easy to listen to so people don't have to think when they listen to it, they just enjoy it.

So i don't find the generic attributes of this song to be a flaw just a technique i used to make the song simple and easy to listen to.

As for the synth melody, yes it didn't hook but this is a song with vocals. Had this been a normal Dance song than the synth melody would be catchy and memorable but thats why I have vocals in the song. When's the last time you've heard a song with a Catchy Vocal Melody AS WELL as a Catchy Synth Melody, you can't have both in my opinion because one should stand out and they shouldnt take away from eachother unless you just take the Vocal Melody and make it the Synth Melody and vice versa :P. The synth break is a filler not the main aspect of the song.

As for chord progression i think people should stop whining, i didn't use the standard one and people are still complaining? Give me a break guys. There are VERY few catchy song songs with a crazy complex progression.

Yea, the vocals are cheesy as shit XD, i'm just awful with lyrics and I suck at making meaningful ones.

I am very happy you enjoed my production and enjoyed the song. Thanks a crap load for the long and detailed review, i will look back on it on my next songs so i don't get people saying my songs are "generic" :P, thanks man!