ForgottenDawn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cyclopean Omen (NGAIC Draft)]

Oh, this is so interesting. It sounds so industrial to me. Even the production wouldn't sound out of place as an early-to-mid-90's underground metal hit. I just *had* to be the first one to review this, since I'm a sucker for anything doom metal-related. This is, like... a fusion of all the extreme subgenres. You get the industrial side right from the synthetic drums and overall production style, death growls and tremolo picking, the abrasive, cold atmosphere of black metal, and the slow, existential pace of doom metal.

I'd really love to hear a fully fleshed out album in this style and see how far you can push the concept. There's some really solid potential here, and you're definitely no stranger to either black metal or industrial, as it shows here. MOAR!!!

LD-W responds:

Ayyy thanks!

The other project (the big one) is meant more to be the more 'Avant-Garde' Industrial Black Metal project which I'm slowly concepting in the background, while this one's more supposed to be mainly Black/Doom haha. Production-wise, that would be a case of my 'mix it to clinical levels, then dirty it up afterwards' philosophy bleeding though (someone else did compare the production-side to Blut Aus Nord's approach). More work, but significant flexibility! I did think about running the entire thing through a tape machine instead to dirty everything up at once and give it some subtle warping, but I thought against it in the end, although I may experiment with that on a future piece under this potential side-project (potentially interested in expanding this out into a one-off album under a dedicated name)

[House Of Immolation NGAIC Layer 3]

When I first heard this track, I thought "This is going to be one of the first songs I should review". Now, I'm biased. I have a soft spot for anything doom metal-related, let alone anything that sounds 90's enough to me. This one does just that. It's the kind of death/doom that leans more towards the brutal, death metal side (Disembowelment, Asphyx, Disma, Winter) than the melancholic, gothic strain of 90's death/doom.

And I love that. It doesn't get boring. It even has a solo! This wouldn't be out of place as part of a lost demo tape that was just unearthed by some goblin craving for obscure metal gems. Bonus points for fulfilling the 13/4 challenge. Rad stuff. 👍

Banana-head responds:

Thanks for the review!

[Why does it sound like 3 different songs (NGAIC layer 2)]

This is pretty cool! I love that we all interpreted Drum and Bass in wildly different ways. I'd like to think that you saved the best for last because it dropped all pretenses of being a DnB song and instead went fuck it, gloves off, let's just turn everything up to 11. Then it ended as soon as I was getting really into it haha. But yeah, love the intensity and variety in the riffs and progression. Sometimes the best things really are made in only a handful of hours. Nice work~

Arponax responds:

I like to just make random stuff in few hours and call it done :D

and yeah, the last parts need to stand out and be more interesting than the first parts XDD thats one of the reasons i dont like to copy and paste drops.

[malfunction]

This is pretty enjoyable, actually!

For the peaking issue, there are a number of ways to prevent digital distortion.
- The quick and dirty way is to chain a compressor or a limiter to the tracks you want to keep in check and set it to -0.1dB threshold. It's *just* enough to avoid clipping.
- The long and more satisfying route, IMHO, is to do some mixing work first, and then, after making sure the master track doesn't peak, compress/boost. I don't recommend normalizing your track soon after exporting it if it's already peaking, because that distortion carries to any volume level. Bass and drums tend to be the loudest elements in most mixes, so make sure to level-adjust and EQ them accordingly.

Hope this is helpful, and I think the track itself is pretty nice! It's melodic, laid-back, and quirky. Keep it up. 💪

xetto responds:

thanks a lot! :)

[Dreaming Under Metallic Skies (NGAIC)]

I was probably one of the first NGAIC peeps to fave this. I remember looping this track a bunch of times without even realizing it. What can I say, I really enjoyed this melodic, yet sparse piano-driven ambiance. Instead of simply focusing on the background synth layers, you decided to paint this vibrant soundscape full of colors and swashes with a spontaneous, almost impromptu quality akin to a live performance. I would almost say "maximalist" in the best sense of the term.

Cryo Chamber could take a few hints from your tracks... 🤭

LD-W responds:

Ayy thanks!
tbh it would be cool at some point to make up some project with more of an 'Aggressive Melodic Industrial' vibe to some ambient and try my luck with the label, as long as the contract isn't too restrictive of course ;)

[NGAIC 2022, Layer 1 - Pariahs & Peonies (INSTRUMENTAL)]

This sounds great! Twinkly, yet warm all-the-same. I'm a sucker for crisp, stabby percussion like that, I'd use it in almost every track. I'd say you've found a pretty good way of blending these closely-related genres together. Keep it up!

TheVodouQueen responds:

TYSM for your review! And glad you enjoyed it! :D

[three]

Short and sweet. I like those swells and bends. They give me a sense of uncertainty and wonder. It's very Berlin School, and the latter half reminds me of a spaceship. Pretty cool!

xetto responds:

Thank you! :)

[Victory of a Soldier]

Really nice, reflective piece. Love those big chords. Your track definitely has a storytelling quality that makes me want to revisit it at various points in my life and look back; see where I am right now, gain perspective, take it all in. Well done.

AceMantra responds:

Thanks for listening! Always happy to see you!

[The House of Lithriel (COMPLETE)]

This is pretty rad. I've gotten Soul Calibur vibes from this and had a huge, stupid grin on my face the entire time. Good sense of dynamics and progression all-around. Wasn't expecting to hear such an epic piece in the first iceberg layer! Well done.

trunotfals responds:

Nothing makes me happy when I write something and I get the simple response of, "it made me happy."

This is a great compliment, thank you so much! I'm very glad to have shared some joy with you.

[Adaptation]

This slaps, man. You're only one of the handful of people I trust to make good use of those hybrid production libraries, haha. Can't tell you how many AAA producers are afraid to just layer them creatively. That, and the fact that the song never feels like it drags despite the length.

zybor responds:

Thank you for dropping by FD, how are you doing lately? :)

The thing with hybrid libs that they would eventually sound the same after a few uses, so to reuse them you would find some way to make them sound interesting. Maybe it's because the silly me doesn't look at music as a product or challenge and more of a fun thing to do. Every new project is something interesting and how to find a way to make them unique and expressive. It is just something I enjoy a lot.

My production took influences from IDM artists that you introduced to me while back, Aphex Twins, Four Tet, Solar Fields, Telefon Tel Aviv, Max Million, Venetian Snares and especially Stefan Torto. There is just so much creativity in all their works.

Thank you for your review! :) Take care. :( I hope you doing well, don't catch the virus.