ForgottenDawn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Boss Fight]

Well, it's an interesting piece, although I wished the whole ensemble being a little more dynamic in terms of audio compression and left some breathing space between each instrument because at the current state of things it sounds like a big cluster of sounds alternating with more other clusters.

It would probably also help if you gave your orchestra a more natural ambiance, like a concert hall or an auditorium, and you modulated your instruments with a bit more of vibrato and not just sustain notes that kinda fall flat after a little while.

As a final advice, you could try to humanize your instruments by playing with tempo automations and performing some slight changes in each note velocity and placement so that it gives your sound a less stiff, mechanized output. Overall, I enjoyed the structure and progression and it does give a battle-like atmosphere.

//FD

[The Wishing Tree]

Needless to say, this is really good. It reminded me of Princess Mononoke, already a masterpiece in its own right, you couldn't have brought any more justice to your artwork of choice.

I only wish the strings were just a little more airy and distant, perhaps with a bit more of reverb you could have really brought them to life. The part at around 1:40 feels a little cluttered due to the cellos overwhelming the mix a little and the guzheng doing its job as it should, but other than that, the overall mastering is quite professionally performed and every perceived "flaw" doesn't really detract from the experience.

Really great job
//FD

JosephAS1 responds:

Happy accidents! :D

[Fox-trot Fletcher]

If Ratchet and Clank were in cartoon form it would have this soundtrack. Who said a contest entry has to be serious business all the time? It's about having fun, and enjoying your time doing the thing you're most passionate at. This is nothing less than brilliant, a testament to our own imagination's ever changing and versatile nature.

I really have nothing to point out here, as I think each element is in its place and I can't really imagine it otherwise. I'd only suggest you to control your crash cymbals a little better since they sound a bit crowded at points and while the atmosphere is indeed that of a chaotic but vibrant cartoon, it also creates an unintentional cluttering effect that may be a little unpleasant. Other than that, it's just a really minor issue that doesn't detract from the experience and I think this is perhaps one of the most surprising tracks in the contest.

//FD

steampianist responds:

Ahh thank you for pointing the cons and for the review of course

[80's Chick]

Lol, I can't judge this. We've all been fooled since the very beginning.
5 stars because this song is now my new theme of failure and I've also sat listening through all six minutes of your masterpiece.
Also art? Who needs art when you have Rickroll?
//FD

[Last Adam]

Surely sucks to have 512Mb of RAM, but on the other hand people used to make entire soundtracks on tracker softwares with only a handful of Mb, so it's all pretty relative.

I like the retro, new wave-like feel of this track, if fairly repetitive, it does have a structure I think you could still work on. I don't think the instruments clash to each other, but the sound overall it's fairly stripped down to its basics with a very "dry" feel that says all and nothing at the same time.

In fact, I think you could have enhanced your sound by introducing more background ambiances and synths, while still keeping your intended "low quality" environment and giving your track a little more of depth and detail. I recall listening back to The Cure with their very "dry"-sounding drums with some good amount of layering when it comes to guitars, ambiances and haunting vocals.

Speaking of which, I also understand that you've planned some lyrics for this track, but I was thinking, what if you whispered them throughout the whole song, giving it a more sinister, distant and mysterious atmosphere, sometimes even distorting your vocals at some points in the song? Right now your lyrics are like a ghost element in your track, like a presence that you wish you'd hear in the actual song, not something confined to its description.

I don't consider this track as bad, but I simply think it could have been more intriguing for the aforementioned reasons. There's definitely potential, though its execution leaves me quite wishing for more.
//FD

SoulSecure responds:

I'm pretty limited when trying to use today's technology on my PC. Everything just eats up my RAM. I can't add anything else to the project file without it acting retarded.

It really sucks, because I'm trying to mix in the vocals by using a rendered WAV of the instrumental and it sounds HORRIBLE, because I can't mix the instruments WITH the vocal tracks. Pretty discouraging, especially since there's singing, screaming, growling, whispering AND spoken word along with a couple harmonies and crap. It's a lot of work.

[Ascent to Empyrean]

It's quite an interesting piece with a "synthy" edge that is impossible to not smile at. Dynamics are a little tight, and given how eager you've been experimenting with Sytrus, I would have loved some more background sounds as to give your piece a more psychedelic feel.

Structure-wise, it's a nice progression and it feels like one big build-up that stretches for four minutes, although I still would have loved some variety at this point, possibly by introducing more themes or even some slow-paced, half-time drums.

I like your vision, and overall, I think this track is quite the homage to your artwork of choice.
//FD

[Forest under the Stars]

It's a very good effort, I must say, and very expressive composition-wise. The way it progresses sounds more than professional and every instrument it's in exactly its place where it should be, not an extra note or less. It also paints quite vividly a canvas that is pretty much inspired by film score as far as claiming I could easily see this in a Disney Fantasia movie if it were made exclusively of Newgrounds pieces.

While there's quite a lot going on in this brilliant piece, I think your instruments could have needed some more ambiance and reverb, as to give them a soul for them to truly breathe a life of their own. Right now, while I deem the whole structure to exceed my expectations, it feels a bit stiff and dry to my ears. It might have been intentional and I'm not entirely sure, but given how much you did spend your time on this, I think it's quite a shame to not give your orchestra a huge, hall sound since you've already got a very cinematic sound.

You may even consider this as mere nitpicking if you wish, as it doesn't really detract from the experience at all and I think nobody should be concerned by the "fakeness" of the orchestra as well. This piece stands tall and it's a great soundtrack for your artwork of choice. I say great job, mate.

//FD

MrBellington responds:

Hiya, thanks for your considered response. I'm certainly aware of what you're talking about, I broadly agree and I'm remiss to give excuses because it's the artist's responsibility to produce as professional-sounding a track as possible.

Unfortunately, I'm really milking the 'gold' version of the software at this point and in fairness, while I could've mixed the reverb in more aggressively and probably should've done, ultimately reverb is of course a function of spacial-position, and the way you truly solve that is obviously by having samples recorded in their right position. You can only compensate so much. So it was a bit of a compromise, between having a 'bigger sound' and having clarity. I think 'dry' is a fair description.

On the composition/arrangement-side. Thanks for the compliments. It's a bit frustrating I suppose, when you don't have, perhaps, quite the quality of software you'd like to render your ideas as well as you hear them in your head, but when composing as opposed to producing, I tend not to get hung up on it. I write with the most basic, crappy sounds I can find, and try to write something that stands up first and foremost as a composition. It's more important to me, that my ideas are decent, that I have a hook, that I'm telling a story, that the sensibility of my music is cinematic, than presenting something empty in a superficially 'nice-sounding' way.

Thanks for the review, any bit of criticism no matter how 'nitpicky' is always welcome!

[Our Legend Falls]

Wish I had that brass. But in all honesty, this track is simply amazing. One of the most expressive tracks I've had the honor to listen to with a great progression and storytelling. There are simply no reviews that may bring justice to this colossus that stands tall, face-to-face to giants such as Zimmer, Newman, Silvestri, and rightfully so.

During the first half of the "Last Moments" bit, I would have loved if the strings were a little more airy and ethereal, as if you're ready to leave but not quite yet. The bell tolls far away in the distance and the echoes of devastation scar the earth once more. But it's not over yet, not completely. There's still a ray of light piercing the dark clouds above, with the gentle rain caressing the blackened ground.

//FD

[Stay in the Fall]

The grunge influences all over the place in this song, haha. This is brilliant, mate, professionally mastered and executed, even more so than your previous entry. The only thing I'd point out would be to either let the vocals feel less overdubbed or experiment with a vintage or lo-fi filter and add slight reverb to it. This song has a great structure and progression, and a very "Black Hole Sun" kind of mood. Great job
//FD

PS: As a side note, I might consider collaborating with you. ;)

motakay responds:

Thanks a ton! The dub thing was new to me and will I certainly treat it differently in the future. If I would work on it some more I would dub the "Chorus" parts one more time. They sound very paned as they are now.

Cool! Just let me know what you might have in mind and I would love to collaborate sometime. :)

[Paper Plane]

I would agree with Jay-Turner here, it's a real pity that you couldn't record this with real instruments and I'm definitely looking forward to hearing that version, if you'll ever do it in the future. There's quite a vivid collection of influences here, from Zappa to '70s prog rock, and it also reminds me of early The Mars Volta at some points. This song is quite psychedelic and while not exactly my cup of tea, it is still well programmed and executed and I think it reaches the nadir when you let your instruments breathe a little in the solo part.
Well done, mate
//FD

motakay responds:

Thank you!! :)