ForgottenDawn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cosmic Stream of Life]

It's definitely an enjoyable piece with a good groove and plenty of "punch" packed in almost five minutes. While the progression isn't bad and it welcomes plenty of transitions that feel pretty smooth and flowing, the first noticeable thing is just how loud the mastering is. I suggest you to turn down your levels a bit in order to leave some breathing space for each instrument and ultimately some rest for your ears. The problem is not just volume but compression that leaves your mix almost brickwalled. It's good to have a fair degree of dynamics between the synths and not having them all over the place. Other than that, it's a fairly enjoyable tune and that quite fits the artwork of choice.
//FD

EctiBot responds:

Thx alot for the feedback :D. Really glad you enjoyed it :).
Thx for the tip about the mastering. This song is basically only the 3rd song where I've actually touched the mixer at all X3. Thus I'm still learning and it's really helpful when people comes with comments on it :D. Will try tweaking the levels around a bit :).
I'll also look into compression a bit more. Real novice when it comes to that X3.

Again thank you for the review. I'm glad that you think it fits the art and that you found it enjoyable :D.
-enochcity

[Merry-Go-Round]

It's quite an enjoyable piece, if rather repetitive and a bit too tight in dynamics. It has an interesting "oomph" throughout the whole track and while I wished it had a more dynamic progression, perhaps with more variations on the theme, I don't really have any particular complaint to point out speaking of structure. I like how the sound pans between the stereo channels, as it's a nice detail and it helps keeping the atmosphere a little more refreshing to listen to. I would work on making the sound less compressed and more immersive, by possibly introducing more background synths and leaving space for other themes to take place. It's a good effort nonetheless.
//FD

jawalker213 responds:

hmmm.. don't think you really know what you're talking about. That being said, I enjoyed hearing your opinion which help me focus on another aspect of production..

[~SW~ Fog Between]

Hm, well, it's definitely not a bad piece and I like how it transitions after the first minute, as I feel it's very expressive in its simplicity. I also recognized the piano you used that gives that particular "buzz" and I know it's the instrument itself generating that sound, so you couldn't have really controlled that. Nonetheless, I'm giving this a quick review because I know you've probably submitted something far more interesting than this for the contest, and while I don't consider this effort to be average, it's not spectacular either. I guess it was perhaps an act of liberation for you, pouring out the sadness and stress in one take and it's something I can relate to particularly, but that's pretty much it.
//FD

SkyeWint responds:

It was definitely more of an act of liberation than anything. I understand everything you've said in this, and I agree with it.

...also, I actually could have controlled a lot of the buzz. It's in one of the two layers of the instrument - it's just normally automatic.

[Escape]

Almost jazzy in its execution, at least the intro, before dwelling into classical melodrama which feels a little abrupt but nonetheless interesting to listen to.

I would have loved some more humanization, as suggested below, in order to increase the flow of the song and let the piano feel more natural and less mechanized. Playing with the volume of most notes may also help bringing variety to the dynamics, aside probably from the fact that it's a rather short entry and it would have been interesting to hear more from it.

Bonus points for looping so smoothly, I don't know if unintentional, but I think I've looped it like ten times while writing this review and I didn't really notice it.

//FD

[Shards]

It's an enjoyable slow piece with a good structure and an atmosphere that doesn't fail to live up to the artwork of choice.

Dynamics-wise, I like how the strings are mastered and they manage to be quite expressive, although the instruments introduced later on while essential for the build-up they sound a little cluttered and bright compared to the somber, somewhat tragic mood of the intro. I would have loved a little more work on the bass frequencies, perhaps adding basses would suffice as to "carry" the chords along and letting the whole string work feel more cohesive.

I'd argue that the intro is perhaps the highlight of this piece, as it sets the mood quite well and it sounds somewhat natural compared to the mechanical-sounding piano which could have been humanized a bit in terms of velocity and time, and I'm not judging the quality of the samples themselves, I'm judging their execution.

The ending feels a little abrupt and I would have personally preferred if you left the second-last chord suspended for a while, made a brief pause and then a closure with a minor chord focused on the "heavier", bass strings.

//FD

LunyAlex responds:

Thank you for the feedback. Dully noted.

[PWD]

Aah, progressive. This totally reminds me of The Black Mages because it's the kind of sound that could well fit in a video game like Persona (Shin Megami Tensei), but it also tries to go beyond that formula and provide an experience that is not just confined to the realm of video games. Might have been the rock organ that feels both incredibly vintage and modern in a way that it brings a smile to your face while headbanging.

It's a very enjoyable track with an ever-changing structure and extensive solo work as you would expect from a prog piece. I feel dynamics to be a little tight, the drums and organ in particular, as they don't really leave much breathing space to the other instruments and they're compressed to the point they're very present in the mid and high frequencies, with plenty of crash cymbals in the way. The guitar on the other hand is well mastered and has plenty of oomph throughout the whole song. You may consider this as mere nitpicking if you wish, because the song itself already stands tall on its own feet.

Great job
//FD

[MrO- Emperor]

Sorry for the wait, there are a lot of entries this year. xD

Well it's definitely an improvement over your first submission. It's still quite repetitive even for "electro house" as you've mentioned earlier, and in terms of progression it doesn't offer much while you do have a structure you can improve upon.

I think your lead synth could have had more grit and distortion, also covering some bass frequencies as well. If you're a fan of electro house, something I generally don't find myself listening to as a personal taste, you may notice that the lead (rarely more than one) has a fuller sound, usually stretched between the stereo channels (panning also takes place to give it a hypnotic, psychedelic sound), with some reverb and vintage delay to give it a "stadium"-like ambiance and then distortion for an engaging texture of 90 nails scratching a blackboard on all four walls of your room, reminding me of the single "Satisfaction" if you're familiar with the tune.

Some vocoder or formant changed vocals could help as well, if a bit cliché, they could be glitched up and make it a little interesting to hear. I have nothing to say about the drums actually, as I feel they've been programmed well also in terms of mastering and EQ. Maybe some transition effects like risers and booms may help smoothing the different parts together and create a more flowing experience.

Keep working on making your progressions and synths fuller and more engaging to listen to, and I think you're probably in the right direction.
//FD

Mrobeymenow responds:

Thanks for the review! I really appreciate it. I'm glad you thought my drums were good, that's something you get little review on and is hard to know whether people like them. Also on you vocals comment I agree and in my current WIP I do have vocals in places to give some effects. Although I didn't agree with the sound of 90 nails on a blackboard, it was written in good enough detail it's kind of hard to get mad at. Thanks for the help!

[Mountains to Climb]

It's quite an engaging piano piece and without going around "what could have been" scenarios too much, I'm simply going to say that you have a lot of potential in your hands to become the next Audiomachine.

Let's be honest, this piano by itself conceals a kind of power that could have been fully expressed by an orchestra, not really because the instrument itself is not capable of replacing an entire hall, but at the current state of things, it's not offering much.

Experimenting with chord progressions is surely a good expedient to build a basic structure for your piece, but sometimes it's not everything in a song, and while the dissonance in some clashing chords may give your piano an interesting sound, I think you could have played with other dynamics as well.

In fact you immediately start with a driving riff at a moderate volume and then it gets marcato at around 20 seconds in the piece. If it were intended to be a slow building piano, I would have started with a minimal pattern at a pianissimo intensity and then let it grow gradually in intensity so that it gives plenty of contrast. Here I think there's minimal contrast because as a whole, the piece is pretty homogeneous in both intensity and melody.

Overall, it's still a nice effort that quite matches the artwork of choice.
//FD

[Life]

Without going around what has already been said: I think it's a somewhat enjoyable track with a grotesque atmosphere reminding me of a demented circus or an abusement park. The song doesn't really pick up until around 1:55 when more synths are introduced. The piece as a whole may work as a background music for some video game perhaps, but I wish it would offer more than a single melody stretched for almost four minutes.

It's not a bad piece, but there are details I think you could take into consideration for the future. The structure per se isn't exactly the solidest I've listened to so far but it's working, and if you played around your main melody and built variations on it, it would have made your track more interesting and less "burdening" in terms of catching the listener's attention. A bass line would have helped keeping things a little more engaging, even if it were just a pulsating four-on-the-floor bass countering the kick drum.

Consider this as a start for more similar ideas that could flourish in your mind.
//FD