ForgottenDawn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Aim-fire-Run]

It's an interesting effort that blends various influences together without making them sound too jumbled or cluttered.

The mastering is actually pretty spot-on, with perhaps the kick drum kinda overpowering the mix. Everything else sounds pretty smooth, reminiscent of '80s synthpop and new wave. I wished it had a bit more of variety, to be honest, with the synths being a little more modulated and expressive. Adding some vibrato and a slight delay effect would have probably made them more present and intense. Nonetheless, I praise the effort put in the solos and the melodies in particular.

//FD

[The Traveler]

This track I feel is kind of a hit and miss for the most part. While I appreciate your effort in storytelling and building a soundscape that attempts at exploring different moods and dynamics, I think the main problem is the lack of cohesion between the sections, as they feel like they belong more to a collage of sounds.

It's not even about enforcing a melody on a track like this because that's not really the main intent and it doesn't probably even need one to begin with. But the sound effects used here by themselves don't constitute enough of an immersive atmosphere, even if you strip them of effects.

I understand the experimental nature of this piece, as you said it's something rather new for you, but I feel for instance that when the melody starts after the first minute you could have used some pads or textures and build up the song from that point. Some other sparse sound effects here and there after the second minute feel rather dissonant and out of place in a relatively tranquil mood you've crafted, even in (up to interpretations) a relatively oneiric context.

Overall, it's not what I consider a bad track at all, but there are details that I think you could take in consideration for your next experiment.
//FD

Chemiqals responds:

Thanks for the feedback!

[Contemporary]

It's a very interesting composition, with plenty of ideas that work together almost seamlessly. Structure-wise it welcomes a wealth of changes and transitions that are quite well executed and the track flows pretty nicely, overall.

The mastering needs a bit more of work, in my opinion. I think that the snare sound doesn't pack much "punch" and some EQ to the bass/mid frequencies could help improving the oomph the drums should have, especially if we're talking dubstep, a notoriously loud style of electronic music.

While the dynamics feel sort of tight and crisp, I think the orchestra should feel a little less trebly and more dense on the mid frequencies -- just enough to allow some little reverb to take place and let them feel more spacey and present. The lo-fi piano is a welcomed introduction, and it is in fact, quite original in terms of sound, not the composition itself.

It's a nice track overall, and I give you props for experimenting with different sound and atmospheres and ultimately for your effort to keep things interesting and enjoyable.
//FD

[soar]

"This is definitely one of the densest pieces I've written and I was actually worried that the mix was a little too full"

You'd be right, sir. And in fact, I love that kind of density.

It feels pretty tight in terms of mastering, I have to admit, and it doesn't really give much breathing space between the various instruments, but guess what: this may be one of those exceptions. It works in that the atmosphere you've created here strives for neither realism nor compositional complexity.

It works very well in a video game, as many people have noted before, because there are many elements in the song reminding them back of that glorious golden age, the chiptune era of video games. Might be the lead synths made of simple waveforms, might be the relatively uplifting mood, might be many things.

The only reason I'm not giving this full stars is because that realm belongs to those tracks that manage to go beyond the vision and create something extraordinary, able to compete with the professional world and beyond. This is, however, already a great start and I can only encourage you to pursue this way. There's nothing really faulty in my eyes in terms of composition, choice of instruments, atmosphere and the harmonic context this track is permeated with. That's mere taste, and with that said, I shall return to my slumber knowing there's great music and great minds around.

//FD

[Abyssal Depths]

It's quite a textural track, for sure, and it relies heavily on sound design, something that has been rarely explored in this contest yet. I don't think it necessarily needs a melody here because the track does have a solid structure and it does set a visual that is quite vivid and intense.

Without going again through what has already been said, I think the mastering is pretty spot-on, with the sudden bitcrush bursts probably being a bit too loud and disorienting -- In fact, I would have used them twice or three times at best and then switched to some other kind of noise/effect in order to keep things more interesting and fresh. We don't want our listeners to be deaf, and this track does have a great flow throughout the sections, so I'd suggest you to lower the mix just a tad bit in order to keep things listenable and at an acceptable level. The length of the piece itself doesn't lead me to any particular complaint, although you had a great base to build something even darker and mysterious, in my opinion.

Props for mastering Sytrus which is pretty resource-free and for ultimately experimenting with something that manages to be somewhat varied and interesting to listen to.
//FD

[100 Years Of Spring]

It's quite a nostalgic piece to me. It may be the relatively "retro"-sounding orchestra that kinda pulls me back in time to the late '90s, but no matter. The composition is rather interesting, if not exactly groundbreaking, it's at least pleasant to listen to and it's a nice addition to the AIM roster of tracks. The piano section at the third minute feels very refreshing and almost emotional, but I'm not sure about some other brass instrument that come in at some points, as in my opinion they sound a bit cluttered and dissonant. You did well, however, and I encourage you to keep composing pieces like this.
//FD

[Godlike]

It honestly sounds like a sketch of an idea that needs further polish and elaboration. I have the impression the intro is really loud compared to the quieter drums that come after the first minute, and it is in fact generally louder than even the rest of the song before those string-like instruments make a comeback later on. It's quite repetitive and you didn't give much space to the underlining atmosphere which, in my opinion, deserved more. More variations and sound polish would have helped enriching your song and make it more interesting to listen to.
//FD

N1nj4X responds:

It's just an experiment at all. Everything I do is just an experiment, that's because some people think I need to 'improve' a bit more.
Now, about your review, in fact I'm not very good making athmospheric music, that's because this not sounds good for you. If this song don't have so much variation it's because my main goal is make something minimal. I also don't have too many samples or VSTs, so I can't replace them to sounds better.

Thanks 4 reviewing.

[Breaking Crystals]

I'm going to be honest about this: I wasn't quite expecting the "turning point" that ultimately quite ruined the intro ambiance. I like the fact that you tried experimenting with something unusual and collage'd different pieces together, but it's also the same reason why it doesn't sound a cohesive effort to my ears.

The reason is simple: there are shards that can go well together because they enhance the experience while still maintaining a certain degree of experimentation, like the intro ambiance, the dubsteppy drums and the last progression after the second minute. Those alone could have, in my opinion, already made the song. I don't think the guitars could have had any positive contribution in this context at all at this point.

Overall it's an interesting track, with some ideas that can work together and some other ones that I advise you should keep for other efforts.
//FD

aCreator responds:

I think it's always "risky" to try doing experimental stuff because the idea comes from you alone and when you listen to it you get used to it and finally (even if it's completely wrong) you feel that there is some sort of "right" in there. And as you said... Sometime you're lucky and it sounds really good for some people or other times it won't sound as good as you wanted it to sound...
So thank you for this review (not only yours :) ) because you showed me what could sound good and what sounded "bad" from another's perspective than mine. And I will use your advices in the future to make better music!

[Forgotten Secrets]

It's quite an average effort, and it needs in my opinion further exploration and elaboration. You definitely have the vision backing up, but you need to work on its execution. The new theme introduced after the first minute feels a bit out of place in a relatively slow-paced and spacey context, especially considering you're trying to portray the depths of a ruined city. I like the ambiance during the last part, and I honestly don't think you should have repeated the first two sections of the song again for other two minutes before the outro. The last part alone is what keeps the song varied enough without resorting to pattern recycling again. Speaking of epilogues, I can probably see where you were going to and it's a nice change of plans considering what you wrote about it and also considering it doesn't really drifts away much from the darker ambiance preceding the last section.
//FD

Spadezer responds:

Thanks for the review. I'll agree with the criticism you gave and I'm glad you could see where I was going with this. I wish I could give you more of a response other than that, but it sounds like you enjoyed it and I'm glad. (I suggest you look at Tron Shredder. You might enjoy that a bit more if you haven't heard it yet)

-Spadezer-