ForgottenDawn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Forest Of Desolation]

I was already astonished by the artwork of reference and I took five good minutes to "get back to the real world" and prepare my mindset for this piece which, in my opinion, is equally beautiful or at least able to compete with it.

Mastering sounds professional and it reminded me of Assassin's Creed II at some points, might have been the vocals used or the relatively acoustic sound. Celtic music always manages to sound awespiring to me and this piece makes absolutely no exception.

I would have made the melodies a little more intense and present in the mix while possibly introducing a theme variation by the time the main theme is repeated for about the third or fourth time. You've played around repetition by varying the instrumentation and playing with the beautifully executed atmosphere. Again, it's a minor discrepancy that doesn't really detract from the experience at all, mere nitpicking if you wish, and it doesn't drift away from the fact that it's a near-masterpiece able to compete with film score and what the industry offers.

Superb job
//FD

Mattashi responds:

Thank you so much ForgottenDawn :)

[Tron Shredder]

It's a good effort speaking of composition and atmosphere, with an idea that is simple enough to provide solid ground for three and counting minutes.

It's enjoyable in that it is somewhat varied and it has a good structure backing up the various synths and main melody, although I would have loved some more depth in the ambiance, perhaps by introducing more background synths in order to keep it more interesting and immersive. The build-ups are fine, I think, and I would have personally not repeated the intro again before exploding in 1:20. The mastering and EQ are performed nicely, nothing that really stands out after all.

//FD

[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.