ForgottenDawn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Light in the Darkness]

I think it's definitely one of the most interesting pieces I've heard from the contest so far. There's a lot of content and narrative bursting throughout the three different sections of this piece, and each of them shines of a different light as well.

The evocative and slow-paced intro, setting the world you've painted through the medium of your lush orchestra. The lonely sound of a harp slowly descending in the fiery depths shyly accompanied by a violin and cello, and finally, the climax of this piece.

It is by no means a weak song in terms of power and emotional response, although I would have loved the second part to be a little more intense soon joined by the erupting climax. Speaking of which, the horns and strings could have been a little more powerful in order to justify the relatively loud snare and the "Darkness" you've been inspired by. All minor aspects of the song that don't really detract from the experience, and I stand by my praise for it's well deserving indeed.

//FD

Emid responds:

Thank you very much for you kind response and suggestions. I will take into account when I will do something in future. Many thanks again.

[A last Cigarette]

While the atmosphere can be enjoying for a while, I wished the climax would have actually come some bars earlier allowing the introduction of more instruments and themes that could have kept the piece more "alive" in a way. It is by no means a bad song and I think the ambiance is performed nicely, but it doesn't really offer much until the real substance kicks in after the second minute. It is a decent effort with a good atmosphere and plenty of potential at hand that didn't quite found a way to sprout.
//FD

[Creeping Malice]

Well, I can't base my verdict on the quality of the samples themselves, but it does at least get much better after 00:30 when the rest of the orchestra is introduced. I'm honestly not a fan of the overly long intro, but I do find the whole song overall quite interesting in terms of composition. It probably could have been a little more intense, especially after 1:15 or so, when the horns are given a chance to speak. Don't be afraid to turn up the volume a tad bit and give that orchestra some more presence in the mix. There isn't ultimately much to consider in terms of substance, and this should be in fact an incitement to keep improving this way.
//FD

[Diskovr - Flight]

It's a relatively sparse effort that welcomes plenty of interesting ideas with a varying degree of coherence between the different sections of this piece. I didn't quite understand the introduction of that obsessive snare at 1:17 and then again at around 03:55 and 04:20, as I think it sounds rather chaotic and doesn't contribute much in terms of smoothing each transition.

I like the relatively minimalist synth work that keeps things going, even though I might have appreciated some variation better before repeating the same stanza for other two minutes. The other instruments on the other hand help complementing each other, although the mastering suffers from over compression a little too much throughout the whole piece.

It is still quite a good effort and I suggest you to keep pursuing and improving this style
//FD

ksthultz15 responds:

Thanks for your review! :D Looking back, I probably compressed that snare sample a bit too much. It was actually a loop in a sample pack. I'll be sure to keep improving on my electro house and progressive house keeping all these reviews in mind.

[Deep]

An interesting idea that delivers a mildly engaging atmosphere, but ultimately doesn't offer much behind the reverb. While the piece has a solid structure, it seems like it drags the same riff for three minutes. In fact, I would have loved some variation at around 2:30 and it could have been a good chance to enhance and intensify that breakdown, possibly by adding more background ambiances and sounds.

The mastering is quite well performed, though some sounds may be a little too overpowering - namely the screeching sound reminiscent of whale songs - I find the rest to be rather coherent. The bass is probably the highlight of this song and I really enjoy how you automated it, giving it plenty of life and expression.

//FD

Stapless responds:

Thank you for your review :)

[Solitude]

While this piece has certainly a structure and it has the potential for something bigger and more complex, I feel like this is just the skeleton of an idea that needs further elaboration. Adding more instruments and an engaging bass would at least frame the song better as "dubstep", more variations would keep the song refreshing and pleasant to hear.
//FD

[Nocturne nr.5 in C-sharp minor]

In its simplicity, there's a beauty that shines like a diamond in the desert. This piece is fantastic, it has everything it needs to provoke an emotional response from the audience, reminding me of Chopin's nocturnes so much it's almost a crime. The somber sound of a lonely piano, like clockwork behind a broken glass.

There's honestly nothing I could really nitpick about this. If anything, you could try to bring more variety to the structure and leave space for more variations. perhaps by introducing an additional theme that could intensify the drama, it would have been a welcomed element in your otherwise nicely performed composition.

//FD

newhansen responds:

Woa, nice! Thanks for taking time to review the piece. I'm trying to use more variety in my next piano pieces for sure.

[!-Duress-!]

It's an interesting piece that fused glitched dynamics with an obvious dubstep-oriented sound. I like how the outro is performed in a very unobtrusive way and overall the song structure is pretty solid. I would however point out that the lead synths sound a bit cluttered at some points, with the chords creating a slight dissonance in the progression. Modulating said synths better would give a better dynamic sound and since dubstep is also partly inspired by chiptune music, try to put some vibrato and stereo enhancing to make it sound more expressive, reminiscent of that era.

The mastering is surprisingly tight and I love the drums you used. I think an atmosphere bed would have helped closing the gap in the section before the outro and more rhythmic synths in the transitions between the dubstep parts would have helped keeping things interesting and refreshing.

Nonetheless, you've done a good job
//FD

[New Dawn]

I was quite thrilled of the dark vibes your intro had, and I must say that overall the atmosphere in this piece is pretty heavy. It's not as dissonant as to feel unpleasant, and it is enjoyable to a certain degree when it becomes a little too predictable.

I'm not a fan of the drums to be perfectly honest, which I wish they had more depth, and the mastering suffers from limiting abuse to the point it doesn't sound much interesting as it rather hinders the atmosphere's potential. Which is quite a shame because it sounds as if it's suffocating from a mix that doesn't allow those textures and synths to breathe a life of their own.

//FD