R3dn4L's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Untitled & Unfinished]

Don't worry...

Hey man, don't be so hard on yourself just because you're experiencing a momentary lack of creativity. Keep in mind the 'momentary' part and let go of the feeling keeping you down. You can't just make inspiration happen and rushing it makes things just worse. Instead you should use the spare time to fulfill other areas of your life. There you'll find new inspiration derived from newer experiences had in the meantime doing something else. You never know what can happen in life and strike your creative bone. Being open is the key because just as everything in life and the universe is a cycle and a phase so is your lack of new ideas. You're probably just tired and overburned. Aknowledging that this is just a phase is the key to not let it bother you. Acceptance opens the doors for new energies to flow and new creation to be spawned.

That said, onto the music.

The piece is much better than you think, especially compared to average NG standards. The production values are very high. The mix is excellent and the instruments coherently complement each other without any excess. Musically what I really like it's how you interwined the bass melody with the main theme. When the bass kicks in, it's harmonic play with the rest changes more than slightly (and not too much) and in a very subtle way the perception of the piece. Nice touch :D

Also your play with atmospheric samples filling in in the right moment (seems like psytrance influence - a good thing imo) with the right amout of reverb for added spaciosness that goes well in contrast to the tightness of the carrying beat. And besides that, you know, simplicity and repetitiveness are not neccessary a bad thing. I as one rolled very well with it and the music looped cca 16 times (listening while working) before I noticed.

It's a good thing you posted the song and I don't think you should go back working on it. It's here and out of your closet. Make space for new flows of ideas to come in and you'll be all set for the next phase of your creative journey.

Because I know what you're experiencing at the moment (been there, done that) my rating is completely subjective, But it's a 5/5 and 9/10 from me, and I faved you so I can keep track when you wake up from your slumber.

Once creative, 4ever creative... so you just keep on going. Cheerz (^_^)

gregaaron89 responds:

Thanks, I really needed to hear that. I think I should start drawing again or some other creative outlet, maybe that could help in some way

[Letting Me Bloom]

Good Music

Ok. I'll go first...

The Pros: The best part of the song is the melodies and harmonies used. Nothing is out of tune and it conveys the story successfully. The arrangement is also satisfying bringing nice highs and lows to the table.

That being said I don't have any problems with those part and I think this is a nice piece of emotional music.

The Cons: it's the sound I'm having problems with. To be exact it's the contrasting quality of the beautifully sounding piano with the awfully sounding sampled guitarwork and bad frequencies on the drumset (almost no kick and the hihats hurt a little) + although the filter sweep bringing the song in it's heavy part works very well, the resonance should be lowered to avoid ear pain.

Overall: It's a good piece of solid musicianship that could use a bit better mixing. Because of the sound I thus rate this: 4/5 8/10

AdventureBiscuit responds:

thanks man.

Yeah, I know what you mean. The mixing is a bit shabby, something I need to get around to. I can see what you're saying about the drums. I really like the double kick and you totally can't hear it properly. I'll totally change that. The guitar might get a little fix-up in it's effects. It's mixing is a bit poor too.

Thanks for taking the time to review, man, and telling me how I can improve it.

[*New* Pattern 2]

Damn Cool Loop

Don't have much to crit here. Everything works as it should IMHO. It has a nice driving melody and an atmosphere with a defined character.

5/5 but 9/10 - not a perfect ten because I NEED MOAR BASSSSS !!!

[Why smoke rag weed?]

...'cause there's nothing else in town.

Nice touch with the synth at 0:48. That's my favorite part.

Maybe you could give a little more attention to the strings. They are maybe a little overbearing and the melody is repetitive. That's nothing wrong with repetition, but then it shouldn't be so prominent but more an underlying theme. It's the bass that should do the talking (you're really good at bass lines), so it's a sound mixing thing. Change their roles and it's gonna' be way cooler.

One other little thing: I see what you intended with the hihat groove. I think you succeeded around 70%. Better quantisation maybe? (or maybe not, of course - just my 2 cents).

For now it's a 4/5 8/10 from me.

[New Teaser]

Groovy...

I'm liking the groove in this one and the bass melody is sweet. Pity the bass sound isn't a bit fatter. The part that really gets me it's at 1:16, when all calms down a bit.
The synths are what I'm not really digging, too stingy, but that's just personal taste, but the mellow piano at the end is spot on :)

IrishDrunkPunK responds:

Thanks for the feedback bro. I was going for a modern rap feel, lil wayne type shit i guess and its got my own lil twist into it I might take your advice and replace the synths, they are kind of stingy. The piano part was the original beat this one came from, with a 2 part bassline w a progression and w/o effects.

[Little Roar]

Nice and gamey :D

I give this a 4/4 8/10 rating.

I really like the main theme(melody) and the moment the beat kicks in and the melody changes sound and pops in front - I really dig that. Nice.
It's also nice that the rythm isn't overdone and just holds the theme perfectly.

What boders me it's the breakdowns... the first one in particular. They sound a little rough and rude, killing the flow in the process, but hey... for a first post, this is cool work. It has that video game of old feeling that I really like.

Keep it up. When you upload something new, let me know. ;)

[Tarboy OST - Two's a Part]

Excellent!!!

Great song, great arrangement, but the vox are outstanding. Lookin' forward for more.

5/5 10/10

[Chikaboom [box-killa]]

KICK IT!

Although I'm not really digging the melodies in this one (due to personal taste - I like the oriental theme, just think there's too much chit chat on the piano - it dilutes the theme a little bit ;) ) I think all the rest is very, very good. The production value is great. The kick is awesome and all other instruments fit exceptionally well in the mix. I dig your choice of sounds giving it a retro feel while keeping the main beat nice and tight. The song is well arranged and dynamic. Keeps the listener engaged, and that matters. Nothing in the song is overused except too much notes on the main melody. Work on consistency of the main theme and you'll do great.

All in all I really enjoyed it. Keep up the good work and keep posting music. There's talent there and I want to hear more :D

4/5 9/10 from me...

Box-Killa responds:

lol yeah, the main melody is a bit crazy with the amount of notes, but i think it kind of grows on you after a while :D

glad you liked it.

[[CC+] - In The Darkness]

I'm Hatin' :P

...Well, no I'm not... there's too much goodness going on in this track to be hatin' ^_^. I'll listen to it some more and eventually come back to write some c&c but for now I'm going to fave this and go nuts with a 5/5 & 10/10.

Cheerz and keep up the good work!

combatplayer responds:

thanks man :D glad i didnt have to use grannys old socks or my l33t blaming skills this time ^^'