Animith's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Gravitational Pull]

Review Request Club

Nice set of meodies; a little erratic at points, but they have a nice character to them. The lead synth especially was probably a highlight of the piece. One of your problems was perhaps that you didn't have enough synths to carry through the whole track; one pretty easy way to keep variety up is to change up the synths, or just have a few more ambient synths or pads to give an extra dimension to the track. But to have a melody that isn't repetitive on your first go is VERY important, because I think getting structure right is a lot easier to get than getting a melody right, so major kudos for that. Could have done with a few more melodies by the end of the track, but the initial melody did work well.

On structure...the transitions are a little unorthodox. Don't underestimate the power of a simple structure, because it's the foundations of the track that'll predict how well the track will go. Simple structure doesn't mean simple songs, you can have some really awesome melodies and transitions with the most generic structure, but you need that structure worked out to give the track more of a cohesion to it.

It could have done with being a little shorter, as the variety was somewhat lacking. A way to counter this is either by adding in a few countermelodies, or playing with the different transitions a little more; have an ambient section, have a buildup and climax, make the track go somewhere before it loops out again. It needs work, but there's a lot of promise here. Keep it up and you'll improve fast.

-Review Request Club

yours31f responds:

I appreciate it. I have started introducing more structure in my newer songs.

[Nature Is The Law (WIP)]

Review Request Club

Gotta love indie songs on NG. They're something of a rarity to see in the RRC, so it's nice that when they do come along, they're done well.

You've got a really unique-sounding voice, and what you're singing, while having a pretty simple melody, is memorable, which is what you want in a song. The lyrics you have are a good start, but you do need a bit more variety by the second and third verse. Even in the outro as well, either having a lyric or slight melodic change would have been nice as you're essentially singing the same thing over a few times by then.

I like the idea of the bridge but it's a bit hard to imagine what you'd do with just the drum part, so it'd be nice to see what that sounds like once this is finished. The drums in general were cool; came in a little abruptly and at points started overpowering the voice and guitar, and maybe could have done with a few more fills by the end, but in general had a really solid beat to them and held the track together well.

The piano as well was an unexpected choice, but a good one at that. You could get away with adding a few more instruments if you wanted, but the semi-acoustic-sounding nature of this is quite nice as it is. For a WIP, this is pretty close to completion. Just changing up the lyrics a little and finishing the bridge I think would leave you with a pretty nicely completed track.

-Review Request Club

[WIP - echobass]

Review Request Club

I like the intro, you give a nice amount of depth right at the start, though I wish that sound had a little more to it, jsut to give an even thicker texture, as, at least for the first 40 seconds or so, it's carrying the main brunt of the melodic idea and its a little too distant to be doing that.

I like the drum beat and bass you have, though some parts of the drum could have done with being a little louder in places, and maybe even some lighter percussion on top of the drum beat to thicken it out more.

The choir sound was introduced really nicely,but again by the second minute I think they could have done with being a little louder, so they served as both the ambience and the main melody a little more. I think the break section with just the bass and drum around the 2:20 mark was DEFINITELY lacking something in the higher frequencies, even just a quiet pad sound to thicken the texture out a bit more, because you had this lush texture either side of it and then suddenly just the drum and bass.

You had some really nice melodies and sounds, but I think there wasn't enough of them-or enough manipulation of them-to justify the four minutes. I think you could probably do with, as it is, condensing it down by a minute or so to just avoid the repetitiveness you could get. Or just add in a few more melodic synths here and there to keep up the variety. It works really well as a track, but I think it's missing a fwe synths or a few transitions for it to be this long.

-Review Request Club

EoD696 responds:

Thanks for the review, and the score :) I think the drums continuity could be improved alot if I had better mastering tools. Not to worry, I have another computer I'll be finishing this up on (all the same softwares, just much improved hardware) and it should help with that.

The transition at 2:20 was meant to be pretty harsh, maybe I made it a bit too harsh. It's because during that breakdown I switch to the other part with a different set of progressions. I couldn't really figure a way to get the two to go together. Thats why I think structure will help, with more parts and more progressions, I'll have stuff to add in before, add to, and add in after that harsh breakdown to make it a bit smoother. Hopefully with my new hardware I can add in enough stuff and rearrange things to fulfill the full potential of the song, and I'm really glad you like it so far :) Thanks again.

[Stranded In The World Wide Web]

Review Request Club

This is definitely missing any kind of melody. I mean, even having some slightly more pitched percussion, if you want to keep it percussive, would have helped. Or as you're trying to emulate being trapped in the Internet, perhaps a few more automated synths, or glitch sounds, or just things more reminiscent of the electronic nature that is the Internet, and maybe sounds that signify the different popups and things he's trying to fight.

This has got a pretty solid (albeit generic) structure, but I think that's where you hit a problem because most of the instruments, once they're playing, are playing for the whole thing, so it starts to feel repetitive very early on, I think you could have done with messing with the transitions a little more to give it more variety; that bass beat went on throughout, seemingly unchanged, and got old very fast.

I think the fact that this just does have no melodic part to it at all is a major detriment to the track. Even just a simple bass line would have helped, and that would have given you a bit more scope to maybe do an even heavier/faster drum beat once you have something melodic to rest it over. It's good work on the track, but it could use some improvement to make it more listenable to.

-Review Request Club

[A Less Creative Title...]

Review Request Club

I was in two minds about the opening synth, but it might just be beacuse I'm not a House kinda person xD I thought the melody it was playing was pretty memorable, which is what you want, but thought the last three or four notes of it sounded a little weird.

The transition at 0:14 did sound quite awkward, you definitely could have done with something underneath the hi-hat just to carry that through a little more. But what it changed into sounded pretty cool, you had a pretty nice depth to it and the drum was playing a nice beat. But the SECOND the pitch-bend synth came in I really didn't like it xD It was just far too in the foreground and was cutting through everything.

Loved the transition at 0:44; the fact you keep changing it up and adding new synths is really good, you keep the beat but it doesn't get repetitive, which is definitely a good bullet to dodge. But....gah, I really have no love lost for the pitchbent synth. The sound of it is just very hard to get around if you want something else to listen to, which is annoying because it worked with the synth beneath it really nicely.

The transition at 1:46 was a little abrupt, but again went into something pretty cool. I definitely loved the glitches you put on the pitchbent synth, it made it a lot easier to listen to, and a lot easier to hear what was beneath it. That section was probably my favourite in the track, just because everything kinda fell together. It was a little messy at times when all the melodies played at the same time, but not overly so.

In general, this is a pretty cool track, but it does need work done to it. The pitchbent synth...I don't need to mention again xD. It lacks a cohesive climax to it, everything is kind of at the same level after the introduction and you could have done with a quieter section in the middle leading up into something huge to finish with. You've got some really good melodies and ideas, and they and the sound quality redeem the synth choices and drum beat.

-Review Request Club

BudGPStudios responds:

Thanks for the review. My real goal behind this song was to take my friend Kweaks's song and remix it house style. I'm not the best at house music, and my friend had a long song with many different melodies i had to try and fit into a 4 min song. Well i'll take your suggestions and try to work on this song some more, I do kinda feel that it wasn't the best i could have it either... I just didn't know what else it needed.

[Passive Ignorance]

Review Request Club

Sound quality leaves a little to be desired, but it's not overly detrimental. Like Fro, I kinda expected this to be heavier than it was based on the introduction, but it's fine as it is. You've got some nice-sounding riffs, but I think the mixing did let you down because the guitars do sound a little muddy together, and there's some transitions, like one near the start where you went from one guitar to a pretty fast drum beat and guitars which could have had a smoother transition than it did.

What's being played is nice, but it's lacking a really solid breakdown or a more coherent verse-chorus structure. Or even just a few more drum fills here and there to keep the beat up a little more. If it was possible, I'd say try and find a vocalist for this, because it's the kind of song that would really suit some lyrics and a decent singer to record them, just to emphasise that feel a little more.

Nice track, overall. Could do with a remix, and maybe a rerecord of some of the guitar parts just to make them a little more discernable from eachother, but in general it's pretty cool. Side note; the RRC doesn't get enough rock or metal tracks, at all. Feel more than free to request reviews on more of yours, if you have them? ;D

-Review Request Club

Sawdust responds:

Yeah, I could actually just tweak the effects I put on the guitars parts, probably get one to be really sharp, and the other to be bassy? And also do more EQing on it. Yeah. Probably a drum breakdown too.

About the vocals, well, I could probably write the sheet music down for all parts, then when I finally have a band, this will be one of our songs :D

Also yeah, I'll do more requesting then, I have plenty of rock songs in my pile of submissions. Thanks!

[CyberPunk]

Review Request Club

Nice introduction. normally with such a quickly-repeated note like that it'd feel repetitive almost instantly, but it sounds like you've got a bit of a light automation on it, which helps it keep fresher. That and you keep changing up the instruments beneath it, which is awesome as it keeps up the variety.

The synths in general are really nicely picked, though I think the drums could have done with a bit more of a prominent beat...maybe even just some glitches or something in there to make it feel a little more trippy than it does.

By 1:30ish I was about to say it needed something different, and then you've got this transition into this new section for half a minute or so, which was really nicely done, there's a great depth throughout with this, and while everything does stay pretty melodic and harmonious, you do have these odd quirky bits which keep it a little trippy. This is the kind of thing that would fit well in a psychedelic kind of flash, easily. I liked the 'overdose' section, but thought that the fadeout was perhaps a little too overdrawn; maybe just add in a few incidental synths or drum fills during the fadeout to stop it feeling repetitive.

In general, a pretty cool track. Could perhaps do with being a little more glitchy/drug-like, but it's fine as it is. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

[EuroTechnic Vibes (Mans0n)]

Review Request Club

Nice intro. I'm in two minds about the kind of...rain sound? I don't know how to describe it. It felt like in the first 15 seconds there was perhaps something missing to fill the gap between the synth and whatever that sound...was.

But that's retty uch forgotten by 0:16; you've got a really nice depth and warmth of the pads going on, the drum beats prominent, but not overly so. By 0:44 I was sort of expecting something to change just to give it a little more variety, and I thought I heard a subtle difference between that and the repetition before it, but I think you could have varied it even more than you did, though perhaps that's too much to ask for a 90-second track.

The transition at 1:00 was nice, I like the rhythmic aspect you gave to the higher sound and then way it shifted in pitch all the way down at the end, that was very effective.

In general, I think this could probably do with being longer, just because then you have more room to play around and give it a bit more variation. The melody did change slightly midway through, but I think as a whole the piece didn't really travel much distance between 0:16 and the end. The levels are perfect, you've got some really nice automations and a good sound going, but I think you probably could have done more. But then again maybe that's just because I've heard a fair bit by you now and my standards have gotten higher, so I'm not going to wreck your perfect score for it. xD Keep up the good work, nonetheless. Would be interested to see a longer version of this at some point, perhaps.

-Review Request Club

Mans0n responds:

Your reviews are always so helpful! thanks for the advice, and I will be working on a longer version shortly!

[Basshunter Camila (drX RemiX)]

Review Request Club

The opening synth was incredibly piercing. To the point where it was actually painful with headphones in. It's playing something pretty cool, but given the high frequency and high volume it pretty much dominated everything.

I kind of notice everything is in the higher frequencies; it definitely feels like it's lacking a bass, or at least a very hearable one; it's only at 1:50 or so where a lower synth comes in, and at 2:00 when the first synth finally cuts out the piece gets infinitely easier to listen to, because that first synth really does cut through everything else, and without it, you get to hear the drum beats and the little automations you're giving the other synth. SO definitely, I'd say cut the first synth a lot earlier than you did, because I enjoyed the second half of the track a lot more than I did the first. In general also, I think it was perhaps a little too repetitive, in both halves. It could have definitely used more bass, more changes with which synths were playing or what they were playing...by the 4th minute, it was definitely dragging.

It was an okay track, but it's in a semi-desperate need of a level recheck, and more things in the less-piercing frequencies. It's getting there, but it does need work.

-Review Request Club

[Rain on the Lily Pond]

Review Request Club

The lack of sound quality is a crying shame in this. If sounds like the mic was too far away from the actual instrument, because the reverb from it completely overtakes the actual hits of the instrument. It'd be like if you recorded a piano solo and then threw so much reverb on it that you couldn't really hear the melody clearly enough. And it's annoying, only because the melodies you are playing sound really good, save for the fact that the echo off of them is taking the greater precedence in the track. I think a definite thing would be rerecording this, because you've got a good piece, which is let town terrifically by the sound quality.

There's something that comes in around the 2nd minute which has this really high, smooth quality to it which ws really nice. Not sure whether it was just a high marimba or something else, but it really did stick out for me.

Marimbas in general are a total rarity on NG, so it's nice to see it used in such a way here. You've got some really nice varieties of melodies and depths, and you make pretty good uses of the silences inbetween. This could be....and basically IS, a really awesome track. There but for the grace of a better recording; I think that's really all you're lacking.

-Review Request Club

Cimba responds:

I'll let you know if i get this rerecorded, but for future reviewers i am aware of the sound quality so please comment on the musicallity.