Animith's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Moonbow (Mans0n)]

Review Request Club

I really like the use of vocals here. Sometimes with dance/DnB tracks the use of voice clips can feel really forced, but here it mixes really well with the track, and the little echoes it has are really atmospheric.

1:49, I thought the absence of synths was a little offputting, but that's forgotten about when a new synth comes in and starts the buildup. With the first section, the synths were really light and almost incidental, but with this new section they take on a far more prominent role and you really can appreciate the work you've done on the automation and levels. What you did with the percussion choice at the start of the track was pretty unique, but when the more usual kit comes in the levels on it are nice and it doesn't cut through the synths at all, which is nice.

You'd think the vocals would get repetitive, given it repeats, but what you do with the synths for some reason stops this happening, which is something I can't quite understand, but applaud you for accomplishing. In general, it was a little quiet at the start and maybe a little too loud at the more climax-y parts such as around the 3rd minute, but in general the production level of this was nice and high, and it's a job well done, overall.

-Review Request Club

Mans0n responds:

thanks for the kind words with yet another great review!

thanks bro

["Frozen Clockwork" -GST Mix-]

Review Request Club

I was writing about how I really liked the opening; how the pace was fast right from the beginning and how there was a nicely urgent nature to the track in general...and then it sounded like the track was stuck, because it kept repeating the same thing. SO I scrolled up and found it was fine...but seriously, 0:19-0:23 or so, and onwards from that does sound like the track's skipping. There needs to be something more melodic happening there. When the next synth comes in at 0:45, this is solved, but there's an entire 20 seconds where you just have that one note, and that's a real threat of repetititiveness.

When the new synth does come in though, there's a good minute without complaint. There's some really nice automations and synth use in general. When everything cut out at 1:40, I was a little dubious, but when everything came back in again it really worked well and kind of brought in this new section. However, I think each section in general is a little too long...each one lasts just a little longer than it should, in my head, so that feeling of repetition sets in before it moves on to the next section.

I'm with the previous comments in that the second half is markedly better than the first; to the point where the first half does the second a discredit. If I wasn't reviewing for the RRC and had just heard the first half, I may not have stayed on to hear the rest, which is a shame because it does end up somewhere vaguely epic. I especially like 4:19 and onwards where the drum beat is a lot less fast and a lot more heavy; maybe a bit lacking in bass just to give it that extra oomph, but it was a really nice way to end the piece.

The first half does no justice to the second. I think if you shortened part one and got into part two a little quicker, this track would be a lot better. But as for the second half, I have no complaints, it was a really nice suprise to have that come in and push the track up a few levels.

-Review Request Club

Dj-GST responds:

That "one note" happens to be the bassline, but I can see how that gets repetitive.

Yeah, in the first half, when I was making it, I was feeling kinda iffy about the song itself, so I took a days break and did the second half, and all of a sudden I was feeling alot more creative.

I'm glad you liked the ending, that melody didn't suit a fast tempo, so I slowed shit down, and it worked out very well!

I'm happy you liked this track man, the 8 is highly appreciated :)

[AF+T888 - Lightspeed (DM Edit)]

Review Request Club

There's a really nice warmth depth right from the start, which is a great tone-setter for the rest of the track. Just from the first 50 seconds, I'm surprised to learn this is a WIP and not the completed track, because the production level is really high.

The levels of the synths are all in general really good; the drums are present, but don't cut through any of the synths, so I'd definitely say keep them the way they are, at least level-wise. You've always got these nice pad sounds underneath to flesh the whole thing out. The transitions are also really nice; the way it changed into choir sounds at the second minute was nice, though I felt it lacked bass (Though that could just be my headphones). You say there's no climax, but there's a really nice sense of slow-buildup around 2:00-3:20 and onwards pretty much right to the end. So while this genre doesn't really call for massive climaxes, I think there's a DEFINITE scope for adding one if you wanted to.

That besides, I do think it does get a little repetitive by the end; like it needs a few changes in chords or another complete transition (like the one into the choir sounds) just to keep the sound feeling varied. I think if you added a vocalist or some kind of solo instrument just to this track it would remedy itself, but as it is...it's fine, what can I say? All the sounds work well together, the levels are more spot-on then I generally see in NG tracks, and it'd fit well in a flash game for it. If this is the WIP, I'd hate to see what you come up with when you say it's done. Really nice work, overall.

-Review Request Club

aliaspharow responds:

Thanks for ending my review losing streak! Funny you mention a vocalist, because thats exactly whats keeping me from finishing this song! I'm trying to get as much feedback for this version as possible at this time and at the same time, i've been looking day and night to find a competent vocalist to sing in the song! forget about a good deal, just finding one is the biggest pain ever! Thanks alot for the helpfull feedback Animith! you do not disapoint!

[Campion's Brag]

Review Request Club

I thought the piano sound was perhaps a little to aggressive, at it cut through the other instruments as they came in, and the same for the drums when the beat it was playing started getting heavier, it was quite hard to hear what the other two instruments were playing, which is a shame because from what I could hear they were playing nice things.

It started off quite melancholy but it sort of progressed into slightly happier themes as it progressed; not as if things had instantly gotten happier or anything, but as if you'd just seen the start of the light at the end of the tunnel or something similar; especially as you get to the halfway mark and the pace increases a little more, it just gives it that little extra drive of hope and expectation, so there's a nice transition of emotions.

The fadeout was perhaps a litttle too long, but in general works well. All in all, a really nice piece. Take another look at the levels of the piano and drum sound and this is a pretty cool track.

-Review Request Club

Sawdust responds:

Well, yeah, too much of the percussive sound of the piano, and the drums were too bassy. Thanks, I'll look into that.

I'm also glad you enjoyed the piece.

[M stosy (mystic field)]

Review Request Club

I almost feel like the introduction could work better on piano, just given the flowing nature of it, but the warmer synth sound does work well for creating a slightly thicker tone and does fit in a lot better with the other synth that does come in. Like the really high synth that comes in just before the 1:00 mark, and the little changes in chords that occur throughout. It keeps up the variety and makes a pretty ambient piece all the more interesting.

I'm a sucker for strings and choir and I thought they were added in really well. It's got a very slow buildup, and the climax pays off the waiting for it. I would have liked to see this even longer, as Coop said, just to maybe see even more of a buildup, or more development of the melodies and the like...because this was really nice. Could work on a fair few flashes on here, pleasing to listen to either as a focus or just as a background track...definitely shows a lot of potential for expansion, and for perhaps more tracks to come off this idea...but as it is, it's really well done. No real complaints other than that I'd like to see you do even more with these ideas!

-Review Request Club

Calamaistr responds:

i did and i will. :)

Thanks for the review again, i like long reviews especially from people who make classical music themselves. :)

greets. -Cal.

[Luminous_Odyssey [Box-Killa]]

Review Request Club

Like the opening two synths, especially the light evolution of the first. The drum introduction is good, though I think builds up a little too much as the drum beat itself is quiet light and quiet. But how the synth sounds and drums are manipulated in sounds was really well done and gave a little more variety to the piece. Speaking of variety...by 1:16 the first synth gets repetitive, and very much so. If you had it change melody or even have the synth itself change, the second half of this track would have been a lot more interesting.

The cutout of most of the sounds at 1:32 was a nice touch, but when it started building back in there was a really odd sound...kind of like whooshes of air, sounded like maybe it was a reverse drum sound (Tech n00b, I have no idea), but it really didn't match the beat all that well when it came in, which threw the beat a little because the drum wasn't there already confirming it. The sound itself was nice and pretty unique, but the rhythm of it was a little questionable. Same thing with the end where some kind of bass drum is there...the regularity and the speed of it made it feel a touch machine-gun-like. I think if you'd modulated it a bit more as you had done with some of the previous sounds, it would have sounded a lot better. THat besides, this does loop well and with a few edits could probably work quite well as a dance track.

-Review Request Club

[In My Dreams - Jxl180]

Review Request Club

The bass line kind of dominates every other synth as they're added, which is a shame. I'd have liked to see the other synths that come in have a lot more presence than they did, or have had the bass line turned WAY down. Because it's much lower down in the texture, you don't need as much volume to give it presence; like at the 1 minute mark where the bass gets toned right down for 15 seconds...you can still hear it fine. But it's not overpowering everything.

Because it's so present for the rest of the track, its small loop gets very repetitive, very very fast, until it kind of fades into obscurity by 2:00...if it had STAYED faded out, I think I would have enjoyed the rest of the track a lot more. Which is a shame, because what the OTHER synths are doing sounds really cool. As in, throughout. There's some really nice sounds and chords in there, the voice works well, the trainsitions are nice (Especially the ones into the piano/ambient pad sounds). If the bass was turned down, and you gave people a chance to hear the other synths, then I think even the voice wouldn't feel as overpowered as it did here.

Look at the levels, turn that bass down or other things up, and this would be a really great track. As it is, the bass line in this lets you down massively. Everything else is fine, and works well. SO just one tiny fix needed to make this a pretty solid track.

-Review Request Club

jxl180 responds:

Thank you for your help and review. I will definitely heed your advice. Originally, I was trying to make the bass the main hook, but apparently that wasn't the way I shouldn't have gone.

Thank You.

[power of Drum&Bass.V2]

Review Request Club

I didn't really like the very first synth, but the drum beat beneath it was pretty good....though when you have the faster fills in the drums, especially on the sanre and bass sounds, it does start to sound a little machine-gun-like, which is a bit of a problem. Especially at 0:18 it kind of did sound like a tired engine starting up instead of a drum riff, and even MORE so at 1:02-1:11 where the drum has these kind of half-solos which is just solid note after note, it just sounded very muddy and a sloppy sounding, which was a shame. I'm not sure whether that was what Coop was referring to, but the way the fills did keep coming back in at the speed they did did remind me of an engine, a little bit, and for the wrong reasons.

The voice...didn't really like the voice last time, still not sure if I like it this time. It sounds like the one you get on Microsoft computers in the speech-to-text function. To the point where I could take a guess which 'person's' voice you used to create it. I think in general, it could use a little more editing just to make it feel less robotic and let it fit more into the piece, instead of just putting it in at the start and end for no visible reason. That being said, I liked the main melodic riff last time, and it's nice to see you haven't gotten rid of that and have indeed still kept that in.

The way the melody changed just before the second minute was also nice, because spending the whole track on the one melody would have been too repetitive; would have been nice to have the bass line change as well, but that's less of a problem. The section with the acoustic guitar (?) was a nice addition, especially when the guitar and the synth play both melodies on top of the other; though the synth did overpower the guitar a whole lot, the melodies did work together.

My only main quarrel with the synth choice (after the intro one :P) was the one that turned up at the end in parts, like 4:12-4:20. REALLY didn't like the sound of it. I think if that synth got changed, the drum fills got a second look or that soundfont got edited a little and the voice was either incorporated MORE into the track or removed entirely, and maybe have the bass line change up, this would be a better track than it is. But I do see a marked improvement from version one, so keep it up.

-Review Request Club

jpgregorio responds:

thx,well... the voice is actually from Loquendo's TTS in Text aloud, i'm gonna make moar bass variations as this was only like the 2nd version of the track, and i think that wasn't a guitar , but w/e sounds like one then its probrably one, imma removing the "outro synth" and try to make the intro a little longer so i don't have to drag the song into repetitiveness. thx again.

[Kaleidoscope Eye]

Review Request Club

Wasn't quite sure what to think about this after the first few listens. It's definitely unique, I cannot accuse you of doing something generic. But in saying that, this does need a lot of work...it takes a lot of good instrument choices and EQing to make something odd land in the 'good' side of odd, as in, quirky, fun, or unsettling and deliberately so. I think this just for a few reasons falls on the less desireable side of odd, in that I'm left really wondering what this really is...

The texture feels relatively sparse throughout, and I think something like that could be remedied easily with just a few more warm pad sounds just to flesh the sound out a little more, and just make the vocal sounds feel a little less biting than they do. The vocals themselves could have used a second look, just because they didn't really seem to fit with what else was going on and especially in the introduction, just felt a little too messy. I think if you revised the introduction without the vocals it'd improve the piece quite a bit. As some other people have said, the drums in this are really, really well done. So if you just changed the synths and worked on the transitions a little more, this could be really good. The drums bring this up, the transitions are probably the main thing bringing this down. The drum beat's a really solid starting point, so I think this does have potential to be a lot more than it is here.

-Review Request Club

TheSongSalad responds:

Thanks for the review and suggestions man, I appreciate it.

[Black New Hole (WIP)]

Review Request Club

Should have read your warning about the volume, I had to turn it down straight after the track started :P

The choir/synth introduction was nicely done. I was a little skeptical as to the buzzy nature of the synth, but in general it did work. What didn't totally work for me was the addition of the drums; I felt they were a little too loud compared to the synth and cut through them too much, and the same with the next mini-section around the 1:00 mark; nice dark, sometimes creepy melody in the synths, just overpowered by the drums.

There's a nice buildup at the 2:00 mark, and it extends longer than I anticipated, which is a nice sign because it makes the track a little unpredictable, and a little more unique. The way the buildup is carried on that rising synth sound is also a nice touch, instead of simply relying on a dynamic crescendo. Again, I'm a little skeptcial about the choice of the higher main synth, as it does sound very worn and almost tortured as a sound, making it quite spooky-sounding, but also a little grating. It's the kind of synth you're likely to either think totally works or doesn't really at all. However, the drum at this point fit nicely level-wise with the synth.

In all, the piece is pretty strange...but unique for it. There's some really unorthodox synths at work and it gives the piece a very spooky unsettling feel. I think the drums could use a second look in the first section, and the synths could possibly use a little more consideration to see if there's any way to attenuate the aggression without completely detracting from the feel of it...but in general, it's a pretty solid effort.

-Review Request Club