Animith's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[G] Holy Advocate ft. JP & KC]

Review Request Club

0:00-Interesting intro, cool melody...but I can barely hear it. Granted, my hearing's shot six ways to Sunday, but I've got my speakers turned all the way up and am still having trouble hearing it. Which is a shame, because what I can hear sounds good.
0:22-Drums come in way too hard compared to the low sounds before it, which I'm sure would have caned were I wearing headphones, having turned up the volume so loud to hear the start. You can have extreme dynamic changes without them being that extreme.
0:36-Can hardly hear the bass at all. Mixing definitely needs some work.
0:45-Interesting break into a new section; you can hear the melody a little better, but it's still cut straight through by the drum level.
1:19-Break was a little abrupt, but the lead is louder than it was...still not loud enough by a long shot, but any kind of louder is better, so plus points there.
1:52-The break here is alright, but they don't go into anything new; there's a slight variation of the lead instrument, but nothing further than that, which is a missed opportunity, because the breaks themselves are effective, just not followed through.

It has the potential to be a pretty kickass beat, but the mixing kills this completely, which is a crying shame. Turn things up! Work on the levels, think about maybe making the sections either side of the breaks differ a little more...if nothing else, take another look at the levels, because even if you lay rap on top of this it would sound very effective as a beat.

-Review Request Club

[[SxHx] N'Thisisex (NG CUT2)]

Review Request Club

Aha, this will probably seem similar to sixflab as you put the previous version of this in the RRC as well. ;D Anyway:

0:00-Nice gritty intro, moving into a very dark bass line by 0:09. That bass line feels similar from your previous version, but that's a good thing as the bass line worked so well last time, so it's nice to see it still here.
0:23-Got a pretty minimalistic drum beat with the bass kick, but you have some unique percussive sounds with the kind of swishy-cybal sound and the clicks later on, so you have that mix of the familiar and interesting, which again works well.
0:38-Nice variation to the bass line; the bass was quite complex to start with but the way you change it up anyway adds more colour to the track
0:43-Vocal breaks work really well; robot voice seems to fit a fair bit more. Breaks into a nicely mixed new section with a few more light percussion elements as well. The atmosphere in this, like that last one, is pretty spot-on throughout, so kudos for the mixing work.
0:59-Possibly my favourite part is this transition into a kind darker section; with just the synth and drums, it feels very sparse and dark, which is insanely effective.
1:17-The new lead synth adds to the kind of darker more illicit atmosphere, so well chosen there
1:31-Nice transition into the opening synth again; that middle section though really brings the piece out and lets you come back to this section with it sounding new and fresh, which you would have missed out on had you just stuck to the one section.
1:51-I notice how the vox takes on a lower role in this version, and I think it works a lot better for it; it's there enough to seem coherent, but it's not excessive or overdone like it was getting to be in the former version.

Great mix, great levels, marked improvement on the first version...no complaints at all, really. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

shesmackshard responds:

Thank you very much, excellent review! I appreciate it!

[[dj-Jo] Classical Clash]

Review Request Club

0:00-Nice strings to start, feel very atmospheric, made warmer by 0:16. Gotta love it when strings are done well, because they have such an inherently emphatic nature to them.
0:40-Love the subtle nature of the synth coming in, it lets you have a really extended buildup. And the way you replace classical strings with their more techno alternative works well, definitely lives up to the title. Great pitchbendy bass and interesting and busy drum beat.
1:28-Love the bass and drums; they're brilliantly complex while keeping to those needed techno archetypes.
2:00-Great kind of chorus-like themes, the drum beat is almost frantic at times but as it's deep in the texture you have this kind of "quiet chaos" which is really nice.
2:28-Good transition; the bass is complicated enough to not need any more variation...and that's kind of the same for the drums. The section at 0:40 didn't have much variation in the phrase repetitions, but because the phrases themselves were so very complex, variation was completely unneeded, so you could just play the phrases out for those 40 seconds and be no worse off. Same thing here.
2:44-Transition into piano and strings works well; nice to see you have those those techy elements seeping in throughout to tie the sections more together.
3:14-Nice change of melody and the way the piano and lead come together works well.
3:49-Fadeout's a little extreme, but it's not that big of a deal.
4:00-Like how it finishes with the piano and SYNTH strings and kind of peters out into a sort of natural atrophy. Really nice way to bring the title idea through the track.

Great track, overall, especially for an older one. Awesome transitions, always great to see an NG techno artist who knows what variation in drum and bass can do...what more can you want?

-Review Request Club

dj-Jo responds:

Thank you Animith!

I always appreciate your reviews, even though I don't reply on your reviews sometimes.

Anyway, the fade out was kinda of experimental
well, this song was supposed to be the song I was to submit to the next round of NGADM
but, you know, things don't always work out! lol

When I got the reviews from the NGADM
most of which criticizing on generic-ness of the drums, so I tried something, well

New

So, theres that for yah :D

and the combination with techno and classical music was supposed to counter act Gravey and his Classical skillz
but I never got there lol

Thanks for the review dude!

and, when I said old, I meant like...
2 weeks old, or somewhere near that

[Etude #2 - Valse de la Chagrin]

Review Request Club

As I noticed you mentioning it; Hi five for cubase AI4! ;D Very awesome piece of software, nice intro into cubase if you've not used it before. Anyway, onto the track:

The volume to me seems fine, or at least a lot louder than your previous track...though maybe that's just me having my volume up louder.

I really like how your etudes could function almost by themselves as short little tracks, just because they go through a lot of different harmonies and have a very characteristic melody...and generally, the kind of thing you could listen to over and over.

The plucking on this track seems even smoother than the ones before, there were perhaps one or two times in the entire track (:45 and 1:05) where I started to not think the picking was as smooth as it could be, but it's almost imperceptible.

As the others have said, for such a short piece you've got a great structure, something which could easily be translated into a longer piece if you felt like extending it. The classical picking also helps every transition seem smooth as butter, and you obviously know exactly where you're headed with each chord so it just seems very fluid and relaxed throughout; again, the kind of thing you'd not mind hearing as background music to a variety of settings, just because it's so atmospheric even of itself.

What can I say? You obviously have a knack for this, so definitely keep them coming, and think about extending these studies into longer tracks, because by the looks of things you could definitely fill a track of 3 minutes+ with a lot of shiny guitar goodness. Keep it up, as always.

-Review Request Club

Darkmaster603 responds:

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. A few of these recordings were done with poor nail care at the time, so they were not shaped correctly and too long. I'm glad you liked it though.

I actually have been writing rather long versions now, I think my longest is about 7:30. i'm working on extending some of these older pieces also.

Thanks for the review!

[What She Did]

Review Request Club

0:00-Nice opening set of chords, sets the song up well
0:19-Vocals are drowned out by the instruments in the verses. If you didn't have the lyrics typed I'd have had a trying time working out what you were saying. It also sounds like you stray from the intended pitch a lot; while at points this feels like simple vocal fall-offs which work well, at other points it sounds like you're having trouble holding the melody, so definitely keep that in check.
0:49-Nice chorus, you can hear the vocals a lot better (though the timing seems a little off at 1:03), but now it's the guitar which seems muddied and lost; you can't really hear much definition in it at all.
1:27-Same opening chords again, to the point where it sounds like you just copy/pasted it from the into; could have done with a little more instrumental variation as the vocals are saying the exact same thing. That being said, the drums change up which is nice to see and definitely a needed variation, but changing the guitars a little as well wouldn't have gone amiss.
2:17-Chorus again. I didn't notice last time, but here the vocal rhythm of the chorus feels forced, especially at the 4th line at the "all my time"; like you're trying to squish all the words into the one line.
2:38-Niiiice break, feels very different from what came before. No complaints at all, save for the one that it didn't come earlier in the track, because it does work well.
2:54-Transition back into the chorus felt way too abrupt, could have definitely had a longer break.

In general, you've got a good set of chords, good premise...could use more lyrics, as the same 7 lines repeated three times gets a little tiresome...and definitely think about extending that break, because it was an instrumental highlight of the track.

-Review Request Club

Sawdust responds:

Thanks man! Glad you didn't find it terrible!

I'm actually just trying out the style of this band called Japandroids, which is like this 2 guy band and they sound MASSIVE, and their lyrics are most of the time always like a couple lines repeated over and over.

[[herd] Techno Haven]

Review Request Club

Major kudos for making your own instruments! If you don't mind the asking, are there any specifically that you made, or did you just create all of them? ;D Anyway, onto the review:

0:06-Nice divebomb into the beat, really smooth and linked the short intro and first section well.
0:14-The melody that comes in here works with itself...but seems to clash lightly with the melody that was at the start; sounds like they're following fractionally different chord patterns.
0:35-Cool transition with the melody fading out, though it did mean it sounded a little sparse for a few seconds until it came back in; an incidental synth in that gap would have helped rectify the problem quite easily.
0:55-Addition of synth works well, nice change in drum beat for a bit...Think in generall the drums could have been varied a little more because the beat theretofor doesn't really vary all that perceptibly, and drums are a nice way to keep variation high, because the feel of a synth can be changed completely by the beat it's being supported by.
1:38-Really nice bassy boom, wish there were more of them about! Adds a nice deal of depth and atmosphere.
1:52-Well done break, though it might have gone a little too quickly back into the main theme, I think that'd have been a really cool place for a longer buildup. Or even a MASSIVE buildup, because when techno buildups are good, they tend to be utterly immense.
2:31-Nice change to the drum beat/synths. Gives it a slower feel, but the drum gives a heavy and almost anthemic feel. The beat changes in the later half of the track are definitely a good touch, and something that perhaps could have been taken advantage of more in the former half.
3:12-Nice set of melodies and synths, though by here the main melody starts dragging a little for me just because it's quite short and gets repeated a lot.
3:40-Odd note to finish on.

Generally, there's a nice set of transitions, but I think you don't stray away from the main melody enough, leading it to drag by the last minute or so. you had a nice section change at 2:31 and at 1:52, if they were developed more or brought in a little earlier in the track and cut of the melody line more, it would have definitely helped the variation of the track. The sounds of the synths, however, sound pretty brilliant, would never have been able to tell you made any yourself.

-Review Request Club

Herdunculus responds:

Thank so much for compliment about the synths. I didn't make ALL of them, but I made the lead synth, and the bass and kick and stuff like that. Variety and change of pace is still sort of a challenge for me. Thanks for the review.

[LB - Broken]

Review Request Club

0:00-Nice slow melody line, quite atmospheric for that. I think piano in general has that power to stand on its own if its used well (and with enough sustain ;D), so it's nice to see it opening up the track.
0:26-I'm guessing that's piano making the higher noises? Manipulated six ways to sunday, of course, but...whatever it is...it's really cool! Adds a lot of colour to the piece and definitely has a unique feel to it.
0:38-You lose me a little with how heavy the drums and glitches are, just because you wouldn't expect it given the relatively light piano that preceded it. Either putting the drums lower in the texture or having more of a buildup into them might have helped for a smoother entry, because at the start I would have never suspected drums at all in this.
0:50-Lovely strings. Very nice arrangement of the different lines; again, strings (quarter, I'm guessing?) have the inherent quality of warmth and depth on their own, so their implementation is almost always a sure-fire way to create such an effect.
1:14-Suspension was perhaps a touch overdrawn, but it linked into a nice new section. That being said, for the next 30 seconds the strings began to drag a little for me; having some form of the chord pattern changing or a melody line coming through would have worked well just to tie the sections together a little more.
1:42-Nice light drum beat, definitely enters in a lot better than at 0:38 beat, while still maintaining that punchy quality you'd want from percussion.
2:07-Lovely reintroduction of the piano, plays out really nicely for twenty seconds or so, but then...
2:34-Again, lose me with the heavyness of the drums; could have definitely used more of a buildup into them. The way they abruptly cut out actually works, but the way they come in is a touch extreme. Don't get me wrong, they have a brilliantly fierce intensity by themselves which I think COULD work well, just that they toe that line between brilliantly intense and overtly heavy, at least for my personal taste (Which doesn't exactly shy away from intense or clashy, giving the penchant for listening from screamo-blackened death metal ;D)
3:20-Nice ending, really love that glitched piano(?) and the final chord.

You've got a lot of good ideas here, highlight definitely being those unique sounds you had at the start. My only major qualm would be those drums, making their intensity sit a little better, and maybe making that string section a little shorter. In all though, there's a lot of good in this track, so definitely keep it up.

-Review Request Club

[Stargenx - Summer Sun]

Review Request Club

Ouch, you got 0-bombed hard. Sucks when it happens at all, but especially when it happens to someone who completely didn't deserve it. Anyway, onto the track:

0:00-Nice light upbeat intro. Quiet a slow beat, but it definitely gives off that relaxing vibe from the get go, which is what the title leads you to believe the track will be like.
0:34-The introduction of the cello and piano was cool, just adding to that warm relaxing feeling. Generally speaking, the addition of instruments is definitely a major plus of this, especially as dynamics and heavier sections are kind of out-of-bounds given the kind of vibe you were going for with this.
1:00-Very laid back, mellow solo, fits well with the track. The pitch bends were especially good, letting it just play itself through complaintlessly for those 30 seconds.
1:31-Nice transition back into the intro, although the acoustic here feels VERY quiet when compared to the lead, so maybe think about turning the dynamic up a bit on that to even it out more
2:00-As intrument additions occurred before, I was almost expecting one here, so without it this part felt a little lacking, just because it was sort of the same thing. With such a slow song, repetition is a trap very easily fallen into, so you definitely have to keep thinking of ways to make it interesting.
2:35-Nice 'chorus'-type thing for about 12 seconds, would have loved to have seen more of that, because it does work well and is coherent with the rest of the track.
Generally, the drums are good, but could have had a looot more cymbal usage, just because cymbals give that nice tinkly colour while adding a rhythmic feel.
Ending's a little abrupt, both in general terms and for the fact it sounds almost minor? Maybe that's just me, but it just didn't quite fit in my head.

Good melodies, very relaxing feel...could use a second look on the drums and have used more of the melody around 2:35-2:40, but in general is a nicely crafted piece. Definitely not deserving of such a low score, so you'll be getting a 5-bomb or two to bring your score up to a more justifiable level for the work you've put in here.

-Review Request Club

Stargenx responds:

Thanks for the review! :D I really appreciate all the people that vote 5 on it. Zero bombers suck. Anyway, about the cymbals. You just reminded me to try to add some. :\ I know I don't have a good track record about adding to songs, but this time I REALLY will try.

[The War Hawks]

Review Request Club

Play-by-play:

0:00-Nice intro, you set it up with a nice sounding riff which has a fair bit of promise to it.
0:25ish-Guitar sounds very muddy, lacked the puch I was expecting and so gets drowned out a little by the drums, which come with a relatively higher dynamic.
Drums in the 'chorus' lines is nice and inventive, but in the 'verses' with just the bass gets repetitive, fast. If you had a few guitar chords or just palm-muting there to fill the gap a little more it would have been nice, because the texture feels over-sparse with just the simple bass and drums. Makes me feel like this song was made to have a vocal line over it (Which would work well, must be said)
1:31-Nice change in chords, I was about to worry that it'd be the same riff throughout, but the transition works well.
1:52-Nice bass variation from the guitar, but here you really start hearing bad quality of rhythm guitar as it plays the same chord over and over and you hear very well that it doesn't have the smoothness of a real guitar.
2:00ish-Nice lead guitar sound, but drowns everything with how loud it is. If the rhythm guitar before was at this dynamic, I think the drums before would have made more sense, but as it is here the lead feels very loud, to the point where it sounds very quiet when it cuts out at 2:32. Nice and manic as a solo, though; very well-written, just needs to be turned down or the rest turned up.
2:41-Machine gun drums, same thing at 2:55. You need to space the drum beats between other drums, or find a decent drumroll sound, because as it stands the frantic pace of the beat on the snare doesn't seem realistic. You need another guitar in there just to stop it just being a frentic drum solo, because it feels out of place; like you have the section with all the instruments, then a section for the lead guitar, and then a section for the drums.

In all, you've got a lot of good riffs and the mix is generally there, but there needs to be a little more cohesion between the lead and drum solos and the rest of the track jsut to pull it together a little more.

-Review Request Club

MixyRecords responds:

Very in-depth review. I greatly appreciate it. As I said before I am going to go through and remix the track. Now that I have some feedback I'm going to begin work on a new mix. I hear what you are talking about with the muddy guitar sound. I think adjusting the frequencies on it should help. I know what I need to do with the lead guitar part too. It's true that the lead was very overpowering in the mix. I know that rapid fire drum thing at the end was pretty ridiculous.I'm just going to change that rapid fire thing into something else but I'll leave the solo in there. I just need a better transition into it. Once again thanks. I'll update you with the improved mix