Animith's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[_Balance_]

Review Request Club

I like the lightness of this track; there's a really upbeat nature to it, despite its generally slow pace. I think you went a little excessive with the cymbals in the first section because they sort of overpowered everything else; maybe just having a few different cymbal sounds playing some of the notes would remedy this.

I was unsure about the middle section in general, because there was less of a defined beat so things felt a little more like they were left up in the air and to their own devices, which kind of half-works, but could have used another instrument or a more defined beat just to keep it grounded as it went into a more ambient section.

The piano at the end was surprising, but nicely done, and ended the track well. I could kinda of see this in a flash as some lighthearted end-game music; the kind of thing that works well in the background, but is animated enough so that you could still listen to it actively and be entertained by it.

-Review Request Club

Birdinator99 responds:

Glad you feel that way; the middle section was intended to be a little "unstable", so to speak, as to represent a half-sane mind (see description), but you still make a valid point, so thanks for the feedback!

[Capital katlean (remix)]

Review Request Club

I like the piano intro, especially when you start harmonising with the melody or just add little countermelodies to it; if you hadn't done so I'd say it had gotten repetitive by the first minute. As it is...I think two minutes of piano based on that small idea was a tad excessive, though those harmonies and embellishments did save the first half of the track, because it does give it a really nice, if notably slow, sense of build.

The really light/fast piano movement at 2:16 was really very nice, if a little quiet; wouldn't have minded hearing more of that earlier in the piece. And the change to the different instruments, while a little surprising, was very welcome and very effective; definite echoes of France, as Haggard said. Really nice choice of instruments and they do work well...again, wouldn't have minded this section having come in a little earlier than they did, because it didn't have as much time as the piano did to evolve and develop. If the first half of this was a little shorter and the second a little longer, it probably would be a little bit of an improvement, but as it is, this is a really nice light track to listen to.

-Review Request Club

Calamaistr responds:

hmm dont know what to say ive said most i wanted to say in response to the other reviews below but i dont want to neglect showing a little gratitute for your time to review this..

Yea... the light/fast(er) piano part around 2.15 was a bit of new meets old, the whole drag from beginning to that point is pretty much the very original tune (though the instrumentation is different, the original was built with lowfi strings, imagine that) and when it ends before going into more folklike instrumentation i at that time felt like it would be nice to make something 'filled' whereas the music before it was made with short tones.

And thanks again, ill post some new 3 tracks pretty soon! :)

[<MWA> Electric]

Review Request Club

I love how the drum beat isn't completely regular at the start; it really compliments the synth and makes the opening of the track feel a lot more relaxed and gives it a unique touch that you wouldn't have gotten just from a strict/regular beat.
The synths themselves are nicely chosen (kudos for making them yourself, nice job) and each have really nice transitions...the one at 1:20-1:27, however, I'm dubious about. It did mess with the light/relaxed atmosphere somewhat, but afterwards when it got back into the beat again it was pretty much forgotten.

By 2:30 I think you could have used a change in melody, because by that point it did feel very repetitive. You did do well in that you kept adding in a few new synths every so often to break up the times between the older synths, but I think you needed a little more by the end of this just to keep it varied, such as voice samples, a solo section, maybe a transition into a few different chords...just something to stop it feeling repetitive. For the first two minutes though, you definitely sold me on this track.

-Review Request Club

mjattie responds:

yea, you're actually sooo right! Really thanks for the review! I shall work no repetitiveness in my next song, for sure!

[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.

[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.