Animith's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mans0n- Sound Of My Dream]

Review Request Club

Nice start, although the bass kick sounds almost too synthetic right at the start when there's just the one synth under it. By :15 where the beat's got more complex and more synths come in it's far less noticeable. And the beat it was playing throughout really complimented the other synths...I'm a techno n00b so I'm going to take a stab and guess the sound at the very end was kind of a manipulated hi-hat sound or something...whatever it was, it sounded very cool. ;D

The synths are really nicely chosen and they all come in and out well. I especially like the way the one at 0:40-0:50 and 1:15-1:17 evolves, it's really smoothly done.
The vocals were probably the highlight of the piece, I almost wish they'd come in a little more, but then again without them you get to hear the synths and the melodies/harmonies they've got a lot more...if you ever take a second look at this, maybe think about extending it? So you can play with the vocals a little more, because I think there's a fair bit of room to explore it a lot more. I'm in two minds about the ending; on the one hand, it seems a little thin compared to the textures that came before, and on the other it's a pretty nice and light way to finish a piece that was exactly that, mood-wise. But in general, this is pretty awesome for a demo. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

Mans0n responds:

thanks for your kind review!

[TwilightREM]

Review Request Club

I like the melodies in general, though whatever effect you added on one of the first synths to make it sound all chopped-up like a pretty aggressive tremolo doesn't really work. It seems to take on a more rhythmic aspect at the climax around the 2:40 mark, but nearer the start where there's a less prominent drum beat to compliment it it's a little out of place. I can't exactly explain more than that why it seems to work later in the track more than it did earlier...I don't know, it just seemed a little surplus to requirements at the start? You had a nice melody going, it didn't need that effect gating up the smoothness of the tone like it did,

That being said, the entire thing was quite dream-like. It doesn't really travel any much distance (although it does have a subtle buildup throughout, which is very nicely done considering it's pretty much the same melodic material being used throughout), but there's this great ambient feel in the background, juxtaposed by this kind of odd-sounding synth in the front that by the end does start to simulate the kind of reaction you do get with rapid-eye movement; this sort of fluttered view of reality.

Don't get discouraged by the 0-bombers. Everyone on the audio portal suffers them, the trick is to realise it's the reviews that really count ;). For a first track, this shows real promise. If you can keep this up and maybe improve a little, you could have a nice little time here on NG. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

KeptItHairy responds:

Ha, I see there are no fans for that tremolo, but I'm beginning to agree that It did seem too much and took away more from the atmosphere then it started off with. As for the beat, I made it more for that climax, which is probably why it sounds a bit awkward as I did have trouble fitting it into the beginning. I'm proud to hear that I got the atmosphere down. Its what truly held this piece together which is why its so important. Its so great having so many perspectives. I just hope my song is good enough to payback the effort for the helpful reviews!

[O.H.35 - My Dy]

Review Request Club

I love the superslow buildup in this. It takes a good full minute for the main riff to kick in and yet the first minute isn't really lacking; all the time you've got this sense of crescendo and build to it. Which is pretty nicely done, as most of the time buildups that length just get irritatingly repetitive.

The switchings between the keys/synths and the guitars is always nicely done. Whatever's on top, you've always got this nice undercurrent of synth and drum beat, which varies enough to not be dull in itself, and often has a few sounds you'd generally not hear in a backing part, which gives the track a lot more depth. The choice of sounds on the keys also generally complement the backing synths really well, whereas the guitar adds a nice counterpoint to them, so you've got a great contrast going on.

I thought by the 4th-6th minute it was starting to get a little repetitive, but not so much so as to be very irritating. The guitar in general was cool, but I thought it could have maybe switched a little more between the chords and the more lead-like part it had right at the start. Maybe have more times where the main synths/guitars are playing together, as well?

In general, it's a nice solid piece. The guitar's a little drawn back which lets them not overpower the keys, it's got some nice unusual sounds and harmonies in there and in all was a pretty decent listen. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

OH35 responds:

Thanks you for your feedback!

[Out Of The Blue (Mans0n RMX)]

Review Request Club

Nice intro, especially the kind of breathy voice effect. The little transition at 0:15 was a little too abrupt, to the point where I thought the track had jumped. But after that, again you have a nice buildup, the drums are nice and prominent, the synth is well-picked and again you've got this kind of echoes voice in the background which gives it a little more characteristic.

THe transitions in this are definitely the major letdown of this track. When everything fades out at 1:25 it really takes long while for anything to really get back to a decent volume...even by 2:20 I'm still wishing things were a little louder than they were, or at least having one of the synths a little more in the forground so we had more of a point of focus, or have one of them play more of a melody so it takes on a better-formed type of ambient middle-section. Espcially the part around 1:51 is sorely lacking any kind of sound...at all, really. And when things do kick back in at 2:36, they're too abrupt. It's lacking the buildup it needs and even if there's no buildup to be had, things in that middle minute definitely need to be turned up a little in general.

That being said, once things do kick back in again you've got a nice strong beat with the melody and it maintains itself pretty well. At 3:16 the little change is nice; thought it might have been another odd transition, but kinda works well in context, giving it that little bit of variety. The ending is pretty cohesive and polished, and again the voice effect makes a bit of an entrance (Or so I think).

In general, this does need a bit of work before it takes that step from demo to full-blown track. I'd have like to have seen the voice part take on more of a role because it was pretty unique, and DEFINITELY sort out the levels of that middle section. There's potential here, so keep working at it.

-Review Request Club

Mans0n responds:

this is awesome criticism! thanks for the re

[TTC the crowning (adagio)]

Review Request Club

Wish it was a little louder. But then again, better it be too quiet and need the speakers turned up a lot then it be too loud and break my hearing. Which happens a little too often with things in the AP, aha xD

In general, the piece is pretty toned-down; there's this kind of desaturated melancholy throughout that gives the piece a quiet beauty, which is coloured up a little by the odd chromatic harmony or slightly-faster movement. I'd be interested to see what the original track sounded like simply because I'm not sure how this would work with a faster pace. A little faster than this, perhaps, but if it was significantly faster it feels like it would have been a different piece altogether, and almost wreck the atmosphere you make from this.

It doesn't go on much of a journey, there's not a wild array of variety or even much change in the general pitch, but in itself I think this piece works regardless. It conveys a message in a clear way and tries to catch your attention without a fast pace and a more striking melody. Really nice work, overall.

-Review Request Club

Calamaistr responds:

I might upload the original sometime, but i wouldnt want to break the chain of what im working on right now (TTC CHG, see my uploads page) Its a whole different kind of track, this is alot more lounge like, the original is eh.. well i dont really know.. it has bagpipes anyway (lowfi).

[[herd] A Look At The World]

Review Request Club

It's got a nice and simple introduction. I felt the melody line could have been a little more prominent than it was in the first minute or so, and definitely gets drowned by the synths that come in at 0:55 and the more ambient one a few seconds later. The drums are nicely done; they're loud enough to be prominent without cutting through the synths.

When the new synths/instrument sounds take over the main melody from the piano sound the track got a lot more listenable-to, simply because there was more of a focus than just all the chords and melody at once. The transition onto the pads was a little abrupt, but works well once it settles in. The pan-flute-type thing at 3:05 and the glock (maybe?) at 3:12 were nice touches, I almost wish they'd come in a little earlier just to help add to the variety a little more than they did.

I think cutting a minute off wherever you did definitely helped, as this track only JUST started to get repetitive in places, but not much further than that. So definitely was a good idea to cut that minute out. For something made solely out of the FL instruments, this is nicely done. A lot better than a lot of the creations FL tends to have hurled onto newgrounds, anyway. It's a nice quirky piece, and works well for it.

-Review Request Club

Herdunculus responds:

Hmmm. I like your review because there is a lot of advice in it that I could use. I will definetly make this better using what you, and others, have suggested. Thanks a lot. Oh, the glock you mentioned at 3:12 is actually still the pan flute but I added a quieter lower note to it and a traingle sound (I forgot what it was called XD).

[[:Whiplash:]]

Review Request Club

The opening synth, while pretty unique and atmospheric, did get a little too piercing for my headphones at around 0:12. I couldn't quite work out what was happening until 0:30 melodywise, but when it does kind of settle down and the melody starts to kick in it's AWESOME. Love the dark sounding strings up to 0:50, they really help set the tone.

The change to the synths was a little abrupt, but as it settles in again it has this nice dark feel to it. The drums are the best part of this section, definitely; you've got a great varied beat there to compliment the dark synths. The synths themselves are also nicely done; they don't move about so much as to be confusing, but their melody evolves enough for it to never get repetitive.

The section starting at 2:12 is another highlight for me, it starts getting a more anthemic, chorusy feel to it and the way the synth morphs is really cool. The change in drum beat at 2:52 was nice, and I wish it had maintained that offset beat for a little longer than it did.

Again, the transition (this time back into the strings) felt a little forced and the exit of the drums a little abrupt, but what the strings are playing in general is cool, and serve as a pretty nice interlude between the more aggressive, darker synth parts. The transition back into the synths at 4:10ish is a lot smoother than the previous one, and probably the best in the track. And again, the kind of "chorus" comes back in, but is varied enough for it to still bring a little more variety than a simple copy/paste would have done, so kudos for that.

The new synth that comes in in the 5th minute is a really nice touch, definitely switches focus from what had been the main synth for most of the track; which was probably needed at that point. All in all, it does what it says on the tin, and is nicely crafted. Maybe a touch on the long side, but never in any really detrimental way. Nice job, overall.

-Review Request Club

julius33 responds:

WallOfText which i was really glad to read ^^
Its nice to read Constructive Criticism from time to time :)
Also the synth that enters in 5:13 is actually the same synth as in 1:39 only an octave (or 2, cant remember) higher :P, but it still plays a big role in the song...
Thank you for the review. I dont have much more to say since you have already said everything there is to say :)

[AF - Simply Sabotaged (Final)]

Review Request Club

When I first looked at this, I was worried at the length. Not that I dislike all long songs (Tool fan, some of their tracks are 8 minutes plus, aha xD), but I find a lot of them can fall into a trap of being too repetitive. Especially when I read that this was originally two songs you edited into one. After listening to the whole thing I'm left wondering whether it would have been better off left as two songs. They compliment eachother well and the editing of them together is quite smooth, but I think having them as a 4-minute song and a 3-minute song might be a little easier to deal with, in listening terms. But anyway, on to the actual song.

Nice start, whatever you did to the drums is really cool, they compliment the synth well. I kind of wish they didn't fade out so quickly, just so they could have been used a little more as a support. The synth in itself though was nicely implemented, had a nice fast-paced melody and it had a nice evolution to it. The bass that comes in at 0:34 is also cool, though you kinda do start to really feel the lack of the drum sound by that point. I don't know what to make of the synth that comes in at 0:41...it sounds cool? What I can hear of it, anyway-it kinda needs to be brought a little more in the foreground so it's a little clearer, because it does sound like its a nice addition.

1:14 is yet another nice synth...the synths in general throughout have a really good quality to them come in and out well, though at 1:20 it's left feeling a little absent as one thing fades in and another fades out, and by 1:30 it feels in need of another synth just to flesh it out a little. The gated melody is a nice touch but it leaves the section feeling a little absent of some of the warmer synths that preceded it.

The going's on at 3:00ish feel way too crowded. One of those synths needs to be brought out a little more just to have some kind of point of focus instead of this mass of synths that sound kinda muddy together. The third minute in general has a really nice melody and is well-put together much like the 2nd...but much like the second minute, I'm not entirely sure it'd be of a detriment to the track if they were half the length? It's not that what's happening isn't good, it's just that it kind of lingers in the same area before it begins to move somewhere else. Which isn't a totally bad thing, but for a 7-minute song it gets a little repetitive.

The changeover to the second track was nicely done, I probably wouldn't have guessed it was initially two tracks if you hadn't said in the comments. It's a nice change from what's come before, especially the drums at 5:35. They're pretty overpowering, but almost in a good way? The way they cut through the synth somehow makes for the good. The synth at 6:03 creates the variety needed again by that point, right then I was going to have said it needed something different...and lo! Synths came. So nice save, on that part. The new synth at 6:28 is also a nice touch for this.

In all, this was pretty well crafted. Some of the levels could do with a second look and I'd seriously consider either splitting the tracks back into two or shortening this track down to a more manageable length, but in general this was pretty cool. Keep it up.
-Review Request Club

aliaspharow responds:

Wow! i was kinda expecting steph to give me the long one but seems you beat him on that one! i never even thought a longer song was an issues! because i thought all my other ones were too short...
...well that and the fact that i wanted to get both songs reviewed in the same week.
^^ HEY no one said it was cheating! Anyway, il be sure to mention this to steph! hes always looking for good epic reviewers!

Cheers!

[Stargenx - Forward into DawnV2]

Review Request Club

The intro's really cool, I love the initial switches between the brass and the percussion. The percussion itself could have maybe done with a little more reverb just to give it even more emphasis, but it serves its purpose fine as it is.

The snare that comes in at 0:36 is a nice change of percussion and really helps keep the pace going as it moves into the new section at 0:41. Which is, by the way, awesome. There's the subtle change in melody and harmony that just gives the quietest hint of a buildup, to start with. But a grand one, at that.

Your use of chords is also really nice, especially the major one at 0:58, just in general the instruments work really well together. The addition of the strings (or so I think?) was REALLY nicely done, giving that extra warmth to the brass. Personally, I think they could have been a little stronger at 1:14 as the brass kind of take a bit of a quieter role during that part. Definitely think the main climax at 1:21 could have been a little stronger, especially as you have a pretty powerful buildup from the brass leading directly up to it. As it is you still have the feeling of climax and it's a well written piece for that, but I think you could make a much bolder statement easily just by turning up the volume a little at that point.

The kind of large anthemic feel you have up to the end is really nice, I especially like the little synth-type thing you added at 2:05 and the way it panned across the speakers. Would have said the ending was fine, but the final cymbal crash was a little distracting, almost, especially as that was the only thing playing by that point. Though that could just be me.

All in all...I think the word of the day here is 'epic'? I almost wish this was longer, just so it could build up even more than it did. There were a few tiny things that maybe could have been changed, but it's nothing big enough for me to want to wreck your perfect score :P Keep it up; nicely done.

-Review Request Club

Stargenx responds:

I am thinking of extending this, yes. I will possibly make a whole series of "Call of duty style" epic sounding songs.

[Dwelling at the Ocean's Bottom]

Review Request Club

In short, awesome.

My favourite part might have been the bit near the very start, at around 0:12 where the strings just kind of...ghost in. They never really get to a full volume, and so they're just lightly supporting in the background and the effect it has throughout the piece is pretty wonderful. As the piece develops I wish the strings had come out a little more, because especially nearer the end I couldn't tell whether there were strings there, whether I was mistaking the piano's sustain for strings or whether I was imagining them in my head. The levels of them are perfect at the start, but as the piece develops and the piano gets a little more emotional and prominent I'd say you could easily turn the strings up a little more.

In general it's a wonderfully calm song, and yet still is very much full of emotion and passion in a way that makes it very captivating to listen to, but can still function as a background music if needs be. I especially like your use of harmonies in this, especially the little change like the one at 1:26...in general the piano is just spot-on, pretty damn beautiful. Which is just what you want.

If anything, I would have wished this was longer, but I guess you can't have too much of a good thing. Your friend's pretty damn lucky to have someone like you writing for their animation. :P

-Review Request Club

Jabicho responds:

Hi there my friend! Thanks so much, yeah I think the strings could use a bit more volume after the beggining :P since they help a lot on the feeling of the song.

Thanks so much for the great things you say about the piece, it means so much =)