Animith's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[dadgad v2]

Review Request Club

Man you got 0-bombed hard, which is a shame, 'cause it's quite a nice laid-back song. This track definitely is so underserving of the low score, so expect some 5-bombing on my part.

Straight away you set up the mood of the piece with the pitch-bends in the melody. Feels like the kind of thing you'd hear in a jam session; just that unassuming coolness that you can get from something simple but effective. The change in pace at 0;16 was nice; the palm muting's really clear and defined, but still light enough to fit with the mood of the track.

For something that's loosely improvised, you certainly do have a pretty decent structure to the track; there's the chorus theme that keeps coming back, there's a clear progression between the phrases, nice variation in the harmony...I'd say easily, the different harmonic changes throughout the different phrases is a highlight of the piece, because you have these fractionally darker and lighter sections, while still generally keeping that mellow mood.

That being said, I think by the end I was finding it to drag a little, wouldn't have minded it straying perhaps into another more varied section...but in general, I'd say you should 'fuck about' with your acoustic more, because you've made some pretty nice sounds here. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

loansindi responds:

hey, thanks for the review. sorry for the very delayed response but i've kind of lost interest in NG lately.

I appreciate that you enjoyed it, considering the unpolished quality.

[Big Cats]

Review Request Club

It's always an idea to have the lyrics in the author comments, because some of your wording here is a little hard to decipher and so it might be tricky for some people to work out what you're saying. But anyway, onto the song:

0:04-Like how the song starts almost introductionlessly. The drums and bass work well together, however both come in quite abruptly, which is a little odd. Having some kind of bass drop into the beat or drum fill would have helped a lot.

The recording quality of the voice is noticeably subpar, however. You can hear a lot of the breathing and plosions of your voice, which are quite distracting and don't help the grand quest to work out what you're saying. The tone of your voice as well needs a bit more of a kick to it, because you sound kind of...bored, in places? Though that might have been due to the aforementioned recording problems.

0:43-Nice change to the chorus with the lead guitar, and slight change in the bass line. The bass line, while good, is a little simplistic, and as theretofor it's the only melodic instrument save the vocals, you could have embarked on a more ambitious bass line.
1:02-Here onwards sounded really cool, guitar-wise. Definite highlight of the track. You had a lot of them going on and a lot that came in and out which made a really nice instrumental section for about 40 seconds. To the point that when the vocals come back in I think that that mix works a lot better than what preceded it.

The guitars work brilliantly. If nothing else, think about rerecording the vocals, because the instrument work especially past that minute mark works just fine. Keep it up.

-Review Request Club

Sawdust responds:

Thanks man!

[[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.

[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

[Our Nova Pt. 2]

Review Request Club

I think the bass at the start is a touch too aggressive, I think you could have maintained the pace it sets without having it at such a high velocity; also giving the track more chance to build up.
The high notes at 0:42 ish were really nice and came out of the texture really nicely by the start of the first minute. These light automations and stuff made the first minute a pretty nice buildup. The lead melody is really nice; obviously very happy and major, but works well for it. The random higher notes were sort of a hitandmiss for me, in that sometimes I thought they really worked and others I thought it was a little too up-in-the-air.

The higher countermelody was also really nice; the way it was a little quieter added to that atmosphere all that much more, because you avoided it cutting through everything else. Those two lead synths really do well to carry the rest of the texture up til about 2:30, just because it kept changing up enough to support the accompaniment which theretofor stayed pretty similar. When things changed up at 2:30 it was really nicely done; again, quite a subtle transition but differs enough to keep the sound fresh and interesting. The depth of atmosphere is really stellar throughout, which is definitely commendable.

As a track, it's pretty faultless and you tick all the boxes. Could definitely see this in a flash, either at the start and the finish...or any place in between, really. Great mood, great sounds and atmosphere...if you were looking for points of improvement, you could consider extending it and putting in a few more sections, perhaps some a few slower or more airy, ambient sections, or just adding more of the same into a longer track, but in general I'd say it isn't broke, so don't put too much effort into fixing it if you're fine as it is. Really nicely done.

-Review Request Club

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Thanks man! I really like your opening advice. That will come REALLY handy in my future songs. Hmm, thanks for pointing out the high notes! If I'm sure of what you mean, that's just the resonance from the main synth. I'm glad you like its sound. It's always good to know the kinds of sounds your listeners like.

About making it longer, I can't really do that, because actually, my songs tend to be too long actually. Yes, I see where you're coming from, but length is usually best suited for trance, you know?

I'm glad you really liked my song, thanks for the review!