DexiAntoniu's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Out of the Blue]

There are some interesting syncopations and dissonances thrown in there. Mbut...

The synth starting from around 0:40 isn't bad, at least initially, but it's not a really good instrument to lead the melody with, especially after 01:05. It needs at least to be doubled by another instrument, something with more punch and bass to really pound with the drums.

The main "problem" ( though problem might be too harsh) with this piece is that the listener is not quite sure what you wanted to do with it; where is this experience leading? what is the feeling I'm supposed to get? Generally, it is a good practice to sit down and think "okay, what do I wanna accomplish with this song? What sort of message do I wanna send, what will that message be and how will I make sure the message people receive is the one I intended?"

If what you wanted to do was a nice experiment, then you succeeded. There are some nice ideas thrown into there. But as a whole, it doesn't make a compelling song.

I'd also advice using a bass instrument, whatever it might be ( bass guitar, synth, w/e) and going a bit lighter on the drums, as they can become a bit too tiring. A dedicated bass should help with the lighter drums though and keep the pounding of the song.

[Delta Wave (First Draft)]

This sounds like something Thom Yorke would do for Amok.

The percussion does it. The instruments are lean and ghostly and even though the melody is simple it is pretty wicked and you don't notice it's repetitiveness until you listen to it a good couple of times. Some variety could be added, considering it's 3 minutes and a half long, to add to the replay value.

Also, the ending could use a change in pace, some crankin' up, or something of that sort.

Pretty sweet.

Canas responds:

Hey thanks for the feedback! I've been working on it the past few days and i've added some more layers as well as a new melody to lay on top of it. Funny you should say that it needs a change in pace because that's exactly what i've done!

Stay tuned for the fully polished version and thanks for listening!

[Cyber God]

Mastering is flawless.

The pacing is good. When I first saw it is 5 minutes long, I wasn't sure I could listen 'till the end - as I treat music like a brief experience. But I did, easily.

It isn't "groundbreaking" as a whole but it has many-many sweet spots, you really have a great taste for pacing and I really really really like that, it really makes the song an experience in itself with its own story. It could be easily used as a great soundtrack for a trailer, even though it doesn't have the usual tropes a trailer audio has.

It's hard to review on it other than it's good, lol. Would be great as a boss song in a Deus Ex game.

I would only suggest, for the sake of immersion and emphasis, to really turn up the volume of one or some instruments during certain sections, whatever you feel best, to BREAK the ambience, make something really stand out on a rhythmic section or something that would play the role of a lead guitar. That would draw the focus of the listener's ear and really hook him, make him focus on something and lose it to the song.

Valon129 responds:

Thanks for your review and for the compliments, i'm glad you like it.

I'm going to try this idea of playing around with some volumes, probably this afternoon. If i end up with something good i might upload the result or i'll send you a link in PM.

Thanks again for this really cool review.

[Northwing Fury II]

The ideas thrown in the song are awesome, but the mastering could really be a lot better.

The bass-line is very interesting, but it has too much punch and not enough well...bass.
The drumming is interesting, again, quite excellent rhythmically, but it drowns the bass, you can no longer hear it, and the it's again, a bit too punchy, too turned up on the highs.

The guitar line is very good, but could use some modulation, and it could work extremely well in tandem with the ambient sound on the background if it were better mastered. Like a rotation amp on it, a reverb and a delay, something to let it echoe and harmonize with the guitars.

All in all, the ideas thrown are very good, and it sounds quite interesting, but it feels too clustered, even for the genre the song falls into. It needs to be a bit more spaced, and fine-tuned on the panning of the instruments, their volume levels.

I very much love the rhythms of the drums, but again, needs better mastering.

Blacklawn responds:

Thanks. I'm always struggling with mastering... But I'm glad you enjoyed the composition.

[Omen]

The part from 00:47 reminds me of Zimmer's score for Sherlock Holmes.
If Guy Ritchie made a sci-fi movie, this is the feeling score would have, I bet.

Could really be developed into a nice musical experience!

Retsamehtmai responds:

oh wow thank you ^_^

[The cloud machine]

I'd like to hear more of that ghost, high pitched ambiental sound effect you can start distinguishing from 1:27... and more be built upon it.

The song weak spots is in some uninspired dupstep breaks early in the song, but it keeps getting better as it progresses and it really caught me after listening to it a bit more.

Deserving piece :D

Jgeenen responds:

Thanks man!

Most of the atmospheric effects ( except the water ) are made with my voice by flexing it and using samplers for the AH's you describe.

I just went with the flow and i don't like the utterly aggressive basses in dubstep i do like the dynamic impact of muting.

Thanks for the constructive comment! I appreciate it :).