spartacusxerox's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A Sad Tale]

Bass, Strings, Seiken Densetsu, and the Quiet

Hey gamekrazzy, how's it buddy?

0:05 Nice bass and strings.
0:15 It's interesting that the bass is staying the same here.
0:25 I like how the bass changes here.
0:36 I like your nice building.
0:40 Piano is a tad loud, in my opinion. But still sounds nice.
1:26 It's sounding same-ish. Maybe because of the only 9 patterns. Still sounds pretty cool though.
2:08 The ending gets busy. I like this,
2:22 The very ending is still very surprising, but it's not bad.

- Creativity/Originality -
Sounds very creative and original. Your songs are very unique, and a lot of them are inspired by Seiken Densetsu, I see. It might help to put at least a little reverb on the edges, but most of that is part of your style. Very you... a sad tale.

- Soul -
Your soul is very brooding, indicated by the repetitive bass, and the deftly changing bass. It does portray an aura of sadness I guess, in the less busy moments. I recognize that this piece puts emotions above all.

- Entertainment -
I was partly entertained, except for the somewhat repetitive nature of the song. However, in a game, this is hardly noticed, in fact the repetition would go nicely behind the game. The trick is trying to get it not too repetitive to be annoying. I think you succeeded somewhat. In the less busy parts, such as the parts with only the bass and the strings.

- Professionalism -
Your are getting more professional, but it wouldn't hurt to put some effects in here and there. But keeping in mind that this is a video game, this wouldn't be bad video game music. You are improving, gamekrazzy. Keep up the good work.

- Reviewer's Tilt -
I'm quite curious towards your music, Gamekrazzy, because you're not afraid to be innovative, no matter what people say. And you're getting better, I tell you. Keep up the good work, my man, because this is a good progressive piece to even bigger and better things. Well done, man.

- Creativity/Originality: 7/10
- Soul: 8/10
- Entertainment: 6/10
- Professionalism: 7/10
- Reviewer's Tilt: 8/10
OVERALL SCORE: 7.2/10
ROUNDED SCORE: 7/10

VERDICT: Great!

-SpXer-

GamekrazzyProduction responds:

thanks for the review man. I have to say I like the way you pull off ur reviews, it really gives me an idea of what is wanted, what would make the song better and everything. I also like the sense of humor. U my friend are a professional critic. lol. keep reviewing my songs, It's thanks to these reviews that like u said I am getting better.

[Reactor Escape(Full Version)]

Pretty good

Hey bro, Gamekrazzy it's good to see another of your hits :D

- Creativity/Originality-
Very creative and original, I like the experimental nature of this piece. I know that by nature you have a lot of experience in this area, buddy, and to be honest, I like it when the hard rock drums come in sort of.

I wouldn't call it jazz, but hey.

- Soul -
The soul of this piece is dramatic and espionage-like, which I like. I've made a few in this vibe too. The timing is very off, which creates a sense of urgency in my opinion. That added to by arps. You've done quite well in this regard, but it still remains quite a jilted and ungroovy tune. More like a barely bearable one. It's still good though.

- Entertainment -
To be honest, I mean I liked it the first time, but then listening to it over and over again in some sort of loop would be kind of annoying. Video game music you want to sort of be underwhelming and sort of a good undercurrent, not the overpowering nature of this one. It's almost like an assault on the ears, and I mean that in the best of ways.

- Professionalism -
I'd still like to hear some reverb in there krazzy, even though you're not too much of a big fan, i'd think.. I like the tune though, but it doesn't seem as professional as you could be, such as in "Mysterical". Now that was pro.

- Reviewer's Tilt -
I'm ya bro, Krazzy, but there's much to be improved on on this. And you can still remain in the espionage theme. It's pretty good though, and I wouldn't mind it in a game, just I know you have a lot of potential. Thanks, dude

- Creativity/Originality: 9/10
- Soul: 7/10
- Entertainment: 3/10
- Professionalism: 5/10
- Reviewer's Tilt: 5/10
OVERALL SCORE: 5.8/10
ROUNDED SCORE: 6/10

VERDICT: Pretty good

-SpXer-

GamekrazzyProduction responds:

lol, yeah u got my message then. :D As you might notice I changed my mind on this being videogame music. So honestly I never ment for it to be a piece that repeats here. lol. As far as Jazz. This is not one bit jazz. I actually took a jazz tune that I was trying to work on, and messed with the Arpeggio, thus creating the feel of this song, losing it's swing. Anyways thanks for the review. I really appreciate how u understand that although not as professional as I know it could be, it is not a bad song. Maybe if u didn't think it was going to be in a videogame ur thoughts would have been different, but hey, it's alright I can see how you would be confused coming from my little loop/demo.

[Once Profound]

...

0:09 Wow, #3? Very nice!
0:17 Very nice beat, I didn't know you made good music, Kirby!
0:27 Simple drums so far... just the kick. But then it gets more complex!
0:41 Very housey, but at the same time you got some dirrty bass. Pretty generic bass however, but it's used to good effect.
1:10 Nice time signature. It's sort of weirdening. Something strange about a time signature that can captivate.
1:23 It's like a polyrhythm. reminds me of the antics of Joanna Newsom.
1:40 Ooh I've got about 3 more minutes of this... exciting!
1:54 The anticipation is quite electrifying.
2:00 Nice transition.
2:10 It makes me think, how can I make something like this? I'd like to? It's within reach at least.
2:26 You make music fun.
2:32 This instrument is good. How do you make things like this good? It doesn't sound like you're conforming to any scale at all?
3:00 Kirby you da bomb. SRSLY.
3:08 The harmonies here are nice.
3:19 Wow. All I can say here is the variety is amazing. How?
3:39 I agree. The outcome is amazing, Kirby. This might beckon a favouriting.
4:05 Wow. A 5-minute loop? Interesting.
4:14 It descended and then it ascends. How do you do it...
4:28 I can hear some arps in there. Kirby you just the man.
5:10 Wow nice.

- Creativity/Originality -
Very creative and original. Everything sounds in place and there's a lot of variety. I'm glad to be in your club, Kirby. You just da bomb. The ambience is very nice too, and your bass is used to nice effect. Thanks for this.

- Soul -
The soul of this song is very brooding and almost apocalyptic. It's like space fiction and dumb friction. I enjoy this. Lovely synths and basses and the whole lot. The jilting melody is much welcome and adds to the ambience of the soul.

- Entertainment -
Very entertaining piece, thoroughly. I very enjoyed this. You are just a professional, Kirby, how do you do it? Wow. I mean, just wow.

- Professionalism -
The professionalism is just pro. It's just amazing, Kirby. The subtle changes in melody, and the ambience that it produces is jilted and maddening. It's breathalysing.

- Reviewer's Tilt -
You know my tilt. Just do it. Thanks for letting me listen.

- Creativity/Originality: 10/10
- Soul: 9/10
- Entertainment: 10/10
- Professionalism: 10/10
- Reviewer's Tilt: 10/10
OVERALL SCORE: 10.0/10
ROUNDED SCORE: 10/10

VERDICT: You Da Bomb, Boi!
RANKING: #1

-SpXer-

REVIEW REQUEST CLUB

Kirbyfemur responds:

Oh wow thanks man!!
I was going for an over all generic sound to the basic parts of the song, the kick and bass part i mean. And i wanted to surround the more generic with some of my own flair and funness since i'm not the biggest fan of this sort of music, but this was really fun to make.

There are actually no arps used within this song, all was written out, cause i don't like the instruments to do all the work for me =P

Thank you so very much for liking this song =3

[In a nutshell - TTC CHG]

Orchestry, nice touches, ambience and the influenc

Calamaister, LOG:

0:15 It's quite nice sounding. The little staccato.
0:30 Wow. Amazing little riffs.
0:40 Pretty amazing ambience. This is great, bass is great.
0:54 :O floored.
1:14 Nice loop as Fro mentioned. Pretty amazing stuff. Inspires.

- Creativity/Originality -
Very creative original. Just very nice and different and refreshing. When I read Fro's review I thought he was exaggerating, but then I listened to the song and got lost in it. Well done. Very original and nice-sounding.

- Soul -
Very story-telling type music. The ambience is typical of JRPGs, but also with your own unique flair, which is interesting. The little pizzicato strings or whatever create nice interesting ambience. The bass is interesting too, and there's short silent moments which increase the tension. Nice for a VG.

- Entertainment -
Nice and tranquil BG music for an interesting cutscene. It gives me an interesting idea to make stories with music. But it's very emotional and nice, and the looping is interesting.

- Professionalism -
Very professional, just like a true composer. Creates good ambience and good emotion. Nice. I like your orchestral touch, with strings and pizzicato and staccato or etc. Very professional and I can tell you have a good idea of music theory.

- Reviewer's Tilt -
I like relaxing music. This is good relaxing music, not just constrained to VG alone. But it's still a very nice roleplay the thing you wrote. I like to write poems alongside my songs, and a short story is just as nice. Thanks for letting me listen.

- Creativity/Originality: 9/10
- Soul: 10/10
- Entertainment: 6/10
- Professionalism: 8/10
- Reviewer's Tilt: 7/10
OVERALL SCORE: 8.0/10
ROUNDED SCORE: 8/10

VERDICT: Awesome.

-SpXer-

REVIEW REQUEST CLUB

VERDICT:

Calamaistr responds:

ha, never had a review quite like yours, its almost a magazine.

Thanks and glad you liked it, be sure to check out all the rest of this album if you like. :)
-Cal.

[.:Unsquare:.]

Not square, time signatures, midis, and fun times

Hey Sam. LOG:

0:08 I agree, interesting time signature.
0:23 Everything's sort of layering on a bit harsh.
0:36 But it's good musicianship, I'll take it at that.
0:50 Here it's a bit hard to listen to.
1:16 Oh so this is midi, it's alright. It's pretty good.
1:29 The piano is interesting, on top.
1:50 I agree with Fro, the ending is great.

- Creativity/Originality -
Very creative signature, original indeed. A little bit jilted melody, but I guess that's the point. The chord structure is a little bit repetitive, and that bridge in the middle is sort of weird, but it's pretty nice. I think the verse is in 7/4. Am I right? I can't figure out what the bridge is in, but I have a feeling it's something/3. Even though you don't want us to know what your time sig is, I'd like to know. Hehe I guess it'll keep a secret.

- Soul -
The soul is very perplexing, like a labyrinth. It's as if the song doesn't know where it's going, like a lost child. I like using metaphors, as you can see. But it's true, it's like a wandering soul. Are you this complex? Are you yourself this mile-a-minute thinker. Youtube jason moran (not the criminal). He's a grand pianist. And not the American pronounciation either.

- Entertainment -
Quite entertaining stuff. Fun stuff, especially with the time signature. And the ending. The whole piece is pretty fun, but it's also infuriating. About to unleash the fury! You're not a square.

- Professionalism -
I found this professional. It's quite well-polished for a midi. Especially since you probably know your theory quite well, what with the changing time signatures. But I have a feeling the chords don't quite gel as well as they should.

- Reviewer's Tilt -
This song was maddening and the crashing cymbals didn't really suit my ears. But the piano underneath is quite nice, but only if by itself. I'd say the whole is better than the sum of its parts, if you know what I mean. Or something like that. Thanks for letting me listen.

- Creativity/Originality: 10/10
- Soul: 5/10
- Entertainment: 7/10
- Professionalism: 6/10
- Reviewer's Tilt: 4/10
OVERALL SCORE: 6.4/10
ROUNDED SCORE: 6/10

VERDICT: Pretty good.

-SpXer-

REVIEW REQUEST CLUB

camoshark responds:

You asked for it, I didn't write the time signature because it's infintely too complexe to write down. But if you insist, I'll do my best...

After the 16 build-up mesures :
-16 mesures 7/8

Refrain (1 mesure each) :
-10/8, 2/4, 6/8, 4/4, 10/8, 2/4, (12/8 1rst time), (6/8+4/4 second time)
-6 mesures 6/8 for the ending

Truly an excellent review you did there, it's so full I can't argue with you!
Thanks alot!!

Cheers,
Samuel Hébert

[Time To Live]

It is indeed the time to live

Hey Joseph, this is my log of when I was listening to your song:

0:10 Ooh I like this beginning. Very poppy.
0:23 Nice sounding guitar. Sounds very wobbly though. It sounds like you're changing the filter to an overly rotating formula. If you know.
0:59 Very nice little chimes throughout.
1:08 Again, nice break in drums. It creates a sort of variety that one always underestimates.
1:26 Woah! Very nice bass! You never really see this.
1:38 The bass is a little scratchy though. Nice breaks.
1:54 There's more breaks in the drums.. your claps are very nice. What's that noise that you hear though that sounds like you're scratching your car with a key? It's interesting to say the least.
2:27 Again the guitar is too wobbly. Maybe a little less wobbly would do the trick.
2:45 I like saying 'again' a lot.
2:53 The synthy strings in the background fade and they pan across your ears. Niiiice.

- Creativity/Originality -
Very creative and original. You used a very synthy bass towards the middle which is more used to electro or techno songs, but you pulled it off with aplomb. It was just a teensy bit scratchy, is all. But that's it.

- Soul -
The soul of this piece is very tranquil, nice. Sounds a lot like the chord progression for Pachebel's Canon, but isn't. Sounds very musically sound. I like this sort of groovy song. Rhythm, but more blues, and I like it.

- Entertainment -
Very entertained, trust me. This is my type of song. A break from the generic techno/trance that miind you, I spawn out a lot. Only lately have I got into making funk. You have made R&B sound like a very entertaining and viable option. Thanks it is very ballad-like and fun.

- Professionalism -
The professionalism is abounding, however the guitar was too wah-wah for my taste. Sounded like you used a formula for your changing filter that moved too high a range. You wah-wahed too much, in other words. Might have been better if it had less wah-wah. But overall, your beat had space, your beat knew where the sweet spots were and utilized them wonderfully.

- Reviewer's Tilt -
My tilt is overall very positive. This looks like a very good raving review for you. And it is. I thank you for bringing slick beats to NG and I thank you. The overall feeling of the song was tranquil, and then groovy, and then the rhythmic bass came in and took it away! I've listened to it 3 times now and it still fascinates me. Thanks.

- Creativity/Originality: 8/10
- Soul: 10/10
- Entertainment: 9/10
- Professionalism: 8/10
- Reviewer's Tilt: 9/10
OVERALL SCORE: 8.8/10
ROUNDED SCORE: 9/10

VERDICT: SPECTACULAR! (beckons a favouriting)

-SpXer-

youtubenderdog311 responds:

Thanks, your review and love for this song makes me feel good and warm inside! Keep listening and look out for more! P.S. Let me know if you have any music out, I would love to hear some of your work!

[Clouds are raving WIP]

Synthy, trancey, floating on a leaf

Hey Agamoka, I'm gonna give you a log of my feedback:

0:05 Sounds very nice. I like the little chimes? coming in.
0:21 This snare is very bouncy.
0:28 Ooh, the bass just stopped after like one beat not cool.
0:42 OK, the synth is way too overwhelming. An easy mistake. I liked it quieter.
1:07 The piano fits in well, however.
1:18 Ooh, I liked these strings. The bass coming in ruins it, however. But mind you, someone has to keep the beat.
1:38 The classic kick-bass-kick-bass. Has to be one of the most overused of all time. It's still OK though, I've just used it way too much.
2:15 Nice ending.

- Creativity/Originality -
Sounds very contrived at parts, resembling a Basshunter song. It is your creation, however, and the snare at the beginning is very bouncy. But the string parts, again, are the most important parts of the song. They are the most creative, original, and birthing processes of the song. The trancey synthes, you can do away with those. But you can't afford to do away with subtle nuances.

- Soul -
The soul of this piece is jubilant, out there and in your face. Very sanguine and happy-go-lucky. Mind you, there's the undercurrent of the rising waves of life there, too. This has got a very nice soul. Feels like you're running through a field. And then when you have that string part, you're floating on a leaf falling from a tree, feeling your own heartbeat, staring up at the sun. Visualised in my mind. Then you race through various rainbows of colours, as they fly by.

- Entertainment -
I was quite entertained. I'm a big fan of the quiet string parts. The ambiguity that arises where chords begin and end, it's amazing. I actually think people focus on the loud&proud way more often than the actual good parts, the nice shifts and subtleties, nuances. They are the most intricate part of the songs and delicacy is something people pay megabucks for.

- Professionalism -
The bass at 0:28! It stopped, and it ruined the whole pro feel from then on. But the rest of it actually had very professional touches. The panning from left to right at 0:55 distracted as well, but overall it was very professional. Just sounded very rushed.

- Reviewer's Tilt -
I quite liked this. It wasn't my favourite cup of tea, but it was my cup of tea nonetheless. Very good chord progressions, and I like the jubilant soul of the music. Enjoyed the quiet parts very much, and itt was quite professional, only rushed a tad. Felt like we were racing too fast, gonna crash. Thanks for letting me listen.

- Creativity/Originality: 6/10
- Soul: 8/10
- Entertainment: 7/10
- Professionalism: 5/10
- Reviewer's Tilt: 8/10

OVERALL SCORE: 6.8/10
ROUNDED SCORE: 7/10
VERDICT: Great!

-SpXer-

REVIEW REQUEST CLUB

Sokru responds:

Thank you very much for your detailed comment.
This will help me to make better songs. :)

[Rock 'n Roll Show]

Rambunctious, having fun with the boys

0:02 Cool beginning. I really like the guitar.
0:11 The drums are very upbeat and 'poppy' if you like.
0:24 Well, you've got a very interesting voice. I guess it goes with the name: Jester.
0:48 Your band is very good, though. You just seem to be playing the same pattern over and over though, it sort of gets a little annoying.
1:20 I can appreciate that a lot of work went into making it, it's just not my type of music, really. But I won't let that get in the way of the criticsm process.
1:55 OK maybe. Looks like you guys are having a lot of fun though. But I can just imagine an old granny happening to sit in the place that you're playing and blocking your ears. It's not very friendly music, really.
2:35 Your ending is quite nice, though, slapdash for the sake of being slapdash.
2:50 Hehe a little laugh at the end. Funny.

- Creativity/Originality -
Very creative and originality. You create your own sound, definitely. The origins lie with you. Solely. Wow.

- Soul -
The soul is very brash and rebellious. I sort of like that, but it's not very ordered, it's sort of chaotic. Mind you, there's an order to that chaos.

- Entertainment -
I wasn't very entertained by this. It was too messy for my tastes and I sort of had to endure it for a while. The guitar solo didn't really make sense and it was sort of off to the side, for a bit. Not really incorporated with the music feel.
I would have liked to hear a tune to the voice as well, but hey, this isn't pop.

- Professionalism -
I guess you are the definition of a professional because you're getting paid for what you do. I have to bring up the mic recording as a pointer to professionalism, but it doesn't affect your score that much, as you apologised for it. That takes away everything, obviously.

- Reviewer's Tilt -
It's not really my style, however it was very your style, I can tell. I know this is the type of music that you like to listen to, otherwise why would you play it? Perhaps because it's more fun to play than to listen to, or maybe because people are in a drunken or silly mood to listen to it anyway, so they wouldn't care. Maybe it's just having fun. Thanks for letting me listen, anyway.

- Creativity/Originality 10/10
- Soul 5/10
- Entertainment 2/10
- Professionalism 7/10
- Reviewer's Tilt 2/10

OVERALL SCORE: 5.2/10
ROUNDED SCORE: 5/10
VERDICT: OK

-SpXer-

REVIEW REQUEST CLUB

ranter responds:

Thanks alot for your review really!!

First of all we're always having fun when rehearsing and jamming =p
Secondly, you're right this isn't meant for granny's although i wouldn't mind seeing them dancing in front of this song.

First of all, i would wan't to know what you mean with the -soul- part, since i don't really know what you mean with chaotic.
Don't get me wrong i love chaos very much like guitars giving feedback while distorted or phace noise bass.
But this song was based on a simple Ref/Chorus/Bridge etc.
So i would like to know what you mean by chaos.

And another this about the solo, All notes are in correct order of each other since it's just a regular guitar scale.

-Professionalism- I do have to admit that unfortunately i don't get paid for this so we're not really professionals. The mic is a stereo track recorder wich the guy who owns the building is a very good friend of ours.

Well i'm finished now but really thanks alot for your review !!

[Life's Struggles]

Improvable, but still good

0:21 The changes in volume aren't very consistent. I tend to make it simple and just make the volume proportionate to the pitch of the note.
1:10 The melody is simple, yet effective. Its simplicity is quite good. But yet again it could be perceived as too simplistic.
1:50 Strings in here would be pretty good.
2:22 This high volume part comes on very large, and it's about 2x louder than the rest of your song. You don't want people consistently reaching for the volume knob.
2:50 Overall, very pretty, but I think you need to adjust the volumes better in order to make it seem less robotic.
3:16 I would like some really quick parts as well, trills, some magnificent epic trills. Oh no wait, that's what I do. They seem to like that.

Thanks for letting me listen, Gamekrazzypro! 7/10 :)

-SpXer-

GamekrazzyProduction responds:

And thanks to you for reviewing. In my perspective let me lecture you. What emotion do you get by proportionizing the volume to the pitch? What kind of tune would you have if it was always complex, and tell me, how noticable will the change in emotion be if the change in volume wasn't drastic? It's good to get a viewpoint from another, but maybe you could use a viewpoint from me. Some trills would be nice btw.