MetalRenard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sun Kingdom]

Have you considered turning the track down a bit? It would create more room for dynamics. I also recommend reducing the high frequencies in the melodies because right now they really hurt my ears.
I respect chiptune as a genre, but I believe that as a genre it needs to be mixed to help protect listeners from those really harsh square synths. ^^

Catchy tune, nice mix with the drums.

Merpy responds:

Yeah i know I've been fixing my new songs because some guy told to learn about EQ and mixing and stuff so my new songs are gonna sound better!

[Kill That Girl]

Cool song, but as the previous review says, it's is almost completely mono and suffers from some strange glitches (clicks etc? Could be due to the compressor or bad cuts from editing harshly).

Tips:
- Record all rhythm guitar parts twice and put one on the left and one on the right
- Boost the kick drum at 60 to 100hz, cut the bass from 100hz and lower but boost it from 100hz to 300hz. This will give the kick drum space to come through and won't sound wimpy.
- Fix timing by editing recordings. Cut, time stretch and use fade-outs properly.

Glammetaldude responds:

I actually did that with the guitars and but I had huge problems with the bass drum, the more i beefed it out then the more it screwed everything else so thats why the whole thing is compressed to hell, thanks for the tips its really helpful ill defiantly get to sorting this mix out!

[Holy Sanctum of Arcadia]

An interesting piece. Be careful how you program the flute, you can't play a flute in the same way you play a xylophone like in this, you'd be better off detaching the flute from the percussive instrument and letting it play the notes in a calmer fashion. It doesn't really fit in with the whole idea of the music at the moment either because of how crazy it is in the middle. Have you considered doing some more intricate sound work? Percussive instruments are awesome with long reverb tails and you can do some cool effects with that.

Other than that it's calming and mystical like you were looking to create so good job. (just don't call it "something Chronicles" because everyone does that. ;) )

Neon-Bard responds:

Great point about the flute. I didn't even think about it in that way, so I'm really glad you pointed it out. You learn something new every day right? Also, I'll try experimenting with more reverb on my percussion!

As always, I appreciate the feedback man! Thanks a lot! :D

(I won't call it 'something Chronicles' don't worry hahaha! :D )

[Clueless (Rextended Mix)]

The mix is well done, the beat stands out but is not over powering, you can still clearly hear all the background and other notes plus there's not pumping which means you used the compressors well.
Not usually my style but I know a good job when I hear one.
Nice change half way with the piano, I wasn't expecting that and it was a lovely addition with some sweet effects that gave it an icy feel. Nice bass on the 2nd half too, very complimentary to the whole thing.

What software did you use for the wide synth that comes in with the piano?

:)

Cahzmana responds:

thanks for all the goodies man!
the synth at the piano part clearly is a classical one. tho might be confused with a saw one,
its from Nexus. boosted the width and EQed the thing + some additional effects i cant tell.

[Sky Kingdom of Arcadia]

I'm with the previous poster saying the middle section lasted too long if this music is made for listening purposes only. If it was made as part of a game OST you could get away it by saying "it's just mood music". You can't really do that if it's just for listening.
I'm not going to judge your work on the quality of your tools because I understand that it's unfair to do so, but I would like to point out that your strings sound quite tinny/whiny in the middle section and could use more beef to add to the realism.

Apart from that, some good work on the composition, interesting percussion that holds the whole piece together and I liked that sneaky flute at the end. ^^

Neon-Bard responds:

Really good points man, I appreciate them! As always I make my stuff geared towards the game genre and I wanted this to be more along the lines of 'mood music' as you put it. Either way you're right about the prolonged mid-section of the song...I think this is going to turn into another song at some point. I just feel really attached to this song. :)

[Mischievous Guise]

Hmm... Unlike previous reviews, I don't think this sounds very halloween-like, but it's cool nonetheless. It can feel a little eerie at times but it's more up-beat, something I'd imagine in a retro game like ThunderForce (side-scrolling space shooter, an epic game by the way).
Don't take that the wrong way, It's pretty damn cool anyway.

Neon-Bard responds:

Hey man don't worry about it, I didn't take it the wrong way. If anything I really appreciate your honesty! I can see where you're coming from when you say that it isn't very "Halloween-like", though I still believe it has some nice Halloween elements thrown in there. In any case, it is definitely more up-beat than eerie as you put it, no question about that. Thanks for the review, I appreciate it! :)

[Boundless Old Soul]

Interesting intro, quite thoughtful. I can see what you mean by using it to cheer yourself up, it has a lovely positive vibe to it. The percussion was nice, it created a nice earthy vibe to go with the more "spaced out" feel of the other instruments.
Piano tone is nice too. ^^

Neon-Bard responds:

Thanks man! I'm glad you think it has a nice 'vibe' to it! I always like how other artists can summarize a song in their own words, because often times it adds to the song overall. Thanks again! :)

[-A New World-]

Ok you had me at the drum beat. Just yes.
I can hear the difference between this and your work today production wise but the composition is really awesome and those drums... More please. ^^

Step responds:

Thanks a million :3. I'm still pretty proud of this even though yeah the production isn't all that good. I love the melody I used here though, I have NO idea how I thought of it.

I'm glad you like it! I really want to review one of your songs back in return (like that Metroid-inspired one which I would actually very much enjoy reviewing considering I think Metroid is AWESOME and have remixed lots of the tracks in Metroid [Unwavering Assault is the only example that I have on Newgrounds right now])... but yeah, so much to do :(. If I find time this weekend I'll return the favour!

I appreciate the review!

[Sanctuary]

I've been back to listen to Ecosystem no less that 15 times so I thought it was time I check out your other music and I'm glad I did. This is superb work, lots of dynamics (loud/quiet) which is sorely lacking in today's music, and of course your very cool epic feel which is very well pulled off, partly thanks to the tempo change right before the epic "chorus". Good job!

Step responds:

Another review! Thanks man, your feedback is awesome.

I'm glad you liked this. I agree it's pretty dynamic, although looking back I think I made it TOO dynamic; you know, it changes mood too often. I'm not very good at keeping up a more static pace in orchestral songs without it ending up repetitive though, unfortunately.

Thanks again dude.

[Silhouette of the Samurai]

Hello Neon-Bard! (hahaha)

Well this piece definitely invokes its name very well, it has that fast-paced action feel I would imagine if the main character from Shank was replaced with a ninja (wait, didn't they do a game like that? ^^).
I think the kick drum during the intro sounds a bit odd because of the reverb used on it (or the sample is recorded in stereo and with room echo) but later on it blends in really well. Reminds me of the issues I faced with Native Instrument's "Battery" until I discovered the joys of Studio Drummer.
Anyway, good track with a very cool video-game vibe that picks up and develops well while maintaining the initial vibe throughout. Good job.

Neon-Bard responds:

Thanks for listening MetalRenard! :)

I actually considered removing the extra beat that I used throughout the song because of that odd sounding intro, but in the end I just left it in. Again, thank you very much!