MetalRenard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Assassination]

What a pro. No wonder you got the job.
I'm not really into the "epic" percussion that seems to have taken over in cinema lately, but I can appreciate what you've done here for what it is. Plus the mix is super clear, very pro.

Mattashi responds:

I hear ya, it does seem to have taken over in cinemas lately, including those "Braaams" (I try to stay away from those though xD) but it's something I love to use every now and then for chasing/action scenes.
I'm far from pro though most of the time I don't even know what I'm doing when mixing and just hope it comes out ok in the end.
Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it!

[Nothing But Sand & Water]

I remember this competition. You totally nailed it. This is fantastic, awe-inspiring work.
I feel completely transported to another world, it's so evocative.

Mind = blown.

Mattashi responds:

Wow thanks a lot man! :)

[C.U.R.E. (Concentrated Unmaking Robotic Entity)]

Quite a few giggles were had about this track among the NGADM judges - we loved the music, of course, but the NG glitch in there just...
Genius stuff mate. I laugh every time.

I'll grab a few other flavours while I'm here. :)

Noisysundae responds:

It's okay since many around here said that I shouldn't add it. :P
I'll make sure the next year's audition will be more serious than this. You all judges are awesome for spending time and efforts in the contest and I'm glad you like it. :)

[Stompstump Peak (1f1n1ty Remix)]

As it's not a composition I can only really comment on mixing.

- The first thing I noticed is that the kick drum eats away at the rest and is over powering. You might want to turn it down a notch! It's actually causing the other instruments to get quieter at times (due to a compressor I expect).

- Next, some instruments are super wide - normally I have to tell people to make stuff wider but in your case I think the synth is so wide it suffers from a few phase issues (some gets lost when listening on speakers) and it's fighting with a few other things going on in there.

The outro sounds awesome. :)

Onefin responds:

First off, thanks for taking the time to review my track! Constructive criticism is hard to come by these days, so I'm always excited to get some!

- "it's not a composition" Actually, if you listen to the original you'll see that my remix takes a very large twist on the track... Sure, the main melodic ideas are there but a lot of background crud like arps, chords, and pads are my own thing. The wacky rhythms, time changes, and signature changes are also all mine, and the terrible transitions were all made by me. Not sure if that counts as "composition", though.

- "the kick drum eats away at the rest and is overpowering" Well, that's definitely not what ElysianSky said to me XD Now I'm a bit confused. It might be that you two are listening on different speakers or something, but seriously what do I do? XD I think what might have happened is that I took away too much mid/high to where ElysianSky couldn't hear it but you could still hear it really well. As for the compressor, I have no idea how a compressor would cause other instruments to get quieter unless I'm sidechaining, which is totally intentional. But what do I know, I can't mix :P

- What does that mean? Super wide? Phase issues? XD Sorry, I'm a freaking noob.

Glad you like it! :3

Overall thanks for the review! When it comes to the technical side of making music I'm really clueless, but I'll try and sort things out!

[Deus Vult]

Outstanding guys, really. Excellent flow and movement in the piece, diversity in complexity, dynamics and instruments, I can hear the time you put into this piece.

Congratulations. :)

bassfiddlejones responds:

A compliment coming from you! Thanks man, we worked hard on this one.

[Getting Over You]

I loved your vocals on this, good depth and lovely vibrato control displayed throughout.
Good luck with NGADM!

Jacob responds:

Thank you! Vocals are so hard for me to objectively judge, and the vibrato in particular is something I'm trying to cut back on in pop music.
I really appreciate the support. It means a lot.
Good luck judging tons of dudes and dames fairly! I don't envy your position, but I admire the love and dedication it takes.

[Shaded]

I totally rocked out to this when going through the NGADM audition submissions. Awesome work, keep it up!!!

Mawnz responds:

Ayyy thanks a bunch!

[Call Me Al Cover]

Just some honest, down to earth music. Thanks for the smiles. :)

Ceevro responds:

Dude, I have to thank you for way more than a few smiles. You have helped me become a much better musician than I was, and added your talent to my repertoire. I owe you, not the other way around!

[Zelda - Goodbye Fi]

Please write in the description of all your tracks what you used to make each song.
Microphone for recording, which instruments you recorded and which are libraries etc. so people can just understand how awesome this is.
I didn't have much time to listen to each submission because of the short deadline for judging and nearly wrote it off because I don't like covers, but I spotted something special. I had to listen again and asked the other judges if they'd noticed it. They hadn't.

You're not only a song writer/composer but also a performer and recording artist, make sure people know that, that authenticity is your edge, weild it in the competition for devastating results.

NyxTheShield responds:

Oh wow, this is by far the nicest thing anyone have ever said about my music, thank you very much!!

[IYD - The Void]

Heh... Dunno what the other guys were thinking, I can tell this is a different direction and so it's fine that the synthy stuff was a bit louder (except at 1:45 where it actually is too loud). This is a really cool track with heavy vibes that keep it grounded in the genre while exploring new avenues.

Added to my mp3 player...

InYourDreams responds:

Hey MetalRenard! Thank u so much 4 the review! :)... Yeah, at 1:45 I was intending a Synthy solo... If I make it to the NGADM this year, I'll probably experiment a lot with this kind of music :D

Cheers