MetalRenard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Blurred Lines]

Lovely piece, nice dynamics. I enjoyed the feel. Unfinished end, I imagine? I loved the koto in there, nice choice to use something with such strong transients, really helps cut through. It appeared just often enough to be interesting without overstaying its welcome.

[Necropolis Earth (Old)]

Your spooky effects are great. Percussion sounds warm/lush when it hits although a little washed out with reverb at times. The track kept me engaged all the way through, didn't feel time pass.
In terms of mastering you may want to consider leaving 1db headroom on the export to avoid distortion in the digital - analog conversion process.

LD-W responds:

Ayyy thanks for listening. Came out alright for two evenings of "aaaaa I need to get something up for Halloween"

Streaming versions I usually prep will have the usual -1dbTP (I have a Youtube version of it up with that done ;) ), Newgrounds is a tad more forgiving with it's playback, so I can get away with -0.5 or even -0.3 without that much issue (as long as it isn't 0 haha)

I think if I ever revisit the track, I'll probably replace the percussion lib I used around the 1:40 and 2:30 section (8D Hybrid Drums) with maybe some large War Toms or something with better presence

[lost in space listening to 2000s pop rock]

Very cute. *-*
I too am lost in the stars...

[lost in the jungle]

Except the timing towards the end, I loved it. It's lovely!
Being unnaturally precise is an aspect of this kind of music so don't be afraid to edit.

[A Thousand More To Slaughter (Old Version))]

Doooom Slaayyeerrr!
Awesome. Super high quality work. Great sound, maybe some unwanted distortion at times but it's hard to tell with this kind of thing.
Considering the quality of your stuff I'm going to be picky. I feel like it could have been punchier in the lows especially with some palm muting to give it some pumping low end notes.
You nailed the atmosphere, wouldn't be out of place in doom!

LD-W responds:

I do have a fair amount of Palm Muting in, it's just abit difficult to hear since I don't have the ability to independently increase the volume of different articulations in Uproar RAW. If I had S3 Hydra, then that would be something I can do haha

[Metal Dragonz]

The wide rhythm guitar, drums and bass sound good, nice driving tone, clear and precise while remaining heavy. I enjoyed the track over all, interesting choice of key/scale that worked well here.
The lead guitar needs some work, at the moment it doesn't separate enough from the rhythm so I had trouble working out what was going on. I made a video on lead guitar tone/mixing, maybe check it out for ideas. https://youtu.be/ZDG2MVU5rrg

Possibly responds:

Thanks for the review, I wasn't necessarily thinking of it as a traditional division between lead and rhythm, more of two intertwining ideas for the guitar, if I'd added a lead it would have been another layer on top of this but I take your point on board. Thanks again.

[(seeking advice) Dusk 2.4]

Hey, nice track, I liked the progression and rhythm. Contemplative. You definitely have the start to something cool here.
You will probably never get VST gutiars to sound perfectly real so maybe stick to piano for now and when you get a guitar yourself and a recording set up, you could do it for real and escape the whole situation.

For the last section, it kind of comes apart, my suggestion would be to reuse something from before but add a few tweaks to show it's moved up in intensity and then end on a satisfying chord. I can't name the chord for you but you'll know it when you hear it.

Finally, don't expect every track to be good, but do publish them. NG isn't for selling, it's for sharing.

[À cause de l'ombre ~ version définitive]

Love it. ^_^
A couple of tricks for vocals: You could try adding some tape distortion to add warmth in the lows and clarity in the highs. Also the lead alone is a little cold sounding, could do with some more depth. I like the cold sound at times but not throughout. Once you have the chorus going it's better, but before that it doesn't sit well with the other instruments.
You've made tons of progress, now it's a case of taking it up to the next level and approaching more professional standards.
Don't be afraid to compress more, too. I use a ratio of 7:1 or more for lead vocals although I do metal so that may vary for you.

Ignoring a few production tweaks, it's a lovely track. Really connects emotionally, as does most of your work.

Troisnyx responds:

I would be most grateful to go over the warmth / compression how-to with you later, if you're able and willing. 💖 I think I can kinda understand what it is you're telling me.

[Racer]

Big improvement, good job. The guitar tones are much better, the track is warm and full sounding, the drums sound decent. I liked the variety of sounds from lead to synths. You've made tons of progress in the production side!
In terms of composition, I think the drums could do with a lot more variety since they play basically the same thing throughout. You could add a few kick drums here and there, breaks from time to time and sprinkle in some cymbals to keep things interesting. Other than that, nice track!
(Replied on our forum to your question about the rhythm guitar, too)
https://metalworkshop.boards.net/thread/43/mixing-help?page=1&scrollTo=204

Catpocalypse responds:

Thank you! I'm happy with my improvements. I'm glad you like them also!

I know I still need to work on writing those drums though. Compositionally, it's not a track I often pay too much attention to, and changing that could make it a lot better.

[Road Trip]

I enjoyed it, good mix on everything except the vocals which stand out like a sore thumb. They need some love cause the performance is actually decent.
Can't believe you made it in such a short time, how?! Maybe you could have added some variation but for roadtrip music I guess you need that consistency. GG!