MetalRenard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Adrenalinic Obstinacy]

This is a lovely piece of music. I really liked the instruments used, they came together really well, all the different textures were interesting. The drums brought it up a level while remaining warm - nice work there. The final build up got me excited. I may have preferred a little more variation in the last section to warrant the long build up.

Be careful when programming wind instruments, lungs aren't 500L balloons and the player would, realistically, need a break every few seconds to breathe in.
The mixing could use some love at times but I honestly enjoyed it despite that.

Possibly one of your best tracks so far?... :D

Albe responds:

Lol I got too excited with the winds I miscalculated the human lung capacity hahah I'll try to remember to take care of that next time. Thank you a lot for liking it!

[Planet LB-4L83's Big Firework Festival]

Nice track!
You mentioned not being sure if you handled the 'climax' part well and I have a few tips for you. I think part of the issue is due to over using reverb and reusing the same melody a little too often before the climax without variation.

For the reverb, often, less is more. Learn to mix clearly and precisely (try mixing in mono, it really helps) and you'll need less reverb. This means that when you DO use reverb (like the vocal synth in the end) it will really wash over the track and create depth and drama.

For the melody, since there are no modulations or changes, it doesn't stand out. What you could have done is had a few notes change in there somewhere and maybe changed the rhythm up. The 2nd note is always the longest. What if you made the 1st super long, so long as to add a beat before the 2nd note but cut out the last beat from each bar, even from time to time or in the first one?

Hope this was helpful. I really like the chiptune sounds in this, they blend well with the rest.

Albe responds:

These tips sound pretty interesting and viable, I'll certainly have them in mind. Thank you a million MR!

[Temple of the Gun]

Awesome vocals!!!! Love it. Would have mixed the vocals a little differently, maybe warmer and wider to fit the warm guitars. Despite that, great performance and writing. Really enjoyed this.

Bad-Man-Incorporated responds:

Thanks mang, that is a wonderful idea. I'mma have to go back. I just slam the vocals right down the center, every time. hahaha. I don't give much though to it, as it's mostly metal, so BAM. But this isn't. Thanks mang! Glad you dig it overall! \m/

[Righteous Evil]

This track is so much more lively than your previous work! What an improvement in sound. Glad I was able to help you out there.
The instruments sound good together, I like the synth solo.
This track has a very Iron Maiden vibe to it. Maybe consider adding variation to the rhythm guitar's rhythm.
@ 0:59 and during lead sections (solo around 3:00) Careful with timing. If you don't nail it, edit it or re record it.

Next step... Let's work on drums! I'll make a video on it soon to make them sound good.

This is a huge step in the right direction, congrats!

Catpocalypse responds:

Yes, your tutorials and assistance definitely helped improve my sound. Thanks for that!

[Into The Depths]

Straight out of the 80s. Awesome! Randy Rhoads eat your heart out!

Could have a touch less reverb on the percussion to make it sit better in the mix.

[Melancholy Hill - Blanca]

Sounds nice, good, clean vocal recording. Could have used a little more love in the mix to make it warmer. Also compression would have helped.
Compress lead vocals with a ratio of 5:1 and see how you like it. Try an attack of 25ms, release of 100ms and drop the threshold so that the tail end of each sung note still triggers the compressor.

[AIM- Blue Dawn]

SYNTHS. Yes please. Moar!
Your guitar sounds great as always. Loved the track. 2:15 was cool!!! Love how the guitars got split.

HighBallers responds:

Thanks for the listen brodiddle. hah that part at 2:15 i wrote on the spot. I'm glad you thought it was cool. ha i will do more with synths, lots of fun.

[Shorts-instrumental]

The guitar sounds GREAT. Try muting tracks that aren't playing notes to avoid mess like at 00:28 and 00:53.
Great feel to this. Maybe make the drums bigger for something this slow to fill the gaps more.

HighBallers responds:

maaan i really appreciate the listen. Yeah the drums do sound a little weaker. I was gonna go back and put some vocals...i can fatten up that kick and snare too while at it.

[Death By Slayer]

Careful with your timing between the bass and rest. It's always a little late. Fixing that will help with other issues. Turn it down, too, it's too loud.
Great guitar sound, clean tone, very era-precise with the excess reverb. Nice riffs, too. If you were going for the more late 80s/early 90s sound, your drums needed more work, too, maybe more reverb.
Nice solo playing, reminds me of Randy Rhoads' sound and some of the notes feel like they're straight out of an Ozzy Osbourne album. Nailed it.
The end is more Zakk Wylde era playing and ends with a bang. NICE!

[Nemesis]

Love the synth in the intro up to 00:13. Gets a bit weird after that, the timing is way out for the rest. It bugs me quite a bit. :(
You know my thoughts on the guitar tone, not going to mention that again, please do give it a try. It's difficult to rate the sound highly if you don't make efforts to improve it despite having been given the key several times already.

Nice flute synth sound from around 1:00. I like the lead guitar melody after that too. 1:40 be careful, the rhythm guitar is out of sync here, as is some of the lead in the next section. Careful editing is very important in improving your songs. Get good at that first and the rest will slot into place.

Impressive solo playing. I feel the end of the solo at 2:50ish could have been better executed to lead into the next section. When writing a solo, always look at where you're coming from and where you're going next. Don't solo for the sake of it, it's an integral part of the song so respect it and COMPOSE it.

Nice drum sound, liked that throughout. Piano at the end is a welcome change. It matched the feeling at the end well.