MetalRenard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Prevention]

Straight into it from the start! Could use a little warmup to announce it's here, even half a second of a swoop in.
Loved the lead at 00:46.
You have a mean tone, really enjoying the rhythm guitar sound, heavy without being too distorted. Love the chords too, the openness of the sound leads to the chord voicings shining through the mix.
Nice precise playing throughout.
Good drum sound, all fits together in the mix.

I could imagine some kind of break down at the end to go out with a bang. Big chords, slow drums.

HighBallers responds:

ITS HERE lol maybe a lil ride bell right before it starts would be cool haha. Yeah i hate really gainy high pitch guitar tones. I pulled back on their EQ pretty far...maybe 15k and scooped out some mids around 1k. Shit maybe i will do that breakdown....this song is still pretty short.

[MetalRenard Interview]

Well cut, makes me sound much more intelligent and organised. Hahahaha

OffTheWallShow responds:

Thanks haha you were great though!

[Cosmic Terror]

Am I hearing Guitar Pro drums in here, too? :P Try finding some free decent drum VSTs to replace them directly in your DAW. In fact, next time you make a track, send me the drum midi data and I'll pass it through one of my own drum plugins and mix it for you. A friend did that for me years ago and it really motivated me to get better.
https://www.powerdrumkit.com/ This one sounds good.

You're full of ideas, I really want to see them polished. Very impressive guitar playing. I love how the song developed!

Banana-head responds:

Yes, everything here is done with guitar pro drums lol, its just that im so used to the sound of it that i just use it instead of vsts, i know i shouldnt. Ill try making something here and send to you!

[Putrefact Abomination]

Good theme/intro, interesting playing and a variety of techniques. You could turn the bass down a little or maybe take out some of the bite from it to make it blend with the rest more.

One big tip I could give you is precision - you can make anything appear more professional if the timing is perfect. If you don't nail it in the recording you can edit, too. For example, a few times the bass is out of time with the guitars on a big hit and this makes the piece lose impact. Getting the timing right would make it much more powerful. This is the case throughout, timing is so important!

Banana-head responds:

Thanks for the review! Yeah i really need to improve timing, sometimes my PC lags mid recording and it fucks up the tempo too, but its mostly my fault for not re-recording and fixing it later.

[Luminosity]

0:37 this key instrument (piano?) came out of nowhere, try leading up to the addition of an instrument like this which stands out so much from the rest. Same for the plucked instrument (koto?) later. For example, add a looong reverb tail then export the track, re-import it, REVERSE it and suddenly you have a natural, in-tune woosh sound.

Beyond that, this is a fun track with a nice feel which I enjoyed. I especially like when the instruments come together from time to time to add emphasis to a moment.

[Lunar Vessel]

Loving the vibe in this one. It has a good rhythm which plays off the bass too, feeding into that sense of groove. Good choice of instruments, you achieved the atmosphere you were aiming for.
You still need to work on cleaning up the mix, try setting your master bus to mono and then fix the EQ that way.

[MrSnuggles dress-up game]

+ There's a coherent structure
+ Instruments each have their own role - drums play like drums, bass plays bass etc.
+ It's quite loud without obvious clipping

- You need to work on making sure the notes chosen make sense. The main melody is clashing all over with itself and other instruments
- You don't need so much reverb, try filling the space with other instruments or sounds instead.

[Archangel]

Good work! Solid work on the melody. Sometimes it's hard to maintain intensity and interest at the same time, seems to work here I think thanks to the melody, holds the whole piece together.

[Expedition Onslaught]

TLDR Below.
The track hits hard from the start with good riffs thoughout, very good playing, albeit sloppy at times. Sounds like you played once through and didn't go back to fix mistakes. As you record more you'll get better at precise playing and it will fix your playing.
The drums sound good, probably the best sounding part of the track in terms of studio quality recordings/production quality. On the flip side, I think your guitar tone is quite amateurish sounding, like you've recorded the direct input from your amp or pedal. Have you considered adding a guitar cabinet simulator? Try to find one with impulse responses (IR). Youtube can help you find good, free ones.
The song lacks bass at the moment (as in, a bass instrument). Have you considered just pitching down a simple guitar line if you don't have one? It would really help.
I enjoyed the harmonies, reminded me a lot of classic rock/metal tracks from bands like Iron Maiden and Pretty Maids. Very cool. Takes a lot of work to track that.

TLDR Review at a glance:
+ Riffs
+ Rhythm
+ Drums
+ Harmonies
+ Variation in techniques, rhythm, structure

- Accuracy (playing)
- Apparent lack of bass
- Guitar tone is amateurish

Catpocalypse responds:

Thank you for reviewing, but I did put bass in the mix. It may be a little too quiet this time though.

[Mayday]

Your orchestra sounds great, which patches did you use for the strings? (I own the same library)
Great track, clean mix, nice percussion. I liked how it progressed.