MetalRenard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Horizons]

--- === NGADM Round 1 Review === ---
I'm a big synthwave fan and I can hear lots of things I like about this piece. The mystery and longing of the genre is here in spades.

The track sounds good and definitely fits its genre. Sadly it really suffers from trying to be too loud, I had to listen at 2/3 usual volume! At times the compression pumping is too obvious because of this. I also saw that you mentioned side-chaining. I don't think I'd use side-chaining for this genre, it really needs that consistent baseline that would be eaten away at by the drums in that situation.
The drum kit sounds great even if it is drowned out at times. What kit did you use? You also said you couldn't use each sound separately. Did you consider making a track just for the kicks and mixing that?
I love the warm bass and the synths are tasty.

Your track was interesting throughout for a synthwave fan. You have written cool melodies and created a coherent atmosphere which I genuinely enjoyed (I wish I could download it!). It's super catchy and I love how the melody plays with the rhythm. I enjoyed the extra details at times ("AH!" or something? Choir pad? Brushed metal?). It sounded really cool and added a lot to that section.

Over all this is a really cool track that simply suffered from some production issues. I enjoyed it a lot though and I would like to hear more like it. Feel free to send me demos if you want advice on mixing in the future.

Scores are weighted so that comp and prod are 75% of the score:
Composition: 8
Production: 4
Enjoyment, atmosphere, replay and all the other odd stuff: 8

[TeslaX - Celestial Abyss]

---=== NGADM Round 1 Review ===---
I really enjoyed this piece, I gave it the highest score among all the judges so I'm here to defend it!

Starting with... WOAH INTRO DAYUM. That was one hell of a start, felt like one of those boosted rollercoasters. The subsequent break-down and build up sounded awesome also. I feel you used texture really well in this, marrying the more classical sounding instruments with the gritty electronic ones. Credit where it's due, that's not always easy to do.

Production is very good as everything seems to fit in there EXCEPT for the low mids which were fighting - the drums and the main synth need a little more work there. Also, TURN IT DOWN. This isn't a night club and I feel at times you sacrificed clarity over loudness (1.09 for example). You made very good use of the stereo spectrum with a nice wide mix.
Despite the loudness, I enjoyed the use of dynamics to break up the monotony. (3:49 - HA! Nice.)

There was a definite theme to this track which I feel was mostly portrayed through the piano sections with the more distorted parts being the action the break up the monotony. A battle of huge proportions happening around an intense drama. As much as people hate the films, this sounds like it was made for the Transformers film franchise (and you have to admit, they get their FX and sound design spot on).

Scores are weighted so that comp and prod are 75% of the score:
Composition: 10
Production: 9
Enjoyment, atmosphere, replay and all the other odd stuff: 9

[Could've]

---=== NGADM Round 1 Review ===---
Admitedly this is not a genre I'm familiar with but I think I can offer a few words of advice, hence why I am reviewing your submission.

This is a lovely piece of music with a cool blend of lo-fi and more modern sounding percussion. The sounds all fit together well thanks to a clear and mostly balanced mix. I can hear the percussion fighting with the piano at times causing ducking or over pumping of the compressor. This is a common mistake with compression and can be fixed by simply turning things down or changing how you deal with it. For a start, it's definitely the kick drum that's causing the battle. I think in this case turning it down is the best option as it is notably louder than the rest. However, since this is hip hop according to your genre classification, you may prefer to reduce the low end pre-compression OR switch to multi-band compression. Increase the attack of the compressor on the low end and voilà. It will sound louder and not jump. I suggest adding a little more attack to the sound in the highs, also, as this will allow you to turn it down a little more, too.

I enjoyed the lovely transition with the lo-fi sfx to clearer mix later. The buildup to the chorus was logical and the chorus worked well to hold the piece together and the theme. I did find it repetitive by the end, however this is most likely to do with the genre and my own tastes clashing therefore I made sure to allow for this in my score.

Scores are weighted so that comp and prod are 75% of the score:
Composition: 8
Production: 6
Enjoyment, atmosphere, replay and all the other odd stuff: 7

Over all, good job on this track. I think it worked well as a whole and had a consistent theme.

acxle responds:

thank you so much for the advice! I am definitely a beginner when it comes to mastering, so thank you for the guidance!

[32 North 120 East]

---=== NGADM Round 1 Review ===---
Firstly, anyone asking for something to be louder needs to stop being lazy and just turn up their volume. I'd much rather turn it up than down as turning it up means the track likely has more dynamics. You can happily ignore those comments from others, stuff on NG is way too loud already. /rant

This was a somewhat peaceful walk in a garden, enjoyable and pretty. It kept my interest throughout and gave me food for thought.
Maybe at times the balance of instruments/mixing could have been better as I feel the instruments with a stronger attack stand out too much against the background which explains the "somewhat" since they broke my immersion. I loved the warmth of it and the simplicity which was underpined by the eb and flow of the strings and flutes. You knew when to take a step back and when to bring it up again.

I feel maybe that the louder section at the end didn't quite reach the place I wanted it to until the second half but that made the build up anticlimactic for me. The second half would have been my first half and I would have built that even higher for a 2nd part. Having said that, the flute at the end and the ending itself were stunning. Fantastic melodies here (and throughout actually).

Scores are weighted so that comp and prod are 75% of the score:
Composition: 8
Production: 7
Enjoyment, atmosphere, replay and all the other odd stuff: 9

Thank you for that moment of peace! I shall be downloading and keeping this for later.

[Origins]

---=== NGADM Round 1 Review ===---
Well this is catchy. I think that's what was most reflected in my score in the end. I admit I was slightly blinded by that since I had just listened to so many tracks as, listening again, I've noticed a couple of things that should have changed my score a little. Having said that, this is still a very good piece of music, and here's why...

On the composition side - you have written well built up intro which immediately hooks the listener and then builds again. The whole thing works together to create a sense of relentless rhythm which you played with well when you added another synth around 1:15. Good idea to add a short pause around 1:30 to give the listener a chance to relax and breathe. You're very good at using short breaks and rhythm to keep the listener interested - I was grateful for the 2 others later in the track, also.
The break later one was lovely and added another dimension to the track.

Production is very good, everything fits and is clear and coherent. It definitely works as a whole and directs your attention where it matters.

Now what I missed originally is just how loud this track is. The loudness war is over, you don't need to (and can't) compete for how damn loud it can be any more. Streaming sites will definitely drop the volume of this track over all because of how loud it is which defeats the purpose. Might as well go for dynamics these days! You're better off and it's more comfortable for the listener.

So, over all, this was a strong entry to round 1. Congratulations on passing through to the next!

Scores are weighted so that comp and prod are 75% of the score:
Composition: 9
Production: 10
Enjoyment, atmosphere, replay and all the other odd stuff: 9

[On Go]

--- === NGADM Round 1 Review! === ---
I was super impressed with your track. As usual, you delivered on many fronts from fantastic production (including respecting them good ol' dynamics), awesome instrumentation with a blend of synthetic and orchestral and you kept me interested throughout thanks to a variety of themes.

Scores are weighted so that comp and prod are 75% of the score:
Composition: 10
Production: 10
Enjoyment, atmosphere, replay and all the other odd stuff: 9

I found your composition really impressive from a variety of themes with little obvious repetition to your tempo change; from the ebb and flow of the slower sections to the extremely catchy high points. This really showed off your attention to detail.

As I said, the production here is perhaps flawless. Everything has its space and the track is very well balanced. I think on repeated listens I will have to turn it down slightly as the sudden jumps from quiet to loud (because of the aggressive percussion and synths) becomes tiring quite quickly. I might have reduced the difference in levels slightly or found a way to prepare the listener's ear for the perpetual up and down. Mercedes (yes the car company) have done a thing around this in their new cars - the speakers play a really loud noise if you're in a crash but it's not as loud as a crash would be, therefore your ears are ready for the louder sound and are protected.

This was a genuinely interesting track which I will definitely come back to in the future. It has a great atmospere and consistent theme which you have developed nicely throughout.

If this wasn't NGADM I would just give you 10/10 but because I have to be a pain, it rounded up to 9.8.

Fantastic work!

Onefin responds:

hey thanks metal!

lol the "too much dynamics" complaint, i've received it once or twice but this is probably the first time where imo i think it's really justified and i could have toned it down :P spade said he got really tired of the volume after a while so i wonder if that was part of it

interesting fact about mercedes, didn't know that :) one more piece of trivia to add to my collection

[Birthday Song]

This sounds really good! Your use of the stereo spectrum is really effective. Your vocals are so smooth, I'm jealous because I can only do gruff vocals. Your vox are really well mixed too - crisp and forwards in the mix, yet they fit perfectly with the guitars.

I really enjoyed the concept of the song, I thought it was both funny and quite melancholic at the same time and you pulled that off with the tone perfectly.

[Leer of Doom]

Sick synths. I've tried to do that myself once a few years ago and failed so I've never returned to it. What did you use for the low, deep, rhythmic sounding synth?
I liked the build up in this one, from something a bit menacing to FRANTIC at the end. It produced well and sounds coherent. I was impressed with the change of rhythm at the end too.

Finally... THANK YOU for using dynamics effectively.

Spadezer responds:

Wow such a rave review! Thanks. All synths used were utilized using Massive except for one sine wave sub bass.

[Battle Born]

You're going to hate me. I seem to ALWAYS have the same thing to say about your work, you must be so bored.
This is an AWESOME song, well composed, well performed and OH SO EPIC. However you're still struggling with the production side of things, certain elements are still getting lost in the mud, hidden behind each other and I have to admit I've heard that drum kit a million times too many already. It's not suitable for this genre of music, I think, more for super heavy stuff because it's so poppy and dry sounding. Have you tried widening that snare? Maybe a little distortion?
My word of advice: Mix in mono before adding any effects. This will show you all the mud.

P.S. LOVING THE VOCALS, OH MY GOD.

P.P.S I still bloody love this track.

[Explore]

While this piece is less well produced than your more recent work, it has a lot going for it. You made a good choice for the synths here, they gel together well and give the piece a certain warmth, forming a wall alongside the bass synth. This caries the song.
At times there is a lead melody and I've always had a thing for wide, wide arps. I always associate them with sci-fi and I'm obssessed with that type of atmosphere.

I think you could have made this song more catchy at times, maybe by bringing in a strong lead melody to give the song more direction or a stronger sense of structure with a more obvious chorus section.

TimerClock14 responds:

Hey thanks for the comments! This song definitely gave me a lot of trouble in the mix department as you can hear. I'm also right there with you on your criticism of lacking a catchy lead. While I dont think that all songs need a catchy lead I think this is definitely a song that could have benefited greatly from one and a bit more traditional composition overall to accommodate.

Really appreciate these comments and I'll put the feedback towards making my next song even better!