MetalRenard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Unsung Hero]

*\_-=/NGADM Review\=-_/*

What rocks:
Omgomgomomg I'm in love. The composition, how the melodies and rhythms play off each other, how the whole comes together... Just blew me away. So much greatness in one song. My favourite NGADM 2015 track so far. So many things in this, make it a fantastic experience.

What needs clean socks:
I think the track needs a little more love when it comes to the final polish - mastering - to give it more clarity or more of a bite. It's REALLY hard to mix such complex music - I know, I've made a hobby of it too - and I think you're still at the phase where you can't quite decide what is important or maybe can't discern when one thing is treading on another's toes. How long do you spend mixing this kind of song typically? Do you revist a few days later?
Also I agree with Step - a couple of the transitions are a little awkward and there is a subtle amount of dissonance at times which doesn't do the epicness of the song justice.

When I heard this, I just go so excited. Thanks for rocking my world for 3 minutes and 28 seconds. ^_^
9.5

bassfiddlejones responds:

Thank you for the kind words and honest critique. Mixing for huge orchestra is definitely not easy. Josh has been doing most of the work on that end, and for this competition we really don't have time to sit down and go over the mix together like we do with the compositional part of things. As we go on though we're learning some tricks which help. Continuing to work on those transitions!

[Son of Beach (NGADM '15)]

*\_-=/NGADM Review\=-_/*
____________________

The great:
Guitars sound great - full and clear. The clean break sounds great and made a nice change to the ever-chugging style of the song. I like how the high lead snuck in before the heavy section picks up again. You bass guitar adds nice warmth without muddying up the whole track.

Areas for improvement:
Your drums stick out, a lot. I think most of this is due to them boing too loud although some could be attributed to the depth of the snare which is over powering the guitars. It's just too much for the rest. I think the intro or chords sections needed more melody or something over the top to complete the song.

Final score: 8.5
Awesome as always, you Dawg. <3

JDawg00100 responds:

:D Thanks for the review!

[Racing the Sun (MetalRenard Mix)]

My mix is still pretty messy but with the school year coming up soon I really need to focus on planning and stuff. :(
Sorry I couldn't give it more time to really clean up the mix! I loved working on your awesome track though!

thebitterroost responds:

Everyone is their own worst critic dude. I'm flattered you wanted to work with it at all! As Carl Brutananadilewski would say: IT's ROCKIN.

[Velcro]

NOT a NGADM review... So I can be as biased as I want.
Holy shit this made me happy. We talked about this one for hours in the judge Skype chat, globally loved is what I'd call it. It's a shame you were against other hard hitters.
The rhythm that starts a third in makes me smile every time, the lead is awesome too and just over all. LOVE IT.
LOVE IT.
LOVE IT.

LunacyEcho responds:

Wow. o.o

I wish I could wake up to something like this everyday. You're awesome, MetalRenard! :D :D

[Beat But Breathing]

This is a NGADM Round 1 Review!
''\\__----====******====----__//''
Final score: 8.5
Composition: 9
Mix: 7
Bonus: 0.5

I found this track really interesting, your guitar technique is really impressive as shown in your ability to harmonise really fast sections accurately (hence the .5 bonus). I like the intro and outro but the transitions could have been a little better between sections. The section at 1:30 is AWESOME, really, really cool. Also the first thing I wrote in my notes on this when giving it a score was "tell him he sounds like Zakk Wylde", hope you like that. ^_^

What let you down was the mix. There's a ton going on here and you're struggling to nail your mixing, I remember it was the same last year when I also loved your songs but wished you could mix them better. The less complex sections sound awesome - high impact guitars and all the different instruments coming together to just blow you away. Sadly the mix really lacks focus everywhere else. I think it's important to understand what it is the most important in each part and then mix the song AROUND that thing. Mixing is full of technique, sure, but it's also an art and you're now at the stage where you need to come to grips with that. It's a part of the creative process so keep on fighting to get better and you'll come up with tons of amazing music which will blow my mind even more. ^_^

METLULZ! \o/

(You can always PM me if you want any detailed tips or advice!!)

Metallica1136 responds:

Awesome man! I really enjoyed reading this review, Zakk Wylde is a great guitarist, this is the first time I've ever been compared to him, so thanks for that! Yeah, I'm still struggling to get the perfect mix in my songs, It's always the most challenging part about music, not the writing it's self. Definitely PM me and let me know some helpful tips for what I can do to make the mix better. Thanks for the review man!

MeT4LZZZz! \m/

[Friction Point]

This is a NGADM Round 1 Review!!!
Score: 9.5, Composition: 9, Mix: 9, Bonus: 0.5 for an exceptional guitar performance (seriously, holy shit dude).
I found this piece very intense and the energy came through excellently, the rhythm guitar never outstayed its welcome and was varied throughout, from heavy chugging to melodic sections and power chords during the chorus. The lead guitars were blistering and your phrasing is incredible, the way you can put so much detail into each note blows the mind.

As always, the mix is also top-notch, my only complaint really being that your snare is kinda bad - swamped in reverb and in a weird space of its own. I mean it sounds "ok" in the mix but you wouldn't hear a snare like that in a pro-level piece and I expect nothing but the best from you. You have a great guitar sounds, the lead guitar sits on top beautifully while not masking or overpowering the rest.

METAL! \m/

PirateCrab responds:

DAT SNARE.

Thanks for the ace review man I appreciate it, I always look forward to your reviews because it's metal fans like yourself I want to impress :)

My new track has a totally improved snare and sits more fully into the mix now. It just felt like it had too much reverb, but now it's much tighter, you'll get to hear it sooner or later :D

Thanks for expecting the best from me too! (Also, not thanks, because I have to work harder now. Humph >:) ha)

[The Dream]

Good energy in the piece and a good performance from all parties (albeit a little inaccurate on the drums). You might want to look into recording in a less echo-y space for the vocals, or in a vocal booth to attenuate the room-verb. It would really make the vocals shine! Put that Focusrite to work for you. :P

l0vemetal responds:

The vocals come out flat courtesy of a diffuser; reverb is added to the recording.

Thanks for the advice, I'll play around with it a bit more next time we record. :)

[I've No Idea What I'm Doin']

Game Grumps fan spotted.
Mix/mastering is something I think I can comment on, beg your pardon if I appear to be blowing my own trumpet.

The mix is clear, more so than your most recent equivalent work, "C.U.R.E." which definitely points out the fact that your new headphones are representing the frequencies more accurately and you're therefore able to EQ more accurately. I also noticed you use the stereo space and "depth" in a more interesting way in this track, mixing some sounds to be wide and some to be "far" in a non-detrimental way to the whole.

Looking forward to where you take this later.
-0.5 because I'll be honest, I wasn't to keen on the melodies or lead sections, but the backing was cool and the energy of the piece came through really well.

Noisysundae responds:

Nah, I've subscribed them but didn't watch their video much lately. Pretty sure sonic stuff was a coincidence. :P

Good to see that it's better than last sundae in term of mastering. I started to use phase inversion on the bass and the detuned saw here but I don't recognize the change on the saw that much.

Agree on your point of melodies. I feel like the leads aren't quite the leads somehow. They still don't stand out enough for me too. Anyway, this was great to read. Really thanks!

[Sanctuary of the Fallen Empire]

I'll have 3 scoops of this please. Seriously it reminds me of my favourite piece from Clannad, "The Girl's Fantasy". GJ!

Noisysundae responds:

I'm spending lunch time for answering this in the computer lab. XD
I'll take a listen to that when I'm home. Thanks very much.

[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!