Troisnyx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Christmess]

Let me make it clear that for starters, I'm not a fan of these lyrics. I will review based on musicality, and how the lyrics are meant to relate to the music. Not on the lyrical content.

Now this is meant to be a metal piece or a rock piece of sorts. You've got that Egyptian feel, but it sounds more like a prelude to a climactic entry of drums, basses and guitars. Imagine, with those drums, basses and guitars, you could STILL pull off an Egyptian feel by keeping those percussions and shawms playing. You could still pull off a Jimi Hendrix somewhere in the piece and it would sound amazing.

At this point, you've only got an unexpressive drum loop and unexpressive shawms. Metal is one of the most expressive genres of all time, and I think you can agree with me on that. :/ There's absolutely no change with regards to volume control or mixing, which makes me wonder whether you assembled loops together for this piece............

As for the vocals. There are no metal growls, which make me think, they would sound great in a prog rock piece. But here's the keyword: WOULD. Your vocals are mid frequencies. There's no bass to sustain it, no drive which would come from guitars. The echoes and watery effects in the voices are alright, but the vocals themselves lack expression. They're all monotonous. And that's the LAST thing you would ever want to find in a metal or rock piece. >_<

*sigh* Please do something about this. All the stuff I said above shows potential. And what I hear is... well, severely lacking.

1/5.

polarpoole responds:

Alright, well, thanks for taking the time to listen to it and review it, that's always appreciated. I would try and defend the track but I'm afraid that would come of as narcissistic. What I will say, though, is that it's not really meant to be a metal song. It's meant to sound as it is. I find that the majority of the music I write doesn't fit comfortably into the genres that Newgrounds has. I've changed the category to Miscellaneous so it's not mistaken for a rock or metal track again.

Thanks.

[Nebula 7]

I wrote a review but Avast BLOODY WANTED TO RESTART MY COMPUTER AND TURNED FIREFOX OFF. So I'm just going to keep it short this time, because I'm rather annoyed.

THE GOOD
- Your melodies are singable (with the exception of the end bit, which I didn't get). If they're singable, you've hit the nail on the head.

- You've got outstanding chords.

- 3:00-something had these pads which sounded like you were in a sea of stars, it was absolutely magical.

- That lead synth sounds like something off an oldschool video game.

THE BAD?
- Your transitioning is hit-and-miss. In earlier parts of the piece you transition quite well, then around 5:00 it gets rather off. There's one section where the previous chords had no relation whatsoever to the next, so it felt really, really abrupt.

- You didn't quite end as you began, with the same kind of warmth, or even snippets of the main theme. So the end was a big WTH? for me. It sounded more like a programme piece, and not a standard CD release. It's like introducing new points into the conclusion of your essay, that's what it felt.

You've got good mixing, in fact, better than I could think up anyway -- everything is heard quite well, and has its proper place. Now, I quite like this, but the end was a bit of a letdown.

3.5/5.

Daru925 responds:

Thank you very much for taking time writing a review... twice!

You're right on every point you mentionned and it's good to know exactly where i can improve, your advices will help for sure.
I realize i went in all kind of directions experimenting with this one, and it shows too much.
I'm crazy ahah!

I made this track a while ago already, and had no particular knowledge of music theory, so i created everything by ear until recently.
I've taken time to look a little more into chords, scales, theory and i can already see my melodies being more consistent and coherent together, but i don't want to study too much theory at once.
I feel it could hinder my creativity somehow.
Learn a little, apply, rinse, repeat^^

Thanks again and i'm glad you liked cruising in the sea of stars ;)

[Lost in Time and Space]

The introduction was quite ordinary, but then 0:46 kicked in and I was thinking, whoa! mystery factor! The upper melody of sorts has a chromatic descent, something I would associate with the darker tunes in Kingdom Hearts -- and that is a very good thing, because I quite like the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack.

Also, some degree of reverb would be needed for industry standard, but this one makes me feel like I'm in suspense. Well picked.

I was about to complain about the nuances the guitar gave off, until 1:53 came in. This one gave a kind of surly, sci-fi feeling.

Now, a few pickles.

1) The percussion at 1:53, I felt, was being drowned by the rest of the music. I do understand that the guitar was meant to be leading here, BUT this is where proper mixing and EQ come in. Different instruments have different frequencies. The drums have their own frequencies, and these need to be brought out so that they would be heard, along with the rest of your track. Here, I only heard the cymbals over the speakers... Disregard, though, if the drums come out fine on your speakers. It's just me nitpicking.

2) A little more variety in chords would have been appreciated. You would still keep the mysterious, intriguing ambience with that reverb and instrumentation, but with different chords/key changes perhaps, you would take the listener into a whole new world.

I quite liked this -- it could be better, but that's what building up is for. Persevere, and you'll come through fine. : )

3.5/5.

[The Logical Pink Gizmo]

I must say this right off the bat: Gumi's English singing is more tolerable than Miku's.

Now, back to the song. I was at section (a) when starting this review, and right off the bat, it sounds like a breathtakingly twisted combination of Balalaika (from Kirarin Revolution), circus music, Ghost House themes from New Super Mario Bros., and anything that you hear in a boss battle with clowns -- the most notable example being the Super Demetrio boss battle music in Super Paper Mario.

There's a beautiful dynamic flow between sections. I especially liked what you did with verse (a), getting soft again, having the 'gizmo' sing by itself. I also love the instrumentation A LOT.

My main queries are with the lyrics. I loved verses A / a and the choruses (C), but I'm not sure what B / b refer to. I wonder what this pink gizmo actually is..... It's nothing that can gash my listening experience though, because I enjoyed it. I am curious, what's the story behind the song?

I'm giving my score on musicality alone, because I can't tell on lyrical grounds. Apart from ZipZipper, it's not everyday that I hear songs along this vein. And you pulled it off quite well, musically.

5/5.

steampianist responds:

thank you so much for reviewing this lolz i get paper mario and banjo kazooie a lot but
kirarin revolution is a first

[dark]

I have to agree with MockOff here. I want to add on to what he's said here:

You DON'T need VSTs to make the song not sound flat. I take it that you're using FL Studio, just as much as I am? Proper panning (putting it left/right), volume control between each note, and reverb will give this piece a lot of life. Much of this can be done in the Mixer plugin, which is already there with your DAW.

Volume control can be done by going to the piano roll, mouse clicking the section below the notes, where they have all these bars indicating volume, and adjusting each one accordingly. You want to do this because then it'll give you the feel of someone PLAYING the instrument, rather than just a MIDI sound.

For the record, I've been where you were just two years ago when I first started handling FL Studio. The vast majority of my pieces today use purely soundfonts, but the key is to humanise them.

You have good compositional foundations, but the ending was very abrupt. This sounded like the tension-builder to an even bigger, even more dramatic, battle theme of sorts. Because the chords aren't varied, I feel as if you've stopped at the tension-builder rather than developed it. It feels massively incomplete.

Some heads-up if you're like me and can't afford a good VST for choirs or percussions.
1) Search for the Touhou soundfont. There are two that should come: THInst.sf2 and THDrum.sf2. THDrum has the best orchestral drums I've heard coming out from soundfonts.

2) Look up the Audio Forums. There's a thread with 800+ soundfonts which someone was so kind to post up there. That will come in massively handy!

3.5/5.

dudur responds:

thanks for the advice, btw, i use music creator 6.

[Winter Moon]

Another friend of Erutan's, I see? :D What a small world! I've only gotten in touch with her since 2011, but..... oh well. On to the music.

Your singing is beautiful -- the last note of "winter moon" could use a slight dragging. The way you sing this piece tells me you have the voice quality of a cantor.

The chanting at 2:00 added tension to the piece, and I appreciated it a lot -- the way your voice blended with Merry's. I would've appreciated a bit more instrumental buildup: after all, you're making the cover yours. Pounding strings and lush orchestration to build up, and then resolve back to the harp perhaps? ^_^

2:43: Merry's voice sounds like what you would hear in one of bassfiddlejones' pieces. She sounds almost like whoever sang "Do You Know Where You're Going To" -- a very timeless, old-style vocal quality.

4:10: Same as 2:00.

That erhu-sounding instrument at the end is poignant, and a very nice touch.

Thanks for sharing this work with us! I will go take a look at that YT channel and see any other works you've done.

4/5.5. Voted 5. Mine's mainly been a question of instrumentation at the chanting parts... but well done nonetheless. ^_^

etherealwinds responds:

I should have known you were an Erufan :) she's definitely one of my biggest inspirations. Being a cantor must fill you with such an amazing feeling each time you perform. Church acoustics, at least for reverb, are totally unmatched.

I actually created this specific instrumental the same week I downloaded FL Studio. Bar recording instruments acoustically, I'd had very little experience creating instruments with software, verging on none, so this instrumental would definitely be very much beginner! ^ ^

Thank you so much for the kind words and the really helpful review! All the best to you.

[Pleasant Affair]

Alright, here's my two pence.

DYNAMICS
Right off the bat, I notice that you've done something that many of us have done starting out. This is especially evident in the piano and synths: there are no individual note velocities. All the notes are the same loudness, and that makes the piece sound mechanical, unnatural. This also explains why the intro is of the sound loudness as the rest of the piece, when some soft-loud could be sorely used.

MUSICALITY
The song itself gives an indietronica vibe, which I quite enjoy. The main chord progression is well done. The basses have a really nice growl to them, and these are the driving force behind this piece.

4:02 onwards is my favourite part -- you've not only switched the chords up, but you've used A LOT of syncopation, which a lot of established EDM composers don't even do. Simply beautiful!

I've enjoyed listening to this piece very much, and really, the only technicality here is mixing/dynamics. Now I'm not the best at mixing myself and I am still learning -- but if all the instruments are centre-panned, try shifting some left or right. (Not the basses and drums though; these need to be at the centre.) Also, individual note volumes. Volume envelopes, and perhaps even tempo envelopes.

If you are considering remaking this piece after learning all these, I very much look forward to it.

4/5.

Voltus responds:

Hi there, thanks for your Review. I'm kind of embarrassed that i haven't figured that dynamics stuff out beforehand. Well I'm quite lazy, but in my next piece this stuff wont happen again, it's going to be a more streamlined, well idk housy thing. I might revisit this project although I rarely do that, but now that you mentioned this stuff it annoys me while I'm listening!
Anyways thanks again for your review I'd love to get one from you on my next track (or the remake ;) )

[Symphonia Excelsius]

Time to get my reviewing ideas out.

INSTRUMENT CHOICE
I have no complaints with the instruments -- they are real-sounding after all.

GENRE
This song still has a part-electro vibe. If you were aiming for orchestral, this could technically fall under Cinematic, because of how epic-sounding these things are.

MUSIC ITSELF
0:00: Sounded like a soft intro, except for the electro-sounding cymbal roll. A cymbal with a lot more decay could've been used for authenticity. We will also take this as our proverbial A-section.

0:59: Counter-melody could've been appreciated here. It would accompany the harp, because a single line of the same note slightly mismatches the epic feel of this piece. Let us take this as our proverbial B-section.

2:08: A crescendo would've been appreciated here, rather than the silence. My understanding is that you're building up to something louder and more complex.

2:11 brought back the main theme beautifully.

2:44: This blend of electro and orchestral here is splendiferous, to say the least. <3

3:22: Back to the theme of 0:59 I see.

3:52: That loudness, and then the introduction of a softer melody, that was well done.

5:00: That silence again was not necessary -- you could've smoothly transitioned to 5:08, piercing through people's hearts as you would want to.

5:39: Again, 2:44. <3 A bit more instrumental buildup, something in winds or percussion, or even harp flourishes, would've been much appreciated here, to essentially tell people, "THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE CLIMAX!"

WHAT COULD'VE BEEN USED HERE
I agree with Kajenx that the song was a bit repetitive. The melodies certainly had potential -- what I heard in the A-section was memorable, and I could sing it after having listened. This song, as I hinted earlier, seriously could benefit from counter-melody use.

Another thing that could be of use is a "bridge" of sorts, a proverbial section C. You have an A-B-A-B-A structure, which makes it repetitive. A-B-A-C-A-B-A would make it a rondo, which would already suggest you've mastered an orchestral form. Also, it switches things up. In that bridge, you could take liberties with key changes, chord changes, borrowing previous melodic themes and adding more original melodies to make it distinct. Musically, I felt this was sorely needed.

Mixing could use some work as well. The instruments sound like they've been panned alright, but we could use some reverb and decay. Now different instruments will have different levels of decay, as you may be well aware. Try to imagine, say, a Super Mario Galaxy song playing in your speakers, and compare and contrast with this. Hopefully, you'll be able to add whatever decay is necessary. No worries, I've been there before. ^_^

Also, I agree with Kajenx about the compressors -- I used to compress my works a lot, so I've been there too. Thing about compressors is that they seem to bunch all the instruments together in a small space, and you can hear that when the file's been exported. If you have to use compressors on individual instruments to avoid peaking, do so -- but do so as a last resort. I trust you'll use better judgment and not compress the whole piece.

FINAL REMARKS
You have done some very solid work with this piece, but the kinks need to be knocked out. I must assert that you have a winner in the works -- and I would really love to hear this piece once more, once the changes are implemented!

3.5/5.

larrylarrybb responds:

Very good tips! I might change the "B section" to make the song less repetitive, and I agree that there needs to be more buildup at 5:39, but I wasn't sure what to use for that buildup. I think I will also remove all of the "silence" areas before the transitions except for the first one, which I think is needed to separate the song's melodies into two distinct sections. Thanks for all the excellent advice!

[Fight the Movement! ~P~]

I'm sensing EBF vibes all over again.... ^_^ Or perhaps that's just me.

Right off the bat: lovely instrumentation. One thing I notice about this loop is that the sections could stand to have a bit more buildup between each other. Intro and 0:12, 0:24 and 0:25, 0:36 and 0:37. Quick fills work best with a gradual change of buildup (slight increase in loudness, slight instrument layering), but between these sections I marked out, there needs to be that EPIC TRANSITION that gets heavier and heavier and heavier until the drums come in... and then BACK TO SECTION A! I do agree with RealFaction about melodies -- and possibly countermelodies -- this might help smoothen the transitions.

0:50 has my favourite chord progression in this loop. <3 This gives me a little bit of a feel of something from Jak II. Here, because it was gradually getting louder, the transition to 1:13 was smooth.

Alright as is, but do see to it that those extra tweaks be thrown in. It's mainly got to do with 1) smoothness of transitions, 2) counter-melodies. I trust you'll see to it! ^_-

3.5/5.

Phyrnna responds:

Thanks for the review! :D There is definitely a lot of work needed on this. >_<

Thanks for listening to the song nonetheless!

[Fall From Grace (Part 1)]

This was the first entry in the NGADM Round 1 playlist and let me say right off the bat, listening to this made me think of an angel descending from Heaven (especially around 1:30). I love how all the sounds blended.

2:38 sounded especially heavenly, and brought me back to happy memories of Epic Battle Fantasy.

Now I would've appreciated a bit of a key change to up the ante when it comes to beautiful chord progressions. The tension was going up and up and up and up and then it fell a little bit, but 2:38 was a definite fall -- perhaps I was expecting a more climactic finish than this piece warranted.

Still, though: this is a beautiful piece, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. Outstanding instrumentation, outstanding ambience, and I think it warrants a place in my favourites.

4.5/5.

ErikMcClure responds:

The climax was never what I wanted because of time constraints and the fact that I had no bloody idea what I was doing. It will likely be several songs before I can pull off an effective climax.