Troisnyx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[HMMIII - AI Theme]

+VE:

1) The chords are simple, but effective.

2) The instrumentation is well-intended, from what I see.

3) The melody and how everything is layered together work well as a sinister-sounding theme, from possibly Portal, if given more gravitas.

-VE:
1) Not enough reverberation. The instruments sound very MIDI-ish, and fake. There's also another contributing factor to this which I will get into very shortly, which is...

2) INDIVIDUAL INSTRUMENT VOLUME. Now I have been guilty of committing this same mistake in my earliest works, but so have many others. There is next to no difference in individual note volumes for each instrument. It doesn't sound like there's the touch of the Master's hand. Close, but not quite there, because it doesn't sound like it's being *played*, rather than sequenced.

3) The piece itself doesn't have enough gravitas. A little slower, a little more sombre, and possibly a bit more instrument layering? At the moment, I know what you're trying to convey, but you're not quite there yet.

4) Looping. What's with the abrupt ending? This piece would have worked beautifully as a short loop. But if you want people to have a long, enjoyable listen, go past the A minor and G minor bits, and introduce new themes, but along the same sinister lines.

tl;dr: I quite like this -- and it's crying out with potential written all over it -- but lengthen this, build up on your production skills, and give the piece a bit more gravitas.

3/5.

[Feelings]

As someone who is familiar with this song (and a pianist as well), I have to say, right off the bat, you've got really good expression with your playing.

The arrangement is short, for starters, and doesn't take into account the second verse -- "And feelings like I'd never lost you", or somesuch. That's quite a disappointment for me.

The broken chords are fine, but... try and see if you could go past that. I don't know why, but after hearing broken chord left-hand parts from so many people, I tend to associate that with those who have only played for a few years -- and the whole point of a cover, especially if it's your own, is to go past what everyone else does. That being said, you've already stated that the arrangement was by someone else.

Which leads me to the question: why don't *you* arrange this song? 'Feelings' is an amazing song when done with simplicity in the beginning, and extravagance in the choruses, building up in the verses... Because the cover doesn't have your take on the song, I can't rate it as high as I would rate an outstanding cover. I'm not here to look for someone's version of 'Feelings' which already exists and has been already covered before. I'm here to hear *yours*.

3.5/5.

Musicious responds:

Thank you very much for your review!
I'm agree, I can cover a song, but I like this version, so I want to share it with you.
Someday I will cover my one song, if I find a very nice song. :)
Thanks for your review. I will reconsider it!

[No!!!!!! (Siney's gift)]

Those drums at the beginning caught me. They sounded just amazing. <3
Then the other parts kick in, and I listen to your words -- it takes a little bit of listening to, but I'm able to figure it out. It seems a bit faded in, so a little bit more clarity is appreciated. I got the vibe of a studio jam session/small live performance from up to 1:18. That cymbal roll at 1:18 is divine, by the way.

Then when the big NO kicks in at 1:19 and all the atonal pop starts, I can tell you had fun twiddling around with this, that and the other. That guitar sounded like it was in the hands of a budding Jimi Hendrix. I am DEAD SERIOUS. Everything sounded nightmarish, but the occasional 'no' bits made it sound less of a nightmare than it felt it could be. Then again, there's a very thin line between having an atonal pop section, and outright turning it into some rock or metal smashfest. XD

I quite like what you've done in general -- I've been nitpicking here and there, but you've still made nothing less than an enjoyable track.

4.5/5.

DivoFST responds:

Yeah unfortunately i am still struggling quite a bit to properly mix my voice to make it as clear as possible....both my mic and my voice have a lot of low end so it gets really hard to find that sweet clear spot :(
Maybe a bad choice on my part to include the ongoing NO!, i wanted to maintain a remainder why the song had turned into something "horrible" and at the same time keep the connection to the first section.
"That guitar sounded like it was in the hands of a budding Jimi Hendrix" *.*
Unfortunately it was in the hands of a Divo :( xD
Thanks a lot for the detailed review Trois and good luck in your future!! :D
Cheers!!

[Five O'Clock Blues]

Having handled blues before (and even accompanied blues pieces on drums myself), I just LOVE how smooth this is. And soulful. The chords around 0:41 catch me each time. 1:08 was similar too.

There's a lot more variation as compared to traditional blues -- you'd normally expect renditions of blues pieces to have a standard structure about them with the occasional solo, but here you seem to have made another section which just flows naturally from the main sections. All in all, a very enjoyable listen.

I initially found the lead guitar a bit harsh, but it grew on me quite a bit. The vibe I'm getting here is a typical city scene -- and it fits ever so well.

5/5.

camoshark responds:

Haha, thanks Trois, glad you liked it!

[Ice Cube]

Right off the bat, I quite like the wobble in the bass, and how everything, from drums to pads, kicks in gradually. When 0:31 kicks in, the whole piece feels very quirky, I like.

0:51 was the clincher before 1:09 came in. 1:09 reminded me of, pardon the expression, a Crash Bandicoot stage. It just felt like it -- the mystery, the excitement, the quirkiness. I got an early PlayStation 2 vibe from this.

1:50 sounds like you're in the midst of ice crystals, trapped. I like.

2:06 is about the same loudness as 0:51, and 2:21 is the same loudness as 1:50.

The whole piece feels atmospheric and quirky -- and quirkiness is an up factor for me -- there's still a matter of tension, buildup and loudness to address.

SUGGESTIONS:

1) A little bit more variation would have been appreciated here between 2:06 and 2:21 -- building up tension? A very, very light saw wave or pad that sounds icy, perhaps? As you go later into the piece, imagine yourself in the heat of the dance. You don't want it to be a similar-sounding moment to a previous part of the piece -- by that point, it'll have reached the climax it ought to have reached.

2) Now let me iterate that I LOVED how the intro progressed gradually. Now the ending feels abrupt. It would, admittedly, be a bit cliché to end in the same kind of length that the intro had. But, a shorter ending with a decrescendo on the hi-hat cymbals (basically, a fade out), a fade-out on strings, and other disappearing parts, could help this ending.

4.5/5.

Svenzo responds:

Well i am glad you liked this.ofcourse repetitiveness again,maybe im just too lazy lol but yeh i might work on that a lil more