Troisnyx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Blurred Lines]

This one feels nice and wide and clear; actually had the quality of making me more alert and waking me up from my sleep. I like this so far.

The other thing I like about this is that it feels like it "breathes." The dynamics on everything makes it feel that way.

[Stop wasting my time]

That bass line flows like liquid gold. What a pocket groove this is. 😁

RealMrSnuggles responds:

thanks!

[Obvious]

Right off the bat, I have a few thoughts.

Mixing -- everything's balanced but please, turn down the mids a bit on the master. They are a bit piercing and too many mids basically does this. It'll be much easier on the ears that way.

Musicality -- wow those chords are nice and when the other instrumentation came in, it pleasantly caught me off guard. Probably the only thing I'd recommend is to transition more gradually between sections, because we went from A to like F from the intro to the introduction of more instruments. Risers do this well, but there are other things.

BTW, your chord work caught me so pleasantly off guard, I think I'm gonna follow you and listen to your stuff more. Please post more.

[Queer As In Fuck You]

This is a NGADM Round 2 review.
Each score is out of 10, for a total of 50.

COMPOSITION: 7

I mention a good bit of what I perceive on a visual / emotional level regarding the composition in Emotion below, but for what I haven't spoken of, let me deal with it here.

The percussion is driving and high-energy and evocative of a lot of imagery that I talk about to my right, and the synth pads are comparatively static. I mention my qualms about the accompaniment below.

There is some occasional bass that grounds the piece, and sometimes it's not there; fair enough.

The melody and chords dip in and out of tonality on a regular basis, giving me some occasionally discordant, and occasionally pleasant, and often unexpected, twists and turns. This is not something I would mark down, though what I would mark down can be summed up below:

There is a lot of purposeful dissonance, though it feels like there's so much missed potential as it is really truly only done in the leads and very occasionally the chords. Even syncopation, blipping in and out, and even bass patterns and different accompaniment styles could lend to this feeling of dissonance and discord that I speak of below. There is no one way to write leads or accompaniments -- deliver on this more. Experiment more. It currently feels like the atonality and nonconformity are restricted to some parts of the piece.

PRODUCTION: 8

The synths feel quite thick to begin with, but the strings feel like they're lacking a warmth, a fatness, and so do the percussion. A thickening of the mix could certainly help here.

Outside of this, everything is balanced and has its place. It's quite wide, it's quite lush.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT: 8

I'm feeling a very gritty and sombre, but also flamboyant and flighty feel to this piece all at once. The melodies and shifting scales lend themselves to that flamboyance. I get quite a few visual pictures of people expressing various different outward signs of the gender and sexuality spectrum, whether through selfies, through everyday writings, through living their lives, or through protest; I feel like the way the leads go, dipping in and out of tonality, bring to mind these various images.

There is an anger about it, driven by the percussion and the hi-octane feel, almost as if to say, we will not conform. There is a sense of protest about this piece.

Parts of this piece feel quite discordant and jarring to me -- but perhaps on-point for the title and its description. It's musical allegory. Just like there's no one set way to be, there's no one set way to write leads. My main emotional complaint, that gashes the score, is that I would have loved to see this explored a lot more, beyond just the leads -- because there's certainly more than one way to write accompaniment sections, too, to add to the diversity that no one sees outside. Because as is, the hi-octane feel of the accompaniment could fit some sections, but it felt long and drawn-out by the end, still giving a feeling of 'samey-ness.'

The ending is actually pretty fun by comparison (I know that it draws on a previous section that you've done beforehand), and reminds me of multi-coloured bubbles rising in the water and into the air.

UNIQUENESS: 10

It's original, I'll certainly give it that. I'm hearing a fair bit of the OST to Mirror's Edge in terms of the high-energy percussion and things, but going as atonal as you have on a piece like this is not something we hear everyday. In fact, I daresay it's not something we hear almost at all.

MEMORABILITY / REPLAYABILITY: 7.5

I remember everything about this piece -- which is not something I generally do with more atonal, discordant pieces. Everything, from the flow of the leads, to the energy of the accompaniment, and the emotional delivery -- I remember it all. I remember initially not remembering it fondly, but it seems to have grown on me since.

Will I be listening to this again?... Strangely enough, yes. I mean, I'd also love to listen to this with added changes, but this one has a strange charm of its own, aside from the statement you're making. Will I be recommending this to other people? Yes, but only to limited audiences perhaps -- this sort of overt atonality is ostensibly not for everyone. For it to reach wider audiences I imagine that this piece needs to not stand on its own, but instead have visuals to accompany it for example, things that could actually drive it home. As a standalone, I remember it reasonably fondly -- I don't know if others would share what I think.

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TOTAL: 40.5 / 50

zybor responds:

Thank you for your awesome gigantic review :O

Those words and thoughts of your accurately described the track. Thank you again :)

[The Paths Our Heart Often Guides Us Through]

This is a NGADM Round 2 review.
All scores are out of 10, for a total of 50.

COMPOSITION: 9
This piece is a chordal canon -- and an exceedingly varied one at that.

The instrumentation is excellent, dipping in and out and giving space to different instruments to thrive and shine at different times. There are some background elements that you introduce that add to the playful, heartwarming feeling I describe in Emotion below, e.g. the glockenspiel that punctuates some notes starting at 1:25. The arps and ostinatos you have introduced here are nice and ethereal. The pad that forms the main melody is singable, memorable and well chosen; I talk about its full impact in Emotion, once again.

At about 2:00 it gets warm and lush. 3:00 sees it getting warmer and lusher. The introduction of the chiptune melody at about 3:37 is a pleasantly unexpected twist.

Transitions could use some work -- the cymbal roll could have a little more pizazz; it feels quite thin at this point, for example. Chime bars, a doubling of the cymbal, or timpani / bass drum rolls wouldn't be out of place in some parts.

5:03 takes another pleasantly unexpected turn with the theme going all synthwave, but it returns to its orchestral flair at about 5:24 without feeling disjointed. That flute sings beautifully, as does the violin that comes at about 6:04.

At about 7:00 it reaches its climactic point, perhaps a culmination of all the ideas you've had with your chordal canon.

7:34 is a repeat of 5:24 and 6:04 put together, and both these melodic sections feel like they complement each other well, that they're not fighting against each other.

The ending simply remains on the B bass line and ties up loose ends. The piano you used here sounds fittingly dreamy and uplifting.

The whole piece has structure, progression and dynamism plastered all over it. It is just full of these. The chordal canon and arps ground the piece in a sort of structure; the instruments being introduced or removed shows progression, and you've had softer and louder moments in the piece, building up tension very well. Not once did I feel like this was dragging on for too long despite its 9-minute length.

PRODUCTION: 9

For the most part: wide, atmospheric, and a delight for sore ears. Everything has its place in the mix.

I mentioned in Composition above that your transitions seem quite thin, your cymbals for example. If, as a compositional choice, you are planning to keep the cymbals in as is, they could do with a bit more lower-mid and mid frequency, something that really gives it its crash. Either that, or adding stereo widening on it, or doubling it up with another cymbal patch, or another percussion instrument altogether depending on the feel that you're going for. It sounds bright -- perhaps a little too bright, to the point of being tinny.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT: 10

I feel a lifting of the weight in my chest, a sort of joy. I felt like I was being taken by the hand, and taken on a journey -- whether it be a journey to discover a new pristine, untouched place, or a journey of self-discovery, or a journey to trace the steps taken by a long-lost friend. The whole piece feels very heartwarming and hopeful, very viscerally so. I felt a huge smile forming on my face -- bear in mind that at the time of judging this I was at a very low point and in tears, and this eased my sadness almost immediately.

The title lends itself to so much significance that the listener can attribute to it themself. Because this piece is heartwarming and playful, the listener can relate to it too. I certainly could. In addition to that heartwarming feeling, there is also a sense of sobriety with the chords, with the haunting, otherworldly pad that forms the main melody for at least the earlier stages of the piece...

It feels like the kind of piece that encourages acceptance of (to use the title) the paths our heart guides us through -- to not flee away in the face of failure, to not falter, to go down these paths in good faith, with every hope in our hearts.

UNIQUENESS: 10

Your style has always been eclectic and I certainly hear you from a mile away. This song brings to mind the kind of film or cutscene score in some of the very best of films or games, and to my knowledge, not one has come to this level.

That said, perhaps you were not intending these influences, or were influenced by people other than the ones I am about to mention -- sections of this piece did remind me of Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, and, strangely enough, Musica Maya AJ. These were only slight reminders, though, brought about by some of your instrument choices.

MEMORABILITY / REPLAYABILITY: 10

I remember every moment, every little variation in the 8-chord sequence, every melody, every background element, even the arps... I hear it playing in my head a good while after the piece had ended. And I certainly remember the emotional impact of this piece.

Will I be playing this again? YES, YES, WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, YES. Will I be recommending this to other listeners? Oh YES, YES, ABSOLUTELY YES. From the comments it appears that I am not alone in my assessment; a good many people felt similarly uplifted and their souls soothed by your song, and I don't doubt that new listeners will feel the same way.

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TOTAL: 48/50

[A Dream]

This is a NGADM Round 2 review.
All scores are out of 10, for a total of 50.

COMPOSITION: 8

The piece feels quite short, and restrained. The melodies played by the strings and other lead instruments are singable and memorable. The chords do feel like they repeat a fair bit. There's some slight deviation in the middle when the glock appears -- a welcome change, for were it not there, I daresay the piece might have sounded a tad samey to me.

Nice rallentando to bring in the main melody again.

Your soft-loud and structure are on point. I do wish that the piece were a little longer, as the melodies you introduced here, as well as the theme of grief and clutching at memories in dreams, are things worth expanding upon.

PRODUCTION: 10

Wide, atmospheric, and bringing out the physicality of the instrument -- I have no complaints as far as this piece is concerned.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT: 10

The composition and the production here both give me a feeling of sorrow, the weight of mourning and loss on my chest, and the squeezing feeling that comes with it. The flute that comes in feels suitably mournful, reminiscent of someone singing a plaintive final chant to ease the loved one's soul.

1:31 brings to mind slightly happier moments, with that more playful glockenspiel -- they are fleeting away, like the physical proximity we had to a person we lost. The flute reappears again, losing some of its air -- almost as if the flautist playing is choking up, trying to muster breath to play in between the tears and the weight of sorrow on their chest.

It's back to the weight in my chest at about 2:31. I do feel my tear ducts filling, and the more I type about this, the more they fill.

Props to you for bringing about this visceral reaction of sorrow in such a noticeably short piece.

UNIQUENESS: 7

Sad mournful pieces like this are ubiquitous in VGM and films, and elegies with slightly scherzo elements are uncommon, but not unheard of. Shorter pieces with restrained melodies are also quite common.

That said: you owned this well, injecting a lot of visceral emotion into this mix, something which most pieces of this kind do not do. In my last review of a piece of yours I spoke of the physicality of an instrument; I sense it again here.

MEMORABILITY / REPLAYABILITY: 9.5

I remember every melody. I remember every articulation of each instrument, and the feeling it gave me. I remember the feeling of being squeezed with pain. I also remember how short it is.

Will I play this again? On its own, yes, but I would argue for a longer version in future. Will I recommend this to others? Yes, for the subtle emotional detail, and the feelings it gives.

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TOTAL: 44.5/50

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EDIT: Following up on your response, I would vary. Vary, vary, vary. Give me the squirming of tremolo strings, give me the full vulnerability of a soul singing with their beloved before they part ways forever, into different planes. Go down musical paths less trodden. Write this with a LOT less restraint than you are doing, if possible. Grief is not a solemn, stately emotion a lot of the time. It is loud, it is uncomfortable, it rouses others to grief and compassion. It is also often unseen, and can ring like screams into the night. Imagine what it'd be like if you managed, through some emotional feat of strength, to pull this off — to go into the dream and to spare no emotional or environmental detail!

I'm saying this to you as a guideline. Don't just give me any song of grief. Give me *yours,* with every inch of tears and hard feelings and bitterness that stays for years to come. If the dream is pleasant, capture the gleam of the sunlight, the rippling of the water, every little detail, in as cohesive a form as possible, and taking us on a journey (which is what I'm expecting you want to do). Because right now, this is not something that many do, if this is done at all.

Uniqueness, to a great extent, is not just about blending influences. It's about defining what your own musical voice is, and letting that be drawn out. I know you will probably be searching in your soul for this; it can take a short time, it can take a long time.

Everratic responds:

Thank you for the review again! I appreciate your hard work to help make participation in this competition beneficial and rewarding.

I'm curious, what do you think I could have done to earn a 10 in uniqueness without changing the composition fundamentally?

edit: Those are good points, thanks for the follow up.

[Flesh Fields Miasma]

This is a NGADM Round 2 review.
All scores are out of 10, with a total of 50.

COMPOSITION: 8

This feels more like a progression than a structured piece, though I feel elements of structure in there, in the arps, in the rhythm. Your soft-loud is certainly on point.

The piece feels like it's been conventionally structured like a cinematic trailer: loud section that builds tension, a brief period of softness or silence, and then finally a much louder section that serves as the climax of the piece before tapering off. Though I use the word "structured" relatively loosely, it feels more like A-b-C-D-A at this point.

The chords in this piece, and the harmonies you have introduced, especially at 1:36 onwards, are purposefully discordant / detuned but still sound harmonious and ominous all at once. The sounds you have used here have been picked well; the full impact of these I go over in Emotion below, and these and the structural choice influence my score.

You end with a rhythmic motif that you introduced at 0:38, nicely tying up loose ends.

PRODUCTION: 9.5

Lush, wide, atmospheric, incredibly spine-chilling and visceral. Everything was balanced and had its proper place in the mix.

More instrumentally dense sections could do with a bit more fatness -- there's a great deal of high-end but the lows and some mids could be boosted a bit, something I feel you are doubtless aware of.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT: 9.5

The beginning did well to give me the feeling of dread, with what sounded like primordial ooze or the secretions of some abomination being let loose. When the rest of the instrumentation came in, it felt tense and frightening, and it gave me the visuals of people in a laboratory or wherever, in a heightened state of readiness to fight the looming threat, which seems remote to them at first, but they know it is imminent and could pounce on them at any minute. The heartbeats sealed the deal re: that feeling of dread; I felt my hair standing on end and my spine growing cold. I felt a heightened sense of physical readiness, the fight-or-flight reaction.

The choir singing "HUNGER FOR YOUR FLESH" in its distorted tone caused my heart to sink with fright. It felt like some monster with the ability to speak our language was crying this out. The screeching leads towards the end felt like a mournful song and a scream of agony all at once.

The ending, as it trailed off, brought to mind the destruction left behind by the theoretical abomination I spoke of above.

All the visual pictures this evoked in me were vivid, and the reactions I described were viscerally felt. Certain parts of the mix -- notably the higher frequencies -- were able to bring that spine-chill, that creeping feeling.

While I did feel this viscerally, I feel that the lack of fatness in the more instrumentally dense sections made me feel slightly wanting, emotionally -- the fatness would have driven it home like nails in already open wounds. Don't get me wrong: the piece is emotionally powerful as is, and it's going to take me a short while to recover from what I have just perceived.

UNIQUENESS: 10

Yours is a style I recognise from a mile away. The blend of industrial, goth, choral and metal / power fry that you use is unmistakable.

MEMORABILITY / REPLAYABILITY: 10

I remember the leads, I remember the feel of the piece, the choirs singing "HUNGER FOR YOUR FLESH," the screaming strains in the end, the sound effects that lend to the spine-chilling feeling I spoke of above... The piece has stayed with me for a good long while after it had ended.

Will I be listening to this again? YES, in more sober conditions perhaps. Will I be recommending this to other listeners? YES, YES, ABSOLUTELY YES.

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TOTAL: 47/50

[G.A.S. Instrumental]

Apologies that it took me forever and a day to get to this...

Right off the bat, this could do with an intro, and some breaks in the tension (like some unexpected moments of silence) before the beat reappears. It'll help the MC, and it'll keep listeners at the edge of their seats guessing a bit, which generally ends well — a form of hype basically.

And on the subject of hype, I'm not hearing much of it from the track. It feels samey all round. There's very little tension building, in the higher percussion. Drop some instruments in some parts, bring them back in others. Those might correspond to verses and things. That's also another way of subtly telling listeners, "oh hey, something's happening." Gets the message across a lot better.

I've no complaints about the mixing quality; it's mixed quite well.

[Medieval]

I'm glad I stopped to listen to this. It has some very, *very* heavy Enya vibes to this, which I always love since Enya is one of my strongest influences. Also, the chord work on this is impeccable.

[Sunrise]

Those are some very soulful chords and that is very soulful piano playing. The arps add to this piece quite nicely. The lead is singable and memorable.
Drums are sounding a little bit thin in the mix, that they're buried behind much else, and I think the bass is equally thin as well -- these ground the piece, and without it, the song itself comes across as fairly thin.

Leading up to 2:21 you could always transition -- sparklies, cymbal rolls, timpani rolls can always create that nice crescendo into the next section and there's a reason that we use them for sound colour, and not just for rhythm. If you'd like something that heightens the impact without taking away from the progression that you've got, those are some quick fixes.

FionaTheDream responds:

thank you for the detailed review!