SeeD419's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Pain (Rah)]

Interesting

Well I wished you had posted the lyrics for us to read first of all. The vocals sound good for the most part, and the lyrics sound creative from what I can hear.

The guitar part wasn't bad for the most part. Probably the greatest part about the song is that you added additional vocal notes over the top of the track, which sounded really great.

The only hole I really see from the song is any form of percussion - so if you're looking for something to add, I would definitely start there. Then if it still feels empty add a bass line to it.

The piece you have here is certainly a great start though, and it doesn't sound bad at all really. It's certainly one of the more original things I've heard in the audio portal, and I commend you for doing your own thing.

No comment on the scream at the end, lol...not sure that really belonged.

Overall a decent track. Keep up the good work, and I'm interested to hear what you end up adding to this.

SoulSecure responds:

Ah, it was originally supposed to be a folk song and that's why I didn't want any drums but as I moved along it became more... Well whatever it is, instead of folk. It's a really awkward song for me, yet natural at the same time, being from an area where bluegrass runs rampant.

Yeah, vocal harmonies, layered vocals and such are some things that I love doing but not too many of my NG submissions have them. My love for the sound of it comes from harmonizations in music like The Ink Spots, Ray Charles, other older artists and also is highly influenced by orchestral music and System of a Down.

About the scream: I got this idea, back when I started working on my new album (which this song belongs to), to make a separate album with songs that are about the feelings that the bosses in Metal Gear Solid 3 are named after; The Pain, The Fear, The End, The Fury, The Sorrow and The Joy. After some deliberation I decided to do the idea but include the songs in the album instead of separate. So, the song is all about pain, there's a painful scream at the end, I feel good about having it there. Plus, it helps to tie in with the song that comes after it in the album; The Fear (which is up on NG).

[DJ Ravenz - Improvisation]

I hear an FL preset

Well the FL preset for the first 40 seconds wasn't really anything special to hear...mostly because I've played with it before and I know exactly how it sounds already...

The improv on the synth was rather impressive, as I could probably not do near as good just on the spot using a keyboard computer, so good work on that.

There's a lot of interesting noises going on here and at the seeming-to-be climax of the song, I would agree that it would sound great for a video game menu of some sort.

As far as things to improve on, I would never use any FL presets in the future as they're too easy to pick out once you've heard them and they just don't sound very original. I'd avoid sequencers at all costs...at least with the presets...the very beginning sounded great because it was modified.

Keep at it.

-RRC-

[|\||_| Stardust [Hardstyle]]

Not half bad

This is just one of those songs that I honestly just don't have much criticism for. It doesn't sound bad, but it really doesn't sound overly great to me either. By that I mean I can't find any major flaws, but then again it doesn't come off as very moving to me.

It sounds a bit like trendy trance but with a strange electronic intro...which wasn't bad. I did like the sound of the intro, but the main synth just sounded kinda happy hardcore-ish but in a really trendy way.

The drums come off as a little generic to me and nothing really special. It all seems to blend together really well though, just doesn't sound overly interesting to me. As Rory would say, "Not my proverbial cup of tea."

Keep up the good work regardless.

-RRC-

Numi responds:

Mm. I know the feeling of not really having a review for someone. I judge in the RUNGADM. Each round, one track was submitted that I just couldn't say ANYthing about. Nothing great, nothing bad. Nothing outstanding as positive or negative.
And yes, what you mentioned as flaws became oh so apparent to me not long after uploading >.<

I'm glad you didn't totally hate it though =D

[[dB] Aliens]

Not bad

While this isn't bad, it seems to get stale quite fast.

The beginning is fantastic, especially up to :45 I think you nailed it. After that the strange electronic sounding sounds in the background I wasn't really digging that much, or the synth lines after that. They just didn't come off as very catchy to me personally.

The drums aren't bad at all. The snare around 1:55 seemed a bit overkill, but I did like the IDM elements you mixed in after that a lot - but I suppose that's just a personal taste.

Overall, I'd say you absolutely nailed the intro, and the outro, but the whole middle of the song just feels stale to me and not all that moving. Regardless, keep up the good work.

-RRC-

Decibel responds:

Thanks SeeD! I appreciate your review :)

[deciBel]

[.:Boss Battle:.]

Nice

Hey it actually loops pretty well too, surprise. Daunting is a fabulous word for what the piano at the beginning sounds like. The synth notes are very good as well. The dark sound to the bass line is just about perfect as well.

The whole song really has a boss battle feel to it - I think you captured the mood perfectly. Either that or the castle/lair of the boss. It doesn't quite have the intensity or energy that an actual battle would have, as it seems a bit more laid back and creepy feeling...so maybe it would work better for the road to the boss. Maybe call it 'boss level' lol.

I like the 8-bit sound this has to it as well, feels almost nostalgic like I can imagine seeing an 8-bit ghost floating around with cheesy effects, lol, which I enjoy. Although, I could see this in a final fantasy game, maybe 8 or below.

I think you did an excellent job with this track, and I'm rating accordingly. Keep up the great work.

camoshark responds:

Great to see you enjoyed, thanks for the great review!

You're seeing it the same way the people below your comment see it, so you're probably right, this is more of a boss level, rather than a boss battle.

I didn't really think of it as 8-bit music, but so many people say it nowadays, so I'll have to conceed to that point.

Cheers,
Samuel Hébert

[Rhythmic Serialist Loop]

Not bad

The tune here is quite relaxing sounding, and immediately I feel as if I'm in a shop in a PG rated RPG game purchasing some ammo for my slingshot or something ;) Either that or buying some potions to revive my health from battle....but I suppose that's neither here nor there.

The song is rather repetitive, although it sounds pleasant, there doesn't seem to be much audible changes going on and I can't honestly even tell if it's just a loop or if things are changing during the whole song.

It's a great base for a song though, or maybe just an ambient tune the way it is for a game like I said earlier. I guess it really depends on what direction you want to go with this really...

-RRC-

WizMystery responds:

Thanks for the review!

Things are changing, it goes into several keys. It's mostly a melodic change and not a texture change.

[Tomb of the Unknown Warri]

Sounds good

Sounds pretty good to me, I can't really find any flaws in this one. You should really make a career in audiobooks though, lol. Your voice would be great for storytelling. This one didn't have any strange pauses or gaps that I noticed at all. It did seem that you spoke much faster in this one, but it didn't sound necessarily worse or better, it was just faster.

The whole concept behind this is just awesome. Very respectful to those who lost their lives, and the story that it's a completely unknown soldier is interesting. I'm sure the memorial is a sight to see.

The only thing I think you could have done if you really wanted to go the extra mile with these, is to play an ambient track softly in the background, while you read. I think that would make it sound a lot more full and pleasant, but of course you'd have to find the right track for it and mix the two correctly. Just a thought for future works I suppose.

Keep up the good work, coop.

Coop responds:

Thanks - playing some sort of ambient track in the background would really be something that I'm not capable of at the moment - I barely know how to use audacity, let alone how to do any advanced things like that :P

[CloudScope (drx)]

Great sound

This has a really great happy go lucky sound to it. The synth is nice and trippy and not trendy or cliche at all. The bass line is a tad glitchy sounding and sounds great. The bass kick is a tad repetitive and unoriginal, but it seems to blend in okay without being to pronounced. I'm a sucker for a piano as well, and the piano work you did was quite good, although I think the volume could be turned down a tad on it to blend it in better.

The song really does seem to be missing some percussion. I mean, it sounds good without a bunch of percussion but I can't help but wonder what it would sound like with some - and I don't mean a few claps I mean some serious hats to sound like I'm on a fucking jetpack flying through space.

I suppose if I had to give any criticism for improvement the only thing I could think of is that you need a climax where you add some percussion to really give it a full sound. Nonetheless, a good track though. Keep up the good work.

-RRC-

DavidRx responds:

hehe yea its a more happier song :P
yea i kinda focused on the bass glitchiness a bit i kinda like glitchy music :P
i rly love piano :P so in some of the tracks i do have piano in them indicating a calm part/magical :P

i did put some percussions but just a few :o
im not rly good with percussions rly XD so i ussualy dont put them but ill take that in mind :P

thx for the review mate :D

-DrX-

[<EagleGuard> Path of War]

Nice

The intro to the song was rather appropriate, and set the tone for the song pretty well. Right when the guitar and brass come in it sounds pretty good. The mix is decent although the guitar sounds a bit suppressed.

The bridge worked extremely well and the production that introduced the main melodies again was fantastic. Once again though, I feel the guitar is a bit suppressed, or maybe needs a bit more distortion, or a different kind of distortion.

The ending wasn't quite to my liking and seemed rather abrupt and unplanned. I would have liked to hear a really long fade out for this piece, seeing as how you just brought back the main melodies anyway, you may as well have just repeated them for a while and made an epic fade as the ending. That's what I would have really liked to hear.

Other than that, a decent piece. I enjoyed listening to it. Keep up the good work.

EagleGuard responds:

Hey, thanks for the review.

I thought I had gotten de EQing of the guitar fair enough, but I'll see if I can add a little more "punch" to it in the future.

The ending is indeed a little bit cheap. I'll try to put more effort into it next time ;)

Glad you enjoyed it, will do my best to improve. =)