Rabid-Animals's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[.:The_Awakening:.]

Mindblowingly triumphant!

I'm picturing somebody climbing a mountain, somebody being chased, somebody fighting incredible odds for a hero's goal, something that saves the world. That's why I call this epic, not in the way that skater kids call their boards, but in the "Beowulf" sense.

The buildup got my heart beating; it really did. I was so consumed with the drums, the rising strings, the whole piece coming together, that I kind of lost touch; the music is just that consuming. I feel kind of bad, though, because I'd love to animate to this, but my skill level just isn't there yet. I'll keep this in my Favorites though!

The outro is beautiful. Satisfying, but not droning. It's a conclusion not unlike one in a superhero movie, where the hero finishes what he/she needs to do, and the camera zooms out-- no epilogue, no images during the credits; the whole shebang's just through. Excellent work on that; oftentimes people don't know how to end their stories, just look at the work of Mark Twain.

Great job!

Review Request CLub

GronmonSE responds:

Haha, I love this review. It's my favorite so far :)

Glad you liked it!

[House of Rising Sax Sample]

Sounds much better!

Great to see you've got a much better setup. I really appreciate the clarity of this recording. I'm not hearing so much interference by filters, which was my main complaint with the other recordings.

I'm digging the slow groove of this recording. I'm getting a kind of 60's New York noir feel from it, maybe like a black and white gang drama or something. Perhaps even one of those detective stories; I think they'd all work well. You've managed to create a very versatile piece.

There's some really technical skill for a musician displayed at 0:12. That little jump in the notes sounds really good, and it's impressive to a fellow woodwind player. I'd love to hear more like that.

I was a little disappointed that the song ended when it did. I could have done with thirty more seconds of this. Definitely consider extending the song. It seemed to get better as I listened to it more. It's funny that it loops so well; it could even be used as a menu theme. Great work!

Review Request Club

AccountableMasses responds:

thanks! yeah that's pretty much the song right there... all it does is start from there and 'loop' on the written sheet music. if you PM me I'll send you the link to the song and show you what I mean..
Also did a coarse pitch change (FL8 three semitones down) on this track so it play like it was written.

[Epilogue Title]

Fitting.

With the description you've provided, I don't think there's any better way to make this composition. The instrumentation is perfect because it's not overpowering, signifying the emptiness of the world around. Chilled, uncaring winds could roll by as the character shivers, for no one to see.

The piece goes on for just long enough to capture the images you seem to want to portray. After that, there might be a slight feeling by the player of "You've left me hanging!" but that's fine. Moments like that only serve to draw a deeper connection between player and media. What we end up with is an engrossing experience, something that the viewer will think about long after it's over.

Review Request Club

F4LL0UT responds:

Wow, that's quite a mouthful of professional and positive feedback. Thank you very much. :)

["Noel"]

Not enough for me.

Sorry to say, but this song really isn't happening for me. It's so purely voice, so every single error seems to be magnified a thousand times. A lack of a backing track, even though integral to this piece, puts undue emphasis on the singer's voice. If there was some kind of track supporting the vocals, I could have given a higher score.

It could be me, but a lot of this song sounded flat. For a song like this, I expect to hear soaring notes, and even a vibrato, if it's classy. The reserved nature of the song worked against it. 0:38-42 is a good example. Amp it up and rock out next time.

Review Request Club

[Raider Cave (Epilogue)]

Intense!

Jungle drums. I feel like there's something sneaking up that the audience knows about but whomever is on screen doesn't. Some very strong imagery works with this song. I'd absolutely love to see it used in something like "Turok."

As intense as the song is, at that ~1:53 mark, I like how the song lets up just a bit to make it hit harder. Again, this would absolutely make the scene it was in, if placed in a thriller.

I think the song goes on for a little bit too long, however. If you had to cut anywhere, I'd suggest that it be from the middle. There seems to be just the tiniest bit of extraneous repetition to trim. Other than that, you've got something that sounds absolutely cinematic. I can even picture (or whatever the proper term is for "imagining a listening experience") in something like "Avatar." Good stuff.

Review Request Club

F4LL0UT responds:

Thank you very much. Personally I thought more of a tribal than jungle theme but maybe you're right. Actually the idea with a thriller is funny because I had a similar thought myself. And yeah, it's quite possible that it's a bit too long, on the other hand it's background music and I think that an extra load of subtle variation is actually a nice thing. :)

[Scrap X Village]

Slogging.

You had me in kind of a drone until 1:10. What was that? The whole song breaks down into a cacophony of warbling effects and odd vocals. I enjoyed the swampy darkness the song had going on up until that point, but that break was entirely distracting and mood killing.

That's the major point of this song for me. Where you could have included a major drop or pick-up (assuming the song was extended a little bit) there was an incredibly odd, unexpected choice. The song kind of dies there. It's not nearly as bad as it sounds, but what I was enjoying about the song kind of dissolved at that point.

I think you have two separate songs, a great loop from 0:00-1:09, and an experimental piece after that. Both would be able to stand very well on their own, but together it's like having conjoined twins fight each other.

You do score some points for the technical ability in the song. It loops seamlessly, which is funny because I don't think it was intended as a loop. Explore your raw material and create some other projects out of it, and you'll eventually find a winner. Maybe consider a mix that's sped up a little bit.

Review Request Club

DXsamurai responds:

thanks for th review. i wasn't sure where or not to put them together. now i know.

[.:Right off the top:.]

Jazz MIDI Retro? I can't describe it.

At first, I was a bit confused by the song. The instrumentation was interesting, but not the most pleasing mix. I found the brass to be a little too noticeable; rather than being a compliment, it could come off as overbearing. However, something needs to carry the tune, so it got the job done.

The percussion was a high point. It kept the song going, and the mix of instruments lent itself to the composition quite nicely. I think I heard a woodblock, and if I did, it was an excellent choice.

My biggest complaint is that the song doesn't loop properly. When it plays over and over, there is an incredibly noticeable fall back to the beginning. I'm not sure what you can do about it, but it really kills the potential the song had for something to be listened to for minutes at a time. I still enjoyed listening to the loop, though.

Review Request Club

camoshark responds:

Thanks for the review!

-It's actually reggae, thought it may be hard to say because of the MIDI sounds...

-The brass don't seem too loud for me, then again maybe that's because I'm a brass player myself!

-You did indeed here some woodblock, nice ear!

-I know about the looping problems, I don't like it either, but I didn't want to chenge it or make it longer, so I left it so...

Thanks anyways, glad you still enjoyed though!

Cheers

[Glitch-Nerd Like Me]

Nerds have rhythm? Who knew?

Clever. I might be a nerd like you, then again I might not, but I can really appreciate where you're coming from. It's funny that you managed to explore a subculture so eloquently in a 3 1/2 minute song. There's so much brilliant material in the nerd culture; take a listen to "White and Nerdy" or anything by MC Lars.

I dug the funky beat of the song. I didn't realize I was bobbing my head until about two minutes into the song. Somehow, the beat infiltrated my brain and told me to chill out-- I obliged. You've got a relaxed, easygoing vocal style, which makes repeated listens a treat. I didn't hear any slip ups, nor did I hear any microphone-related disturbances; you've got serious record-deal talent on your hands, as it's blindingly obvious that you care about the quality of your songs.

You did a great job keeping this relevant and approachable. The references you used will stand in the future, adding a nostalgic quality to the song; for now, it just makes you seem like my buddy.

I've got absolutely no qualms with this song; your backing track was brilliant, and the rapping was superb. Polish really makes itself evident in this track, as the whole thing is crisp and a lot of fun to listen to. I look forward to more releases in this vein. It's that creativity that earned you a 10.

Review Request Club

glitchs2d responds:

Thanks for the great review. I listen to MC FrontAlot, Deltron 3030, and MC Lars. I really like the whole nerd culture that I am part of in alot of ways. Even though im not as nerdy as half of the nerdcore rappers but I believe that I am nerdy enough to fit in with them and still cool enough to appeal to the average hip-hop fan. The whole goal was to make being a nerd seem cool to the average person and hope every person could relate to what I was saying becasue we all have a little nerd in us.