Rabid-Animals's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Revolve / Resolve - Full Orch.]

Beautifully heavy.

At the very beginning, the slow, slow, progression got me interested. The piano lines were beautifully written; there was real emotion behind them. I pictured a military funeral. As the power kicked in, the song changed gears, but I appreciated how it built upon itself, rather than schizophrenically switching styles. Blanketing, mysterious darkness shoots out near that two minute mark, and that's really what makes the triumphant nature of the song stand out.

The explosions of sonic fortitude afterward are blindingly intense. I imagine massive, sprawling fight scenes, something fit for a Batman movie. Creating those images with just sounds is about the most satisfying thing you can do for me as a listener, and I think you should be incredibly proud that your song can do that.

There's absolutely nothing I can correct you on here. I love this piece, and it went straight to my favorites. It's the score for a miniature epic, so I gave you an epic score!

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[Thank Our God Cornet/Trumpet]

Messy.

I'd like to hear a natural recording with no filters. The odd sound that carried through this whole piece was very distracting and took a lot away from an otherwise pleasant piece.

Technically, you didn't do a lot wrong. Your notes sounded crisp where they needed to be, and mournful and held in other spots. That contrast worked nicely to diversify the sound of the piece, making it sound a little bit more intelligent.

Again, I'm really not sure what's going on with the actual sound of the song. It just sounds flat and unnatural. I think what you need to to is take a couple records of an arpeggiated chord or scale in different settings. Then, find the one that sounds best. After that, apply whatever filters you think you need, but do so sparingly. Some of those natural environmental errors add a warmth to music. This method will give you the cleanest sound possible.

Recording's your main enemy. If you tackle that, you'll be making music deserving of at least a 3.75 or above!

AccountableMasses responds:

okay thanks...

[Silent Night Alto Sax Solo]

Needs refining.

This isn't a bad composition, but it is very rough. I'll take it apart step by step.

0:05-07 does not flow correctly. The notes a a bit too staccato, whereas they should be tied.
0:10-12 sounds kind of odd. Did you apply some kind of filter or something?
0:25 sounds a little flat.
0:30-31 has a bit of a rest that puts an unnatural break in the song.
0:33 doesn't sound like it flows right. It's a bit too choppy for the outro.
0:35- do I hear harmonica? It sounds kind of cool, but it's also unexpected.

I noticed you said that you added echo. I think this song calls for a more solemn, lonely type of execution. Just the sax by itself would create a better mood.

Your sax sounds pretty decent. I played clarinet for three years, so trust me when I can sympathize with a fellow woodwind player. Keeping a sax in tune is not easy, and I give you a lot of credit for maintaining that. However, I think you need to work on your breathing a little bit. When I used to play more, I would breathe in for as long as I could, then exhale for close to twice as long. Notes tend to sound more wholesome when you've got that skill down.

You've got the talent, and with a little more practice, you could have this piece down at a professional level. Keep at it!

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AccountableMasses responds:

thanks.
had to put alot of noise filters to this due to recording/noise issues.

It's an alto saxophone all the way... no other instruments were involved in recording this. Didn't really play it as it was written in the sheet music, more like got into it and played it that way. Added some echo to it to fill it in a bit. and did a lot of jaw/throat vibrato.

As for other comment, thanks,
I've been only playing saxophone about a year, (cornet/trumpet a bit longer) and been practice almost everyday (that or a clarinet) since then.

[Rhythmic Serialist Loop]

Where can I get a Pina Colada out here?

Ah, relaxation. I'm picturing bamboo or wicker chairs, fans outside, surrounded by the ocean, swimming people, bright white towels, and a cloudless, sunny sky. I can feel myself stretching out on my chair on that island, letting time go by, enjoying the sun, the atmosphere, the lack of stress.

If it's not obvious, this would work splendidly as a track for something like "Vacation Sim" or Animal Crossing. It screams a motto like: "Not a care in the world, just have fun." I can't criticize you for repetition, nor can I dock you for a light amount of instrumentation, simply because I enjoyed the track so much. It went straight to my favorites and I gave it a five.

Why? It effortlessly created a mood that I love. School, work, and just the daily drag make vacation so much better. Nearly always, I spend my free time in the tropics, and this made me feel right at home. If anything, it's missing a bit of some steel drums. Consider that for another piece.

Musically, the piece loops seamlessly, which greatly adds to its allure for me. Listening to this for ten minutes didn't get old for me, and even while I'm writing this review, the song is on. Truly, I implore you to revisit this style, this structure, and let me know when you release a new track.

Review Request Club

WizMystery responds:

Thanks for the review!

Glad to hear that you connected to this on an emotional level :D We listened to a steel drum/island piece the day I wrote this, so maybe that's what left the impression on me. Steel drums could work, but I don't think I have a VST that simulates them. If I happen to find one, I'll try it out.

[.:Boss Battle:.]

Sounds like the boss gets bigger.

The song almost tells a story. I can imagine getting to the end of a cave in Final Fantasy or Pokemon, ready to leave, with my party exhausted, and then there's the boss. Crap.

It's an interesting experience, to be that frustrated and challenged at the same time; it puts a certain tenseness into the player's mind. You captured that in your song, especially around the 0:41 mark, where things start to pick up. I was really hoping for a massive build-up and a huge crash, but that's just not how the song goes. Oh well.

If you did extend the song, I think you could do with a little more percussion to really thrill the listener with an intense back-beat. It's not the perfect boss battle song quite yet, but it gets damn close. Make the listener feel like a champion at the end, and you've replicated the experience of defeating an infuriating boss.

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camoshark responds:

Lol, thanks for the great interpretation, it helps get a quite accurate image!

I really should extend it one day, once I have the time to do so. I always thought the song had potential, but i wasn't expecting so much great feedback!

I have to agree with you, making a more rythmic part would help the song progress, and I'm pretty sure that's what I was going for when I made it, but being something I did in my spare time (believe it or not), I stopped when I found something else to do...

Great seeing you enjoy it!

Cheers,
Samuel Hébert

[[CG] - Schism]

Slick.

This seems less like a song to me, and more like a bunch of pieces that could be loops. Take 0:52 for example; the song completely changes and doesn't really go back. Don't get me wrong, it's still enjoyable to listen to, but if you took that segment and submitted it by itself, you'd have another very artful piece.

As a cohesive unit, I think you did capture a certain urgency. At 2:18, in the tiny drop, the break in action makes the beat hit much stronger a couple seconds later. At the three minute mark, I think you could have cut the song. The outro seems to take a little too long to wrap the song up. If you really were gearing this toward Madness, I think a better technique would be to have the music build up, explode, then fade off in just a few seconds.

The darkness in this piece makes it a pretty unique listen, and the thumping bass gives it a very addictive quality. I'm going to download this now.

Review Request Club

KroweMusic responds:

Thanks for the review and the download!

[Scars Never Heal]

Ouch.

I was about three seconds away from grabbing a teddy bear and calling my mom to comfort me while listening to this. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but this song has an incredibly present feel of danger and threat. Something creeping up behind me, something big, something with shiny, yellow teeth... that's what consumed my brain.

You've struck something primitive in this song, the ability to call on a human's natural fight-or-flight reflex, with just the use of sound. As the song goes on, the inclination toward that primal sense grows stronger, it makes the listener want to do something or get the hell out. I think that's really cool, and you don't see it a lot in music today.

Really, I've got no pointers for you, maybe just warn me next time if you make a song that could be the soundtrack to a nightmare.

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ZLEAP responds:

This response is long overdue. It is a rare thing for someone to be in tune with my sense of direction. With my sense of mood. I sincerely hope you are still in the business of reviewing art because I would be honored if you would do so with my newer works. I truly would.

[Tomb of the Unknown Warri]

Damn powerful.

I believe this is a fitting tribute to both the unknown warrior and the warriors at large. It's not often that people stop to read a plaque, and much less often that people dwell upon it. Providing a spoken piece, actually talking to people, having them listen to the message-- I think it's really meaningful. With a concept, you've succeeded admirably.

There are just a few spots that I think, if slightly tweaked, could really send goosebumps up listeners' bodies. 0:33 is without a doubt the most chilling segment to me, definitively describing the great consequence the warrior's actions had on any facet of life. If you stopped after each line a bit more, really let the words sink in, you'd probably have some tears working from some people.

Then, at the very end, the grand finale-- giving the warrior the prestige of a king... that's some heavy stuff. Perhaps lowering your voice a little, communicating the dire, eternal sacrifice he made, would do the piece good. Your choice as the artist, though. Personally, the piece went a little too quickly for me.

There's also a bit of a hiccup at around 0:28, where "of 1914 to 1918" doesn't sound quite right. No big deal, really.

Great job on this, Coop. I'd like to hear more.

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Coop responds:

Thanks very much. I'm still learning the ropes, but we'll see how it goes. My voice is too far ahead of my skills with Audacity atm. Give it a chance and we'll see.

[Sawyer Armoff]

Heavy and Fast, like a Scared Wrestler.

There's a really good sound coming out of the guitar in this song. It's tuned really well, and sounds clean enough to be attractive, but gritty enough to stay true to heavy metal. This makes the song easy and enjoyable to listen to, which is really all I can ask for.

The spine of this song, the percussion, really kept the song alive. It kept the speed up and made the whole piece sound really polished. Some of the fills were pretty well timed; I also particularly was struck by the cymbals. Those gave the song a much-needed variety in sound.

The drop at 2:14 seemed kind of weak to me, but it wasn't a huge drop, so that's okay. After that, the squealing in the background was really well timed with the fast guitar, so the song ended really cleanly. Really a well put together piece-- good job!

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joethesouleater responds:

lol, thanks for the review i really apreciate it, and after listning to it again after reaading this, i agree that the drop is weak and could be better, if i redo the mix i'll probably aded something more there, thatnks for the review =)

[CloudScope (drx)]

Layered like a cake, just as delicious.

I'm a sucker for classy piano. Just those couple bars at the beginning of the song force me to give you some massive credit. I stuck around in anticipation, and I really enjoyed as the music started fading in. At that point, I knew that I was listening to a very decent song.

Usually, I'm bothered when a song stays at the same pace if its low, but I really didn't mind for this composition. It had enough going on (piano, percussion, those electronic sounds) to keep me interested. One thing I did notice, however, was the change at 2:24. It seemed a little forced. The whole song almost changes tones at that point, and I think if you had hinted at that melody before, the change wouldn't be so abrupt. It wasn't awful, but it could have been more skillfully worked in.

I'm also very fond of noticeable percussion in songs like this. You kept things controlled with the hi-hats and claps, but I would have enjoyed just a little more, to give the song an extra punch. As it stands, though, it's one of the few faults of a great song. Fantastic melody, intelligent instrumentation, and perfect length! I think you might want to use this song as a model for future projects.

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DavidRx responds:

haha im a sucker for piano too :P its a magical instrument and calm :)
yea i shud have hinted some places giving in some powerful synths and rythms...
dident think of that at the point

:) thx for the review