NemesisTheory's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[What did you see]

NAC Judge

Wow, you definitely have the heavenly part down!

I still feel the intro took a little bit too long (maybe by about 30 seconds), but once it got going it appeared to song pretty great. But you can already hear the problem with the mastering/EQing. Instruments get clouded so bad with others, the drums are meshed together with everything else, you can hardly hear seperation from the bass (as it gets meshed with the side-chain type instrument).

And the crashes sound really weird. Once the snares kick in, you can barely hear the hats, etc etc. I think you know what I mean. I think if you really took care of your song and spent time on the EQing, balancing the sounds and giving everything it's own place, you would have placed top 3 easily.

Aside from the negative things, this song has a lot of heart! Filled with tons of variation and additions throughout, I really love that about this song. Also the parts where things are minimal (04:35) you can tell how awesome this song could have been if every facet of the song were crafted carefully with the proper EQ and balance. :)

I'll say it again, you really captured the heart of the contest (the heavenly part, at least). Really good job. :)

7/10!
5/5!

[Acid Paradox-a boy and his dog]

NAC Judge

An actual guitar! +points for that already! You're really good with it. <3

Great drum sequencing too, I can already feel the love within the first 15 seconds after they kicked in. I think this is a song you really have to get lost into, because it does repeat itself a lot, or if not that, stays within it's comfort zone too much. At least until the 2 minute mark. :)

The guitar 'solo' part is pretty cool, but could have benefited by a bigger buildup to something, well, for the lack of a better word; bigger! :D I'm fairly certain you weren't going for that though. It goes back into familiar territory again and into a breakdown. This is still a really great song to get lost in and just relax! Which, I'm guessing was your point, and as they say I think, you definitely hit home with it!

8/10!
5/5!

[[dB] Underwater Scenic Route]

NAC Judge

An amazing piano perfectly aligned with your song's direction! I was in love with your song from the very beginning. <3 The water dropping matches really well. The sidechained background pad works really well with your style as well.

I think the lead instrument is a little too loud and could've been toned down a bit to fit in with the rest of your arrangement. I appreciate the changeup near the end of the song, it's just too bad it just ends right there as well. xD

Regardless, this song is very re-playable, matches the contest perfectly, has a great smoothness to it and moves you throughout.

8/10!
5/5!

Decibel responds:

Holy my God NemesisTheory!

I'm also glad you like it, feel free to fave me and such :P

[Cat Fish]

NAC Judge

The first thing I hear is the piano and it sounds really forced, a little more humanization could've gone a far way with control over volume and general settings. It sounds really dry and rough around the edges. I think especially for a genre that's supposed to be uplifting.

This might just be me, but it's all too loud and screechy at some points - and I am not feeling uplifted or heavenly by this at all. xD

Especially at 0:54 you've got a bad mesh of sounds that don't match, and still not a fan of the high pitch squeels. XD I read that you are aware of the mixing and that you have writer's block problems, so I'm probably not saying anything you don't already know.

I can still tell you put effort into though though, so don't feel too bad!

5/5!
6/10!

Quarl responds:

what dreams may come. thanks for the kind feed back :p

[-On The Break-]

NAC Judge

I loved the way the song started, with the strings hitting the right notes for the uplifting genre, but it dragged on for far too long considering the length of the song (4 minutes, 2 minute intro).

I kept waiting for that driving beat, which didn't come in until well into the halfway point of the song! :( After that nothing much changes, the same notes being repeated with fadein/out.

Quality is very nice, but the arrangement could have had a lot more variation to keep it fresh and exciting. However, you hit the nail on the head as far as requirements for the contest, more so than most, which was the point to begin with!

Great job!

8/10!
5/5!

[ParagonX9 - Blue Marine]

dat turtlez!

oh paragon, you really like that turtles in time sound effect don't you XD

Because of this it almost feels like a remix, yet i'm pretty sure it's original. see how that works? xDD

But cool melodies going on here and an oddly refreshing rhythm! and I definitely am loving the slap bass shenanigans, that stuff is crazy. XD I'm pretty fond of how the melody is completely in synch with the sound effect, very nice touch. it doesn't nearly bend anywhere nearing the point where the effect loses it's charm! :D

You can definitely tell it's still unfinished because it repeats itself a bit, yet that only adds to how impressive it is that it still sounds that solidly woven together! I love that gated synth as well, it really adds a lot to it!

AND DAT TURTLES SFX. <3

8/10,
5/5!

Greets,
- NT.

(Make MOAR!)

ParagonX9 responds:

Turtles ftw xD It's probably the most awesome orchestra-hit ever!
Sounds like a resampled firebird hit. It's original! The orch.hit thingy
was inspired by turtles in time ofcourse =]
I never did a slap-bass line before, im also not sure if that bass-rhythm
can be played by a real bass player.
I used audacity to repeat it xD Very cheap i know whaha!

DAT TURTLES SFX. <3
Thanks for the rev NT!

[Rumble Army]

Good stuff!

I really like the ambient vibe most of the first half gives off! The low spiccato stabs really fill in the lows nicely, even if there's no real bass there (thoughI think I hear one stringset in the lows too, which becomes pretty apparent later on) Props for the cool piano too!

I really did smile when I heard that melody from an army of one come in, it's one of the simplest melodies I ever did and it's really cool to hear it fit better than it did in my own song in such a cool way with the brass and all, and I also liked the way you played a little with the melody to give it your own spin. :)

You really did a good job! I enjoyed listening to it very much. :)

Greets,
- NT.

YanX responds:

I glad that you like it ^^.And hope you 'll enjoy all my stuff :)

[Evil-Dog - Outbreak]

Awesome!

Hey, you really did nail that 28 days later style! I love creepy atmospheric tracks with an amazing buildup+piano backing, and you really did this SO well!

There's some really subtle things in here like that soft whistle in the background that hits the right tone at the beginning, and ofcourse the low piano note to kick it all off @ 00:36. <3

Very pounding drums, gotta love that in music like this, it connects with the creepy atmosphere/heartbeat style really well, especially during the transition where it's only the drums and the soft piano, and then it kicks off again and only grows in tension from there 'till it explodes and **really** gets into that 28 days later style!

Anyway, I really enjoyed this! <3
Good job on everything!

9/10
5/5

Greets,
- NT.

Evil-Dog responds:

Wow, that's a really nice comment :) I'm glad you liked it and that you catched on the little things like the high pitched ringing!
Your music is awesome too! keep it up girl!

[AD - The System]

Too long for your own good...

I actually listened through it 3 times to make sure I wasn't missing anything subtle, but you have 1 minute and 30 seconds worth of intro, that doesn't change or build up at all.

The main problem I have is that it then cuts to a DnB section that lasts for the same amount, then it cuts back to the very same intro patterns you had in the beginning, with a faint bg buildup in the back that drops you back to the same thing that I've been listening to for the previous minute and a half, which then repeats itself for almost the entire remaining duration before it cuts back to the exact same intro pattern for a break down.

This song could've been a lot more shorter and packed with alternates (even variation on the drums once in a while would've worked, especially since this is DRUM and bass - but you didn't do this once, which I find oddly puzzling considering the DNB section ran for about 5 minutes total with no switchups), of which there were none, albeit a stop-return break is there every once in a while.

Anyway, that's just my opinion, but I don't see why this song couldn't have been 4 minutes, and even that would be stretching it. Maybe 3 minutes? One minute intro, 1:30 dnb, 30 seconds breakback to the same intro. It'd cut out a lot of the monotony since there's nothing that switches anything up during the middle or end, not a single addition or variation.

If that's what you were going for then forget this entire review, but, since it's 7+ minutes, it would've been nice if there'd be something that kept me listening or even remotely interested for changeups rather than the exact same thing over and over. I suppose if I had liked the song enough and it were 3 minutes, I could've had it on repeat or something. :P

Anyway, just my two cents. <3

Still, decent production value, and that's a great start, so I can't/won't be too harsh on scores. I never am, anyway. XD

6/10
4/5.

Greets,
- NT.