Spadezer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Land and Sea]

I really like the organic orchestral instruments combined with the synths. You blend them really nicely. The synth reminds me of the DKC's Aquatic Ambience music for the underwater level. You have a really good intro. You have a nice soft motif that you've introduced with the synth, and the strings and drums compliment the main theme softly. You also transition to your second section starting at 1:48 nicely. The mixing holds it back a little bit. The bass is boomy and makes the mix feel crowded like the compressor is being pushed. And I can tell the issue lies mostly with the bass you have since when this section transitions around the 2:42 section when the bass is only playing a note and ringing out, the balance sounds nicer. I think the other part that's contributing to the bass's boomy feel is that it only feels kinda like a synth in the sense that it's only low pitches and doesn't emphasis the higher harmonics. I can tell they're there because I can hear the plucking like sound of the bass, but it's not well defined. Drums could be louder so they sound closer to the front. The third section starting at 3:13 Sounds a lot different compared to the rest of the song to the point that it makes me think that you're treating this is song as 3 different songs for the three scenarios of the challenge. This section reminds me of an older Street Fighter game. By itself, this section comes across as high energy and definitely has final boss energy. The sound choice is good, but the mixing holds it back, similar to what's happening in the second section. The mix feels crowded and could benefit by making sure that you're leaving headroom before pushing your compressor. The lead synth you have is a great choice and I like how it soars in the mix, but it could use a little refinement. It sounds a tad dry and under processed. Just a touch of reverb would help it out a lot.

All in all, aside from my critiques I like what you have. I like to see when people are experimenting with uncommon time signatures, and none of yours felt unnatural. Not the easiest thing to do. Honestly your piece as a well-crafted feel to it. The soft intro has a really nice touch, and the 2:42 section compliments it nicely. I think this is a good display of raw talent, but just needs some practice and refinement.

crispybatteryacid responds:

Thanks Spadezer! I'll have to remake this at some point and implement your suggestions. Thanks for the review, means a lot.

[A Final Effort (VGM Challenge)]

I like the simple synths you have. They give it a nice retro vibe, and they're not so simple that they fall into a chiptune trope. The composition works with a boss fight style, but it was difficult for me to tell if I was listening to a long intro or the song was mostly just feeling like it was building to something. Looking through the comments, it seems like what I'm listening to is a piano for most of the song, which I'm not really a fan of. Especially within the context of what you're doing, it comes across as a hard to follow instrument for what you're trying to accomplish. The frequencies of notes that it’s playing in don't resonate well with each other and makes it feel like it's crowding the mix especially in that range, which makes me think you're trying to use it in an octave too low for what you're doing with it. A great example of what I'm talking about is at 2:36. I almost couldn’t tell you're using cello voices since both those and the piano are competing for the same range. The bass frequencies of that piano are also competing with the low frequencies of the drums that you've brought in as well. Other than sound design and mixing issues, I don't really have any big critiques to bring forward. I can see what you were going for with the piano instrument and trying to use that as the motif for the protagonist. I think you still could have used it, but just not as the main focus. It could be an important element of the piece, but if you wanted to treat this song as a story, it would also help to add as melodies above it as the moments and hits between the protagonist and their foe. A fun creative idea would be that impacts that are had in the fight would also impact the protagonist's strength and zeal. As the fight draws out, you could change up the arpeggiation to make it sound more frantic and strained to resemble the protagonist's increasing struggle not just in the fight but to keep himself going.

I like the style, and I think what you have goes with what you were trying to accomplish. It could be more refined, but core execution is decent.

SleepyPoundcake responds:

Oh wow that's a lengthy review. Great!

I'll be taking these words into account when working tracks with a similar sound. I do have things to learn after all. And if I actually do remake this in the future I'll definitely have this review on the background.

Thank you, glad you consider it decent still.

[The Tested Hero: Final Battle]

Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding why I've followed you. I dig the super heavy riffs, and very much appreciate the 1:27 faster section. If it were me, I'd probably use that 1:27-1:56 section as the main motif for the song, but that's more my bias coming through. I can definitely tell your mix is drums and guitars, and that's basically it. Which by themselves are a decently full mix so props on that. I can also tell that you were being quite timid with the strings. I think it's good that they were in the background with how you were using them, but it would be nice to hear some more exciting utilization with the strings. The issue with that though is now you're going into orchestral rock which becomes its own challenge and a beast. My personal issue with rock orchestra bands, or epic orchestral stuff, is that a lot of examples are orchestras first with some guitars mixed in the background, which I think is a disservice to the guitars. Or you go too far on guitars and drums and really it's just a metal band with cheesier orchestra stuff. It's hard to find a balance, but (side topic) I did manage to stumble across this Tiberian Sons piece which instantly became one of my favorite pieces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bebCSJfQ6uU

Although their helldivers piece is closer to what you are doing I think. Good reference track IMO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7KH9YWx6AY

I digress. Compositionally, this song comes across as simple. On one hand, I am a simple man. I don't need very complex riffs to headbang too. On the other hand, there are parts of the song that don't really do much. I really like the energy part even though it's just repeated 16th notes. The weakest part of the song is the 2:00 and 2:54 sections. What would have been really cool is trying to develop the structure that you introduced the song with. Like the start of the song is perfect. Nice attention grabbing theme, and then 0:17 is just a rephrase set to a groove to carry the song forward. Then you have perfectly timed noisy djent riffs for the 0:36 section. I really liked how returned to using a similar refrain in 1:03. And then 1:38 is just cool because it goes hard. A neat idea would be to somehow incorporate that energy with the them you introduced right at the very beginning.

Aside from the critique, this is super dope. Rock on fellow metalhead. This is cool stuff, and there isn't a lot of well mixed metal songs in contests like the NGADM. and this type of stuff is already at a good start

JDawg00100 responds:

Thank you for the detailed critique, I appreciate it :)

[The Great Descent]

This is giving me spiderman and general Marvel vibes. So this has kind of the epic superhero introduction type of story I feel like. The instrumentation creates a large atmosphere and has a general drive throughout the whole piece. The drums didn't seem like they varied much so that stuck out to me. Really outside of the 2:05 section, the song seemed to have a very consistent feel and energy. I really like your use of choir, and as a fellow trumpet player I love hearing the trumpets sore over the mix lol.

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks for the review! Excited to hear what everyone has to say when the final results come out!

[Autumn Carnival Waltz]

Interesting to hear you do something that's not as freeform. Very strict to a waltz style and in a way feels very rigid compared to your freeform style you've displayed this year lol. As the song develops I feel like there's different styles being wrapped up here. Maybe it's my ignorance in classical music, but if I were to label your structure as like a A, B, C, B structure, the first section (leading up to 0:43) has a late renaissance or Victorian era feel. Very classical and structure, and then the other sections feel more like vaudeville or silent western movie era music. Those sections feel a bit more loose compared to the first one. I'm not sure if that's what the intention was regarding your writing, but noticing that makes me think it would have been really cool if you started bouncing between specific styles or developing the song by using those styles as markers or something.

Solacitude responds:

This one is surely way more tight in structure and tempo than when I use rubato in a more romantic style. This waltz could be danced on! :P

Tempo changes a tiny bit from time to time but I did stick to a pretty rigid approach.
I felt like I had to go for a different style since I did compose with a more free flowing approach the last 2 rounds. The idea that came to mind in the first week was the first section which was a waltz so I kept in mind to compose a waltz all along for the following parts.

I did my best to weave a thread between the different sections with melodies that fit well together from one section to another. I felt like these rising chord progressions were quite nice to convey a positive, uplifting feel throughout the piece and were great to glue it all together as well, like at 0:05 - 0:08, or 0:34 - 0:38, 1:07 - 1:10, 1:15 - 1:18, 1:47 - 1:50, 2:05 - 2:07 and a couple other places.

I think that what gives the looser feel of the sections following the first one, is the use of arpeggios and introduction of tremolo and swing in the second section, then the use of swing, tremolo and added triplets in the last part. It gives a kind of lighter feeling, it sounds loose but without losing the rigidity of the accompaniment sticking to the 3/4 beat.

This piece is sure evolving from one section to another, always adding something new or different throughout, which is the way I almost always compose... I guess it's my style :)
I rarely have identical sections repeating within a same piece even if they sound similar.

I did my best to avoid doing like with Fate, switching style too abruptly since I think it did have a negative impact for many judges. I wouldn't try again to merge 2 ideas together. This one I kept my usual style of making the piece evolve until the end, but while keeping it more "integrated" if it makes sense so there's no element of contrast that might turn off listeners.

I'm not sure I get this "it would have been really cool if you started bouncing between specific styles or developing the song by using those styles as markers or something."
Using specific styles as markers, but feel free to PM me! I would like to hear more about it! :)

Thank you very much for the review!

[0N3_D4Y]

The sound design in the intro is great. As a sucker for large atmospheres, this scratches that itch nicely. And the contrast of the quiet and intimate verse right after the explosive intro is a nice touch. I'm picking up what you're laying down at 1:58. Compositionally I give this high marks. The song structure feels like it follows a trope that I can't quite put my finger on. Like I've heard this before. But it's executed well enough that all it does is convey good story telling. These are the types of songs that makes 5 minutes seem really quick.

I do have some production issues though. The volume seems hot and the general vibe/sound feels a bit dry. So you've probably mixed this with too much emphasis on the high frequencies to the point that the lows don't have enough oomph to help the mix feel warm and inviting (like a fresh baked brownie). The problem is that this type of song with both the large atmosphere and intimate breaks demands that type of warm (bass heavy) and softer mixing.

After a couple of listens. I really like the lyrics. I actually liked that aspect of the song better than the 'loud parts'. After doing a recent attempt at trying my hand at lyrics (soon to be posted to NG Boss Showdown), I think these are pretty decent work. I'm really curious to know what you did to get the computer voice since I really like that style.

icantpronouncethis responds:

Thank you for the critique.
I do need more experience working on "hot" songs.
I have noticed I always struggle with the same issue.
I'll definitely try what you suggest, because I do enjoy coming up with this type of tracks.

I got the voice from a tip in the the video by the producer "Miruku"
I used the flstudio stock plugin speech and created voice using that.
Little Alter Boy to change pitches, and a tiny bit of bitcrusher to mess it up a bit.

P.S. When you meant "lows don't have enough oomph", is it more than just make the bass louder? I'm guessing I need to spent time more in the lower end to help support the high frequency.

[Hi-LiGHT]

The intro has a light and edm pop style hook, and it is a decent start to how the rest of the song feels. Definitely a hype song. I'm a little confused about the intent with the 0:50 section, but it grooves. Not a fan of the sound choice there, and it's quite the harsh transition. The synths and sound choice sounds kinda dry and harsh at that section. The mixing I think sounds a bit thin like it's hot in the high frequencies. There's definitely a lot going on though which makes it hard to balance and sound clean. The main melody hook almost comes across as just a mashup of notes, but it is a fun melody and it’s pretty likable. The more I repeated the song the more I learned to like the melody theme. It's a lot, but it doesn't feel too repetitive.

I think one of the things holding the song back is the production quality. Like I've said, some of the instrumentation sounded thin and dry, and there's definitely a lot going on. All that aside, it's a pretty fun song, and the main idea is well executed.

icantpronouncethis responds:

I wanted something opposite to contrast the main theme. I noticed Pure 100% did that quite often and I wanted to see if I can pull it off. It was my first time coming up dubsteppy breakdown and was satisfied with what I came up with. I should've spent more time how it fits with the song itself. Thank you for your analysis of the track. I shall keep it noted. ^^

[Malleus Maleficarum]

The intro has a light and bouncy feel to it, even with some of the darker undertones (yay Halloween). Has a Nightmare Before Christmas feel to it. I'm super happy with the 0:40 section, especially when the choir comes in. Brings about a buttload of nostalgia for me. Firstly Sinbad of the Seven Seas comes to mind, and then secondly it unlocked a deep memory from the sad scene from Bambi. I haven't had a nostalgia nugget that deep before, and it took quite a while to find. Aside from that, I really like how you've utilized the choir. 1:30 is a nice soft dynamic contrast to the song, and I'm really pleased with the brass at 1:43. Again, you've managed to make a warm and large space with your sound in this song, which I think does a good job at conveying emotional atmosphere too.

There's good bits of composition that I like. There's a type of call and response with the 0:10 section called by the 0:24 section (it's probably more of a reprise). It's also the main hook that you use to explore in every section. As I've mentioned earlier, a healthy amount of dynamic contrast. The drawn out soaring feel of the 2:40 section compared to the hurried composition of the first third of the song. Neat theme, and good execution IMO. I have no problems with the production either. Even with reference tracks, it still sounded authentic for me. I personally would boost the percussion a little more and maybe tone down the reverb on some of the low register instruments.

CloakedSoup responds:

I would agree with this! My main issue on many of my tracks for the competition has been getting a more controlled/less resonant bass sound. I think a part of that may be extra (unnecessary) resonance from a high pass cut that is too low on the reverbs or just needing a dynamic EQ on specific bass frequencies that were more resonant/loud.

[Fate]

I'm a fan of the intro. I do feel like the style of playing I've heard before (after researching, it's the main theme from the movie Illusionist but a bit faster. Feels like it could also be something Hans Zimmer like). To me, it kinda cheapened the listening experience. It's emotionally driven, but the issue is that it seems to be riding on the emotional feel instead of driving the emotional story. Something I would do if I was sitting in front of a piano and just playing my emotions out (as someone who doesn't main playing a piano at all). And that 2:13 section was definitely an abrupt transition. It's jarring enough that I would consider this a 2 part piece. I'm definitely more of a fan of the second one. I do like with the transition how the notes felt like they were waterfalling into the next. Good sustain pedal contrast. With the second movement, I can't quite tell if you're just throwing in a lot of notes for fun or if there's mistakes that you're just trying to cover up lol (probably what makes it the free flowing part of it). The trilling melody feels light and hopeful, which is a nice contrast with the first movement. It does have more flow in it compared to the first as well. The ebbs and flows help it feel like it's progressing and developing.

I feel inadequate to be judging a piece like this, but I like that this is the style of music that makes it to the semifinals of NGADM. A true testament not only to the skill of musicians here, but it also is a good showcase of the pedigree of composers and producers that make it this far.

Solacitude responds:

I'm glad you liked the intro! It's a bit simple, but I wanted to build up a bit of intensity later so I felt like it had to be. And it's effectively a 2 parts piece :)

If I could put it in not too many words, "Fate" as a title was inspired especially by this 2:13 section, which also prepares for the end. The two different sections are like 2 chapters of one's life. Fateful events are often quite jarring too! It can open the eyes, change one's perspective on life, make someone decide to finally let the mind sing its melodies without the constraints previously imposed.

It's interesting you bring up "just playing your emotion on the piano" because it is what I try to achieve anytime I go for more felt pieces. The takes I keep for the final composition, come from when I'm sitting in front of the piano playing my emotions out. Though it's not as easy as just sitting there and playing something like this :) I can rehearse a theme for hours before I start being able to play it in an intuitive enough way to be recorded. Even the first part, it may sound quite simple, and it is in many aspects, but I had to put the hours in. Hands still do have to jump octaves fast at some places :)

I like the first part, but I also prefer the second! I will probably rework it all at some point.
Or plainly split it into 2 different compositions. I have takes of more complexified versions of the first theme that I could use to make it a stand alone piece. Second part I'm often playing arpeggios with added 2nd so it creates a little cluster of notes, those are extensions no wrong notes though! haha I like the quality of fast arpeggios played softly, it creates a kind of cloud on which the melody can sit. I'm also glad that you noticed how the arpeggios complete the melody "how the notes felt like they were waterfalling into the next"

Thank you very much for the review and good words!

[Revolution]

Nice intro. This gives some Castle Crasher vibes, so it's got some retro Newgrounds vibes. Which comes with some pros and cons. The use of the strings and the composition as a whole might be a tad too simple, but it has a good blend of orchestral and electric instruments. I'm not the biggest fan of the mixing. The synth that joins in at 1:12 feels like it comes in a little hotter than the rest of the mix and it's a little harsh on the higher frequencies. There's also some unchecked reverb that makes the mix sound a bit too busy and crowded.

Other than that, I think the writing is decent. It doesn't wow, but there's some good use of melody, and there's nothing abrasive or grating. There's aspects of it that I like, for example the synth octaves at 2:10 has a nostalgic vibe for me that take me back to NES days.

Decent piece. What I really appreciate about this is the older Newgrounds vibes this has. It would be really interesting to see you explore that feel more.

TheNormalMusic responds:

Thank You! I also love that feeling of old Newgrounds pieces ( Chaoz Fantasy moment ). But the mixing and mastering is just flawed... Well, it happens