MaestroRage's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[{Daydream}]

Sweet

How could I NOT review a piece said to have many acoustic instruments?!

The song is as it says, an ambiant piece, it truly delivers. It's a solid, laid back theme, that I listened to while I did my work, for quite a long while too.

The bass wasn't THAT horrible in my eyes, it did the job, but as SadSpoon mentioned it COULD be better, not sure how exactly, perhaps better sampling.

that flangered? percussion with the gated synth proved for quite an interest effect, I enjoyed the massively reverbed piano, just kinda... washed all over the place, which I suppose if you were trying to play a complex melody would fail horribly, but in this case it = win.

I know this is an ambiant track so I didn't really expect much to happen, it's not a track you should be paying great attention to.

In any case, it was an appreciated track. 5/5 bomb for you.

Keep them coming cornandbeans, also why is there like a 30 second air time at the end of the piece?

cornandbeans responds:

Yea, ambient stuff is great for working. It's easy to listen to, and it resonates a energy that really slows you down to think. I kinda get lost in it sometimes, you know? ..Good ambient tracks that is. I've heard some real abominable tracks out there. hehe. :P

The bass was something I really didn't pay great attention to, it got the groove going; that's pretty much all I needed.

Oh, and I'm glad you picked up on the flanged filters. I was trying to give off a trancy feel almost like moving.. a little diversity, you know? I like those songs where you just flow in and out. It can get boring if you get outside of ambient.

Ahh.. and the piano. That was intentional. Have you ever heard Porcelain by Moby? It was either that or Soft Pianos, I forgot. Eh. Source of inspiration if you're interested.

The silence at the end is just an error in FL that I haven't learned to deal with. Gar.. it can get pretty annoying. You can see in my older tracks that the same exact thing happened a lot. :P

Again, thanks for the well though out review!

~cornandbeans

[!_-Peace at Mind-_! part 2]

Sweet

This one is more persistent, more energetic, with tones of hope, suffering, and a fierce determinition, facing forward, and leaving the dead memories behind.

At least thats the kind of feeling i'm getting.

The quick violin stabs are quite interesting, with that wooden block sound (sorry I don't know it's official name ;)

In any case, the song also has great tones of epic power, and so have you considered using the French Horns for this piece? French Horns are excellent instruments for epic feelings, I use them in nearly every song, then again I am mostly sad epics, so that may explain a bit.

Is that a harmonica sound near the middle with the snare? It has a pretty good jazz feel to it, which reminds me of the movie blade runner, good sci fi movie, filled with these ambiant cored pieces, you should definately check it out sometime if you get the chance.

In any case, this too was a pretty damn good track, keep them coming DeadEndRoad!

DeadEndRoad responds:

Thanks for this review too.

The ideas I get for this are kinda random. I'll just be sitting around and I think "I think I should make a song like this!" This one actually thought of one night while I was restless and couldn't get to sleep.

That sound you heard around the part with the snare drum wasn't a harmonica, it was a muted trumpet.

And again, thanks for your review! Hope to talk to you again...

[!_-Peace at Mind-_! (demo)]

Impressive

I wondered what you had meant when you said listen to all parts... I guess I should have known there would be more soon.

In any case

The beginning of the track is laid back, ambiant in nature, with those toms in the background, good effect. It kinda reminded me of the ambiant music they have in Diablo, ESPECIALLY with that guitar. What guitar synth is that btw, it sounds very neat.

The melody played by that guitar and strings was quite relaxing, I suppose the toms reinforces that ambiant feeling. Especially with that wind sfx going on.

The track didn't seem to move much though, for a very long time. In this sense I think this song should have been put into ambiant.

Then that violin melody kicks in, making it sound much more medieval, like a great hall.

Have you considered applying more reverb to that solo violin, I think the effect may be quite neat.

The song loops very well too. I swear I listened to this for nearly an hour going "man this is getting very repatitive" and then realized it looped like 5 times.

So awesome stuff.

I'd like to invite you to check out some of my works sometime DeadEndRoad, I would like your opinion on them. Keep them coming!

DeadEndRoad responds:

Thanks for the review man. I checked out some of your stuff and it sounds pretty cool.

Good luck trying to get the guitar sound, unless you don't mind spending a couple thousand dollars on an electric piano.

I have this thing called a Clavinova. It has like thousands of sounds and you can change them around too.

So again, thanks for the review MasterRage. And just wait, I got more ideas coming!

P.S. (sorry about bragging) but I'm only 13 years old!

[i2 - I Am Who I Am]

Damn impressive...

You have some very powerful melodies here i2abbitz, but you also have some pretty overpowering french horns, this song also loops incredibly well, as I noticed most of your songs do.

+1 lvl to you

In any case, the flute and oboe combination + piano was also = win, the countermelodies were all screaming the same story, all complimenting another, I personally found it very moving, and would definately ask that you extend it.

My only suggestion would be to master the instruments a tad more, lower the volume of the french horn, bring that flute out a tad more, lower the strings, perhaps use low end cello notes for some deep strings?

In any case, t'was super! 5/5 for you. I'd like you to check out my latest work i2abbitz, it's one I spent a great deal of time on, technicality wise.

i2abbitz responds:

thank you maestro! a lot of emotion was put into the uhh.... clicking of the notes.. in here.. lol
i was pretty depressed at first, so i put in the oboe with the piano and the flute. then i was angry, so i wanted the horns!
but by the time i thought of a melody, i had already calmed down from the fight. and i couldn't think of anything more to put it..

about the mastering, i'm still a noob.. -_-
i wouldn't know what instruments were supposed to be louder or not. i only dab around in orchestral stuff.

lengthening it... =\
i wouldn't know what to do.. maybe the next time i get in a fight with my girl.. haha!

["Welcome" Revised]

Sweet

hello again Roy00!

Hey, this time it was slightly more welcoming, yet there was still a few segments of a darker, more sad melody, which I suppose can come from feelings of great relief, having seen somebody after many years, safe and well, must really be a feeling to relish!

I think this version was done much better then the other one, this one is much warmer, more inviting, but those darker tones sometimes makes me wonder, is this person really... happy to see this person again O_o. Is he all like "I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU!" while in his mind he's thinking "I'm so angry my assassins failed >:("

In any case the instruments flowed very well, and they blended rather well as well.

I could imagine some trill flutes to this, not absolutely necessary, but it would be a neat addition. I get a royal kind of welcome from this melody work, so I wonder if some bells might have done something for the piece as well.

I would also have liked to hear more variation for the melody, it seemed a tad repetitive, as if following a certain pattern. Happy - sad - darker - Happy - sad - darker, the dissonant strings near the end were pretty neat way to end the piece. Good jorb I say!

I heard a crash somewhere in the beginning, I think that if some more reverb was put on it, to give it that echoey sound, it would have sounded better for the piece.

In any case, this is all I can think off, good stuff Roy00, keep them coming!

Roy00 responds:

Thank you so much Maestro! yeah in the first place i think the title is wrong for the reoccuring theme i have developed here but i needed a title for my first song on Newgrounds!!! LOL! but yeah. your right i guess. most of my life i have bought soundtracks from films and i seem to follow some kinda pattern. like a suite to cover all feelings of the film. sorta... so my music kinda plays out like that. and ... yeah! thank you Rage! hopefully i'll talk to you soon again! (i write too much i know, LOL!)

[A Cold Wind]

Awesome...

Hmmm, such an interesting piece.

At the beginning i'm getting a cold flurry of winds, like in a whipping snow storm, roughly smashing walls of cold wind at a poor person knee deep in snow.

Those choirs were... really interesting to the image. They were actually an excellent way to usher in that string melody, filled with such a bittersweet sensation, then back to the cold wind movements, except in greater number, and much faster, a lot crueler then before.

Then the flutes comes in, and things settle. A great calm sensation, looking forward and all that... but then this was the eye.

Before the full fury of the storm! Hailing now! The man runs to his home, so close, the hail and winds both very aggressive in nature.

He runs in, and safe from the winds, the song ends...

what an image!

In any case, lets get to some suggestions.

When I think wind, I always imagine a flute or some kind of woodwind, and indeed you had that before the storms worst struck home, but perhaps more involvement of the flute? Perhaps even an oboe?

Now I know this next suggestion may alter the core of the song, but have you considered a booming brass to accompany the ending? I wonder what the song would sound like if it had it, though i'm also equally sure having that would turn it into a kind of war feeling, and alter the image too much.

Thats all I can think of for now DrZ. Good stuff indeed. I drop my 5 bomb for you.

[Empty Space]

Neat

Hey man.

Interesting beat you have here, it sounds like one of my first pieces, which were pretty much learning pieces, I think you have the same here, pay attention to everything you learn in these beginner songs, truth be told I learn something new every song as well.

Enough with the story, lets get onto the song.

it has an interesting melody, definately overused though, do try to mix it up every once in a while, remember that layering layer after layer isn't going to make the song better, but it is great practice what you are doing. You added a few bass beats that were a tad overpowering, especially near the end, remember that the low end of a song is filled up rather quickly, and because they are so deep having multiple bass beats makes it all the harder to differentiate which one is doing what.

The progression of the song IS pretty interesting. For some early work this is excellent stuff Hellavon, keep them coming, everybody started off like this, only persistance landed them where they are now.

Keep them coming!!!

Hellavon responds:

I'm actually rlly happy the remixes didn'nt turn out so well, shows me that I don't need to rip off someone's already made rifts to sound good. Thanks for appreciating my style guys. :) I'm talking about the remizes up above, u'll see.

[Roses (Hyper Speed Mix)]

Sweeet

hell of a lot better then my first track... or my second... and my third... and fourth... all together... :(... now I feel bad.

In any case, it really was a nice energetic beat. I really liked listening to it, there is a lot of chaotic segments but I suppose this is because this was your first song so you weren't paying attention to any of that, just SPIRIT!

Hazzah!

Great stuff, really. Now I feel so nostalgic, i'm going to go listen to my first track... and cry a little bit. :')

The ending was abrupt, but who cares, here's your 5. I'd like to invite you to check out some of my works sometime Aphelion.

AphelionX responds:

lol thanx for your review, and your right i wasnet really paying attention to any of the aspects, i just was havin fun doing random things to this peice, and....it turned out very well

[Keth Andril - Outgoing]

Neat!

hmm, this really was an excellent ending piece Keth-Andril. I listened to it for nearly an hour straight, and it really does give me that vibe of ending. I get credits scrolling down my head, a guy walking away, never looking back kind of feeling.

Then the guitar comes in, and the guy suddenly jumps into the air, and starts running, excited at something.

In any case, it was a very well produced piece. Is that you playing the guitar? It sounds real, and it's played well.

In any case, this was a great track, i'm sorry I don't have any suggestions on making it better, this was fine the way it was. I'd like to invite you to listen to my work sometime. Here's my 5 bomb for you Keth, keep them coming!

[SS - Dying Away]

So laid back...

Such a spaced out, alone feeling... as if somebody was looking at a volcano in the nighttime, listening to the ocean, waiting for the thing to explode... waiting for it to consume and burn everything into fine ashes...

waiting for fear...

The bongo drums were a neat effect, I personally liked them.

I also like the reverbed kick and congo drum, and the delayed hi hat, all made for an excellent spaced out feeling.

This song COULD be more diverse, but i've been listening to this track for hours, it truly is a great ambiant piece.

DJ-Moth responds:

Thanks. I Make these songs like this so that people can sit back and imagine things. thanks again! 11/11