MaestroRage's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Freedom is a step away]

Brilliant, epic as usual :)

Hey Madboss! Sorry for the super late review man! Energy and time are both things that simply did not reform in mah brain.

I love these epic works, though they sound quite similar to the other files, I am hoping that later on *at the first minute mark right now*, it will change directions!

god bless your choirs. I just can't get enough of em, again similar melody, yet my ability to care is severely hindered.

You know what, this song should be used for the Wolf Team lounge music instead of what they have, this speaks volumes and volumes more then what they have.

I can't quite figure out what style this reminds me of. John Williams'ish? It's got Hans' epic flair, and Danny Elfman's melodic styles for the celesta/glocken? like segment.

Nice epic end again. You can make an entire small album out of this tune, it's brilliant. With all that said, I still have no words of advice for you. I will of course, come back to enjoy all the collection again.

Keep up the damn good fight! I hope to hear more from you again! Let me know when you do!

madboss responds:

Thank you maestro to hopping by - and sorry for the ultra-late response. I'm suffering under tha same circumstances that you do...

I know that I'm doing a bit too much epic stuff and there is not too much variety - I try to change it in the future. You know always I sit down to my keyboard to create a melody I always find myself playing a slow noble and epic melody with a slight dramatic and sad edge... To be honest I like these tunes and I like to be an epic-music composer - altough I know it's a mistake to stuck in one mood. (And it was me who was saying that a music composer must try himself in different moods and styles...)

I don't want to be similar to any film-composer altough I can't avoid to be close to Hans Zimmer's epic music - he's an idol for me in a way (but it starts to bother me that he's doing his job with a lot of co-composers...) - I always imagine a story and try to give a musical background for it.

Thanks for your review and your kind words. Your reviews mean a lot for me.

[Mountain Clouds ft. SMM]

7th 10/10 i've ever given. :D

So this is the super clean account eh?! Well I brought popcorn, and enough butter to kill a small animal. So lets see how oily my hands get.

Not much, my fingers are constantly waving around, messing up the popcorn, the floor, and my privelages to not be grounded.

You said I have clear sounds, these are some very interesting and crisp samples you are using, this if of course, not including the guitar as I figure that is live? If it isn't, that too is damn impressive. Where do you get your sounds? I am very interested in where you got that super crisp sitar you got playing at the beginning, and that low woodwind like sound you have 2 or so minutes in.

I can totally see this in a video game, very retro feel, constant, not distracting.

Love the build up at 3:19, incredibly effective, and it really picked up the energy levels of the song. Despite the very raw saw, the instruments still maintain a rather clear sound. You have I assume, good experience in equalizing/mastering. Props to you on that.

I'm glad this piece you have this place for your best pieces Scrapenon. I have always admired your ability, and now I too have a place to visit when it comes to seeing you at your best! I would do likewise, but i'm afraid if I made another alt i'll develop split person

NO YOU SHUT UP!!!

That guitar solo was also slamming. I too can make that kind of sound and melody, by using naught but this here small cricket!!!

I r dat gifted!

My sincerest congratulations to both of you, I do not have words of criticism, nor words of advice, but you have my support. Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

[Chinese Dance Machine 2- F-777]

Damn entertaining, very fluent!

You have some very impressive sounds and licks here. I especially love what you did with that beginning stringed instrument. I also love the flute you're using, what sounds are these and where did you get them?!

The song flows very well, and it truly has a very oriental feel to it, very appropriate, and very entertaining! Simply wonderful!

A quick question, that synth you have at 1:32 onwards, did you use a filter on that, and then automate it? If so, which parameter did you change? Frequency pass? Just wondering, any tips would be quite welcome!

In any case, I don't have much else to say, being inept in this genre, I can not offer you any advice, only my support! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

F-777 responds:

Well i just surfed the interent and collected some .sf2 files and edited them. I can't remember where i got the flute though. And yes i used quite a few filters in this song. There are about 30 different automations or somthing.

Thanks for the review.

[[Kriz] - Fluctuations]

a bit muddled, but overall very nice.

I could learn a lot from this. I like the melodic flow, I like the overall sound of the song, and the percussion beat, works well. Basic, but effective.

There were parts when I felt that it was too muddled, too many things going on and off at once, with no distinct melody. I might not be hearing it, I hear faint traces of it, but it does get slightly difficult to differentiate them. Keep in mind however i'm not at all a dance artist, nor do I know how the genre works properly so take that criticism with a grain of salt. it's like asking a blind man to describe the sunset, it's a bit tricky.

I really like those quick builds up with the cymbols and snares. I knew snares were often used, it did not register in my head to use cymbols, for in instrumental music using the cymbols like that is just not possible, I should stop thinking inside the box!

In any case, work well done! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming! I see you already know how to use events and automation clips, so you're well on your way!

Kr1z responds:

yea lots of things in there! :D
maybe ur right, a bit muddled, but at least it wont get boring, its well variated u know :D
and yea, im still figuring out myself what dance is exactly ;)

[Make Your Escape]

Sweet melodic work, bad ending, low percussion.

Making as many songs as possible does not gaurantee entry, as i'm afraid you've already found out :/. See the thing is your work, musically is superb, but the samples you use are rather mediocore. I wish I could hear your work with some high end samples, and hopefully one day, even live! That would be brilliant!

This song also cuts off suddenly, again, it is rather useless as a loop.

I loved the build up, once 0:15 hits, the song picks up, and the song picks up really good! Another thing I find lacking in some of your songs is dynamics. I mean all the instruments seem to play at the same volume, the whole orchestra is always booming.

Also, Make Your Escape is not a title I would have thought of for this. It has no sneaky attributes, no sly elements, as far as i'm concerned this is a noble epic fight beat. I suppose you could say that they are fighting to escape, but even then I would then have named it "Fight for your Freedom!" or "Struggle to Escape!" which would have been much more appropriate for this piece.

But enough about that, naming is all preference, and in the end, means little.

The percussion is soft again, I would have liked to hear that crash a bit louder.

All in all, a slick track. The opening for it was my favorite part, first 15 seconds were epic as hell! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

[Preparing for Battle]

great melodic work, confusing song

Though I love all your works, melodically wise, I find they are brilliant, I also find that each and every one that i've listened to has a great number of instruments going on at the same time, which sometimes was confusing to hear. Like here you have a lot of staccato instruments going off at different times, layered on with other quick staccato strings in the background.

In short, though the song sounds good, it is very difficult to follow through. I could not for the life of me remember the tune after I stopped listened to it, the majority of it just flies through the ear, and out the other, though it is appreciated on its journey out.

I also felt the percussion in this piece was very soft. Barely audible, and a more punishing percussion would have made this piece all the more powerful, though I also realize that adding more short bursts of sounds would make it even more confusing then it already is.

The ending was pretty good this time around, though technically this is 2 seconds over the limit ;).

All in all, great melodic work again, so props to you! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

[The Unseen War v0.5]

Good vibe, great melodic work, horrible ending.

This song speaks of a very depressing story. The imagery I get from the title and the tune is that of perhaps war of assassins. Deaths and battles fought from all seeing eyes. In dark corners of existence, where demon kills demon.

A truly grand image, the more I dwell on it, the more I am fascinated by it!

The song sounds very full, and very powerful, yet the end just cuts off. It is not useful in loop form at all, like your previous song I reviewed, it is sadly rather useless like this. I will have to check out the full version of this song when I get the chance.

All in all, a good song, great melodic work, horrible ending, decent samples! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

[Where Will You Stand v0.5]

Great vibe, flow, melodic work. Doesn't loop

hello afliXion. I've patiently reviewed and reviewed, and looking forward to reviewing yours :D!

I absolutely love your arrangements, your flow and melodic work. I feel there is a very large level of power in them, a great sense of energy, and with some high end samples, I am fairly sure you would have taken the cake home. Even with what you are using, I see you as a real threat, and it gives me great joy to be competing with you.

The ending doesn't loop that well, kinda cuts off, which is a shame really. A good loop for this piece would have done wonders for it.

despite the lack of loop, the song still flows well from start to finish.

I don't rightly have much to say, I adore your submissions, keep up the good fight and keep em coming! I promise i'll try to make the other reviews more detailed!

[Mac7 Trance-Piration loop]

No CC vibe, good flow, too gated.

This piece, is i'd say worse then the other submission in the sense I am not getting any kind of CC theme from this. It sounds very much like any other trance piece I've heard. And that gated pad you have going on throughout the entire song gets really tiresome to listen to really fast. It gave me a head ache after listening to it only for roughly 8 minutes.

The song loops perfectly, so again, good stuff on that department.

I think you have way too many things gated in this song. I think EVERYTHING i've heard on this song is gated, save the percussion, which is also the same as the other submission.

A good Trance piece, but definitely not CC.

In any case, keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

[Mac7 Hope loop]

pro quality, great vibe and sounds, nothing new.

I can't believe nobody reviewed this song! It's a rather powerful and rugged loop! There is a lot of incredible sounds in this mix, though I must confess that I do not get the feel of "hope" from this piece. I do get a lively energy, and once 0:56 comes in I get SOME feeling of "hope" and wonder, and though that is a rather substantial part of the image, I feel overall the song does not support the idea.

It is definitely not anything ground breaking or new. It is pro, but nothing that made me nod my head and say "I've never heard that before"

the percussion was simple, standard, and effective. Didn't move much, didn't really need to, it did what it was intended to do.

The song loops perfectly, a definite plus!

The level of panning you had shortly after the minute mark was borderline excessive in my opinion. It didn't break the flow, it helped, but any more and I felt it would be detrimental to the song's entertainment value. I'm not a great fan of panning period really so take that criticism with a grain of salt.

All in all a great track, so hats off to you, good luck on the contest! I'll see you on the battle field! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!