MaestroRage's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A New Moon]

a bit generic, mastering issues, good vibe

Hey Bosa.

There is a great deal of tensive energy in this piece, it flows and screams "trouble", yet I felt there were some mastering issues here. Some of the instruments were too loud, some were too quiet. Like that child choir, I loved its addition to the song, but it was too much in the background to truly notice.

Are these papalmedia choirs?

I also would have liked to see some variation, some kind of overlaying melody. I mean as it stands it seems to be a long string of chords, which leaves a great foundation, but leaves an empty taste in your mouth.

All in all though, a good track! I wish you the best in the contest, i'll see you on the battle field >:}. Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

[_-=[Don't Tell Me Again]=-_]

Incredible high end composition!

XD, how can I NOT write a review for this?! I mean seriously? I was told i'd find this link interesting, and here I am :D!

My gawd there's some hardcore talent here! What software are you using VST wise to accomplish this?! The mock up is incredibly realistic and dynamic!

Such melodic expertise, you are where I wish to be... it seems I have my newest idol, I hope you will share more of your works with Newgrounds, and let me hear them! I'd also be damn delighted if you'd be so willing to share a midi of this so that I can study it :D!

Keep up the good fight and keep em coming! Brilliantly made!

[battle theme..()..]

good flow, diverse, not boss fight like, smooth!

A very subtle, smooth piece. I don't really see a fight to this beat, the only real agent of aggression in this piece would have to be the percussion you have going on. Other then that the melody isn't aggressive, there isn't any supporting instruments, no crashes, etc.

However this makes me think of spies for some reason O_O. I can see James Bond pimping out the death and destruction to this beat, it's very sly like that, which is oddly incredibly entertaining.

The song also loops perfectly, so props to you there for that!

In fact I was wondering, how it would sound if you exchanged that 8 bit synth with a saxaphone! I can almost see the sabatouge!

A great loop for sure, i'm afraid not very boss oriented however. Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

STU-PIDASO responds:

thank you maestro, i always enjoy tough well thought out reviews.

good points...it IS more spy...kinda 70's mod-squad-ish i think now.
i will perhaps think about loosing the 8bitsynth and try some saxomofone...(simpsons reference)

and the looping, well that was accidental.

[Good Knight For Battle]

energetic, solid bass and perc, good flow and vibe

This piece has a lot of energy in it, and despite it being of the electronic genre I can see it fit into the CC theme quite well! High paced, energetic, defiant.

The percussion though stable and solid, remain the same throughout. I suppose not many would consider this a problem but I would have liked to hear something a little less chaotic, and more emphasized, like a deep kick every beat. Of course this is an area of debate and personal taste, doing this would not necessarily make it better, or more stable, would just make it sound different.

I like the melodic flow of the piece. It flows well, yet maintains this chaotic, almost random direction.

I also like that deep bass synth you have rapidly firing off in the background. Do you have a flanger applied to that? It seems to fluctuate as it progresses.

In any case, a neat, useful tune! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

[Our Heavenly Hell]

good base, no direction, low diversity, well mixed

a very raw and chaotic core you've got here. The quick arrangement of bells and chimes really do give off a dark, hostile feel.

However this loop doesn't move at all, and offers little in terms of diversity and direction. I would have liked some deep dark percussion, perhaps a low droning brass section?

The end also cuts off too suddenly and doesn't loop effectively. I don't really see why you put that gap of silence at the end, perhaps the reverb you added did not allow for easy looping?

mastering wise, the song is good, nothing is too loud or soft.

In any case, an interesting start, holds potential, but sadly did not go anywhere. Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

[StompMosh - Squishy Mix]

too repetative, solid beat, smooth flowing.

I didn't quite like the guitar in this piece, it just didn't have enough power to move me, nor was it clean enough to sway the song in that area. The percussion WAS a neat addition no doubt, but I felt this song was far too repetetive. Even with the mindset that the player would not be paying much attention to it while playing.

I also felt that the song could have had some more bass to it, perhaps some bass strings? A pad? Something.

The percussion was neat, well done, the distortion on those drums really gave it a punch, though again I am left with the desire to hear more from them.

Good track, though too repetative for my liking. Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

encino187 responds:

Thanks for taking the time for the review.
I do have to agree that it is repetitive. But I have to face the fact that it may be in a game and well, I was limited to 1-2 min. I opted to keep it around 1 min and lets face it any song played over and over (that was constructed to be 1 or 2 min) being looped will be repetitive.

"The percussion was neat, well done, the distortion on those drums really gave it a punch, though again I am left with the desire to hear more from them."
- I've learned from being in a band and being in the studio a few times that if you make it short n sweet people always want more. But if you make it too long, you lose them. So, I'd rather leave someone feeling disappointed wanting more as opposed to annoyed and wanting it to stop. :) The drums were moreso the focus, it's actually two tracks of people stomping on a wooden floor. I tweaked them to give it beat/army/battle marching vibe.

However I'd have to disagree with two things (1) the guitar track and (2) adding strings.

When the song was constructed I attempted several sounds with the guitar track. In the end I felt that without distortion, the guitar track would lose it's feel.

There is a bass track and I tried to maintain it's levels as not to blow out low end speakers(example, cheezy tv speakers) yet if being played on a good speaker set, it'd be audible. Adding string would compromise the feel once again - I was shooting for metal-ish and yet again minimalistic feel and sound.

Thanks again,
S

[Empty Trails]

subtle, effective, slightly repetative, good perc.

This song loops perfectly! That tensive subtle opening gets repetetive, but I can see it being a valuable asset to the game in the sense it is not at all distracting, whilst still giving the energy it needs to give out.

I also really like the percussive work you have here. That mix of reverse and normal cymbols add a very interesting flavor, I will have to try and use that myself some day!

I wish the song had moved around a bit more, that saxaphone? instrument that plays the same riffs again and again does get a little tiresome.

Great bass use.

All in all, a worthy track, though not much to comment on, I can see it doing well in the contest, i'll see you on the battle field >:}.

Well done encino, keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

encino187 responds:

Yes that be sexiphone. I did that all up in Garageband with a Midi Controller - no "real" instruments on that one (Booo). I have a few other songs that have all sorts of string arrangements n whatnot but, I kinda felt greedy entering more than two into the contest. Plus I wanted to offer something different to the contest. So, I guess it's either fly high or crash n' burn for me :P

When I upload my newer stuff I'll PM ya so you can add your input.

Thanks for the review - always appreciated.

[The Fool's Parade]

clashy chords, perfect loop, sweet vibe.

This loop like you other loops perfectly, however I did not quite like the chords you hit this time. A lot of it sounds dissonant and clashy, not at all easy on the ears, which I believe would become a serious problem to somebody who would have to listen to it for hours.

I did however really enjoy it once 0:18 kicked in, and the song kinda just picked up.

Not much else to write, good effort and good piece! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

[Spanish Waltz]

soothing, perfect loop, great vibe

There is such a playfulness to this tune! I can see as darkside said, this as a perfect shop theme, or even a short animation of something funny happening. I can also for some reason see this as a perfect piece for those black and white movies with no sound other then music.

Good stuff :D.

It sounds superb for a 10 dollar microphone, and it loops perfectly. I don't have much else to say about this piece, it's great! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming. I'll see you on the battle field :D!

[-(WB)-Last Castle]

perc weak, too repetetive, mastering issues.

This song presents some more interesting melodic ideas, however in this song you are using repetition far too much, and in the wrong places.

For example, for nearly throughout the entire piece you have this flute melody going again and again. If you had lowered the volume for this flute and made it the background support, it would have worked better, and if you had made that background brass, louder to become the leading instrument, it would not have been as repetetive.

The percussion still needs a bit of work, still seems too chaotic. Claps very rarely work, and you might want to search for more snare samples, something that sounds rougher. If you're not already doing it, remember to add reverb to your percussion, it will sound much more realistic and entertaining, this I can promise you ;).

The song also does not loop. It cuts off too quickly.

Though a worthy effort, there is still some work that need be done to this song. Keep up the good fight though, I can really hear your improvement, keep em coming!

WritersBlock responds:

Thanks for the reviews. Yeah, epic percussion, it aint. I like how I can look back at these songs, and compare to my music now, and it's a big change in production quality, and most of the stuff that I do now, you've mentioned in these reviews back when I was relatively new to it all.
Cheers.