MaestroRage's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Unknown Danger]

Sweet

Hey Stealth. I've been listening to this piece loop nearly 10 times now, it serves for a great ambiant, atmospheric feel as you said you wanted. Having achieved what you set out to do, I congratulate you.

Onto the piece itself now!

The reverse hats, the snares, the kicks, quite eerie. The somewhat melodic background with the piano is a factor that slightly bleeds away the eeriness, makes me think of a tree atop a hill located in a graveyard. It's also raining, in the dark so it makes for a really great image, some small child is swinging, going back and forth laughing, strangely enough there is no swing... the image is quite eerie.

The scream at the end didn't really suit the song in my opinion. Yes it makes for a great addition, but on the other side of that coin it also makes the song less listenable, as you would not be able to claim it fully ambiant for the scream proves to be distracting.

The glitched organ, was a pretty good idea, goes very well with the whole scene. Really this was a very very good song, you truly are prooving to become quite the competent artist. I look forward to your other tracks!

Here's my 5 Stealth, keep up the good work ;).

Stealth-Emergence responds:

Maestro, thank you for the review, See I've been playing around with granular synthesis, due to listening to a lot of IDM recently, and admiring the creative aspect of it. I wanted to attempt something glitchy, I made all these samples (sampling household appliances and my vocals too which were very, very distorted, you'd almost never tell they were vocals, let alone mine XD)and after arranging some of them, felt it was eerie and wanted to extend that, having already moved far away from the IDM I was wanting to try, I did something different, something dark, which is something else I've been wanting to try. The piano I feel was kind of dark, maybe I could have played round with that to make it darker, but I felt it sounded right at the time so I stuck with it, whether good or bad.

and the glitched organ was something else I wanted to try. after trying it unglitched, and thinking it wasn't quite right, I decided to glitch it up, which helped a lot. I'm glad you think so too!

organs are usually eerie and it was one of the first choices of instrument I felt needed to be included,

Thank you for your review Maestro and thank you for your 5

Peace Out!

Stealth

[A year in Kingston~]

Insp

I love that Edirol VST. I used it alot. I used that exact same chord progression in Serenity in a Rose in my first account, it's a great progression, however this song fast becomes a much more complex and enjoyable track!

Hmm, you've commanded Edirol very well indeed, hats off to you. That build up with the piano, was extremely well done. I see your transitions are much cleaner, much more entertaining now.

You must have used a great deal of the instruments of Edirol at your disposal here, i'm hearing a great deal of variety, this is a great bonus, and the fact that it's in minor (correct me if i'm wrong), makes it a personal favourite, as I love to make minor pieces.

I think some choirs would work rather well for you, I realize that Edirol does not come with choirs, and that the choirs that come with FL are questionable at best, so here is a link to a choir I use extensively myself.

www.papelmedia.de/sf2/sf2/Papelmedia_Ahh-Choir.sf2

It's a soundfont, just plug anywhere in the FL files, and find it on the browser screen where all the instruments are, drag and drop on mixer window.

All in all, this piece was incredibly impressive, i'm disappointed that more people are not aware of you. I will spread your name, as you deserve more recognition. Do not stop producing.

There was a part where there were this disjointed piano melody, jumping up and down off beat, and though it did add alot of neat feel, it did distort the flow of the song.

And then you bring in that harp, I must say you are the third person i've given 10's all across for a piece, I hear a huge amount of talent in you. Keep up the great work Powers!

PowersWithin responds:

Thank you so much! I will definitely try n improve on everything. Thanks for the sound font too ^^ I'm pretty new at this and the infos are really helpful ^_^

[Für Elise Remix]

Truly interesting!

The beginning was a tad slow, and didn't possess much energy, but when that ripping guitar came in, oh MAN! Bethoven would be slamming the innocents in the mosh pits for years to come!

Is this a real guitar? It sounds so real, and well played.

I do believe you added your own little spin there with the really high guitar, and you did it well, it was pretty good.

The percussional also sounds very very real. Is this a band effort? It sounds very well produced. Very.

It also loops very good, just like The Last Hero, so bonus points there!

Another 5 from me. Though again general rock, over misc. If you put a song under Misc, it very rarely gets listened to. Keep them coming Zajed, I hear some great potential in you!

Wopatshki responds:

i dont know about the beginning i had no idea how i could start so i just made it simple

its a guitar i have in my vst, i can play guitar but u dont wanna hear it believe me lol

i did all by myself, if i whould join a band they whould kill me when they hear me playin

hmm maybe you right but i wasnt sure where i should upload it so i just submited it in misc

thanks again for voting and review

i hope you i spelled everything right

thanks alot

[The Last Hero]

Impressive

I must have listened to this piece like 40 times in a row. It's very captivating, very simple, yet very effective.

To be honest I think it would be more suited towards general rock over classical, though I do hear some orchestral instruments.

Hmm, never mind, most of the instruments ARE orchestral on second consideration, so you did the right choice.

The melody flows very well, the instruments compliment each other, and it's quite diverse. I can hear this in a game, it would make for a great battle theme.

I'm quite curious as to know what programs/VST's you're using, I don't think i'm familiar with any of the sounds here.

In any case, I have no words to suggest improvement, this was a sound song. I'd like to invite you to check out my work sometime. In any case, this gets my 5, keep them coming!

Wopatshki responds:

wow even you liked it and you and milkman are the best in classical^^ on ng

well i started with the sounds i got in FL but later i got a vst its only 1 vst
Symphony hall bank
i tried to make the best with it and i think i did a good job

it was really hard work i dontk now how long it took to finish it

thanks for taking time to review it im really glad you liked it

ill check u out later
maybe i review a bit later causeim kindy busy right now

and sorry for my bad english

thanks alot

[Commando (Suite) - part 4 of 6]

Impressive

hmm, this was a very bittersweet piece madboss, but I feel it could be more bitter.

For one, I think a wind sfx in this piece would have done it a great justice. I see a great field, littered with bodies, hugging weapons, pictures, tear streaked cheeks. The whole scene. And I hear the wind... and I think something like that would have made the image stronger and easier to visualize.

The ending was abrupt, I would have preferred a fade out.

Now this is just some crazy idea, but I was also wondering how having some nice deep bells would effect this piece. You know, you have these choirs who speak of death so perfectly, and as well as these small bells, but I think some large church bells like sounds may have made the song sound a bit more... sadder?

In any case, it IS still a very good piece, and it does get the job done, so great stuff. Keep them coming madboss, I look forward to the final instalment!

madboss responds:

Thanks again for the rev!

Personally I haven't thought about any fx to put under this part - but yes, it might lift up the song's sad feeling. During the composing process, I had the movie "The Rock" in my mind with it's scenes and it's soundtrack and this has so largely fulfilled my mind that I haven't thought about any other ideas just about combination of electronics and classical orchestra.

About the bell: it's not a bell it's a synth and it doesn't sounds good at lower tone. I thought they would give a more personal and intimate image that's why I used them. The low tone church bells haven't came to my mind.

The ending is abrupt because this whole 6 parts were meant to be a huge 1 track. And if you download all and play them with winamp with 1 or 2 sec. crossfadeing you'll get one song. The last riseing lowstrings were meant to show the upcoming stuff.

So thanksfor your advices - I think they are really usefull I'll keep them in mind for the next time.

[Commando (Suite) - part 3 of 6]

Inspiring!

You know, i've listened to these Commando pieces, but I can't believe I didn't leave a review for them!

Well time to change that yes!

The string melody at the beginning, was a rather sad sound to me, a defiant, angry piece, so much like something i'd hear in a documentary.

Then the abrupt silence with that synth, paints the perfect picture of "sneaking".

The break down glitch segments, were a rather interesting twist. I didn't quite comprehend it's power, the images it gave me were very distinct and different. For example the breakdown could indicate the cracking of the soldiers morale, or even sanity, it could be a break in their containment of anger.

And then it PUMPS UP! They're running at them!

There is a great deal of energy in this piece. Especially with the fast string and slower string, accompanied with that brass. Really powerful, truly I think this may be the best one of the commando suits yet (I have yet to listen to the two newer ones, but thus far, this = win!)

Very melodic, very refined, my friend I wonder what you would sound like with some very high quality samples, this piece holds THIS much power with these samples, it would be ridicuelous to hear them with some high quality ones.

Still song structure, melodic flow, and feel wise, this piece captures exactly what you were out to do. So this easily gets my 5. Keep up the good work madboss, really you never cease to surprise me!

madboss responds:

Well well... thanks you very much for your kind words! Yeah I know about this sampler problem... but I can't use any EWQLSO yet because my computer has not got the capacity for it (I don't have enough memory for it.)

So I have to do the stuff with Reason. Hopefully I'll get some higher quality refills for it in the near future and this will make my songs to blow even more. Thanks again for the rev and you points - I'd suggest you to listen the 5th part. I think that is the most energetic, melodic and epic from all.

[In the Land of Seven Sounds]

Impressive!

Hello sorohanro, it's been a while since I visited your page, so I thought i'd drop by and see what was up on your corner of the world.

Such an interesting mix! It sounds so professional! Are the vocals recorded exclusively for this track or are they samples you used for your piece?

I don't listen to Funk in that much detail, so forgive me if I say anything stupid.

I liked the filter effects you have at the beginning, it gradually cleans out for the vocals.

I found the instruments in this piece to be very expressive, especially those saxaphones, and the flutes in the background.

I would wonder, if perhaps a piano may have done this piece done some justice. I believe you may know the jazz scale, I play that scale for fun loads of times, I think something with that may have been interesting.

Does the land of seven sounds have any special significance soro? I wonder what it may mean.

I liked the bass guitar work throughout the song, simple, effective, and powerful.

I'm not going to suggest adding any european instruments, as that wouldn't suit the genre, however I do wonder, how a funk song would sound like with a cello and other instruments like the such...

oh well, great stuff sorohanro, I loved it, a 5 and download for you!

sorohanro responds:

well... a nice review again,like i'm used to receive from you ...
The voice is Silvia,the one i'v dedicated"Ice Princess".she wrote the text also.Land of Seven Sounds would be land of Music(major or minor scale,well,not chromatic but...)
as for classical instruments in funk... there are some things,like basson and oboe and english horn.you just look for "Rabinowitz in Utopia" ,Soft Machine "Land of Cocaine" or Bela Fleck and Flecktones (i don't know yhe name of album,is Live...something,somewhere... with basson and english horn,cool

[Stand off (horror)]

So rare, 10's all across!

now THIS was an interesting listen! Because of all the epic work I do, I don't do nearly enough dissonant pieces, but this one DRIVES the story home.

As if the killer is dashing in and out of corridors, or slowly walking across the hallway, making sure his victim sees his shadow, and chokes himself with fear.

So much anger and power in this piece. I didn't really think it was a very stand offish tune, I got a more "cat and mouse" type of feel you know.

Man now i'm so tempted to try and make myself a tune like this!

At first I thought that constant clicking wooden block noise was irratating, but this was not the case at all. Really it adds to the piece. The fact it loops so well is only a plus in my eyes.

I have nothing against this piece, I think it is one of my favourites amongst what you have.

Setu-Firestorm responds:

I was actually trying EXACTLY to create the "cat-mouse" mood with this piece.

I was originally going to take the woodblock out, but when I had tried that, the piece felt like it "lost" something from that, so I put it back in.

[The Nightmare is Over]

Impressive

Solo Viola in Edirol Orchestral VST am I correct?

Heh, I used that VST A LOT during my early stages, really that VST was my stepping stone.

It seems you really like to make these ambiant works, you have some excellent skill with the reverb capability, over reverbing songs will generally make then very difficult to listen to, as you can't really hear the notes, they seem washed out. The melodies you produce however, seem to work just perfect.

You also seem to pull off layering rather well, but do watch your back with that, near the end I felt you had too many things going on at the same time... man hearing that solo viola really brings about a sense of nostalgia...

Some suggestions.

hmm... this is much more difficult. All I can think of is perhaps have a contrabass section playing the same notes as that solo viola to add some nice deepness to it.

Excellent song, this one is a keeper Setu! You get my 5 bomb once again. I'd like to invite you to check out some of my works sometime. I'm off to go use Edirol again, man I miss it now!

Setu-Firestorm responds:

I absolutely am using Edirol Orchestral. I've been searching to see what VSTi's might be better, although I am content with Edirol at this point.

I appreciate the suggestions, since I know my music's not perfect and need a second opinion on how to work at it. I guess especially since I was in a hurry scoring this game (I go to college full-time and work part-time). I didn't pay as much attention to this piece as I normally do.

Just out of curiousity, what VSTi are you using now that you seem to have let go of Edirol?

[Above the Clouds (easy listng)]

Sweet

From listening to some of your pieces, and reading some of your descriptions, it seems like you, like I, enjoy telling stories. This piece especially, spoke to me.

The vox... the vox chords were very powerful. They were simple, basic, but very powerful. The insane level of reverb used, did this song a huge huge service.

The guitar, I really didn't see coming, and truth be told it was an instrument I didn't find that suitable. It gave the song a form of energy that I didn't think worked with the piano melody, it seemed kinda like it wanted to belong, but simply did not.

This is especially true when you bring in that guitar with the piano, during this point I am rather confident the guitar does not suit it at all. It's so relaxing, so laid back, this guitar does it no justice. It robbed it from it's power.

I'm back to the beginning... god I can't get over those piano and vox duet.

Now for some suggestions, from a more instrumental point of view.

I am thinking of some nice deep cello chords, perhaps a harpischord. Strange suggestion yes, but I feel it would fit in maybe.

I don't have much more to say Setu, this is a very moving piece, I just feel that guitar did it no justice, other then that, divine! Keep them coming, I hear alot of potential in you Setu, I will keep my eye on you.

Setu-Firestorm responds:

It's funny you should mention the guitar, because my laptop crashed shortly after I completed that piece and posted it up on my old MySpace account, so I didn't have the project anymore to take the guitar out. It was indeed veeeery out of place.

And what can I say: I'm a true reverb whore.

*shrugs