MaestroRage's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mad World Cover]

Hello Jazza!

I've been listening to this song ever since you pointed it out to me, i've had little time to review but today is the day I keep my silence.

You've got an incredible voice for sure, and I think this songs strength shines out really at 1:40. Your voice really expresses itself well here, and the cello added some much appreciated bass layers to the song, and even though I felt it was powerful, I also felt myself wishing that there was just a bit more you know? I'm thinking swelling Double Bass strings, or perhaps even further louder cellos. Why? I felt this song's timbre was slightly too treble based. I'm using bass oriented headphones right now and still I feel there was a slight lack of bass.

Remember these are all personal opinions, let me tell you know technical wise, structure wise of course, there is no fault in this song.

Swelling cellos at 1:38, ace man, +30 respect points!

And then of course my own orchestra voices begin to speak and I wonder what this song would sound like with some further instrumental additions. In the original I felt the lonely few instruments were what made it strong, the additions in this song take away from the lonely feeling, yet do not fully give me a satisfying full experience.

I'm talking some fuller string sections, violins thrown into the mix, perhaps even a small solo with the main theme pure orchestra, some low brass, some ever gentle flutes, some sorrowed oboes...

it is definitely an inspiring cover, as well as an inspiring song...

Always rooting for you Jazza, keep up the good fight! You will be missed severely by at least one person when you leave for your service.

Jazza responds:

wow man, one of the best reviews ever lol. a lot to learn from, and a lot to be thankful to hear from you, so thanks for taking the time

as for adding more, yeah i probably could have done more. i don't think i was expecting the reaction this got, i recorded vocals and piano at once, and the song only tool 2 hours to record.

thanx a lot man. i LOVE your music, i have u as one of my 3 favs if you didnt notice!! lol

thanx man

[Newgrounds: Still Alive (BETA)]

Fills u with lulz, epic talent, no MSPaint for u

I know the original song and the comparison between the two were brilliant! I keep imagining these lyrics with the robotic voice who sung in the original and it fills me with lulz.

The lyrics are really well written, funny and fits perfectly. I've tried to do this kind of thing before, and it takes a great deal of patience and talent. I tip my hat to you sir.

I look forward to the final product!

sonicmega responds:

If you want to hear one of the VERSIONS intended for the final release, I also made a composite of both the original GlaDOS and my OWN voice GlaDOSed, singing together:

http://media.putfile.com/Still-Alive-
Duet-GlaDOS-x-sonicmega

I may be wrong, but in some parts of it, I can swear we're DEAD ON in terms of singing at the same exact time.

[To the Light]

Brilliant vibe, deep thumping epic, great drums!

I like the intro, as I have come to expect from your majestic form it has a very deep, very overwhelming wave of energy from it. I see that you strengthen your ability to make these epic openings more and more with each beat.

Melodically, structurally there is nothing wrong with this piece. However what is lacking is now presentation. There are moments where the choir is muffled out, and the drums are too thick. The drums are absolutely essential in their work I know, without their thick deep thumps the piece would lose some of it's epic energies, however mastering them to take up less of the higher frequencies so that it would not interfere so much with the other instruments would in my opinion give it more weight overall.

Sustained harmonies like this are awesome. The constantly rising strings until the climax at the end are very well done though it makes me think this would make for an awesome introduction piece for the Remember my Name segment. Was this planned before or after that?

Also thanks a huge deal for recommending me those choirs, I found some other really excellent packages from the company who made them. Again thanks for sharing this piece with us!

Keep up the good fight and keep em coming! Let me know on future submissions!

madboss responds:

Hy Maestro!

Well that damn mastering - yeah I know that the drums are in way too in the background and the choir are not that clear in every moment... It's rather difficult to handel them. I've never tried to manipulate the mastering suite of Reason since it could blast the whole volume level settings into hell... but perhaps now is the time to try it.

This part was planned to be an outro after the lon-long battle scene - like the hero would make his last steps/slashes/movements/etc. before he passes away. Something like that.

I try to make somthing with the mastering but I start to get tired of making this huge stuff - I always have problems to hold on to the end in long projects :/

I'm glad you could use my info and found some usefull stuff. I'm awaiting the things you'll create with them!

Thanks for the usefull comment!

[Mega Man X2 - Flame Stag Stage]

Epic monstrosity! Extreme Impact!

ah my good fiend, I listen to this song nearly every day. But high time I actually write out a review eh?!

I'm mad impressed by how you play the guitars, and the percussions you programmed out. Seriously your playing reminds me of Dragon Force, with as much power, with as much impact as they!

Those bastards were unfortunate to have this song in the game, but of course we must tip our hats on the original artist for which without we would not have this epic monstrosity we call the Flame Stag!

The sound effects you threw in the middle are awesome! I can see the battle in my head, and it really brings back some memories. MegaMan, how I miss thee now :'(!!!!

And as for me "helping" you, thats nonsense my good sir. All I did was provide you with a simple sound, you turned it into the monster it is now.

Ending was spectacular, sudden, and with swiftness. Normally i'd say that's a negative, but in this instance, I felt it was the only way to do it.

Crisp production, well mastered, nothing more to say really, I'm afraid i've started ranting. The seventh 10 i've ever given anybody, well deserved!

DarKsidE555 responds:

We meet again! >; D

Holy hell, that was a sweet review there my mighty fine sir. I'll be sure to give you a lot of cookies for it. hehe. So you listen to it nearly every day? How come? I never knew you actually played MegaMan. I have to discuss this matter over msn. This is pretty interesting. >:D

Oh, I do tip my hat for most Mega Man songs man. I just love them. I have to say I'm a little suprised by your ten. This tune is very cool in my view as well, though...I'm a perfectionist...and you know how I do critique my own shit. ;)

Anyways my good man. I thank you very much for the cool review and I'm looking forward for more Rule 10'ing with you. ;)

[[madboss] - Waltz of Blades]

Great melody, awesome structure, good perc!

Are you serious, nobody reviewed this!? Murderous bastards >:(

I love the atmosphere it sets, the deep raw brass with that deep thumping, is phenomenal. It without any assistance from anything else, sets up the deep and dark mood required of it!

That dancing melody thrown on top of it is brilliant! So epic, so powerful. I can see great and powerful men striking at each other, their brilliant shining armors, flapping capes. Roars of defiance and annihilation.

I've always found your songs inspirational, why don't you just give up what you're doing and do this full time ;). It would make me a whole lot happier :D!!!

320kbs seems a bit high. 128 being the standard and all.

That crescendo you have at 1:14-1:20, very well laid out. The only addition I can hear to this song is perhaps a deeply reverbed panflute. I could imagine one so well, personally I think it would add a whole new layer to the piece.

Overall, great stuff madboss, please continue letting me know when you have something new up!

madboss responds:

Thanks for dropping a rev! I'm glad you liked this track - I think I'll change my overall composing technique. From now on I'll compose shorter tracks and with not too much instruments (and I don't want to create too complex structures) - hopefully this will include that I'll have more time and more tracks on NG.

About the bitrate: Reason has a bad thing that the mastering suites are taking a lot of quality somehow and I tried to compensate it with this higher bitrate. Since this is just a 2 min long track I thougth 320Kbps won't make it too big and the flash artist could gain from the higher bitrate.

Well you know I'd ove to make you happier and spend all my time making music - but since I don't have a guarranteed job at hollywood as a filmscore composer I must attend my university to secure my future. (Gah... this speech was to big-headed:))

So thanks again and I try to keep up! I'll PM you if I got something new.
Have a nice day!

[Solus- Late Nights]

sexy vibe, great melodic work, trumpets = bad

my first concern for this song stems from the strings, and trumpets. They sound way too midi'ish. I mean the piano sounds freaking fantastic, the mood and atmosphere set is phenomenal, and the sax sounds much better here. The delay and reverb applied to the sax works out well especially when you cut the song suddenly.

As for story, I get the image of one of those detective black and white movies, where the attractive girl customer who asked his drug lord husband to be followed falls into the detective, and he's like "womans, get OFF MAI BACK >:(" but with words that are more romantic, and arrogant.

That change of mood from 3:06 and that trill you play with the strings later on, drastically changed the mood, followed by that bitter strings section, and then that semi angry remorseful piano, playing the same trill as the strings? Very well made connections here my good friend Solus. That part makes me think of a funeral, a requiem of sorts.

Again, brilliant piece, one I enjoyed a great deal, keep up the good fight man!

SolusLunes responds:

Since you told me exactly what was wrong with it and what needs to be fixed, expect the trumpet and strings to be more... full-ish? Whatever word I'm looking for. You know.

Anyways. GIVE ME A FEW DAYS. GOD I LOVE THE EDIT OPTION. IT'S MAH HERO.

[Solus- For Schala]

McAwesome, serene, calming.

First things first, I must let Khuskan know, PANPIPES ARE TEH GODS OF TEH NEW GENERATION >:(!!!!

I lie I know, but I love them too much to recommend swapping them for anything.

I personally think the amount of reverb you put on that piano is not only acceptable, but preferable! It gives it a very dreamy, very fantastic essence which compliments the panflute as well.

The saxophone was indeed a little abrupt, a small crescendo of sorts with the piano would have helped, maybe it's because I don't play the sax, but I personally liked the sax here.

The change at 1:10... why lordy why is it so sweet...

It is an incredibly calming piece, that constant piano riff is just fantastic to hear time and time again. I find you can find some pretty damn excellent progressions with that piano. Damn you I say and all that other jealous jazz I should put down here to attempt to put you down so you lose confidence, make worse music, and ultimately help me sleep at night?

I can never understand how some people think.

In any case, 5'vd, and faved. Sorry for the late review Solus, but this is worthy of a McAwesome my good sir, McAwesome with relish.

SolusLunes responds:

FUCK YEAH FOR PANPIPES.

I tested this song out with less reverb when I was making it, and in all honesty, that makes it sound like shit. WHY ARE YOU GUYS GIVING ME SUGGESTIONS THAT MAKE MY SONG SOUND LIKE SHIT >:(

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THAR.

The whole "abrupt sax" thing, while true, a crescendo on the piano wouldn't have been a bad idea. But I still think it sounds awesome the way it is.

And the reason the 1:10 is so awesome is because... um... Well, I have no fucking idea. But I like it. :D

No such thing as a review too late, my friend.

[Funky Chameleon]

Great vibe, a bit of lifeless energy, well played!

quite jazzy! I like Jazz in my morning, helps wake the mind, and put a bounce to your step!

The percussion, the guitar, and bass strings all perform very very well in this piece. My only qualm is the brass players arn't as lively as i'd like them to be. They hit all the right notes, and are fairly well co-ordinated, but i'm missing that energy, that spirit that flares up. The brass in my opinion are very important to a jazz piece as only they can add an essential quality to a jazz ensemble which makes the whole song come to life.

All in all though, it was a brilliant performance, and a congrats is in order to all involved. That percussion solo was pretty damn neat, though it was a little long without much variety. I was hoping the percussionist would go crazy for a short bit! Though nothing wrong with what happened, it would have been more driving to hear faster variations.

That ending could have used a crescendo of sorts, buildup, and then blast out those last few notes as a climax finisher! Just an opinion though.

Once again, great piece, well appreciatd, thanks for sharing!

Bukkarooo responds:

Thank you very much for your input, Maestro! I agree with everything you said. I would re-record it, not only to add your suggestions, but to improve my solo! But, alas, I have no way to contact some of the people (the brass players) for a redo.
Once again, thanks for the review. I love to have input from such a talented musician as yourself! I may be putting up another song by the same group soon, so keepa lookout haha.

[Without a Ticket]

Very expressive, great vibe!

I don't normally listen to Jazz, but this song was funky enough for me to love it <3.

I really like how it flows, very expressive! The saxaphonist really knows how to play that thing, and everybody played brilliantly! As the keyboardist you did your part too, congrats, I love what the keyboard did for the song.

I have no criticism, but I wanted to drop my support regardless, welcome to the portal! Keep up the good fight!

Marty256 responds:

Your words are much appreciated :) many thanks for the support!

[I Tried to Tell You]

Excellent vibe, very fluent!

This is a pretty brilliant mix you've got here! I really like the vibe of this piece, and those strings you had add so much to the piece despite it's simplicity it's amazing!

The percussion, though simple, carries out it's role well, and you add layers to it as needed. That quick reverse crash you had layered with the percussion, is an interesting idea. I've never even considered using it like that.

The last 30 seconds, were a very good way to wrap it all up!

A bit short, and repetitive, but overall, a very good track! Welcome to the portal, keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

takeflight responds:

Wow thanks! Yeah i'll try to make a full song out of it for sure :}