MaestroRage's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A Stealthy Move]

broken loop? smooth flow, good imagery

hey Rocktee mai buuuuuddddaaaaay!

This is a rather strange song, I get sneaky, I get movement, but often in the song I feel that image changes all together. Like that ritardo (correct term?) you have at 0:22, and then it goes into that slower melody, that initially completely changed the mood of sneakyness, that is until those quick staccato sounds came in.

And i'll be honest, i'm not seeing too much... sneakyness in Castle Crashers. I mean you don't make wicked weapons to sheathe them *though I totally would, wicked looking weapons are wicked looking weapons*

The loop also sounds broken. Maybe the exportation didn't work, but the end definitely sounds like it was cut, doesn't loop well.

All in all, it was a good submission, it didn't captivate me, then again I don't think it was aiming to, I can recognize a good piece of work when I hear it, and this is one of them, so best of luck to you my good sir on the competition, keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

MusicalRocky responds:

yo yo yo
lol

After that ritard, it is a bit of a different feeling ,but I still get the sneaky vibe there, if not more so than the beginning theme.

I think I fixed the loop. You can never be sure though >:[ Oh well.

Anyways in Castle Crashers I was just hoping there might be some kind of sneaking. I mean, come on. THere has to be some.

Glad you liked it. It's fine that this didn't win, my Batalla placing up there is fine :D
And good job YOU getting up dere.

Thanks for teh review,

Rocky

[Oleo-in funk]

Very slick, smooth piece!

It really is a shame that the masses here neglect, even get out of their way to degrade songs of this caliber.

I have never tried composing a funk song, nor even a jazz one, yet I do realize the level of skill it takes to build a solid tune like this, so even if I don't find much to say, I do tip my hat off to you. A song well made, is a song well made, without a doubt that is universally true.

I had this song playing on my speakers as I did some work around the house, it really helped fill in the silence, and the song loops incredibly. Maybe it was my own fault for not directly paying attention to the exact details, but I don't remember going "And from the top!" as the song started again.

Slick smooth saxaphone riffs you got going on, steady simple bass to underline it all. As I sit down to write this review, I see that the song does have a punch ending, which still serves the listener well so thats all good.

I'm afraid I don't have much else to comment on Soro. I don't think I could give criticism to make it better, but I did enjoy it, so hats off to you! Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

sorohanro responds:

thanx Maestro, you are very kind...
almost everytime i cut the song on bars, so, i guess that's why is looping ok
and i think i'll do another version, i'm not very satisfied with the trumpet solo.... and next one i'll do a little bit faster ;)
thanx for your very nice review

[The Castle is Breached!]

good vibe, flow, good melodic work

I've been listening to this piece for a while now, and I have to say it's quite awesome. Doesn't get tiring at all, though that loop end is an area of debate. It is good, but not flawless in my opinion. Maybe Newgrounds looping style makes me think so, but there you have it!

I felt the thumping at the end was a bit much, a little too much of teh beatings there. And I also feel there is some energetic joy in this piece, but only because the image in my head is not the castle being breached, but being taken back! And in a sense, being breached by being taken back. Can't take things without breaching something, like trust, or a life... or both.

A grand majestic song for sure, with some slick flow. I really do like what you did with the woodwinds and strings when you got the timpani going into full gear though.

All in all a slick composition, keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

MusicalRocky responds:

Hey, yeah, it really is a catchy song (I think), doesn't get tiring to my ears either. As for the loop, it's perfect on my computer...Ah, well.

Now the thumping...I'm guessing you mean when the song goes into a faster tempo and the timp is pounding on each beat? I didn't think that was too much. Anyways, I do get what you're saying about the castle being reclaimed. Indeed, indeed, not too dark of a piece.

The melodic work with triplets in the faster section was great fun, I assure you, glad you liked it.

Well, thanks for the nice review. Again, good lucks with the contest :D

Rocky

[The Castle Comes A-Tumblin']

good vibe, misleading desc >:(, good flow, mix

Well for a castle falling loudly, this sure is a rather quiet song :O! It also has a very noble, epic feel to it, like a grand adventure, I am not getting any kind of sorrow, or bitterness towards seeing the castle fall.

The melodic flow and direction of the song are all top notch though, truly entertaining! Perfect loop too so good for you thar!

I'll be honest, I was expecting something else entirely when I read the description and title, a little disappointed at not having my ears blown off by super crazy beams of high energetic death, but after getting over that loss, I have grown to love the song.

Nothing to criticize, it is a well written song, and I didn't even know you have more then 1 submission. Yay :D! Time to go hear the other two, keep up the good fight and keep em coming Recky!

MusicalRocky responds:

A review from the Maestro, woot :D

Yeah, I guess this piece isn't as energized as you might think, from the title. But, I personally thought it perfectly fits the scene I hads in my head. It's not really like...OMG THE CASTLE'S CRUMBLIN' LET'S ESCAPE LOL! It's more like a heroic departure after a great day's work :D Oh, well, as for sorrow -- they're the Castle Crashers, right? That's what they do, I didn't imagine they'd feel any sadness about it

Also, about the description, I wasn't really trying to emulate the sound of the castle falling through the music, more about showing the mood of the scene, you know? Sorry about the misleadingness : (

Well, anyway, I'm glad you could still enjoy the piece, and much luck with the contest!

Rocky

[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.

[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.

[-(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.

[-(WB)-8-Bit Warlords]

perc unstable, synths work well, a bit repetetive.

Nice selection of synths, right away I noticed what you used worked well together. I also noticed that the percussion section was again on the unstable side this time. Those rapid firing snares didn't really do much for me, if you're going to have them fire off that quickly, one idea you can try is to have their volume increase with each note, if you are using fruity, right click on the mouse, starting from the first note, click about halfway, and then without lifting your finger, drag the cursor to the top of the volume window at the last snare hit. This should automatically set the volume for each snare note so that it increases gradualy.

If you're not using Fruity Studio's, I don't know what to tell you :/

In any case, the synths all worked well together, albeit still repetetive, it does present some diversity.

Another thing to consider now is pads. Pads give songs a very satisfying thickness to them, try some out, I assure you, you will love them!

Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

WritersBlock responds:

Lol, thanks MR, I said I was going to go back and respond to your reviews, and I slacked off a bit there. These reviews of yours were probably some of the first genuine critical reviews I recieved on NG.
Cheers.

[-(WB)-Destiny]

solid synths, good flow, perc decent

This song is really an improvement from your others! The sounds are all mastered properly, and for the first time you are using the reverse cymbol without excessive cymbols for transitions. It lends itself well to the song.

Still a little cymbol crazy you are, but it's getting better ;).

The synths you use this time around work much better. They have more texture, more flavor to them.

The transitions again though they work well, you are shifting the song a little too much. Keep in mind as I said in a previous review, that sudden shifts of energy and instruments makes the song more tiring to listen to in the long run. Sure it sounds slick for the first couple of times, but give it 10 minutes, the user will find one part of the song they don't like, and then start focusing on it.

But thats besides the point.

The percussion aspect of this song is good, solid, though still a little unstable, keep at it though you're getting good at it. That bass kick for example, sounds excellent!

Keep up the good fight and keep em coming!

WritersBlock responds:

Thanks for the reviews. I did a lot of submissions for that competition, in a short space of time, and I thought each one I made was a surefire winner, but I had no idea what I was up against, I didn't really listen to the other stuff, lol. I think I got a lot out of that particular competition, your reviews, for one, definitely taught me a lot.
Thanks.