Neon-Bard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Skyless]

This is a NGADM review.

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Well garlagan, it's been a blast listening to your music throughout the NGADM. Though, I'll be checking up on your works periodically to keep up from now on because I don't want to miss listening to one of your tracks.

Right off the bat you introduce the track with a melodic approach which automatically made my ears perk up. You know, for a drum 'n' bass song, this is so whimsical and light. I love how most of your sounds (your voice, synths, etc.) have this 'floating' quality about them, as if they are hovering just above the beat. The vocals are once again incredibly impressive. I think it was mentioned somewhere that you sounded like the guy from Muse – you sure do in this one! Like holy crap man, it's kind of scary. Anyway, they are on point throughout the track, and you hit those higher notes with ease. Are you a trained singer?

The way you layer your effects into the framework of the song is brilliant. I think the some of the best examples can be heard at 0:23 and 1:07, where those stutters really place an emphasis on keeping things interesting. The overall mix is as great as always!

Compared to some of your other entries, Skyless was just a tad repetitive when you look at how it is structured. I was waiting for a new pattern or break while listening, but it didn't quite turn up! That being said, the song doesn't become humdrum in the slightest due to the many different ways you reintroduce the melody, and credit to your top-notch vocal work.

This was a real treat to listen to. Congratulations on a job well done! You deserve it! :)

Score: 9.2/10

garlagan responds:

Thanks a lot for this amazing review Neon!
I'm not a trained singer. Never took any lessons but I would like to. Someday maybe. Also, can't believe so many people said I sound like Matt. It feels pretty cool/weird.
Agreed on the track being repetitive. My music needs to improve in that regard. I generally rely too much on repetition.
Thanks again man !

[Right or Wrong]

NGADM Round 4 Review

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Can you guys get any more diverse with your musical approach? I mean seriously, I am baffled by how much variety you two have brought to the competition. This was yet another pleasant surprise, in a line full of surprises!

In terms of the overall rock instrumentation, the guitar playing, percussion, all of that is great – but I really want to focus on the vocals for a bit here: they are awesome! Hitokirito (am I right in saying that he sang?) did a wonderful job. He has an excellent 'rock' (almost grunge) voice, which he uses with precision throughout the track. However, there are times when the vocals do sound a bit dry and strained. Oh, and I must say that the lyrics are well-written, too. In fact, the chorus has memorable lyrics (I was singing them myself while writing this review haha)! To go back to the guitar and drums, I really enjoyed listening to the guitar solos throughout, as they were able to mix up the typical pattern that the song was following. The drums did their job well, and added a splash of intensity which really pumped me up!

Not to beat a dead horse, but the mix is well...it isn't bad, but it is certainly muddy and unclear. The lead guitar in particular seems to dominate the track, whereas the drums and the rhythm guitar tend to sit in the background more. On occasion, the vocals are also phased out by the guitar and if there hadn't been lyrics posted with the track, I would have been confused as to what was being sung (1:22 – 1:34). My only other complaint is that I feel as if I have heard this track before. By that I mean that it is teetering closely on the edge of being a little too generic. Obviously, there is some fantastic instrumentation going on here, but I can't shake that feeling, you know? Either way though, the song as a whole has a special 'Sound-Hito' vibe to it that I really appreciate!

I am more than impressed once again. Keep it up, you guys! :D

Score: 9.4/10

[No Joy Here]

NGADM Round 4 Review

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This is a beautiful entry, PirateCrab. I understand that with everything going on, creating this must have been tough – especially since this track isn't of your typical genre. But you know what? You pulled through and made something that has some great poetic qualities. That, in itself, is truly praiseworthy!

I enjoyed hearing those 'softer' instruments do their work in the early portions of the song. The harp, piano, and those soft strings at 1:07 made me feel at complete peace. I have become so accustomed to being pumped up by your tracks that I was pleasantly surprised by this. In fact, 'No Joy Here' is full of emotion. I actually ended up with a 'lump' in my throat because it made me reflect on some of my own events. The great composition was not surprising however, because I knew you would be able to create something splendid due to your past entries.

There were a few things that didn't quite sit well with me, but honestly, they weren't huge issues at all. The overall mix was a little disappointing. Certain instruments, such as the strings and some points of the percussion, were a tad too loud or seemed to sit awkwardly in the mix. All in all though, nothing sounded outrageous!

The piano towards the end seemed out of place, as a result, the outro seems a little underdeveloped. It is a total contrast to the piano section you have in the first half of the track, which fits remarkably well. Anyway, I was expecting a lot more when I heard that first note at 2:04, but it trailed off too soon without much development. That being said, I could see (or rather, hear) what you were going for and I think if you had just a bit more time, the entire outro would have been incredible. That's not to say that it is bad though, because I think it sounds graceful and it is certainly pleasing to the ears.

I would love to hear what you could do with your metal skills, and a touch of orchestral like we heard in this track. Keep experimenting, and keep making amazing songs. Congrats on doing such a wonderful job, PirateCrab! :D

Score: 8.5/10

[Impulse]

NGADM Round 4 Review

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I've been sharing your music amongst my friends who have a taste for productions like this; it looks like I have another track to deliver to them. 'Impulse', like many of your others works, is incredibly dynamic, the production value is wicked, the overall composition is simply fantastic, and the sounds you've used are a treat to the ears – I love pretty much everything about this song. The melody though, is what really sticks out for me. I had it in my head for days, and I caught myself humming it several times to which I thought “garlagan, you sly music fiend...”

I think you crafted the entire track in an almost genius fashion, I think this is mostly due to the amount of variety that is sprinkled throughout the track. You deconstruct the melody and the percussion before things become too repetitive, and you introduce new and exciting new sounds when the song is ready for a change of pace. Your transitions are so fluid that they may as well be water. The marks at 2:06, 2:32 and 4:18 are perfect examples of how to properly create a solid transition in an already catchy, and interesting piece of music. Wonderful!!!

Although I mentioned above that the song has an abundance of variety, things do get a little bit repetitive when it comes to the main melody. That being said, it's so darn catchy, that you can't help but want more of that smooth line! The introduction was great, though I feel it could have been built a just a little longer, too. This way, the moment when the song bursts into overdrive at 0:21, it has more of an impact (simply my opinion, though). Honestly, there wasn't much that I didn't like about this song.

Keep at it garlagan. The more I hear, the more I am stunned by your talent. :)

Score: 9.5/10

garlagan responds:

whoa man. Amazing review! THANK YOU!

[Lurkin' in the Jungle]

This is really well done! For a loop that sits at 16 seconds in length, I am impressed at how much atmosphere this has. Mystery, intrigue, adventure...these are some of the words that I think of when listening to this. I like how the flute accentuates that feeling of mystery. The percussion makes this loop quite catchy, too.

The claps take away from the song, but not in a jarring way. Actually, I'm not so sure - they both fit into the song, and they don't! Not a big deal either way though. Honestly, I think you could have made this a bit longer, while adding new instruments.

This could definitely make a good fit in an adventure game. Well done! :D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks Neon-Bard!
I'm glad you like the atmosphere, as that, along with the rhythm, were what I was going for with this short loop :p
I like those words you're thinking of too, and I think they fit this piece too, or maybe it's the other way araound.

I don't really know whether this would be better should I leave the claps in there or not, but as they were there originally, I decided to leave them in :/

And of course I should've made this longer XD I get this a lot, as I've been making a lot of short loops lately. Mainy I do so because my time is quite limited, but I want to practise a lot of different things (and genres), as I'm not that used to DAWs in general either :p

Thanks again :3

[Into The Unknown]

This is a NGADM review.

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O_o Whoa....this is epic!

I knew you guys would have something interesting this round, but this is way beyond interesting. This is awesome. I loved the descriptions for each section, it really added another layer in an already expansive and well-organized song. The sound effects are wicked; what did you use for those? The transitions are incredible, and they seamlessly blend with each respective section. My favourite of all the transitions is easily the one at 2:20. Man, is that ever something! The vocals at 2:36 are wonderful, and then the choir at 2:50 is so perfect! When the guitar comes in, I almost lost it. It's so well-placed, and it provides the conclusion of the track with that lively electric feeling! Going back a bit now, I wanted to talk about the various points of tension you use to accentuate the overall atmosphere of the track. Again, the 2:20 and 2:50 marks for example, make excellent use of tension in the strings and vocals to bring out the feeling of awe and wonder. Really well done!

I'm not going to ramble on about the production, because you've heard it all before. That was my biggest complaint. My only other complaint, as Step pointed out, was that the sections are not exactly as long as they should be – and that's a shame because you guys have created something phenomenal here. I wanted to hear more of each piece, in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you guys went into this collective track more and developed an album out of it; it's that good!

Excellent job you guys! This was one journey that I want to hear more of. Keep it up! :D

Score: 9.2/10

[Your Father's Blade]

This is a NGADM review.

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Holy. Crap. Peter. This is so beautiful! :')

I'm just waiting for the day when I see your name on the big screen. Honestly, you are a professional. Anyway, this piece was alive with emotion. It has an awe-inspiring build-up, a great theme, and solid tension that keeps things interesting. I LOVED the ethnic influence that you incorporated here. You really gave off a Hans Zimmer sound in this track; have you ever heard his score for 'The Last Samurai'? Well, this is what I was reminded of (one of my all-time favourite film scores). It has an almost traditional Japanese vibe that I adore. Okay, I'll stop rambling now. The production quality is amazing, with the instrument execution being top-notch. The female vocals are hauntingly beautiful, and the support male choir is excellent. They really add a great deal of emotion to the piece – the human voice works wonders in tapping into our feelings! The hard-hitting percussion keeps everything tied together as it echoes throughout the track. What else is there to say? I loved pretty much everything about this song. As it currently stands, this is my favourite track that you have written.

I don't mean to echo what others have said, but I have two small complaints: the male choir (shouts) towards the end (2:56 – 3:29) are a tad too loud, and the build-up, while amazing, is rather long and drawn-out. As I stated above, this piece is full of emotion. However, the longer you draw out the emotion, the less it means to the listener. I found that by 3:20, the song held far less influence. That being said, the second half of the track is, in my opinion, superior to the first half.

I feel as if all of my reviews for your tracks are the same! That's your fault for making such great music though, so I have to recycle my words and try to spit them out in new ways haha! Great work Peter...no, this is astounding work. I'm eagerly looking forward to whatever you write next. I could definitely learn a thing or two from you, heck, just by listening I have. All the best! :)

Score: 9.5/10

[404]

This is a NGADM review.

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Wow! Now this is different from everything you guys have done so far. This must have been a blast to write, but I can only imagine how much of a pain it was to mix. There's just so much going on that I have to commend you on keeping everything tied together. Major kudos for the tight mix by the way! I really like the energy this track has. Every instrument jives with the next, creating a real blend of what a wild live performance would sound like. Another thing that I should note is that I appreciate how you gave each instrument the time to shine. The sax, drums, keyboard (etc.), all have their own little solo or portion where they just go crazy! Love that! That being said, I would have liked to hear more of an emphasis on the bass.

My biggest gripe lies with the composition. It seems kind of aimless at times (ex. 2:00 – 2:39), but I think the 'madhouse' aspect of it works in a strange way too. I feel as if there were too many ideas at play here that were stretched far too thin. That being said, the ideas and patterns that you guys incorporated were great. The 'false' sax was a little jarring, and I think it took away from the overall performance of the piece - but it did the job admirably. Lastly, and this is a small thing, the conclusion was cut just a hair short at 3:20, it would have been nice to hear the cymbal trail off for a few seconds more.

No matter how you look at it, this is impressive when you consider how much work you must have put into this piece. The organizing, the mixing, the perseverance, all of these are things that deserve a big thumbs up! Well done, indeed! :)

Score: 9/10

camoshark responds:

Hey Neon, thanks for the review!

"This must have been a blast to write, but I can only imagine how much of a pain it was to mix."

Yes to all of that, although I can't personally attest to Skye's trials with mixing, as I wouldn't dare touch it!

"Another thing that I should note is that I appreciate how you gave each instrument the time to shine. "

Thanks! It mostly kind of happened, but I hate giving the spotlight to only one instrument, and use the different instruments' textures to vary the mood on top of the notes themselves.

"That being said, I would have liked to hear more of an emphasis on the bass."

Yeah, the bass unfortunately got the short end of the stick on this track due to time, which is a real shame, because I had a LOT of plans for it (like a pretty solid solo during the weird ostinato around 2:00, but more on that later).

"It seems kind of aimless at times (ex. 2:00 – 2:39)" / " I feel as if there were too many ideas at play here that were stretched far too thin."

I think that was our main downfall in this match up, quite frankly. We just ran out of time before we could successfully bring it back home, and a lot of factors played against us at the last minute, which further pulled us back.

The aimless bit at 2:00 was supposed to integrate a guitar solo and parts of a bass solo, but Kor-Rune couldn't manage it in time due to crazy time constraints (aka 4 hours LOL). Sorry again, Nat!

"The 'false' sax was a little jarring, and I think it took away from the overall performance of the piece[...]"

Ehh, not really much more I could've done beyond extensive humanization, which was definitely out of the question. I agree that this pretty much kills the song straight-out, but not much can be done with that...

"Lastly, and this is a small thing, the conclusion was cut just a hair short at 3:20, it would have been nice to hear the cymbal trail off for a few seconds more."

DAMMIT SKYE YOU HAD ONE JOB.

"[Concluding statement]"

Ayy, thanks for the compliment, I'm happy you liked it even in its unpolished state! Hopefully we'll manage an actual version some day, in the near future.

Thanks for the review once again!

[Hope]

This is a NGADM review.

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Sorry to hear about your loss PirateCrab, I hope you are doing well. Let this piece stand as a remembrance to your friend.

I will never understand how you continue to create these tracks. Your skill level is almost demonic for goodness sake. As usual, your skill with the guitar is the focal point of the track. Your solo/lead work is just incredible, with portions of the song (1:41, for example) acting as absolute face melting mechanisms. Your break the song down where it needs less tension, and you create havoc with your instruments when the time calls for it. Marvelous execution to be sure! I think my favourite parts were 1:41 and 2:36. I just had to call those two out in particular, because they're so friggin' great!

As others have pointed out, the latter half seems as if it is less polished than the first – but it's still great! The drums seem flat throughout, perhaps due to the overwhelming emphasis on the guitar work. Furthermore, I feel that the cymbal crashes could have been dialed down a bit. Honestly though, despite these small things, this is one solid track.

Keep rockin' PirateCrab! See you next round. :)

Score: 9/10

[redemption]

This is a NGADM review.

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I'm almost speechless. Seriously, this is beautiful man. The way you introduce the synth along with the piano is mesmerizing, and the interplay between the two sounds so warm. Your transitions are more than fantastic. They flow like water, the way the instruments overlap and blend without issue. There was only one time where I felt that you should have been more careful, and that was at 5:45. The fade was a bit early, but that's not a big issue. Anyway, for a track that's nearly 7 minutes long, you have added quite a bit of variety to keep things interesting. There are breaks just where they need to be, and the instruments (the strings for instance) rise to action again when needed. Oh, and ethereal's voice sounds right at home in this track; I would love to hear more collaborations by you guys. You conclude the track as you introduced it – with that beautiful piano. It's remarkably relaxing. I almost want the song to keep going on...

I only have one small gripe, which I share with the others: the drums sound a bit cut and paste. However, I think they fit the song perfectly, with excellent pacing, and they were just the right volume as to not interfere with the other instruments. What else is there to say? You did a wonderful job, it's as simple as that.

You are one talented fellow. Keep at it, my friend! :D

Score: 9.8/10

johnfn responds:

Wow, that is a really nice review. Thank you. I will keep at it just as soon as I regain my sanity...