Neon-Bard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Dance of the White Dragon]

You really have a knack for creating great melodies! I was immediately drawn in by the soothing aspect of this piece, and I absolutely love the slow beat that intertwines the Japanese instruments. Nothing seems to get too repetitive, but it would be interesting to hear some more melody work sprinkled throughout the song, perhaps some deeper notes as well! Keep it up! :D

VideoGameManiac responds:

ty, I could have done more with this song for sure but the problem is Im not very patient when I create some sounds and if I dont complete something it always ends up being uncompleted for like forever xD infact I got a few ones which I didnt complete yet cause I spent to much time on it and got bored :P and thats also a reason why I try to keep my songs "easy" and not adding to much to them

[Together]

What a nice, simple song. Perfect for the mood.

I love how you've used those longer notes and strings to accentuate the piano portions, it adds a great deal of emotion to the song. Every note tends to place me in that saddened mindset. The minimalist nature of the song acts as a double-edged sword though.

The periods of brief silence allow the listener to quickly reflect on what they've just heard, which is fantastic! However, for some, this may be undesirable. Personally, I like how you've added these moments of reflection because they further amplify the mood! :)

[Funky Derp]

Interesting progression and melody in this song. It is definitely different than most of your stuff (mostly an experiment as I understand it).

I particularly enjoyed the oud and koto portions. It would be nice to hear a little more of the oriental style used in this piece because they certainly added a unique flair to the song overall.

[Opening Theme 6]

I really like the simplicity of this piece. Excellent use of strings and progression to accentuate that solemn feeling. Just out of curiosity, did you use SO Gold or Platinum? I'm quite impressed that you managed to create this in 20 minutes!

samulis responds:

SO Gold with close mics. :)

The secret to the speed is two-fold- first, the bassline repeats. Second, the basic melody work is just a trade off between sections (violins and cellos) throughout the piece. To create interest, I have a point where the cello line climbs above the violins and the last iterations feature divisi playing to give more buildup. In reality, it's all just the same chords over and over again with some varying motifs and dynamics to make it seem more interesting. I'm glad to hear you think it came off well enough!

[Frozen Island]

Definitely a relaxing piece. The song truly placed an image of a lone island sitting in a cold sea, with constant snowfall hovering its atmosphere. Really nice melodies you've used here. The pad you used was also a great touch, it gave the song a delicate dreamlike quality.

I can see this being used in a fantasy based game for sure. In fact, you might want to look for developers who need themes like this, because you clearly have a talent for designing game-based themes. Keep up the great work, I look forward to your next submission! :)

VideoGameManiac responds:

Ty, really glad to hear something like that from someone whos more experienced in creating music :D.
But searching for developers already? I mean, Im still a beginner and I dont consider myself to be that good yet, but oh well thanks xD

[Under the Bullet]

Fantastic introduction. Powerful use of percussion to accompany the strings (the slight rise with the strings at 0:11 was great by the way). At 0:25, the song takes on what seems to be a new theme, in fact it does this several times. The percussion in these portions are not aligned with the other instruments, make sure that you align these carefully and everything will be good to go.

As others have said, this song in its entirety is quite good, but would perhaps be best as two pieces. However, if you were to slowly cut out the instruments and blend them into the slower, and gentle song, then you would be able to make a nice transition from the first half of the piece.

Overall, I think you did a great job! Keep it up! :D

SirCumferens responds:

Woah, thanks! I don't produce music anymore, but to have someone say that about this song like almost a year in the future is just amazing!

[Future In Front Of You]

This is fantastic! Everything in this piece blends incredibly well, especially when you add that catchy lower beat that emphasizes all of the mellow notes throughout the song. I agree with Octo, there is a certain degree of 'snappiness' to the song that really makes things interesting. Great stuff! :)

ZipZipper responds:

Didn't think this would be well-received, but rather mediocre-received. Yay thanks love! <3

[Image to Words]

As always, a beautiful piece. I really enjoy listening to these piano improvs! It's always a good idea to experiment with new genres. Based on what you're capable of, I think you'll make something great in whatever genre you choose to write in next. :)

stunkel responds:

haha thanks dude :P Hopefully I do well! That would be very nice :)

[Battle of the Bits]

This is an awesome track! It has a very retro feel to it, so it automatically reminds me of some of the old RPGs I've played. I loved the bassline you used as well as the short chip bursts. You placed emphasis on both of these instruments with superb timing, which gave the song a great deal of fluidity.

Around 1:28 there is a very short, but rough transition that I think could be much smoother, but in some strange way it works to further the song. I think this is one of your older pieces, so I'm going to check out your newer stuff to see how you've progressed! Keep it up man! :)

SourJovis responds:

Thanks for the review. It's not one of the oldest songs, nor one of the newest. It's little over a year old. I've uploaded my songs quite out of sequence, so it will be difficult to see how I progressed. I don't really know how I progressed myself. I try to improve, but mainly I try to do new things every time.

[Halindir - Nights]

Very captivating piece. Really calming and atmospheric. I think this tells a rather short, yet deep story filled with indecisiveness, and marked by a moment of brief guilt. That's what I take from this at least, likely due to the instruments you've used such as the sax. It's really too bad it's not a bit longer, but on the other hand I feel that if it were, it would put a damper on the overall atmospheric quality of the song. Great stuff! :)