Neon-Bard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-The Journey Home-]

Beautiful entry, very captivating. Great theme too if I might add. When I think about traveling home after being away for months, this is what I imagine myself listening to.

I love how you gently build the song with the piano and the soft hats until the rest of the instruments come in. Speaking of which, at 1:54 the song really picks up and it gives me this really uplifting sensation. Just enough to put a smile on my face! Awesome. :)

I just wish you had used that synth that picks up around 2:20 a little more. It was a fantastic addition to the piece overall, and it dies off much too quickly..and when it does, it leaves a strange resonance, perhaps due to reverb? I'm not sure. I thought it interrupted the song just for a split second though. But hey, that might have just been me! Either way, perhaps your intention was to carefully end the synth when you did. If that is the case, then I'm guessing you meant for it to capture the moment of arriving 'home' after a long tiresome journey. That's just my take on it at least.

Great job on this piece, it really struck a chord with me. I think that's because you were able to capture the essence and the importance of having a place to call home. Good luck in the contest! :)

Back-From-Purgatory responds:

Good to know it put a smile on your face. It's funny, cause most of my music is spawned from despair (Not necessarily this one), but most people interpret it as uplifting, but hey, I won't complain, people are free to interpret as they wish.

Although I will admit this is one of my more uplifting sounding songs.

As for the "strange resonance", I'm assuming you mean the quiet scratching as the synth starts to fade out? That's actually part of the reason I chose to use that sound, you can't hear it very well, but the entire time it's playing during the "uplifting section", it's putting out that scratching sound. Why did I use it? It added a fair bit of texture to the song... even if you can't immediately hear it... believe me, it made a difference.

Glad you liked it, thanks for the review!

[Imagination]

I agree with Mattashi, this is very catchy. Very fun to listen to as well! My only criticism lies with the length of the song, I feel like you could have done a lot more with it, perhaps add a whole new melody that rests an octave above the current one and just go from there. Just a thought of course!

Keep it up! :)

djahmusic responds:

Thats why I've already made an uplifting house version of this track, check it out on my channel ^_^
Thank you for the comment :)

[Something Underneath]

Absolutely beautiful piece This song has a great deal of emotion incorporated into it. Every instrument is carefully placed in accordance with what you must have been feeling at the time, which creates a uniqueness that is impossible to replicate. The harp and piano work are perfect for the atmosphere you were trying to create, very water-like, very deep, and of course very emotional. It's like when you are under such pressure or sadness that your emotions overtake you, much like how water can overtake anything with subtle, almost invisible pressure.

If there is one thing that felt slightly off about the song, it had to be the high synth effect you used to emulate a water-based sound, for example at 0:49 and onwards. It's not that it is a bad sound or effect, or that it doesn't help immerse the listener, because I think it was a wise choice to use it! It just needs a little bit of equalization. That's just my opinion though...well really it's more of a preference, so it's probably just me!

I honestly don't understand how this has a 'lower' score. Deserving of much higher!
I love your style, keep it up! :D

Deemo-R responds:

I definitely agree with you, Neon, the synth can be a bit overbearing at times, and it does rather pull the listener out of it, even if only by a little bit. A bit of mixing will hopefully let that rest gracefully with the rest of the instruments :3

It's amazing how you can inject yourself and your emotions into every piece, and obtain something so different than what you'd expect. I really revel in that feeling. :)

[Adventurers Sonata]

I really like the story you tell with this song. It sort of reminds me of my childhood in some ways. The piano work is nothing short of elegant. I am not classically trained, nor do I play the piano (though I would love to learn), so I am not quite sure how to gauge your composition.

It would be nice to hear the song flow a little more smoothly in accordance with the story and theme, in terms of timing and the rising and falling of certain notes..but that's more of a preference on my part and I think the song as a whole works best as you have structured it. Besides that though, I believe you've created a beautiful story through music which is not an easy feat. I hope you realize that you've achieved what you set out to do with this piece, fantastic job! :)

FooRight responds:

I think the most important thing when composing is to achieve the goal you set for a specific piece; it's how you can be the proudest of what you've done. So, indeed I mean it when I say thank you for noticing that aspect!

I'm also glad this connected with you in a certain way. I had hoped this would happen, especially because this piece is gender neutral (anyone sex can appreciate visualizing themselves in it), and things were made purposefully to be general and broad in their statements about adventure.

This was the first piece I ever completed that I was proud of, and yet since it's really only one of so few I have ever actually fully completed, I do have some story-telling skills that need practice and refining! Good point!

[Gliding Through Time]

Very interesting song you've got here. It's arranged well and the kicks in particular are perfectly balanced, both in volume, depth and timing. The only thing that I didn't quite like was the guitar plugin you used...perhaps Slayer? Anyway, try adding some light reverb to it and adjusting the volume just slightly.

I really got a 'Turok' vibe from this song, not sure if you've played any of those games before, but I assure you that's a good vibe to be getting. Great stuff, keep it up! :)

mistarogerz responds:

Yes, good review and yes, the plugin was Slayer. Every time I use Slayer in songs people call it out. Not surprising because everyone knows what Slayer sounds like. I'm putting Slayer to rest after this. Thanks for the review!

[Edge of Time]

Inspiring, grand, and your best work to date for sure. It's clear that you worked very hard on this piece. Loved all of the instruments you have used, you have made excellent use of SO! Best of luck in the contest, I'm rooting for you! :)

stunkel responds:

Thanks man! Glad that you think so :P And I did work hard! I'm glad that it showed. And if you were entering, I would be rooting for ya too :P

[LOZ Outset Island Remix]

Awesome rendition of the Outset Island song! As others have said, the looping is a little off, but it's really not a big deal. The instruments you used really helped bring back some nostalgia for me, which is great. You should really play Wind Waker! :)

stunkel responds:

Thanks! :D And yeah I will try to work on the looping. ANd I really really need to play wind waker! It looks amazing!

[Where Angels Live pt. 4]

Solid intro, very interesting too. The first thing I would suggest is perhaps connecting those notes so that it makes the introduction have a more wholesome feel to it. Other than that, I think the song has a really unique vibe to it. Very cyberpunkish yet somehow mystifying. The song itself has a fusion of many different elements, and I think you did a great job linking them all together. Keep it up! :)

JQiscool responds:

Thank you! like the cyberpunkish thing hahahaha

[Pathe The Way (Contest)]

Wow. This is absolutely fantastic man! Everything blends so well, it's actually quite ridiculous (in a good way of course). The classical elements alongside the metal is genius. Not unique, but regardless, very well arranged. I really liked the guitar and bass work, every note sounded very clear so obviously you paid careful attention to the mixing and mastering. I should also add that the intro really set up the remainder of the song in such a way that is makes the listener eager to hear the rest of the song.

The only thing that I felt that was slightly lacking was the conclusion of the song. I think it could have been a little more epic than it was, but that isn't to say that it was not. Just out of curiosity, what kind of guitar and bass did you use for this?

Great stuff, thanks for submitting! :)

MetalRenard responds:

Funny you feel it's not "epic enough", to me it sounds all kinds of epic rolled into one, but that's the beauty of personal interpretation. :)
Thanks!

[The Feels]

Great song! I must have listened through this at least ten times and I never got tired of it. The best part of the song is undoubtedly when the the other bit sound kicks in around 0:33, it's very catchy and I'll likely have it stuck in my head for a while. The only criticism I have for this song is that the intro is a little too bland. Perhaps adding some extra notes here and there would work nicely. Anyway, excellent job, keep it up! :)

CANDYdisturber responds:

I was pretty lazy with the intro haha; just wanted to rush to the meat of it :P Thanks a bunch