Neon-Bard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Colossal Assault]

Very thrilling piece Mattashi my friend! Imaginative, fantastic production quality, and above all else it's a pleasure to listen to. I could see the illustration by Arvalis come to life! :)

Mattashi responds:

Thanks allot buddy!

[Sunken Forest]

Definitely relaxing. I love the ambiance this song has about it, great job! :)

VideoGameManiac responds:

thanks alot :D

[The Long Journey]

This is really impressive Mattashi! I don't have much time right now to leave a substantial comment or review, but I thought it was important to let you know that this is a fantastic piece! I hear nothing wrong with it.

Also, there is a new genre under the 'Other' category: World. I think this would fit well under that genre! :)

Mattashi responds:

Thank you Neon-Bard!

[Lietus March]

Splendid arrangement! I was really impressed with the powerful choirs, vocals and strings in this piece. Great job with those! What did you use for the vocals/choirs anyway? Or were they recorded?

The only issue I see with this arrangement are the periods of brief silence that are interspersed throughout the song. Regardless, this is a great piece! :)

Koxyx responds:

Thank you! The singer was really what made me excited to write this piece. If you would like to purchase that singer, you can find her on 8dio.com. Her name is Barbary and she has a nice variety of Celtic folk songs she'll sing! The choir body itself is called the Korg choir soundfont, if I'm not mistaken, and it's a free sf2 from somewhere on the web. And of course, those brief periods of silence would make a whole lot more sense if they were put to the film's transitions :)

[Lost On the Path [v1]]

This piece is incredibly rich with emotion. The piano work is haunting, yet somehow calming...two very different aspects that seamlessly blend with one another. The pad that you've used throughout is, in my opinion, perfectly introduced and removed at all the right times as it accentuates the higher notes with its deep and solemn atmosphere. The volume for the pad maintains the right level, but try to mix it so that it creates an ebb and flow between the lower and higher notes in the piece.

I wasn't expecting those charming 'vibe' sounds that you brought in at 1:30, and I was glad to hear them. They really give the song a nice reflective aspect. Try and reduce the trailing notes that you hear with this instrument though, as it just slightly interrupts the electric guitar notes that you introduce just after this.

When you brought in the percussion, everything seemed to just settle in perfectly. Like your 'Something Underneath' piece, I instantly had images of the deep sea in my mind. Very calming imagery for sure. The second time the percussion kicks in, it seems a little louder than before. Turning down the volume here would be ideal so that the floating piano notes can really shine!

This is a great piece man. It really made me just think, absorb the music, and relax. Well done! :)

Deemo-R responds:

Thanks for the insight, Neon! I'll definitely keep your points in mind for when I take this into my DAW to mix it, especially regarding the reverb of the vibraphone. The pedal's basically down for the entire time that it's out, so maybe that calls for a re-record to insert some dampening in there xP (I actually felt the need to pan it and the guitar a bit away from each other when recording so the dark tones wouldn't all fall on top of each other).

I'm glad to hear I've achieved a connection between this and "Something Underneath", it's what I was going for.

Thanks for the great detail! :D

[ECHO - Wings EP Preview]

Wow...I'm floored.

I realize this is only a preview, but I think the short samples you have used presented here are nothing short of fantastic. I'm definitely going to check out the EP! Great stuff! :)

Echo responds:

Thanks!

[This Blade Runs Forth]

You've got a really great melody going on here! I can hear some familiar 'Tales' cues worked into this song. The percussion really gets me into that 'fighting spirit', and it maintains a well-balanced volume throughout (I should take lessons from you on this...my percussion always seems to be terribly loud or bland). As Spacefish has pointed out, the kick could use a little more energy, just to give it that bit of extra oomph.

The lead guitar could use some general mixing to bring out its potential a little more, while lowering the slight sharpness it has about it. I like how you incorporate the brass and then the choirs just shortly after the minute mark, it truly adds to the intensity of the song.

Keep up the great work! Looking forward to your next submission. :)

Deemo-R responds:

Thanks Neon! I'm glad you liked it! :D

Ironically enough, this song is before I started trying to mix my music a little better, so it was a pretty lucky break that the drum volume managed to not overpower everything xP The only reason it sounds like it's in place properly is because everything else is so loud that it seems smaller by comparison. It's not a very clean job, I'll admit, but that's something to work on in a future mix :3 (That also is probably the reason that the bass drum sounds so weak... aside from being recorded poorly xD).

Glad you liked the melody! You're right, the guitar needs a bit of proper mixing to bring it out more, and it could probably use a redo just to capture a bit more intensity in dynamics. From recent writing I've been doing with a guitarist friend of mine, I've really started to notice just how hard it is to really capture a guitar's spectrum in just the right manner. It's such a beautiful and versatile instrument, and the capabilities it has daunt me when I try to go for them O.o

[The Adventurer]

Fantastic piece Step! :D

The title speaks for the song itself, the mood you wanted to portray was absolutely spot on! I loved the percussion you've used. The percussion really helps carry the melody along, and the strings create that exciting sense of adventure!

I loved the more 'whimsical' side of this piece that seems to show itself more in the latter half of the song (for instance around 0:48). The winds seem perfectly placed, especially around this portion of the song. Last, but not least, that transposition towards the end of the song was superb!

Great stuff! Can't wait 'till your next piece. :)

Step responds:

"Fantastic piece Step! :D"

Woooo, I'm happy you think so!

"The title speaks for the song itself, the mood you wanted to portray was absolutely spot on!"

Some people tell me that my other contest submission doesn't portray the mood that well (sneaky) but I don't seem to have people telling me that for this one, so that's good.

"I loved the percussion you've used. The percussion really helps carry the melody along, and the strings create that exciting sense of adventure!"

Haha, I have to use percussion or else it comes out boring :P. I can never make a song without percussion... I don't think I ever have. I just can't seem to create the same amount of oomph and excitement without my precious booms and bangs.

"I loved the more 'whimsical' side of this piece that seems to show itself more in the latter half of the song (for instance around 0:48). The winds seem perfectly placed, especially around this portion of the song."

Yeah in this song I think I made the best use of EWQLSO Silver's wind that I've ever done. This uses every wind instrument except the bass clarinet and the English horn I think! I also used lots of trills and all that good stuff. It definitely does help with the playful mood later on.

"Last, but not least, that transposition towards the end of the song was superb!"

I'm so glad you like that. When I do stuff like that, I sometimes doubt whether it sounds good or not, since sometimes horrible discordancy goes right past my ears!

"Great stuff! Can't wait 'till your next piece. :)"

Thanks a million for the review!

[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

[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!