FightingSeraph's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[KgZ- Pair of Aces *Final lvl*]

Truly heroic!

I have to admit that you have managed to out do A Shade of Autumn with this one. Normally, I don't get to do song reviews, but thought that one for you was needed.

Instrumentation: I really like how you had NES samples and real drum samples together with this. Those really complemented each other and I think that more people on the Audio Portal should try mixing chip samples, electronic beats, and actual instruments together.
Composition: I also enjoy that melody that you had, and the rhythm going on set a heroic tone for this without being bombastic. It takes a careful hand to make something heroic without it going overkill. The only other person that had done this was Xenith800 with his song Sun God.
Other: The only two faults that I can find are the fade out at the end and the file size. For the former, It gives it a seamy feel, which makes it feel like it belongs in a flash movie rather than an X360 game. Second, I understand that you want that high definition sound, but you may want to consider the Ogg Vorbis format for high bitrate music. Then again, seeing that Adobe didn't include .ogg support, I won't take points off.

What I do like:
-Nice harmony with the samples
-Heroic melody
-Great rhythm and tempo
-Original

What I don't like:
-Doesn't loop properly
-The filesize, but I won't be harsh since flash doesn't have Ogg Vorbis support.

Overall: KgZ, How would you like a ten from me? One more thing, I think you Audio Portal musicians should team up with people in the Flash Portal.

KgZ responds:

Thank you for the extensive review!

Don't worry, it loops (doesn't fade out) in the actual game, I bounced it this way so it could be listened as a song.

[Non Euclidean Geometry [mod15]]

Worth all those thirteen hours put into this!

I hardly get to review music on here, but felt that for something this great needed a review. This song here is something that would be right at home in a space shooter or if the Flash author was really clever, a dance/montage scene.

Instruments: I really like your usage of synth, drum samples, clips, patterns, and effect that you used here. This may appear to sound the the usual Audio Portal trance, but it's effective none-the-less.
Composition and Rhythm: Just like Xarnor, Nanashi, Cheshyre, Chronamut, Paragon X9, and Nemesis Theory; you have the ears of a composer. I really enjoy your clever note placement for this, and it has a great rhythm! The only problem is that it can get a tiny bit monotonous, but that's just trivial.
Other notes: I have to admit, it's hard to make something that's six minutes long loop, but you pulled it off professionally. As for the sound quality, it's clear but that bitrate resulted in a big filesize. Maybe you should try looking into Ogg Vorbis sometime, but for some reason Flash doesn't support that.

What I do like:
-Original
-Great notation
-Excellent melody and rhythm
-Making it loop smoothly
-Nice sample selection

What I don't like:
-Huge filesize, but since Flash doesn't support .ogg yet; it's no big deal.

Overall: Here's a ten from me, and I think you Audio Portal guys should take a cue from David Orr & Rig and collaborate with people in the Flash Portal.

DJSpire responds:

You, sir, made my day. After a slightly disappointing day, making 6th chair at our region audition, I come home to be compared to PX9, Chronamut, etc.

That is possibly the biggest musical compliment I have received to date.

[-Machine-]

Very nice for just presets.

I'm going to be honest, you and Mirak have the ears of a composer. Plus, it's surprising that only Xionico uses your music. I think more people in the Flash portal should collaborate with you.

When it comes to the instrumentation, I really like how you put the presets to good use. I have no problem with people using the sounds that come with the software as long as the product is good. Plus, you have a nice rhythm going on with this.
Harmony/Melody: As soon as this played, I found this to be quite catchy. In addition, you also have some nice notation with this.
Other: I understand that you wanted high quality sound, but that bitrate you exported this at has a big filesize. Maybe you should export songs in that quality as an .ogg/.oga file since a 192-320 Kbps Vorbis file has a smaller filesize than a 192-320 Kbps .mp3. Too bad Flash has no Ogg Vorbis support at the moment.

[+]
-Nice instrumentation
-Good melody and rhythm
-Decent tempo
-Has versatility

[-]
-The fact that this was made with presets.
-Disproportionate filesize

Overall: Xarnor, here's a nice nine from me and I recommended you to the following: Miccool, MaelstormM, Toxicacid, and R1665.

Xarnor responds:

Thanks, glad you liked it. I always explore presets before trying to make my own sounds with a new program, and since this is the first time I used Massive, it is presets only.

I couldn't imagine how 2.8 MB could be any sort of problem. You're not still using dial-up are you? 320 Kbps is the only way to go when dealing with mp3. I would use different formats if I could, but Newgrounds is mp3 only.

[Things Alike (Loop)]

Sounds like it has potential!

Alloud is right on this one. I usually prefer hearing finished work on here, but what you have currently is really good.

Instrumentation: Nice leads, synth, chords, bass lines, and drums. Nothing too elaborate, but good enough.
Notation: I really like the melody that you have going on here, but your drums could use a bit of variation in the composition department.
Other: The only problem that this has is that the sudden rest at the ten-eleven second mark is a bit grating. On the other hand, 179 kb is a decent filesize for something as small as this.

What's Good:
-Nice melody
-Good instrumentation
-Great tempo
-Small filesize

What's bad:
-The drums are a bit repetitive
-The sudden fade at the end is a bit annoying

Overall: Here's your eight, Proshot.

[Wormholes In The Sky]

Very serene!

This is just too nice sounding for a song without a single review. By the way, I love the stuff that you and Matt did.

Instrumentation: Nice use of synth, and clever background effects.
Composition: This has a strong composition with an actual melody, unlike the vast majority of mainstream music these days.
Rhythm & Tempo: Definitely a winner here, not much I can comment on.
Other: The only problem with this is that if played over and over again, it can get repetitve. On the other hand, I approve of you not uploading 200Kbps or higher monster that has a huge filesize. Not everything needs to be high definition in order to be good.

What I do like:
-Reasonable filesize
-Nice atmosphere
-Good melody
-Original
-Clever use of synth

What I don't like:
-Can get repetitive over time

Overall: Here's a ten from me.

[-Distracted-]

Very nice!

I never knew that you--the guy who made sprite and drawn cartoons--was also a musician. Welcome back, Shawn.

Instrumentation: I really like your selection of drums, synth, and bass here. It definitely added a nice mood to it.
Vocals: Great job on the vocals, and the variety also helps. However, they can be hard to make out at times.
Composition: This is really badass! You have a nice rhythm and melody going on here. Plus, the notation is also excellent!
Miscellaneous: Aside from the vocals being hard to make out at times, this doesn't really feel like an ambient song, but more of an ambient/dubstep hybrid. That and the file size is huge. I'd understand if you did this for a CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, SD Card, or tape release; but for download, the highest quality isn't always the best option.

What I liked:
-Original
-Great vocals
-Nice rhythm, melody, and notation
-Excellent instrumentation

What I didn't like:
-Feels more like dubstep than ambient.
-Huge filesize
-Vocals are hard to make out at times.

Overall: Blordow, Here's your ten and I would like for you to release Salty Swamp 2.

Blordow responds:

Thanks for the well thought out review. I agree that the vocals are somewhat hard to make out, it was more of an experiment as I wanted them to blend in with the song rather than make them the main focus. I will cut down my file size when I release new songs as 12mb is quite large for sure. Thanks again, and Salty Swamp 2 was well on the way, with it's own theme music and an introduction scene half animated but in order for me to pick up where I left off I either need to redo the script, introduce some new voice actors, and in general have the inspiration to carry on.

[Pixelated World]

Finally, some more original VG songs!

I have to agree with Haggard, Realmguys, and Toasty on this one, and also like the fact that this is original. (Note: I have nothing against the remixes, but some more variety would be nice.) Let me get started...

Instrumentation: I am really liking your selection on this one Steph. Clever mix of modern synthesizer beats and NES samples. I think more people on the Audio Portal should consider mixing the two together.
Composition: Definitely enjoy the rhythm, tempo, and the notation on this one. This really shows that you have the ears of a composer, and it also has actual melody and harmony.
Miscellaneous: As said before, I have no problem with remixes as long as it's a good one. Of course, I'm also for something new and original, which this is. (This also sums up my opinion on Flash movies and games.) However, the only problem I have this this is the filesize: A really HIGH quality song (200 Kbps or higher) has a bigger filesize and as a result, takes longer to download than lets say a 96-132 Kbps song.

What I do like:
-Finally, an original video game song
-Has a solid melody
-Good rhythm and tempo
-Clever instrumentation

What I don't like:
-Huge filesize

Overall: Stephan, I usually don't write music reviews, but thought that this needed another one. Here's your ten, and I hope that more people in the Flash Portal turn to you for creating custom tracks.

Step responds:

It's always great to see big reviews like this. Thanks a lot!

"I have to agree with Haggard, Realmguys, and Toasty on this one, and also like the fact that this is original. (Note: I have nothing against the remixes, but some more variety would be nice.) Let me get started..."

Oh I totally agree with you about that. The Video Game section is riddled with remixes and it's a big breath of fresh air to hear a Video Game-inspired original song. Probably why I enjoyed Bjra's Video Game songs (which I've linked in the Author's Comments if you're interested!).

"Instrumentation: I am really liking your selection on this one Steph. Clever mix of modern synthesizer beats and NES samples. I think more people on the Audio Portal should consider mixing the two together."

Agreed. I remember approving a song to the Audio Portal ages ago and it had a similar style in case you want to check it out.

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/liste n/418308

Pretty nice song, although it's not as "modern" as Bjra's Video Game tracks or this one.

"Composition: Definitely enjoy the rhythm, tempo, and the notation on this one. This really shows that you have the ears of a composer, and it also has actual melody and harmony."

Aw, thanks :3. I've been making music for quite a while now so I'm glad my composition skills got somewhere!

"Miscellaneous: As said before, I have no problem with remixes as long as it's a good one. Of course, I'm also for something new and original, which this is. (This also sums up my opinion on Flash movies and games.) However, the only problem I have this this is the filesize: A really HIGH quality song (200 Kbps or higher) has a bigger filesize and as a result, takes longer to download than lets say a 96-132 Kbps song."

Hm, I'll have to disagree with you on that. 96 - 132 Kbps is generally considered low quality (it's very easy to tell the difference between a song with a bitrate in that range of Kbps and a song which has a bitrate of over 200 Kbps). I usually try and make the quality as high as possible within the filesize restrictions, because what's a few extra seconds of downloading compared to a better-quality sound file? :P

"Overall: Stephan, I usually don't write music reviews, but thought that this needed another one. Here's your ten, and I hope that more people in the Flash Portal turn to you for creating custom tracks."

Thanks a million for the wonderful review! I'm surprised you don't usually write music reviews because you seem to be good at it!

Thanks again - the detailed review and 10/10 are very much appreciated!

[[oZ] ~ Dim Witted Twit]

Strange, but I like it.

I'm going to be honest with you: I am not familiar with Dubstep in any way, shape, or form. However, this was pretty enjoyable.

Instrumentation: I really the use of drums, bass, and altered voices. It gave it an outworldly, "there isn't anything to do around here" feel. Therefore, you did a good job on this.
Notation and composition: I really like the rhythm that you had for this, which added to the song's bizarre atmosphere. However, isn't much of a melody in this, but what do I know? I'm not really a music expert.
Miscellaneous: The only problem I have with this is by exporting this at such a high quality, it has a huge filesize and therefore takes longer to download than a song exported at 128 kbps. On the other hand, it's original and that may be nice.

What I do like:
-Original
-Nice instrumentation
-Catchy
-Good rhythm

What I don't like:
-Doesn't seem to have much of a melody.
-Huge filesize
-Same problem with most music in the Audio Portal: not very versatile (as in, can be used in a flash movie/game).

Overall: Oscillator, Here's a nine from me.

[aScape04]

Very foreboding!

You know, this would be perfect for a horror film of some sort. Sure it may be short, but not everything needs to be long and drawn-out. Very clever use of gurgling and white noise. Plus, it's also original and well done.

What I do like:
-Great mood
-Nice sound selection
-Passable filesize
-A different kind of ambient

What I don't like:
-Not everyone will like how strange this is.

Overall: Here's your nine, Eugene.

[[OS] Mist]

Good Melancholic tone.

I see where you're coming from on being overlooked on here, along with several thousand others, but Chaotichism is right. While you may not get the ratings that you want, just be glad that there are people that actually listening your music. Now, I must review...

When it comes to composition and arrangement: for something that was pretty much improvised, you did a great job with that keyboard of yours. Definitely worth all that time you spent on this as it sounds sad in a good way. The only problem with this is that it feels empty, but considering the mood, it fit. The instrumentation may be like a regular piano, but that's all that this needed. Nothing else needs to be said about that. However, I think that the size of this song is a bit big for something that's three minutes long, but I won't knock you down.

[+]
-Good tone
-Fitting instrumentation
-Nice arrangement for something that was improvised.

[-]
-Feels kind of empty at times, but the desolate mood alleviated it.
-Could have used a somewhat smaller filesize.

Overall: Ian, here's a ten from me and just keep going; you'll eventually have at least a few who will use your stuff in their flash.

ObsidianSnow responds:

Actually, you're one of the first people to comment about my audio's file sizes, and I've been on NG for a couple years now. It's an easy enough thing to fix... I suppose I've chosen to keep them slightly larger because of my personal preference for quality. But perhaps I could lower them a little in the future, to encourage their use in the online community.

Also, re: people using my music in their flash, I've actually had my music used in a number of animations and games, as well as two short films, one of which has been played at a number of film festivals across North America. The problem is that this doesn't happen anywhere near often enough. I want to be doing more of this (especially writing for short films - I found those experiences the most gratifying), instead of maybe 2 or 3 projects a year.

Thanks for the review, FightingSeraph.