Coolasp1e's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Running Out of Time]

Wow! This track has a lot going for it, and it hits most of the marks, though I do still have some criticisms I'd like to offer.

On the good side first: I love the panning. It makes it feel open and full, and it breathes a sense of danger as every instrument from all sides attack with a strong urgency that suggests the "running out of time" theme the track has going on for it. Compositionally, for the most part, it's complex and filled with little details to make everything not sound monotonous. The general dynamics of the song is balanced well, offering quieter parts to prepare listeners for the loud parts, and giving them that much more of an impact.

As for the not so good side, the song starts abruptly. The ticking clock is nice, however it can confuse listeners as a lot happens already in a short period of time in the intro. Speaking of which, it kinda doesn't feel like the intro goes anywhere if that makes sense. It changes a lot, but these changes don't signify any direction, or with any sort of cohesion. It really only picks up after the solo piano part, and then everything makes more sense. The instruments, although I'm sure they were the only ones you had, don't mesh together well. They work, but it doesn't offer anything spectacular, and the sharp high piano mixed with the sharp booming brass and the sharp woodwinds just overpowers, but not in a good way. Perhaps a little more mixing could have helped, although unsure this would necessarily work best for your needs.

All those aside, this track is still great and well deserving of its 4.5 out of 5. Great job!!

Latadenata responds:

Thank you for such a complete review! I really appreciate the feedback!

[Plutonium Pizza]

Okay, so, I'm scouring the undiscovered artists section and this song caught my eye for some reason. I don't know what it is about this song in particular but I think if you got better at mixing and maybe some more variation in your composition, I think this would definitely come together to be something special. Keep going and don't give up hope!

PeculiarAlfred responds:

thanks. this is my 4th song or so, trying to get the hang of Sunvox.
edit: EUREKA! i will be coming with a cooler version soon. thank you for the encouragement!!!

[Vanilla - Visions (ThePal Remix)]

Very attention-grabbing intro which feels like something worth listening to. Track changes frequently and without warning, but done in such a fantastic way which doesn’t introduce whiplash or cause confusion. The use of clacking, crickets, and various other non-traditional percussion gives this an other-worldly feel. The sub is varied and isn’t just one note or several repeating notes. The pads and synths used gives this a feeling similar to those videos of modular synth performances. As the track continues, although it might feel repetitive, there’s still some development and story going on. My only complaints are about the low mids and how those seem muddied, especially at around :44, though that could totally be what this is going for. Chords are absolutely phenomenal as always. I also love the little variation that pops in around 1:35, definitely worth picking out and listening too after multiple relistens.

Also, a note on this being a remix. You could totally get away with calling this an original piece, because although it seems heavily inspired by a single theme from the original song, this is in a completely different league away from the original. Whether that’s good or bad is up to what you wanted it to be, but I’m just saying.

Overall, I think that this song is really cool. Good job on it!

ThePal responds:

You're almost making me cry, this is a review if I've ever gotten a good one!

"Very attention-grabbing intro which feels like something worth listening to."
- thank you, I tried taking a bit of inspiration from what I've heard on Spotify, Soundcloud, etc. :D

"The use of clacking, crickets, and various other non-traditional percussion gives this an other-worldly feel."
- foley is the new black, nothing like foley and the like to set the mood just right!

"The sub is varied and isn’t just one note or several repeating notes."
- Knowing how much of a problem simple basslines can be, I tried my best to not let that be the case here, thank youu

"My only complaints are about the low mids and how those seem muddied, especially at around :44, though that could totally be what this is going for."
- I'll be honest, I'm not perfect, so I didn't exactly think about muddiness when I was finished, but now that you mention it, I recognize it. Thanks for pointing it out. :D

If I ever end up releasing my first album/EP, I'll probably end up renaming this to "Revisions" or something, thanks for the info, I didn't want to take any risks, haha

Thank you so much for the lengthy review, may your day be as blessed as your prowess in review-writing! 👌

[Touch of Madness - Empty (2/8)]

Alright, so this piece of music is very interesting. I feel it tries some things that other musicians just don't try to put into their contemporary music. If anything, I kinda enjoy the weird aesthetic going on with this song, and in order to understand why, let me get into the nitty-gritty of what makes this song special.

Starting off with the beginning, it's very repetitive. Bb Major scale with an interesting progression and an ARP with some drums. This goes on for a minute before we get an actual change in music. While most of the time repetitiveness is not a great thing, I think the execution of it here is tolerable. Especially with how drastic of a change that comes afterwards. the drop gives off an interesting feel as the scale switches between major and minor, and then abandons the scale entirely in favor of a chromatic scale with the bassline, then returns back to B Major (I think?). This shift in tone expresses sharp tones that almost clash together, but the more I listen to it, the more I actually begin to enjoy what's being played out. It almost sounds maddening... enter namesake here. Then, we get to the same progression as the intro, now with a different lead instrument and melody. After this break, we're back into the madness, and then the song ends.

Now, while I really like this song and what it's trying to aim for, I think a few things could be improved on to make what you're trying to say better. For instance, a lot of the instruments seem to clash together in the mids, producing a more muddy sound that, no matter what you make, doesn't sound great and sounds unprofessional. This piece could do with a little bit of mixing to fix that issue. Another issue stems from the composition. We have the following composition:

Intro - Verse - Chorus - Intro (ad.) - Verse (ad.) - Chorus

This doesn't make for an interesting listening experience, even with the subtle changes in the latter half of the song. Might I suggest doing something such as....

Intro - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Verse (ad.) - Buildup - Chorus - End

Here, we get a break with the bridge, and the latter half adds a buildup, making the second drop more exciting and adding to the theme of madness.

Despite these two issues, I still think this song has some interesting ideas heading for it. Either way, great job!

NoStereo responds:

Awesome review! Thanks a ton! I actually made this song back in 2015 and attempted to spruce it up a bit for the album but kept it mostly the same.

Sometimes I want to make conventional music, but I think pushing the bounds and putting my own spin on things is the way to go. I agree that the composition could have been better by far. The ending however makes more sense when you listen to the album, as the whole album flows song to song. I started this album back in 2015 inspired by madeon's *first?* album, which had the same concept.

Again, thanks for the epic review!

I think I'm going to work on an extended and remastered version...

[child of the woods]

This is absolutely phenomenal. Not only in the sense of what you're trying to achieve (A last goodbye song, warning the passerby of their troubles), but in the way in which you're achieving it.

The child singing provides a lead-in to the song, completely silent except for her voice. Then, the piano and orchestra get to work, providing a backbone for the child and the chorus that comes after. The moment at 1:50 provides a bit of hope for our characters, and then it's back into despair. Then, my favorite composition part, 1:52, comes into play. Balancing low bass notes with no strings and strings with no bass notes provides a push-pull aspect of the piece which keeps a sway going, moving the track along, and providing images (at least in my head) of the characters gathering around and swaying back and forth as they sing their tragedy. Of course, more buildups and dropdowns occur throughout the song before ending how it started: With the child singing alone once more, as she relays her message to spread the word, and/or help the characters.

The entire 8 minutes is not a chore to listen to, as the composition breaks up just enough to keep the listener entertained. For what the song is, it does a damning job (That's good!). There's nothing wrong to note here. Keep up the fantastic work here!

Troisnyx responds:

Oh my word. 😮 Thank you so much.

I'll happily admit that I consider the call-and-response in 1:52~ the cornerstone on which the entire song is based, and from where it gets its tone (I believe it was the first of the verses I actually finished).

You've given me some very powerful imagery; I'd not thought about it very much from a visual standpoint until you mentioned the swaying (or, in my mind, possibly even circling) of the characters singing of their terrible fate. I... I'll admit, I now ever so badly want to see an animation to this done.

Thank you for spilling forth what you felt over the piece. I really can't thank you enough.

[Escape from New York]

I absolutely love Death Metal, so when I saw that I could review this in R4R I was excited. And you know what? You delivered on that excitement. The progressive riffs and melodies are very reminiscent of a Death Metal song, so you definitely got me going there. There are some gripes I have with it though that really put this song off for me.

First off: Where's the crunch? The guitars seem so filtered and their highs have been so cut that it's like they're being recorded through blankets. My one tip for guitars is that they provide most of the high-end for your song when doing metal. Only if you already have high-end guitars should you worry about getting these mid-style guitars in the mix. As a matter of fact I think if you kept these guitars and simply added in the high-end guitars, you'd have a better sound immediately, and that's a good thing.

Secondly: Reverb. I love reverb for making things sound alive and ambient in a mix, but there's no reason for these guitars to have as much reverb as they do. It muffles and muds them too much. I'm not saying no reverb, just dial it back a tiny bit. Make it sound like the guitars belong in the mix, not mud the entire thing down.

Finally: The drums. Don't worry, they're the bane of my existence too. The drums here don't pop out at all. There's no bass, the snare is barely audible and the cymbals don't really make the mix flow because they're too quiet. I suggest a compressor on each individual track: one for your bass, your snare, your cymbal, etc. If you can't do that, simply compress the drums as a whole and tune it to your liking. You want this mix to pop out and punch you in the face, don't you?

All in all, I'm really loving what you got here, and there's so much potential that I would love to hear more from you. You're getting a follow from me, definitely. You just need to tweak some things, and then I promise you'll be loving what you're making. Take my advice or don't, it all doesn't really matter, but I'd love to hear what this would sound like if what I stated were fixed.

R4R,
from Perma.

MercyfulDeath responds:

Oh shit a response.

Well for starters I'm very glad you enjoyed the composition at least musically speaking, that's usually what I aim for with most of the shit I do. Now onto the points you mentioned, a couple of them are based off stylistic choices, mostly the guitar and reverb. I am huge on 80's underground metal and constantly strive to try and emulate the feel it had, even sound productionwise, which might be detrimental to dudes more accustomed to more modern production styles. Part of why the guitars kinda sound muffled I believe is because I don't really own an interface so I just basically found out you can plug the damn thing straight to the computer and basically went "fuck it" and decided to work with that. I usually aim for warmer midrange heavy sorta fuzzy tones because it's my preferred kind of tone, since I feel it punches you harder than serrated AxeFX style modern distortion, plus it gives it a mustier, crustier lo-fi feel which I adore, and also because yeah it's 80's as fuck. As for the reverb, I think I used a different plugin back then that was quite wetter than what I use nowadays, but I seem to recall something similar when Slayer was producing Reign in Blood, they said that once they took the reverb off everything cleared up. Reason for that was because before RiB in Hell Awaits and Show No Mercy they were basically trying to be like their heroes Mercyful Fate and Venom and they used reverb. However I like Hell Awaits and Show No Mercy better because of that lol, the reverb gives it an atmosphere. Still though, I understand whatcha mean, and rest assured most of the stuff I've recorded recently use another plugin which has a subtler kind of verb.

As for the drums, well yeah, I really have problems with drums because I'm pretty much a guitar player and for me drums are OK if I can just hear every individual percussive element, which is standard fare for maybe demo style productions but I guess not good for a mastered mix n shit. TBH I've been ruined by years of underground digging and having to put up with subpar production so much that I've developed an ear and a preference to it, and sometimes I forget that other dudes don't really dig the whole lo-fi, recorded in a catacomb kinda sound. I will definitely take your advice concerning drums though, I have the most trouble with them and it's usually the most sloppily mixed shit in my stuff. As for the guitars, I'll keep it in mind, for the most part the tones I get are preference and stylistically speaking I feel they work. But if I were to do something that isn't meant to sound like the amp cabinet was caked with mud and worms after recently rising from the dead then I would definitely take your advice concerning it.

Thank you very much for your review, I'm extremely grateful for it, as I guess it helps keep my head grounded onto what other people may or may not dig, especially considering since I'm so obsessed with the particular sound an era had I forget other things that make it sound ACTUALLY good, instead of kvlt good.

[Honeycomb Flats (2018)]

I need whatever you used for this

Bertn1991 responds:

Nice to hear from you :)

I used Noteworthy Composer and Ableton Live 10 to write the song, and the VST "Omnisphere" for the silly a capella vocals.

Also, check out Rats Flats if you want. It uses mostly the same vocals.

[mihaster - Reality]

This has so much potential!

Seriously, the synths are beautiful, the composition is amazing, and the timing of everything makes the track flow really smoothly.

The only thing that brings this track down is *mixing*.

The drums are pretty hard to hear, some lead gets thrown out by the backing synths, and some things just don't sound right. Even then, the worst sin of all EDM: The kick doesn't pop out! If you want to, PM me, and I'll teach you some things. Maybe a collab will get things in working order ;).

Peace!
-Perma

mihaster responds:

Mixed :D

[At The Speed Of Light (Deathmix) Rough version]

So, I love this. You took something that was an amazing piece, and turned it into something that would be an actual orchestral piece! It sounds clean, but I do have criticism.

The main melody, while there, doesn't stick out as much, which should be your main goal. Without a main melody, the chords aren't anything special to listen to, which makes this piece quite meh to someone's ears. Also, where there should be a slowdown there isn't. That goes for every part in this song that should be like that. If it's completely energetic all the way through, you get no push and pull. (Trust me, I learned the hard way).

Also, maybe some variation to the song might be good. I know it's a remake, but I feel that some parts haven't stood the test of time, and could use a bit of fixing/changing. What are those parts? Well, you decide, you made the piece.

That's it! 4/5 stars. -R4R

death2go responds:

Thanks for the review, when I was working on this i was trying to change it up instrument wise, which might have resulted in some of the melodies being covered by color/chords, I’m also not completely sure what you meant when you referred to the slowdown, I might have an idea of what I think you meant. Are you implying the 2nd break isn’t as much of a break than it should be? Whether or not that’s the case I’ll look into it! Thanks for taking the time to review this! Hope you Have a pleasant existence!

[Hyear, dius MARIA]

Woah! This is truly a masterpiece. Very reminiscent of an old-style hymn, but definitely a new style of it! Time to go over the pros and cons!

Pros: The music provides a nice background, without having too much melody. This lets the singing come out much nicer and very beautiful!

Cons: While the song sounds beautiful, the voice stands out a teeny bit more than it should. A little more mixing, maybe even just reverb, and this would be solid.

Good job, looking forward to a new piece!

Troisnyx responds:

Responding to this to let you know that an updated mix and master of this has been put up, same file.