Xarnor's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Struggle (NGADM)]

Whoo!

Lovin it! Definitely great for only 4 hours of work, although I don't think I've ever spent more than that on any song of mine..

The intro is sweet; I love those dramatic toms! The rest of the song is definitely just as good and better. Many of the elements in this song remind me of Accendo; you should definitely check them out some time, if you enjoy the kind of music that you've just submitted here that is.

Great choices of synths and drum sounds, excellent melodies, driving beats. Very good trance song, man!

JohnnyFrizz responds:

Thanks for the review! I just listened to Accendo and BOY they rock! Thanks for sharing :)

[Sly Taco]

Interesting

There are some innovative sounds going on here. Definitely jazzy, although not my idea of relaxing. I agree with InfernoZN to a degree; this does sound empty quite often, however, it is still very interesting to listen to, and each new sound is allowed plenty of space to be heard completely, which is nice.

You definitely have some great sounds going on in this song. My advice for you is to try creating some quieter sounds that are easier to mix together so that they can build on each other progressively instead of playing one at a time. Other than that, great song, dude.

[Solid State Machine]

Fuck yeah!

I like this! Great riffs, solid drums, sweet leads, and lots of potential for vocals. The electronic elements are out of place and yet fit at the same time.. I don't really know whether I like them or not. They do add nicely to the song, so I suppose I like them. And now that I notice the title of the song, the machine-like synths and claps and snares fit very well.

The mastering could use a bit of work; I like the tone of the rhythm guitar, but it needs some more volume, and the lead could do with a bit less volume. The drums sound good, if a bit over-compressed, but I know Addictive Drums is hell to work with.

Overall, this is a solid metal track. Hopefully the vocals will make it even better! Nice work.

godset responds:

Thanks! It was a bit of a battle between the rhythm guitar and the kick drum to get a clear sound from each at the same time, but I may try to fine tune that when I get vocals in there (not to mention bringing down the lead guitar volume)

Also, good ear picking out AD like that!

[Embrace - SilverEcho]

Nice!

This is nice. Laid back, but the build-ups give a nice tensity. The mixing could use some work; the hall kick drum distorts at some of the build-ups, and the kick drum closer to the end of the song distorts a bit as well. The song ends up being pretty peaceful overall, which isn't bad, but it makes the build-ups seem a bit out of place. It seems like the song should climax somewhere, but it never really does.

Overall though, this is, like I said, a nice laid back trance song, for the most part. Either add an energetic chorus section, or get rid of some of the builds, and this song will be more complete I think.

Silver-Echo responds:

thank you for taking the time to review .. maybe your right... the song does seem to lack a climax... Oh well, I think maybe a climax would make the song a little less peaceful. I don't really think an epic chorus part after a build up would fit in with the relaxing nature of the song.. however I do know where your coming from.. anyway thanks a lot, if you want me to review any of your songs back I'd be happy to help :)

[Cosmic Fluctuation (NGADM '11)]

Ah, miscellaneous

I love this kind of music. I make a lot of it myself, but I've found it best to not submit mine to Newgrounds as I often venture into soundscape-ish type stuff that people complain isn't music. Anyways, I like this, and I love space too haha. I'm not big on emotions, I find comfort in cold reason and logic, but this song definitely has more than just cold space. There is some good emotion and feeling mixed in with the space feel, and it mixes well.

The mastering could use some work here and there, but I think it might actually be adding to the space feel. It's hard to say, as of right now, you're the only person who can figure out if more mastering work would be additive or subtractive. I notice no lack of treble, but then again the Audio-Technica in-ear-phones that I'm using are definitely treble heavy.

Overall, great song! Downloaded, voted 5. Good luck with the contest thing.

Birdinator99 responds:

Nah, the mastering always needs work -- that's probably where I'll put my attention next for future songs. That, and maybe drum layering.

I'm glad you got something emotional out of the piece -- thanks for stopping by!

[Chaotic Decisions]

Sick!

^In a good way! I love industrial. This song is really cool, but it feels kinda empty. Some distorted lyrics would be beast on this, but a steady synth or pad like what InfernoZN suggested would work well I think. Overall though, this is a really cool industrial song.

[Cleaning The Future]

Hmmm

Using entire clips of other people's songs isn't cool. If you really want to use the melody of another song, remake it yourself as best you can, but never do what you did in the beginning of this song. Even though you did give credit, which is good, you can't just cut whole sections out of other songs and throw them into your own work. It's always best to create your own music with your own tools, from your own ideas.

The rest of the song is your own creation, and that's good. I can tell that you are new to creating music; there is no structure or melody to this song, and a good song needs both. Your drum work is good, and you used a good variety of synths, but the song just drones on randomly with no direction.

This doesn't mean that it is an awful song or that you are an awful artist. Like I said, I can tell that you're more or less new to this. Keep making music. Make a shorter song, with a melody that is pleasant to listen to. Use different effects on your synth, like reverbs and delays and filters. Try to include an intro, body, and outro.

I will give you 5 stars for the effort. I know that you probably didn't know that there is a problem with using other people's music like that when you made this, so don't feel bad. Just don't do it in the future. Continue to make up your on music, but put lots of effort into it!

Xxf3nxX responds:

Unfortunately I lost one of the best VSTi's I had to a computer crash.
It's gone, but I'm still trying. I don't really have the time to download any drum samples or soundfonts anymore, because the ones I had are gone too.

I'll try to work on my set up, and be back with something real and more original.

Thanks..

[Project 22]

Nice

This is pretty cool, and would work great in hundreds of different flash games. As a song in itself, it doesn't really go anywhere, but it is still fun to listen to. Definitely a legit video game song, all the way.

Rinileki14 responds:

Thanks! Glad to hear you like it.

[Saving The Sunset]

Very nice!

This is a very well orchestrated piece! The theme is very prominent and gives the entire song a purpose that makes it enjoyable to listen to.

I really wish you had some better instruments to work with to give it a more humanized sound, but you can't really be blamed for not having the money to blow on some EWQL library, and you did really great with what you have, so there is no criticism there.

This song is a good example of an artist applying himself to create something intentional and unique, and while none of the melodies got stuck in my head (my head is full of The Project Hate songs), they are all enjoyable to listen to, and everything ends up in a great song.

Good work!

Veneox responds:

One of the big things people lower the score for is the instrument quality. I am using Mixcraft 5.2 and am really pushing it to the limits with quality.

One day I will be able to upgrade the quality, until then this will have to do.

Thanks ;}