Dylnmatrix's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Robot Slave (demo)]

Damn, that is a really crisp mix. I'm jealous. I'm also really digging the bass as well as that transition into the end of the demo.

If you do ever finish this, I think you should try and go farther with it, making a melody over that part at the end and adding a little variety to the bass part. I'm not sure how that would all fit in, as I'm no expert on Drum n Bass, but I do know what I enjoy when it comes to Drum N Bass, and that's when the artist fits an awesome melody over the craziness of the rest of the track.

This is awesome regardless though. 5/5 since everything in this minute and 21 second track is damn near perfect to my ears.

Dylnmatrix
R4R

Sequenced responds:

the key to getting a crisp mix is trial and error for years. ;)

thanks for the comments, i'll keep them in mind for the full

[Life's Breath]

I really like the melody, especially at 1:30-ish, with that little breakdown you had. Nice and relaxing, yet has a good amount of emotion in it to add the tension that I feel was needed to keep me gripped. I feel like you really got the composition part down for this whole piece, as I don't have much to say about it.

Now, you have the composition part down, but there is a lot of distortion and instruments overpowering others. I'd recommend compressing it a little to eliminate most of the distortion and clipping that happens with your crescendos. It's at least what I would do in the mixing process. Don't put too much compression on it though, as it will give your song a muddy feel. I'd also turn the string section down just slightly when you have everything building, as the strings usually take over and it's harder to hear the rest of the track.

But other than that, this is a short, sweet, and nice piece. Don't take the 3.5 stars too badly, as I see a great track in this. It has great composition, it just needs a little work with the mixing and maybe a bit of EQ'ing as well. Good work, Oshii, keep it up.

Dylnmatrix

Oshii77 responds:

Thanks very much for your review!

The problem I have with the advice relating compressing and distortion is, quite simply... I don't understand any of it!
In the software I use, Noteflight, I've never had to think about any of this - I just composed as I would at a piano - not thinking about electronic effects at all.
Additionally, it's very difficult to subtly change instrumental dynamics so at most stages of the piece I have overpowering parts though I try to minimise this... And to top it off, I used some lame online .wav to .mp3 converter which made it all sound horribly fuzzy at parts.

I'll try using Audacity and see what I can do.

Again, thanks very much for your review - it's much appreciated!
:)

[Stereo Tide]

I really enjoyed this. The slides in the melody and bass are really cool, I feel like they make the music flow a lot better than if they weren't there. The composition was great. I'm jealous about the mix/master, I wish I could be that good and make my songs that crisp sounding. I also enjoyed the calm moments with all the sound effects, made me think of sitting outside on a summer day and just listening to the birds.

My only real issues with the track is that maybe it's a smidge too repetitive. I felt like there could have been so many more melodies to build off of the original one. I also think it's a tad too "mainstream", in the sense it's a bit cliche for a dancey techno song. These kinds of melodies and progressions are done a lot in the dance songs I've heard, and it really reminded me a little of the melodies SKILLZmakeKILLZ makes in their dance music.

But other than that, I enjoyed the track. Good composition, great mixing/mastering, and an overall good song. Nice job on this, guys!

Dylnmatrix

ChasingPresence responds:

Thanks for the detailed review! These are rare :)

[Lies]

...wow. This track was beautiful. Nice and varied throughout, the vocals were good quality and the singer has a great voice. Was a little flat at parts, but I didn't notice it as much, so it doesn't deter from the track that much, as I know what it's like singing and how easy it can be to go flat from time to time.

I also love how you had the bass have the transition riff a lot of the times and how noticeable. Being a bass player myself, I always appreciate songs that have the bass be noticeable, and more important than just backing everyone up and playing root notes. Maybe that makes me biased, but I don't care.

I enjoyed the guitar, and with jaysummers playing, it's to be expected. He's a great guitarist, in my eyes. I like how the solo just "creeped" into the track, and there wasn't really much notice to it coming, as there is in a lot of rock songs I listen to. It was new and sounded great to me. I also liked how well it blended itself with the bass guitar, but still gave room for the bass to shine as well, which, as I said above, appreciate quite a lot.

Aside from the singer going flat only a couple times, which doesn't affect the score for me at all, great song. Good lyrics, good progressions, good instruments, great quality...just wow. You're definitely getting a 5 from me for this. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it certainly gets my respect.

Shanath responds:

Ohh, thank you for the very detailed review. I'm glad you noticed that we were trying to give the bass more emphasis as most songs just use it as backing instead of trying to give it a flavor of its own.

As for the singing, Jess has a really nice voice but I know she had trouble getting a good recording done for this track. It might have been because of the certain style of the song and how she had to get used to it. Jay really shines here as well and I hope to work with him again in the future.

Either way, thanks again for the review. :3

[The Door - Rising]

I really like this!

The beat is nice, and I really like the piano. I enjoy the simplicity of the track as well, good for some light listening after listening to a whole lot of tracks that have a lot of complexity to them. I could see this being turned into a really nice longer track, but it's great as it is now. It looped fairly well, I like how the track pauses for just a split second before it loops. Maybe it wasn't intended, and it was added to the mp3 when you exported it, but it works really well in this case.

I didn't really find anything that I didn't like. I noticed a lot of FL presets that I've used before in a lot of my older projects, but it actually works for the track. Gives it a bit of an 80s/90s feel to it.

Great job on this.

Also, sorry for not reviewing your stuff sooner. Procrastination and laziness are to blame. But I have been checking out your tracks since you reviewed Bound By Fate. I've just been too lazy to actually leave a review.

TaintedLogic responds:

Wow! Thank you so much! :D Yeah, I do use a lot of presets- I've been trying to move away from that. Don't worry about not reviewing my songs earlier. I was happy when you simply responded to my reviews of your stuff, but this is a whole other level! Thank you again! Made my day! :)

[video game loop ;)]

Great job so far!

I'm really liking the calmness of the track so far. I could see this be a menu theme or a safe city overworld theme, where the character's get to relax finally after a bunch of crap has been happening to them. I personally don't mind the mixing as it is right now, except maybe the hi hats and the kick could be a little bit louder in the beginning, as they are at the . Other than that, it sounds great. There were times that I would skip ahead a bit to see what was coming next, but after the first loop, I've been listening to it all the way through.

For the ending, as you had that drum fill swell after that little calm break, maybe have a little part to sound like the character's are celebrating, going along with my safe city/town overworld theme interpretation, happy to be rid of worry for a day or two. Then you can tone it down as you get it ready to loop back to the beginning, if you want to keep it a loop. I think that would be pretty cool, but you don't have to do that.

As for the structure, it sounds good as it is now, the track flows nicely with some good transitions, and that part I suggested earlier would help satisfy my interpretation of the track, while keeping the song flowing. I'm not exactly sure what could be added or taken away, as my inspiration is at a pretty big low, but I'll PM you if I figure anything out before you finish the track :)

Keep it up my friend!
Dylnmatrix

SoulofT responds:

Glad it made you think of something like a menu theme, it's exactly what I had in mind! :)

yeah, I figure the kick/hi-hats do need a volume boost in the intro, especially to give it the "pumping" feeling which I'm trying to get... maybe some sidechaining might help :p

I really like your idea of the celebrating sounds, especially as I've been trying to find a way to make this sound more like a loop. I don't know, I'll try it and see how it turns out I guess.

Glad you also think the track flows well, this is something I've been struggling with in other tracks and which I've been working on!

Thanks a lot for the insightful review man, it's really appreciated!! :)

[Battle! vs. The Razos]

This track is pretty cool. Very "futuristic."

I really like the flowing melody and how the melody changes speed from the beginning. Like how a war builds, very much like the song's intended. I can definitely see a space war while listening to this. I also enjoy the bassline and the synth you used for the bass. The builds are great, and the way you introduce new elements is crisp and clean, making the piece easy to enjoy without it stopping too much.

I didn't like the background "plucking" progression (I dunno how to describe it) very much though. In the beginning it was fine, but by the end of the track it got a little stale and a bit monotonous. But with it being hidden in the background, it didn't get to me that much. Plus war can be monotonous, so it makes sense in a way when you think about it.

I also believe the ending could have been a little bit better than just ending everything else then having a reverse crash echo. If I had to suggest how it could be better, I would say that you could have taken that "plucking" progression and have it start taking over the rest of the track, by means of getting louder or having everything else fade away until the end when it solos as you slow the progression down to the final chord. You could use the reverse crash to transition to the solo, or you could still use it at the end as the final chord is playing. You don't have to do this, as the song's fine as it is, it's just what I would do. -shrugs-

All in all, it's a great track. I enjoyed it, even with the minor issues I had with this. Keep it up!

vorteX-sound responds:

Wow. This review is incredibly detailed, thanks! This is going to be for the same series of music for the possible upcoming flash series on here I mentioned in the contest. Hopefully I'll be able to improve my music skills to come close to perfecting the scores for the series. Thanks again!

[Hardly the Sound]

Interesting melody, the song definitely started head-nodding for me.

Pros:
-The melody is nice and simple in the beginning and starts getting more complicated as the song progresses.
-Most of the transitions are nice and clean, they don't cut off too much from the feel of the track.
-The rhythm you had the melody do at around 2:30-ish was interesting. It felt weird at first, but once the beat and everything else kicked in at 2:50, it started to work a lot better with the track.
-Mixing seems fine to me. Not too loud or too quiet.

A few Cons about the track:
-The first transition. It's okay, but could be a lot better (not really sure how though, sorry ^^;). But you already know this.
-When the melody starts doing its funky rhythm with just the drums behind it (2:40-ish), it didn't really work and the way the rhythm was sounded kind of sloppy to me. It works once everything else comes back in at around 2:50, but it just doesn't work for me that much before then. I'm not exactly sure how you could introduce that rhythm better so that it would work, though. Maybe have the rhythm with the sixteenth notes come in at 2:50 with everything, introduce it a bit slower? It might work better for me then.

Other than that iffy first transition and the way you introduced the melody's interesting rhythm, this is a nice song. Definite head-bobbing material. Good job

Dylnmatrix

It feels weird asking for this in a review, but could you possibly review my latest piece "Love Is Powerful" and maybe check out "No Chance of Survival"? I'd really like some new reviews on those pieces as I just recently updated them to finished versions. Thanks!

GershBeats responds:

Thanks for the comprehensive review! I'm pretty aware of all the things you said, but it's good to have it clarified. I'll definitely re-release in a day or 2.

Also I'm happy to check your stuff out! I can't do it now but I will soon.

[SmK & DJH - Finally Free]

Simply amazing. The piano, melody, synths, beat, progressions, intro, outro, everything. Just beautiful. It's been a while since music made me feel like I was soaring through the air, with nothing to worry about. Thanks for this beautiful dance music guys, I needed something like this.

SKILLZmakeKILLZ responds:

Of course, we were all happy to bring you this masterpeice

[Sinking]

Great job on this.

Pros:
- I loved the intro. Kept me listening. The strings fit perfectly here.
- I also enjoy that you incorporated strings throughout the whole song, they gave the song a very full feel.
- The melody was great, simple yet captivating.
- You can hear so much emotion in this, I love it.
- I was not expecting the turn it made halfway through the song at 2:25, but I love it. Was it by chance inspired by Dimrain47? Those arps sound similar to the solos that he writes.

Cons:
- Your main synths were a little quiet to me at certain parts. Maybe it's just my headphones loving the bass way too much, but it took me a second to register that those synths were playing at times. Turn down the bass a little, maybe?

All in all, I loved this. Emotional, fitting the title "Sinking", and just overall great.

Keep it up
Dylnmatrix