Dylnmatrix's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cloaked In Crimson]

I really like this man. Reminds me of an area theme for an epic RPG, having a sense of curiosity in the beginning but opening up as you further proceed into the world, seeing the massive fields and cliffs to explore. Either that or it could be the emotional insert music that plays during an important story event as you head to an important boss that you don't want to fight but have to, something like that. I can interpret the sense of regret and wishful thinking that would portray the second scenario.

The mixing is really good and the track is mastered well. I enjoy the drums and percussion a lot, it's sequenced very well, but I wished the drums cut through just a tiny bit more, as they can get drowned out a bit by the strings when they crescendo towards the middle, making it hard to hear the great drum fills you have in there. Seeing all the EWQL just makes me jealous, because it's really good and I want it.

Another tiny gripe I have, would be that I wished it went further. The motif you have is great as well as the other melodies that pop up here and there harmonizing that motif, but I feel it ended a bit too soon for me to be satisfied. Maybe it's just the way I've interpreted the track, but I want more from it. I'd like to hear a sudden mood change, fitting my emotional insert music in the RPG theory, for when you walk into the boss' area and you realize there's no hope of them changing, to convey a feeling of acceptance in a way.

My music interpreter self aside, this is really, really good. The fact that I got invested in the track enough to make up a story to fit it, wanting more from the track to fit said story, just testifies how good the track is.

Great job on this
Dylnmatrix

MetalRenard responds:

Thanks for the detailed comment, I appreciate the time and thought put into it.
I agree - I didn't take this one far enough. It was written quite quickly, something I made just to capture a feeling or mood I had at the time and I couldn't find a way to change it without changing what I originally made the song for. For the sake of the music, I probably should have, but ended up not taking the plunge.

Again, thanks for that!

[T-Logic - Influx]

Having been a while since hearing a track of yours, it's really nice to hear how much you've improved. Especially in the melodic and chord progression areas of your tracks. I really enjoy the drum beat in this, the sequencing of the hats was intricate enough to get me grooving and drum sequencing is something I still wish to improve in myself. The instruments also blended well together and complemented the track well as a whole. My only nitpick would be that it is pretty repetitive, but you closed the track (really well done outro I might add, even if it does seem to be a really short outro, it's very solid) before it got too repetitive to the point that someone would just skip through the rest of the track looking for more. The mixing is also well done, I can hear everything very well with my headphones, but the track could benefit from some master compression to boost the quiet sounds so to let people with speakers enjoy the tiny intricacies of the track.

Very nicely done, especially for a track done in such a small timeframe. Pumping out a track in 4-5 hours is something that I would have a very hard time doing now, so I commend you in that.

Don't stop improving man,
Dylnmatrix

TaintedLogic responds:

DylnMatrix! :D So glad to hear from you, man. How's college going? It's like all my early influences on this site stopped by for this track: Johnfn and now you! ^^ Anyway, I'm thrilled that you think I'm improving. I'm glad the melodic and chordal elements were satisfying for you and, as I mentioned in the description, I worked really hard on those drums. ;) I was really going for a "well-blended" sound, if you know what I mean, so I'm glad you thought I captured that here. I totally agree that it's repetitive - I was quite lazy with the structure of this one. As for the outro, it's mostly made up of those last 4 chord hits, which I gradually fade in over the course of the final refrain. :) Thanks for the compliments on the mixing as well, and I concur that I need to do some more work with master compression. I recently got some advice on multiband compressors from a friend from school that I plan on using in the near future. >:D Thank you very much again, DM! Great to see an old friend stopping by my page. :') I should probably check Soundcloud more often so I can hear more of your newer work. Hopefully I'll have some time next weekend. Thanks again!

[Vile]

This is pretty cool. Not necessarily a style I like listening to a lot, but I liked this.

I enjoy the pixelated vibes alongside the bass work, and the eeriness of the progression was pretty cool. The percussion was great, good choice of samples. I don't hear anything wrong production-wise, good clean mix with a full sound. I enjoyed the fills you put into the drop in between the bass, such as the scratching and the arp fills.

While I enjoyed the track and the bass work, the track does feel a little empty. The bass could have been a little more prominent in the drop and maybe a little more unique instead of just using a generic sine wave underneath the arp for the whole entire drop. Change it up, use many different basses in succession to each other, create new sounds. I also don't think the vocal shots don't really add to the track and it could do without them.

It's a nice song though and I enjoyed it.

[The Nightingale Order]

That percussion...

This is beautiful man. Very fitting to the art piece. The musicality is brilliant and I'm in love with the percussion. Gives you an epic feel, yet you wonder about the mysteries that it holds. 1:23 holds especially true to that, and I love it.

I honestly can't think of anything to critique in this. This is just brilliance in my ears and I'm having a hard time finding anything wrong with it as there really isn't anything. Maybe it's a bit short and you could have done more with this, but the shortness works well for me and this piece.

Great job on this.

LunyAlex responds:

Thank you for your kind words, they are really motivating!

[Lycanthropy]

The techno parts give me a really nostalgic feeling with the melody and synths that you used. Though this doesn't really make me think of a man vs Werewolf type of relationship, it makes me think more of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I hear a constant struggle in the song, even in the "calmer parts" of the track as if he has someone tempting him to change, aka Hyde. And then the break is when he breaks and falls to temptation and then the drop is Mr. Hyde taking over. Hyde being calm and collected, the rest of the track is Jekyll trying to get his mind back, but the way it ends gives me the feeling he failed. But that might just be me.

I really like the bassline you gave it, even if it has been used before. And the drop was pretty cool as well, good on you for making it melodic. I also like the breakbeat after the first drop.

While I liked those things, the drums sounded kind of cheesy, and while it sometimes added the old school feel to the techno, I think you need a stronger beat for the dubstep parts, give us a real sense of how big the change is between the man and the monster. Probably could use with some different basses in the drop that would truly contrast the two minds. Also, that snare needs to be stronger, it sounds really soft and doesn't add to the whole beast taking over. I'm kind of nitpicking but it's what I feel would artistically represent the track better, honestly.

In all regards though, this is a good track. I liked it and it really got my art interpreter side working again. The mixing and mastering is clear and I can hear everything, and the overall structure of the song is good. Was a bit repetitive at the end, and could've used a bit of melodic variances, but I digress.

Good work on this and keep it up.

Voltus responds:

Thank you very much.

The snare btw was totally made by myself, my first "selfsynthed snare" ever you could say. But I get where you're coming from. I need to learn that stuff more.
I really appreciate your critique!

[SmK & Ason ID - Senses]

I really like this song. It's got a lot of emotion, false or not, and that always makes a song a keeper in my eyes (or ears, in this case). The melodies are great, and I really like how you guys progressed through the song, especially with the break at 1:50-ish. The drums are also nice, good progression there. Great production as well.

One thing though, it does sound like your others. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but I knew how the song was going to progress and so it took a lot of the 'wow' factor away. With this being a collab, I was expecting a bit more change from the SmK style, but it stuck to you guys most of the way. Maybe you guys should try dabbling into other genres again, or something. Change the flow.

Anyways, it's a great song, but due to what I said above, it wasn't your guys' best. But, as always, my reviews are to be taken with a grain of salt, and I know how hard it is to change styles once you fall into a niche, so if you guys find it hard to change styles, don't force it. I'll still enjoy your music and listen.

Good luck with future projects,
Dylnmatrix

[Rain Drums]

This is quite nice.

I like the use of the steel drums and all the contrasting melodies that you have going on at once. It's nice to listen to. I also liked the intro into the track, short but sweet, but just enough to give a good introduction to what the track was about.

A couple miffs/nitpicks/what-have-you: While I liked the use of the steel drums for the main melody and all the contrasting melodies you have going on, it does get a little too repetitive before the end of the track. I feel like you could have varied the melodies as you went along, even in a 2 minute track. Also, the outro seemed a little rushed and it feels like the song has unfinished ideas to fulfill. It didn't quite feel complete, y'know?

Other than that, I liked the track and I hope you continue making more.
Dylnmatrix

Rinibra responds:

Thank you so much!!

[Encapsulation]

Wow...I really like this track. Love it, even.

Great intro into the track, and I love the strings used (of course I do, it's East/West). The mixing is amazing, making me jealous as I still have a long way to go. I also love the melodies that pop in during the breadowns and choruses. Around 2:30 onwards is my favorite part of the track and it just fills my headphones with beautiful sound. I also really love the outro starting at 3:40-ish. Don't know why, I just do.

One thing I did notice though, is that from 0:36-0:46, there's a weird popping noise. It at least goes with the rhythm of the track, so it might be intentional, but it is pretty much the only thing I dislike. I do like the effect you have before it starts, which makes me believe the popping's intentional, but I prefer the way you use it at 1:50 better than keeping the effect going for 10 seconds after it's done. Just a nitpick though.

Other than that, I really like the track. I've listened to it 4 times during writing this review and I like it more each time. You guys did a really great job on it.
Dylnmatrix

Step responds:

Heyyy thanks for reviewing!

"Wow...I really like this track. Love it, even."

Yay. c:

"Great intro into the track, and I love the strings used (of course I do, it's East/West)."

You know what, those strings actually aren't East/West! Those are from Omnisphere. Omnisphere has some absolutely lovely sustain string patches. I don't think they're sampled (but they might be). Whatever the case, I love their warm silky sound and I had to use them. The legato strings at 2:50, however, are East/West.

"The mixing is amazing, making me jealous as I still have a long way to go."

It's all due to experience. I never actually read anything on mixing or followed any tutorials (apart from one small one just to figure out what stuff does). I think it's something that a musician will just pick up naturally after a while so don't fret too much about it.

"I also love the melodies that pop in during the breadowns and choruses."

It's funny, the melodies I just jot into the piano roll casually (such as the ones featured in this track) come out nicely, and when I try and spend ages thinking about a good melody and trying to perfect it, it isn't nearly as good.

"Around 2:30 onwards is my favorite part of the track and it just fills my headphones with beautiful sound."

That's so great to hear. I worked crazy hard on 2:50... after such a massive buildup that Echo gave me, I had to throw all I had at the climax.

"One thing I did notice though, is that from 0:36-0:46, there's a weird popping noise. It at least goes with the rhythm of the track, so it might be intentional, but it is pretty much the only thing I dislike. I do like the effect you have before it starts, which makes me believe the popping's intentional, but I prefer the way you use it at 1:50 better than keeping the effect going for 10 seconds after it's done. Just a nitpick though."

You know, I think I know which pops you're talking about. Certain pops are intentional, but other pops are just unintentional... I have no idea what they are. I had to export this quickly to make the deadline and these must've been artefacts from the export (I sometimes get glitchy exports from using East/West because the VSTs are so CPU-intensive). Weird.

"Other than that, I really like the track. I've listened to it 4 times during writing this review and I like it more each time. You guys did a really great job on it."

Thanks a lot for such a great review! I'm glad you liked it.

[Delta Wave]

Great job on this man. I love that you took some of my advice, it feels good knowing I helped someone make a great track. I can't really find anything wrong with it aside from distortion in the sound here and there that's barely noticeable unless you listen for it (had to listen twice to hear it), or if you have a certain set of speakers/headphones, may be different for other people. It didn't bother me though.

I enjoyed the final product and hope to hear more from you :)
Dylnmatrix

Canas responds:

Thanks for the input my friend :)