AXTTXA's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A Grave Intensity]

Sick as the sickest!

Copying stuff from NG greats? Hum... dunno xD I don't listen to that many NG songs on an average basis, only occasionally. I think I get what you mean. People aspire to be like their idol NG artist, but they often end up becoming them and not themself as their own composer. Perhaps that's not what you meant? Eh maybe, maybe you meant like rhythm patterns and maybe bassline styles (I make techno so that's all i really know xD) haha. I think most of the good reviewers on NG, and the listeners too, understand what you mean though.

Personally, I believe that that sort of "drive" you had, or perhaps still have, to make something "unheard of" really pushed this song into what it is. I've never heard of anything like it. At first it was just piano, then those long low notes, keeping the song going. Then you introduce a nice snare, where you even change the pitch of? Or that's the other drum thingy/snare/kick/i-really-don't-know -since-i-don't-play-drums. Nice kick too; I like how it sounded sort of like footsteps and had a lot of echoed repetitions of the initial kick. The violin part, mixed with the long low notes (i'm guessing bass? xD) create nice contrasts. Good panning choice too ;P. If an ensemble plays this they know the setup now, at least partially. Those like arpeggios on the piano; nice. They're sort of like the whipped cream on a cake. Not the main thing, but what makes the cake, the cake, hence, the song, the song ;P. I don't know what to say about the notes and the melodies. They all sounded nice with each other, like harmonies if that's the word. Nice mmm... arpeggiator in the beginning around :30 or :40. lol maybe it's a sequencer, or an arpeggiator not arpeggiating. I like that part around 1:20 where the main drum beat kicks literally into a drum solo, but then transitions into being a primary accompanist almost, to the piano, which doesn't even happen to have that much going on as a melody since it has just those arpeggios. Ah whatever maybe that didn't make sense. What I'm really saying is that the song was cool. :D

So you want to know how to improve? Hm.... Dunno really. This song's got a nice balance of instrument variety and note pattern variety (like your drums). I've only got suggestions for you to try, possibly in future songs. I suggest trying out some key changes, or at least trying out altering your base line. Not sure if you did do a key change or alter the base line around the end, but oh well. Those two can definitely easily add a spark back into your song if you want to make a trance song or a really long song, something like that. The base line also helps make the listener unable to say "oh it's a repeating baseline" if you make the base line prevalent enough in the length it's played for. Another idea, try variating the piano, as that "drum solo" first begins. Maybe just change the end note of each measure of that slow pattern the piano's playing (talking about 0:53 ish). Also, based on that idea, you could use more octaves on the piano. Right now I'm hearing something like a note sequence of 1 2 3 - | 1 3 2 - | 1 4 3 - | 1 4 5- | or so. instead you can try and make that last rest of each measure be like an octave lower, or maybe a major/minor third lower, or even an octave lower and then major/minor third lower (i call it octave +2. guess it's octave -2).

Maybe add in more panning variety too? Your panning already makes the song different then... I dare to say about 50% of NG songs at least (lol maybe not a substantial percentage). A nice trick you could try with the panning would be to change the sides of panning each measure, and though doing that only, sounds chopped up, you could make the 4th beat of a measure and the 1st beat of the next have a panning going from say Left to Center to Right.

Dunno if you're using FL Studio, but you could also perhaps add some more reverb to the piano, or use automation clips for filter effects (maybe on the bass since it's got the longest notes).

Yeah, that's all I really got to say. Just saw you've got a lot of potential, and the song's real good too

dietsnapple135 responds:

Wow, quite a long review, I like those :D. I'm glad you liked how it turned out, the song really doesn't follow any normal song setup, it pretty much constantly changes. When I meant most people are trying to be like the NG greats, if you look at the best people on NG's, they have their own, distinct sounds, that make them stand out, people trying be like them, often aren't going to find this sound, or get enough personal confidence to develop their own.

I do use FL Studio, but the FL reverb is way too forward, loud, and cheesy. The Piano actually has a shit load of reverb on it, but the reverb is pretty subtle compared to what FL users are used to. I think people flood their songs with bad reverb all too often.

So, thanks for the detailed review, and awesome :D

[RPG - Final Battle]

Heck of an epic song!

Dang this is definitely a great song. Love the strong strings in throughout the whole song. Awesome contrasts in dynamics and melody when you switch from the strings to like lower strings with brass. This first song really has a lot of excellent work that many other people who've made like 20 or 30 songs haven't accomplished yet. The song is able to continuously run with long, prevailing notes because of the continuous quarter note crash/splash/good hat and that running riff in the background. Although the song's sorta long, considering the melody variety, it is indeed very good. At 0:13 I can hear some sort of instrument rising around in the background but then disappears, appearing again around 0:20. There are a couple of things that could be learned from this first time song, if no one else has bothered to point them out from the epicness (yes I was taken away by the epicness too).

I can hear an electric guitar in the background I believe? Definitely bring that out more by about probably 5-10% in the channel volume for FL Studio, or do a replicated version of a phaser with the Velocity if the guitar is compatible with FL Studio velocity.

Also, that sort of electronic kickoff riff should definitely be toned down a little bit. Don't know what you used for it, but I lose all that sick energy from the song when I hear it played the second time and the last time. If you really wanted to, I'm sure you could try and vary up that melody. I can hear the melody right now as like a 5 3 4 2 3 1 sort of melody, like a D B C A B G or so melody. Can't accurately tell since it's real fast, but I can imagine you changing that to something similar to 5 3 4 6 5 3 4 6, so like D B C E D C B E. Something like that. Hopefully you can understand what I'm saying.

Also, as I said earlier, there's some sort of instrument coming out around 0:13 and 0:20 and many more parts when the melody is repeated. Bring that out because I can only hear one or two notes til it fades and reappears. Bring it out like occasionally in each measure the first time the main melody plays, then the second time it plays make it be heard throughout the whole melody underneath, while still having enough velocity.

That guitar melody definitely needs to be turned into a solo. I can see around the end of the main melody at about the 1:00 portion you could experiment and turn those repeating notes at the end of the strings into a high note supported and overtaken by a slide in the guitar, then bring that guitar melody an octave or two higher and vary up the notes a bit. Then if you really feel like the guitar needs a bit more shine, play that melody pattern twice and clone it and vary up the varied melody.

Btw I love the drums. Sounds like rock drums (lol Idk what kind of music genre drums they sound like, but I really like the snare).

Note that I don't think these suggestions really matter if this is being played in a video game, because the player's mind will most definitely be focused on the game, with this music bolstering the adrenaline. I do believe that they will die in the game though because they'll notice how epic this song is. If there were one thing I could make you change, it would be those electronic sounding riffs that are at the start, middle and end.

5/5 9/10 Downloaded. Keep it up! Since this is your first and this post is over a year later, I'm sure you've already learned a lot of what I just said, if you're still making songs.

-AXT

[Dj Niamek | Awaken]

O.O! holyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

holy crap shoot man! dude you're like a living composing god! DJ - Babokon just showed me your page and told me he inspired you, and you're making songs this good? dang man, better than me, then again, who isn't? Had to review this man, this song is too good. I heard you used ONLY Sytrus? Dang man, you know how to work your instruments and resources. This stuff is godly trance and there's so much depth to the sound. Sickest gates and strings, dang i thought i looked through all 500 or so instruments of Sytrus. Guess I just didn't realize how well they could be used. Listen man, this song is just a perfect blend of various instruments and melodies. Won't be able to tell my favorite part of this song for a couple of weeks until i've listened to this like a hundred times.

Soaring long notes and literally perfect mastering. I can barely hear the kick at some of the intense/busier parts, and it doesn't really matter. The melodies are so breathtaking and jawdropping at those moments no one could really care about a basic quarter note playing kick drum. The bass is super deep and still high enough to distinguish the notes and the piano sounds as if it's lost but has a direction, if you understand what I'm saying. Well, if you don't, I meant it in a good way ;P.

The song's just so good man what the *************************************
********** i hate you you're so good! This song has climaxes and falling moments (are there any? well the climaxes pass away so smoothly i can't tell), escalations, all working together perfectly and in the right amount of occurrences at the right intervals. This is like a paragon piece of art for anyone, no matter if they are a composer or a listener. Hundreds of memories can flow through one's head just by listening to this song once, and tons of ideas and imagery just from these sick notes.

Keep it up man, you'll be on top of NG for a long time if you can just get one song (if you haven't already) onto Top 5 weekly and you get tons of people favoriting you.

5/5, 10/10, Downloaded, Reviewed, Favorited, Jaw-dropped, Partially reinspired, and Mentally Face-slapped.

-AXT

Silta responds:

HAHA
Thank you sooo much for this review! :D The end made my burst out laughing... glad to know I have at least a few people who love this stuff :) I'd personally never thought quite THAT highly of this, considering how my newest piece is turning out... but I love this review and thank you for your thoughts :)

And thank you, Babokon ;P

-N

[(CHS) The Power Inside]

Pretty sick

Nice intro, cool instruments, and awesome drum line. As the other reviewers said, it has a mystical feel, and yeah it's like Metroid. Even though I've never played it, but seen people play, this makes me feel like I'm playing it haha. Transitions smoothly and slowly (in an elegant way) from part to part, then in the middle it stops to bring in the melodies again only a little different. I like the choir in the background and how there's new instruments every 8? measures. The ending is pretty cool too, when the drum line drops out.

5/5 9/10

-AXT

I'd say just change up that drum line a bit. Yes, unique and catchy for the whole first minute, and I'd say after you cut off the song in the middle, experiment with a different version of the drum line. If you're using FL Studio, then clone the pattern and try making a new drum line maybe 3 or 4 times by moving around notes here and there. Changing the kick and snare/that sharp snapping sound) first is one way to do this, and then change the rest of the percussion/drum instruments arranged according to the rhythm of the kick. If that doesn't suit your tastes then just try a different drum line altogether if you're still shooting for a new drum line by then.

That's only if you want to change up the song's drum line though. It's a pretty good song for a lobby in a video game, or like the menu screen. I'm surprised no one has used this song yet in a video game.

ChaosDragon004 responds:

Thanks this was really helpful bro and much appreciated. Im just sorry that I didn't get a chance to respond to it earlier.

[DJ Babokon - Elysium Universe]

Sick and awesome, as always.

Yeah dude this is one of your best songs man. It's played over five times straight and I haven't even gotten bored of it yet. The beat is awesome, with that gated instrument. Like the notes sound fairly simple, yet it just manages to have enough depth to keep you interested in waiting for the next part to emerge. All the instruments are super professional sounding, along with the transitions and effects. It was nice to hear the flutes again and that solo instrument from The Burning Earth. This song is a nice mix of some previous works (the flutes from Ebbing Waves, Synth from The Burning Earth, etc). I agree with lucario about this being good for an escape game, and also chimy for this to be a fitting match for a side scrolling game. You could probably have this play like over three times before the player ever realized it was looping.

Personally, I loved the climax at 4:06, with a build up from the bassline, and adding in percussion and then a snare roll. Definitely make your future works like this, in any sort of way, whether through instruments, rhythms, or the progressive style. I think the high-pass filters could use some variation maybe. I mean, yes, you did do some other transitions like fadeouts and fade ins, and maybe like for the high pass filters you could change the shape of it. Experiment with it a bit. They still sound super good.

10/10 5/5 Downloaded, as always
-AXT

DJ-Babokon responds:

Thanks, as always. :)

[Ravers Fantasyv2(757irish Rmx)]

very good...

Nice nice work man. Probably one of the most unique Raver's Fantasy Remixes i've heard. Real cool start with like a pad or choir, whatever it was, it was cool. The guitar or whatever thingy that sounded real acoustic-ish came in smoothly. Good sound effects. Nice snare. Fuzzy bass. Powerful kicks. The vocals sounded good, and a little bit strained, and still very good. Cool part in the middle with the piano and pad/gate. I love the kick runs or snare runs, whatever they are, that do the build-ups for the next phrases. Smooth fade in's. nice fade out..

I think there's a few things that could be tweaked in this remix. Personally i think the snare and kick are a little too loud unless that was done intentionally. It may be my speakers. The guitar/acoustic-thingy in the beginning could also be a little louder, and especially when the snare and kick come in. The lead >i< would have changed to be a little more of an intense sounding one. The lead is still pretty good though. The notes seem a little short though; maybe extend them a little and also make them a little louder and a bit more clear. Bring them up about an octave is what i would do. At the end from 3:20-ish to 3:33 instead of just having the kick or snare or drum/whatever just drop out like that, you could make it into like a fadeout to make it smoother. You could also do the same with the bass in the next phrase. Also, the ending with the big bang sound effect was real abrupt and i didn't like it very much, though other listener's might've liked it. If you're going to go with a fade-out like that, then just have like maybe a long note held out at the end at a fairly low volume level, but still loud enough. Or, if you still wanted to kick the big bang sound effect, make the fadeout go back to the melody for the short while and make it get more intense by either doing a key change or solo or some other effect that'll make a final climax, and hold out a long note right there, then it will possibly creating a perfect position for that big bang effect to be played about 4 beats after that last long note would be. I also hear some violin pizzicato i'm guessing or some form of plucking unless i'm hearing things. Whatever it was, make it a little louder cause i barely noticed it the first time the song played through.

Basically, this is a Very. Good. Remix. What you've done is all good and awesome-sounding. My suggestions are simply what i would have done. I'm not saying you should do all those things and submit it again but at least try it out and see how much you like it. I haven't made a Raver's Fantasy Remix myself, so i'm not in a good position to be saying stuff. I'm just letting out an opinion so you don't have to take my suggestions.

Since ratings matter a lot;
10/10
5/5

-AXT

757irish responds:

Haha thanks!!! I aprecciate this alot and i really mean that. Although im sorry to say i wont be doing anything more to this on NG. Mabye ill put up and updated version on youtube. But Thank you for taking the time to honestly review my song :D

[[TC] Into the Night]

holy shoot

dang this gave me the chills twice in less than 1 minute. love how everything flows together. Nice effects, cool orchestra with the panning. Awesome pads. Powerful piano melody. Lots of layers of instruments. One or two or the instruments sounded like they were 8-bit-ish and gave a cool feeling to the song, along with that piano in the start. Short sentences for the win.

I think the ending could have been better than a build up of a (dowlifter?) kick repeating a couple times, but i'm still giving you a ten. Maybe hold out a long note with it or do a slide down.

keep making music on that comp! Well, just keep making music in general.

-AXT

[DJ Babokon - Gravity]

Different and still awesome.

Yet another awesome song... not surprisingly hah. Love the "funky" drums. Although it sounds like they're repeated a lot they are still good because they're different from the "four-on-the-floor" drum line as you said in the description. The snare roll is pretty sweet too while managing to be different from the previous snare rolls you've used. I heard the original snare roll you used before (and everyone else) once... or maybe more in the song. Awesome base line cause that's the one i always use haha (obviously i would say that.) Nice fade-in with whatever instrument that was to draw in the listener's attention after the drum line started to repeat a little. Sounds like you used a different kick then the kicks in that pack of kicks you showed me, so good job on that. I was starting to get used to hearing that offbeat sound of the kicks from your previous songs because of those GT kicks. That instrument that comes in around 0:25 is very nice with both its sound and melody, although i can't distinguish the melody very well because it seems like there is maybe some reverb added to it or it was already in it. I also hear the high pass filter effects being used again and they fit in quite well with this song. That snare roll right before 1:16 tricks me into thinking that there'll be another section with another instrument yet it's kinda like a fake build that leads into a melody that simply keeps the interest level at a decent level that prevents users from straying away from the song. The same trick happens at 1:42 too. At 1:29 that sweep and sound effect make a perfect opportunity to bring the instrument up an octave, or just a little higher to continue to draw the listener in. Inferno was used perfectly with those slides and the low range of the notes to give the song a darker feel... somewhat. That long note on Inferno mixed with the high pass filter effect at 2:31 signal the climax about to begin (to me at least) and then the killer solo comes in with an epic-ness that would be hard to transcribe and play (for me at least.) At 2:45 that trance-sounding instrument comes in again to accompany Inferno in it's insane solo while simultaneously giving the listener another instrument to listen to. The melody at 2:58 makes a nice finish to the end of Inferno's climatic glory and then at 3:11 the song would seem to end but then a snare roll comes in to introduce the final section of some other instrument that i haven't heard in the song before. Inferno makes a great accompaniment to the finale of the song at 3:36 as the song "slides" into the end. (ha. ha. funny.)

Personally I think the song could use another kind of drum line though the one you used IS VERY, unique and different from standard drum lines. The first two times i listened to this song i never noticed the hat, although that may be because i was just listening to the melody, the snare, and the kick. I would say to bring it up a little, but if you did it'd be too loud. I just didn't notice it lol. Another thing i'll point out is that when you have those snare rolls without the high pass filter effects, >i< would have lowered the volume of that snare but the transitions are still successes the way they are. I think you could have perhaps used Inferno a bit more, but then you'd probably be abusing it and not letting the other instruments get their shine time. I wish i could hear that solo twice in the song in another section and maybe move around some notes a little, but one incredible solo is enough to make people download the song anyways. The song sounds like a trance song, although i don't really care since it's still awesome nonetheless. I'm not the composer anyways.

Btw, cool picture that you used for the Youtube video. For being the first song with a guitar, it sounds good, and makes me wonder what the future songs will be like with a guitar (or Inferno perhaps?)

5/5 10/10 (Can't believe rating on the side is so low for such a good song, though it might've changed in the time i've been reviewing.)
At a friend's house so i'll DL later
-AXT (0 characters left )

DJ-Babokon responds:

Wow, what a staggering review! So much for me to go over here... Thanks!

["X" -ZERO-]

AWESOME

Super fast song and it sounds like a Gold Saw though i may be wrong. NIce with the guitar in the background. Perfect video game music. Heard this in Retrosplode and i just HAD to download this.

I lol @ the listens compared to the downloads.