ChronoNomad's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Samurai Avengence-]

I believe that you have a lot of potential, and the overall mix is coming together, but the distortion guitar riffs and drum beats are so loud that they have too much presence. They drown out pretty much everything else, and the synth is relegated to the background so much that it can only be heard well when they pause, which only happens very briefly and at few moments.

Mixing and mastering are simply things that come with time and effort, and they're very rarely something that comes naturally. The palette of sound is okay, but could use more fleshing out and more instruments to really round things out. I also pay a lot of attention to how an artist ends a song, and since this one just cuts off abruptly, that feels pretty lackluster.

Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing how your talents grow and expand as you keep making music! You're doing well and learning your way around FL Studio, and I wish you all the best going forward.

SimpleCubic1497 responds:

Well, Thanks! I will work out on how my songs end and also, give me a good example of how a song should end, what is the cherry on the cake?

[Mundum de Somniorum]

Very pretty and ethereal, Lucid! In that wonderfully dark sort of way. I quite enjoyed the entire piece, but as usual your use of piano stands at the fore. The music box has a very appropriately eldritch sound to it, and there are so many other beautiful touches throughout.

How very like you to use a bit of Latin in your title, The World of Dreams! What can I say? It fits the motif quite nicely. Thank you very much for sharing.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

"Very pretty and ethereal, Lucid! In that wonderfully dark sort of way."

That's very well defined, as that was exactly what I was going for. I'm super glad it came across!

I didn't make the melody for the piano, but literally all the chords and the arrangements are done by me, and it was just suuuuch a great melody to play! Well, I guess I made the melody for that weird part at 1:20, as I needed something to lead up to the climax (which I also composed the melody for). It's really only that things that's repeated a lot which I didn't come up with xD

I used a combination of a music box, and the free (IF you own Kontakt) instrument "snow bells", by VSTBase. I also ran it through a Guitar Rig effect, to give it that... Glimmer? :'3

And yeah, I tend to like the sound of Latin, phonetically. Also, I feel it's a great way to give something meanings that aren't as obvious upon the first look, and can still be a great title without giving the listener premature impressions!
No, thank YOU very much for listening and reviewing <3

[AIM - Chris, the Boat and the Tormented Sea]

Ah, Lucid! Hail and well met, my friend. Very happy to see you have arrived with an entry of your own.

You move so effortlessly and gracefully from major to minor chords, conveying both the sense of wonder and adventure of a boating excursion, and the fact that it goes somewhat awry due to the capricious nature of the sea. You're playing captures the imagery well, emotions of mixed excitement and fear being conveyed as your fingers dance up and down the keys.

Although the track itself is a very solid four minutes in length, the journey seems to end so much sooner. Yet another hallmark of all the best music would be getting lost in it, which I most certainly have. Thank you very much for the art-inspired journey! Yet another gorgeous solo piano track has been added to your ever-expanding repertoire.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hallo!

As I mentioned in the description, I wouldn't want to miss out on this contest ;)
That said, it ended up being a bit of a last minute one. Luckily, once I knew what I wanted to make, the process was ridiculously fast :O

This composition is indeed very reliant upon the chords used, and the changes between them. It has been a while since I composed any longer section of a piece in this style, but I found it very enjoyable to do! For this kind of atmosphere, the right chords (almost) literally found themselves. You interpretation of my composition together with the art, seems to be a shared one! I'm quite happy about that :)

It's great to hear that the length didn't feel like a drag, but more like a journey with an abrupt ending, of sorts. I love getting lost in other people's piano compositions that are similarly styled, so every now and then I try my best to evoke that experience in others. Thank you very much, for the listen as well as for your words!

Have a great one ;)

[Ortus Nocte]

This needs a lot of work, but hey--it's a start. The instruments are legitimately awful, and the mixing seems to be almost nonexistent, but there's a seed of an idea here that's actually not bad.

For instance, the short piano progression that repeats endlessly and changelessly from start to finish just isn't very solid, and that's coming from a guy usually loves all things piano. Again, part of the problem is the lack of sample quality, but there needs to be some variance in there. Really, if you're going to repeat something so much, it needs to be considerably more interesting and could use more than a few changes throughout the piece in an attempt to keep it fresh.

So, like I said earlier, there is some potential here, but it's closer to a lump of coal than a diamond at this point. Keep working on it, and listen to the overall quality of other artist's tracks. These samples are just not very good at all, and I'm not one of those people who can't afford expensive orchestral suites and crap like that, so just about everything I use is gratis, but I always try to do the best I can with what I've got. Mixing can improve with time and effort, so of course it's going to be rather lackluster at this point. Let's see what you can do in the future. Excelsior!

UberOnion responds:

Thank you for the time and effort put into your comment. This is the first song I ever made and I used garage band. Anyways, I will try my best to follow what you said.

[Traversing the Milky Way]

I can see how this would be too complex as a contest entry, but I'm sure you'll come up with something that'll work. It seems like you could always break what you already have here down into simpler, more bite-sized thematic elements, but I suppose it's probably easier to just start over again from scratch.

Well hey, you got a beautiful piano track out of it either way, so there's definitely an upside! Thanks for sharing, and best of luck with your contest theme/melody.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm sure I could break it up, but the thing is, I've grown attached to how it sounds right now, so I find it easier indeed to start from scratch :)
I've already come up with another theme anyway ;)

I'm glad I was inspired to make this out of nothing really! Sometimes it just happens, I suppose!
Thank you for the review! I hope you're doing okay!

[Chewing Gum]

Awesome track, Shinsukelto! It has a really chill yet totally engaging vibe, and it's definitely one of my favorites out of this year's offerings. It reminds me of a few different games, chiefly among them the Mother and Pokémon series with their fun, quirky jams.

It's short and sweet, loops beautifully, and I think I've already listened to it half a dozen times in succession. Very enjoyable, and I can't believe no one else has taken the time to leave a review. Happy Pixel Day, and I wish you all the best in 2017!

ShinsukeIto responds:

Thanks Chrono, appreciate the review!

[Evilgrapez - Rainbow Resort]

And a Happy 2nd Pixel Day to you, too~!

Okay, so I went super retro with my track, but you. . . y o u . . . did this! And believe me, I'm not complaining. At all. Because it's a helluva lot of fun to listen to, which comes as no surprise.

Man, that long, slow ritardando at the end is glorious. Love the sound and dig the vibe. Sorry to hear about all the writer's block, omgsuperspeedtotallyrushedgottagofastness, and software issues. Not a one of those things is in any way pleasant, that's for sure.

I've got just one little complaint, and that's the super loud pop right at the tail end of the track. Toss your track in an audio editor and cut that bit off. If it were a loop you'd be up a creek, but you should be able to exorcise the audio demon without too much trouble and update the track. Anyway, I wouldn't feel right taking even half a star away for something like that when it was probably due to a software glitch, and besides--everything else is bonzer!

Evilgrapez responds:

Thank you so much for the kind words! Love the wording in your review. :P

And also, OH NO I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THAT AAAUUUUGGGHHH

Don't worry, though. Already fixed it. I checked the other formats that I sent to stores and stuff and they don't seem to have it, so I think it's just a software bug. Thanks for the heads-up!

[Alien Invasion]

Hey, FantasyWings! This is a really solid first submission. It starts out pretty simple, but builds nice and slow, then kind of blows up just before the one-minute mark. Very nice energy with a classic DnB sound.

The early snare sounds a little thin and could probably benefit from a touch more presence and a bit of reverb, but once it's replaced with the heavier snare it sounds great. Some very nice filter effects here and there, and while the overall motif is fairly repetitious, that's not really a big deal when the track is under two and a half minutes in total.

I really love that chill moment at 1:28 before it dives back into the beat, man! Such a nice touch. The ending is good, but I think it could be improved upon. I just feel like that final build and subsequent finale could have been bigger, deeper, and felt more climactic.

Overall, your mixing is decent, but there's always room for improvement there, as well. There were a few really cool elements that made good use of the stereo field, but I would have loved to hear more since so much seemed to hover right in the center. Good job, overall--keep it up!

AlexMaden responds:

Thank you so much for the feedback!
I really appreciate that you're taking your time to write such detailed and constructive review.
I'll take in everything you mentioned, thanks again!

[When I Look at You]

Mmhmm, that is so very nice! The Grandeur is pretty aptly named, if you ask me. Of course it takes someone talented to tickle those ivories (no, not ovaries) so well and summon up such a pretty and soulful sound.

A very inspirational piece to listen to, with an exceptional mixture of light, airy, and more delicate piano strains and the more sweeping, forceful, and resonating moments. There's a lot of personality to the music, if that makes any sense. It seems almost to breathe and have its own heartbeat, a thoroughly enjoyable experience, like meeting someone for the first time and feeling like you're already old friends.

Well, suffice to say, I obviously like this piano composition very much, which is glaringly obvious when I've listened to it at least half a dozen times already. Keep right on doing what you're doing, Lucid, and best of luck on that insane academic workload! I am truly glad that you can still make the time to sit in front of those eighty-eight keys and bring them to life.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Ooh, another review! Thank you!

OMG have you actually read Phyrnna's and my interactions in review form, and somehow recalled them?

"Cheers to fellow pianists playing their hearts out on the ivories~! \^o^/ <3"

"Don't judge me, but the first time I read this, I read "ovaries" instead of "ivories", and i was like... Wat? o.O"

You must have xD

Yeah, I definitely love the fact that I finally have a few nice Piano VST instruments to use, after all this time. The Maverick is a really nice one as well, though I have yet to upload anything where I use it.

I agree that music has a lot of personality to it. I always do my best to play genuinely, as I know for a fact that it can be heard in the music produced :)
I'm really glad to hear that you like this composition/improvisation that much! I'm really happy with what came out of the little idea I had when I made this!

"at least half a dozen times already"

That is a lot :O!
Thank you o.o

I'll do my best to stay alive through this final barrage of school work (for a few months, at least), so that I can produce more (hopefully) enjoyable stuff in the future as well :)

Thanks for reviewing, and for showing your appreciation for my music. I appreciate it quite a bit <3

[Trine - Main Theme (Piano Cover)]

Hey there, Lucid! I hope that all is well with you, and it sure is fine to hear more lovely piano submissions from you of late.

As a fan of the Persona series, I am quite familiar with Atlas and its unique and varied offerings, so while I have never personally played either of the Trine titles, they have definitely been on my radar for quite some time. Knowing that you're a fan makes me even more eager to try it for myself. :D

In regards to the music itself, while I know as little about the tracks as I do the game itself, this is a really beautiful and rousing piece. I love a good suspended chord, and you've made excellent use of them here. Some of the early call and response moments sound a bit strong in contrast to the slightly softer, lower register. Just my opinion of course, but I would have preferred a softer, more delicate tone for at least the high notes that come in on the 30-second mark. Once the overall velocity increases, though, everything sounds nice and natural.

Another fantastic submission, man! Wonderfully played, and thank you for deciding to share this here. I would have totally caught it on your YouTube channel, but hey--why limit oneself?

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

That was fast! Thank you for immediately writing out a relatively long and detailed response :D
As I arranged this today, it feels much like instant feedback, which is always great xD

I definitely recommend the Trine games, especially the first two. I haven't played the Thrid yet, but rumor goes it doesn't live up to its name. Either way, they are beautiful games, which are incredibly fun to play with friends :)

The music is also wonderful, to say the least. It is made by Ari Pulkkinen, who funnily enough, also composes the music for the Angry Birds series :'D
They are both Finnish games, as is Ari (you heard it here first; Ari Pulkkinen is a Finnish game!).

Yeah, you're probably right in your criticism. I arranged this really quickly, and didn't really pay too much mind to the velocity of those call and response parts. In my defence, it may sound extra harsh, because "The Grandeur", which is the VST used, has a relatively bright sound, especially in the high octaves. Then again, I could've just turned down the overall brightness by using the "tone" knob xD
That said, it might've caused the lower register to sound muddy!

So we're left with the fact that I should've just played them softer :D
Sorry for the random train of thought there x'D

I'm glad to hear that you liked this submission, in general :)
I am doing okay, although I'm a bit stressed out with all my school related stuff lately. I hope you are doing well, as well!

Thank you for your kind words :)