ChronoNomad's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[IV]Maskmen]

This is an excellent Cinematic piece and would work well in a variety of film genres, but what it really reminds me of is the Sci-Fi classic, Terminator 2. For something that was rushed due to illness, it's very good. I hope you're feeling better! :)

Personally, I feel that the underlying melody would benefit from some additional variety. The dramatic staccato string section between 1:06 and 1:32 is a very nice deviation from the main theme, but after that it was just more of the same, sans percussion. It sounds great, but ends up being a bit too repetitive. The length is good for what you have here, but I would love to hear a longer version of this with increased variation on the theme. Best of luck!

IglicaV responds:

Thank you for your care : ) I will probably make a reworked version as soon as I'll be ready. Thanks for the feedback!

[Among Ancient Ages]

I really liked this, and it's a very ambitious style to tackle. You really captured the theme of battle brilliantly, but I felt like the level of Oriental influence kind of fluctuated a bit at times even with all of the instruments being Asian. That being said, the instruments themselves sound fantastic, and you wove them together into an epic musical tapestry.

The pitch bending felt kind of hit or miss in my opinion, but I know precisely what you were going for. I can't quite decide if the effect was overused or if it was just the way that it didn't sound quite 'right' sometimes. Maybe both. Goodness knows pitch-bending is a pretty difficult effect to get just right, and the track is still amazing, so you totally earned 4.5 stars as far as I'm concerned. Good luck in the competition!

Veneox responds:

Thanks, to be honest when I was watching the old Asian movies that inspired this sort of track, the pitch bending was VERY cheesy.

I do admit it's a hard effect to take serious, but even so I do believe it's a technique that should be used more often, even if it doesn't fit in today's age, haha.

[Worth Your Time]

I find this song to be really cool and different. It's a genre that you obviously enjoy doing a lot of, but I can't say that I've heard much along this particular musical vein here on NG elsewhere. I love a widely eclectic variety of musical styles, and this piece is very pleasant to listen to. The lyrics are very interesting, and while the levels are quite good overall, I felt that the lyrics could have been just a touch louder to compensate for how deep they are.

This was definitely worth my time. Good luck in the competition!

[Steam's Wonderful Contraptions]

This piece is simply fantastic. It's a blast to listen to and it really nails the overall theme. For some reason it brings to mind Raymond Scott's classic "Powerhouse," which has been used to great effect in equally classic Looney Tunes cartoons.

It's like the theme music that would accompany some kind of crazy carnival or toy factory that's run by Batman's arch nemesis, The Joker. Insanely fun and playfully dangerous all at the same time. The beeping at 2:22 even made me think of the timer on a bomb that's just about to explode. I enjoyed the ride at every turn, and I can't honestly say that I have anything critical to add.

Very well done! I wish you the best of luck, but I don't think you'll need it. Top marks from me.

steampianist responds:

Like Raymond scott's powerhouse you say? wow thats really flattering, simply because I love raymond scott's works along with scott bradley's scoring in tom and jerry. Thank you so much

[The Last Prince]

First of all, I just wanted to say that I am very sorry to hear about all the technical issues you're having at this stage of the competition. They were readily apparent as I listened, and its full potential is just never achieved. The theme is quite good, but the sound quality takes away from the overall production value. It does end very abruptly and on a strangely tentative note, but that must also be due to your current hardware predicament.

I hope that you will have a chance to work on this a bit more, repair some of the damage, and give it a good polish before the deadline. Best of luck to you.

TitanMusic responds:

Thanks ChronoNomad.
I can't export the individual tracks from Ableton, add any instruments or edit the stuff I have already written in the project file so that pretty much leaves me stuffed haha.
I, sadly, don't have the time anymore so I guess this will have to be it :(

[A Long Way Home]

This piece gives me chills. I feel bad that I don't have a lot to say, but what is there to say? It's an exceptionally beautiful song filled with emotion. It yanks violently at my heart strings, and that's before reading the English translation of the Danish lyrics. I love it because it sounds like something that simply didn't even exist here on Newgrounds...until now. Thank you for bringing something wholly new to not only this site, but to this incredible competition. Chills, I tell you.

etherealwinds responds:

That is extremely kind of you to say so, thank you so much! That really means a lot. I try to bring something new with each composition I make and it's actually quite refreshing being out of the performer limelight. Often I feel as if I'm more in the spotlight for my own performances, but I wanted to bring out the composer in me. For this composition, the best suiting vocalist that I immediately wanted was Joy. I've been a huge fan of BlazingDragon's work for many many years, actually, long before Newgrounds. There are quite a few who could have played the piano in this piece, but none who would have meant as much playing my composition as Trevor. For that reason, this composition will remain close to my heart no matter what the outcome! ^ ^ once again, thank you!

[substructure]

This piece is pretty chill overall, and I dig how it picks up between the 1:50 and 2:45 mark with some tight percussion. The electronic style and progression of the instruments is fun and - to me, at least - a bit reminiscent of Daft Punk. I found just one thing to be decidedly negative, and that's the way your stereophonic cymbal echoes are so abruptly cut off at the end. It just doesn't sound good like that, and I don't know if it was intentional or not, but in my opinion it would sound much better if they were allowed to taper off completely.

Best of luck to you in the NGADM! Keep up the awesome work (like you need me to tell you).

johnfn responds:

Thanks for listening, and I'm glad you liked it! You're completely right about the crash, and I've since fixed that problem. I didn't have enough time to do the once-over listen after I finished rendering it, so I just uploaded it to NG, figuring I'd smooth it over later. But then you guys came and left reviews that did pretty much the same thing. Thanks! Will keep up the awesomeness :D

[Blind Maiden]

No doubt about it, this is a seriously solid entry. I don't really have much to add that hasn't already been said, though I thought I might have heard a flat note or two in the singing for just a moment. Kind of hard to fault anyone for that kind of thing, in my opinion. You have a very distinctive mixture of Celtic, Asian, and Indian styles all coming together quite harmoniously here. Excellent work. ^_^

etherealwinds responds:

Thank you very much. I'm by far not a perfect vocalist, but I can only keep practicing to improve! I'm really appreciative of this feedback :)

[Hot oxygen - NGADM13 - round 1]

This piece does evoke thoughts of wearily trudging through an uncomfortably hot Midsummer day, and to me is reminiscent of some of the early music from the Final Fantasy series, maybe VI or VII. That being said, it is a little repetitious for its brief duration. Also, that particular trumpet doesn't really do the piece justice. Do you have another trumpet/brass instrument or something to choose from that might sound a little more fitting and less synthetic?

The song is good in general, but you might want to consider polishing some of the elements to really make it shine. Since Round 1 doesn't officially end until August 3rd, I don't honestly see how working on your own song can possibly be considered cheating, but it's entirely up to you. Good luck!

Calamaistr responds:

Well like i said about the trumpet its intentionally lowfi so the track wouldnt clash as to orchestral against the touch of (reverbed, admittedly) chip. :)

I already considered polishing, i might still do it but ok.

good luck to you aswell, i do this for the fun, dont know about you but im a bit intimidated by the roster in the sense of that ill have to pull out all stops against a few names, i wanted to start with something simple, maybe thats not the best idea in competition but i got enough going on on the side :)

thanks, and sorry for making such a short review on your piece, i hope it didnt offend you.
-Cal.

edit: now uploaded better version (:

[Sleep Wrapped in Love ~P~]

Simply beautiful. All the best lullabies incorporate at least a pinch of Pachelbel's Canon, and I really like the direction in which you took this piece. It's just so calm and serene; music to gently soothe a restless heart, just as a lullaby should. Your level of fan appreciation is particularly touching, and you already know that I adore all things piano. My only complaint is that it's over so very quickly . . . which can be rectified by simply pressing play again.

Easily worth five warm and fuzzy stars.