ChronoNomad's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Invasion of the Court of Hearts (snes version)]

Man, I think this is a legitimate instance of taking lemons and making lemonade! Yeah, it's true. You had little time to work on a track back in 2017, and you were already on vacation, but you still threw down with something. And hey, if I'm being completely honest, that's more than I can say for some. The quitters and walkovers really miss out. Frankly, your courage in the face of adversity was more than admirable.

And here you are now! Reworking and retooling this story that was barely able to be told at all, and bringing it home. Are there still technical issues? Sure. Some of these instruments still don't strike quite the right chord with me, but much of what you've presented here is fantastic.

I personally believe that you've done great justice to your vision and maintained the integrity of the original piece. Very well done, SourJovis. Very well done, indeed.

SourJovis responds:

It turned out nicely in the end. I can't complain anymore.

I've got a new computer now. There are no technical issues anymore. I can think of 3 reasons why some of the instruments still don't sound great.
1. In the 2017 version I didn't have the large expensive sample packs required for the sound I was going for. I gave the choir and strings legato but didn't have any legato samples. I had to use a pitch bend to get the same effect, but it just sounds very fake and ugly. With the snes sound fonds I had the exact same limitations as with the first version, but with samples that sound even less realistic. Only now I no longer have to say "the quality of my sample packs isn't high enough", but "it's supposed to sound like that because I'm replicating the SPC700 sound chip with all of its limitations."
2. I may lack the competence to make this sound better than it does. I'll always thrive to become better.
3. Maybe I just don't hear the flaws you hear. Perhaps I never will, but who knows.

Thank you for your kind words.

[Ex Tempore]

Yet another fantastic Cinematic Orchestral track, Collin! This really is your wheelhouse, man.

My biggest complaint is that the arpeggio which begins around :26 sounds incredibly familiar and kind of generic within the mix, and the timing seems to be somewhat odd at times. Maybe that's just the humanization at work, but since it's of a more electronic nature, it actually sounds stranger when it's not almost perfectly timed to me.

Besides that, there are a few points where the vocals seem to overlap, causing the vocal volume to suddenly increase exponentially at an impossible rate of speed. (e.g. 1:05~1:06) Due to this phenomena, those moments don't sound quite as organic as they could. Of course it may actually be intentional, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

How come you don't sing all those fantastic upper-register vocal bits yourself? ^__~ jk

Despite my admittedly rather minor gripes, this track shines with the brilliance of a thousand suns. Odds are, the points I've brought up are just a part of your aforementioned experimental mixing techniques, anyway. Regardless, the overall mixing is very good, and your instrumental choices tend to work exceptionally well together. Bravo!

Keep compos(ed/ing). Oh, and hey—Happy 2019! Hope life's treating you well, man. Peace.

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks a ton! :D

I knew there were some little things here and there that could be improved in the mix, but I finished this track near the end of November and figured it would be better just to finally post it and keep moving forward. I'm still not 100% there, but I think I'm getting the trailer music sound down pretty well. The biggest thing I have to do at this point is keep improving my mixing skills until I've got that legit professional sound that I'm going for. I don't think I've got a 100% lock on the new 'advanced' mixing techniques yet (many of them are from Joël Dollié, who is an amazing audio engineer and composer who specializes in orchestral and trailer music). Once I get a bit more used to them, I think my tracks will really start to shine in the mixing department and I can really start to show what I'm capable of doing!

[Christmas Morning]

Great! Lots of traditional Christmas goodness on tap here, Bosa.

An appropriately huge "Joy To The World"-esque intro really gets things moving. The March from :10~:23 is fantastic, and it ultimately reminds me of the original Home Alone films with their seasonally thematic elements. The music concludes very nicely by transitioning into a bit of "Deck The Halls," though I do personally feel as though a second refrain of "fa la la la la..." with a nice ritardando could have added even more emotion to the ending.

Suffice to say, the entire track is extremely well mixed and mastered, and it definitely helps get me in the holiday spirit. Merry Christmas! God bless us, every one.

Bosa responds:

There is so much more I wanted to do with this and touch on more carols. It pains me that this is all I was able to get done :'(

[Fear Not This Night]

Such a great rendition of a song that I've...never actually heard before! But man, there's some really fantastic music in Guild Wars 2, so I can totally understand the appeal. Lately I've been playing a lot of Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, so this is pretty much right up my current Fantasy-related alley. That gorgeous, rich Orchestral sound never fails to delight the senses, and the vocals are so beautifully sung and harmonized that I can scarcely believe this isn't the original version. Your mixing and mastering is still as skillful as ever, nay—even better than before.

I happened to read Bosa's review before composing my own, and while having the original singer would have been pretty cool, it would have ultimately spoiled that whole "redone from the ground up" vibe. And while she chooses to remain anonymous, your vocalist has most definitely earned her time in the spotlight...whomever she may be.

Thank you once again for a tremendous musical journey, Step & Co. While your frequency of submissions may indeed be low, I would deign to believe that the overall level of quality goes up in direct proportion. At least, that's what I tell myself while I'm waiting.

But hey, my own paltry 4 submissions in 2018 barely beat out yours, and you just may end up passing me by sooner or later. Life is all about seasons, and sometimes even the music needs to take a back seat. Best of luck to you, Echo, and your mysterious songstress in the future, my friend. Excelsior!

Step responds:

ChronoNomad! Wow, I cannot understate how much I've missed your reviews. Incredibly eloquent and a pleasure to read as always!

Guild Wars 2 is a game I've been playing for a long while now, and it really does have some gems in its soundtrack. Fear Not This Night is an old track written by Soule that was released with the game's release, and for a long time I've wanted to give it a spin myself.

The vocalist is insanely talented and I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to work with her. I agree that getting the original singer wouldn't have been the same... Or rather, it would have been too much of the same. It's good to change things up from the original!

Confession time, these vocals are five-year-old recordings. I actually got started on this track way back, five years ago. It was at this point that I asked the vocalist to record the vocals, which she did for me and they're the vocals you're hearing right now.

But back then, I got sidetracked due to uni work and ended up abandoning the project for all this time. This honestly made me feel terrible, because one of the things that drives me (and I'm sure ANY musician) nuts is getting work done for a project and then that project never seeing fruition (it's happened to all of us at some point I'm sure!). It was therefore incredibly hypocritical of me to not do anything with the vocals for so long.

Eventually, I decided to set things straight and dedicated time with Echo to get the track done, partially because I've wanted to work on the track for so long, and partially because it really was about time I did those vocals justice. The singer was incredibly understanding about the whole thing, but I definitely consider it pretty unbecoming of me that I took so long to get the project done.

I'm super glad you enjoyed the track, especially the mixing/mastering! I feel like technical things like mixing/mastering are easier to forget or lose your grip on if you spend a long time not composing music than compositional techniques and inspiration (or at least that's how it works for me), so I'm happy that my layers of rust aren't showing.

I can't thank you enough for dropping by. Hope you're doing well yourself!

[Possessed]

Love it, guys! A really fun and spooky track that's full of souls...er, I mean soul. Really nice timing between the instrumentals and vocals, and some great little nuances, like Jordi chuckling about getting a little freaky. ;)

You guys really nailed that jazzy, bluesy feel. The instrument mix is on point and evokes imagery of a smoky lounge filled with strangely transparent people, just hanging out and enjoying a bit of All Hallows' Eve reverie. The lyrics fit the theme, and are delivered beautifully with just the right tone.

While this bass is probably too much for my crappy little computer speakers to even handle at a decent volume without crackling, it quite overwhelms my ears even through my headphones. My suggestion would be to "distance" the bass a little by lowering the dry levels somewhat, or maybe stereo separate it a bit more to spread it across the field, so it doesn't just take over.

Fortunately, Jordi's lyrics are nice and clear, so they ring out well even with such an overshadowing low end. The sax is nice and bright, too. But much of that poor piano gets gobbled right up! But hey, it remains a fantastic and very enjoyable track.

And man, that loop would sound perfect on here if we hadn't had to move on from the old-school Flash setup. Ah, well. Happy Halloween, my friends! Best of luck in the Spooktacular.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm glad to see you enjoyed it, especially as it's a bit different, stylewise, from what we usually make :D
I also love Jordi's ad-libs!

It's fun to play and compose something a bit more jazzy every now and then (I recall when you did it with "One of Those Days"). I've got plenty of VSTs I rarely get to use, so I like to bring them out for tracks like this :3
Jordi came up with those lyrics in just a few minutes, which is insane considering how fitting they are, imo! We were listening to some 50s jazz (trying to look for something a bit spooky), when looking for inspiration, and we kind of just created the foundation for this piece on the spot.

As for the bass, I used the Komplete : World : Cuba kontakt instrument. I was a bit torn, since it has this great sound, but it tends to sit a bit weirdly in the mix. I'm sure with more work on it, it'd be possible to balance it out a bit better, but I've probably gotten too used to hearing it as it is for now, so perhaps after I distance myself from the piece a bit it'll be easier to get it right.

Yeah, I didn't do much to Jordi's vocals when I was mixing. That's the nice thing about working with someone as talented at singing (and fixing up the audio files); it kinda just fits on top of the track with some reverb (and perhaps some minor compression).
The piano I used has a great upright sound, but it cracks and clips really easily if it's played too loudly, which is why I kept it low-key. It's also quite repetitive, so I felt like it didn't need as much emphasis; it's there more as a backbone, the way I see it.

And yeah, it seems like the current NG player loops things weel about 1/4th of the time or so, which is interesting; I'd like to know how exactly it works.
Oh well, I'm sure it'll change again in the future, and maybe become better, with any luck :DDD
At least the piece loops well on WinAmp (for Windows; the mac version I believe doesn't loop things well).

Thanks a lot for the detailed review! I hope you're doing well ^____^
Happy Halloweeeeen!!!!!

[Come Down (Updated)]

Very nicely redone, McG! The live drums add a really nice touch, but everything's been remastered beautifully. Huge props for taking what was already a great track and upping your game even more.

McGorilla42 responds:

Thank you, Chrono! I know you were waiting to hear these for a while and appreciate you listening and always commenting.

PS. I listened to these in my car a little earlier today and thought "Oh man, I need to tweak this a little and that a little..." but I don't have time before hand in on Friday! I think I'll give these a week or so, have a listen, tweak them a little and sneakily re-upload them ;)

[The Elvenking’s Prayer]

Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky...

Thranduil may not have ever possessed any of the Elven rings, but this prayer for the safe return of Legolas and the downfall of Sauron is most impressive. With its slow cadence and somber drone, it speaks well to the plight of the elves and how long they have suffered under the Dark Lord's keen gaze.

The prayer itself is decidedly succinct, but the slow tempo stretches it out considerably, adding a depth of emotion that can only come from such a slow, chant-like rhythm. While the instruments are minimal, the sound is deep and rich, truly showcasing your vocal talents within the mix. Unlike Sequenced, I actually quite like what you've done at the 2:22 mark, melding your voice with the ambient drone.

I do feel as though a little more variety on the instrumental side could have added to the track's overall appeal. Something in a slightly higher range, like flutes or bells, perhaps. But still, your voice provides quite a bit of subtler nuance. I shall indeed be looking forward to your "choir of elves" in the future! Best of luck in the Audio Deathmatch.

The road goes ever on...

etherealwinds responds:

One ring to rule them all should be my tinder bio.

Thanks for the review!! I've always wanted to make a track like this but one concern of mine was, especially in a competition like this, that it could be too samey. I mean, effectively it's literally just one drone for three minutes. That being said, if drone-y songs are done well, then at least for me, I can say that I enjoy them a lot. I thought about adding some other instruments into the mix, windchimes, flutes, etc. but I found that they actually took away from the atmosphere. It was like adding stuff for the sake of it and it ruined the mood, so I decided against it as they were just too distracting, even subtly, for me.

I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the luck! <3

[À cause de l'ombre]

This is really beautiful and sorrowful, Troisnyx. Sometimes your vocals come across as being somewhat over-processed, and while I would generally comment on the enormous amount of reverb, in this case these elements really come together nicely without sounding overdone. At over seven minutes in duration, is it admittedly rather lengthy, and that may end up being a bit off-putting to first-time listeners, but I would hope they choose to remain and give it a chance.

Personally, I feel as though you could have really increased, and similarly eased, the tension by making good use of percussion. As it is, with the track being so long, it inevitably ends up being fairly repetitive. Your elements come together so nicely, though! The bass work really sets the mood, and the simple yet effective staccato chords keep things moving forward.

It's ultimately something of a minimalist track, instrumentally-speaking, and that brings its own tension, but the progression is so slow that the tension never really eases. That, of course, brings me back to my earlier comment about percussion. Oh, what you could do with a dramatic, slow Ballad beat in this piece! I just can't help but feel as though it was a missed opportunity.

Harmonically, there are two high, plucked notes that really don't feel like they fit within the mix when everything else meshes so well. The first instance is at 2:34, then once again at 5:46. Those moments sound oddly flat and disharmonious.

In conclusion, there's a lot to love in this track, from its wonderfully pensive overtones and apropos French vocals, to the minimal yet powerful use of 8-bit VST and softly-plucked Sytrus. As far as subtle yet powerful nuances go, I personally find the distortions leading into the chorus to be of particular note. Well done.

Troisnyx responds:

Aah, thank you ;_; Sweet balm for sore eyes, is your review -- I heartily embrace it. I was debating on whether to do percussion and I may actually export a version with, just to see what it sounds like.

I'll be sure to take it all on board. Thank you so much meep ❤️