Neophyte-Ronin's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Dead By Dawn (Killing Spree)]

Harsh, True, but Repetitive

The composition is lacking, but the harshness is overflowing. Only a few chugs are used, and no doubt the mixing was redone several times.

Any song designed to evoke the pleasure of slaying nosferatu--and designed well--deserves its incredulously high batting average.

HappyHomicide responds:

Cheers! Repetative it is, but killing things is repetative!

[Crawl Back (Veil Of Maya)]

Very Good (It's a Cover, Anyway)

It's even better if you manage to pull off an original composition that blows a regular band out of the water. This does, however, smack one in the techno musicians' faces... even if they outnumber you.

Complaining about doing all the analog when everyone goes digital isn't going to get you far, buddy. The fact that you do analog is remarkable and should be granted respect. What separates you from them is that you have to work harder to ensure your tracks have clarity and good mixing, since their stuff tends to sound more polished. Few musicians ever sound so 'perfect' like those guys do, but their flawlessness has a certain coldness that earns its own detractors, who then gravitate toward a musician like you, who prefers to do stuff live.

It's an uphill battle, but far more satisfying once you pull it off.

HappyHomicide responds:

Well arent you just summing it up? hahaha cheers dude! I love my techno, but it needs to get the fuck out of "heavy metal"

[Fucking Chug]

The End is Off

It doesn't loop perfectly.

A scant few notes are clipped off at the end. To be viable in a Flash it would need some work either in Audacity or program code that stops and replays from the beginning before the clip occurs. That will cost you, since most people dislike having to go out of their way for such a small nuisance.

Otherwise, the track does what it does fairly well. Keep up the slaughter with that ax of yours, but be mindful of clipping tracks too soon--it's worse than clipping them too late.

HappyHomicide responds:

Thanks! This is a really really old song, hence the bad production and etc

[This Song Is Better Than Suici]

And a Fappy New Year...?

Okay, now I'm debating about whether or not to include this in a game based on Tankmen. Here's my dilemma: I got a line-up of odd or even silly, short novelty songs (joke tunes) spanning multiple genres and musicians, which are recovered by the Tankmen over the course of the game itself. These tracks may then be replayed at base to determine whether or not they really want to reclaim the world that once was. This, among the other stupid joke tunes, would exemplify the moral of looking ahead instead of dwelling in the past.

Now I'd very much like to include this as a sample of really sucky death metal, but all you have to do is answer me one thing: does this track incorporate any of Suicide Silence's original riffs? I know it picks on their style--that much is certain--but without knowing their music firsthand I am a bit hesitant to include it in the game, lest it turn out that I'm using something that's someone's copyright (hence incurring unintended legal troubles). If the song riffs are actually used, then I will decline in using the track. If it's otherwise completely original, then I can use it in the Tankmen game I have in mind.

Anyway, uh... this song sucks. It's the whole point, but it's not done poorly. It could have been made better, but that would shoot the message right in the face. Take it as it is.

HappyHomicide responds:

Indeed! there are no SS riffs in this song, you're free to use it!

[Folgers Coffee]

It Tickles the Small Intestines

It also scares the little children.

For a song that is meant to be crappy, the mixing job is nowhere near as bad as other joke/novelty songs. It's muddy, though--meaning the song sounds a little muffled--and the lyric voice-over is not clear enough for innocent bystanders to truly grasp what is going on.

On the other hand, I doubt the musician had any clue, either.

HappyHomicide responds:

hahaha, this is my 2nd song pretty much ever, hence the butthole sounding production!

[Newgrounds Rocks!]

Novelty Value

That's what the farts are for, correct? It's a bit too loud beforehand, but Newgrounds always had that CHEESE aspect to it, true? Tom must be proud. It even loops perfectly.

S3C responds:

lol, total parody song of some NG APers, and it just got a bit out of hand.

[The End of You]

Spicy Cocktail

Expanding upon the few riffs and melodies of this dinky loop might actually conceive some kind of fighting game music. It has a dissonance of harshness and innocence intertwined.

S3C responds:

Thanks :) I've a bit longer version of this, but I havent worked on it for ages.

[Decaying Marshland]

A Lesson in Chaos

This is messed up. If I used it I would remove the really chaotic sections and make a smaller loop, since it would be seen in a game like Earthbound. Again, I think you took a lesson from "Hip" Tanaka, considering "Hip" Tanaka is God. GOD!

S3C responds:

XD i've had a couple of people say that my music sounds like something from Earthbound. Havent played the game nor know what it is. Tanaka? ahh man, that guys old school lol. Thanks for the review!

[LFO Idiot]

Only Butterscotch from me.

I agree that this is garbage to some extent. What kept it from being No Stars period was the fact that I was reminded of the Earthbound soundtrack, scored by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka. Anybody who can conjure up a drug trip without regular imbibing is my kind of gal.

S3C responds:

hehe :) loving the honesty, i'd accept no stars too :)

[Astral Chamber]

Slender with a Tinge of Grunge

I heard a clip at 0:26, a blank spot amidst the acoustics, possibly unintentional. Another issue is the abrupt cut-off at the end. If the original track still exists, then an echoing outro ought to be finessed and installed near the end to drift the listener away rather than push them into the water. I had the imagery of floating down a calm, misty lake upon a rowboat.

Only on a few occasions through the track does the sound exceed the register and things get distorted. It's a common mistake to make things too loud.

That just means you can take the original chords and riffs and compose a new version later; what's there is very good. Although the track is old, it's a smooth enough tune to be found in a game.

This definitely has a grunge aesthetic to it, as if the Seattle rock music scene influences you. It wouldn't surprise me since you've listed "Rooster" by Alice in Chains as a favorite song and you live in that city in the first place. If I recall correctly, MattZombie is from the area, along with his current band, "Judgment". Their stuff is pretty cool, too.

Anyway, keep it up, and don't be afraid to submit something old. Age doesn't kill a soundtrack, but the elements will.

S3C responds:

Thanks for another insightful review Neophyte-Ronin!

Oh- the sound quality is indeed shit- I knew not a thing about mixing or what even clipping was back then. It's a straight mono-recorded output from my Digitech pedal to the line-in port.

I suppose I could revisit this someday...once I can be arsed to buy some better hardware :P

I honestly can't hear an y grunge influences at all :P But I love AiC, they were definetly my favorite band during the time when guitar harborbed my main music interests. I actually live in Arizona for now, lol. seattle is certainly a beautiful place tho.

Again, thanks for the review man :) And agreed, age doesnt kill a soundtrack, but unfortunately my bad past recording habits will leave some permanent scratchmarks. Haha!