Neophyte-Ronin's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[We Belong {=MMD=}]

Screaming "Adult Contemporary" Here....

For a while I figured Bad-Man-Incorporated (remember him?) assisted in this song, if not in doing the guitar tracks then doing supporting vocals. Your voices have an ironic similarity. Also, he contributed guitar tracks for "Time" (your "finale" track) ages ago so I suspected another collaboration. Not to say I was disappointed, but know that your voice can, at times, get close to that guy's.

Anyway, I have this track downloaded (had done so for years thus far) and I still play it to this day. This is like when Metallica did Fade to Black and later songs like Welcome Home [Sanitarium] and Nothing Else Matters; your persona as a dramatic, melancholy pianist had you pegged, or typecast, so you decided to try something you always had your eye on and went with it. Ironic, then, that this track of yours is played most often in my playlists.

There is a need for a solo in this track. The song itself is well-written (got a few grammatical errors like "your" should be "you're" in the lyric sheet) but it only demonstrated a basic understanding of the guitar. Practice, practice, practice. For your polling question, I say pursue, if only to update the track. A solo is technically demanding but a good way of showing off. It doesn't not need to be furious since the tempo is upbeat without being hypersonic.

Overall, a good track. Pretty basic in terms of guitars, but good for a first try. Also a cool Fade-to-Black-esque change of pace for an otherwise melancholy pianist!

[November Breeze]

You Gave This Submission a Vote of "5"

The trick with November Breeze is that it is chill, thus aptly named. It's also worthy to throw in vocals in there if you wanted. These could be lyrics that are sang, or even calm instructions in case someone wishes to dance to it. It ain't a rave party track, but rather a slow dance that isn't from the adult contemporary rack. (Soft Rock, in other words; this track evokes a slow, smooth, almost intimate dance that doesn't involve outright groping).

The issue I have is that it ends. The other issue is that it ends a big poorly. You see after the song has ended, there is this beat that pounds and becomes prominent, as it is the last thing on the track. It almost seems to get stronger with each beat, or louder, like that water torture device where you have a single drip land on your head constantly until you can't stand it anymore. Drum beats that are so prominent seem to ruin any aspect of meditation found in this track, which becomes worse if you wish to loop the track in your player (and yet it is still loop-worthy).

November Breeze is a slick, meditative piece with excellent potential as music for its own sake. Since it does not tell a definite story or present a certain vision, it is hard to incorporate it into a Flash animation except as chill background music. There is that sense of ominous, ethereal eye-of-the-storm sort of calm that gives credence that this track is accompanied by two crushing tracks, one listed before, the other listed after. Oh by the way, this is album worthy.

In the track description, you say this is the best track you have on this site. I find it hard to imagine (although you're free to prove me wrong) that you can top the simple, soothing elegance that is November Breeze.

[To Condemn]

To Praise

It's pitiful that this song hasn't been played live in several years. It's a brooding, weathered protest song and also one of the highlights of your performance abliity; you really drive the emotion home rather than maintain your composure. The recording itself--assuming you don't get around to refinishing it--is a bit poor, with you going past the register. Still, this track should be one you consider redoing for an album, if not a single.

[Waves of Oblivion (Magician)]

Outstanding (even after all these years)

I still got this song on my hard drive from the vgmix site. It still holds up to most of the newer arrangements and compositions on this site.

cyan11 responds:

Thanks! It's good to see that I still have some old fans here. How I wish vgmix would come back... ahh memories

[Ghost of Seraph]

Simple, Sweet, Slick

I still have your shit on my computer and occasionally play it. You're not dead to me. You just haven't submitted anything in four years. You haven't lost your touch at least.

[Cafe in the Sky]

Why Isn't There a Review Here?

Kor-Rune has managed to improve his voice over the years when he first began singing, although I still miss the days when he did those dark progressive instrumentals with nerve-wracking solos and Hendrix-esque flair. Those often get overlooked, and he did revisions to practically all of them. However, his coolest strength is his preference not to become overwhelming with harshness and gathers a fluid expertise with acoustic numbers.

This is one of them. "Cafe in the Sky" is filled with a passionate aesthetic and otherworldly sound, although the singing could be a little more spirited. It does experiment with loud, high notes, which suggest that this is just a demonstration of where Kor-Rune wants to bring the final recording. The lyrics are wonderful, tinged with a bit of irreverent humor about the Robert Frost-inspired theme. The profanity can be replaced with something else and this could become a folk-rock song you hear on PNR radio stations specializing in jazz and folk. It's that good.

It's sick and sad that nobody has seen or heard this guy, but let's hope that some minor promoting and word-of-mouth can remedy that soon!

Kor-Rune responds:

Your reviews are artistic within themselves. Thanks, man! XD

[Class Project Movie Theme]

First Guess: CSI Lab Montage; Second: Dark Cinema

My guess: Crime Scene Investigation. You know, the scenes where they demonstrate/hammer-into-our-skulls the police procedural aspect of the episode. By that I mean they use the gadgets and special care needed to collect evidence from the crime scene or process them at the forensic laboratory. The music during these montages consists of a simple synth/R&B with an emphasis upon the beat and bass, like Drum'n'Bass without the excessively high tempo. Since we're going toward film cinema with the project, I would make film noir or dark cinematic crime drama as my second guess.

In itself, the theme is practical and polished enough for use in a Newgrounds submission, or even a professional film.

Father-of-Death responds:

crime scene investigation is right man!!! good job. I guess I did well then.