Neophyte-Ronin's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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!

[Cabaret]

+0.35 (Score Change after Voting)

Another incident of content description interfering with the beauty of a music track.

This could definitely go in a strip scene, or a high-end party with restricted membership. It's got a laid-back jazzy, sexy vibration to it. This song is contrary to most of the other songs in the portal that might intertwine with sexual themes, because it has maturity. The rest are rather sophomoric.

It's a simple, heavily echoed track that loops perfectly. If it didn't, I might have skipped past it. This, along with many other tracks, deserve a closer look by everybody.

S3C responds:

Thanks once again, I like your scenic ideas that tie along with the track :)

And I certainly appreciate your several reviews today, it was very kind of you to not only stop by and listen, but write up your thoughts as well. Also, I recognize your name, have we communicated on NG before by chance?

[FFVIII - The Oath]

3.29 / 5.00 (+ 0.28)

3.29 / 5.00 (+ 0.28)

It was looking a little depressed before. Someone zeroed it a few times.

It's a favorite of mine and it is covered well, although it is from Final Fantasy VIII (eight), not VII (seven). I think you can change the entry's information on the NG page at least, to prevent confusion.

Darkmoor responds:

done =)

[Tiesto Killed The Techno Star]

BASSLINE!

The last guy is right on the bass. If you wanted to equate your work with the horrible alchemy of GoreBastard and Techno (HEE, HEE!), then pump up the bass and remove the quarter that's taped on the bass snare. That's a classic Lars, but it removes the whole point of having a bass drum. (Translation: improve the bass on the drums as well).

I BET YOU'D LIKE TO CARRY MORE BOMBS.

SolusLunes responds:

You say all this like I knew what I was doing.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHA

HA

I don't fucking know what I'm doing :p

[Solus- Lucia]

My Friend of Misery

Ever-so slightly, the intro reminded me immediately of Jason Newsted's work in Metallica--the Black Album--specifically, track 11: My Friend of Misery. The piano's tune briefly enveloped me in the notion that I just heard the beginning of that song. Hence, much of my impression on what character the song conjures up in my mind is pretty solid:

Imagine a girl whose identity had been utterly stripped away through a combination of memory suppression and the virulent truth how everybody lies. For her, forgetting the reasons and methods that explain her emotional control, sharpened mind, and killer instincts (not to mention what she can do with such gifts) allows her to conduct herself in the present without waking up every morning with a stomachache. Unfortunately, as the days go by, waking up with a stomachache is what happens anyway, and with each tryst from dusk to dawn--like a sleepwalker with a bible in one hand and magnum revolver in the other--her introspection becomes progressively horrid. If you looked at it through the eyes of DABDA, this song is at the stage of depression, going straight back to number one--denial--because her life is totally unacceptable for her. Just wait and watch when her name finally catches up with her....

Her name wouldn't be Lucia, however. I have it written that she never had a name in the first place, because names hold powers and deeper meanings beyond regular comprehension and mundane reality. Hence, never having a name grants the girl some level of immunity from the trappings of any name, and in that regard, the world itself. A lady with no name has no world bound to her. Hence, this world cannot bind her. If this is true, then the girl's mother certainly had foresight... perhaps the same place where that killer instinct came from.

Yeah, I didn't zero-bomb the song, either. I've been siphoning copies of your work onto my system--don't breathe easy, I might still purge a few entries out to save space--and for the most part I am suitably impressed. You've evolved over the past few years, that's for sure.

As for this song, it is evocative of those scenes of introspection or severe deep conversation between two close souls. It might use some remastering to soften some of the instruments, and it is a bit sparse and minimal, but the latter is the point. The former complaint may be addressed at your leisure. No rush. ;D

Deep and a bit grim, but soothing overall. Nice work... keep it up.

SolusLunes responds:

Deep and grim, yes.

This song could do with a touch up, that is true... However, my current touch-up focus is now on She.

You may actually find that song to be more fitting of the image you came up with- there's deliberately no name.

[Wrong Answer Part 2]

YOU WIN YOU WIN YOU WIN

Gorgeous. Got both versions. You're definitely on the good road towards music satire ala Yankovic, so why not kick it up a notch this year?

Beegeezee responds:

Kick it up a notch ay? You got it! I'm pulling out all the stops!

[BlahRain]

Take out the drums

It'd be perfect for fair use afterwards; the guitar and ambient effects are all we need.

PenguinBomb responds:

oooh, interesting idea, thanks for listening!