Ragekaje's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Flatline - Instrumental]

Very cool! Love the main guitar riff! It gives me killswitch engage vibes and some other 2000's hard rock/metal!

A little bit of constructive criticism:
- The drums seem out of sync with the guitars and bass at some spots. Not sure if this is a flam-like thing, or if this is a misalignment with the grid.
- I recommend choosing a different snare and kick sample for what I imagine is the "verse" section starting at 1:03. The vibe shifts to something more mellow there, but the kick and snare are still slamming (just due to the nature of the sample) like they are in the chorus section. I recommend a sample that sounds more natural and I would even include some ghost note snare rolls in that section. I think it will emphasize the groove the guitars are laying down.
- Also, if you pick a section of the song (or just a piece of a section) and remove one or two of the instruments, (remove drums and bass, or remove guitars, or whatever you like) it will keep the song engaging because the listener wasn't expecting that change up. Then you can reintroduce the instruments at the right time to create another drop (or just make a bigger impact) I like to do this around the "verse 2" area of my tracks.
- If you haven't already, I would experiment with some more automation in either the gain on the tracks, the overall volume going into the master bus, or some eq automation, just to keep the sound changing as the track goes on. This one's gotta be used sparingly though, I've killed mixes by overdoing it, lol

A few more things I liked:
- Love the chopped up staccato bits at 0:38 and 3:17!
- Love the guitar tones! I'm always looking for similar tone but can never seem to find it. (I also rock a schecter) Are you in drop B? (or B standard) It fits your tone wonderfully! The guitars sound beefy without that overemphasized low end. They sound scooped, but still have quite of bit of meat in the midsection to keep the tonal clarity! Awesome!
- I actually really like the bridge section at 2:39! Its different than what you've set up in the song so far, but totally fits the vibe you've been riding up to that point! (love the bouncing back and forth between that open chord and the octaves on the 3rd and 5th string)
- Mix is really good! I can hear all the parts clearly! (the guitars are a little loud for my taste, I would prefer like 1db less guitar and 1db more bass, but I'm just being nitpicky at this point, still sounds great!)

All in all, I love this tune! I would love to hear the vocals over it! Totally understand the difficulty in recording metal without disturbing neighbors, the struggle is real.

FarFromSundown responds:

Love the detailed review! Lots of good points and suggestions for me to explore! I really like the idea of removing some layers on the 2nd verse. Honestly main reason I don't do this is is because if I'm adding vocals I usually have to have my voice more isolated on the track because I hate my singing voice lol. But I absolutely see the validity in that suggestion.
I'll probably take a crack at implementing some of these when I can get that office area better sound dampened. (Hopefully will happen by beginning of next year)
Thanks for listening and taking the time to drop such a helpful review!

EDIT: I'm in drop B using my 6 string schecter btw

[Kingdom Come]

Great riffs, my dude!
Guitars sound awesome! Great tone with keeping the clarity in the chords. I would throw a gate on the input of the guitar. (or if you have one on there, I would tighten it up so it acts faster or at a higher threshold) The section at 0:45 has some brief rests, and the gate will help clean up the leftover string vibration when you palm mute. (or left hand mute, but it sounds like a palm mute to my ear) This will make that next chord sound a little more punchy when you slam it. I recommend a gate on the bass guitar, too, so that it works in tandem with the guitars.
I would use less reverb on the drums, but that's just personal preference. They sound like live drums from an arena show, kind of like they are behind everything else. Drums sound good, nonetheless. They fit right in the mix and have beef but clarity, too!
In terms of composition, the sections are all interesting and have good transitions! My only complaint is that they are all at the same dynamic level. Everything is slamming the whole time, so it kind of takes away from how slamming it is. There's nothing to contrast the slamming. Even just a short quiet section, or a quiet measure to transition into a section would help accentuate the intensity of the whole song.
Overall, great job! Can't wait to hear the vocal version! Sounds pretty kickass already!

FarFromSundown responds:

This might be the most well thought out, helpful review I've ever gotten! Thank you so much. I thought about adding a quieter clean guitar part that would build back up, but honestly nothing I wrote at the time seemed to fit properly. I really appreciate you listening and taking the time to review everything! Means alot! \m/

[Sunset Blues]

Nice! I really dig the both unsettling and relaxing vibes. Really like the sound production in the ambient parts where the drums drop out.
The mix is really good! Super good! Everything is balanced really well and all the instruments are really clear. The bass is thick and full but not overpowering. I guess if I had to complain it would be that the hi-hats are too loud, but that's just my preference for cymbals. Yours do sit well in the mix, so take my words with some salt! :)
I really like the synth at the beginning that almost sounds like a modified acoustic guitar panned back and forth. Very cool sound!
I think the song structure is good, too. There are distinct parts to the song, even though the same chord progression runs almost throughout. You did a nice job building between the parts by bringing in instrumentation one at a time.
My only real complaint is the lack of melody. There is the choir part in the second half, but my ear really needed to hear a melody much sooner in the first half. Even if you foreshadow a melody by stripping it down to its bare bones, that will catch the listeners ear. And when you bring it back later with more complexity will keep the ears entertained even more!
Also, what was your starting chord progression? My ear couldn't quite pick it out. It sounded like B, C#m, D#m, E, B, C#m, D#m, but I could be way off. lol
All in all, great job! Your sound design and your ear are awesome!
Keep up the great work!

[Dire]

This is very cool! I really like the sound of the piano and the kick! Very juicy!
Your mastering definitely paid off; it sounds phenomenal! Everything sounds very clear and balanced. It doesn't seem like any instruments are fighting for the same frequencies. The mix is good, too, but I think the hi hats are a little loud. I think they work in this song, but they are a bit much. Volume of drum cymbals is something I struggle with, too, so take my opinion with some salt. xD
I really like the chords, and the building of the progression. However, I really do think you need a melody to come in somewhere in the first couple sections. Even if the melodic content is hidden in some pads playing in the background, I think having some sort of melodic structure will really elevate the piece to the next level and hold the listener's attention longer.
As for the sound production, I give an A+. I'm very unfamiliar with creating the sounds of dubstep, so I cannot judge. But, I've listened to the genre on-and-off, so I think it sounds good!
Overall, awesome job! Can't wait to hear more!

SamuraiOwl responds:

Thank you so much, @Ragekaje! I appreciate the detailed review.

[Project #2]

Sweet tune!

With a little bit of mixing, this could be an awesome lo-fi chill song!

The piano part is catchy and works nicely with those drums! I love that you kind of lay the ground work with the piano in the first half, and then spice it up in the second half. It expands the tone of the piece with extra flavor, but stays faithful to the original melody. In terms of arrangement, I think it needs a little bit more instrumentation. A bass would really help round out the whole song and make it feel a bit more complete. You could also throw in some strings that lightly play long chords in the back just to fill in some of that sonic space.

The mix is clean but quiet. You could certainly bring up the overall volume of the piece while maintaining that quiet feeling. If you were to add more instruments, it would take some intentional mixing moves to make sure they all play nicely with each other in the sonic spectrum. Still, you did a good job keeping the dynamics of the song well balanced. (loud parts and soft parts are clear, but not overly contrasted)

Overall, I think you've got a cool little tune! I think it needs more instruments, (just one or two) but that is just my personal preference. Great job! Keep it up! :)

[Bright and Powerful]

Heck Yeah!

This had my head bumpin' and my body shakin' right away! Awesome job!
I think this would fall under EDM. But it doesn't matter, you don't need genres to make great music!

For the composition, it's very well put together. Every instrument entrance and exit is well arranged. Each instrument knows when to come in to keep things interesting and when to stop playing to create breathing room before coming back in. I love those backing synths at 0:18, by the way. The melody is simple, but hummable and catchy. My only suggestion on that melody is to put some flair on it later in the song. The melody sticks to a small range of notes, which is very good for the majority of a song; listeners have a much easier time comprehending and anticipating a melody that has a small range. BUT, for the later portions of the song, put a little twist on the melody. Either have the melody jump an octave, or just alter part of the melody to extend into some higher registers. Other side notes real quick, drums could use a little flair as well, maybe some quick 16ths on the high hat for later song sections. I'm not sure if there is a bass playing, but a tight bassline could really turn the groove up to eleven on this one. All of these things will help it feel like the song is going somewhere, which is usually our goal with music: grab the listener, and take them somewhere. (i.e. tell them a story with or without words)

In terms of mix, I think you nailed it! The drums are punchy and tight, but leave room for the other instruments. That ride sounds so good! Those synths are quiet, but perfectly mixed so that they're not reaching for spotlight, but they support the song and I can hear them with clarity when I listen for them. The piano sits right in that mid range where its clearly audible, but its not trying to take spotlight away from the drums, which I think are the focal point of the song.

Overall, kickass tune, my dude! Just work on adding a little flair to later song sections and be cognizant of where the song is going.

I think you're doing a flippin' awesome job! Keep up the great work! :D

ofekdr85 responds:

Thank you so much for the response dude :D
About the quick 16th hats, it does add a bit of flavor to the song that's barely noticeable, but supports the music (I hope I understood what "quick 16ths" means...) Also, the backing synths are "Airwave Trance saws" from the "Nexus" plugin that got tweaked a bit :)