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/

[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.

[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 :)

[21 Days of VGM - Day 1: Give It Everything You've Got (Final Boss Theme)]

Woah! Totally rocks!

Those guitars have such a strong progressive rhythm and they work really well with the leads playing those arpeggios! The drums compliment nicely, but could use some fills to liven it up here and there.

The composition is good, but it feels like just a start. You've got a nice progression of chords being arpeggiated and you transition them very smoothly into the whole metal band instrumentation. However, I feel like the whole song is just an A section. You have a great start to a song, but my ears were hungry for it to go somewhere. If its a song, have the lead guitars switch to playing a melody that is singable/hummable. Something that contrasts nicely will really help differentiate the section from the first. For example, maybe the rhythms are doing something similar to the part at 1:01, but you have a guitar playing a melody that consists of longer, more drawn out notes. (and maybe a lick of two or three quick notes in between the longer notes) If you lean towards more of a backing track for a game, I would lean more towards giving the composition some space in terms of melody. Have the leads drop what they're doing and just let the rhythm instruments drive the song for a few measures. Going down to just the rhythm guitars, bass, and drums can really push that intense feeling of motion and urgency while leaving room for the lead guitars to come back in later with a hummable/singable melody.

In terms of mix, the guitars are blended fairly nicely. I can hear what both the rhythms and leads are doing pretty clearly, but they both overpower the drums and bass a bit. I can hardly hear a kick drum at all (and I'm playing the music on a set of Harbinger PA speakers) and the snare is only a little louder than that. I recommend searching through the audio spectrum on your guitars to find a little more breathing room for the drums. (solo your guitar and turn it way down, go into your EQ plugin and make a strong boost in a small but not tiny frequency range, and slowly slide it back and forth while listening to the guitar to find where you can cut the guitar to make room in the mix) Primarily, I think the kick needs a boost in the high range so we can really hear the attack.

I like the tone of all the instruments you have! Lead guitars are nice and juicy, rhythms are thick and clear, synths are smooth! Again, the drums are lacking in this department too, but I understand the difficulty of using midi drums from a VST. It's difficult, but doable. I have a track that I'm fairly proud of titled "Okay" that used a VST kit if you want an example.

In short, I think you're onto something totally freaking awesome! Write some more sections, beef up those drums, and put together a badass track and send it to me so I can listen! :D Keep up the awesome work!

JoobieDoobieDoo responds:

That's a lot of feedback. It's great the song inspired so many words from you. I can 100% see your perspective, in how the composition seems a little bit samey. Keep in mind, this whole project was done in one day, in one single sitting for the 21 Days Of VGM challenge. Cramming this much in one day, you're bound to have some things that could maybe be improved. There is actually a B-Section though. The section that comes out from the drop out to just portamento lead and pads, is an entirely different set of chords and arpeggios. Though, your perspective that it is also samey is one I can understand, it IS similar in tone. The Groove drives more of an 8th note feel though. Where as the rest of the loop is more syncopation around the quarter note pulse.

The mix, I'm there with ya. This was forced to be done in a day. What are ya gonna do haha I could've sidechained the R Guitars to the kick too. I could've dealt with some of the harshness of the leads. I could've sidechained R Guitars to snare. I could've added some subs to the kick. I could've saturated the master more and compressed the mix more, than added some of the transients back with a some high mids-highs eq. Time was unfortunately not a privilege I had with this one. So a lot got left behind. It was all just "GO GO GO". That being said, I stand by the loop. I think with the two quieter sections and B-Section, there is enough movement in the piece to function without compositional changes.

Either way, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you. And I'm glad you care enough to try and assist fellow musicians and offer your opinion and tips. You rock!

[Avizura - Break The Silence]

Dang! Very awesome!

Piano hook is great, mix is in great balance, and the song overall is pretty freakin' cool!

I like the melody that plays throughout the majority of the song, it is relatively simple, but each repetition changes a little bit. I wish it was a little bit more hummable/singable because as I walked away from my computer after a listen, the rhythm was stuck in my head more than the melody. The guitar voicing is sooooo cool! I need to know what you used. It's very reminiscent of the Megaman X instrumentation, especially when it plays the melody at the end.

However, I think the song could benefit from changing up the B section a bit more. The melody is too close to the A section that I couldn't hear much a difference my first few listens through. The guitar stuff is freaking awesome, but my ears were itching for a different melody. The problem with the melodies being so similar is that it made the loud parts feel like they were just one big section, rather than several different sections that were all loud. My ears felt like the quiet parts were just as long as the loud parts (even though they weren't) just because the amount of melodic content was the same.

Mix is great! I think the piano is at a perfect volume because it is almost as loud as the rest of the song, but it doesn't FEEL like it is just as loud. The drums and bass are strong, but leave plenty of space for the melodies to shine through.

I like the section with the swing, but it feels abrupt getting there and doesn't hold a lot of story implication to me. I found myself wondering why the swing was there except just to vary up the song. To me, a swing makes the song feel more loose and makes me want to dance. So, be aware of the "story" being told with your songs as you're writing them. (or arranging them)

All in all, fantastic work! I've listened to it probably ten times by now because it gets me pumped! Keep up the great work! :D

AvizuraNG responds:

Thanks for the long and well worded review!

The guitar is just 1 sample, which I think came from an old AMG sample CD or maybe it was the Universe Of Sounds library from the E-MU Emulator 2 (idk, I have a bunch of sample CDs ripped to my HDD). And then I just fed it through an amp simulator. The mutes are created using the filter on the NN-XT. I've used an envelope to shape the filter's movement and the velocity controls how much the filter opens up.

I think you're right about the B section, I still use a lot of the standard DnB conventions when creating tracks (very often it's just the exact same piece of music after the breakdown with an added outro for djs).