Gravey's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[FFIVThemeofLove-Metaljonus]

Not Bad...

It has a nice gentle flow, and really has such a wonderful tone throughout the entire song. The overall mix is really nice as well. I have never played Final Fantasy, so I can't compare it to the original. But from what I hear as a stand alone version, this would be a solid recreation of the old.

I would have to say though, you seem to do an awful lot of cover songs. I can't say I'm all that crazy about cover songs. A few every now and then are good, especially when they are songs that aren't done so much.

But other than the fact that this is yet another cover of a Final Fantasy song, I can't really find much wrong with it. It really flows wonderfully, has a nice variety of instruments, and the mix is solid.

Oh, and I really love the piano. It sounds great. :-)

5/5 and 9/10 overall.

-Gravey-

Metaljonus responds:

Gravey train! lolz. Thanks for the review. I pretty much do all of the these cover just to fuck with and get to know these programs I am using now. I have'nt had time to really sit down and write a new original. But when I do it'll be pwn! Thanks for listening!

[Angel (TSA)]

I Like It...

This has such a smooth and atmospheric tone to it, which is becoming more prevelant in your music as of late. Not a bad thing, but rather just something I've come to realize.

The percussion is very nice. Gotta say I love the glitch you threw in there for a moment. I told ya db glitch is an awesome plug-in! :-D I really like how you write percussion, because it always sounds unique and original. Something I've been trying to figure out how to do myself as of late.

The mix of instruments is very unique as well, and very tastefully done. I like the choir a lot, especially how synthetic it actually sounds. Really fits the song nicely in every way.

The violin solo lead is wonderfully written. Whatever it is you use, it sounds great in all of your songs.

But all that being said, this one is missing something for me. It just doesn't hit me as one of your best pieces. But then again I still say my favorite song of yours would be Vaudeville Circus. So I kinda measure the originality of your pieces to that song.

5/5 and 9/10 overall. Very nice my friend. Very nice indeed.

-Gravey-

[Rhapsody of the Wind and]

:-D

How is it I never reviewed this?! Shame on me!

But then again, what is there to say that I haven't already told you?! So I'll just say this, it sounds all pirdy and stuff. :-P

5/5 and 10/10 overall.

This has been favorited!

-Gravey-

[Fire Spider]

Decent...

...but there are improvements to be made. :-)

I'm not crazy about the vocals. They are too bland. You might think about adding some glitch effects to them to give them a more industrialized touch. Reverb is almost always good for vocals, no matter what the style or genre. So adding some glitches and reverb to the vocals would probably improve them a bit.

The percussion is pretty decent, but not all that punchy. You should compress the kick and snare a bit to get some more oomph outta them. Now if this is a full set vst like the Tama generator in FL, you should use the multiband compressor in order to compress the different frequency ranges of the kit seperately. That could help a lot.

The synths are ok, but not all that mind shattering. You need to add some effects to them, and like the vocals some glitches would be appropriate. Maybe some tape stops here and there, and some noise gates going on would be cool to hear as well.

Lastly you need to fill up space. There is so much open air in this song that you could fill up by introducing new instruments, melodies, harmonies, and percussion rhythms even. Now you don't want a million things going at once probably, but this could really benefit from some more layers, such as synths.

But this is not bad at all, so don't take this review as me trying to be harsh. I'm just trying to give you some ideas so you can grow as a musician is all.

3/5 and 6/10 overall.

-Gravey-

Bracksta responds:

lol, cool, cool, i wish i had more reviews like this. it has been a while since i have gotten such a good review. thanks bro, i'll work on it all.

["Track 13" v3]

It's Interesting...

This is similar to many of your other tracks, and all of them are good for the trance style you are going for. This song seems like it was a bit rushed though. Some quality issues are present, from clipping to odd compression. Might have wanted to spend a little more time on the quality side of things rather than the composition stuff.

The one thing I have to ask is are you growing as a musician? You songs are all basically in the same genre and style. You should think about expanding you writing style by forcing yourself to write in new genres.

Now I know this is posted as techno and not trance, but in all honesty this is pretty straightforward trance. So you should think about expanding to new genres, and I mean ones that aren't closely related to trance. Something like the blues, classical, rock, metal, even DnB would be a new frontier for you as a writer.

As far as this song goes, I like it. But it definitely isn't one of your better songs. It just seems like you might have hit a musical rut like I sometimes do.

4/5 and 7/10 overall.

-Gravey-

Rukkus responds:

Ya, i understand what you're trying to say. I used to make orchestral music too, so i guess i'll try going back to that for a bit because my techno and trance songs seem to be becomming too generic. Thanks for the review man.

[Blue Fuzion - Return (Special)]

Typical...

It is produced really well, but is far to stereotypical of this genre to really get me into it. I really just don't enjoy this style of music at all. But you asked for a review, and here it is.

Like people said before the production work is impressive, er, loud. Which is the most important thing with this genre. The louder it is the more people love it, and this is definitely in your face. So that is a good thing I guess.

I hated the intro. I like the concept, but it just didn't sound that good to me. I would rework the intro a bit. It just didn't really sound as much old school, as just bad quality. Some EQ work there would probably help, as well as finding a better vinyl simulator.

The synths are good choices, but then again I get back to that stereotypical trance sound. It just isn't anything out of the ordinary. And that is something that I always look for in music. Is there something there that can separate this artist from the rest of the pack. And although this is a upbeat and very in your face trance song, I would have to say this isn't distinguishable from 90% of trance music I've heard before.

Oh, and the crowd and deejay vocals drive me insane. Soon as I heard them I couldn't really take this song seriously. That stuff was cool back when it was first incorporated, but the idea has been used so much that it just isn't that interesting anymore. Its just more of the same really.

All that said though, for a trance song you have put together a pretty decent track. Although short, it flows well and seems to be pretty complete. But for me, it just doesn't really strike me as original or really even interesting. Sorry.

3/5 and 7/10 overall.

-Gravey-

BlueFuzion responds:

Ahh...okay then. Thanks for the review and all, but i would have expected more than 3/5 for improvement and effort, not just for the song and because you dont like the genre... =( I didnt expect you to like the song or anything, i just wanted to se if you could see how much i had improved and that kinda thing... =(

But oh well. Thanks anyway...

[<PS> Aura Lee]

Very Nice...

You are very good with a full string ensemble sound my friend. You write and mix them so well, and this is no exception.

I really love everything you have done, and what else is there really to say on a positive note? the song speaks for itself.

But there is room for improvement I feel. For one, you could expand this song greatly by adding some brass instruments, especially a french horn. A french horn would be simply superb in this rendition of Aurea Lee. Some trombones and maybe a trumpet section would be great as well.

Also, percussion. You seem to shy away from using percussion. You shouldn't. Percussion instruments are your friends! Trust me, I know. ;-)

But this is simply beautiful as it is. So kudos to you!

5/5 and 9/10 overall.

-Gravey-

PenguinSam responds:

Ah yes, I do see!

This was just a simple arangement version of it actually! And I do like those ideas. Making an arrangement for Strings and Brass would be really great!

And with percussion, yeah, your're right.

Thank you! I plan on revisiting this!

<PS>

[MH16: Deep And Repetitive]

Mellow...

...which in this case is a good thing. I really like this a lot, even if it is very simple. It has a very chilled atmosphere, and it is good to slow down every now and then to take things in.

I like the organ. Cool sound. It is rather reminiscent of the old Rhodes. God I love the sound of a good ol' Rhodes, and this reminds of that sound quite a bit actually. Very classy touch there, because anything that can be associated with a Rhodes is simply a win for everyone involved. :-)

Also, I like the bass. Very nice and rhythmic line. Although I am not crazy about the sound it has on the low low notes, like near the end. It kinda loses it's sexiness there. Becomes a bit muddied in tone. But as a whole, the bass sounds perfect for this song.

You mentioned you would like to see this in a flash. I think it would be very fitting for someone walking down the street on a warm summers day. Just taking his/her time going from point A to point B. That is just what I see when listening to this little loop anyways.

Nice job here.

5/5 and 9/10. Simple is definitely cool sometimes.

-Gravey-

FairSquare responds:

Yeah, i already had my doubts about that last section with the very low notes. I think i'll change that, thanks for the advice.
And man, you do write reviews quickly. How long did it take to write this, like 30 seconds or something? :P
Anyway, thanks for the review. And power to the Rhodes! :D

[The End {^}-{Alix1}-{^}]

Interesting...

This sounds pretty cool. Everything gets pretty warped when the ensemble kicks in, but it feels like that was intentional. I'm not crazy about the sound, but it is unique.

I like the differences between the different sections. They have a way of building on their own, yet still manage to be a definite part of the entire song. I do think this could use some work though. Especially the section beginning around the 2:00 mark.

That section seems to need one more thing going on to really feel right. When the synths come in a bit later it gets better. But then another issue arises, the melody lines are very odd and unfriendly. Don't get me long, I like weird melodies. But they didn't seem to fit with me in that section.

Now it gets really cool at 3:22. And the following section is pretty awesome to say the least. I really like that section to the end a lot. Very unique writing style and way of creating sickness out of beauty.

I like where the piano comes in at the end as well. Nice touch there.

5/5 and 9/10 overall. This is really cool.

This has been favorited.

-Gravey-

alix1 responds:

Yay! :) Thanks for the awesome review and the fav dude!

[Fur Elise {^}-{Alix1}-{^}]

Ah...The Memories...

I remember playing this in eighth grade. Me and my friends at the time thought it was the most amazing piece ever written. It truly is magnificent.

You did a decent job playing it. But it seems a bit mechanical, I know when I played it I had a lot more nuances in the tempo going on. Especially in certain points in the transitions. I really drew out the tempo to give it a real dramatic effect.

But that is the joy of the classics, everyone interprets the music differently.

Not a bad job here at all. Not the best I've ever heard, but not bad at the same time.

4/5 and 8/10 overall.

-Gravey-

alix1 responds:

thanks! :)