Gravey's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Heroin-Time's A Terrible Drug]

Not Bad...

...but there is a lot of improvement to be made.

First off, this song is not punchy at all. You need to compress those drums and raise their sound. They sound wimpy, and are WAY to quiet in the mix. Expecially the kick. Maybe even EQ the kick a little before compressing it.

As for the guitars, they are alright. Decent distortion on them, but I do think they could be louder. And a bit heavier. Raise the low end gain and lower the high end gain a bit. That should help even out the tone of this song musically.

The riffs are nifty, but not mind shattering. But then again, how many songs really do have mind shattering riffs anymore. There are some very technical spots though in this song. Some good guitarmanship for sure.

The vocals kinda wanted to make me cry. The screaming is alright, but not my style. I'm not holding that against you though, because the screaming fit the song well. The singing though, really wasn't very good. You have a good screaming voice, but the singing was kinda bad. I would stick mainly to screaming, because that is where your voice really shines.

All in all a decent and solid song. But not great. 3/5 and 6/10 overall. If you do decide to work on this in the future, I would like to hear what you changed. Best of luck man!

-Gravey-

BuryYourFace responds:

thank you very much gravey :) well appreciated

[Stabbed and Punched to Death]

Interesting...

It has nice moments, it really does. But the sound seems to be muffled or something. It doesn't seem to be coming through clear. Especially the kick and guitars. Check your settings for those instruments, because they all sound muffled.

As for the riffs themselves, they aren't too bad. I like the part around the 1:25 mark. Very cool slow section.

I think the drums need to be worked on as well. The beats aren't terrible, but the sound itself isn't the best. Everything in this song seems like it went through a filter that sucked the life out of the song. Not sure whether you meant to have that kind of sound or not.

3/5 and 5/10 overall, because this isn't bad, but still needs a lot of work. Good luck with it man!

-Gravey-

[Force (Final)]

I Like...

...it a lot! I love the fusion of electro and instrumental styles here. Very VERY well done, and mixed beautifully.

As always, the piano part makes me smile. Fucking beautiful piano line. Not really complicated at all, but really fits in the music fucking well.

Also, the flute line, simply gorgeous! I love everything you did with this piece!

As for the structure of the song, I really can't say anything bad at all. This song is just really good all over. 5/5 and 10/10, and it has been favorited! I think this is my new favorite of your songs. Although, Clocks is still awesome!

-Gravey-

Aeris responds:

Thanks, as always an awesome review :D

i'm surprised, cuz when I made it I couldn't seem to feel it, but i guess it came out better than what i give it credit for.

My favorite is the flute line too, it really molded everything together, i think i'm gonna try to use more winds in my songs.

Thanks again, i'll have to check up on your songs soon, i'm sure you've pumped something out :3

[Hamelin - They Ride]

HAHA!!!

This is awesome as fuck!!! Next time though, post this stuff in the video game genre. Cause people looking in the heavy metal genre will vote 0 for this being midi. Hence your low score. But if you put it in the video game genre people will be more open to it, cause this is perfect for a old school nintendo game!

4/5 and 9/10, cause it is awesome, but really isn't metal. :-P

-Gravey-

P.S. - You can change the genre of stuff you have submitted already. Just go to your submissions and click the edit link for this song. :-)

[Back from the Dead]

Nifty Intro...

I'm not sure I like the distortion on the guitars. At least the rhythm guitars. They are a bit dull sounding, at least that is my opinion. Take it or leave it as you wish.

As for the song musically, you have some kick ass riffs going on. And they all flow well together. The transitions from one section to another are very good, although I think the news flashes in the middle of the song is ridiculous. Especially in a song with no vocals. Because without a storyline, they don't really make a whole lot of sense.

The drums are good sounding. I think the kick could be a bit more compressed, to make it punchier. But it is ok as it is. Overall, you have a good drum sound going on.

Where is the lead guitar? I hear no solos, and no real lead going on. A HUGE disappointment, because that is what metal is about in so many ways. Kickass solos, and a high screaming lead guitar leading you throughout the song. Now it doesn't need to be in the song all the way through, but there needs to be a lead somewhere. To give it some epicness. :-)

Overall not bad, but a lot of work could be done on it. 3/5 and 6/10 overall. Nice job, and if you decide to work on this later let me know. I would like to hear the new version if there ever is one.

-Gravey-

pitchblak responds:

Thanx for the review, i really appreciate others opinions.I doubt i will get around to adding to this, also, im not much on solos, im actually more into the chunky riffs and all. I dont really think a solo makes a song. I really am behind on my solo work as well and i feel like if you cant solo well, it just kills a song.Also, my kick drum was a tad to low and i wasnt happy with my distortion either.Ive got some new equipment now and hope to release some new tracks soon. Thanx again for the review man

[N.Sndwch-My Inspiration]

Awesome...

But you have some serious sound issues. Your compression is awesome, but it is clipping and popping all over. That is severely hampering your sound. Don't get me wrong, I love compression in my music like no other. But I think you need to tweak your compressions on this song.

Now musically, this song is cool as fuck. Great guitar riffs, and decent vocals. Although, they aren't my style at all. I do love the vocals around the 0:40 mark. Reminds me a bit of Mudvayne before they started making pop metal for the radio. Not my style overall vocally, but I won't hold that against you.

As for the guitar sound itself, I like it. Heavy, yet not too low. And they really fit your vocals very nicely. Very tasteful choice there.

As for the drums, they need some work. The high ends are well mixed and recorded. Or if you are using a generator, you used a good set for your type of sound. But the kick, wow the kick is way to low. You need to raise it a lot. But I do think the kick sounds good, just not loud enough.

So yea, 3/5 and 7/10 because you have serious clipping and popping issues in this song. And it is hard to give a song a great score when there is tons of popping and clipping. Especially the popping. Clipping isn't the end of the world, but the popping is VERY hurtful to the songs sound.

Hope this helped.

-Gravey-

NickSandwich responds:

Hey thanks for the review!
The popping unfortunately I can't do anything about right now. My audio interface makes that sound for some reason, and it ends up in all the recordings :(. The clipping, I actually don't hear at all, so I'm not sure what you mean. As for compression, the only things that have compression is the snare drum, bass guitar, and the entire mix is run thru a multi-band compressor (edit:forgot 2 say vox are compressed 2 obv lol). I'm guessing it's the multi-band you don't like, probably the low end. I feel the exact same way. That's also why the kick isn't coming out as well as it should. I fixed this in my up-coming track, and the kick sounds fucking KILLER in it ;D. I can't wait to have it finished.

[~Stone Angel~]

Interesting...

I see a lot of hate from Hulkbuster down there. But I will say he has a point, but only to an extent. Speed is epic, but only when used right. And not all songs have to be fast to be good. But a lot of times playing things a bit faster does give it a boost that gets the adrenaline pumping.

Now that being said, I really like this song. You came up with cool riffs that are groovy as fuck. Not brutal, but groovy. And that is just as cool as brutality in its own right.

The guitars sound a bit dead. The distortion is fine on them, but they just sound...well...dead. You need to add some filler to your opening riff, to make it a little more interesting. Because it is a bit boring all by itself. Also, maybe change the distortion on one of them to get a better contrast. I think that would help a TON!

The drums sound good, but really do not do much. Maybe you didn't want them to do much, but the lack of substance musically means the drums are even more important than usual. Also, the cymbals seem slightly distorted in places. Is the drum kit real? Or are you using a generator? Cause if you are using a generator, just check the sound settings and you should be able to fix it easily enough.

Vocals would be awesome for this song, but I'm not gonna hold that against you. Hard to find a vocalist, and even harder a good one.

Overall, 3/5 and 7/10 because this was a good solid song, but not a great one. Hope this helped.

-Gravey-

[DingDoungDang]

It's Alright...

But nothing great. I think you need a heavier distortion personally, but that is just me.

Kinda has a slight old school In Flames feel to it with the lead. Which is a good thing, but overall it is a bit boring. This would fit perfectly on In Flames "Clayman" cd though, and that is about as good a compliment as you could ever get from me.

I'm excited to hear a finished version of the whole song. So pm me if and when you do finish it. :-) 3/5 and 5/10.

-Gravey-

mr-vincent responds:

Thanks for the positive ans constructive comment ;)

[(<-Homicidal Thoughts->)]

Nifty Intro...

I like when the bellish sounds come in during the intro. They really hit that horror movie feel you were going for.

I think the drums are a little to "dance-ish" for a horror flick. Maybe look into different sounding drums, especially the snare. It seemed a little out of place. Unless you were going for like a rave scene in the middle of a Friday the 13th movie. Then this would fit that pefectly.

As for the sounds you used, they all sound good together. And they all really fit into that horror feel you were going for. I do think you should incorporate the tri-tone a bit in this song. It wasn't said to be the devil's chord for nothing ya know.

If you don't know what the tri-tone is, it is an augmented fourth in any chord you are working in. So lets say you are working in the key of C, because it is easy and most people on here do. The tri-tone, or augmented fourth, would be the F#. It is the most dissonant sound you can make, and is perfect for horror-type sounds. So experiment by putting a low C or something in for the bass, and then an augmented fourth chord above it.

All in all this is a nifty little song. I liked it a lot, although I think there could be some things worked on it. 4/5 and 9/10, cause it is pretty good and I can tell you put a lot of work into it.

-Gravey-

jbarnett responds:

thanks :). And yes, I was goin for a rave in the middle of a friday the thirteenth movie lol.

[Soniquest]

Almost There...

As usual, you did a nice job of finding sounds that go well together. As for the song itself, it is a bit repetitive. But then again, pretty much all electro music is. But you should try to vary the melody a bit despite that.

I don't like the dropout around the 1:30ish mark. You should try reorganizing something there. Not sure exactly what it needs, but that section isn't the best. I LOVE the breakdown measure around the 2:15 mark. Very cool moment there!

The ending is basically the same as the rest of the song. Not much variety here at all. lol But other than that I see nothing wrong with it.

3/5 and 7/10, cause you need to mix up the melody a lot. Too repetitive. But I think you could really turn this into a nifty song with a little more work.

-Gravey-

jbarnett responds:

ya, but thats trance... Last i checked, the explanation of trance was, the repetitive beats, alluring synths & atmospheric textures have a hypnotic purpose... so I might just be interpereting it but i think it's supposed to be kinda repetitive. But I can go and change it up for lack of anything better to do lol. As always, thanks for the review. :-)