Gravey's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[MH16: Requiem For A Dream]

Not Bad...

There are a couple of notes that the french horn hits that I'm not sure is actually in the real range of a typical french horn player. Those really really high notes are coming to mind. I play french horn, and it seems like some of those notes are just awfully high for the instrument. I could be wrong of course though.

As a composition, I like it. But I don't love it. It is too repetitive, especially considering how short it is. It really runs the same idea and chord structure over and over for the brief 1:13 of it's existence.

Now that being said, this is a beautiful piece. It sounds quite wonderful, and has a great atmosphere to it. I feel like I should be climbing a mountain, or preparing for a battle when I listen to this. It really has that epic and majestic quality that leads a character to some sort of epic undertaking or conquest.

The percussion is really nicely done to say the least. Very nice indeed, and it simply adds to the atmosphere of this piece.

4/5 and 8/10 overall. Wonderful job here, just not quite great yet.

-Gravey-

FairSquare responds:

Yeah, i know it's repetitive. I wanted to add some variation, but for some reason.. i couldn't. I was completely stuck after i realised that i was recomposing a song in stead of composing one.
And i don't know about those Frenchs horns, i don't have any experience with them. I never really thought of the actual range of it :P
And i'm really glad with how the percussion came out too :-)
Well, thanks for the review. I appreciate it! :D

[Silver Reflection]

Very Cool...

Sorry it took me so long to get around to this. I've been busy with school work and some epic Roman and Greek documentaries on the History Channel. And I can't turn that stuff off for anything.

But I'm getting a bit off track. I like this song. It has that TestSubjectA stamp I've often talked about. The mix of this song is very nice, and it creates a very dynamic atmosphere. You do so well with string ensembles my friend, so well indeed.

I like the congas in the percussion. I've been thinking about using some conga percs that I have as well sometime. I just have trouble fitting them into my music. Like you said above about yourself, I've been having trouble writing lately. So I know how it feels to force something out when it just isn't coming to you.

I like the piano in this song, although I'm sure about the overall quality of it. It seems a bit tinny. You should bring out the lows and mids a little, and lower the high end a bit. This will help to warm it's sound up a bit. But this is just me, maybe you went for that sort of sound. I'm not feeling it though. (You know me though, I have a very particular piano sound I like.)

The composition aspect of the piano was really nice though. I like what you created especially the little run(s) I heard. Very nice indeed.

The percussion though, is what makes this shine. I mentioned the congas above, but the rest of the percussion is very nice as well. It helps to create a somewhat mysterious atmosphere, and foreign as well.

When I hear this, I picture a vibrant marketplace in the Middle East. And there is a woman walking through the town square and she is flowing in and around the other patrons buying and selling goods. Her stride is so smooth it is almost as if she is carefully dancing her way through the crowd. She is wearing a veil so it is impossible to see anything other than her eyes. And they a very beautiful dark brown hue, with a very mysterious texture to them.

Yea, I really like this song a lot to say the least. ;-)

5/5 and 9/10 Overall. I'd give it a 10/10, but the piano kinda held this back for me. Other than that though, I really love this piece.

-Gravey-

Aeris responds:

History Channel's bomb diggedy :D

What can I say? I like strings! lol it's what I've grown up with and it's what I can manipulate the bestest :]

I do admit the piano is a little midi-ish or tinny, but it didn't have a major timbral purpose until about 1:17, so I didn't worry about it too much, but i'll see if i can manipulate it a bit :]

Ah, the story, again a nice envisionment :D

Thanks for the review friend ^^ Just as you hold my reviews highly, I do so much your's as well.

[Slug]

:-D

I already told you what I thought of this song on MSN. But I wanted to show some love here anyways!

5/5 and 10/10 overall. Great song as always my friend!

-Gravey-

InvisibleObserver responds:

Bountiful!

["Ecstasy of Gold" Remix]

Interesting...

I'm not crazy about trance, but thi song does have some nice moments. Especially when the piano comes in and is the focal point for that one section around 1:40 something. Very nice there.

I can honestly say I flat out hate the whooshing tone this song has beginning at 0:42. It's a cool effect, but not one I would use to define an entire section like that. And especially repeating it later in the song was a bit much. I guess I'm just more interested in hearing a good composition than a bunch of effects. :-/

That being said, I'm not gonna be too harsh, because it wasn't all bad like I said. I really like the piano part a lot. Very cool section there.

Also the percussion was pretty tasteful. Nothing amazing or extraordinary, but very likable and appropriate for the genre this song is in.

4/5 and 8/10 overall. Not a bad song at all here bud.

-Gravey-

Rukkus responds:

Thanks for the in depth review man. I know, the side chaining can be a bit annoying, but i went on a limb and decided to try something new.

[\It's a Dream Remix/]

Well...

...I hate trance, and for the most part I hate remixes. Soooooo, I'm gonna try to stay objective and positive cause you asked me to review.

I rhythms in the percussion kill me. There are two big reasons I can't stand trance, no rhythm variation and no harmonic integrity. Now don't get me wrong, the percussion sounds good quality wise. I really like the kick, which is pretty dominant in the mix. But nothing changes, at all.

Sometimes that is good, but trance is always like this. So it is hard for me to look on the positive side of that, because for 99% of trance percussion there isn't one.

I like the lead synths. They have a nice quality, and are playing a very straight forward trance melody. It sounds pretty good actually, although simple. Which is what is needed with this genre, so good job with the melody.

Sadly, no harmony is present in this song at all. A bass line would be cool to have, because I didn't hear one. If there is one, it is either covered up or following the synths to much. But I didn't seem to hear any bass at all. Which makes this feel top heavy to me.

Don't take this review to harshly, for trance it is actually spot on. It has a great quality sound to it, and is kinda catchy. But simple and to the point. Maybe think about adding some piano to it, along with a bass line. Those would both help this song out a lot. But for a trance song, this is what most people are wanting. So overall you did nicely here.

4/5 and 8/10 overall. Hope this review helped.

-Gravey-

Adamaja456 responds:

yea dude i understand. and its just a type of genre i enjoy. Trance is mostly repetitive melodies so thats what i shot for. there is a bassline but it is a bit soft. thanks for the honest review though. <3

[MH16: No Need To Hurry]

Cool...

I like this a lot. It has a very friendly and yet rather groovy mood to it. So I think the title of the song is perfectly appropriate.

I like the mix of instruments you used. Everything has a wonderful place in the mix, and really feeds off of the rest of the ensemble as an individual instrument. Not always an easy thing to do, but you did well with the overall mix here bud.

I like the percussion a lot. Very simple and straightforward, but it definitely gets the job done. The tone of the percussion is spot on as well. It is very subtle, which is what makes it so effective in this song.

I like the light and airy wind instrument you used for the lead. Sounds like a pan flute, but I could be wrong of course. No matter what it is exactly, great choice. It fits the style and atmosphere of this song beautifully, and has a wonderfully quality and tone.

I really like this a lot for what it is. It isn't anything truly grand or epic, and the music is not terribly difficult. But for a song titled "No Need To Hurry" it is perfect.

5/5 and 10/10 overall. I really like this tune a lot!

-Gravey-

FairSquare responds:

A friendly yet groovy song was exactly what i tried to achieve here, so i'm glad you mentioned that :-)
And the percussion actually took me pretty long to make. I layered like 6 kicks for the kick, 5 snares for the snare and 2 crash cymbals for... the crash cymbal :P
Also, i had a lot of problems with clipping in this song, but then i discovered that the volume of my VST that i use for the drums was very low and the output was very high. So i lowered the output volume and turned the volume of my VST up and i used a compressor. I'm glad that the clipping is completely gone now :-)
Anyway, thanks for the review as always :-)
I appreciate it!

[(gaia) va 4 billybean-va]

Haha!

This is awesome! Great voice acting submission here to be sure! You have a lot of different accents and voice timbres going on in this submission. It really shows your abilities and range in voice textures. Wonderful job!

5/5 and 9/10 overall. I just can't rationalize giving a 10/10 for a voice acting submission. It would have to be something immensely hilarious and unique to get a ten.

-Gravey-

rednikaiaG responds:

No, no, no Gravey, YOU'RE awesome------>
I wouldn't expect you to vote anything OTHER than what you HONESTLY thought. (Even though I have to remind myself to vote fairly on things. I often find myself just instinctively pushing 10, which DOES kind of negate the entire purpose of voting on a scale in the first place.) As for being immensely hilarious, maybe another time, huh? Heh heh heh The clips Billy-Bean-VA added were just as if not sillier. Is that a word, sillier? *goes to google it* Indeed it is, my friend. Either way, this was a fun project to take part in. Thanks BillyBean-VA for inviting me and thank you Gravey for stopping by! Ay, remember to link me with YOUR next subby! You're a brilliant musician, Sire.

........Take care, be good and keep composing and voting fairly.period
Hope all's well with Sly too! *smiles and waves goodbye*

[MH16: All I Want]

Nice...

I love the piano. But there is one thing I would like to point out. It sounds like you are playing full chords in the left hand. This can really bog down the music if you are so heavy in the left hand. I recommend keeping the left hand chords simpler. Instead of having full chords hit on the downbeat all the time, roll them a little instead. It will really help out a lot.

Now in the beginning I like the block chords for an intro. It sets a very somber tone for the song, and prepares the listener for what is to come. But when the song really kicks in I would roll the chords or simply simplify them. It just bogs down the song is all. Especially a lighter song like this.

Other than that slight issue this is very well written. I love when the pan flute comes in. It has a great sound, and really propels the song along nicely. It also adds a new dimension to the mix, which can do wonders for any tune.

The percussion was very appropriate. Nothing mind blowing, but completely appropriate. You did a good job mixing the percussion in with the rest of the song, and not overpowering the piece.

The strings were a nice touch. Although, they didn't seem like they were the best sounding strings for this song. I'm not sure, but I felt that something a bit duller and warmer would have been better for this song. But for the most part, the strings were a nice addition to an already solid piano piece.

5/5 and 9/10 overall. Nice work here my friend. :-)

-Gravey-

FairSquare responds:

Wow, you write reviews quickly :P
And an awesome review too, i must say!
I'll definitly try to make this song better with all the advices you've given.
Thanks!!! :D

[Burning Sand]

Not Bad...

This really has a cool groove to it once it gets started. Very cool groove indeed. I like the mix of instruments. You did a good job in meshing them well. This has a very dark and almost distant atmosphere in a way. Yet it is still in your face with that main lead synth.

I like the percussion a lot. It sounds great, and there are some awesome rhythms you have going on. Very impressive rhythms in the percussion to say the least.

I would have liked to hear some variance in the melody though. It was basically the same thing over and over again. Which is fine for short songs. But this was over four minutes long. So it needed a little variety in the melody line in my opinion. That being said, it was still really catchy and groovy as can be.

5/5 and 9/10 overall. Nice job here.

-Gravey-

Pivvot responds:

thank you very much

[Boux]

Good Song...

It is very soothing and gentle. A very fitting tribute to our friend Boux. :-)

5/5 and 10/10 overall.

-Gravey-

Stalagmite responds:

thanks so much for checking out the song and for your kind words :D the instrument is called something LIKE "shakhchi" it is just the name of the preset.. i applied velocity to create gentle mood and reverbfor atmos. :D that instrument feautures ONCE for a second... and the other instrument is simply a flute with breathy emphasis... it is called "sweet flute" a preset on my Yamaha portale grand DGX-300"
thanks :D i hope that helps