Gravey's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fail Guitar+Synth experiment]

Nifty...

I like it. Simple and straightforward. I kinda think it would go well in a side scrolling space shooter, but that is just me. I could kill me some alien baddies to this! :-D

I do think you could maybe make this closer to a minute long, and vary it slightly. Cause if this repeated every 0:30 seconds in a video game, it would grow old quickly. Maybe you could add some strings to it as well. Just a thought.

4/5 and 9/10 overall, because it is almost there. But even for a loop I find it a bit short. I think loops should be about a minute long. But then again, just my opinion, take it or leave it as you will. :-)

-Gravey-

Badspreekill responds:

Should do!

It does have a nice space themed sound =P

[\Overcome/]

Nifty...

I really like the strings in the intro. Cool sound there man. You really nailed the intro well.

Like the buildup to the near 0:50 mark, then it dies down a bit. Cool way to work that little transition. I like the section starting around the 1:10 mark, but I think you need to add something there to give it some flavor.

Yet again, a nice buildup to the 1:30-ish mark. And I like that section as it is perfectly. And the transition out of it was clean and smooth. And they a buildup to a grander string sound after all that, which is very pleasing to the ears.

Something to think about would be to add a few more sounds throughout the song. Nothing to extreme, but something to give it a little color. Because it has great horizontal depth. But is lacking a bit in vertical depth. A few more instruments throughout the song would do wonders for that.

I'm not crazy about how it loops. If it is a loop then fine, but songs really should have endings. And this is pretty long for a typical loop. And submitted it as a song, not a loop. So you should come up with a proper ending for the piece. All said though, this is a nicely constructed piece. 4/5 and 8/10 overall, because it is good. But not great yet. I think it has a little work still to be done.

Great job!

-Gravey-

P.S. - If you change this later and resubmit it, let me know. I wanna hear what you changed in it. :-)

Adamaja456 responds:

thanks for the in depth review man. Maybe this weekend, ill go back and add some things to it. And i always seem to have troubles with my endings so they usually turn into the loop kind so i need to work on that XD.

thanks again for the rate and review
-Adamaja456

[Project 8]

Alrighty-Then...

First off I have a question. Are the guitars real? Or generated? Because they don't sound very real. And that is a problem. I mean, if they aren't real, I won't hold that against you. Cause not everyone has the ability to record themselves playing. But if they are real, then you need to work on their sound a bit.

Now as for the song as a whole, I like it...To an extent. It is very in your face at times, and has nifty beats. Very electro/industrial kind of metal sound. Your kick is fucking awesome, I simply love that sound. But I do think you could expand on the drums a bit. Maybe add some cymbal stuff, because it doesn't sound like there is any.

As for the structure of the song, I really don't know what to say. It is kinda difficult to follow the structure because it doesn't vary much. Now I don't mean it doesn't vary in instruments and all. But rather musically. Because it seems like you switch off from one drum rhythm to another without any rhyme or reason. And like I said before, the guitars are rough. Extremely hard to follow them at all.

But i LOVE the overall wound you got as a whole. So I'ma give you a 4/5 and 7/10 overall. As weird and eccentric as this is, I really like it a lot. But it could use a lot of work. If you do any more work in the future let me know. I would like to hear the changes you made.

-Gravey-

P.S. - This has been favorited. :-)

StarGaming responds:

Thanks for the nice review, and to answer your first question, Yes the guitar is fake. And thanks you very much for helping me out I really appreciate it and these types of reviews encourage me to keep going,

Thanks much,
-Liam

[Hamelin - The Angel's Hymn]

Heh...

I love how everyone wants to help you get better midi. When all these are for is to get your thoughts and ideas down. that way when you go to record them you don't forget anything.

Yea, Garageband has decent midi, but it only runs on Macs. And Macs are shit, as you agree with me on. As for FL Studio, don't bother. Waste of time, cause the guitar shit on there doesn't sound real at all either. I think my song Impressionable proves that. (Although I think it would be badass if I ever got it recorded for real)

As for midi, I love this shit man. Geeks me out every time I listen to your midi stuff, cause it all belongs on some epic 8-bit rpg Nintendo game. And this song is no different.

Great stuff man. 5/5 and 9/10 overall.

-Gravey-

P.S. - You are still, and always will be my sweet widdle wuv shnookums!!! X-D I bet THAT turns some heads here for other Newgrounders!

Sicdrummer responds:

LOL garvey you are killing me sir with all your comments but ya i love my midis josh my guitar player added shit to my midi's and wrote some of his own

[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

[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

[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.

[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.