MaartenC's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Horizon (RMX)]

Hm-hm. Indeed 'happy' trance.

Anyway, great stuff. I haven't had the pleasure of listening the original, so I can't compare it, but this sounds truly good. From start to end, you didn't bore, but even kept my attention for the whole time.

The intro sounded like techno to me, but that changed with the orchestra-ish instruments popping up, and the drums that changed. That transition went smooth, also with the hypersaw (or what is it?) that kicked in at 0:44. From that point on, the song starts building up, and then gets into a 'pause' with the new, higher pattern playing its tune.

From then on, it's more a happy trance song (Dj Splash, but waay better).
Then suddenly, multiple melodies are playing through each other, but they blend perfectly. This is something to be proud of, and is something I always hope to see in an advanced artist, which I can (with great content) see with both you and C23 these days.

Also, goosebumps @ 3:02. Well done.

ForeverBound responds:

yeah goosebumps :D. and i like Dj Splash i only think it's badly masterd -_-
And thank u for calling me an advanced artist ( u just made my day) =)

I'm really happy u like this one :D

[New Generation (OM)]

I like this.

Even though I don't really like the intro (it's for dj-ing purposes, I know that, but it's (IMO) not how you begin a song), but that aside, the song is good.

The real intro (0:35) is smooth and steady. The orchestral instrument plays simple, long tones and prepares the listener for a build-up (practically a build-up for a build-up). The drums kick in, and the song continues. It's all good, and the effect used at (2:30) is very well used.

It's a bit of a shame that no further elaboration is present other than the orchestral instrument; the drums (by the way, they are very good. Pretty typical progressive trance, but slightly better than most of the artists); and the piano (if I hear that right).

The piano after (2:30) plays an evolved version of the orchestra, and doing it right, it really brings more flow into the song. I would have used it earlier, but it was inside the 'tolerant zone'.

After this, the song continues for a while, though what I had hoped for most didn't really happen: a climax. In this song that could have been achieved by making all the tones an octave higher, or I don't know.

Anyway, I liked the song, though I feel there are parts left out, and even though I mostly wrote criticism, I really liked it, so you have my fave + download. Congrats!

ForeverBound responds:

Thanx man i appreciate your criticism

~Forever Bound

[C23~Rainbow 19]

And two hours before deadline (and quite one), here's the review:

Of course, the intro was amazing, even though the melody didn't come from you, the instruments & effects used were more than adequate. Every instrument came to its right, and you threw in different loops, which is something I liked very much.

I (goddammit, again) agree with Cliffracer (and I really want to play Chrono Trigger again now), this is perfect music for that game. I would more have chosen it for either a time-travel cutscene, or in the cave near the battle with magnus (where Frog used his badass sword to cut open a rock, or something).

Anyway, almost everything sounds very well-looked after, though I get the feeling that the middle part is kind of rushed. You're building up very nicely the first minute, then you come into a calm part, after which I expected some kind of climax, though you have only used more instruments, or elaborated them (this is something I do too, that's why I noticed).

What I expect from you in the next half of the year, is that you will make songs which are either a free, or 'voortkabbelend' song, with no climax necessary (like Ra - Transcendent), or have a good climax (I don't expect something amazing like Vicious delicious yet, don't worry :P).

Anyway, the instruments used are, with no doubt, excellent, and the middle isn't bad at all, plus the ending is good, with just the 'small bells' playing a soothing, beautiful pattern, I liked that.

So yeah, I give this (Strictly spoken) a 4, and will heighten my standards again for you. Well done, and build dat climax!

KrisKrosNL responds:

Thanks for the review (and well on time, too). I know it's rushed. =(

[C23~Light 16]

Yes. Yes, I like this.

The intro's melody is good, it piques the interest of the listener, and it build up well, with the secondary melody enriching it. The effects used are good too.

Then, at ~1:30, the song kinda gets into a drag, with the song changing a bit, to a slightly 'boring' melody, and the drums staying the same for the entire time. It's probably a good idea to experiment with the drums a bit more. Not just mastering the drums, but keep making different patterns.

Then, at ~2:00, the song slows down, a nice piano play starts, (I'd have the melody run at this octave, but add another octave -higher- to the piano roll), and the song starts building up again. You roll an entire repertoire of effects through the song, which is greatly appreciated by me, and some instruments kick in and out. It gives a more freestyle-like feeling and it really keeps the song going.

In the last quarter, you really outdid yourself, with the bells (I assume they are 'bells' from sytrus) enriching the main melody, which is exactly the thing I told you to do in my last review. I greatly enjoyed that part and I wish to see that more often in your songs.

All with all, I give you a 9.3/10, as told, thus making a 5/5 upload. Great job and keep it up!

KrisKrosNL responds:

Tnx

[C23~Blue 15]

Gotta love the opening.

I love, I really LOVE openings with piano plays such as these (just like ForeverBound - This is it). The piano plays a smooth, yet touching opening, with other instruments slowly kicking in. It's not too fast; it's not too slow, the intro is perfect, which is something that you haven't accomplished yet before.

Then, usually after the drums start, I get (not even with your songs mostly) a climax thrown at my head, while your song still builds up. The effects strengthen that too. Well done, by the way.

Then just before the two-minute-point, I hear the familiar 'Courage' line, I liked that too, nice add.
At any rate, the the songs has great deals of variation, also at 2:55 with the drums(!), loved that too.

The song's almost perfect apart from the fact that your build-down takes slightly too long. It's not a great deal for me (hence the 5/5), but some inexperienced ears might get bored quickly of such a feat.

Now a quick recap:
-Things I liked-

- Intro
- Instruments used
- Great deal of variation
- Drums
- Mastering
- Oh look a chair

Then of course, I do not need to make a list of shit I didn't like, since I did not not like anything. Job greatly done; 5/5, 5/5, fave and fdsfds.

Sorry for the late review :D

KrisKrosNL responds:

He he, thanks. Actually, I want to fix the bass and brass notes a bit since it doesn't flow perfectly throughout the center of the song. Your review, of course, certifies me that I don't need much change at all! =)

[C23~Green 14]

Hm... It was difficult to recognize my pattern, because massive BPM boost, though after getting used to it, I liked it.

It does sound too chaotic though. the main melody is a bit too much on the background :\
You can solve this by assigning every channel you use to a free mixer track and balancing the volume as much as you can.
It's also a good idea to lower the release of the main melody a bit. The 'echo' sounds a tad too long.

The drums are good though, you really improved on that, just like the bass.

What I really liked, was the smooth loose melody running through the entire song. I've been wanting to improve that for a long time with myself, so congrats; I'm jealous :P

Overall it's a 6/10 for me. It's not bad, but also NEARLY not finished. Well done tho ^^

KrisKrosNL responds:

It's called 'remaking', otherwise it'll be a complete rip-off. =P

Yeah, I noticed, but I was trying to aim for a 'background' (the main theme) and 'main' melody (the brass and some other instruments which I haven't added here) playing on the song after the drum beats started. I should work on that more.

Overall, thanks for the review.

[C23~Liberatish Courage]

Me gusta.

It's a great 'courage' styled song, with an excellent bass, fine drums and a smooth melody. The only shame is that after a few minutes it got repetitive for me.

The intro is good. It's easy to listen to, it's calming, yet elaborate. I really liked it when the melody went slightly up, at 0:11, that is.

Then the drums started building up, the song got a a fine rhythm, the melody kept me alert, since it was different the whole time, without sounding chaotic (NOT CHAOZ STYLE).
The bass was strong, I like that, the instruments were well chosen and the mastering is awesome.

Though after the few instrumental peaks (damn, impressive) after the 2:00 - 3:00 part, things got slightly boring for me. I got spoiled (verwend) with an awesome show, but then the song got into its old flow... It's quite a shame, though the ending is great.

So, if it's up to me, I wouldn't change the song. It's finished and I liked it. I gotta raise my standards again, and yes, it goes straight into my faves. Great job, man. Keep it up!

KrisKrosNL responds:

Yesh, I believe I should have been more creative after the sudden halt in the middle, but my laptop JUST DOESN'T WANT TO DO SHIT WITH IT BECAUSE IT WILL CRASH IF I DO. =( Damn, I really need a good PC/laptop, unlike my 9-year-old laptop.

Thanks for the review.

[FS: Freefalling]

Wow, I forgot you could do this too ^^

It's... euphoric, yet the lower tones manage to keep up the variation. I like that, it makes things less repetitive.

I found the intro a little bit too abrupt though. I think you could have made the intro either start with a smoother instrument, and/or make it longer. I don't give major minus points for this, since it really is a minor detail.

I did like the energetic higher tones, which all blend together impressively. You obviously know what you're doing here :P
I also liked the drums. They are timed well and just like everything else, excellently mastered.

Also a small thing, the BMP. I think it's a little bit too low. It could be about 5~10 faster, but that also does not do any harm with my score much.

All with all, it's a 4/5. I did vote 5, since someone obviously 0-bombed you. Now the average should be okay. Keep it up!

FairSquare responds:

Haha, yeah, i like some variety :p

The intro.. yeah, i see where you're coming from. I'll have to stop listening to this song for a while to really hear what you mean though, because i've heard it SO many times and it has really grown on me.

And i would like to believe that i know what i'm doing, but most of the times it's like ''Oh, i'll just do this and that and put that there..'' -5 minutes later- ''OH how did i do that? :O''

I already upped the BMP +2. Not that much because, again, i heard it so many times it has grown on me. If i up the BMP by more than 2, it doesn't sound right to me anymore. But i'll try it again if i haven't listened to this song for a while.

Thanks for the vote! Damned zero-bombers.. doesn't really bother me that much though as long as i get a couple of reviews like this one. So, thanks!
I will keep it up ^___^

[FS: Between The Bars]

Again, very impressive, though a few missed tones.

Very impressive guitar play again, plus a great choice of song again. I haven't listened to pop songs like these in a while, so the variation is extremely appreciated.

I'll immediately admit: with covers like these (guitar and song only) I'm extremely focused on the lyrics, and I counted a few (4 or less) missed tones, though it doesn't really do much bad for the song. I imagine singing this is very hard :\

Anyways, I enjoyed it very much and also the early warning. I added you as favorite artist, by the way. It's also a good way of keeping me informed.

Well done, 4/5 is well deserved. Keep it up!

FairSquare responds:

Yeah.. i recorded this like 30 times or something before i had a recording that i found good enough :p
But with covers like these the focus lies on the lyrics/singing indeed and that's exactly what i like.
Anyway, i'm glad you enjoyed it (apart from those (4 or less) missed tones ;p
And thanks for favouriting me! :D

[[NLC] Battle of Grovtex]

*whistles* Nice going, man.

I'm actually able to picture a scene in my head concerning this song. Not the exact same as what you imagined, but it's pretty close :P

What I'm seeing is an emotional departure (passing?) of a dear one, followed by the entrance of whomever killed them. A battle emerges and while some talking is done (~2:15), the song, and thus the tension starts to build up. The drums swell, the melody starts to change and the effects grow slightly more aggressive. At the point of 3:00, a shocking event occurs (again :D) and at that point the battle reaches it's height; the final blow is struck at that point.

Afterwards, there is pretty much nothing left and the 'hero' returns to the dear one and mourns.

Okay, now onward to the technical part.

I really like how soft the intro is, with the piano being extremely important. Great melody. The bells are a great find in this spectrum too.
The drums start out good and don't disappoint throughout the whole song. They're strong, could be a little bit stronger, but as you mentioned before, that's impossible, so no minus points at that anymore :D

Anyway the brass (not guitar : \ ) plays a great part in the song too, giving great variation in the song. The change of 'leading role between that brass and the bells are also thought of amazingly.

The raise in octave is something I had to get used to, but after a third listen, it sounded perfectly normal to me. I'm even loving it right now.

The ending is also great. It builds down, but still manages to give a last breath, making it an ending that actually satisfies me. Great job.

Anyway, I'm sorry to say, but nothing wrong with this upload. Keep this fucking great wave of inspiration up and keep going. This is going straight into my faves and 5/5. I gotta raise my standards for you now >:3

KrisKrosNL responds:

Aw yeah, a 5 star from ya. :D

I'm very glad that this has landed on your favorites. :D
My inspiration will not die out. >:3

NLC