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

[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