RyeGuyHead's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[CTSG4: Anniversary Edition]

First off, hats off to everyone involved; The turn-around time for this project sort of blew me away. Everyone was eager to participate, and I think it shows in the final product.

If you want some more details on what each segment represents, you can check out the original thread here: http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1383562/1

If you don't feel like reading through all that (lazy asses), each 15 second clip signifies a different year and genre - from the site's origins to present day. There's also an animation being built to go along with this audio featuring some of the flash portal's most prominent artists (http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1388594/1).

Now to address the little tiff below...

I've been contributing audio to Newgrounds for over a decade, but the ONLY reason I'm a part of this collab is because I was lucky enough to stumble upon the topic before all the spots were filled. Moral of the story: Be active in the forums!

[Issac's Noir (v2)]

Must say, I really liked the verby keys, and the sax is just other-worldly. It's just so distantly dissonant and pervasive at the same time, really great - especially when it's doing the trills. The fadeout is pretty spot on too.

Honestly, I would toss out the first 10 seconds. You lose too much energy in the song right out of the gate. I agree that the song lacked a real solid lead, but there was enough other elements going on at points that made it work. Keep it up :D

MirgilCando responds:

Thanks a ton for the compliments and feedback! If I return to this song again I'll see what I can do about the introduction, and I'm experimenting with different leads, but the more you add to the song the harder it gets to get it right, so we'll see about that.

[Dead Children]

It definitely sounds cool. High notes were a bit jarring, could use some more compression to help that.

Not really sure what the point of this wave is though. It's just the same melody played five different ways. It would be awesome if you elaborated on top of it a bit more. If I had to pick one, it'd probably the one that starts around 45 sec, although the reverse fx and deeper one are neat as well.

Could/should be used in something. Good stuff.

Gerplexan responds:

Thanks for your feedback. I was trying to give the impression of a music box winding down, but there's only so much you can do with audacity.

[Chipdrill(teonanacatlrmx)]

Nice ambient pads you got going on there. When the drums come in, it totally shifts...not sure how well the breakbeats go with those pads. Works much better at the two minute mark, maybe the snare is just too heavy. If you switched parts 0:30-1:45 with 1:45-end it might actually flow better...haha.

Overall, it is a very haunting melody and some excellent percussion elements. You were bold for putting such varying styles together, but it just doesn't quite mold together to the point where it has a great replay value. Keep it up!

[Mismer]

It's amazing how full you made just a synth and bass sound, but I suppose you had enough reverb and delay to fill the gaps. I was especially fond of the metallic bell sounding delay after the 30 sec mark. Bringing in the subtle acoustic guitar strumming was a very nice touch as well. It blended everything together; the sounds just starting melting into each other.

The only thing I could see adding to this without ruining the vibe would be some high pads/strings. Might mess up the audio spectrum though...

Great work, and a very entertaining listen (as always).

[shangatang]

I always get down to a good tom line - especially accompanied by some bongos. Really dug all of the percussive elements, even if they seemed random at times. Bass is low and gritty, and perfectly out of place.

The last 15 seconds were pretty weak compared to the rest of the song, but it definitely helped with the looping.

Tarteviant responds:

Thanks :3

[COH:L - Forest]

How can Hope be Hopeless? Oh, Hope is a town? Maybe want to come up with another name...

But the MUSIC!

Very much getting the forest vibe, especially around the 15 second mark, where the melody is being tossed around to all of the instruments. I'm getting this sense of trudging along out of the bass. I like when the kicks/hi hats come in at the end, and I think you can utilize them more throughout.

Nice work!

(p.s. the loop is a bit off, should end around the 2:12 mark.)

Ironclover responds:

Hope isn't a town and hope can be hopeless. But thanks!