Random-storykeeper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Tyrant]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

That slower beginning section that appears in the middle and end of the track works really well with the art and has a great sense of atmosphere.

I love the use of piano there, but I wish it were more prominent.

The main part of the track with those fast synth lines, for the most part, does not work given the art inspiration and also feels disconnected from the track besides the one part where it's slow and reverbed in the middle section.

I like the sense of playing around with the tempo and the pulsating of the chords.

COMPOSITION: I like the intro and there are nice ideas here like playing around with the tempo and the fast synth line.

PRODUCTION: The panning is fine but the main part of the track is so dry, especially those drums and the loud synths.

EMOTION: The beginning is quite atmospheric but the main synth line doesn't really flow that well from the intro and the lack of reverb makes this a difficult listen.

ART RELEVANCE: I think the long, flowing lines - the slower parts with the piano - feel quite inspired by the art, but that main sort of fast sidechained synth line feels disconnected from the art. Ultimately, the bulk of this track sounds too similar to "Digital Demolition" - which in itself isn't a bad thing necessarily, but I felt like the sounds weren't as strong in conveying this different style of art used as the inspiration here.

Orenge1 responds:

Thank you! This was very helpful. I personally felt the synth was connected with the art as I thought the synth as the dragon approaching aggressively basically. But the lack of reverb and the dry excessive loudness I can well understand is a problem. Can also agree that the piano isn't so prominent and the synth bass sound selection also needed more work and so did the percussion.

All and all, once again thanks for this detailed review! :)

[AIM2024 - To the Skies]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

Great seamless shift from the uplifting tone at the beginning to the more intense sections in a short amount of time.

I love the use of the guitar for added intensity and...it sounds more epic like that.

Drums could definitely use a touchup. I missed a lot of their presence here.

Could have used another hook somewhere in the middle that is not like the beginning or ending's main melodic ideas, but also something different as a touch point. Most of the track is quite good, but it feels mostly background.

COMPOSITION: I really like the transition from the happier string section at the beginning to the intensive parts with the guitar and strings. I just feel like there was a lot of "waiting" to get back to the main hooks.

PRODUCTION: I think the guitar was mixed quite well with the strings, but I wish there were more presence of the drums - the cymbal was really the only thing prevalent.

EMOTION: The punches and shifts of emotion and atmosphere work quite well with the sound design and hits in the composition. There is that sense of having an epic battle adventure.

ART RELEVANCE: There's definitely a video game feeling to this, which seems inspired by the art. I think it also reflects the environment and the idea around the narrative is quite well done.

NahuPyrope responds:

Thank you!, I agree that I dragged out some bits a tad too long, I wasn't confident about that, to be 100% fair I wasn't super confident in this track, but I'm happy there were some good things in it.

Thank you again RSK, you're wonderful!

[AIM2024 - Arrhythmia]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

Guitar sound is incorporated in a way that works and still follows your signature style

Fantastic, lovely melody recurring throughout. Great sound choices to complement the guitar (piano and strings, etc.)

The vocal section - I like the idea but not the execution. The melody line I would like to hear if it sounds better an octave lower? Also the use of the vocaloid here hampers the emotional weight for me. The way the vocaloid pronounces the words is very unnatural sounding. It's almost there but not quite.

COMPOSITION: The melody is fantastic, but I feel like the vocals section is a bit of a miss. The way the metre changes feels very natural and not something I'm consciously thinking about, which is one of the piece's greatest strengths.

PRODUCTION: I feel like the production could be just a bit lighter, feels a bit heavy-loaded in the lower end.

EMOTION: The melody of the guitars just hits that right level of cuteness and comfort, but I felt like the heavier production and vocals detracted from this feeling a bit.

ART RELEVANCE: Does a great job at making you feel small and the sky feel big, with feelings of comfort and uncertainty wrapped up into one cute little package.

(Sorry I went ham on the vocals. I'm just personally not a huge fan of vocaloids/synthesizers unless it's in very specific contexts. For me, having this lovely sort of piece culminate into sudden vocals where they feel unnatural affected the emotional impact, especially since the piece builds up to the vocals. I still enjoyed it overall, but it was definitely the one thing I didn't really connect with.)

NahuPyrope responds:

I also don't 100% feel good about using a voice synthesizer, of course I'd much prefer having actual vocals, been practicing my singing a lot but I'm still a few ways away.

Thank you so much for the notes RSK♡

[AIM24 - Hypertrain]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

Lots of fun little musical ideas here, like the slight ascension of the melody at 0:12 to 0:17 in the lower voice.

The counterpoint at 0:57 to 1:31 with the jumping lead is great.

Wish we had more sense of the bass rhythms to really get a sense of the train travelling. I think there were faster moving bass notes, but the instrument used is so soft and low that none of this is felt at all.

The slower-moving section at 0:40 is uninteresting compared to the rest of the track when the bass, high note and drums all hit at the same beat and play the same notes.

The ending is very abrupt and doesn't sound like a train hitting its "last stop".

COMPOSITION: I think there are a lot of very good musical ideas and counterpoint here, but there are also some sections where it feels like the track grinds to a halt in an uninteresting way. Also the ending is so abrupt in a way that makes the track feel truncated.

PRODUCTION: The lower end is so soft that the sense of bass is lost and I think that causes the track to lose energy and sense of motion.

EMOTION: There are some moments where the track stops and starts, generally, where it does feel like a train travelling on the rails and stopping at the stations.

ART RELEVANCE: I think the synths complement the art style, and I love the idea of the motion in the bass and counterpoint to convey this train moving along the tracks. With tighter execution, I think this would have scored a bit higher.

Dynamic0 responds:

Thanks for feedback!

[AIM - Blinded w/samuraiowl]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

I wish the guitar section at 0:29-0:42 were repeated/extended to at least double its length.

Lots of great moments, love the idea of the metal screams juxtaposed with the beautiful sung parts.

The vocals during the normal sung parts are off-key in a way that is quite distracting. They also sound like the throat is closed, making it difficult to hear the lyrics that are being sung.

Great flow of sections, especially towards the end. Just wish there was more sense of the bassline there to balance out those square arps.

COMPOSITION: I think the structure works well for the most part, and the incorporation of sung vocals with metal screaming is a good approach to the theme and a great connection between sections. Again, I think I got similar feelings to your entry from last year in that the melodic ideas feel underexplored here - there's a lot of great sections and transitions between them, but I feel like we don't really spend a lot of time hearing the sections develop to their full potential, which makes the entire track feel very rushed - especially given that the track is not even 3 minutes long but there's so many ideas packed into it.

PRODUCTION: The vocals are quite loud and I wish we heard more of the bass in the last section to balance out the square arps. I also think there should have been some pitch correction for the sung parts - it sounds awkward when the notes are off-key and the enunciation isn't that well-performed.

EMOTION: The song has a dark, cathartic feeling to it that I do get a sense of.

ART RELEVANCE: I think this song does a great job at conveying the tone and expression from the character and their inner turmoil, especially the switching between normally sung vocals and the metal screaming.

veryfakeguest responds:

Thank you so much for the review! And yeah... it seems like there's still issues in this that were present in my previous AIM submission. We kinda had to rush it but I'll be sure to rectify these mistakes next time.

[Snikio - Sound of Death (AIM 2024)]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

The mixing in this is fantastic - love the drums and the clean breaks for impact

I love the development of that main sort of melody and the elements that flow around it and get stacked up in the texture.

Satisfying and engaging listen, and a great take on the art.

COMPOSITION: The best example of a track that develops a couple of repeating ideas in a way that is dynamic and engaging.

PRODUCTION: Honestly the best produced track in AIM 2024. The drums are so crisp in this and the breaks of silence are clean and impactful. Even the harsher elements add so much to the texture and are used for developing the main hook.

EMOTION: It is unsettling, especially in the sound design, but it's also unsettling in a way that manages to be intriguing because of the structure and the production.

ART RELEVANCE: (Okay I didn't really elaborate in my notes on why I felt like this was an interesting take so I'm adding this in post. What I got most out of this track was a sense of imminence. Your main theme sets an idea with that disturbing sort of undertone - that string-like instrument sliding down and slowly bending back up. By having this idea repeat at key points throughout the track with more intensity, it reinforces this death figure getting even closer. What I got out of this track was the inevitability of dying, and that's the connection I got out of this entry.)

Snikio responds:

To reply to this, I'm going to use the translator unusually. This is because my English is at the level of a toddler (I imagine my usual chatting demeanor is ridiculous to others). This time I want to express more precisely what I want to say.

You caught the points I was trying to emphasize and that I was very careful to make. For me, it's a confirmation that my musical attempt was somewhat successful. Thank you. Critical reviews are nice, but this is actually my favorite. To be recognized for what I focus on.

I honestly wasn't very confident in this song and my abilities after the fan vote, but this review of yours encourages me.

By the way, I thought you wouldn't write more than a few words, but it's pretty long haha. And thank you for hosting AIM again. I want to do it again but unfortunately won't be able to participate next year due to my military enlistment. Keep up tho!

[Lost Experiences (AIM 2024)]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

Lovely counterpoint and melodic lines. Simple, but it works.

Could have played a lot more with the texture towards the end to up the replay value.

The production is difficult to listen to - a lot of instruments choke up the mix and leave little room to play around with the texture or make it enjoyable to listen to the way the composition is presented.

COMPOSITION: The counterpoint and melodic lines are nice in of themself. I can imagine this piece working a lot better with a polished sound design and production. Could have played more with the counterpoint and various layers towards the end.

PRODUCTION: The sawtooth chords are overbearing, as are the repeating notes in the quieter section. The mix is overloaded with very thick instruments that choke out the soundscape and leave little room to play around with texture. It becomes painful to listen to after the first minute.

EMOTION: The melodies and chord progression have a nice pleasant feeling as does the sine wave line, but most of the track's production brings any sort of emotional value down.

ART RELEVANCE: I think the composition works for the art inspiration generally, but the sound design and production work against the inspiration thus the lowered score.

Urielthepro responds:

No wonder I got bottom 10 lol

Hopefully I'll get out of the bottom quarter next year.

Thanks for the feedback tho! I really appreciate it.

[AIM - Hazard Cult]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

THICK atmosphere

Great atmospheric sections / vibes

Could use some refined transitions leading up to melodic parts

Fits the machine-like intimidation in the art.

COMPOSITION: great atmospheric parts, just wish the transition to the melodic sections was stronger and it utilized more arps (like at the beginning around 1:15)

PRODUCTION: that's a THICK set of instruments but you handle it pretty well for the most part. Could use more clarity of arps, cleaner punches.

EMOTION: pretty good but quite overwhelming (I'm sure this was the intention haha)

ART RELEVANCE: does a good job capturing the intensity and machine-like intimidation from the art

Mechanical-Head responds:

lmaooo glad you liked the THICK atmosphere hehe. Thanks for the review!

[[AIM] Winter Wasteland]

Per your request, here are the rough notes I took for your AIM 2024 entry:

Good sound design - warm, desolate, vast

Has some good sections that come one after another, but the constant starting and stopping gets old real quick

Beautiful guitar, soft instruments with bell for the desert/former winter landscape.

COMPOSITION: I like a lot of the sections and I think the sound design is generally quite good. Not a huge fan of the transition between sections and I think there were more opportunities to play around with texture for a more effective atmosphere.

PRODUCTION: A bit on the soft side, could have used some more atmospheric timbre like pads

EMOTION: This goes through a lot of emotions, but I'm not quite sure if all of them really work for what this piece is trying to capture - particularly the "happier" parts at 4:46 came across a little too jovial

ART RELEVANCE: I like the idea of having vast, wandering melodies and using warm-sounding instruments with bells for the former winter, desert landscape. I just felt like it needed a little more atmosphere in the sound design to really get a more immersive experience that would allow the track to resonate more with its art inspiration.

bottledf0x responds:

Thanks for the feedback! I will keep all this in mind for the next time I produce a track like this.

[AIM24 - Event Horizon]

AIM 2024 Judge Review

What I really love about this entry is how the composition and sound design are strongly evocative of drifting through outer space. There's a quietness and vastness to the soft, solo melody that begins the piece. I like to think some of the layers are like the radiance and light cutting through the darkness, particularly with those brassy interludes.

I would have loved to hear these ideas extended to the 6 minute length. There's a lot of great ideas that feel like they don't have time to develop in that 3 minute duration of the track, such as the arp that fades in at 2:00. It works so well with that synth playing that main continuum from the beginning and I think more layers could have been built off that counterpoint instead of speeding up and changing keys 9 seconds later. I also feel like the drums could have been varied in sound. That rhythm they take on in the faster sections seems like it would be more effective if a noisier snare-like sound were used for beats 2 and 4 instead of that kick drum sample all the way. As of now, the rhythms in the percussion feel flat.

The atmosphere you bring to this piece is superb and I was quite impressed. I feel like space themes might be your jam - though I encourage you to continue branching out in your art inspirations and bringing elements of this work into those entries should you participate next year. Great job capturing that emptiness and wonder we've come to associate with the vast expanse of outer space.

Dynamic0 responds:

Thank you for all the nice words and for hosting AIM, it is my favorite contest-like event on Newgrounds.
When I was composing, I didn't consciously focus at the outer-space feeling as much as you, yet . I'm thinking about making sountrack for my game in a similar style, although I know I have a lot to learn with FL Studio first.
There aren't actually any drums, it's just low-pitched clicky sound, its high-pitched version starts playing at :49, so maybe that evokes the flatness feeling?
Once again, thanks for all and see you next year!