Random-storykeeper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A+B | Archdukes of the Machine]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

There's a lot of interesting elements at play here - a bit of softer ambience combined with some rhythmic and melodic elements. What stands out to me about this entry is that it's able to flow through the ambience and its grooves in a cohesive manner while still maintaining an unsettling feeling throughout. I love how the intro sound effect at 0:17 sounds like an engine whirring and then 12 seconds later, at 0:29, turns into this intriguing catchy loop. I don't know if these instruments are the same or similar sounding, but I think keeping to sounds that double both as sound effects and melodic instruments was a great choice.

The only sound that feels out of place in the mix is that high-pitched bell at 1:21. Every other instrument sounds so down low and hushed, so to hear something much higher and confident made it sharply stick out in a way that didn't feel like it fit in with the environment of the composition. I like the idea of introducing some highs; I just couldn't really get into the execution of it in this entry.

Aside from that, there's an unsettling atmosphere throughout the track that also manages to be engaging and I think that has largely to do with the shifts from melodic grooves to rhythmic ambience and playing around with the layers and tempo. It doesn't feel in-your-face horrific, which really does feel inspired by the art. I like the use of the discernible voices and sound effects, particularly that scream and the biting sound at 2:08 are the most disturbing parts that still fit in with the rest of the sounds at play here. Overall, I think you've created one of the most captivatingly quiet horror entries I've heard this AIM.

CrimsonKero responds:

Fair point: I'd like to soften that high pitched bell-sound down, but because there wasn't much time before the deadline, I left it as is.

[The Median Way (AIM 2023)]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

I was surprised to see someone using Solarvagrant's art for this compo. I'm a big fan of the BackDoor games and the inspiration used appears to be concept art for the first game, so I was interested to hear how this would be interpreted from the get-go.

The things I like about this entry are the rising arps and the repeating chords that fill the space between the breaks in the arps. As the chords echo, they become almost vocal-like and whether intentional or not, I think it adds that sense of wonder you intended to incorporate. The rising arps help to give the piece some range - I like how there is always a feeling of their presence by having their echoes filtered. In general, the chords and arps combination was quite pleasant to listen to.

The art inspiration has a mysterious and otherworldly concept - the world between worlds - that I think there was more opportunity to explore musically. This entry is almost entirely based around an even-metred groove and while it is pretty, it doesn't quite feel like it explores the idea of a world between worlds thoroughly. What if the "worlds", in the composition, were two different melodies or metres that shift in and out of one or the other and/or play simultaneously? What if instruments carried the same lines, but morphed into other instruments or slowly started going into microtones and back to their initial pitch? These are just a few suggestions to consider, but I believe for an art inspiration like this, you could go wild and stray away from a more straightforward composition.

I also feel like the track could use some refining in the production. The piece is considerably quiet and every layer feels very flat. I'm not sure if panning was used - I think I hear a bit of it, but I do think there could have been a lot more playing around with it, especially when dealing with a more repetitious composition.

Overall, this entry manages to convey emotions of wonder effectively with pleasing sounds and a simpler groove. I think it does have a spacey, kind of mysterious feel that's a bit on the lighter side, which complements the loose, lighter style of the art.

bottledf0x responds:

Thank you for the feedback! I agree with the points made in your review. I'll be back for next year's contest, with a more polished piece production-wise.

[AIM 2023 - Armageddon (Old Mix)]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

The one important aspect that this entry nails is the sense of impending doom. I really like the way you musically portray the image of falling projectiles tearing apart a city by playing around with rhythms and pitch bends. Even at the start with the calming intro, you manage to maintain that off-putting feeling by progressing further away from melodic tones to full-on relentless rhythms with lots of high slides. The structure, I would say, is this piece's strength.

I'm curious if you took any inspiration from the character in the image. While this entry captures the doom and gloom amidst the city in the background, I wasn't really sure if there was any attempt to incorporate the Death character musically at all. Since this character is so prominent in the image, I think hearing more of a musical interpretation from that character's perspective would have made the piece feel more relevant to this particular artwork. For instance, what if Death was interpreted as the one not causing the catastrophe, but merely a scout waiting to collect the souls of those who have fallen?

The only issue I have in regards to this entry is that I felt like it didn't really have a lot of lower end, and I think that causes it to lose some of that intensity and sense of being grounded that would have helped the scene in the art to be more fully realized. It might have just been that the higher notes were too prominent and drowning out the lower ends, but this piece came across as thin even in its lowest ends.

That aside, the progression of the track is solid, especially the intro shifting from a quieter, somewhat ambient intro into the first percussive section. I enjoy the use of the rising sound at 0:37 that connects these two sections - it reminded me a lot of an alarm sound for natural disasters, which is a great fit for the concept.

AceTAD responds:

yea i eventually realised the lack of low end (mainly cuz my low end sounds really bad) but i can see what you mean by death... an interesting idea. i might remaster this when i have the time

[Lunar Deity (AIM 2023)]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

As far as incorporating space-themed and mystical elements go, I feel like this track was able to hit the mark. There's definitely mysteriously ethereal vibe I get from the longer held chords in the background - that chord progression especially, but there's also a bit of a groovy sensation. It makes the track ethereal and strange with an undertone of fun, which reflects the art inspiration's ethereal moon being holding up a peace sign and cuddling a cat. You do a great job of capturing a blend of different atmospheres and emotions to make something that feels specifically inspired by the artwork.

There were a couple of issues I noticed in the production, though nothing super egregious. The intro-buildup to the first chords at 0:19 doesn't feel all that cohesive, as if the cut in the sound effects is too clean and abrupt. I also feel like the pads in the later portion of the track were too soft in the background and could have definitely been a little louder. The track as a whole is also on the short side and given that this is still in the 3-4 minute range, there was definitely room to expand more on the compositional ideas being explored here for a couple more minutes. I understand that it was done last minute though, so take this to be that I like what I hear a lot and I think there's so much more potential for further development.

Overall, I like this entry a lot. It feels majestic and grand but it also bops. The use of pulsating synths and heavy drums give the track a dark sort of tone that's both intriguing and transcendent.

Jatmoz responds:

Thank you so much for the detailed review, you're an awesome person!

[Necroswamp Abomination]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

The most exciting part about this entry was the hype leading up to it. After reading about the large amounts of computing power and large amount of notes along with the nightmare it took to even export the project successfully, I was definitely anticipating what this composition would sound like. For the most part, it really wasn't what I was expecting, and I don't mean that in either a good or bad way. I just had a completely different vision of what this track was going to be versus what it ended up being while also still feeling like it couldn't have been made by anyone but you.

One thing I love about the track was how it immediately gets into the intensive stuff. There's not really a gradual build; it just sets the scene of the battle with this confusing, terrifying monster right away. The tempo changes and layers on top of the running notes add a sense of structure and flow. I think everything here does a great job at capturing the tension and terror from battling the creature in the image.

When I first heard about the huge note count, my mind pictured stacked, super dense textures and a lot of playing around with tons of instruments with different effects shifting in and out through multiple thick layers. I think the fast rhythms work well for the battle part of the image, however, I feel like I wasn't really getting a sense of the creature itself being portrayed.

Perhaps there were lots of stacked textures going on in this entry, but the faster tempo feels like it might detract from being able to really hear that. I guess I was expecting to hear something more twisted and horrific, and I felt tension and chaos in this entry without the horror. There was a class I once took in uni where we learned to use a tool that morphed the sound of an instrument or sound effect into another in a seamless manner and I think playing around with something like that to an extreme would have worked more effectively to musically convey the amalgamation.

Overall, I still do really enjoy this piece - it certainly stands out and feels unique to your craft. It would be wild to hear this as a performance live - who or how would they do the demon choir? And would the audience be able to withstand their force by the time the piece ends?

(also please judge aim 2024 judging panel next year k thx bruh)

LD-W responds:

Ayy all good, yeah throw me a DM on Discord about judging for AIM2024 ;)

At the very beginning, I did think about how I'd like to approach this project, whether I wanted to do something a tad more avant-garde with some Sonorism influences (like 'Screaming Shadows' which I did for last year's AIM), or if I wanted to lean a tad more towards the 'soulsborne' sound for this one. Ultimately, I decided to do the latter (albeit with my own twist), since I've got confirmed plans for this template to go directly towards my gigantic Symphonic Black Metal project that I'm getting into the swing of things with, late-2023 to early-2024 (just need some more bongbux to drop on a new Guitar & Bass and I'm all good haha). My general mindset is to leave the most potent of horror soundscapes to get dedicated towards abstract topics such as the human mind & illness, dark magics, or entities at a cosmic (or beyond scale) which would get more into 'Sonorism For Elder Gods' kind of territory, hence why this might seem a tad more controlled than some might expect from me.

Stacking side-effects are also a factor of course. With everything stacked up together, it's emulating (on-paper) a 600-person Orchestra + Choir combination, which is a technical nightmare in it's own right to get working, especially when mix&matching libs from different vendors (but at the benefit of getting a very thick wall which sounds like an earthquake going off when untamed!). What would be powerful aleatoric ensemble walls under usual circumstances suddenly become a tad quieter in the face of dealing with almost 166 Brass Players going at it at once etc. So I had to improvise somewhat with some processing tricks and leaning towards certain compositional intentions: like having the massive timpani stack banging away to represent the footsteps of the amalgamation crashing into any solid ground it stomps on, the subtle choir-texturing layers emulating the painful hums and moans of the unfortonate souls conjoined together, the snare ensemble being a tad more 'martial' in it's pattern to emulate a warrior/soldier moving and dodging around it in precise patterns in the more intensive sections etc.

FL reported 175GB RAM usage in the end, with my system only having 128GB Physical, plus with like 4 hours left before the deadline, I just added in the final aleatoric FX I was able to slot in which 'sounded good' and go "aight, this'll do!" (and then only getting an export via Edison after multiple attempts, since it liked to crash alot around the 2:18 to 2:56 region for some unknown reason I still can't figure out lol). Abit of a pattern I go through with entries into contests every time haha. 2nd Hardware-Rack is planned for the end of the year, so a 256GB RAM Pool will get some of the most serious issues instantly sorted.

Ahh yeah the 'Demon/Hell Choir' was myself, recording latin passages in a mixture of power fry & semi-gutteral. Quad-stacked the recordings up, then doubled each side up with some processing trickery to make it seem like 8 voices per side of the hall (or 16 total).

I'm still pretty glad that I did this entry in the end regardless of results, due to a heap of valuable technical knowledge obtained along the way through trial&error, and the template in it's post-contest state being a valuable toolset in it's own right for even bigger projects!

[AIM - Moments In Life]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

I enjoy compositions that make you appreciate little moments in life, and I think this aptly named track does that wonderfully. The simpler composition and sound design definitely give strong RPG vibes. If it stayed in the same key, it would probably slot nicely into a village or grassy area. Even the art inspiration feels like a preview for an RPG - the instruments chosen for this entry feel like they complement the colours and hues super well.

The simplicity of the composition works well for the title and helps to maintain that sense of comfort throughout. It feels like everything is built around the piano and I love how the strings and winds intertwine with it, shifting in and out with their own parts. Those moments of harmonization and counterpoint did a great job in maintaining that comfort and coziness that I get from looking at the art inspiration. Towards the end, it does seem as though there is a little too much playing in unison with the higher strings against the piano going on from 2:03 onward and it made the conclusion come across a little less emotionally effective compared to the various harmonies and counterpoint melodies that these instruments shared with the piano. I like the harmonies in the bass - the unison rhythms do feel a bit choral - I just kind of missed that from the upper non-piano instruments.

Overall, I'm always glad to hear these nice, calming entries that make you feel like everything's going to be okay. I love that this entry was able to achieve that with a gentle piano, along with strings and winds for a pleasant timbral palette.

AceMantra responds:

Thank you for the in-depth review, and all of your hard work! I appreciate it.

[AIM - Sunny Patch]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

When that guitar first started strumming those chords, I almost thought we were going to get vocals and an acoustic-pop song. It was a bit of a surprise to hear the bells at 0:27, which immediately set it in the RPG village theme style for me. The composition and sound design evoke many emotions associated with returning home, to your hometown or village, which ties in wonderfully with the art inspiration and your interpretation of it. I can absolutely imagine this playing during an ending cutscene of an RPG with this art as the background and the credits rolling up. The hero and begins the journey home to a quaint country life.

If I had to point out one issue, I think the drums at the start of the phrases sound a bit like they're clipping. It might be the bass sounding like it comes in a little too strongly (imo) but it wasn't bad enough to detract, especially with this entry being as well-put-together as it is. The harmonica and flute play off each other so well and I really like the folksy section with the flute melody and the metre change-up. Even though there's a lot of changes, every section flows nicely into one another. It definitely helps that the melody really gets a chance to emote a lot in both the more upbeat and quieter sections.

Overall, I think this track nails the RPG vibe once more than instrument is playing. When listening, I can clearly hear that this track drew upon the emotional resonation of the artwork and I love how that was captured in the development of the melody.

Manvineo responds:

Hey, I just wanted to say a big thank you for your awesome feedback! Seriously, it made my day! I'm so stoked that you enjoyed the surprise of the guitar and got those RPG village vibes from my work. Your description of how the music made you feel like coming home is spot on, and it really means a lot to me that my interpretation connected with you.

I gotta admit, your thoughtful review just blew me away. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to write it. And hey, I'm super grateful for getting the chance to be a part of this contest. It's been a great experience, and I'm just glad my music could bring some joy to your ears. Thanks again!

[Rock On Gustafa [AIM 2023]]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

Oh hey, Quarl. Glad to see you in AIM from the participant's side now. I don't think your presence in the compo takes away something from any of the younger participants entering. It's also nice because I don't think I've really gotten around to listening to your music yet until now. Sorry!

I have a tiny amount of familiarity with Harvest Moon, but hearing the acoustic guitar, piano and animal sounds definitely felt relevant to how I looked at the art. What I love most about your entry is the concept - the town musician playing in one spot as the animals gather around him. The phrases in the faster section give this comfy feeling of togetherness, especially the cymbal transition at 1:40. The guitar feels so close and in-your-face compared to the rest of the instruments and that puts me right in the perspective of the musician strumming those notes on his guitar.

It was an interesting decision to use synths in a similar fashion to how a bowed string instrument might play in the background accompaniment. I'm not really sure if I get the idea of the animals interacting with the synths considering how much of a background element the synths come across as. All these elements still worked well against each other; I'm just not really sure if I hear the synths in this piece the same way you intended for them to be heard.

Overall, I think your general enthusiasm towards the Newgrounds music community reflects a lot in this entry - like one person, playing music, bringing people together in a sweet harmony. This may not be a grindcore song, but Gustafa sure shreds that acoustic guitar like a champ.

Quarl responds:

Most my music is noisy dnb and dubstep, keep clear of my catalogue if you want more like this :p

[Chocnoon - Prototype ~AIM~ (CCLXXXIV)]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

For a track described as being "rock", I was surprised at how buried the electric guitar was in this. The composition does somewhat fit the art in that it has a bit of sadness and a touch of intensity from the minor key progression, and the layers that are introduced I can hear working with a different execution. I do like the way the second section's continuum starts under the first section's and despite the hard cut to the new section, these two ideas melodically flow together.

Unfortunately, the mixing and production feel so off that it's hard to justify wanting to listen to this even if the composition is decent. The drums are too loud but they're also very spread out and sound like they're heavily reverbed, which does not work at all. Layers that enter or re-enter either sound too loud or too soft and the entire mix is generally just too loud. I had to relisten to this many times before even realizing that there were other parts besides the drums and the one continuum. I wish I knew more production-related terms, but sadly I'm not that knowledgeable in that regard, but I will say that generally with production, you don't want instruments to be competing against each other so that the whole thing doesn't sound muddy.

There are ideas in the layers that do work and I think the downward contour of the arps does at least come off as a bit tragic, reflecting the art. I just wish I could hear more of what you've done with your composition. When your audio waves are almost constantly touching the top and bottom, it's a good indication that the track might be too difficult to listen to mix-wise.

Chocnoon responds:

What genre should I change it to? Also I can't change anything, since Jummbox can save only up to 8 songs and I post very frequently. So the only way to fix that is through remaking it from scratch.

[Tower of Tech - AIM]

AIM 2023 Judge Review

There's a lot of complexity in the art you've chosen, from the intricate details to the lighting. The top portion of the art suggests steampunk, but the bottom portion seems more sci-fi, and I think you managed to evoke these elements in your entry in a way that is cohesive and not just two styles sitting incidentally next to one another. As the track progresses, it feels like we're panning over a close-up of the image - I feel like top-to-bottom is what I picture because of the gradual lighting from the top. It's a very concise entry and I sense a lot of these subtle complexities in spite of a straightforward melody.

One small nitpick that I'm not sure was intentional or not - it seems like the softer instrument playing those arps at 1:08 has some clashing notes. I'm not sure if a note was forgotten to be deleted (considering the repeat of this pattern does not have this issue), but it happens pretty quickly so it really only became noticeable after a few repeat listens.

I think what helps this entry flow so well is the way the melody recurs throughout the piece. Even then, there's a lot of time taken in between to help build up the atmosphere, especially leading up to that reiteration at 2:34 which seems to play in a different mode from the first time we hear that main melody. I also love the slowing down of the tempo in the outro where the melody repeats one last time with those gentle keys. The decision to use a lot of plunky instruments and detached notes really helped to always give this entry a sense of the machinery. It's almost a deceptively simple entry that only shows its details after repeat listens and I feel like that does speak to the way the art inspiration shows itself in more detail upon zooming in and lingering at different angles.

Payton-Petkus responds:

Wow, thanks for the thorough and detailed feedback! I really appreciate how much effort you've put in to the review, and I'm glad you enjoyed the song :)

By the way... I agree that the art I used is extremely complex. Boomnm did an amazing job and it was so rich with inspiration to pluck from.