Karco's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[_-={These games we play}=]

This is the song I found interesting...

And that's because it stars the piano. :D I've seen songs of yours with the piano playing a front role but none so much as this one... and the piano being a favorite of mine, I HAD to review it. ;)

Simple, quiet intro. It builds... I get the image of some huge building or mountain from far away, towering over you even at a distance, giving the feeling of insignificance.

Piano gains complexity, nice. I especially like the composing in the higher range... when it goes down in some kind of arpeggio is my favorite part. :D

It seems to get a bit TOO complex in places - there seems to be a slight excess of instruments. And even if it feels like they're all necessary, which it often does, you could at least have EQed/mastered it a bit better... it's a little fuzzy at times.

Lastly - while your style is vibrant in this song, it's different - everything's different and it's almost a transformed version of your style, making it feel especially fresh, new, etc. compared to your other songs.

I don't have much else to say about the song technically, great as it is... so I'll move to the story.

A man enters a company building and applies for a job there. He gets it, and as the bottom-rung employee, begins to work.

Coming home one day early on in his career he tells his family he's begun a big project. It'll be the project of his career that he will be constantly be working on throughout. They wish him luck.

Months pass, followed by years. As his project progresses he climbs the ladder and slowly gains in position at his job - and in popularity, among his peers. He's finally getting somewhere.

This project often gets held back, hindered, or damaged. Many trials are faced, and sometimes it seems it will be ruined. But he doesn't give up, he keeps on going and the project becomes bigger and bigger, looking to be a success.

And then, one day, this man comes back from home, broken. He has been, unfortunately, fired from his job. His project, conveniently, was destroyed on the same day. His family asked him what his project was. The man answered. "That project," he said, "was my reputation."

So what do you think? It's something I thought up and it fit this song, in my opinion, remarkably well. It's also one of my favorites that I've given so far... :) Great work overall, Maestro, it's a 5 and a download for you.

MaestroRage responds:

Hey Karco! Thanks again for the review, also thanks for giving the heads up... sometimes I wish so hard that they would just put in the review alert system...

Anyways, lets get onto your points.

You know, the inspiration behind this piece was a rather strange one. I was listening to this song, made for an anime series (I love anime soundtracks, even though the series itself may suck, the composers for the tracks are generally very good)

In any case, in this song, the composer created a melody, the dominant melody, and then in the background, was an entirely different melody. It didn't make any sense with the other melody, and because it was made into half ambient, it didn't clash TOO much, but the experience was very very interesting. Two melodies playing at once... a mess, but workable.

Which is why this piece may have that attribute. There are parts, where there are 7 separate melodies going off at once. Sadly due to the delay and other effects melody lines are lost, but trust me, there are enough melodies going off at once here.

As for this story. Reputation is a project we all seem to take on, even if it's not with a conscious mind. But that the man would aim towards just this goal, seems both shallow, yet at the same time shows qualities of dedication.

This story will have me thinking for a while I can assure you.

In any case, I am very grateful for the review, thank you for it, i'm glad you liked the piece!

[[TCM] Insert Title Here]

Is this the one you showed me a while ago?

Yeah, this is the one. I pretty much gave the review to you in chat but I can still say a few thins that I did and didn't like here.

Technically, there are no clashing notes, but there are still some awkward notes played by the lead. Let's chat sometime, I can help you redo that melody.

The transition in the beginning of the song - where the percussion temporarily goes away - that's nice. :D Put a little more effort into that and it's good.

You try to put effort into making your melody diverse, but keeping one synth diverse won't hold the entire song from being boring. And then your lead is slightly underpowered, I think. Make it just a little louder and, again, chat with me and I can work with you on that.

Melody aside, your harmonies are great. I like your synth choice with the arp and bass synth. Again, though, you might want to work on diversity...

Percussion... well, they're original samples but I don't like them. It sounds like you used them raw, without FX or anything. Come on, is that as original as you are? >:(

Not much else to say. It needs work but could potentially be pretty good. :) Next time we chat I'll help you with it, if that's what you want. Looking forward to it...

MtMTheCandyMan responds:

Yeah, I could have used some effects on the percussion, but I couldn't find anything that went well with it. LoL.

Thanks as usual for the great review.

[_-={Sunset Requiem}=-_]

What's with all these games? :O

It seems like half of your music on this page is for some production or another. Nook, Escalation, Tribal War... But then again, you're often just that good. :P This song's giving me that impression already.

Having composed my first orchestral (thanks again for reviewing it :D) now I see how it can be difficult to incorporate more instruments than simply strings in certain situations when the song is fine as it is. So I'm not criticising you for it... and I have to say it definitely IS pretty good as is. :D Epic.

Little or no repetition, but one song, marching forward. The tribe members now wander on their own, each with their own unique slopes and turns in their way. Remember Passionate Freedoms? Imagine that, except our character's walking into the sunset. Instead of a "walking along a path" feeling, wandering is the word to describe travel. But that's not what my feature story is this time... ;)

This song being as it is, I have nearly no criticism for it. Great variation, it's always new and yet the notes don't sound random. Something I think I should bring up, though - I don't quite know what to call them, but those foreboding-sounding, reeverbed drums in the background... instead of having them play something like every measure, why don't you try sometime holding them off at parts as the song quiets down... and then bringing them back in as the song shifts into motion again for extra effect? Just a thought.

Hmm. As you thought my song's file size was a bit big, I'm curious as to why this one's is so small. I'm guessing it's, what, two? Three minutes long? You must have exported it at one small bitrate to have that size.

A view of sunset is my first image. The sky at the ground is bright red and as one, standing on the ground, looks up, the colors shift through the rainbow spectrum until, on the other side of the horizon, they attain an eerie violet. The ground on the horizon near the sun shimmers and waves, due to heat, and through the ripples, distant figures phase in and out of visibility.

The image extends down here, and a tree comes into view. Despite its crooked stature and knobbly texture, it is healthy. It leans over, like an aged man bent from the trials of life. The camera continues to pan down. Slash marks are seen on the tree.

What really happened here is anyone's guess. As the sun continues to set, the figures disappear over the horizon for the last time. The sky fades, and the birds stop chirping. Life slows to a stop until the morning.

Quite some imagery inspired by another great song. :) Voted 5, and downloaded... great job on this one. And... expect a review for one of your less recent songs in the near future, as well. I gave it a listen and I decided I would HAVE to review it sooner or later. :) Keep up the good work.

MaestroRage responds:

First point i'd like to make. This was exported in 80kb/s I've been trying to find the perfect spot to have songs. All this time i've exported them at exactly 128kb/s regardless of how much action is going on, and this isn't right. I mean why put a plant by itself in a greenhouse? It makes it more sense to put it in a corner. So I try to reduce the quality as much as possible without jeopardizing the overall quality.

Secondly, it's true. All my recent works are always for somebody else. I appreciate the work, and it gives me loads of experience working for the needs of others, which was really what I was doing at the very beginning. Making tracks for friends *and they politely telling me they were pure crap XD*

The drums are indeed supposed to symbolize their unending legacy. The story to be told from mouth to mouth for as long as time would allow it. I realize that pleasing the ear wise, it's not a good idea, but I go stupid with the metaphors from time to time, and though I don't expect anybody to get it, I put them in there anyways.

I really liked your story Karco. The image I had was that of a tombstone beneath the tree, the setting sunlight filtering through the leaves and casting long shadows onto the earth...

I greatly appreciate the review, thank you Karco. I'm glad you liked it!

[Take Control]

I like the head-bobbing stuff...

Wonder what you did. :D Don't you find it a coincidence this was submitted EXACTLY a month after the previous submission? Odd. :P

Nice opening, very good-sounding with the drums filtering in. Yep, it's epic. And you've gotten better... :D

It's slow. Is it going to get faster, or what? Or is it a very long introduction like what I sometimes do? :P Hmm. I hope so... this song's beginning to get boring. =\

Aah, here we go! And stuttering, too! It's great, but it should have be used a bit more conservatively, for greater effect, I think. It would have been so much cooler that way. And then, for a transition, you could slow it down and stutter it... "tatatata-ta-ta-ta, ta, ta. ta. take...con... trol..." and then BOOM! Go hardcore on me. :P

This Drumr style of yours is changing. It seems closer to Dark Mist than some of your other songs. It seems a bit empty, too... a lack of that fuller feeling, somehow. This song could do with another pad, a smoother, warmer one. The right one would make it AWESOME. :D It's also a lack of synth diversity, too many synths sounding similar causes that empty feeling. Try to be a bit more diverse in synths.

But that melody of yours, for this style of song, is pretty good. No comments here, though that synth that plays it could have been chosen a bit better. Try to get this new style of yours to be a bit more flexible, and little by little open up your range of synths you're willing to use.

Percussion is good... original samples, I like it, though you could have FX'ed them a bit more for effect. Some reeverb... delay, maybe? Just for that extra bit of atmosphere in certain parts of the song.

Not much else to say. Effort's here though I can see this going a lot farther. :) Hope my advice helps. I've recently submitted a new submission, why don't you stop by my audio page sometime and review it? Much appreciated, keep up the good work.

[Hyperdestructive]

Wow... that a real word, or what?

Don't see titles like those every day. I assume this is going to be some high-energy song... heh. Love those.

Good opening... and here's the sliding synth and buildup! Aah, here's great composing but this time it's lacking something... which is fading in. :D That synth fading in playing a four note riff is great...

Your melody is great, and catchy, and everything I'd expect from you... the synth isn't anything special, but it's a good choice. Now, when you have a synth go freestyle as you do at some point or another in all of your songs, THAT'S a good synth.

Harmonies are good, though a bit lacking - I'd suggest having a bit more diversity in synth choice, as nearly all of them sound the same.

Freestyle again? It's the third time, now. I wouldn't reccomend it, awesome as it sounds. Only once, if at all, is what I'd go with.

Always after the freestyle it comes back to the same melody... maybe you could have a bit more to add each time it does. Just a thought...

Percussion, though solid this time, is poor samplewise. We should chat, if not to collab then for me to show you how to make some good percussion. >:)

Woah! Great ending! :O I seriously wasn't expecting that but it fit pretty well. That was my favorite part of the song... wonderful. :D

Overall great - work on synth diversity, drums, and you'll be cranking out masterpieces in no time. :D Keep up the good work.

NightHawk22 responds:

thanks for the review, As I said, summer would be best time to collab on a song. School is keeping me busy. I'm literally scrounging a few minutes here and there in the mornings and evenings to work on a song for a few minutes. Summer has a much more flexible work schedule. But as to Drum beats, It would be nice to talk a few minutes here and there about those. If you have AIM, pm me and I will tell you my screenname,
and yes, Hyperdestructive apparently is a real word!
NightHawk22

[Up and down (Loop)]

Wow, a long review for just a loop. :O

But it's a GOOD loop. Classical-sounding, and your composing skills really shine here. :D I have to say, great instrument choice, and the melody's great, too.

It's played by... what, a woodwind? I don't think it's an oboe, though... enlighten me on what it is, will you? XD But great instrument choice, very fitting.

I have to point this out - your title, Up and Down, is SO fitting. :D What your strings play at times, UP and DOWN. UP and DOWN. UP and DOWN. UP and DOWN. Etc, etc. Very well-composed and a creative element.

Enough flattery, as much of it as I have for this song, though I suppose you did deserve to know what you did right, for future songs, right? :P But you did pretty much everything right in this song, VERY creative, (can't stress that enough) etc... except for what I'm about to criticize you on.

The only criticism I have for this song is how it ends - yeah, I know it's a loop, but it seems to end on an odd measure - not the 16th of 16, the 8th of 8, or even the 4th of 4. It ends suddenly. I think you cut it at the wrong point... you either should have kept going, or started it at a different point and ended it at a different one. What I'd have done would be to take the first four measures, and put them at the end of the song... that would have made more sense to me. :P

Wow, a long review for such a short song... hey, you deserve it, you're good at this. Keep up the good work. :)

MeteorSuit responds:

About the ending. When you hear it loop correctly (without the pause), there is a flow. It's just the sig. changing back to 4/4. I love you reviews.

ps: It's a bassoon.

[Mountains beneath]

Well, it's about time I reviewed this one...

I took my time, didn't I? :\ Sorry about that...

Anyway, this song so far is at where the drums have just been introduced. But going back, I'd like to point out how, between the melody, there's a fast rhythm playing, and the song brims with energy. That's a very nice touch.

You could have built on that feeling, but you go tribal/etc. upon introducing the drums, and later, strings and... an oboe? A woodwind of some kind.

Very simple at times but always full and always meaningful. It's a great style of yours. Don't let it go... ;) I don't know many people that can have only a few instruments and then at the same time have their songs so full-sounding like that. And then the rhythms of the instruments, and their notes, they all blend together so well to contribute to the same attitude. I wouldn't call it extremely happy, though... :P VERY good job.

Your drums... they're unique and the rhythms are especially creative. You said in response to my last review for a song of yours that you're a drummer, but it takes an extra amount of skill, I think, to be able to create rhythms for another type of drum kit entirely. :D

Great atmosphere in this song, I shouldn't have taken my time getting to it. >:( Bah. How'd it get to 2.50? I'm going to insta-5 it right after I click that submit button. Now to review that loop of yours...

MeteorSuit responds:

Theres a few things I wish I had fixed before submitting this one. One being the volume of the oboe, I realized it was quite a bit piercing, and in the end when it comes back into the beginning line, the second piano clashes with the sustaining notes.

Knowing you still really liked this one makes me feel awesome :) Thanks K

[Brainwaves]

Gah, I'm a week late...

But I was going to get to reviewing this one sooner or later. Also, I think I'll point out your two gold tracks and your one platinum - they're either mass-downloaded or real, and in the latter case, congratulations. :) In the case of the former, however... >:(

No comments on the introduction... I hear your melody but it doesn't have any of that Nighthawk22 magic that some of your other songs, namely Variation D-19 and earlier did. :P I'm talking about composing... aah, there's some piano. It's good, but the same thing applies.

Your melody... it's good, but you can do better, I'm sure. >:( The lead isn't anything special, either. What I do like is when you introduce that guitar... it starts out awkwardly but then is AWESOME. :D Great choice there, though you should have been a bit more careful in the first part of that.

Harmonies... well, I have to point out how you put that extra effort into your bass, and the variation is very nice. The pads sound like "filler pads," though, and don't really stand out to me at all. And then these "filler pads" often get in the way of clarity as parts in this song are often a little fuzzy or distorted.

Percussion. What's new? It can make or break a song and continuing like this you won't get anywhere. Imagine if you applied at least a little of your composing skills to drum beats... it would make them a LOT better.

Now a new, weird lead synth, and apparently it's going freestyle. Well, it's okay but nothing special again. You need to improve, Nighthawk, and I don't see that happening as often as I used to.

Overall... well, the main problem is that you're not improving as much as you used to, so your songs are sounding more and more similar and less and less special as they used to. Remember the piano in the very beginning of Isolation, that I really enjoyed? I don't see any composing like that anymore. :( Keep trying...

NightHawk22 responds:

I'm gonna have to assume that Isolation and Alternate Dimension were mass downloaded, because when I checked last, Alternate Dimension was at around 460 and Isolation was at like 260. I had no part in this, and was very surprised to find that they were gold. This song I agree was not my best one, but I'll be putting out a new song on Friday, and I think that one is by far my best, still uses crappy drum beats, but still better
NightHawk22

[Telepathy (Pulstated) (NS2K)]

Took me long enough, huh? :P

But I was going to get to reviewing this song sooner or later, anyway. :P

Nice introduction... sounds like a variation of that Nova/Higher Force/Legends/etc. style I like a lot. :P The song builds up and yet stays the same... awesome stuff. :D

Not much to say... until that melody comes in. Well, it's apparently the buildup to one but it's awesome! And now it's the actual melody... and it's great. :O That lead and the notes/rhythms that it plays are amazing and go VERY well together... and then it never gets boring, an extra plus.

Harmonies, harmonies... well, again, your basses/pads/etc. are well-chosen and fit the song well. No clashing notes, and good note progressions... not much to comment on here.

You must like the bass, too, huh? That's an awesome kick. And I'm not so sure about that clap, but it works. Next thing you introduce in the song is a closed hihat, followed up shortly by an open one... good thing, too, as the former was getting boring. :P All great samples... I wish I had as good ones as those. >:( Rhythmwise, they seem to be normal 4x4 beats, which fit well, except for a transition here and there - and they're very well-pulled off. :)

Overall a great song I should have gotten to reviewing earlier. 5'ed... and you get my download, too. :) Keep up the great work, looking forward to your next song.

Pulstate responds:

GREAT! Thanks mate, i worked hard on this for ages!

[System Override (MS RAVE)]

Finally, a rave outta you. XD

After so long of you making generally the opposite of rave songs, it's nice to see this. And it's the finished version of your preview! :D Faster, too, I see... and it's building up VERY nicely.

I don't know if I mentioned this in the last review but the number of harmonies at times completely destroys the quality... mind you, the notes are GREAT and I understand the preference to have more harmonies and bad quality over less and a simpler song, as I have that one as well. Still, be careful. ;)

Nice interlude, it seems we're entering a new section of the song. I wouldn't call it Rave, though... ahh, well. Minor key! Or at least, it sounds like it... and it's AMAZING! O_O I haven't come close to any sort of rave as professional-sounding as this one. I have one in progress, actually, and this just might be an influence/reference/etc. :D Great job. You're VERY good with minor keys, as well. Make more! >:(

Later on the harmonies again overpower the song, but that aside they're AMAZING! And here's the alarm... not much to say about the ending though it's nice. Nothing fading out or anything but it flowed very well. Great job with this, Music-story. My 5, 10, and download... I don't have much else to say that I didn't say in the other review, but I've said plenty already. :P Keep up the great work, I'm really enjoying them. So, in return, I hope you enjoyed this review... :)

Music-story responds:

Yes, this is in minor key. C minor to be exact. Near the ending of the song I wanted something really crazy and fast. The only problem is that lots of pads and drums are needed. This is a real pain for the clarity issues, but than I decided who cares. I want the chaos feeling so if a bit of the song mumbles..well than the system is crashing. There is my music story for you. :) I thought the other parts of the songs were clear, but than I made the song so I already know what notes I'm playing which can decieve me into thinking the song is clear. I did some normalizing this time, converted my instruments to real instruments, and a whole bunch of other stuff to raise the clarity level as much as I could, but it looks like from the reviews after yours that I still failed in mastering. That's the problem with electronic music...you have to be good with computers which I'm not. I wish I could just compose music and someone just makes all the pads for me...even masters my songs. I'm quite the opposite to most people. However a guy said he is willing to give me tips on how to master my program so yeah that will help me alot. As for making more...well it looks like ppl enjoy raves alot more than my happy tunes so I'll think about it. Thanks for the review and bye for now