Karco's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[==(Exit)==]

I'm wowed tonight.

Great stuff. Below is what I wrote as I listened to the song...

It's like watching some cool circuitry shimmer in front of you as the computer it's for operates in one of those buildings where they show off that "technology of the future" stuff in the beginning. :D Like it, a lot...

How long ago, did you make this? You could have made it now, for all I know. It's pretty good...

Nice effects, some of them have AMAZING quality. And cleverly used, too! Where do these samples come from? Do they come with Reason, or something?

Now the song's getting REALLY freaky... those dripping effects and "moaning" synths (which I think I've heard in one of your other songs... which?) all contribute towards the same atmosphere. You know, there are a lot of synths you've used before making a comeback... or maybe synths that you used in this one and then again later in the songs I heard before this one? Beats me. =\

Amazing atmosphere, great effects, VERY well-pulled off. Top-notch soundscape, I don't have to "ask" at all. :D Keep up the great work, this is the kind of stuff you're best at. :D Downloaded, 5ed, and 10ed.

[==(Watching The World Fly]

I have catching up to do...

I haven't had internet access for most of the weekend. >_< I'll comment on what's new.

And there's new stuff right away! I like the new effects on the drums, though it was a bit much for this kind of song. A bit more subtle and it would have been awesome.

New, high-pitched string synth... it's good, though again a bit loud.

The atmosphere set up by the last version of this song was great... and some of the changes I'm not so sure about. Mind you, others are amazing. Like when the effected drums go alone, and then there's that AWESOME effect (which I am SO thankful to hear more of later on) and the synth comes back in... I almost went, "zaGASP! How'd he do that?!"

Overall... you've changed the song enough to change the atmosphere. Instead of the world just "going by," it's "flying." Hah! Though I wouldn't call this atmosphere better in any way... I liked the other one just as much. ;)

You get my download, 5... and 10, just because those special parts were just that good. :P Now to review Exit, and then, if I have time tonight, AeroScape...

[[TCM] Stress]

Well, industrial's a fun one...

I made one myself... did you review it? I'm not going to bother checking right now.

Stressed, huh? Well, this song makes it evident. Weak percussion in this introduction section and clashing notes left and right, as the melody's in a different key from the bassline, as well as quality being... ouch. This is exactly what I remember from the song last time, too, so it seems you didn't do too much to change it. Mind pointing out to me what you changed?

Looking at it like an Industrial song, it's actually pretty decent but is largely lacking in the bass area. Also, I don't like those hihats... I know a pretty good Industrial drums soundfont I can share with you...

Hmm... well, you've been saying it's really good but I think this could have gone a LOT farther. Better bass, better drums, etc... (Oh, and fix that string synth, too. XD) Keep trying.

MtMTheCandyMan responds:

I'm so pissed right now. I can't say anything good so here's your response.

[[TCM] Foreshadowing (RM)]

Ooh, this one!

It's a good one, I'll see what you did with it. I won't have much to say about this... or about your finished version of Stress, which I also plan on reviewing soon, but I'll make the reviews long enough. ;)

Well... it's a remastered version. And that's it, it seems. The better quality is there, but that's it.

Ooh, I stand corrected... I hear an AWESOME arp synth coming in now, in this new section! VERY techy and VERY pwnsome. :D What did you use for it?

All right... overall good song and the new synth was a nice surprise but you didn't do too much with it. Remember those diversity issues! Should've taken care of those as well. ;) Overall decent but it could have been taken farther. Now on to reviewing Stress...

MtMTheCandyMan responds:

Yeah I know, I'm sorry ,;'`~_~`';, Will you forgive me? LOzzLe.

Anyway, get on MSN! You're never on when I am >_<. Yeah I should have done more to it. I might then resubmit ^_^.

[The Daylight Burning :I:]

O_O

Amazing song! But I won't get into it too much... you need to read the entire review! XD About time I got to reviewing this... I'm catching up with reviews left and right! XD

Great introduction, you come in almost on an ambient note and then pull out the awesome industrial drums! Unfortunately, they seem to be a bit panned to the right... >_<

I LOVE it when the guitars come out with their melody! Great industrial feeling there, I'm going to have some serious competition in this contest. :D

Your melodies in this song are great, and sometimes they're more in-depth than I'd expect them to be in an industrial song... while keeping the heavy feel. Nice! Great note progressions, too... I don't have much to say about the harmonies I haven't already said about your melodies... so I'll simply say you did a great job in both. :D

Great percussion! Very realistic samples, perfectly fitting this song. The only problem is their panning, which seems to be on the right side... =\ But the highlight of it all are the rhythms! Great rhythms, and original, too... gaaaaah, you have me beat by a mile and a half drumwise. >:(

Aah, transition, and now it just went ambient on me again. Ending... great job, MeteorSuit! I took my time reviewing this song but by the time I did, it was worth it! You get all 10s and a 5 today... you don't deserve any less. :) Great job.

MeteorSuit responds:

I really appreciate this review. I'm a drummer, so I tend to think about them almost more than everything else.

[Journey to Heaven (calm ride)]

A-HA! XD

Found your new song! Is this the song you told me you would make in that PM? Well... here's your review. ;)

Well, you open up a bit suddenly, and could have started quietly, crescendoing up to a normal volume. Remember some of your listeners are starting the song from silence... imagine someone waiting for your song to play, late at night, and then jumping once it does! XD

Melody... what can I say? It's a music story, and it rarely or never repeats! Hah! I do like the synths that play it, though in the beginning it could have been a bit quieter.

Ooh, transition into a quieter, slower part. Nice one, it was very smooth. And now here are your drums... nice, though that weird hissing-ish drum that comes in later on I don't like too much.

New section... I have to point this out - your drums, while retaining your style, are sounding original! Great job there. Your rhythms and samples are well-chosen and well-made, nice job. :D Not too much to say about it...

All right, since you want a story, I'll give you one. I've written stories to songs before but never really to an electronic one, or to a happy one like this. It'll be a change, but I'll try. :P

Hmm, I'm not getting much, so I'll list images as they come, starting from the beginning of the song. Sorry... no full story today... though if one does occur to me later I WILL let you know via PM. ;)

Second section, the quiet one - here, I get a very pleasant, calming image of sitting on the beach at dawn, watching the sunrise as the waves roll. Very relaxing, I like it.

As the song gets faster from the above point, the sun rises higher and higher...

Not much to say about the song now. Hmm... being a happy music story like this, I don't have much to say about it. =\ Aah well, hope you enjoyed the review, anyway. Today... I'll give you all 10s and a 5 - you deserve it, the effort in this is very easily seen. Great job! :)

Music-story responds:

Thank you karco. What would Ng be with out you!!! As always a super review and finally someone that actually took the time to answer my question about what story you get from this song. You wanna know what story I got from this? Well first your walking (if you want say skipping) to the....(warning cheesy factor!) heaven's airport. It's supposed to be a happy setting with perfect weather. Sun beaming down not too hot. You than go liftoff on umm flight 7 heaven? LOL. Up to the skies we go to heaven. So now we just enter heaven and we see the beautiful scenery and the awesome animals all perfectly calm and obedient. Now enter the majestic storm (power of god) and well let's hit the "heavens dancefloor." Oh about the ambience song I was going to make for you...well this one isn't it but funny it does have a lot of ambience sounds in it so I guess here you go :) Bye for now and glad you liked the journey.

[On My Way (Pulstated)]

Gotta catch up on reviews...

I'm far behind! About time I reviewed this one. :P

It opens up much faster than your usual stuff, and it's giving me the impression it's going to develop into some sort of happy hardcore song.

Aah, there are the note progressions! Now it's giving me more of that impression. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure about that lead synth. Interlude. Okay... there's the buildup. Snare roll...

Well, the melody isn't yours, so I can't really criticise you there. Hah! Your synth, however, could have been better chosen. I don't like it that much...

Harmonies are decent. The bass is nice - I like that bass synth... and the pads, when used, are nice. No clashing notes or anything, good, but you could have made it a bit better. My thoughts for this are thoughts that belong on the piano roll, not in a review - though I can say some more variation in things like the bassline would have made the song AWESOME. Unfortunately, the quality isn't quite that nice due to an abundance of harmonies in parts - maybe it's the bitrate you exported it at... I hope it is. :P

Percussion is great, and I like how it develops and builds up. Drum samples are a bit questionable - I think that kick could have been a bit harder, bassier, etc. while still keeping some treble to it. The hihat was weak, too... overall, while it's good percussion on its own, it's not quite what I'd expect to hear in this kind of song. Hmm.

Overall, it's good, though not your best. I hope I'm not disappointed with your song Telepathy... :D Will review it soon.

Pulstate responds:

Hey, thanks!

[Darktronics]

I hate slow connections. >_<

Because of the one I'm on right now I've been waiting for the song to load for TOO long. Hah! Well, it's starting now.

Hmm... weird synths in the beginning. The first gives me the image of a rock song and the second being a weird pad, but, ah, there it is! The song's gaining momentum!

It's almost an NES-style song, modernified into a NightHawk22 style. Hah, is that a word? Well, it's good. Great buildups and transitions, too, though at times the transitions seem a bit sudden...

As always you're great at keeping melodies fresh and new. I hear some old synths making a return performance, too. :) Hmm... the NES-sounding synth's going CRAZY fast right now and some of the notes are clashing. >_< Well, it did work but some of the notes could have been tweaked for something... amazing. O_O

Harmonies are good, no complaints here. No clashing notes or anything, though all of the synths sounded the same, and the only thing that saved their diversity were the octaves they were played on. Keep trying, originality in synths makes or breaks a song. ;)

I'm not sure if you're trying in the percussive area. Rather than, say, skillfully sliced and mixed drum loops, I once again hear FL presets and otherwise. This is, once again, the low point of the song. I suggest looking on www.findsounds.com for some drum loops, slicing them, and making your percussion with them. Experiment, you just might think of something great. :D

This song is definitely... darktronic-y. Hah! The beginning and ending, while they're weird and questionable, do fit the title "Darktronics." It also does sound like Sun and Moon, though darker.

Great job with this one, Nighthawk22, looking forward to more. :)

[Midna's Desperation]

Two new submissions...

So two new reviews. :P I doubt I'll have time to review your other song right now but I will today. :) Zelda: TP was a great game, can't wait to see what you did with this song. :)

Hmm... is that an audio upload error, like what happened with Variation D-19? Or is it just this computer? >_< I'll download the song...

Hmm... FL Keys? Again? >_< I really should show you some good piano soundfonts... also, it's WAAAAY too reeverbed, in my opinion. The strings are better, though you could have found some more realistic-sounding ones to make it sound extra-good.

It's well done, you must have some great memory to be able to put it all into FL this well! :D Unfortunately, you put it all into FL so well, I don't hear any NightHawk22 in it! >:( I only hear the Zelda TP song on piano, with strings here and there. Remember, a remix is not only remembering the original song but also adding your own unique twists to it... and while I do hear some here and there, there aren't many differences between this and what I remember of the song. =\

There's your ending... nice twist there though claritywise it's questionable. I also hear what sounds like clashing notes... remember, at lower octaves it's much easier for notes to clash - even those that wouldn't normally. ;)

Good job overall, but it's lacking in the sense of a remix - I'd more call it a remake. ;) At least you didn't call it either and instead called it "your version." :P Stay tuned, I'm going to review the other song you submitted later today. Can't wait to listen to it! :)

[_-={Arise Sleeper}=-_]

You're submitting often... :D

I'm not complaining, though. And poems turned into songs are often good ones, so... review time. :) I'm not reading the poem, however, (or any of the other reviews) until I'm finished with this review... so my thoughts won't be tainted, etc., I'm sure you know what I mean.

Great so far, and epic-sounding. I hear strings that don't sound as overused, which is good. Are those horns I hear, or just strings playing low notes? They're a bit quiet...

The note progressions in this are great, too... again, very epic. And later on... I just love how they play, and then are interrupted by the bells - a great idea. All confidence vanishes here, upon arrival of a new threat. More in the story... >:)

The song, I think, approaches a climax later on after the third chime of the bells... and you pull it off well. Not much to say about it here.

Aah, here's the ending... woah, did you just use that trick I reccomended to you in that PM? :O Or did you come up with it on your own? Either way, nice use. :)

Great job overall with this song - I'd normally have criticised you more for lack of other instruments but this was amazingly pulled off with the strings that you did choose, and the note progressions, and harmonies, and everything... :D This must have been some inspirational poem but I'm not reading it until I'm done typing this story! So I'll start now. :)

Day 1 - A clear day at sea for a great ship, and the pride of its fleet. Yet not all is well. The sails hang limp, for there is no wind. The water lies flat as if it were a glass surface, the air so still time could have stopped. This is the calm before the storm.

Day 2 - A cloud on the horizon. White, but on such a clear day a sign of what is yet to come. Activity on the ship, once lazy, stirs slightly.

Day 3 - Multiple other clouds join the first one on the horizon, varying in color. A breeze blows and the water ripples. Activity on the ship increases. What once was idleness turns to tension.

Day 4 - The clouds loom closer, now massed as one great entity, towering tens of thousands of feet over the ocean, the ship, and the sailors. Sailors begin to panic, fearing for their lives. Night falls. Strong winds blow. Rain begins to fall.

This is it... the story of tension at sea, before a storm. One of the tension and panic before it, which is a storm all on its own. Hope you enjoyed it... and the review. :)

MaestroRage responds:

I appreciate the fact you wrote your review first so not to allow any form of outside interference taint it's core!

This song is one of my best I believe, for it employs several new methods and formations which I should be using, but never did due to lazyness.

Thats right, this time around, I cut no corners! I wanted to really try to put some more effort then usual, and the result was rather pleasing. There is very few recycled beats in this song, in fact there is only one segment which uses the same 4 chord base notes twice, and thats it, after that, each song was built differently.

Getting rid of that "recycle" syndrome, where I use the same segment chords again and again.

There were some low brass mingled with some low strings, you are right to say they blend in together, as this was the idea behind them :D

I don't recall the pm you sent me involving any tricks *except that choir one?*, i'm too tired to check now, but the chances that this is the case is relatively high, as I tend to forget a lot, and store it in subconsciously, which is why sometimes people will be like "DUDE, DAT MLEDOY IS TUTELLY DONE ALREDY!" and i'll sit here with a ":(" plastered on my face because I thought it was totally original... then again Hollywood has made sure to use nearly every conceivable style.

The story was also quite enjoyable. At first I didn't appreciate that it ended on such a quick note >:(. I was waiting for some super stormy sea action, then I realized that the piece itself ends on a rather abrupt key, and so this was my fault. I lol'ed me for about a minute, and envisioned the story properly, eyes and lights closed, piece playing, story and image rolling.

It was really... quite something i'll say.

I enjoyed the review greatly Karco, I highly appreciate them, thank you for the review, i'm glad you liked it!