Karco's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Beat is Coming RMX]

An improvement.

Well... since I'm reviewing a continued version of a song I've reviewed already, there isn't really as much I can offer in this review I didn't offer in the last one.

Hmm... I'm hearing those filters, and I don't think they're necessary. And if you really wanted to use them, you could have used them better.

I'm seeing more variation in that guitar, good, good. I like it, though it goes a bit crazy. Now... that filter was a bit sudden and unnecessary, and the transition out of it was a bit much, too. The glitching shredded up your vocals (I call them YOURS only because they're in the song YOU made, I know you didn't sing them) a bit too much, as well.

Again, there's variation in the guitar, and I like it. I would have liked to see the same effort go into the singing, but apparently you liked what you had already. I still think it's somewhat boring, but it's up to you, I guess.

Overall a good song. Not much is changed, but it's an improvement from the previous version. Keep up the good work. :)

[Back to the End]

Good... but gets a bit repetitive.

This is, I assume, the song you were having trouble with on the BBS? Hmm, now that you've submitted it, time for me to give you musical advice! =D

You open quietly... you could have developed your song with strings at the 5th or 9th measures, but apparently you didn't. Great job with note choice, I don't hear clashing notes. Do you know any musical theory?

Your piano is well-chosen, and its sound fits very nicely. The reeverb is a nice touch, too. ;)

You tell a story with this song, which is very nice. The lower harmony, playing a steady two notes in one measure every four measures, complements the upper part, which seems to wander and go off on its own, in a bit of a musical journey, dream, etc. of its own.

Admittedly, the song gets a bit boring after a while and it feels repetitive. I could see you building off of this with some chords and clever pianowork, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you did - judging by this song you probably know how. So do you? Had you taken this song a step further, I feel you could have mantained your intended direction and emotion while making the song an overall better one. Just a thought. ;)

I don't have much else to say or suggest about this song... I've said plenty already. I hope my advice helps! :) Why don't you stop by my audio page sometime and review my latest, After The Nova? Much appreciated, and keep up he good work. :)

Claxor responds:

Great, a long review! :D
It was pretty much me fiddling around, so as you said I could have worked more on it, building it up and chording and stuff :)

I'll work more on writing a piece some time :), it's great fun just improvising (or semi-improvising) around, seeing where you end up :P

And yes, I know music theory :D

[Heavens Gates]

Good... and a few suggestions.

Hmmm. I can see your efforts in trying to be original with samples here, they're good ones. But I can still hear presets from FL, especially in your drums... do you want to know where a LOT of good drum samples are? Just PM me. ;)

You have a nice melody, and it carries a sort of "revamped" Drumr style... it kinda reminds me of Music-story's stuff... go listen to their songs sometime, I think you'd agree. :) I hear creative rhythms, good, but your lead synth could have been chosen better - it's good but I think a few minor tweaks would have made a big difference.

Your harmonies definitely add a LOT to the positive attitude of this song, I like them a lot. There are no clashing notes, and I can't really criticize you on synth choice. Rhythms are steady, which works very well in this song, as this way you don't detract attention from the melody... very nice job with these, probably the highlight of the song.

Your percussion needs work. You've made breakthrough progress melody and harmonywise, but you're still using preset FL samples, from what I can tell. Again, PM me if you want a good place with a LOT of good drum samples. Otherwise, you've got things pretty good... simple rhythms which fit the song nicely, good. Towards the end of the song you could have faded it out and then pulled it back in with the snare roll for more momentum, but it's up to you.

The attitude you get in this song is great. It's a great happy-dancy-etc. light-hearted theme, and you capture that idea perfectly. Nothing to suggest here... great job here, you've done a lot with it.

Overall good, and could use some improvement. I'm sure you want those drum samples... for the third time, PM me if you do! =D Looking forward to hearing more from you. =)

[BeatisComingRMX (demo)]

Good... I have a few (NOT!) suggestions.

And by the, I mean I have a LOT of suggestions. Hah.

Hmmm. Pop? I'm not much to review pop, but I'll give it a try.

Well, the singing is nice, decent... it could use a bit more variation. More highs, more lows... don't be afraid to stray FAR away from the base melody! As long as it makes sense musically, of course. Hah! Right now, it sounds EXTREMELY plain and boring.

Your harmonies are nice, and fit the song. They could be a bit more diverse, though. Again, you suffer from a lack in diversity, changing them up only a little in the last four of eight measures. And, then, you don't necessarily have to go crazy with highs and lows - you could, for example, have all of your harmonies play the same note every beat, for emphasis... (you might do the same with your singing) but it seems that's not where you're going with this song. Basically, you need more variety in your melody and your harmonies.

Your percussion is simple... you could DEFINITELY use better samples! Do you use FL? Try finding a drum loop on findsounds.com and slicing it with the Fruity Slicer... you should know how to do that. Don't you? (Just drop me a PM if you don't.) It would definitely help a lot... it sounds right now like you're using presets from FL, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were.

The attitude I get from this song is twofold. The first is an attitude I'd get from a video game of some kind, as it would fit nicely in one. That's from everything without the vocals. With the vocals, it sounds like a suppressed song that should be a rave song! I can easily see this with huge, hardcore percussion and bass, loud, brutile (yet still clarity-retaining and not overpowering, hah!) harmonies, and your melody sung with... more variety, of course. XD You might not be going in that direction but it gives me one atmosphere and leaves me wanting another... I'd suggest staying consistent to one attitude! Just a thought. ;)

Hope all of this advice helps... go ahead and PM me when you've submitted the full version. Keep going with this, I'd like to see how it turns out. =)

EchozAurora responds:

This is a RMX, and those are definitely not my vocals.. LOL (I'm a dude).
As for the rest, I keep thinking about doing something with the percussion, and I might, but at the current moment, the main focus is the guitar. I'll try to make improvements using this review though... and I'm still not sure this is pop.

[DJ RISE- Blow Your Mind]

DnB... I like it. Make more. =D

Huh. That's a new way to open a song like these. So far, so good... though the second synth could have been a bit quieter... it shreds the song. Not at all good.

Wow, there's a lot to this song! It seems this is going to be one long review, now...

Your melody is good, it fits the idea of the song. Definitely gives that RUSHED!!1 feeling. XD You chose your synths nicely, but again, one could be quieter. Creative rhythms, good. Not much to say.

Harmonies add a lot to the song, even though from what I can hear there's only one! And then it's often trading places with the lead synth as there's no real melody but two harmonies which fooled me in the last paragraph into thinking that there was a melody. Hah!

Your percussion is easily the highlight of the song. Cleverly chosen samples, well-used rhythms, it's all here. You could have made them a bit more clear, though... I'm only hearing a snare drum.

Again, you give it that GREAT rushed feeling and build on it very well. I could suggest, though, having a bit of diversity... a second, quieter melody, for example, in between the two big, rushed sections. It would add a lot of diversity to the song and easily improve your score. Try to do that, it helps a lot, from what I know.

A great DnB.... keep up the good work. =D

DJ-RISE responds:

LOL. THis is a vevamp of a song I did a few albums ago. I don't do much DNB/Jungle. LOL. Although I love the huge tracks with the bass that just blows your clothes off. PENDULUM! MASOCHIST!!!!!! Aussie! LOL.

I have only made two or three tracks lik this (including this one). So I don't know what would make a great track. LOL. I just go by ear and what I want to add.

So I expect there to be a lot of thigns that need to be altered to make it bearable. XD ROFL.

Thanks for your review. I'll use this review as reference if I make another similar track. Ciao!

[DJ RISE- Psy-Ence Fiction]

Hah, weird song. =P

Hmm. You open up... unpleasantly, I guess. >_< Weird, industrial-sounding effects here. And now I'm seeing percussion... but that sound effect that loops in two beats or so still annoys me.

Huh, unpredictable, here. You just went NES. And the song just got a LOT more melodic, which is nice.

There's no real melody to this song... but rather it seems to me like a bunch of harmonies that sound like a full song together - and that takes a lot to make!

Industrial sounds are back... gaah. I honestly didn't like those.

For a collection of harmonies, it's a really good one. There are no clashing notes and often it all sounds decent together. You chose your synths nicely... no problems here.

Your percussion is just a kick and a snare, from what I can tell... and yet it fits, with the NES and all. Nothing to offer here... it could have been a bit more detailed.

I honestly don't get any sort of atmosphere from this kind of song... maybe it's the song, maybe it's that I'm reviewing this in the early morning. Probably it's for the same reason that I don't have anything else to say... bleh. Just a question - what was your motivation behind this song?

That's it... overall decent, I'll give you that. =P Keep up the good work.

DJ-RISE responds:

'Hmm. You open up... unpleasantly, I guess. >_< Weird, industrial-sounding effects here.'

I was originally trying to make an industrial DNB track.

'but that sound effect that loops in two beats or so still annoys me.'

LOL. I thought it fit into the DNB feel I was after. But when I changed direction I just left it. LOL.

'Huh, unpredictable, here. You just went NES. And the song just got a LOT more melodic, which is nice.'

What is 'NES'?

'There's no real melody to this song... but rather it seems to me like a bunch of harmonies that sound like a full song together - and that takes a lot to make!'

Yeah I didn't put much effort into a melody as such as I couldn't decide on a lead synth.

Your percussion is just a kick and a snare, from what I can tell... and yet

'what was your motivation behind this song?'

LOL. I have no idea. I didn't really have much. I just worked on it when I was bored shitless. XD I thoguht it was a load of crap really. LMAO.

Thanks for your review. Ciao!

[Behind Closed Doors]

A good effort.

You start off with a decent riff... it's okay, but it could be better. You build on it with a few more synths as the song progresses... aah, I'm seeing drums now. Here's the tension... Wow! Nice samples there, and cleverly brought in.

Your melody is good - it fits your DnB idea. When you bring the piano in, it felt unnecessary, as if you put it there just because it was a piano. The notes were excellent, but the concept of a piano didn't quite fit. I think, had you found the right sawtooth or something, (maybe a low, distorted-sounding one?) it would have sounded much better. It could have replaced the melody synth you have before the piano, as well... try experimenting sometime.

Your harmonies are nice, but lacking. I hear a lot of low synths, and while it's a good NUMBER of harmonies, since everything was down low the number was in effect cut in half. Try to have variation in octaves, synth choice, etc. It seems you couldn't quite do that.

Your percussion builds up tension nicely in the introduction, no problems there. You have great drum samples and you used them well. You cleverly use them to introduce the melody, but you leave me wanting something a LOT harder and bassier after that buildup. The drums after the buildup didn't justify that buildup, I feel... try to justify your buildups, it makes a song a lot better. ;)

I don't quite get a "behind closed doors" idea from this song... it sounds to me, actually, like a DnB-Industrial mix. I'm not sure what I would have called it, but probably I would have called it something related to a factory, making... something. I'm not entirely sure of that. You set up nice atmosphere and should have built upon it by having bassier drums, more variation in your harmonies, etc.

Overall decent - apparently it's your second attempt at DnB, and for a second one it's decent, I'll give you that. =) Why don't you stop by my audio page and review my latest, After The Nova? Much appreciated, and keep up the good work. =)

Envy responds:

WOW! thanks for the long review, its alot of fun reading ^.^!! Yeah I suppose I was trying to hard to give it that bassy feeling by putting all the lower synths in, when the outcome wasnt what i had hoped for. I'll definately check your page, thanks for the review

[Defied reality (Finished)]

Needs... a LOT of work.

Hmm... you open nicely. Some weird, off-beat sounding rhythms, but I can tell you're trying. I recognize that piano from FL... huh, random notes again. Keep trying here.

I really can't find any sort of melody in this song... is there supposed to be one? There's a problem here, I only hear random notes, no more than one synth at once... this needs a LOT of work melodically. Random notes left and right... you're not much of a melody person, are you? PM me and I'll tell you more about making a melody.

The synths you've chosen for this song don't really fit and feel "placed," as if you couldn't find anything else that would fit and just chose those - and then, the synths that you did choose someties detract from the quality. The piano also didn't fit and felt like you just put it there because it's a piano and you like them.

Harmonies... I really can't say anything about these, either, as there's no more than one instrument playing notes at once. Hiniberus, you need harmonies for a good song! You NEED harmonies for a good song! YOU NEED HARMONIES FOR A GOOD SONG! (Well, a good song of this type, anyway...) Sorry if it seems harsh, but I mean everything that I say. Again, PM me if you want me to tell you about making good harmonies. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be a harmonamatic. >=)

Percussion... this is one of the better parts of the song. Gah, the piano started playing! Gotta wait... okay. Well, your drums seem randomly placed, as if you were randomly clicking on the step sequencer until you had something good. Let's take your drums apart one by one.

Your snare drum plays good rhythms, so there's no problem there - but the sample could have been better chosen. I think a more realistic snare drum would have fit more... Hmmm.

Your kick drum is waaay too weak. Is there a kick drum at all? Normally, I'd imagine a kick drum would play ONCE every beat, ON the beat. You're trying to be creative here, but it doesn't work. I suggest sticking to "normal" rhythms until you get the hang of it - then you could start experimenting. But that's just my thoughts.

Your clap felt unnecessary, and was weak. I think it could have been replaced, and the snare drum could have continued in its place.

That hihat... hmm, it didn't feel necessary and wasn't well-used. It wasn't well-chosen, either. I'd suggest finding a hihat that was a bit sharper and stands out more... but not too much or else it'll overpower the other drums and it'll ruin the song. ;)

The crash felt off-beat, too, and was overused. But at least if was consistent, which is nice. It wasn't necessary, though it did add to the atmosphere you had... it would have added to that atmosphere more, had you used it correctly at the right time.

Overall, your percussion also needs a lot of work, but you did a better job with it than with your... melodies/harmonies/whatever you want to call them, since they don't fit into either.

There's really not much of an atmosphere to this song... but the few images I do get consist of sandy temples, ruined by the ages. If you had built on that image by adding harmonies and an actual MELODY, and better percussion, it would have been a MUCH better song overall.

A nice effort, but you need to keep trying! I hope all of this positive criticism helps... I think I practically wrote an essay. =D PM me if you need help with anything, I'd be glad to help you. ;)

HiniberusDelius responds:

Your right about the high hat, I don't have any other ones than the standerd fl ones... that suck. Now EVERYTHING I did in this track was new to me. It was the first time that I was useing the effects, all the instruments were new to me and such. I've never really been good at harmoneys. As for the drum, I thought it would be too much once every beat but good to know that it would have been better if I did. Yes I will not stop makeing music premanently but I might have to stop temporarily due to exams and such. Thanks for such an informitive review.

H.D

[My baritone]

XD

I'm sorry, FoD... this had me cracking up too hard not to review it. Pity this has to be the first song of yours that I review, huh? But... yeah. Like SBB said: This is genius. XD

By the way, is that an actual song you're playing? It sounds like one... and how offtone it is makes it just that much better. Thanks a lot for making my day. XD

Father-of-Death responds:

HAHAAHHAAHA i tried to play iron man by black sabith but i didn't go so well xD

thnx alot :P i'll get better soon i hope!!!1

[<[[Funky]]> Into The Beat]

Woah, I just realized something!

If I pronounce your name out loud, it sounds like C, G, and X. CjienX, C, G, and X... was that intentional? The song's starting, I'll start reviewing now. XD

Well, either the songs I was reviewing right now were really quiet or those drums were REALLY loud... bah. But the guitar is great!

Your melody is great, and you seem to keep it fresh throughout the song... the strings that play a melody later on in the song could be a bit stronger, though. That panning was unnecessary... hmm. Your synths are well-chosen, you get across some GREAT attitude in this song! Not much else to say... overall a decent job here. You could have done better here, though.

Harmonies are great, you apparently have put a lot of effort into them! I especially like the guitars in this song, which fit very nicely, and justify that title, <[[Funky]]> Into the Beat. ;) The highlight of the song in my opinion, great job here.

Percussion is another highlight of the song, you've chosen some very nice drum samples here. They add to the feel of the song and make it very original. You could have used a bit more diversity in their rhythms, though. Great job here!

Your attitude in this song is amazing! This song has a very nice groove to it, I love it! Nothing to suggest or add here... you're great at this. I'm looking forward to more. Don't hesitate to PM me if you want to notify me of a recently submitted song. ;) Keep up the great work!