Karco's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[carnaval charMS (Mellow song)]

Hey, Music-story!

Congrats on making 20 reviews with your songs Final Showdown and Heavens Dancefloor! (And also a late congrats on passing 100 downloads with the latter mentioned. :) ) I wonder if this song will be as successful... we'll see. Why'd you submit it in miscellenous? Now that it's playing, it definitely does sound like something that's not your style... but I think it would still go in Dance! ;)

You open nicely... your percussion could be a bit more thorough here. Aah, and a tip - it's easy to find similarities between the percussion in your songs, like you're using the same drum kit. Try for some variation, different drum samples, etc. next time. ;)

Your melody is good, and this is another Music Story of yours, which means you're keeping this song fresh throughout. However, in a review for one of your songs (Final Showdown, I think) someone mentioned your songs seem to drag on. And while they're good, they definitely do seem to drag on. Songs like this shouldn't be any longer than they have to be... ;) Back to your melody. At times, there isn't one and it's a bunch of harmonies together - either that, or I can't tell which is which. XD Nice touch there. Your synths are well-chosen, but like your drums, they all sound the same after too much or too long. =\

Your harmonies are great, and you apparently really know how to make harmony in a song, but you unfortunately have too many, and the sound quality of your synths and that there are so many of them causes the sound quality to go waay down. This was a problem you had in your unfinished version of Final Showdown but not in your finished one, which implies to me you didn't put as much effort into this one! Never let that happen, Music-story! ;)

Your drums... well, I said plenty already in the first bits, but I'll continue now saying that, originality aside, you again have that dancy rhythm that never gets old. ;) Knowing you, I think you'd be able to come up with some creative new rhythms that sound just as good... so try to do that. =)

You have your great style here again, and I like it a lot... but too much of it gets boring. I understand you like the upbeat songs, but you need to let your style change itself. Heck, try getting and using different samples, and don't be frightened by how different they sound from the ones you DO use... if they ALL complement each other, your style will change itself. ;)

Hope my reviews are helping, Music-story! Keep up the great work! =D You get a 5, (it would be a 4 but I don't want to lower that perfect score of yours... ;) ) and a download as soon as I get the computer I download songs onto back. =)

Music-story responds:

Ahh no...you found me out. Yeah this didn't take as much effort as my other song. I basically finished this song in about 5 days while studying for my midterms :) I actually am not using the same drums I think? I have like 4000 drum loops and I just pick anyone at random and hope it fits. ;) I will try to guess better with my drum kits. I'm pretty lucky to be always choosing the similar drum kits. I should be on the show Deal or No Deal and keep guessing right the low money cases. Thanks for review and protecting my beautiful 5. You did find this song giving you a happy feeling though right? I might make some more mellow songs since I suck at the whole ravy stuff still. We will see what happens in the future. Maybe I can luck out and find a dancy loop that is not mellow. Bye for now

[{Hollow Man} Preview]

Great! Could use a bit more, though.

Gaaahhh... I can't wait until the day I get so good my songs are practically reviewing themselves, like yours are. >_< Until then... I'll contribute to yours! =D

Good opening, great synths. They got a bit loud... aah, that's your melody I assume? Hmm. Your drums are a bit simple and weak here, I was expecting something a bit... bassier. More synths, good... the song's developing. The song's beginning to justify itself! =D

Wow, now I see where you're going with this song. Great job.

Your melody's great as is... not changing it would definitely be a good move... BUT, changing it to something better would be a better one! =D I hope you do... something just like what you have, except with more creative rhythms, and a better-chosen synth.

Your harmonies don't do much until the song develops... and then they make GREAT harmony with the melody! My only complaint is that I felt there were too few things that made harmony. You could have used another one. The synth that you chose for the one harmony that I heard was a good one, though, and fit.

Your percussion is a bit simple, and could use work in the beginning, when there's nothing bassier. I understand having a place to build up to, but with the months on top of months of experience that you have, I'm sure you can think of something better. ;)

Attitude... well, there's definitely that classic CnB DnB attitude there. Woah! CnB DnB. Has anyone thought of that yet? XD

Great DnB, I can't wait to hear the full version! Keep up the good stuff. =)

[A (Renaissance) [Trance]]

All right...

Trance? I'd like to see what you do with this, I like trance a lot and can't really imagine how you'd make it. But let's see how it goes.

Woah, good! Nice entry, great sound effect there. And the synth is chosen nicely. Your bass could be a bit louder, though, and the song feels a bit empty the longer you go without adding anything. Your percussion is weak and could use... woah! Now that's more like it. ;)

Your melody seems a bit random, but it fits... aah, never mind. I found your logic behind it and now it's not as random. Great work here, it keeps its freshness throughout the song. It seems like a LOT of effort went into this part of the song - I'd like to see that more often! ;)

Aah, new rhythms, eh? Hmm... you should have built on it! There are waaay too few harmonies here. You could have had some sort of siren-sounding synth playing high notes for that ravey feeling... unless you were going for the other trance, the kind you listen to while driving.

You ended too soon, I feel. The song should have been longer - you could have come back with another explosion like in the beginning of the song, had the song continue for a while, and then go out with a bang, using a short and sweet riff you could make your big transition with as well as the ending.

Your harmonies are nice, but you have too few. The ones you have are awesome, but you need some more, to hold the song together! If you had one more, it would have been a lot better. Your synths are chosen nicely, though

Your percussion... well, in the beginning the kick is weak, and should have been stronger. Not louder, stronger - I mean a different sample. Something that sounds halfway between one of those hardcore kicks and this one. After that transition, your percussion definitely improves, but if those are open hats I'm hearing I either only heard them for a split second or they fell down and lost all of their volume, just like that. They add a lot to the song and you should have had them! Your clap is well-chosen and I have nothing to add here.

You definitely get across that trancy feeling... I wasn't expecting this! But hey, I bet I took everyone by surprise when I made my first ambient, after that DnB of mine. =) Great work getting that trancy feeling. You're getting better at this...

Overall a great song. Keep up the great work, you're good at this! =)

[Zelda TP - Hyrule Field (NES)]

More reviews for you. =)

Now if only this extremely slow computer went faster... then I could listen to your song sooner and I would have a better chance of getting to review your other song in the little time I have. =\ Anyway...

Zelda TP is one of my favorite games, and I can't wait to hear what you've done with the Hyrule Field theme - it was one of my favorites. Gyah, it's not loading! Come on... >=(

Aah, here we go. You start out very, very simply. Yeah, it's NES, but you could have used another harmony just to back things up and fill that empty spot.

The melody, while it's not yours, is well-used and adapted to your style. The synth that plays it is well-chosen, though after enough of it, it does get annoying. The reeverb it has was a nice touch, though.

Your harmonies definitely add a lot to the song, and while you could have more to make the song a LOT better, the ones you have, simple as they are, add a lot. The synths are well-chosen, too.

Your percussion... well, it's only a snare drum. =\ But I can't expect more than that when it's an NES remix, right? You have the consistent rhythms with subtle variety pulled off very nicely - great work here.

Your attitude is quite similar to the one given in the game, which is really something - in fact, you could have made it identical had you added another harmony! (An NES giving similar feelings to an orchestra? Jeez. >_<)

Overall another good song, though you could have put more effort into it. ;) Keep trying, you're good at this.

[NH22 - Sun & Moon]

Amazing - and could still use some work.

Well, I'm listening to this with one headphone since the other one won't work and I can't find my good headphones, which aren't really good at all, and I don't want to use speakers... >_< But I'll try to review this song as well as I can.

Again, you start out with that great style of yours. There's bad quality there, but I'm assuming that's my headphone problem. Great piano work there. There's a lot of emotion in this, great, great work!

You come out with some very neat arpeggios and synths, but you have lackluster percussion that you DEFINITELY need to put more effort into!

Your melody is great, and like in your other song you keep it fresh throughout the song, which does WONDERS for how good your song is. It does sound a bit random at times, however... but for the most part it's great! I especially like your synth choice, and the reeverbed synth that plays your melody at times. Great choice there!

Your harmonies add harmony to the song very nicely, and you're not in excess of them nor do you have too few. They do get a bit plain, and you could use a bit more variety in them. That bass is a bit annoying as well, and a bit TOO low... you could have made a better choice regarding that one.

Your percussion is weak and plays little of a part in this song. I can understand having weak percussion for this style of song, but at least (A) use samples that are at least SOMEWHAT original, and (B) find some creative rhythms! All I hear is a clap on the 2nd and 4th beat, and a closed hat playing 16th notes or quarter notes depending on the section.

Your key change, while sounding good, didn't need to happen in my opinion and if it REALLY had to happen, you should have added something that JUSTIFIED that key change! ;) What reason, other than a few different notes, would cause those masses to start raving harder? ;)

Again, you have that great rave style which many try to get and few succeed with, you being one of those few. However, you can still put even MORE effort into your songs! Don't just "settle" for anything, your song HAS to be what you 100% perfect if you want a 10 from me! =P

Still, you have a lot of talent. I don't want to see it go to waste through laziness - imagine if you put your all into your next song, how good it would be!! Keep trying, I hope all of my advice helps. =) Why don't you review my song Nova? It would be interesting to hear your opinion on it, even though it's a few weeks old. ;) Thanks, and keep up the good work! =)

[Worm-Hole (Attack!) [Fixed]]

Hey! =)

Thanks again for the review, I can't wait to see what your song's like. But... you haven't submitted in a while! =( Go ahead and PM me next time you do.

You start with your percussion which COULD be good... but if you want to try that, it had better be catchy and professional-sounding on its own like it sounds with the melody and harmonies.

Your melody is good, and it seems like a bit of effort went into it. It's catchy and you have some nice rhythms... I'd like to see how it would have worked had you played with them for some awesome moments in the song. You could have chosen a better synth for it, and I feel the chords weren't necessary.

Woah, what's that panning? It wasn't quite pleasant to listen to and shouldn't have been there, in my opinion.

Harmonies are good though I'm hearing clashing notes left and right. Try to work on that, if you had fixed those the quality (which I feel these bring down) would be better AND the song would sound awesome! ;) Keep trying there, you'd be good at this if you put a bit more effort here. I like how you end with a harmony of yours, though it feels a bit sudden.

Percussion is nice, and you have some very creative rhythms here. I wouldn't have started with it, though. Your drums are well-chosen and add some nice feeling to the song. No quality problems here, either.

Your atmosphere is nice, and I could see this in a game. Very nice sound to this song, though I think you could have built on it a bit more with variation in your melodies, sections to the song, etc. This song could potentially have very nice moments in it, but it needs some work.

Nice job, overall. You get a 4 from me. =) I hope to hear from you later when you submit a song... but unfortunately I'll probably forget to check your audio page, so if you want that review you'd better send me a PM! =) Keep up the good work.

CjienX responds:

Wow incredible reviews and incredible songs! you can do it all XD. i noticed all the points that you made about this song.. its not really one of my favorites.. if you want to hear one of my favorites tho listen to <[[Funky]]> Into the Beat, which is my newest, and my best older one is In The Clouds [Legend] thanks for the review tho man! and im going to PM you about <[[Funky]]> Into The Beat, so you can check it out like you asked :)!

[Defcon Summer]

Wow...

Again, you start nicely, and professionaly. I'd like to ask, how long have you been making music? This is really good!

As said in a review below mine, the summery feeling is definitely there... I actually think you could have done a MUCH better job trying a normal remix, but this is great too. =)

Your melody is nice and it works, fitting the idea of this song perfectly. No problems here... nice job with this, it seems a lot of effort went into it. You chose your synth well, but I think there were better choices out there had you tried harder. ;)

Your harmonies definitely add a lot of harmony to the song - I really like some of those pads! =D Great work here, I love it. You were lacking at times, though, and could have used a pad or a bass at times to back your song up.

Percussion is very smart in this song... it's subtly simple, in such a way you don't notice it. You're paying so much attention to the melody you hardly notice it's only a simple snare and kick. That snare drum, by the way, again has horrible quality. You need to find better snare samples! ;) Is that the ghost of a closed hat I hear? Waaay too weak. Waaay too weak! ;) But otherwise your drums were cleverly used.

You definitely give that warm, tropical summery attitude in this song. No problems here. You're good at getting atmospheres down!

I've voted 5 on this, it's very good. I'm looking forward to more from you, apxn! =) Why don't you stop by to review my latest, After the Nova sometime? You have a lot of talent and I'd appreciate your opinion. :) Much appreciated, and keep up the great work! =)

[Speed of Sound]

Hmmm...

I really liked Euphoria, with the detuned synths and all, but unfortunately I didn't like this song as much.

Nice introduction, though I think you could have been a bit more creative. The impression you gave me with Euphoria makes me want something faster, too. That effect I heard just now doesn't really fit, unfortunately... but let's hear what else you have to show us.

Your melody is okay. No problems with it. Again, I'm yearning for something faster when you label a song euphoric in the description.

That filter I heard just now was a bit sudden, and would have been a lot better had you made a gradual transition into it.

Aah, here's the upside of this song - the guitar sounds really nice and it sounds like a lot of detail and work went into it. Nice job here. The melody it plays is nice, too.

Harmonies are pretty good, no complaints here. You could have used a bit more variation with them, rather than sticking with the same ideas.

Your percussion is fairly weak and could have been a bit louder. I don't hear creative rhythms here... just kicks every beat, claps on the second and fourth beats, and an open hihat on the off-beat. You've definitely done better here before.

Synth choice is also an upside of this song... you choose everything well. Synth choice easily plays a big role in your unique style and you don't fail here.

The attitude... I definitely get a dancy feeling here, but not much of one. You could have built on that dancy feeling more, with especially catchy note progressions, etc.

A good song (heck, I'd love to make songs like these! Do you use FL?) but you've definitely made better in my opinion. Hey, you can't get it right every time, right? Still, keep going, because you're better at this than most of us are. =P

[ParagonX9 - No. 5 (NG Edit)]

Gyaaaaahh...

I hit the review button for Polar 240 and gave you my review for THIS song! Sorry for the mix-up. XD

I can, however, say that both this song and the other song are great ones. I'd say more, but I'm pretty much out of time now. Great job with both this and Polar. =D

[ParagonX9 - Polar 240]

Great song... but what else is new? XD

Just so you know, this is a review for the song you hosted on OCRemix, not this one. ;) Thanks again for reviewing my song!

The introduction to this song is very nice - I love that buildup and the synth you use for it.

The melody of this song is very original, and the base riff that you build on throughout the song is very catchy. Better still is that you keep it fresh throughout the song. I hear creative rhythms and creative notes - you do a great job with your melody. Synths that you use to play it are also well-chosen and fit well.

Your harmonies blend in nicely with the rest of the song and do exactly what they're supposed to do - add harmony. At times there's only one or two, and I think you could have added one at those times for a bit more depth - but that the song's so good already with only a few harmonies is really something.

Your percussion is great, and your drums are well-chosen. However, I think the kicks (you're, at times, in my opinion, a little lacking in bass)and closed hats could have been made a bit louder without disrupting the song already has. The second snare drum later in the song was a little harsh and I think something like the first snare drum but with a bit more reeverb would have worked a bit better. Again, there are creative rhythms here from years of experience... great work with those.

The atmosphere I get from this song is easily a battle scene from a video game... you have that perfected easily. Nothing else to say here, but great work with that.

I especially like your ending, with that riff and then the effect, which I swear I've heard before but can't recall from where.

A great song, overall. I'm sure somewhere in the range of 85-90% of your reviews are one-liners, so I hope this especially long one is a nice surprise. =)