RosesWolf's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Behind the Curtain]

Raiden? Is that you?

But really, as a boss battle track, this is awesome! Heavy Metal always combines so nicely with Dubstep, and from that perspective this track absolutely slaps! The synths are woven so nicely into the guitar sections, and vice versa the guitar chugs work really nicely in the dubstep section. Mixing on those front is also quite nicely done!

But as vekoN already noted, the vocal performance and mixing does leave something to be desired. The vocals frequently fall away beneath the other instruments, which makes its hard to understand what's being said. There's also a few sections that sound a touch off pitch.

Conceptually, this entry is really strong, but the execution could use some polish. All in all, though, really solid work!

[Manvineo's Decadance]

Oh Decadance is clever. And accurate! I can absolutely picture this being the boss music for some rich noble that I'd absolutely love to hate. Really nice use of string runs and staccato strings, and the harpsichord is also a very nice touch.

All round very nice work! Really fun to listen to.

[Amidias, Pride of Ilmeris]

Between this one and your first entry, you've certainly got anime boss fight music down to a science, haven't you? Again, stellar drum work, and clever use of synths!

This one does suffer from the same problem as your first entry, namely volume management. The bass, funnily enough, isn't really that audible in this one, whilst the synths (especially the sine wave arpeggio you bring in at 0:48) are a touch too loud throughout the whole thing.

But in terms of composition and form, this is some great stuff, again! Well bloody done!

[introspection]

You started in August?! Holy crap that's some fast skill progression! This is some seriously impressive stuff. You've definitely got the drum work down, and the rhythmic choir stabs add a very nice sense of flow to the whole thing. And my god, the way the drums and brass open up in the intro! If that isn't heroic, I don't know what is.
Volume management could use some work, as the bass kinda overpowered everything else, and the melodic elements weren't always front and centre as they should be.
But as far as boss fight music goes, I could easily see this playing at the end of an Indie RPG. Super great work here!

[Final Breath]

Yeah, this is a boss track, all right! The blending of chiptune and sampled orchestra was an inspired choice! I'm not too familiar with Touhou music, so I'll just assume that you made that brilliant decision, haha. Great work on the melodies too! And that bass is juicy!

The fake-out into a key change is a classic for a reason, and that's because it works! Good job tackling the 5/4 as well. Doing that for the first time always takes some getting used to, but I think you made it sound completely natural, and not just as something added in to score some extra points, so kudos on that!

My *only* piece of critique, and mind it is a really small thing, is that the silence right before the key change (so starting at 1:56), while a fun idea, could have been executed a tad better. I like the idea of a heartbeat kick drum, especially since it ties in nicely with the title. My main problem with it is the space, and let me explain what I mean by that.
When you use certain types of instruments, especially sampled ones, their blend creates a sense of space between the sounds, like you could imagine where in the room each instrument is being played from. The staccato strings especially contribute a lot to this sense of space, since the samples have so much reverb. When you then fade those strings away, the reverb dies down exactly the same, which kinda kills the sense of space, since that's not how reverb works, and it makes the lonely kick drum sound very dry and in your face.
Let me restate though, this is a very minor complaint! And it is the only part of this entire track that I have any fault with.

Absolutely fantastic submission, and well deserved of the high scores it's seemingly already gotten. I tip my hat to you, sir Phrog!

[Code Orange]

Oh this is cool! I always love it when boss music can be high-octane without being super loud and bombastic. This almost feels like the music you'd hear during the final boss of a hacking/technopunk puzzle game, and I'm all here for it. Lots of nice ear candy, and the growls are tasty indeed. Very nicely done!

[Forged in battle]

Gotta love those hyper specific anime fight scenes you get in your head with music like this. Bang on guitar and drum work, my guy! Super solid entry.

Arponax responds:

Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed :D

[AIM 2020 - For You, My Princess]

Neat piece! I can totally see the toad playing his violin there. There are a few points of criticism that I have:

The piano sounds pretty artificial, not so much in the timing, but in the velocity of the notes; it sounds like every note is hit with the exact same amount of power.
Other people have already mentioned this, but until 2:05, there isn't enough variation in the piece to warrant it being as long as it is.
Speaking of the finale, I think the instruments could have fitted together a bit better. The piano and the violin don't change (much) to accommodate the inclusion of the gritty bass and the beat. Some reverb to give the section some more space and grandeur would've served nicely to capitalize off of the tension. I also think something like a choir would've fit nicely here, though that may simply be personal preference.
Not a real big fan of how you handled the kick snare pattern. It's nice to different things, but this feels like it's being different for the sake of being different; it comes across as a bit chaotic, and, in my experience, makes the rhythm a bit more difficult to listen to.
My last piece of criticism is that the silence right after the drums cut out and the piano resumes, at 2:56, could have stood to be a bit longer, actually. That would've nicely drawn out some lasting tension, and given the closing piano a bit more depth and impact.

All in all, I think it's a nice rendition of the image as music, and I can see where the inspiration came from. It could use some work, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good piece. Well done!

TrandafirTeodora responds:

Thanks.

[Unbalance]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuude, I cannot get over that fucking Drum & Bass switchup at 3:38! That blew my fucking mind. Really fucking cool man.

I do have a few teeny nitpicks in that certain sections, like at 1:10, the growls are just a bit too quick in succession, making it somewhat difficult to listen to. And at the aforementioned DnB section at 3:38, there's so much happening at once that it's kinda overwhelming.

All that said, fucking fantastic production, my man!

Spadezer responds:

I'm really glad you dug that part :3

Lol yeah 3:38. I'm always battling myself because I keep thinking "it's not full enough" and then I end up having to mix and EQ 25 different things it feels like lol. One of these days I'll get a real good grasp on how to be more minimalistic like what KOAN sound is like and it should help my climactic sections a bit more.

I can definitely hear what you're talking about at 1:10. That's a sound I designed from scratch and as much as I like the quick rhythmic styles, it doesn't compliment that bass. Or, conversely, that bass doesn't work with that quick rhythmic style.

As usual I very much appreciate comments on my songs :)