Cyberdevil's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A.I.M. - Don't Look Down]

Really cool to find some music made for one of my old favorites! :D I've had that picture bookmarked since I first discovered it, and revisiting it with a new context like this was pretty fun, and interesting... I like the sinking feeling here, how it goes from the green and blue, spacey, mysterious, down to the warmth and wickedness that awaits below... the atmosphere really builds as it drops. I can see the image spanning down, down, as I listen to this. Really digging the beat too, but... somewhere along the line it stalls. Between one and two minutes in it feels like it's almost stuck on the way down, and the dubstep-monster sounds don't feel right. They don't really sound like a monster. It manages the sense of mystery perfectly in the beginning, but seems to have trouble moving from that to something else, and eventually it all just fades away. I loved the first third or so, but the ending... wish it would've gone a different way. I don't feel the fire, darkness or depth of that pit at all.

-cd-

[AIM - Something Evil In The Forest]

It's interesting to read the description as it's such a different interpretation than the one I drew from the piece! Not just the backstory, but also the sense of threat and darkness. The woods seemed, to me, more mysterious than sinister, more forgotten than relevant, yet enter this music and it's suddenly a very living and vivid place, the shadows creeping along the vines, the darkness twisting and fading as the sun moves with the trees, and the leaves rustle in the sinking darkness... it really paints a very ominous setting! Listening to this as I see the image I still don't feel the music in the visuals, but I do love how this plays out. I love the ambience and the sense of suspense, the beats that seem to form steps in the background, the rising, and fading, and creeping motions of the sound... it all builds up perfectly.

Until the point around three minutes it felt perfect, but the break there's a bit long, and silent, compared the brooding before it. After that it really changes, and rises, and goes into a pretty climatic phase before that whispering end... really nice work blending in sounds of nature with the music itself, and the break's really the only part that brings down that setting a bit. Masterful work.

-cd-

FateModified responds:

Hey thanks! I guess I have an overactive imagination sometimes... I saw the way the stones on the ground were arranged into circular patterns and the little wooden strange-shaped crosses and thought maybe it was actually a site where satanic rituals were carried out. I've been watching a lot of supernatural horror movies recently, and so maybe that's why my mind wandered in that direction. Plus, I love the music in horror movies with their dreamlike, creepy, or disturbing ambiences.

Perhaps I should have added something else in the break. I really liked the distant alarm-like wailing sound and in the end decided to let that be the focus during that part, just because of how eerie it sounded to me. What I hear in my music is often way different from what others hear, so it's great to get feedback like this.

Thank you so much for your review, cd. BTW, in case you don't remember, you are the one who first scouted me for the music portal back about 4 and 1/2 years ago when I uploaded my first song to Newgrounds. I was called "HelpThePoor" back then. It's great to hear from you again. :)

[Shanghai Sunrise]

I can definitely imagine that scene. :) Really has an eighties/nineties Asian cinema vibe to it... something like Hard Boiled. Feels like they don't make movies like that anymore but at least someone's making that type of music again! :D I like the ambience, the slow build-up... surprised I missed this thing last year. Really cool tribute. Jazzy, solo plucking, vibrant instruments all floating together in unison...

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S3C responds:

any more good 90s Kung-Fu flicks? seems like I've seen them all

you've actually heard this before, a year ago before it was published, along with a reel of other stuff ;) Thanks for the second listen and review!

[endK - Automaton Squad]

Watching the Butzbo loop while playing this... it sure gives a whole new impression. :D Should've had this open when I reviewed the art earlier too... it adds a lot. A sense of adventure. A positive excitement and sense of exploration! In itself the music feels a bit odd and jumpy - not energetic in a way that it's easy to just get into as is, but it definitely fits the cartoon style. I like the upbeat rhythm and refreshing sounds, jumpy as it is. Definitely a pretty unique piece! Real VG music too.

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endKmusic responds:

Thanks a lot for the review CD!
Glad you dig it. :)

[AIM - T-Rex Handshake]

That tension really keeps growing with a tenacity in this one! The style seems more House than the genres you mention even if I can definately feel the DnB/industrial beat. I like the gritty riffs, the continual pace, the constant build-up, and during the first break even some mighty orchestral tones before it kicks back into common gear again! Though it's pretty long I'm impressed how varied it is, too, and how it keeps growing and morphing as it moves along. I'm wondering if I'm a fan of the dips/wavy sound in some parts... but otherwise I'm digging this. Really getting into the energy as I listen. Getting heavy with the headbumping towards the end.

It has a tone of Middle East to it too. A ferocious beat. So many different inspirations and bits mixed in, and you don't really notice when they shift and move from one to the next. Really well done moving between pieces! If there are repetitive parts I don't notice them. It's a constant transformation from start to finish. Only bit I'm not as fond of is that ending. Just: too intense? Not sure what it is but it breaks the spell a bit. Otherwise all is perfect.

-cd-

ActualElf responds:

Woah, well first off let me thank you for such a thought out and critical review!

I always have an issue with labeling the genres of my music, partly due to my lack of specific and in depth knowledge of what the tick boxes are for each genre aside from the very basic idea. Also partly due to my music having been influenced by a lot of the music I listen to in massively contrasting styles so I tend to find difficulty honing in on what it's classified as.

I never noted the Eastern tone myself upon writing but now I can't not notice it after having it pointed out to me, lots of melodies locked into pentatonics alternating with phrygian dominant tonalities, I don't know how that thought didn't dawn on me sooner ahaha.

The ending is one of my favourite parts of the track, mainly because of me love of metal growing up. That said I totally get how it interrupts the audible flow and agree with you, there was a set vibe for most of the song before the climax and it switches that out for an attempt at pure aggression at the last minute. I hope the next time I write something like this I can manage to get the intensity I want without losing the picture and mood of the song.

It really means a lot what you said about the variation. Repetitiveness in my music is something I've always been conscious and self-conscious of as a big stand out flaw in my tracks. Repetitiveness was also something I was very conscious of when writing this, trying to fit in call-back motifs and development of ideas without melodies stagnating.

Thank you again for the time you took to listen and review, it's massively appreciated - <3

[AIM - Gemini]

Such a serene and ambient piece. :) It starts like a crystal cave... the listener journeying through gates into a world of wonder, and starts building into something a bit more energetic, picking up speed, running through the chrysalis; into the world outside.

I really like the trippy beat, the calm, the energy, the ambient bits inbetween - the volume and balance all feels just right. Good softness. Could maybe have a bit higher frequencies along with the deep ones, bordering on that lack of range that comes with loudness, but otherwise all good. For a hiphop track this'd be perfect, consistent and really dynamic as a beat, though as an individual composition it does get a bit repetitive with the same melody that goes on; moves from one phase to the other. Good stuff though. Love the ambience, and the wavy eighties-like feel of it. Almost tropical too.

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DarkHorseOrchestra responds:

Thank you for the reviews and feedback on both tracks, theyre much appreciated!

[AIM - A delicate cycle]

That alarm towards the end was an interesting addition. XD It's like this is all a dream, and you're just waking up as it starts to reach an end; is over... it's an interesting detail but I'm not sure it adds to the music as much as it distracts, though.

The rest of the melody was great. Soft and harmonious tunes, a smooth and very living melody that keeps morphing as it moves along - with sessions of ambience between the brighter sections. It all flows together nicely, and the sound quality and balance is just perfect, though I do feel it gets a bit repetitive after a whole. The beat's great, the music's great, but the core melody just loops over and over. Even in those fiercer parts there seems to be some remnant of it that lingers... it never truly breaks off into something different. and both of those seem the same. Reoccurring phases. Conclusively I'd say I love everything about this except for the alarm sound and the overall arrangement: feels like it could be more dynamic! Keep up the great work.

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[Bad Dream]

That build-up... it takes a while for it to really get rolling but when it really gets rolling woah, it really gets rolling! :O Classy and cinematic work! Seems almost too bright to relate to a bad dream, hitting too positive notes somehow, but I do like the build. Worked well with the animation too despite expected clash of good/bad.

-cd-

Bosa responds:

Wow, thank you! Means a lot coming from an expert like yourself! I had some similar thoughts to yours during production -- that it was too quick of a transition and some of the notes were too positive -- but, in the end I think it works pretty well. I composed this the same way I would compose a score to a Pixar film, and again it works out. I appreciate your feedback!

[Feeling Good]

A really jumpy and feel-good song this one! :) Getting happy just listening. Great energy. Seems like something that'd fit just perfectly in a game too. Nice work.

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