Cyberdevil's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Never Know (w/SubSonic) (ft. kookA)]

Instrumentally this is really top notch. Great energy, great transitions, so rich sound design overall.

The vocals though... the voice is good but they don't really flow into the mix in the best way IMO, they don't feel as wide or vibrant as they could. Be that by lacking equipment or production, the quality just stands out a bit compared to the rest of the track. With both voices.

I love the lyrics though, and the vocal tone overall, it just seems they need something... more.

Otherwise what a banger this was. Meaningful words; masterful music. Great track.

-cd-

[YaGirlNicole - Starstruck]

Dubstep at it's finest! :D Unpredictable but rhythmic in the best possible way. Killer energy. Light notes and appreciatively starry bridges between other sections... certain parts do repeat themselves a bit, but for the most part it's a trip all the way.

Loud but clear mix too.

-cd-

[AGNOSIA]

Freaky groove... in a good way.

Love the layers. The slow brooding in back, the dubstep-like switches, the 'ah' hits, the distortions and pauses and everything... the sound design here's masterful. That crazy half minute towards the end feels maybe a bit too crazy for me, but it's a mood for sure! The mix is amazing. So intricate.

...and the description! Well that just takes this to a whole new level. Listening to this; imagining what it'd feel like to somehow perceive the whole world in sound... woah.

Awesome work.

-cd-

SoTshu responds:

yooo! thanks for stopping by! I'm so happy you like it!
cheers!

[Voices]

The title gave me the impression this'd be a bit more ominous somehow, a bit slower, a bit more atmospheric... but you do get there! Around the minute mark it turns how I thought it might turn initially, with an appreciative break from that initial machine; pace and monotony... but it does jump back.

Ultimately there's a bit of a conflict with the saw-like kinda House music I'm not a huge fan of, and the Trance-like breaks that I love, though there's a bit less of the latter... feels like the composition's a bit simple compared to the rest. Sounds vibrant; feels a little flat.

Solid production though; solid track overall. And impressive length!

Nice work.

-cd-

[Rain On Mars]

Unreal, in the best possible way. :) Is it a sound of the past or a sound of the future? Did it rain on Mars once? Will it again? Will it ever, when we get there, if we do?

The beat's appreciatively slow and consistent, like a the trudge of life, where you budge and fight, and keep moving on, and on, and on...

Hella atmospheric. Varied. Vibrant. Always moving on...

I love the concept; really like this song. Seems hopeful too... and like Shores of Time IF SAME AUTHOR it really goes full circle in a good way. It's like time's on a loop with this one time, the rain both past and present after all...

-cd-

[Shores of Time]

That build... it's both like but a wave washing up on a shore, and like a storm brewing, and then the static noises... goosebumps.

I think I expect it to build a bit faster after that though... it does build but it seems a slow one after the static noises. Like that was a mark of a quicker transition; something greater than what comes after. With the build around the 2:30 mark too you're expecting something even greater, and yet... it never comes.

It does keep the tension that way though, foreboding and mysterious all the way, and it's nice how it goes full circle with the waves at the end, like it's a cycle of time. Like the lapse of life itself, a slow build, a passing, points of conflict that... settle, and move on, and so once again you find yourself at the very beginning, on the shores of time...

The static sounds don't make much sense in the bigger picture when I think of it like that. Are they a symbol of birth? Is it a phase of tuning into the world? The confusion of coming into this strange new reality? The beat after seems almost like a heartbeat...

Maybe I'm reading this entirely wrong though. Feels like it grows on me the more I listen though. The composition's intricate, and the sound quality's great, it really is atmospheric, though I wonder what it really means; how it's really intended to feel...

-cd-

[Erinawa - falling star dreamline]

Who would've thought I'd stumble upon some actual J-Pop on NG! :D

This was amazing. I've never really listened to the genre outside of anime, but maybe for that particular reason I correlate the sound to adventure, love, lust for life and just superbly awesome emotional moments in all the circumstances that'd call for it!

The production's crisp, vocals are great, music's catchy and fast-paced... I love that sparkly sound in back of it all too. It's just bubbling with life and momentum. Starts great, ends great...

Very cool. Gotta listen to more!

-cd-

[My Sweet Sweet Pain]

Spooky, ominous and good... but a little short-lived and inconclusive somehow. You feel like it's going somewhere, yet it never really gets where it seems it's supposed to go. Missing some kind of climax or variation, overall.

It's a good tune though, good melody; instrumentation and all.

Good stuff.

-cd-

[0620]

This was way too short! Such a good tune. From the catchy little jingle in the beginning, the slow build, the drums in back that maybe clue you in subconsciously on what's just about to hit you...

When the drums actually kick in full force, accompanied by that dirty bass or guitar or whatever it is you hear in parallel there, ohmygawd man!!! It's so good! And then it stops! And that's IT!

Maybe part of what makes this as good as it is is in fact also that it's so transient and brief. There's no time for it to get repetitive or monotone either, it's just a blast all the way through. A catchy build and then BANGER.

Thoroughly enjoyed this, though do wish it was longer still. :)

-cd-

TheReq responds:

Thanks! I'm thinking about extending it now

[Concorde]

Yeaaah I could fly to this one! :D

I'm not sure I'd correlate it to the powerful aerodynamic beast that is the Concorde, but it definitely feels like the sound of travel. Airy, moving, like something you'd hear play in a runner type game, like an F-Zero kind of race, like looking out the window of a train as the Chemical Brothers beats play in the background, if I'm remembering the correct artist there, the one with the music video involving a train...

So maybe I actually correlate this more to a train than a plane really, but it's got that momentum all the way through!

Solid production and mix too. Crisp quality. Good progression all the way through. Love the beat.

The one qualm I maybe have with it is that it fades off a bit abruptly at the end...

-cd-