Cyberdevil's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Enceladus]

Life does indeed... I wonder if the ever-changing soundscape here's a reflection on how life does; how it evolves; how it adapts to external circumstances beyond it's control as to take hold and root itself again... it's an interesting audial journey, shifting from one thing in the next, starting slow, and growing, defining itself, becoming something different completely, and then it fades away once more, yet in a hopeful way, with bright tones no matter how sparsely...

Suppose it may be ode to a life more so than the concept of life itself, beginning to end, the brief moments that compose our existence. It's a fascinating and intriguing trip as is, with a beginning and end that sound like space or water, like womb or world, and if that's the foundation for it all then all the more... cool.

Wholesome work. Clear and vibrant sound design too.

-cd-

RedDwarfMusic responds:

Thank you a very lot much :D

It's rare that I get such a detailed feedback, I'm happy you told me this! I indeed intended to make it a journey through the history of life, it's so nice to hear it from someone else's mouth!!

[arpy2]

Enjoyed this thoroughly, and I love the description. :) You truly commit yourself to your work hmm, to the point it encompasses you fully; holds your potential and all...

Production-wise maybe you could push the volume a little higher; widen the mix a bit? Instrumentally it sounds great. I was pleasantly surprised with the DnB section that kicks in around the 1:30 mark in particular. Great percussion. And some kind of animal sound behind it... is that a bird? A seal? Wait maybe that's just the very alive-sounding synth again...

The track really has a VG like vibe to it otherwise, feels like something you could have in a race or arcade game, smooth, upbeat, vibrant, with a consistent but very stagnating energy, there's life in the background too, a radiating stream of calm behind the madness.

Really good atmosphere; good intro; good end; good structure all the way.

The beat does get a little crazy occasionally; I'm not entirely entranced by those bits, like around 2:28, but overall I appreciate everything about this.

Solid; wholesome work. Creative too.

-cd-

Geekllermo responds:

I am grateful for the thorough review, and I feel bad that I don't have as much words to say.
ty!

[I Hate Everything]

When this really kicks in it sounds almost like a mad man playing a pipe organ. :) A villainous apparition sitting in his lonesome abode, a sheathed house on a hill behind pointy gating, thunder crackling outside, playing tunes that reverberate through the neighborhood, unnerving folks for miles around...

When I hear hate I don't quite picture it like this. it feels more like despair, and anger, and loneliness... a plethora of emotions but not that so much. Maybe the music just isn't aggressive enough that way. Maybe I correlate hate to metal and guitar specifically. For a moment it's even surprisingly melodic and upbeat. The middle section doesn't feel like anything bad at all.

I love the composition though... I hope you found catharsis in this. Have had in loop for a while now and I definitely do get something from it, would work so well with a game too... any despair-inducing scenes there. Boss battles. Loss battles. Moments of undesired commotion and change - a village being raided, say...

Really good tune.

-cd-

[Athletic Theme Yoshi's Island]

So good. Vibrant and jazzy, with almost clown-like rhythm's sometimes but... in a good way. It's entertaining. Sound is rich, instruments are on beat and the brass is awesome... great jam.

Solid work all over.

-cd-

[Dissonance & Deception]

I really have no idea if this claps my cheeks or merely flaps my sheets! XD I do know it clearly kills the beat and feels shrill yet leet, with a surprisingly synthy streak throughout the metal meat, with appreciative pauses and breaks to breath, before it once against kicks into a vicious streak of viscous heat!

Gets better and better too. Starts off a little plain - didn't hold amazing hopes for it - but ends up being a fascinatingly fresh take on metal overall. The structure could maybe be polished a little further, like for example the parts around 4:45 onward, and 5:15 onward are definitely a bit too repetitive IMO. There are a few parts like that, that just bombard you with the same thing over and over - sometimes with very limited tonality too, but then you get into the good bits and it's just all amazing again...

A little less grind sometimes and I think this'd be... seriously dope.

It still is. Awesome work here.

-cd-

[Razirback - House]

Gritty. :) Love the dirty bass in the background, and the almost violin-like synth that jumps and jolts you, it's a a catchy and surprisingly original tune considering the genre, takes me out of my expected House-based headspace hearing it. I appreciate the structure too. Though it's a steady beat it's not at all too repetitive

It is a little short though! But sounds great. Balanced mix too, albeit maybe a little low.

Nice work.

-cd-

[I Love This Place]

Lovely work. :)

It sounds good, it's smooth and warm and relaxing... though when it starts fading away around the 2:14 mark maybe there's a bit much dissonance or reverb, the sound feels a bit muddied there...

Overall lovely tune. If the title's in regard to NG too I love the sentiments. :P

Great work.

-cd-

[VS. SHOBON -Phase 1-]

This was new! Crazy intricate vocal chops and a frantic beat right off the bat, that never stops, it builds and drops and then... you're locked in. No way out of it.

It is a little short but by the time it's over I feel like this is about as much energy as I can handle. XD The vocals get sparser with time though, seems like you might've run out of time towards the end; it was too much work to manage those all the way? Or maybe it's just an intentional shift; a calmer second half.

The production's great, not too loud, punchy and clear, everything's easy to pick up; well mixed. A little more structure might be nice though. Variation. It's a blast but: like one long punch, no feints or breaks; might be good to move things around a bit even in battle.

-cd-

[-Glorious Morning 2-]

Now this sounds like the kind of music I first started listening to when I found NG back in the day this one. :) The classic chainsaw_09 or ParagonX9 style... with a bit of a medieval tone to it, or maybe that's the wrong word... techno with strings. More a mix of modern and classical, with a somewhat calmer tempo that seems to match the instruments, and percussion that's all the more pompous too... and breaks, the structure's a bit more complex with this one.

I love the end in particular; how you just go wild with the drums and have a solo with yourself. Feels like a band jamming out for real.

And it definitely sounds glorious! Wouldn't mind starting my days with this.

-cd-

[-Run!-]

Though you do go FAST I'm glad you don't go as fast as some musicians seem to go these days! :D At least you can still hear the beat; can still feel it; can still bop your head without misaligning some spines or such, and the synth almost sounds like a panflute sometimes here too... that's new!

Production quality's great as always, the energy's always there and it just keeps going and growing all the way till the end... impressive how effortlessly you seem to manage that constant build.

It's wholesome. Great energy; great everything.

-cd-