Cyberdevil's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Inspirited Redux]

A friend off of NG? He should get an account here too. ;)

Sound quality's great here, felt like the tone was a little dull at first, heavy but a little constricted - wonder if the vocals usually help add an appreciable range with metal in particular, but I love it when the sharper guitar kicks in and we start getting high; more Van Halen-like combinations.

The end's pure bliss to me, but it takes a while for it to get there. Imagine this with song too hmm, would be next level! Great work on spiffing it up though. The sound design's great; the composition ain't bad either. Thought it'd be a bit repetitive initially, but before you know it you're totally immersed after all.

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JDawg00100 responds:

Thanks :D

[Washcycle Wormhole]

So soulful, so smooth, a reverberating sound with vibrant brass in the background and lyricism with depth, though cryptic... I imagine a ship of slaves, sailing away, seeking freedom in an old world with little acceptance, notions of safe haven, harbor, and sailing away in the lyrics maybe lead me that way, and a voice that sounds like a portal to old and painful times... I may be totally off the trail; maybe this means something different entirely; maybe nothing at all; maybe whatever you want it to... but it's powerful.

The percussion seems to trip up occasionally, which is maybe intentional but if there's anything I'd like differently here it might be that, the seemingly off-sync shuffles now and then distract a little, otherwise it's so good. It builds up nicely towards the end, laid back pace but so much force and feeling in the music... and the trumpets add a lot! The mix is so rich too.

Soul. Great work.

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MyMonkeyMyCircus responds:

thanks for your review devil. it has been very inspiring.

[My Music (The Neckbeard Song) (ALBUM MIX)]

Sultans of Swing come to mind for some reason when I hear this...

Love the vibe, the reverb and natural kind of ambience that brings in... the layers and harmonies. The theme's a little narcissistic but better an ego than imposter syndrome after all. XD I like the confidence too!

Feelgood tune. Unexpected little symphony past the two minute mark, new genre entirely... and then we get back to the classic rock/swing/rockability type vibe. Production quality's clear and ethereal, voice is good, instrumentality's precise... in all areas this really is a solid track.

Nice work.

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JacksonTime responds:

Ayy thank you! :)
I've always liked rockabilly tracks with a swing beat.
The lyrics are sung from the point of view of a neckbeard keyboard warrior with an inflated ego. haha.
Glad you enjoy!

[Ones (Clubbin Remix)]

Haven't listened to a lot of Drill but I could definitely get into more of this...

I correlate the genre mainly to the UK, so it's cool to see it across borders like this. They brought me into electro too earlier on. Seems they have an affinity for chill; ambient kind of beats like this, but so does Russia apparently!

Nice clash between the bass and the high notes; icy little dots and awesome audial interference. Even the percussion has a smooth kind of shuffle to it.

Wonder if it really needs that ringing sound in the background all the way through, seems like a frequency you might not even pick up on... but maybe it does add something distinct; make it all sound richer overall.

Love the vibe. It gets a little repetitive and fades maybe a bit quick at the end, the structure overall feels a little simple, but I love the atmosphere. Dope work.

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[Undefeatable - Sonic Frontiers (Cover)]

Definitely a better vocal quality in this one! :D Though do feel like it could be mixed together with the music a bit more, it's like you can clearly differentiate between the layers, the backing instrumental, and the vocals in front, ideally they'd intermingle a bit more; become one and the same IMO... a bit like they do around the 1:43 part. Maybe they're just a little too loud overall, sometimes they're just perfect, sometimes they float over a bit...

Well, just my two cents, it's a tough balance. Overall what a banger. The guitar's so good here too, DragonForce level epic towards the end there, and it never slows. Dope work.

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[The Girl Who Died From a Broken Heart]

I can just imagine the lyrics to this as it plays, with this description it's almost like they write themselves; you hear the story as it plays, feels like good room for vocals...

Nice mix with the piano and guitar, works well with the theme, and the percussion sounds good when you hear it, though in the louder parts it kinda gets lost beneath the rest of the instrumentation...

Nice progression overall. Heartfelt and atmospheric. I like this...

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[Message To Self]

This goes haaaard! You've got the perfect voice for this, more numetal than punk maybe but that's what I grew up on too, reminds me of Adema and Limp Bizkit and all of those greats of the old days...

Lyrics a perfect match too. The music breaks at suitable intervals; the structure gives you a breather here and there but never so much you lose the alignment and energy...

Could maybe have a little less clipping on the voice but whatevs, it sounds amazing like this too! Love everything about this. Got that grit; that attitude; that energy all the way till the end. And though it's low and aggressive it's all but bland, vocals seem to take it to the next level.

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[Now You're Lost (FCDX)]

*you're :L

Apart from that typo the lyrics really aren't bad! They feel suitably cryptic for the genre, but still simple; easy to understand. Sometimes you don't need more than the one word. The vocals more than amplify the feelings; the instrumental backing fits in so well.

Around the 3:40 solo you hear the drums a lot, and I start wondering if maybe you could spiff them up a bit somehow, maybe have certain hits just a liiittle off beat as to make them feel less mechanical - apparently certain artists do. Though I suppose the pros don't miss a millisecond anyway. When you have hi-hats and all mixed in, an the percussion has a more complex arrangement, you never seem to get that mechanical impression either.

Love the background strings/synth (?) that coms in towards the end, the composition's great, the atmosphere's great, the mix overall could maybe be a little richer; less loud/more vibrant? I'm no expert but whenever I see that waveform wall I start wondering about frequency loss; what kind of nuances/reverb you may be missing out on.

Dope work!

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[derelict ERA 2k21]

Is this really bluegrass??? Sounds more like... electro maybe. Techno maybe. Ambience. A little dnb influences mixed in. Soothing and rich, but not really with the strings I'd associate with this particular genre...

The kicks are maybe a bit too loud, low frequency range, and other instruments very toned down in comparison - almost has an ASMR-like quality that way, but overall great sound. Atmospheric.

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[Garden Party]

What a classic. :)

I wonder if this was the first real swing kind of beat I heard, if I discovered before I listened to for example Caravan Palace and more modern electro swing... feels so nostalgic, but I'm not sure it's this particular track that makes me nostalgic or something else that sounds like it; the overall style.

It's a banger though! Love the sound; love the atmosphere. Quality maybe not tip top but it's an old file after all, solid compression...

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