Cyberdevil's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[X3ll3n - Spatium Cursu [NGUAC 2022 Final Round]]

Was not expecting that dubstep bit in the middle of this! :D

I love the icy tone it starts with, the rhythm and cool bass... not sure about the part that comes after, feels like my expectations on rhythmic calm and cool; crystalline energy someone turned into a burst of rage and roughness... but the sound design's great. Again feels a little short too...

I love the beginning. The intro's so polished; so smooth; so in tune with my mood I suppose. Would've loved to hear a longer track like that.

Keep up the dope work! Awesome energy in all of these always it seems; intricate structure.

-cd-

X3LL3N responds:

Thanks, still hesitating whether or not I should send it to the Muse Dash music contest

[X3ll3n - So Long [Velocity Release]]

I do hear the vocal chop. XD Vocals by... the aforementioned artist? Rocket Start? Yourself?

Soulful voice. Very smooth too, it blends in nicely with the mix...

It's a vibrant soundscape. Reverberates; pulsates and tingles. Builds. Gets your head bobbing. Chops it up and drops and goes in with a little VG-like fanfare (2:18). Really cool mesh of styles and atmosphere overall.

Production's crisp, it sounds good, it feels good... have no complaints, though despite regular length it feels a little short... good track.

-cd-

X3LL3N responds:

Nope, I sliced a vocals from Oversampled's Future Bass sample pack :)
Likely my best song overall, I doubt I'll do anything this good ever again ngl, still sad that it wasn't frontpaged

[Coffee Enema Commercial]

They really are a real thing. XD And apparently pretty efficient...

If I wasn't aware I might be lmao'ing at this whole thing, but as it is the comedy bit becomes more so the disclaimer at the end. Hot coffee indeed not ideal!

Good voice; fun concept!

-cd-

Flamadour responds:

Thanks for the review. When I discovered that they were a real thing, it gave me the idea to write a comedy skit about them. It all started with the "banned from Starbucks" joke and then it escalated to "hot coffee" and finally this voice comedy.

[old webgame type beat]

Another simple but good little thing! Basic but functional beat; exotic sounding synth... not a huge fan of the one that kicks in around ~40s, it's a bit all over the place, doesn't feel like it adds to the melody, but props on experimenting with additional layers!

Loops pretty good too... basic but not bad at all.

-cd-

kaleido responds:

thank u, i saw ur other comment as well, i got admittedly weak flstudio experience but i like to think ive learned the ropes a fair bit compared to stuff from months ago :]

[~Rukkus~ [Dubstep]]

Devious dubstep design! That structural kind of chaos, sharp but not piercingly so, with plenty of breaks, and builds, and a soothing fade towards the end, makes me realize how much I missed the reverb initially...

Great drop; great progression. Production quality's maybe a little cloudy but it feels appreciative raw too, kick's a little repetitive in the second half but the dubstep keeps it fresh after all.

Pleasure listening to this. Great work.

-cd-

HJfod responds:

thank you!! :)

[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.

-cd-

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.

-cd-

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.

-cd-

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!

[Return]

Once again, wow. First the one of love, then here of grief... this speaks to me just as much as the other one did, and more, much more here, maybe since grief is closer to heart; love still seems somewhat a foreign concept. Really teared up listening to this, didn't expect to, somehow it opens old wounds; tears up feelings I probably thought I'd forgotten and locked away, losses I felt I'd overcome; potential losses yet to come that I fear for...

Strange though, since the notion of loss itself has little effect. I wonder if this melody reminds me of another; if there's a resemblance to the music with say a really sad scene in a movie I've seen, like maybe Grave of the Fireflies - though I don't recognize any similarity. What sound so effectively correlates to grief; why is there a connection here; would using the same notes or combination of notes bring forth the same feeling every time, is it the pace, the build, the instruments, does it require this particular composition to work as well as it does what's the key component... I wonder.

Don't dare listen to this again right now or I might start bawling, but I'll keep it mind for times I may need it. Feels cathartic. So sad, but so beautiful. If you have too much baggage stashed away maybe you can open the floodgates a bit with this; gain some solace or peace again; let go of that burden. Life goes on...

Curious to see if it has the same effect at a later time too... beautiful work.

-cd-

Phonometrologist responds:

You write much! Perhaps that is what suits you well in rapping since words in you seem to flow with ease.
Again, thank you for your contribution.
Since you brought up the question if melody, or some other aspect of music, may share the same language with other works to express loss, there may be a connection in how tension gets resolved in music. Whether it is done through harmonic structure, tempo, or even the arrangement, I think it could tie in with the motivation on how you would tell a story. But I wonder if one could hear loss in the music if I didn't provide a description to what contributed to my conceiving of it. I have my doubts if one would easily come to that conclusion unless one was able to experience first some kind of loss and meditate intently on the music.

Sometimes analyzing it in such a way is a mistake. I cannot explain it myself. I felt huge empathy for a friend in mourning. It felt as if I was mourning alongside him. I then played the piano with this harmonic structure in this tempo. Trying to accomplish writing for a certain mood would have surely tainted what was being felt earnestly in the moment.

Curious if it will have the same effect at a later time? I could tell you that it won't. These moments catch us off guard. If you go into it expecting to feel a certain way, it will certainly dissapoint. Music is a drug, and although grief over time may still be as powerful as the first time it hits you, the frequency of the waves will spread out over time.

[For Love is strong as Death]

I suppose when I think love song I think of something with a brighter sound, less minor tones/chords, something moving and beautiful, something large and rich... it starts in a way that sounds not much like the love song I was expecting, but as it builds it definitely gets there though. Choice of instrument's key, too. The background strings definitely add in a romantic element to it as well. It feels heartfelt, slow and sincere, as if it takes the time required to really map out and showcase the full range of feeling such a song needs to be true...

Love songs these days may really have been ruined by the radio though. They're false and flat compared to this. Catchy and contagious more so than truly depicting the depth of emotions something like this deserves... exceptions being the occasional musical, or song in a movie, or of course, anything that's not mainstream. There certainly are some lovely tributes out there.

Didn't think I'd find this that captivating either way, as I'm not currently in love, and correlate love songs to typical cheesiness, but this is masterful... magical... feels like something you'd well hear in a movie too. With those Hans Zimmer-like waves. So vibrant.

Would've been interesting with the verse in the song as well, but maybe that wouldn't have fit in. The instruments speak too. This was great. Don't listen much to classical normally but I think I should, makes for a special range of emotion...

-cd-

Phonometrologist responds:

Thank you for your contribution on the topic. I'll just further add to what you've already touched on, and that love is inseparable from loss. "...love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.”― Kahlil Gibran
Nothing lasts forever so even in the excitement of new love, I think of these things and try to appreciate each moment spent with whom I love.