Cyberdevil's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Calling]

An inspiring and spacey piece for a starry and equally inspiring painting! When the static starts fading in it's almost like a highway through the stars - traffic of the cosmos. Not as lonely and void of life as I thought but dynamic and full of voices. I like the wavy synth, and how it all jumps into the rhythm in that perfectly slow and spacey way. Really cool. It's like those girls calling out to the stars. Ambient, smooth, with well-blended vocals and a pretty spacey vibe. Though the melody doesn't change much throughout the voices help keep it fresh, and it's always flowing, always fluent and brewing with energy. I love the vibe but: think it would've been nice with some shifts in the beat too. Some moments of silence with the voices. Some more variation, somehow, amidst those loudest bits. Also really compressing the frequency range with the loudness levels there! I know it's a trend but: do feel the dynamics come across better without. Overall great work.

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5TanLey responds:

many thanks for your thoughts :)

[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.

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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!

[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!

[NGAP15 CorpoCat audition]

The first impression of Corpocat I ever came across while searching for some kind of info on this mysterious character, that will undoubtedly shape his impression of mine for all time to come. XD Not bad!

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SourJovis responds:

Thanks. Someone else's cast for CorpoCat. Whatever will end up as the final voice will be the real voice, so I suppose you can forget about this.

[ArchetypeZ8 Audition]

Sounds like something straight out of a movie/game/something! Impressively youthful voice, and clarity too.

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JennyGlynn responds:

You've rendered me speechless in a good way. Thank you very, very much!