Cyberdevil's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sand in Bazarsopolis]

For a while this reminds me of a Blink 182 song. :) Just briefly, the 0:41 part...

Otherwise it really has an airy, exotic kind of vibe to it. Mysterious sometimes. Slow and atmospheric, but not ominous... the percussion really provides a good backing, both the more standard set and the tribal, djembe-like ones in back... they really adapt to the music overall. Never too much. Good transitions. Good beginning, good end.

The melody itself never grows stale either, it keeps evolving, yet keeps the red thread throughout...

It feels a bit short, would've liked it to go longer, but then again I really like how it turned out too. The atmosphere here's special... you can almost smell the sand, the warm dust and glimmer of a distant sun... it builds the setting well. And the groove's dynamic and rich.

Nice work.

-cd-

DaxCamdaxian responds:

I thought a lot about how to give that feeling of being in a bazaar walking through the sand.

I imagine that those who play this tune are characterized with their turbans, their rough cloth garments wrapped between their arms, covering part of their face, and their rustic instruments made of carved wood, and in the middle of them, a punk drummer.

Thanks for giving it a listen :)

[Sakuya VS Cirno ~ Beloved Flowering Tomboyish Night]

It's fast, it's energic, it's abrim with epicness and atmosphere!

Gets me thinking of games like Castlevania. Cinematic and adventurous. Both tense and victorious all the way throughout. Like you're fighting your fight, and you're winning it, always moving on, always with resolve and conviction...

Impressively well-composed and mixed too, even if that base melody kinda gets on your nerves occasionally. :) Like folk music. The softer breaks are really impeccable in comparison. Never repetitive at all. And the builds. The fanfare-like crescendo before the journey picks up again...

Awesome work on this.

-cd-

sylvysprit responds:

Thank you, it's nice that people still interact with things on Newgrounds

[Kudu]

Feels like Egypt this one, or Babylon, some ancient civilization on the rise...

Love the tempo changes and build... though the structure also at times feels a little aimless, intricate though the sound may be. It builds and breaks and keeps going, but takes a while to truly reach the crescendo I'm waiting for.

A little shorter might've been better maybe... or a different structure, a longer build for a minute or two, it builds relatively quickly, but has to pause and slow down to keep going again. There's so much progress in just the first minute, then not much structure at all for a long time, the red thread feels lost a bit.

I love the style though, the atmosphere! Reminds me of The Comet is Coming too, a jazz band with a style somewhat similar to this, by far my favorite within the genre!

This was great. Though structure-wise it feels a bit like pieces of a puzzle... that haven't totally fallen into place.

-cd-

ClitBait responds:

idk why i tend to make weird structures xD

[GenesisY2K TRANSGRESSIONS Master Loop]

This was dreamy... appreciative layers and nuances to the sound. A good pace, somewhat psychedelic sci-fi vibe, an almost knife-like kind of percussion... the sound's great, production's great, the loop though... it doesn't loop does it! Not perfectly. Considering the title you'd think it'd be seamless. ;)

Dope work though.

I could see this working well for a soundtrack of sorts too...

-cd-

MrSignmeout responds:

thank you. this was gonna be used for an old project thats been indefinitely put on the backburner cuz ive lost interest for now. the "loop" part was more for my idea of using the four segments individually but here its all stitched together

[Partying Alone]

Well this is a vibe too...

A party by the self is a bit softer than a party with others I reckon? It seems so here at least! Both comfortably chill and also... a little melancholy.

The different tempos seem to further enforce that effect. Like there's the party vibe going on in the background, and then the melancholy vibe in front. The party you're trying to have; the way you feel about the party when there's just nobody else in it...

Interesting contrast, intentional or no... the vibe's on point.

-cd-

Snow-Hex responds:

Many Thanks Cyberdevil 🦖

[Gamma Club]

Poignant, jazzy, full of soul, rolling fro!

Not Gamma has in radiation though I hope! This was dope. When the brass and all kicks in too, and the sound bounces left and right a bit in the mix... the production's intricate as well, and composition never stale.

Lovely vibe all the way through.

-cd-

MarlAngelo responds:

Thank you. :)

[Last battle]

It really delivers on the name!

Goes ferocious right from the start, and it keeps it going all the way... powerful sound, and a perfect loop no less, where builds and all fit in just perfectly even when you loop 'em!

I could definitely see this played in a game if it isn't already! Or an action scene otherwise... the arrangement's solid. I like how the percussion stands out in the mix too, though it also feels a bit toned down overall. Maybe getting used to overly loud mixed instead hmm, it really is a benefit when you hear the full frequency range... as you do here!

Awesome track. Grand battle; great craft.

-cd-

Arponax responds:

It felt like loop would be a great idea for this kinda track :D im glad it payed out.

im happy with how the percs sounds in this too, tho i think the mix overall get a little bit tiring for ears and basses could be a bit more clear, it definitely could have had just a little bit more impact i think. But thats a way to learn next time it will be a little better than before :D

im glad you enjoyed.

[Conflict Within]

Slow, brooding, yet with a hopeful tone... then that grand 'woosh' as you start marching onto war with those demons of yours. The brewing brooding. Resuming soon in.

The melody overall seems a bit repetitive occasionally, but I love the style. The jazzy piano, the choir, the triangle-like percussion detail, the intricacies of the composition overall... it floats together in a good way.

Seems like there's much more to the sound design here than meets your ear the first time you hear it! And the mix is clear. Good balance.

-cd-

polo-official responds:

Thank you for the kind words :)

[Remorse]

Feels like I recognize the melody from somewhere hmm... both the melody and the pitch; the type of sound, but maybe not in this exact arrangement after all...

The music goes well with the theme of the song, and yet it seems you move past through the remorse too, with an almost victory-like kind of melody beyond the slower parts. It's a nice contrast.

Feels like the production quality could be a bit more vibrant sometimes. It is initially, it seems to vary with the different instruments and sections, the victory strings in particular don't feel quite as vibrant as the keys in the intro; in the parts I correlate most to the remorse.

Great track though.

-cd-

Bendivad responds:

Oh wow thanks for the feedback lol, yeah these were really silly tracks I threw together as proof of concepts for a certain style I was going for.
Might make more in the future with this in mind :)

[X3ll3n - Bring Out the Flame (NGUAC Finals 2023)]

Energetic, atmospheric, icy and irradiating sound... feels more ice than fire, though the energy's perceivable! I love the tone, I love the build and intro, production quality's on point too...

It does sound a little surprisingly thin considering the loudness though, it's like waveform and actual sound don't really match... interesting. Maybe that's not so much the mix as just the range of notes though.

Good stuff! A remaster would for sure be interesting too.

-cd-

X3LL3N responds:

I'd love to remaster it, but it does seem like a gargantuan task and I'm not very knowledgeable on the matter.

Big shame, because I think this really has an identity of its own unlike most of my songs.