Cyberdevil's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[June22 [Full EP]]

Decay... seems ominous but maybe not stagnant. It feels vibrant still. An encapsulated hope somewhere in the void, sounds tubular and large, very atmospheric... I love the build.

With Rebirth you definitely have more momentum and energy. Reminds me of the soundtracks you might hear play in documentaries of the universe; in those scenes were one cell organisms turn to two cell ones, and plants start growing, and the greenery expands and everything gets bright and beautiful and utopian... really cool build here too, and then towards the end, it slows down, like it's reached a peak; like it nears the point of decay once again...

Hopefully there's plenty of middle ground between those points though.

Composition's great; production's great... it's a real audial journey from start to finish.

Nicely done.

-cd-

Jabun responds:

Ah cheers CD! Really happy you enjoyed it, and for Rebirth especially that's the exact imagery I was going for when making it so super happy that came across well! As for Decay (in case you're wondering), I imagine walkng through a desolate potentially radioactive landscape alone and atmospheric. Many thanks for the praise and well wishing :)

[R.O.F. - I don’t gangbang]

I do miss those 2010-2011 battles, even had official compilation albums for a couple of years, have both of those on a shelf here... don't recall names but good to see you're still going strong!

You're definitely going hard on this. Delivery's on point, rhyme scheme's on point, the beat's good, and minimal so you really do focus on the vocals; there's not much room to mess up there...

Production quality could maybe use a little extra polish occasionally, like for example the 2:35 part, feels like the autotune/filter makes the vocals a little flat here, could probably increase the range/richness a bit. Clarity's great everywhere but maybe a little de-essing elsewhere too.

Overall though what a banger. The annunciation's clear; the flow never falters. Feels like the strong point above all here: y'all really can rap!

Keep up the goodness.

-cd-

ScottiePimpin responds:

Check out “I’m sorry baby” & “too much sauce”

[Nuerotica]

Must log in to watch that video hmm, I'll bookmark for now...

This was so good. As always. Wide and heavy, great bass, unpredictable beat and switch-up's, suitable atmosphere-enhancing vocal sample... your time will come I'm sure! Surely this album'll make you at least two dollars more!!!

Maybe this wasn't the most vibrant track of yours but... it's atmospheric/eerie. Would fit a Halloween theme pretty well. Dope work.

-cd-

Quarl responds:

imo, not my best work but I liked it enough to finish it and not delete the rsn so I guess that counts for something :)

[Incel Nosferatu]

I love the sound, with those almost Rob Zombie-like orchestral kinda layers behind the guitar and beat... but it does get a little repetitive!

Heavy and hellish; awesome overall, just... structure... feels like it could be a little more wholesome; varied; build into something different along the way.

I can see this working really way for a boss fight or similar though, where the variation's your own momentum... dope work.

-cd-

ZLEAP responds:

Thankya!

Yeah, I've long struggled with repetitive patterns in my work. Getting better though.

Glad you enjoyed and voted generously. :)

[Jontron Original Theme]

Short but punchy! It's a techno track with a bit of an original fare, for one of the icons around here. :)

Cool stuff. Wonder what happened around this span of time to merit a theme song like this...

-cd-

Frequality responds:

Hello! or should I say Hejsan! ^^

Definitely too short, just as all my other tracks :P I start new objects all the time and never occur to finish them.. Well.. I have recently upgraded my computer to fit daily high standards and also upgraded my studio alot. Which in turn got me more interested in making new music and maybe actually finish them.

Well.. I made it back in 2009 just playing around for a few minutes while I still learned about FL Studio 9. ^_^

The best part is that I still have the original project file saved on all my harddrives today so I can update the song anytime.. I have plans to do so someday.. But first I want to make new tracks so fans will have to wait abit longer! <3

[MAD - GlitchMax]

Unexpectedly good. Spacey. With keys that roll and flow easily, and a seamless fleet of these that take you to otherworldly streets or seas... it feels like a voyage.

The sound design's so clean, the beat's subtle but functional, there's something akin to a bass there too in a chiptune way...

Definitely isn't the common kind of chiptune tone though! Or structure. Sometimes I wish it was a little louder, and I think you'd do good to have at least a tiiiny moment of silent at the start of the song - as seems to be common advice with music-making in general - feels like it starts a bit too suddenly otherwise.

Apart from that little thing... thoroughly enjoyable. Dope work.

So chill, so soft and swift, so chiptune.

-cd-

nosoymaxi responds:

Thank you for your comment and I really appreciate you taking the time to give me your opinion.
I'm so glad you liked my song. :)

[Ling Kano's Fighting Show Final Season]

Woo those shifts, at 1:18... and 2:20...

It's epic for sure. Sounds like a story of not just battle but more so victory, and honor, and all of the good things that the battlefields of old entailed. Of valor and courage and skill and discipline and all those traits that make the greats great, that we've somehow managed to dehumanize and lose and no longer value the same way...

Anyway, as far as this song goes: awesome. Unconventional guitar. Pompous brass and strings; a subtle orchestra in back. A little tinge of Funk too with that background bass - though it seems unexpectedly far off considering it's the main genre.

I love the nuances in this; the build; the overall... epicness, really.

It's catchy. And immersive. Mighty. Great work.

-cd-

SourJovis responds:

Thank you for the feedback! Glad you like the song!

It's meant to sound like an opening/main theme to a Japanese show from the 70's. That's why it's uplifting. Not really a theme for during action scenes probably. I like your description!

I'm not good with genres. I don't know if this is really funk or what precisely makes a song funk anyway. I wrote this song first the way I wanted it to sound. Then when NG asked me to fill in the genre I was like; "I haven't uploaded any funk songs yet. This could be a funk song."

[Sky Gardening]

The story goes deep with this one...

I love the music. The instruments - is that a pan flute too? Though unfortunately the song - though tonally just perfect - is a little hard to understand, and seems to be heavily processed too, not sure if it's autotone or something else to intentionally give it this airy effect. It contributes to the atmosphere, though I find it also sounds a little artificial, and either due to effects or accent (or a combination thereof) it's not so easy to catch the lyrics... which by the way are beautiful!

I love the atmosphere, and the story behind it. With that in mind I couldn't possibly suggest someone else sing this, but I do feel the vocals are unfortunately the weak point. Read that you removed the vocoder but I still find it hard to make out the words, the delivery's a little mechanic sometimes; the accent's there; there's a lot of reverb and layers of wonderful sound the flow over the song...

So good but a little hard to hear; a little restrained vocally...

-cd-

SourJovis responds:

Yes that's a pan flute solo during the prechorus. In the second prechorus it's backed by a mellotron flute. That's a sample pack called "Impact Soundworks - Ventus Winds - Pan Flutes - Nai". A very good one. Of course I created the melody myself and didn't use the complete "phrases".

Too bad you couldn't understand the vocals well enough. I'm not entirely sure what the exact reason is they sound a bit metalic. Could be many things. I don't have "Antares Auto-Tune". I don't really like the sound of Auto-Tune. I did however use the pitch correction and quantisation options build in my DAW manually and sparingly whenever I thought it was necessary. That could be it. Other reasons could be I used a bit of an outdated audio interface to record the vocals. I got a new one a year ago with a warmer more natural sound, but I didn't have it back then. I also used effects like chorus to make it fuller, I doubled the vocals with a more breahty version recorded with a dynamic mic and mixed thinner, with a phaser and more reverb, to give the lead vocals an airy shimmer on top. I know I'm not the best singer, but I don't mind. I don't like singers who are too good. I prefer singers who are technically bad. I think that sounds rawer and more honest somehow. Maybe that's weird, but it's just my taste. A friend of mine who also sings the Botsing songs offered to re-record the vocals. We tried, but it didn't work. He couldn't sing what I wrote and it didn't sound like what I had in mind and neither of us liked it. Anyway, you're not the first to complain about the vocals, but I think they're good enough.

I'm glad you liked the rest of the song though. Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed feedback.

[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!