Realmguys's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Halloween Town (Sonik)]

NAC Judge

Halloween Town (Sonik)
Dj Sonik (XsakuX)
The intro took a tad too long to establish the rest of the song. And even when I thought the intro was over, it simply introduced a more repetitive aspect of the song similar to the intro. The organ melody was creepy, but the ultra low quality organ used was distracting from how cool it COULD have been. I like the weather effects used, I feel like I am out in the creepy cold of Halloween night. The melody in the middle of the song is neat, but like I said, it has taken too much of the same repetitive phrases to get here, so I'm kind of bored at this point. Then it is basically one super long outtro from the middle of the song to the end. Different melodies and different instrumentation in each phrase would have added some more depth to this song. 6.5

[In Fm]

NAC Judge

In Fm
The-iMortal
Nice pipe organ! It meshes in with your heavier sounding phrasing right away with ease. It is like Castlevania meets dubstep! This definitely illustrates a creepy sounding melody that changes up quite a bit and doesn't bore me at all. My only complaint would be that I feel like some phrases, or possibly an additional phrase could have used more instruments. It would have been cool to hear strings or electric guitar meshed in there somewhere. It feels a little naked at times. Yet the silence is effective too in adding to the creepy sound. Good job on this one, you stuck to the simple criteria very well! 8.5

The-iMortal responds:

Thanks for the review!

[JEBBAL - Dead Logic]

NAC Judge

JEBBAL - Dead Logic
Joey Vitale (JebbaL)
I like the 8bit-esque low qual blips at the beginning, especially with the effects used, and melody played, it sounded crystal clear. Tasty grinding bass too! Then the abrupt transition to double time rattling beat, you keep the listener guessing. Going from dry effects to wet in the same phrase is so unique, a listener can experience two emotions within the same melodical phrase, amazing. This has an intense action implication and all the elements used are so different, yet they mesh into an ingenious song. What is neat about this song is hard to explain, and put my finger on, yet it is very fun to listen to. This will be used for some great action scenes I'm sure. My only gripe, is the vibrato used in the pad at 2:45, I think it would be cooler with a cleaner, straight laced pad at this particular point. Great job sticking to the contest criteria!! 9.5

Jebbal responds:

Hahaha yeah, after hearing a few of my songs you're bound to realize that I like the sound of classic synths with modern FX :) The bass was actually created somewhat by accident. I was having some fun with the 3xOsc, trying to create a funky sounding lead. Then I pitched it way down and decided it would work as a decent grindy/wobbly bass haha.

I'm really glad that my efforts to follow the contest criteria didn't go unnoticed, I really tried hard to keep the variation up for the sake of gameplay, but I didn't want it to sound ridiculous and lose it's flow. The "fun factor" is also something I was going for. I think the constant progression of the song contributes to that.

I actually agree about the vibrato. Not only 2:45, but I think 2:11 could have done with a smoother pad as well. I'm thinking about going in and changing that; we'll see!

Thanks for the review!

P.S. I remember working with you on the light aura collab long ago hahah

[Acid Paradox - Galaxy]

NAC Judge

Acid Paradox - Galaxy
Ruben (Acid-Paradox)
This is a seriously strong beat and I really enjoyed the high quality patches and synths used. I feel like the portamento on the lead, may have been a bit overused. The result being a 1950's science fiction sounding melody. I loved the choice of chord progression, and the pads in the background really filled the empty space well. The lead vocals also had that overused portamento effect I spoke of. I understand how easily you find something that sounds amazing and end up overusing it. Just be mindful of how your audience interprets things, and normal music listeners get annoyed and bored very easily. Overall this has a crystal clear sound and an intensely strong and cool beat. Way to fit the contest criteria very well! 9.2

Acid-Paradox responds:

lol i didn't noticed that the vocals had portamento until i read this. I agree with the lead though , i think i overused it , it's just that i couldn't find something to put there and i just had one day left to finish this.

Thanks!

[B7 - Conclusion Omega]

NAC Judge

B7 - Conclusion Omega
Burn7
I know how a triple bass drum setup can help with a metal song and lends itself amplifying awesomeness in the arena of rock. But with constant engagement of the bass drum, it sounded like an m60 machine gun was going off throughout your song. It was very distracting. And in a Metal showcase, this would rock my socks off, but I think it distracts in this contest. I feel like your guitars were ruined by the drums and the drums were drowned out by the beat. Like too much was going on. This melody was effective in pulling out a sense of desperation. When the beat was limited to single bass drum hits, is when I feel like the song was most effective. The final mix down lacks a low and high frequency range. I hear a lot of mid range, like I'm listening to FM Radio instead of MP3 format. Maybe the mix suffered from just too much stuff going on and too many tracks of instrumentation. I would be curious to hear the source, large format file. Anyhow, good song. It rocked. But lacked what I think this contest was looking for. 8.5

[In Dm - STD - Boss Level]

NAC Judge

In Dm - STD - Boss Level
The-iMortal
This instrumentation reminded me of the techno style orchestration that one would hear in the movies in the 1990's. Some generic, yet effective sounds are being used, but that works well in this song. That has to be one of the worst bell chimes I have ever heard though. It sounds like it was recorded off of my grandfather clock. I think the a more massive approach would have been more effective. The melody at the 2/3rds mark of this song starts off like it is going to be neat, but ends up lackluster and frankly, weak and boring. The beat is incredibly strong and has my body jerking to the tempo! Good job sticking to the contest criteria. 8.0

The-iMortal responds:

Thanks for the review, mate!

[Sapphire Tears Magnetic Remix]

NAC Judge

Sapphire Tears Magnetic
Christopher (merlin)
I was a bit alarmed at the beginning, thinking the melody was repetitive and generic from the get go. It does remain repetitive, but the instrumentation changing up a tad, helped slightly. I feel as though this beat is kind of weak, especially with the emphasis in the song criteria saying that this approach would not cut it. There are elements of this song that make a good sounding song, I'm just not convinced that it was the best approach for this contest criteria. Did the tempo slow down slightly? I did not like that shift down. That does not perpetuate a feeling of action and excitement. Good effort but I needed to hear more changes, harder pounding beat, and evolution of the melody with different instrumentation. 6.0

[[Knox]The Cavern]

NAC Judge

[Knox]The Cavern
Benjamin Knox (Knoxius)
I was turned off right away with that flat sounding lead. The beat was super cool and had a very unique swing to it that had my whole body moving. The pads were just what you needed to fill in the empty unused parts of silence within the song. The melody seemed to hover around at the same place on the scale, with nothing extra exciting going on as far is ascending or descending notation. I also felt this song got a tad repetitive and predictable, not what you want for a heart pounding action song. Overall, I feel like it was a good listen with a strong beat, but you slightly missed the mark for the element that gets a listener excited. 7.0

[=OperationEvolution=(RMX[nac])]

NAC Judge

Daydream Anatomy (stratkat)
=OperationEvolution=(RMX
What a rediculous tempo. Both of these songs sound like they are in fast forward. I honestly cannot appreciate the original or your take on it. The melody is not enjoyable, the beat repeats and repeats and repeats and repeats. I just hear pounding and a melody that would have maybe made sense at half this speed. I know my own bias is really hurting my judgement on this. You were successful in keeping true to the original elements of the source material though. So you did follow the criteria of the contest. I liked the solo in there towards the end, but again think it would have sounded 1000% better if it were slowed down a bit with the rest of the song. Your instrumentation sounds like a typical rave trance/techno song. 6.0

Daydream-Anatomy responds:

Thanks for the review:]
sorry it was to fast for you to enjoy.