T-rebel's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[a.] This Earth]

Roll them toms boy!

I liked the tom rolls you used in the drumline; it made the whole thing seem kind of epic, BUT I'd say they got maybe a bit over-used for the first 1:30 or so... otherwise, the samples you put in were spot on and realy well balanced (in terms of EQ). Nice ending btw, with the fading voice sample; I didn't see the movie, is it a line from the movie or somewhere else?

Rawrthaas responds:

It's part of a speech from the astronomer Carl Sagan.

[[S_Rock] Away From Time]

Serious and emotionally charged.

Nice track -- really conjures up the image for me of someone trying their utmost at something and failing. Like watching a one legged man trying to climb a mountain or something.

The only thing I would say is that I found it a bit repetitive when the song more-or-less restarted from scratch about half way through. Wouldn't have hurt you to cut this one a bit shorter and make it that much more emphatic when the big sweep comes in. Otherwise, it easily makes the grade!

Great job.

S-Rock responds:

Thanks :D

[Nothing But The Blues]

A longer review than you can shake your fist at!

Oh those slow blues... if i were allowed to promote drinking on this website, I would be very tempted to do so right now... but i'm not, so I won't.

You know, since you bring up electronically made music, I'm of a dual mind on the subject. On the one hand, I've played 12 years of piano and 7 years of guitar, and on the other hand i'm an avid enthusiast of electronic music-making.

That being said, I respect the emotion that gets put into a recorded performance as opposed to one that's gradually "built" on a computer. There's a certain satisfaction that I think is deliveredfrom hearing a person put their own emotion into a piece of music.

On the other hand, I'm not limited to the instruments that I can play and perform with myself when I compose on a computer. In that sense, I can achieve things by building a piece that I couldn't arrange without synths. Although I admit that it removes me a bit from my music when I build as opposed to playing it.

Personally I'm working on a few tracks where I'll be arranging the synths around pieces i've written for guitar or piano. You might consider trying it yourself, could be interesting if you pumped something electronic and well-syncopated...

BloodFest responds:

Well, I've always loved my guitar, I don't know if I could go for computer made music. But you know, never say never hehe

[Slide Guitar Blues]

Not bad...

... you really got that whole Robert Johnson thing down. You're going to have to submit your version of the crossroads... which in fact i want to remix myself... but enough about me... if you ever do submit a version of the crossroads, see if you can't get a truer sound from the recording equipment, it's kind of faint on this track.

BloodFest responds:

I recorded this like that on purpose, trying to sound like those old delta blues recordings. Sure things, I'll do a version of crossroads, I did "Walking blues" some time ago.

Thanks listening

[Some Form of Rhapsody]

Too many hits can give you an OD.

That hit is waaay to big to stick in between the low notes of the piano; it was hard to hear what the piano was doing over it. Also, I thought you could have used a more pronounced bass. Maybe French Horn (in sytrus) could have added some low brass to the piano section... I rated this mostly on merit of its beginning. I really liked the intro and the first part of the main theme.

It's too bad you can't save it in the FL8 demo, or you could have reworked that piano//hits section a bit better.

gamereality responds:

Ah! I'm glad you liked the intro, and thank you so much for reviewing it; that's exactly what a composer needs, constructive criticism! :D
I'll try and improve my with extra layers, such as the ones you suggested, then. I work in a mildly progressive style, and it's still evolving, so hopefully I can refine it further.

Now that I listen to it again, the hits... Get really annoying. >_>

[{B.A.B.} To Hell and Back]

SO WELL DONE

I hope you make tops all time with this one. The themes blend really seemlessly together. Great contrasts between them, and I really liked the horns and clarinet. I would only suggest tweaking the levels on the tympany; it gets a bit loud at times. Barring that, I think this is the most epic track I've heard.

blackattackbitch responds:

And I had actually turned down the timpani on specific occasions too...I probably should have turned down the whole channel rather than just individual notes.

Thanks for the advice!