Echo's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Esperanza de la Vega]

NGADM Review:
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This was a great piece, and very very enjoyable to listen to. I can't say I expected to hear this from you, but the surprising turn of events was in the end quite welcome. You've got some excellent composition, fantastic harmonies, and that guitar just sounds amazing. Realism-wise, it's pretty much perfect, with a few teensy touches of artificial notes, but nothing major. The atmosphere is just great, and the piece is smooth and well-structured.

I would've liked to hear that voice in the beginning again throughout the piece, as I feel as if it could have provided an extra feel that would've worked pretty well. Also, while the guitar sounds fantastic like I've already said, there were some small stutters at points, and in some cases it sounded a bit unrealistic in the sense that there's no physical way to actually play that section. Nice use of those castanets though, helped the atmosphere a lot.

Overall, great piece, even if it's a deviation from your usual stuff. Keep up the good work!

Score: 8.6/10

SoundChris responds:

Hey there Echo,

thanks a lot for review. Sorry for my late reply, but i have been really busy until the middle of decembre. I am glad you liked the composition and found the sound realistic - that was what my focus was on.
I would have loved to use the voice more often, but EWQL voices of passion is quite limited :(

I dont know if this piece really would be impossible to play. I have seen some really highskilled guitarists who played stuff like this and i think it would have been as fast and difficult as this piece.

Thanks a lot for your kind review. Merry christmas and a happy new year!

[the traveller]

NGADM Review:
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Contrary to what you might think, this was actually a really really great effort at orchestral, particularly considering it's not your normal genre. You've got great ideas and really good instrumentation, and the overall structure was pretty well-worked, albeit a bit bland at points.

My chief complaint with this was probably the lack of depth. For an orchestral piece, it lacked a certain texture to it that's normally necessary. Chords, alternate melodies, backing instruments, etc would have gone a long way to solve this, instead of just front-side instruments and percussion. That being said, I love how you managed to mix in your normal style into something which is experimental for you, as I know that's not an easy thing to pull off.

Overall, great piece, with a lot of potential. You've definitely got some good ideas, and you put them to great use, so keep up the good work!

Score: 8/10

johnfn responds:

Hey Echo, thanks for the review!

I want to ask for clarification on one point though - what do you mean by "chords, alternate melodies, backing instruments"? Like, at 2:20 you're in the middle of a 16 bar chord progression (that's a lot of chords) and there are like 3 melodies going on. Do you mean I should have had a break in that section?

I also don't totally understand the difference between front and backside instruments. This is just because I'm an orchestral noob. Could you PM me or something? Thanks!

[Real Life Absurdities]

NGADM Review:
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So absurd, and yet so ridiculously fantastic. This is the definitely the most original piece this round, and it's amazing how so many seemingly random melodies can fit together so superbly. You've got great compositional skills, and instrumentation is out of world, with some truly otherworldly use of those synths and soundfonts. Fantastic work!

There is very little I can say against this piece. You've got a couple of mixing issues here and there, but nothing that truly deducts from the level of the track. Drum-work could have been a bit better, but again, nothing major. Solid intro and outro, and great development in between.

Overall, an amazingly well-done piece. Keep up the fantastic work, looking forward to hearing more from you!

Score: 9.2/10

steampianist responds:

Thank you very much

[Whiteout]

NGADM Review:
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Honestly, this piece was a bit below par when compared to what you've made before. You've got some good ideas, and composition wise it's pretty sound. Mixing is also great, with no particular issues that I can hear.

However, it's just way way too short for any sort of real development to happen. The background is repetitive and kind of weak, not delivering the atmosphere you'd hope for from this kind of piece. The wind effects in the intro were nicely used, but the outro was just abrupt and cut-short. Transitions were a bit awkward throughout too, and sometimes the instruments just tapered off into random melodies which didn't really fit, particularly the bells.

Overall, this could really have used more work, as I feel that it had the potential to be so much more.

Score: 7.8

SourJovis responds:

Below par? If you say so. As a musician I don't feel the need to compare it to anything. It is what it is, and that's all there's to it. Because you're a judge I see why you had to do it.

I don't know what you mean with the transitions were awkward. I don't think they sound anything out of the ordinary, but they're strong enough to give an introduction to the next part.

With random do you mean the bells at 0:50 alternativesolution talked about? Like I said the melody is carefully calculated, and there's a clear logic to it. If you listen carefully you'll hear it. The fact that I'm able to recall the bell melody by head, proves it's not random, because that's not possible for truly random melodies. I didn't calculate the main melody that comes before and after the bell part. In that sense the melody at 0:50 is actually less random than the main one.

The song was intended as a loop, so the outro was supposed to transit into intro again, but the Newgrounds player doesn't let you do fancy stuff like that, that's why I had to cut it short a little. It could've sounded better I agree, but not under these circumstances. Nothing I can do about it I'm afraid.

I hate to say this, but none of the judge's comments convince me to change anything about the song. I'm happy with the song the way it is, and I prefer to leave it this way.

[Bajo el sol, sobre las rocas]

NGADM Review:
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After that intro, I most certainly wasn't expecting the main section. It was such a sudden change of mood and took me entirely by surprise. Kudos for the unique touch and idea. I love the sound of the guitar in that intro too, and again when it comes back in at 1:06. Instrumentation is pretty awesome in general, and you've got a good heart-thumping drive which keeps the piece interesting.

Percussion is however a bit off at points, and got a bit repetitive as the song progressed. A few transitions here and there were sloppy too, and could have used more work. The main theme got a bit boring at points too, and could have been a lot better in terms of variety.

Overall, a pretty decent piece. You've got the potential to be better though, so keep working at it!

Score: 8.2/10

InYourDreams responds:

Thanks Echo!
Yeah I know what you mean with the transitions... I didn't put enough time and effort into them, and that's what mostly went wrong. I'm dissapointed at the main theme aswell... I wrote the drums first on that part, and when the time came to do the guitars, it was a little late. So, like every normal person, I panicked like a little biatch and stayed with the first thing that sounded good at the moment xD...

I should had started earlier...

[Public Enemy No.1]

NGADM Review:
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Can't say jazz is usually my favourite genre, but this is actually pretty darn great. You've got excellent composition and technique, and a fine use of instrumentation. The piece is varied and interesting, with a couple of tiny tedious sections, but nothing major. The piano is definitely the key highlight of the piece, and it makes this just fantastic.

Percussion was a bit annoying throughout however. There were points where it wasn't all too noticeable, but in others it was downright obnoxious. That being said, the mixing is pretty clear, and I couldn't notice any instruments getting lost in the mix, so kudos.

Overall, great piece, very well-worked and structured. Keep it up!

Score: 8.8/10

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot for your review - glad you liked it. That was the best i could do within 2.5 days and i am quite comfortable with the sound result. The incoherence within the sax is something which i cant do better right now, because the effects for the sax which i have are quite limited - otherwise i would have had to choose extremely cheesy sounds and i was afraid that this could kill the whole flair of the piece. So i had to decide: Realistic sound and incoherent or coherent but ugly :D

[Pride]

NGADM Review:
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I have to admit, my first reaction to this was: "wait what?". I was not expecting you to go all lion king on me, but boy did you do it well. This is easily one of my favourite pieces this round, even if it was totally unexpected. Although it lacks a certain diversity in orchestration, and has a few emptier sounding parts, I felt that this fit in really well with the theme of the piece, and it let the fantastic vocals stand out as they should. I can't argue in terms of originality either, because I've honestly never head anything of this style done so well. Great work!

There were however a few tiny issues, particularly in the mixing. The voice was a bit hazy at points and the words verged on becoming unrecognisable, as opposed to the parts were it was clear as day. The quiet breaks in percussion had a habit of being a bit too abrupt at points, without any swell to indicate an oncoming break, or a dynamics shift to suggest a break. That being said, the percussion was excellently worked aside from this point.

Overall, brilliant work. I just love how easily you can switch between genres and take each one in your stride. It shows versatility and diversity in skill which most people (me included) could never hope to match. Keep up the great work!

Score: 9/10

headphoamz responds:

Thanks very much for the review Echo! I definitely wanted to do something different and I've always loved African tribal, so heck why not here!? Cheers!

[This is Not the End]

NGADM Review:
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Melodic content is definitely the biggest high point of this piece. You've got excellent melodies, and a good use of orchestration and harmony to get the effect you want. The piano moved smoothly and fluently, albeit with a few awkward transitions, but all in all it developed nicely and progressed into different sections, each of which were well-structured and elegant.

That being said, the piano lacked realism, which is important in a piece where it's pretty much the sole focus of the listener. I'm not saying it's entirely robotic, but something just doesn't sound real about it. Quality wise it's great, but it lacked a human feel to it, particularly in the rigid tempo and velocities, a few random tweaks of which could have made it much better.

Overall, you've got a lot of potential and a clear understanding of melodies and orchestral ideas, but the key problem you have is humanization. A little work on that and you'll be making awesome stuff in no time.

Score: 8/10

ChronoNomad responds:

Well, I guess I'll just have to figure out how to add those little random tweaks in FL Studio, won't I? Maybe once I've been using this DAW for a year or two I'll be a master of all the ins and outs, but for the nonce I can only defer to what I know. I'm learning bit by bit, but there are only so many hours in a day, and ultimately I guess that's what hurt the most here. Looking forward to flaying everyone else in the NGADM alive in a few more years! Am I being figurative? Hell no. It's a Death Match, so let the blood rain down and paint the world crimson! :3

Pseudo insanity aside, thank you for the review. This one just plain wasn't going to be as good as Tir Na Nog no matter what, and I probably never should have gone for such a piano-driven piece when even my best version of the instrument (at the time) was apparently the musical equivalent of a steaming pile of shit. Lesson learned. I'm mostly just frustrated at myself for blowing it, but there's a lot of good here to chew on and learn from. The world has moved on...as have I.

[Steam's Wonderful Contraptions]

NGADM Review:
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Now this is what I look for in a piece. Interesting, varied, well-built, and above all, original. Fantastic work! I love the instruments you use, and the general vibe of the piece is so damn quirky it's hilarious. The sound effects and the instruments just come together so brilliantly it's almost unbelievable.

The development throughout the piece is amazing, and I didn't get bored for a single second. You've got a couple of odd transitions here and there, but other than that I can't really find much to complain about.

Overall, great piece! You're definitely one of my favourites, and I just can't wait to hear what you come up with next.

Score: 9.4/10

steampianist responds:

Thank you for the review im glad that it amused you

[Sons of Valhall]

NGADM Review:
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This is definitely one of my favourite pieces this round. You've got excellent composition, fantastic instrumentation, and your orchestration is through the roof. It's amazing how you can do so much in so little time, because I for one take ages to get anywhere near a decent piece. Great work!

The piece develops nicely and stays interesting throughout, and while it leans more towards your typical cinematic piece, I love that you still put your own touch to it, even if it is less than usual. The drums are a bit too echoey for my tastes (oh the irony), but otherwise they're varied and well-structured. The mixing is a bit off in some cases, but nothing too major that it ruins the piece.

Overall, there's not much I can say other than that this is an amazing piece! Perhaps a little bit more work on the mixing and the drumwork, but otherwise, keep up the great work!

Score: 9.2/10

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot Echo!

I have done my best in the short time that i had and am quite comfortable with the result - excepted the mixing and the usage of the french horns. Also there could have been a clearer leitmotif ... i will try to fix those issues in my next cinematic tracks! Thanks a lot for your kind review!

All the best!