Echo's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[In the end]

NGADM Review:
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The piano is just beautiful. You've got excellent melodies, excellent dynamics, and a piano that sounds entirely human and not robotic at all throughout. Unfortunately, the drumset just doesn't fit in with it and sounded kind of weird and abrupt when it came in.

Composition wise, the development of the piece is a bit lacking. You've essentially got one unchanging theme that doesn't really go anywhere, and the ending itself is a bit too abrupt and generic for my tastes. Could definitely use more work in this regard.

Overall, a decent piece, but not exactly your best.

Score: 7.6/10

BlazingDragon responds:

Unfortunately, this ended up being a piano improv with some instruments thrown on top rather than a thoughtful composition. It was literally written in a couple of hours. Agreed that it is not my best. :-/

Thanks for the review and your work in the contest!

[Coast Totems]

NGADM Review:
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The general feel of this piece is incredibly put through. It's so well produced and so well-done that it's just impossible to find anything to fault in it production wise. You've got excellent mixing as always, and the instruments you use are of a high quality and fit well together. You've also got fantastic melodic content and a nice sense of harmony and development. Nicely done.

That being said, the piece is a bit TOO laid-back for my liking. Even though I understand the atmosphere of the piece, I just find it a bit too boring, in the sense that it doesn't hold my attention to the end and doesn't get the blood pumping like some of your other pieces. Some of the transitions were also a bit rough, such as the one at 3:21, so those might need fixing.

Overall, a decent piece, high quality all around, just a bit boring when I know what you're really capable of.

Score: 8.2/10

[When a Good Man Goes to War ~P]

NGADM Review:
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I will say now that I believe you should've just won the whole bloody competition simply for the Doctor Who reference. That is all.

Seriously though, this piece in itself is a great example of what I look for in a track. It's interesting, it's well built and structured, it's melodically strong, and above all it conveys a strong theme. Great work!

Instrumentation wise, you've got a staggering range of instruments, and they all come together pretty darn well. The only one I've got a bit of complaints with is the guitar, because it sounds a bit fake compared to the rest. Percussion could have used a bit more work, because it tended to get a bit repetitive at points, but it still sounds high quality overall.

On another note, thank you for including dynamics. Just thank you. It's surprising how much better they can make a piece sound. Nice work! That being said, the melody itself could have used a bit more development, instead of just repeating several times over and over.

Overall, fantastic piece! A few minor details, but nothing too major that it ruins the entire piece. Keep up the good work!

Score; 9.0/10

[A Long Way Home]

NGADM Review:
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Beyond a doubt, the highlight of this piece, are those fantastic vocals. They're very well sung, they're emotional, they fit in well with the theme of the piece, and they're well mixed. All in all, they're just right. They're definitely your strongest suit.

However, the instruments that come after are kind of disappointing when considering the quality of the introduction. They just sound a bit too fake, too robotic, to have the same striking effect as the vocals. The melodies and harmonies you used are fine, but the instruments that play them just aren't. There are also some mixing issues at points, with reverb drowning out notes when it shouldn't be.

Overall, this really is a great piece, and it has the potential to be more if you could work more on the instrumentation. Great vocals and great ideas, keep up the good work!

Score: 8.8/10

[The Last Prince]

NGADM Review:
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The first thing I noticed about this, and what probably annoyed me most throughout, is that the instrumentation and orchestration seemed a bit too artificial and robotic. Don't get me wrong, you've got some great melodic ideas, and you executed some of them quite well, but they just didn't seem to come together to form a cohesive whole. It's a mix of rough transitions and undeveloped themes, that just didn't pay off well. Also, there really needs to be more focus on variety, as the majority of the piece was just repeated patterns with some new patterns added, leading up to a finish that was essentially just an end of a normal pattern, and not particularly impressive.

However, as individual melodies, they are pretty well constructed. You've definitely got a good grasp of what you're doing, and the instruments themselves did come together when considered as sections, so good work on that regard.

Overall, with a bit of work and dedication I sincerely believe you can improve drastically. You've got the potential and you've got the skill, so just take your time and try to start ironing out the small problems that could ruin a song, and you'll be writing great music in no time.

Score: 7.6/10

TitanMusic responds:

Thanks for the review!
I was really disappointed by how this turned out but I guess that is my own fault haha!
I'm working on getting my stuff together so hopefully I will improve from this
Thanks again.

[Ode to the Reader]

NGADM Review:
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Once again, I am incredibly impressed with what you've managed to come up with. This is everything I look for in an orchestral track; emotional, smooth, varied and well built. Great work overall!

I particularly like the piano at the beginning, and also the way the piece changes and builds up to a climax. All this is done very smoothly, with great transitions and use of musical sections. The drums too are impressive, nice and driving with impressive focus on quality and detail. The instrumentation too is great, with fantastic orchestration to compliment it.

That being said, the conclusion is a bit disappointing, considering the overwhelming awesome of the main sections. It could have used more work, maybe a reintroduction of the piano motif, or an even bigger climax to top it off on a cliffhanger, so to speak. Just my two cents.

Overall, great piece, fantastic work. Definitely a big fan of your work, and I look forward to hearing more from you, as always!

Score: 9.6/10

[First Flight]

I will say one thing, and one thing only. I love you, and I want to have your babies. That is all.

In all seriousness though, those choirs, that build-up, that orchestration asldksldjksjdhsdhsjk

Ok I'm done fan-girling. This track is, beyond a doubt, very very impressive. You've got the sound I love to listen to nailed pretty darn perfectly. The quality is incredible, and you clearly know what you're doing with those instruments. The build-up and dynamics in particular are definitely some of the best I've heard in a long while. Fantastic percussion to back them up too. The climax, when it eventually came, was awingly overwhelming. Great job!

There are some small nitpicks I could point out of course, as no track is ever really perfect. The climax, while being powerful and striking, was short, and a bit disappointing because it finished so quickly, especially considering the build-up to get there. There is definitely a lot of room for development of melodies and progression, as the piece is quite short (although I'm not really one to talk). On another note, I didn't quite like the sound at 0:40, it sounded a bit empty before it started developing. In personal experience, I find that a low and quiet repeated staccato note on a viola or such tends to counterbalance this and create a fuller sound, but that's just my two cents.

Overall, I am incredibly impressed, and I will take this opportunity to say again how much I love those choirs. If you don't mind me asking, which VST would those be? I am most definitely adding you to my list of favourites and I will be keeping a close eye on your new releases. Brilliant piece, looking forward to hearing more from you!

Score: 9/10

[Departure]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, you are hands down one of my favourite composers on the website. I always love listening to your stuff, not only for the listening value, but also because it gives me the inspiration to continue my own works.

Now, as you said, this one isn't along the same style you usually do, but nevertheless it is of a supremely high quality and I would say it is a very successful venture into new territory. Production value, instrumentation, and orchestration are all beyond awesome. I particularly love the sound of those strings, and I would be curious to know what kind of sounds you layered to get them. I could definitely use that kind of string legato :P The piano and glock sections are also incredible, and they give the atmosphere that much more feeling and emotion.

However, the one problem that I did notice is that the piece lacked a true sense of development, in the sense of a fully discernible climax, one that is powerful and striking. While I understand that such a kind of development isn't all that important in a piece such as this, I still think it would have provided the song with that final touch to truly make it perfect, or as close as you can get. Although the filmscore feel is pulled off flawlessly, such a climax would have served as a sort of punctuation to the track, giving it more of a punch, so to speak, and getting through to a listener more.

That being said, from introduction to finish, I was pretty much captivated throughout. It is a very easy-to-listen-to piece, and one I would have no problem listening to again and again. As a track, it is elegantly worked and performed, a truly fantastic orchestral piece. Brilliant work overall, keep it up. I look forward to hearing more of your future works!

Score: 9.5/10

[Sinking Island]

NGADM Review:

I'm not going to write in length here. This is a very good piece in most regards, particularly orchestration wise. The melodies, harmonies and chord progressions you use are very very good. They're catchy, upbeat and very well implemented. The instruments that play them are also very good, and of a pretty decent quality. These two aspects come together to create an overall very high quality piece

Unfortunately, this is kinda ruined by the mixing, which isn't that great. In some cases, the instruments tend to overpower each other rather than come together as a whole. EQing is pretty decent, but could also use some work.

Also, the piece tended to get a bit repetitive and boring as it progressed, which made for a pretty tedious experience towards the end.

So overall, a good piece, with some minor drawbacks which you could fix quite easily.

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SCORE:
7.3/10

[Everything is Floating Up]

NGADM Final Results

REVIEW
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- INTRO = 2/2
--- Instantly amazing. This caught my ear right from the start and i was without doubt that i would love this song as well. Despite its apparent calm atmosphere, it climaxed well enough into the main section and transitioned seamlessly into the main melodies. Its a fantastic start to what would be a superb song. Good work!

- BLEND = 2/2
--- The blend and mix in your songs is always admirable. You always somehow manage to find a balance between such a wide variety of unconventianal instruments all of which are trying to gain dominance. The quality of the synths also helped a lot as they were used to their maximum potential. I love how all instruments just fit in together seamlessly, mixing together to create a big whole. Fantastic Work!

- TRANSITIONS = 2.5/3
--- Smooth doesn't do your song justice. I am always amazed at how all your songs manage to flow almost perfectly from one section, without even a single major fault or mix up. The transitions where the music seemed to climax and then anticlimax again had great effect too, because it kept me on my toes waiting for the outro, which surprised me when it came. Overall, almost perfect as well!

- BASS (DEPTH) = 1/2
--- Unfortunately somehow lacking in this song. Even if the bass that was actually present was very well used, in some sections the song seemed to lack a degree of depth in the sense of other instruments such as pads which provided a strong backbone to the music. Once again, i'd suggest the use of some sort of secondary instruments palying different melodies to the main theme as this would definetely help with increasing the overal depth of the song. Still, pretty decent overall.

- ORIGINALITY = 3/3
--- Fantastic work on this one. Everytime i listen to one of your songs, something original, and it always manages to catch my ear to a stunning degree. The constant change and variety in the song is superb, as it kept me interested to the very end. I even heard it a couple more times just to be sure i hadn't missed anything. Great work!

- DRUMS = 2/2
--- As always, these drums gave the song an even higher degree of quality, and when combined with the fantastic melodies you used, they make the song almost perfect. I am always impressed with the level of variety that you use in the drum patterns, as its sometimes easier to just use a singular loop. Good work!

- MELODIES = 3.5/4
--- The superb ambient atmosphere you set up with your melodies is always impressive. The themes seem to defy gravity and make you want to float up to the skyline. As i've already mentioned, a few secondary melodies in some sections would have aided the depth of the song, but other that, i'd say the melodic structure was almost flawless. Some minor faults, nevertheless brilliant. Superb work!

- OUTRO = 2/2
--- Even better than the introduction, because it left me hanging and wishing for more. I love how you mantained the level of variety right to the very end, along with the level of depth and the sheer power of the music. A great job all round especially on all that had to do with harmony and atmosphere, because those are simply fantastic. Nice work!

SCORE = 18/20 = 9/10
(See NGADM thread for full results)

Echo