Adam-Beilgard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Frosted Night]

This was kind of loud overall, but especially for an ambient piece. Instead of setting the mood, it takes over and says "LISTEN TO ME!". There are even parts where I can hear clipping, so I would go back over this and really isolate each voice making sure the loudest one doesn't go over -2dB while keeping the whole thing under 0dB. The ending felt way too abrupt for the pace you set, I'd let that ring out with a longer fade.

What I'd do from here on out is the multi-speaker test. As you master something, listen to it over as many different speakers as possible (headphones/tower/stereo/car) and see what you notice each time. It took me one listen with headphones to realize this was mastered way too hot.

On the plus side, you kept it simple. It was energetic and you used some variations in the form so as not to get stale or boring.

DeafAndDead responds:

Thanks for the review. I'll take that on board when I'm making my next pieces and when I redo my older tracks, including this one. The suggestion is also quite interesting regarding the different speakers test... That'll be something else I use in the future.

Thanks again mate, I appreciate the feedback and suggestions.

[Mysterious Sleeper cover]

The first thing that struck me is that it's really quiet. EQ was done pretty well, overall - just needs to be normalized.

Just listened to "Mysterious Sleeper" for the first time, this was a good cover. Good choice of instruments and, for the most part, mastering. I feel like if I comment on content, I'm really critiquing Nemesis Theory, so I guess I'll leave my review at that.

Looking forward to hearing your original work!

Rinibra responds:

:( It's not supposed to be that quiet, I don't know what happened. I'm going to see If I can bring about a louder version. Thank you for the review. Also, I have a couple of originals from 2011. (Rain Drums and Pre-legacy) Those were pretty well liked.

[Beautiful Isolation]

I can't remember the last time a song felt long in a good way. That was ethereal, man. So simple, the mood gets across fluidly and so complex you can get lost when you want to.

Wow. Just wow, man.

Kingbastard responds:

Thanks man, appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment;)

[[RAC 2012] Osiris' Faahkt]

Very nicely done, I enjoyed the form and unique voices (especially the way each could come to the front and share the lead at different times). The cymbals (esp closed hi-hat) leave a LOT to be desired and almost distract me from the other pretty noises going on. That and the ending didn't seem to fit very well, for my tastes. Fortunately, these are minor complaints and the only ones I can really come up with. Your thorough research pays off here, and the vivid imagery this conjures is the proof!

Well done!

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thank you Adam-Beilgard. Wow this is a late response, but I always knew this comment was here. :)

Your submission was really good by the way :)

[[RAC'12] - Ghana Campfire]

Nicely done securing the balafon and for using vocals! Unfortunately, I don't know much about Ghanain music or the local tribes there, so I can't comment on style except to say it sounded kinda like 12 bar blues. Make that a lot like 12 bar blues (which gives more form to the piece than you probably wanted). The good news is the blues extended from West African musical traditions, the bad news is I can't shake the feeling that this is just a jazz piece, with unique instrumentation.

Well done (especially recording/mastering), I enjoyed this track a lot!

[Maurya Thunder - RAC'12]

Well done, combining these elements so fluidly! You show us your proficiency in the raaga before boasting your dubstep skills, only to bring it all back for an amazing mixture I doubt many western ears have heard (Indian ears, too, for that matter). It's like Sandeep Burman and Skrillex did a bunch of drugs and collaborated on a painting, only you could hear the painting as well as see it.

Or something. I'm bad at these.

AKACCMIOF responds:

Thanks man! :D Really glad you *get* it, I especially enjoy synaesthetic reviews :P Popping off to listen to yours now, good luck in the comp :D

[Ayaklanma Bok (RAC 2012)]

Pretty incredible. It tells a convincing story with more than just the lyrics (which I, and most others here can't understand) which is an accomplishment in itself. But combine with the translation, and we see something come to life that is bigger than the sum of its parts.

I almost can't actively listen to this because I start envisioning some kind of movie with oil fields, and men in thobes and tagiyahs and foreign military and soon the piece is over and I'm left wondering what happens next.

Not a part of this I didn't like!

SoulSecure responds:

Thanks bro! That means a good bit coming from a great composer like you!

[LO - Black Keys (RAC2012)]

I loved the voice, what program did you use (or is that a trade secret)?

While true Japanese music relies heavily on pentatonic scales, so does bebop and American folk music. The very first part of the melody evoked Japan and the voice absolutely sang (pun intended) of the Far East, but otherwise, this could've been any old electronic tune. Don't get me wrong, I like it, I just don't see a lot of people hearing Japanese influence beyond the two parts already mentioned.

Very dance-able, very download-able. Nicely done!

Oakwood responds:

Google 'japanese text to speech' and you should find the program I used.
Thanks for the critics!

[Euclasy - Kalisseyes]

To answer your question, I think New Wave fits perfectly, the only other genre I would even consider would be Miscellaneous, but that's not necessary here.

As far as content - the 'B' section does a good job of providing contrast with the dropout. After that, I would have liked new material, or at least enough variation of the original melody (which wasn't bad). When I heard it reprised exactly the same way, I kind of stopped listening, subconsciously.

Good thematic material, nice voices, just work on your form to go to the next step!

Euclasy responds:

Thanks a lot for your answer & review,

You're right.

Actually, I use a looper, that's helpfull to find a melody but not to get variations on it... I just made it repeat instead of trying to find variations... Maybe Im not used to my recorder yet.

[8bit Tombs]

Kinda makes me think of what Prince of Persia would look like on the NES! Has a nice, cheery beat - the pentatonic lick got stale fast, only because it never changed voices and was very present, even when you added other voices to the mix. Nice break at 1:14, good to see some semblance of form here. I think using less of that one lick (or even moving it through different voices) would do a lot to make this seem less repetitive. Otherwise, nice work!

PeachyPixel8 responds:

Yeah I totally see what you mean about that synth line, it doesn't quit. Will have to work on that, thanks!
Also, you dont have to imagine what prince of persia looks like on NES because it actually is on NES :D (I possibly only know that because I have it)