Back-From-Purgatory's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fly me to Blue]

NGADM 4 and stuff.

Really chill, this song really mellowed me out, nearly everything about it made me just sort of melt into my seat in relaxation. The guitar tone was absolutely fabulous, as well as the actual performance. And the more cohesive nature of it in comparison really did keep the song on a single track, and yet you still managed to keep it from sounding repetitive or redundant with little licks and alterations to the general flow of the song without ever really leaving the original feel. Really, was very well done.

My complaints here are fairly minor, but I've gotta mention them anyways. First the vocals didn't feel quite as inspired or as powerful as previous entries, while I'm not sure if this is due to being worn down from previous rounds, or if this was a conscious decision, it was something I did notice, and felt a little disappointed by.
And while this was masterfully composed, I do have to admit I wasn't really pulled in by it, it relaxed me, but I was still missing that chill that I usually get when I listen to something that really moves me or I hear something that I just want to listen to again and again... I can't really pinpoint what choices you would have made here that'd have caused that, and it could be just personal preference getting in the way.

Overall though, awesome track, not quite as powerful or memorable, but very cohesive and really sets you at ease. 8.5/10.

[-Clutterfunk-]

NGADM 4 and stuff.

A journey through like... 5 different genres going on here... Was quite fun to listen to actually. I tend to listen to a lot of different styles of music, so I'm always glad to hear people mixing and mashing them together in such a manner that you've done here.

My complaint on this one is kind of complicated and hard to put into words honestly, it's both a mix of being a bit disjointed, while the variety kept things interesting, it didn't always feel right when it jumped from one instrument/style to another, the most notable of this would be the introduction of the strings at around 2:50. At the same time, the drums I don't think changed enough, I got the feeling that they were extremely similar throughout to help give the song a better feel of cohesion, but instead I think it just sounded a little redundant.

Regardless, fun, unique, and is the kind of thing I'd love to see more people doing. 7/10.

[Mio/Homura]

NGADM 4 and stuff.

Yes... I went hardcore Simon Cowell on this one, and I'll tell you why, because it wouldn't be fair not to.

The idea behind this was really good... but you most definitely bit off more than you can chew, mixing was a mess, vocals were way too loose and extremely sloppy, wobbly, and you were trying to pull off things that I quite honestly don't think you're capable of doing properly at your current level.
Unfortunately, I can't say too much about the music because the focus of this song was very clearly on the vocals, the music wasn't much more than background noise to what you were trying to achieve with the vocals. And as harsh as it is, it was a huge flop for me, while they weren't over processed as they were in your previous submissions, the execution was severely lacking, sometimes they were too quiet, sometimes they were too loud, they went off pitch and while the more active sections sounded like they could be truly epic, your execution made me think of a bunch of babies wailing into a microphone in an attempt to imitate something of an indian styled acapella chorus.

While I've no doubt you put a lot of effort, heart and soul into this, there are times when you should step back and try working a little closer to your comfort zone. Here, it sounded like you jumped out of your comfort zone and booked it without looking back... which is commendable, but it's certainly not something that you should expect great results on. Being ambitious is good, but you have to keep up with your own ambitions to bring them into reality as something great.

4/10

Troisnyx responds:

No, BFP. I thank you for being honest with this review.

But if I were to perpetually stay in my comfort zone, I would never find things that I could improve on. Once I painfully stretch the limits, I would soon know how to flesh them out. I knew that Mio/Homura was daring in every sense of the word, and I have no regrets.

[Alpine]

NGADM 3 and stuff.

Absolutely beautiful. Soothing, mellow, active, yet serene. This is the kind of thing I'd wanna listen to-to cool down after a bad day. Again, excellent piano work, it sounded very natural and fit in with the song just right. The percussion I thought was perfectly seated in the song as well. And the very subtle pad in the background added a bit of ambiance, which was a nice touch.

Only 2 complaints on this one. While the bass line fit well, I do think it was a tiny bit too loud. And the ending felt very abrupt, it really feels like there should have been something after it, but instead of moving on into another section of the song, or into an outro of sorts, it just sort of stops. Makes the piece feel unfinished.

Excellent execution, very, very well done. Found very little to critique on this one. 8.5/10.

BlazingDragon responds:

You were right in saying the piece feels unfinished. To be honest, it IS unfinished. That's something I honestly struggle with during these death matches. Hopefully it will be different this coming year!

Thank you for the thoughtful review. :)

[-*}CaSH{*- Ministries]

NGADM 3 and stuff.

Sounds pretty awesome, great use of instruments, some techniques that you don't often hear, such as the tremelo picking on the guitar (I know there's another term for that style, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is). And the theme of this I thought was pretty unique, despite it's reminiscence to the GodFather series.

Only complaint I have really is that the chording sounded kind of redundant and the overall song was lacking... something... I have no idea what... I want to say direction, but that doesn't seem right. There's something missing, but I'm not sure how to describe what the something is. Could be the absence of a more active underlay, as the chords do get a little redundant.

Overall though, sounds pretty awesome, regardless of the somewhat redundant backing. 8/10.

[Symphony (GB)]

NGADM 3 and stuff.

I really wanted to like this, I really did, because on the composition side of things, I thought it sounded great, everything fit together so well.

However... one word... Brickwalled... This song was pushed so hard against the limiter that it made it painful to listen to, vocals should never, NEVER be that loud... actually, nothing in this song should ever be as loud as it was. Regardless, I found it very, very difficult to listen past the brickwall to actually judge the composition of this one, by the time the song was over, I had a major headache. Your songs so far have all been pushed pretty hard, but none seemed to be nearly as blatantly rammed right up against that limiter as this one.

Sorry to say, but as cool as the song itself was, the fact that it was so tightly crammed against that brickwall made it headache inducing to listen to. 7/10.

[-SuperWing Heroes-]

NGADM 3 and stuff.

Again an awesome mix of electronic and orchestral themes. Great uplifting feel and progression throughout.

Although, this time around, I found it a little more repetitive, reusing previous themes. This wouldn't have been so much an issue except that those themes were fairly long and didn't really have a real "hook" that made me really want to hear it over and over again.
I also noticed this lacks the great cohesion of your previous entries, I can't pinpoint what exactly it is, but the electronic and orchestral elements don't seem to exist on an equal plane in this one, and they feel more or less separate as if on a blind date feeling each other out to see if they're compatible.

Overall, fun to listen to, but lacking cohesion and is kind of repetitive. 7.5/10.

[Istishhad]

NGADM 3 and stuff.

Very unique, this one. Nice change of pace, and I commend the choice to do something different. And it did more or less pay off in the end, what's here really sounds great, and the use of more ethnic instruments is something we haven't seen a lot of in the contest so far, so it was cool to hear someone put them to use. And while it doesn't have any overly ethnic feel, it does enough to really separate it from the other entries.

The issues I take with this one are that it sounds more or less the same all the way through, the beat changes, the instruments walk a different stride, but it still all ends up sounding more or less like the section before it with slight alterations, which makes it kind of repetitive and I found myself losing interest near the end. There are also a few sections of the song that are very... empty. Where it seems everything just stops save the percussion, and it really feels like there should be something there... but there isn't.

Overall, good unique composition, if a bit repetitive and empty in spots here and there. 8/10.

[Omniwitch]

NGADM 3 and stuff.

Masterful execution, yet again. And again, the prog influence really shines through, I hear a lot of Dream Theater style switch ups in here, and that can be nothing but a good thing. The sheer variety of what's going on in this song, the different themes, instruments, styles, etc. is jaw dropping, and I really enjoyed listening to it.

However, I was a little disappointed that you didn't manage any vocals this time around (However I did not dock points for this), and I do have to say this wasn't quite as impressive as your previous submissions, while everything was very well done, nothing really popped out as absolutely amazing like sections of previous works. And I do have to agree that this one felt a little bit directionless. And I do think the ending should have been done a little different, as the abrupt cut off just didn't sound natural at all.

Overall though, amazing work, masterful execution, just needs a little bit more cohesion. 8/10.

[Asperges Me]

NGADM 3 and stuff.

Right off the bat, I've noticed an improvement in the composition from the last round. And it's great to hear, it's got a little more to it, more going on, and feels a little more natural and fueled by emotion. This goes for both the music and the vocal line. I've also noticed an improvement in the execution of the vocals.
Downside is, the vocals are still very over processed, too much reverb, too grainy, and sounds like it was sung in a separate room than the rest of the music. My only other complaint is that there's no real big lift in the song, it kind of carries the same tone the entire song, and I kept expecting to hear this big dramatic and emotional lift, but it never came.

Overall, an improvement, although your vocal processing really needs to be worked on. 7.5/10.