Back-From-Purgatory's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-conclusion-]

NGADM 2 and stuff.

I'm not so sure I'd be disappointed with what you came out with in comparison to what you were trying to originally achieve. This sounds great, and I'm a big fan of hybrid songs like this, and these styles of songs are obviously a strength for you, as it was done very well, and it was a pleasure to listen to.
Really, I think the only downside is that it felt pretty cluttered here and there and could have used a bit more mixing to help bring everything together into a unified piece. Most notably, I think the orchestral stuff was often overshadowed by the kick, which made it difficult to focus on at times.

Regardless, very cool, and well done. 8/10.

[We Don't Talk]

NGADM 2 and stuff.

I'm glad to see you spruced up the backing music this time, as that was a huge pitfall for me in your round 1 submission. Was a lot more active this time around. The vocals I also thought were improved here, nothing really grated on me in this in comparison to round 1, although I was disappointed to not hear any more of that "boo bop" style backing vocal harmonies in this, I didn't really dock you points for that. Still the use of the vocal harmonies that was in there sounded great.
I was also pleased hearing an organ in there to liven things up a bit and give it a little more life than a simple guitar, bass, drums type set up.
Unfortunately, as much as this was an improvement, it was still a very generic pop song that I could swear I've heard a million times before.

An improvement over your last, but still a couple steps short of great. 7/10.

[Child of the Trough NGADM]

NGADM 2 and stuff.

Work of art. That's what this is... A true work of art. Unfortunately, the vocals were not present when I issued my score for this, so I will not be taking them into account (Although they are awesome, as always).
I really don't wanna just gush over this, cause that'd be lame... but honestly, there's not much else I can say, it's prog, it's awesome, it's very well done, and in your time in the NGADM, you have become one of my favorite NG artists. You simply do prog right...
I was especially fond of the section at 4:18... Seriously, sounded a lot like something Dream Theater would do, progressive, heavy, mind numbingly technical.
On top of all this, I noticed you addressed the kick issue I had with your round 1 submission.

Honestly, the biggest reason I docked you points was because you didn't manage to get the vocals in the song before the deadline, there's really not a whole lot more I can complain about on this track. The rest is relatively minor, such as maybe smoothing out a transition here and there to help listeners associate the different sections more easily.

Still, you are ridiculously talented, and I'm very glad to see you submitting to the portal, and I hope you keep submitting for a long time. 9/10.

Kor-Rune responds:

Thank you BFP <: It warms my heart to see kind words from you!

I'm so happy for NGADM, I suck at getting motivation and these great reviews and constructive words help make me a better musician. It's all because of you guys <: imagine what the kick drum would've sounded like without everyone's help!

So I thank you <: The next track will be fully complete I promise

[Midnight Lights {7x}]

NGADM 2 and stuff.

I really like the idea behind this song, mixing a softer bluesy-ish type feel with the sax, some light orchestral influence and of course, DnB. It's a cool idea, and it's something I'd like to hear more of.
However, to be honest, I was left feeling a bit dissatisfied as aside from the occasional lift with the orchestral influences or the sections with the sax, it was fairly standard and cliche, as well as quite repetitive.

All that aside, I still thought the use of a sax in a DnB song was brilliant, and it fit in well, I just wish the underlying song had a little more attitude to it. 7/10.

[Supplication]

NGADM 2 and stuff.

A big improvement over your round 1 submission, the music this time was much clearer, although I don't think it was on the same level in terms of composition, it complimented the vocals well enough.
However, you still have that overly strong reverb on the vocals, making it sound like you're singing in a bathroom on the other side of the stadium instead of up on stage with the rest of the band. And I can still hear a struggle with confidence in your voice, it's not nearly as bad as before, but I'm hearing a lot of nervous wobbling in your voice that I think you were trying to pass off as vibrato, but it's very easy to distinguish between the two.

Still, and improvement, would've liked to hear a little more active music, vocals still need a bit more improvement though. 7/10.

Troisnyx responds:

What if I told you I wasn't even nervous AT ALL when I sang?

[Her Wish]

NGADM 2 and stuff.

Very pretty, and a wide range of instruments to keep things flowing. Unfortunately, I don't think some of them were very well implemented, the "chorus" section for example, just seems to come out of nowhere and fades out just as quickly, and in my opinion didn't really fit in all that well.
There was also a problem with clipping later in the song when the piano came in.

Overall though, it sounded nice, if you were able to smooth out that choir section a bit and fix that clipping later in the song, would have earned at least another point. As is, 7/10.

[Mass Extinction]

One of my favorites of Round 1...

I can't say enough good things about this track, everything about it just felt right to me. It was unique, it sounded good, and it progressed like I'd imagine it would. The running beat over the more or less calming backing was a nice contrast, and somehow felt totally natural. And when the song kicks into gear at around 3:12, it just... made me happy, in every way. That sliding bass was fantastic, the short pauses in the action really helped push out a somewhat "systematic chaos" type feel, like everything's going wrong, yet so right.
Really, there was very little about this track I didn't like.

Honestly, the biggest thing that bugged me is that I think it took a little too long getting into the action, so to speak. The intro sections are nice, don't get me wrong, but I think they could've been shorted slightly to help push the song along a little bit faster.

Overall, fantastic track, unique, driving, and a real pleasure to listen to. 8.5/10.

[Floating Through Reality]

Thought my speakers were clipping...

I'm pretty fond of the ambient effects you've got going on in this song, as well as the well done outro... unfortunately however... what I liked kind of ends there.

Complaints... First and foremost... That "click percussion"... it seriously sounds like the clicks and pops you hear when someone pushes their audio to clipping... Which is unnerving, and ruined any chance this track had to give me a relaxed feel. IMHO... the click/pop sound was completely unnecessary and did nothing but harm the track.
Next up, it doesn't really go anywhere, there's some ambient noise, a kick, a clicky snare, and a repetitive "melody" that just repeats itself when I thought the song was going to do something new and exciting around the 0:58 mark... Then it just didn't deliver... just kept going on with what was introduced in the previous section besides adding a pad and another over processed synth.

Gonna be completely honest... this track bored the tears outta me... I can enjoy a nice relaxing ambient track just as well as anyone else, but this one just didn't do it for me. 4/10.

[Zebra Tangerine {7x}]

Right up my alley...

Orchestral rock/metal... I love it. Arguably my favorite style of music, and something I write a lot of myself. First thing I gotta give you credit for is the composition, the orchestra stuff fits in real well with the guitar part, and overall the track flows really well.
I was also quite fond of the somewhat ethereal feel to it, which made it feel not so much "in your face" as "soundtrack to my mind" type style, most noticeable with the very processed guitar lead before the song kicks into gear.

Complaints... Well, I gotta say the mixing was off, as it more or less sounded like I was listening to it through a pillow. I also noticed something about the distorted guitar... I don't know what it was... but something about it sounds ever so slightly off... Like it may be ever so slightly out of tune, or maybe your intonation is off... I'm not sure exactly what it was, but something about it bugged me.
I also take issue with the 3 chord progression when the song kicks into gear... I think you played it a little too safe, I really would've liked to hear the guitar be a little more active, or at the very least change the rhythm throughout the active part of the song. Same goes for the strings, they don't really change much, if at all, lacking a sense of progression.

In any case, I am very glad to see there are people out there still doing this kind of music, I hope it never dies. 6/10.

[Pixelated Rainbow]

\m/ Video game rock \m/

I have a lot to like about this track, it's rocky, it's got a slightly retro, while still modern sound to it. And that lead synth was orgasmic with all the sliding and vibrato on it, it totally sounded like a guitar solo to me... in my metalheadness. Either way, awesome stuff.

Complaints, most notable, mixing, I think the bass was a little too prominent in this, it was quite overbearing. The drums I think were a bit too repetitive. And I think the mixing could have been a bit better (Bass aside), as I think the drums were a little buried under everything else.
I also wasn't very fond of the synth "drop" at 2:04 (And again later in the song).. I thought it was loud, obnoxious, and entirely unnecessary as far as the overall song is concerned.

So yeah... didn't get a chance to score this in the judging stage... cause no one even knew you submitted until someone found this on your profile (Post in the thread next time!)... So this is pretty much unofficial... either way, I enjoyed it... 7.5/10.