Back-From-Purgatory's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Duality - Slipknot cover]

I came for the boobs.

Also, this tickles my nostalgia bone, I haven't listened to Slipknot in ages, forgot how much I love this song.

Awesome job, now you just need to finish it. FOR THE MAGGOTS!

Bad-Man-Incorporated responds:

Cheers mang. Might do. Might do. glad ye dig!~

[The Umbrella Salesman]

Steampianist... y u so underrated. You deserve so many more fans than you have.

Handling that vocaloid like a boss. Excellent job. You are entering the NGADM this year, yes? If so, I very much look forward to your submissions.

Keep it up, you can't stay under appreciated forever, you're going places.

steampianist responds:

I dont know.... Lolz anyway

And yes I am entering NGADM looking forward to it and thanks for listening to our vocaloid song

[Negative Awareness]

I'm a little conflicted on this one... On one hand, I love the sounds you used, save that warbly, almost retro sounding pluck... I didn't like that one at all.

On the other hand, it felt very uninspired, while still having a few moments where it just felt right. It's a very confusing track. I suppose considering this was more or less a test of some plucks you made, it accomplishes its purpose quite nicely.

Although as a song, I would have loved to hear a bit more substance. I initially felt like I was on my way into a big house adventure, but then the big sound never really came but instead settled into a somewhat minimalistic and repetitive sound, which left me a little disappointed, as the intro leading up to it sounded excellent.

Long story short... I really like the plucks (Again, save that one warbly one around 1:40), but as a song, I was left wanting more.

Lethal-Input responds:

Oh yeah I'm not sure why I decided to add that chiptune sound in there either lol. It was very late at night when I was making it. When I decided to upload it the next day, it was already exported and I didn't feel like taking it out though. I'll probably come back to this melody someday and actually flesh it out like it should be. Thanks for the feedback!

[Impulse]

I'm astonished that you are capable of such a track having only just barely started making music. Given how long you've been at it, this is an absolutely superb track.

Biggest complaint for me was the drums felt really stale, and kind of dry within the mix. I also felt they could use a little more variation, as I don't think the 4-to-the-floor style didn't really suit the song very well. The snare/clap also felt extremely dry to me.

That aside, I do think you could have added a little more variation or movement to the plucks that play throughout the majority of the song in the background. Even though they aren't really in the forefront, their repetitive nature by the end of the track starts to grate a little.

I also would have liked to hear a more conclusive end to the song, as opposed to how it just sort of drops off.

Regardless, for how early you are into your musical career, this is a fantastic track. Like I said in a previous review, I wish I was able to create something like this a mere 2 months into my career.

[Sonar Eclipse]

This is pretty bad ass for your first month making music. Stuff I made in my first month was fucking awful in comparison to this.

Really the only complaints I have is it is a little repetitive, and the beat feels a little uninspired and doesn't really evolve past it's basic rhythm.
I really liked those piano hits and the quick synth runs that happened periodically throughout, they added quite a bit of atmosphere to the piece as a whole. It's amazing how much a little thing like that can add.

Keep it up, if this is what you're making in your first month, I can't wait to see what you come up with a year from now.

[Northwing Horizon]

Has kind of a nostalgic feel to it, reminds me of those old racing games in the arcades (You know... back when arcades were still around).

Although I think you could have done a bit more to make the instruments mesh better. The lead guitar (?) felt really dry and loud in comparison to the rest of the track, and the delayed attack I think didn't help things much. The rhythm I thought was a bit too far in the background, there was only 1 or 2 spots where I could even really notice it was there in the first place.

The drums also felt really dry and a bit too loud (namely the snare). It was also pretty repetitive and didn't really seem to go anywhere.

Still, it had a certain charm to it that I can't deny, reminded me of some of those old arcade tunes.

Blacklawn responds:

I'd like to know what you mean by "dry". There's plenty of delay and reverb in the guitar, though you might be right about it being loud. I find it odd that you only noticed the rhythm guitar in a few spots, considering it was everywhere. It's also a problem when some people complain that the drums are not loud enough and then others come and say that it's too loud.

[Shinjitsu]

NGADM R.3 Review:

What I liked:
- The piano was crisp and clear, and was written well.
- Overall, I liked the theme of the song a lot, it just sounded nice.
- The tempo variation was a nice touch, I'm a big fan of when people slowdown or speed up the tempo for added dramatic effect, such as the moment right before the lift in the song.

What I didn't:
- Unfortunately, while I did like the overall writing of this, I wasn't a fan of the synth, I thought it clashed a bit too much with the song and what it was trying to be. It just didn't fit in right, and I think you would have been better off finding a soundfont for some strings or something to replace it with, even if they weren't the best of quality.
- It feels unfinished, it's not that the ending is bad, it's just, after it ends, I can feel it flowing into something else, but that never happens, it just dies.

Overall:
I really liked the overall theme of this song, but honestly think you would have been much better off finding some free soundfont or something to use in place of the synths, because they really do clash with not only the theme of the song, but they just don't really feel natural in this setting.
However, if a little confused by the choice of instruments, still a good song regardless.

7.5/10

[Pride]

NGADM R.3 Review:

What I liked:
- Fantastic singing, never missed a note, never missed a beat.
- Awesome harmonies and group work going on all throughout.
- The percussion, when present, was really well done and felt really natural, and added a lot of enjoyment to the song.

What I didn't:
- At times, the song felt extremely empty when the percussion stopped. I think some ambient noise or textures could have gone a long way to help the song feel less empty when everything but your voice stopped.
- There were a couple times where the vocals inexplicably sounded very dry, around 1:54 is one of those times, during the "close to their mother" section.

Overall:
I really enjoyed what you did here, although I really think it needed some ambient texture or atmosphere going on in the background to fill in the empty space that occupied a lot of the track when the percussion stopped. And save a couple hiccups in mixing on the vocals, the rest of the song had excellent execution.

8/10

headphoamz responds:

Thanks Purgy! ^_^

[This is Not the End]

NGADM R.3 Review

What I liked:
- Great piano progression and sound.
- Strings, OMG the strings... so warm and rich and pretty.
- Overall atmosphere the song creates, very mellow, yet with a hint of tension throughout, it's a nice balance.

What I didn't:
- There needs to be something occupying the low end in this, it all seems to be stacked in the mid-high range with nothing down below, which I think made it feel a little less full than it should have.
- First half of the song was quite varied as far as how the piano played, key changes, rhythm changes, etc... but the second half felt a bit more lazy, as if you ran out of ideas and opted to go with a more generic melody to just fill out the rest of the song.

Overall:
Aside from a somewhat repetitious second half and the lack of low end, I really enjoyed this. How it creates an atmosphere both relaxing and somewhat tense at the same time I think is a great accomplishment.

8/10

ChronoNomad responds:

Thanks for the review, Purgy! Everyone seems to like pretty much the same things (which is awesome) and dislike the same things (not so much), so there's not really much to add response-wise at this point, but I hate to short-change someone who takes the time to leave a review, so...

I am happy to hear that the piano progressions and strings impressed pretty much all the judges, so that feels like a solid success. Knowing that the intended-yet-subtle tension can be felt also feels like a win, as that was the balance that I was aiming for. A sense of hopefulness. Or is it...? The end comes for us all, but to delay that for but a little while is still a victory. Therein lies the main theme.

I would love to have a better cello that I could have transposed down another octave, but it just didn't sound right with this one. Even now that I've spent hours getting new SoundFonts, I still have only a handful of nice cellos, which is a shame. Words like lazy, generic, and sloppy are basically anathema to me at this point, and there was certainly no intended laziness that went into the melody that seems so repetitious to everyone, so these kinds of comments are simply frustrating...or would be if I didn't feel nice and numb about it at this point. I tried building on top of a melody over time, but it just comes off as being repetitive to those in the judgment seats. So be it. Life goes on.

I am glad that everyone seemed to at least enjoy listening to this piece. That's quite heartening to know, and making it this far in the NGADM has been a very interesting learning experience. I really appreciate your time and it's very nice to know that the atmosphere comes off as being appropriately relaxing yet tense. Thanks again. :)

[Agnos]

NGADM R.3 Review

What I liked:
- Great use of vocal harmonies.
- Natural flow and creation of atmosphere within the song.
- Great mixing all around.

What I didn't:
- Song felt like it stalled a bit in the middle section a little too much.
- I agree with bassfiddlejones that the ending felt a little unnatural with the choir trailing out like that.

Overall:
Amazing track, awesome vocal work, awesome harmonies, chill and well created atmosphere. Stalled a little bit in the mid section, and the ending I think could have done without the extra choir bit, or at least filled it out with something else as well... but near flawless execution otherwise.

9.5/10