Back-From-Purgatory's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Ironesque Valley]

Aliens

I'm clueless when it comes to Ambient, even more so than other genres I never touch... I never understood the concept behind Ambient music, listening to most of it made me just think it's basically ambient noise in "song" form.

But this track made me realize something.. Ambient is an adventure through space and time. In particular, this track made me want to fly into outer space and go on an epic adventure with other sentient life in the universe.

Not very constructive, is it? Oh well, even if this track helped me understand what ambient is all about, I still know nothing about making it.
So instead, you get my random and largely useless praise.

[FreqEMLKI1Collab-V9]

Unce unce unce

While somewhat simplistic, this has a nice mellow vibe to it, quite enjoyable.

I'm quite fond of the lead synth sound at 1:30 (And recurring after that), very smooth and carries an interesting progression.
Only complaint is it's fairly repetitive, it really doesn't change much at all throughout, and there was a section shortly after 5:00 that felt a little awkward, I can't pinpoint why though.

Regardless, well done.

eatmeatleet responds:

thanks for comments, that's very helpful :) have a good day

[Our World (Bitfrost)]

Sounds familiar

Oh wait... that's cause I'm the one that approved it.

Very nice mellow sound this has, right up my alley as far as music goes. Although I'm not huge into house music, so you'll forgive my ignorance.
I've only got two tiny complaints about this song.
First being that it is pretty repetitive, you do introduce different variations of of the lead synth at a few points, however, the song never really grows beyond the feel it gains at the 1:15 mark. I was waiting, hoping for a nice breakdown or change up that'd give the song a nice climax, but it never came.

The only other complaint I have is the snare/clap (I'll just assume it's a snare from here on out), I'm assuming that very faint sharp reverb I hear on the 2nd and 4th beats is coming from the snare... Or maybe my mind is playing tricks on me... But if it isn't, that snare needs to be boosted a fair bit. Doesn't need to be right at the very front of the song, but as it is, it's practically non-existent. In fact, if it wasn't for the reverb on it, I don't think I ever would've noticed it at all.

Complaints aside, I really like the feel of this song, keep it up.

[Grizzly(WIP)]

Not Dubstep! Rage!

Really, I don't care where it is in the genre list... All that matters is that it sounds good.

And this, it sounds good, in fact it's epic. The intro is freaking gorgeous, and the use of (what sounds like) synth string hits when the song picks up was just brilliant and really added to the overall feel of the song.
The only reason this lost points is because:
1: It's unfinished.
and
2: I think the kick/snare sounded extremely dry.

But when finished, I could easily see this being a 9-10. Keep it up.

Envy responds:

Haha yeah, so far I've done most of the mixing on my $10 earbuds because I haven't been at my apartment for a couple days so these are all things i've noticed and need to fix :3

Thank you sir
<3

[The Skandals - Insomniac]

A little rough

I agree... the intro is worth of making ears bleed... Next time you might wanna tune your guitars before recording.

A few things... The vocals aren't necessarily bad, but they are extremely muddy and buried in the mix... The out of tune intro you already know about... You guys fell off time around 2:20... it also sounded like "Guy #2" was forcing that rasp a bit too much, at points it fell through and affected the quality of his tone... The overall mix was a bit muddy as well.

Although I did enjoy the guitar solo and the overall feel of the song, it could certainly use a bit of work. I'd suggest a bit more rehearsing before recording.

Overall good effort though, keep at it, maybe a higher quality re-release down the line to show you've really nailed the song down to an art form.

FairSquare responds:

We didn't do any mixing and this was our very first take and first recording ever, so yeah, not only the vocals but everything sounds muddy :p Thanks for noticing though!
And you're right about 2:20, didn't even notice that myself yet.

Really, i appreciate the review and the tips! It's nice to receive an opinion from someone who knows what he's talking about and who isn't a member of the band :p

[Imaginary Being (WIP)]

Return of the Angry Synth! D=<

I really like that "angry synth", glad you're using it again.

Same deal as before, don't know much about dubstep, yadda yadda... So here's what I like:
That volume swell on the bass, as well as good stutter use... And again, this has a very foreboding sound to it... Almost sounds like you're working your way towards a common theme that could later become an album.

Really, what I like about this one is pretty much the same as the last one I reviewed. Good work, keep it up!

Kirbyfemur responds:

I'm glad that besides you're lack of knowledge on dubstep (i don't claim to know much) that you're able to enjoy the song :3

If i could somehow get my shite together, i might be in the works of an album.

[DeafMetalz-Metaljonus]

\m/

Epic, I wish I could shred like that.

Also, you asked about the mix in to BMI's response, so I'm gonna give you my take, although it might just be personal preference, but a thought is better than none I say!
I think the rhythm guitars could have been brought ever so slightly (And I do mean just a hair) closer to the front of the track. And while I enjoy a good kick to the head, the kick I think is (again) every so slightly too loud (Again, by just a hair).

That aside, brutally awesome!

Metaljonus responds:

Noted and done! Thanks for the input!! \m/

[The King and The Pauper]

Smooth

Very well done, in fact, so much so that I can't really find anything to nitpick at.. So instead I'll tell you want I liked.

First off, the intro synth, it really reminded me of the opening to "Fireflies" by Owl City, for better or worse... personally, I think that's a good thing. And the synth sound all by itself I think was very charming.
Also, very well done vocals both from a talent and mixing point of view.

Keep it up!