Back-From-Purgatory's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cthulhu Surfaces]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Absolutely fantastic creation of atmosphere. I was impressed quite a bit by your use of instruments not just to create a song, but create a world around it.
- Composition was excellent, everything sounded natural, as if it could have been played live at something like Video Games Live.
- Everything about this just oozes personality. There's a story in the sound, and I get a little bit of a Nightmare Before Christmas vibe from it, mixed with something like... I dunno... something awesome.

What I didn't.... ?:
- Gonna be totally honest, I'm not sure what I didn't like... nor am I sure how I pulled a 9 out of my ass for this, cause it deserves better. This is arguably my favorite submission for Round 2.

Overall:
I'm at a loss to come up with something about this I didn't like... soooo... Good on ya. This was just downright awesome in every way. I did officially give you a 9, and I'm not sure why after listening to it again, but this deserves at least a 9.5... I soz.

9/10

headphoamz responds:

Wow, thanks BFP! And hey, no worries. I still really appreciate the 9, and the sentiment that it was your favorite definitely makes me very happy!
The Video Games Live reference is a huge compliment too, my goodness. Thank you ;__;

[Not Everday]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Jumpy, had me bobbing my head a little.
- Good use of vocal samples.
- Fairly unique.

What I didn't:
- More or less aimless, the song never really felt like it had a purpose for what it was doing aside from, "This sounds cool".
- A lot of empty space that I think could have been filled up with a pad or another synth. The track sounds pretty bare bones as is.
- Extremely repetitive, it's more or less repeating the same phrases over and over again in independent sections.

Overall:
Has potential, but suffers greatly from repetition and overly minimalistic instrument usage.

7/10

[Forgotten]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Smooth, flowed throughout nicely.
- Chill, relaxing.
- Everything seemed to compliment the other instruments well.
- Never got repetitive.
-Nice melodies.

What I didn't:
- This track really, really, really needs percussion. If their omission was intended or not, I really think it could use some percussion regardless. There were quite a few points in the song where I could just hear a bass drum or bells wind up into another section... but it was only in my head.
- While it never got repetitive, I did think a few of the transitions could have used some work, a couple of them felt a little abrupt.

Overall:
Nice relaxing song, interesting and unique melodies... However, it really, really needs percussion, this was my biggest gripe about this song. I see no reason for percussion to not be included here.

8/10

ErikMcClure responds:

I deliberately did a song without percussion, but I would have been more willing to experiment with some light percussive elements in the background IF MY CPU WASN'T DYING

[Hacked]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Ok... I'll admit it right off the bat, vocaloid use. Opinionated point is opinionated. But reviews usually are, they can't be entirely objective.
- The overall idea behind the song I thought was really cool, I can't really say it's really all that unique, but it's not something I hear too often, and was a refreshing change of pace to songs that try so hard to have deeper meaning. It's simple, it's catchy, and it makes me bob my head.
- Paints a picture. This is always a big plus in my book, if a song manages to create a flowing and uninterrupted video in my head while I listen, I feel it's worth an extra point or two. I could really picture a music video along with this. I can't begin to explain the visuals I get, but suffice to say, they are cool, and fit the song well.

What I didn't:
- There wasn't much about this I didn't like... but that synth bit at around 0:58 threw off my headbobbing. So I'll just say that.
- I think you could've done a little more with the section after "Danger! Danger!"... When I heard Miku say that, I thought something crazy was gonna happen, but then it just sort of shifted up a bit and kept doing what it was doing, which I was a little disappointed by.

Overall:
Really cool idea, dance worthy (Aside from that odd synth rhythm at around 0:58), great, if uninspired (Not necessarily a bad thing), use of Hatsune Miku. Wish the section after "Danger! Danger!" built on that sense of "OMG, something's going down!" that I got... but then never happened.

9.5/10

[Denouement]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Epic, unique, and detuned sound. Better yet, detuned in a way that makes sense, it fit, and didn't sound obnoxious.
- That bit at around 1:00... very nostalgic, can really, really hear the Mass Effect influence there.
- Clever creation of atmosphere through sound.

What I didn't:
- The poppy synth that started around 1:20 I feel kind of wore out its welcome after a while, as it was largely doing the same thing throughout the entire song. It worked to add some atmosphere to it at first, but I felt it soon became kind of annoying.
- The entire song feels like it's building up to something, I kept running a Mass Effect-ish scene through my head while listening, and it was stuck on a loop, and never really came to a conclusion.

Overall:
Excellent use of your influences, I didn't hear a whole lot of Terminator in there... as I'm not overly familiar with the Terminator sound track, but being a big fan of Mass Effect, you really nailed that aspect of it. Could have done without the jumpy synth after a while, and would have liked to hear it reach some sort of climax as opposed to just kind of dropping off.

8.5/10

[In the end]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Quite well played and arranged. Effective in simplicity. I'm a big fan of this theory, that something doesn't have to be an epic score with hundreds of instruments all strutting their stuff just for a song to be good.
- I love your piano sound.
- The ending section was quite something to listen to.. in a good way.

What I didn't:
- First and foremost, too short. I would have loved to hear this fleshed out a bit more.
- There isn't really a conclusive ending. It just sort of... stops... just as it's getting interesting.

Overall:
Great start to something that never really comes into its full potential. Still, I did really enjoy what was there.

9/10

BlazingDragon responds:

Wow, I find this review incredibly ironic. I consider you to probably be the strictest judge and yet you gave me the highest score. Other people seemed to hate the ending section, but you really liked it. Funny how people can have such different opinions about the same piece, right? Haha. :)

Thank you so much the review and all your work on the NGADM. It really makes me happy that someone enjoyed this piece!

[Coast Totems]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Very chill.
- Well played, as always, your skill on guitar makes me envious.
- Quite varied in tone and general feel, while still maintaining a common theme throughout.
- "Cheer track".

What I didn't:
- Uneven mixing, at times some things sounded too loud, other times they sounded too quite, the vocals were a pretty big offender of this.
- Vocals were a little bit loose, not so much that it ruined the song, but I did feel they could be a little bit tighter both in pitch control and within the structure of the song.

Overall:
I want to have your babies.
Also... Great varied song, well played, good progression, but lacking a bit in the mixing department.
On top of that, I would like to have your babies.

[Juste Une Blague]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Like a jazzy circus from hell... I'm not sure the from hell part was intended, but that's how I saw it in my head.
- Very unique... and I do mean VERY unique. I personally have never heard something like this before, mixing jazz and "circus music" together... and it works very well.
- I love how all of the instruments interact with each other, nothing really feels out of place, and like everything has its own role to play.
- Paints a (somewhat terrifying) picture while listening.

What I didn't:
- The biggest issue for me was there was so much going on that half the time I didn't know what I should be listening to. I wasn't really sure if I should be listening to the chimes, the sax, the brass, etc. etc.
- This probably plays a role in the above point, but the mixing is a bit muddy, everything is fighting to be at the front, and that contributes a lot to the confusion from my previous point.

Overall:
Extremely unique, lots of colorful instrumentation, but lacks in mixing which causes a little bit of a scatterbrained listening position, leaving me with no idea what I should be listening to and what is actually the focus of the piece.
Still though, do more like this... I liked it a lot.

9/10

[inside the machine]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Funky headbobbing beat to it.
- Excellent synth work.
- Song flowed nicely, nice use of rises and "breaks".

What I didn't:
- Song just sort of starts off with the melody, there's not really any introduction aside from a quick fade in and then it's like, "Hello, we've already been introduced, here I am again!" from the melody.
- Mixing in a couple spots felt a little off, the quieter synth section near the middle in particular, before the drums cut out entirely, they felt quite overpowering.
- And I have to agree with Skye on the fade out ending, I always feel like this is a lazy way out rather than figuring out a clever way to give it a conclusive end, it just sort of fades off as if it should be saying "To Be Continued".

Overall:
Really poppy, jumpy synth work, the fact that it was constantly moving and more or less evolving made it a fun track to listen to. Although there were a couple issues with mixing, and the intro/outro could use a little work, I really enjoyed listening to this.

8/10

johnfn responds:

I mostly agree with your points, though I think its funny that you're upset the intro was too short because previously people were grumbling that the intro was too long! Seems like I'm pretty much hosed either way :p

Dynamics in breaks is one thing I've started paying a lot more attention to after this song, so good spot there.

Thanks for the review!

[GM - Dragon Of The South]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Very clean playing, excellent guitar tone.
- The riffing was quite unique and varied.
- The little variation on the riffs was well placed and didn't at all feel out of place.
- Awesome solos and harmonies.

What I didn't:
- While the riffing was varied, there was a couple sections where I felt the background riff could have used a bit more to keep it interesting instead repeating itself.
- There wasn't really a climax at all, and it carried more or less the same feel all the way through, which makes it difficult for any part of the song to really stick out.

Overall:
Excellent riffing, excellent execution and interesting riffs, even if the background riff at some points felt a little repetitious. Would have liked to hear some sort of climax or rise in the music to really have one part of the song hit home. But great song nonetheless.

8.5/10

InYourDreams responds:

Hey purgy! Thnx for reviewing. I'll try my best next time (if there is a next time for me :P...) Your review is very helpfull. You noticed very interesting points, wich I'll definitely try to follow next time I compose something.
^_^