Back-From-Purgatory's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Evolution]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz

What I liked:
- Guitar tone was nice and crunchy.
- Some of the riffing was pretty nice to listen to.

What I didn't:
- The entire song felt very methodical, like you were just going through a checklist of things you wanted to do without regard for really pushing the song forward.
- Reuse of some of the melody got really redundant after a while and wasn't really interesting enough to warrant that much repetition.
- By the end of the song, I was quite bored, there wasn't really enough unique material there to warrant a 6 minute submission IMO.
- Vast majority of the song felt very samey.

Overall:
Guitar tone was cool, some of the riffing was well done, but it got redundant through reuse of certain riffs and the vast majority of the song sounded more or less methodical and the same.

6/10

Metallica1136 responds:

Glad you liked the tone, and riffs.

I wasn't necessarily folliwng a list of things that I wanted to do, i understand some parts seem kind of cliche, but at the same time, I was mainly trying to be creative. But yeah, I do understand though, the song was pretty repetitive. Could have added more unique parts like you said. Anyways, thanks for the review man

[When a Good Man Goes to War ~P]

NGADM Round 2 Reviewz0rz:

What I liked:
- Tells a story, gives a nice little visualization as you're listening to it.
- The overall vibe, it has a very medieval tone to it, and every instrument sounds just perfect for it's part to keep that vibe flowing.
- Wide range of instruments... Pianos, bag pipes, flutes... and they all get their own time in the sun, I like that.
- DYNAMICS. You get kudos for not brickwall compressing everything.

What I didn't:
- The guitar sample, it's extremely artificial... intentional or not, I just think it sounds horrid and that you could have easily used something else and achieved much better results for that section.
- Kind of redundant, I felt each section carried on a little bit too long, and that the song overall could have been done in a minute or two less than it is and still have achieved the same effect.
- The main melody didn't really ever change, it was the same sequence of notes repeated over and over again, and I don't think it was interesting enough all by itself to warrant so much repetition.
- Percussion variation... or lack thereof, once the percussion started a section, it was pretty much the same all the way through that section.

Overall: 7.5/10
I love the overall vibe and the variation of the instruments (Save that awful guitar sample), but it suffers greatly from undue repetition of the same melody/phrases.

[~SW~ Winter]

Insert funny introduction to review here.

What I liked:
-The melodic progression of the music, especially that lead synth, the little slides and bends it did just fit in so well.

-The bass was punchy, but not overpowering.

-The drum sequencing sounded very natural and remained interesting throughout the track.

What I didn't like:
-That stick before the vocals kick in... Felt too loud and kind of obnoxious. Like it was saying, "I'm here, Fucking listen to me!!"

-Vocals. The phrasing sounded out of place most of the time with the music, and you slipped off pitch quite a few times. And most of the time, it really did sound like you were uncomfortable while singing. Practice makes perfect, sing more, improve more. Yes, I'm very, very picky when it comes to vocals.

-The reverb on the vocals, it's just way too thick. I know the sound you were going for here, but you really did over do it.

Overall:
I really liked the music, the ambient rock like nature to it all, the activity of the lead synth, the drum sequencing, but I think you need a bit of work on both vocal performance as well as vocal mixing.

SkyeWint responds:

Yep. Primary issue is vocals. Totally unsurprised there, got it, will practice and hopefully get you something that's acceptable for ya. ^_^

Other than that cool, yay, thanks!

[Obsidian Komplete]

This is all kinds of badass. \m/

My complaints are few and fairly trivial in the grand scheme of things, because they really don't take away from the song at all.
First, I think the guitars are ever so slightly lacking some presence, overtaken a bit too much by the drums (Notably the kick) and the vocals. It's not so much so that it ruins the experience any, but it does feel like they could be pulled forward just a tiny bit.
Second, it's so short... I'd love to hear a longer version of this.
And honestly, that's about it. I could list the fact that I'm not a huge fan of straight up growl/scream tracks, but I can't really dock points for that, because that's really my personal preference, that I like to hear some singing in metal as well.

All that aside, awesome riffing, awesome vocals, I really liked it, keep it up. \m/

adilovemetal responds:

thanks man :)

[Strange Days]

Up until about 0:20 in, I was thinking, "Oh, this could really go somewhere cool!"
But I listened to the rest and the really cool thing I was anticipating never really came.

Regardless, I do think with some practice with this (I can clearly hear some Gross Beat presets in there), you could crank out something really awesome.

Keep at it, and maybe the next one will bring that wow factor I was expecting in this one.

[Simply Walk Into Epicness]

I give this here awesome trailer music an epic 4.5 Purgys out of 5.

Keep it up!

<3

[End of a Heartache cover]

How nostalgic... I haven't played a Killswitch song in ages... maybe I should start again.

Epic cover... but it's not the full song... this saddens me.

Bad-Man-Incorporated responds:

Thanks man, and I also put the wrong vocal track in, haha...gonna have to fix that. >:(

[-The wanderer-]

NGADM Final and stuff.

Very atmospheric, tells a nice tale, and sounds good doing it. Composition wise, this was fantastic in nearly every way, everything felt very natural, and nothing really ever just sort of... happened... like someone showing up to a party with a bomb strapped to their chest... what was there flowed nicely with the rest of the song and didn't throw any unnecessary surprises out there. And I can't emphasize how much I enjoyed the atmosphere of this track... Kudos.

To contrast my comment about no surprises... I also believe a little more could have been done to help push the song forward... yes, it does all sound awesome together as it is, but it is lacking a little bit of feeling of progression, as it doesn't ever really do much more than tip toe forward, which left it feeling a little repetitive or redundant.

Regardless, redundancy aside, this felt... right. The atmosphere of this was absolutely amazing, and if it were put behind a scene instead of just being on its own, I think it'd make one hell of a soundtrack. 8/10.

You may not have won, but you came damn close, gratz on coming all the way to the final.

[Venus]

NGADM Final and stuff.

Put out a crazy awesome tune, won the NGADM, gave me an eargasm.
Really, I'm running out of ways to say I think your stuff is awesome. As before, the riffing was awesome, the progish sound was very well done and kept things very interesting, the vocals (harmonies and all) were spot on and had a unique "Kor-Rune feel" to them. Just awesome all around.

The only complaints I have are every so often throughout the song, I noticed there was kind of a static or white noise in the mix... I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but it confused me as to why it was there, felt very out of place... or maybe I'm going crazy or my speakers are starting to die... I dunno...
That and the chug felt extremely similar throughout the entire song, for the most part it held the same general rhythm all throughout, which felt a little repetitive after a while.

That aside, awesome work, flowed between numerous moods, kept things very interesting, and as mentioned above, overall... gave me an eargasm. 8.5/10.

Congratz champ.

Kor-Rune responds:

No, you're hearing living room fuzz, yes. I need one of them mic-stand vocal booth thingies

Thanks for the review! <:

[In Remembrance]

NGADM 4 and stuff.

The themes running through this piece are fantastic. It's soothing, touching... moving. This is one of those songs that you can really watch a movie to while listening to it... in your head. With minimal effort, this song painted a picture in my mind as I listened it through. While I think what it painted a picture of, or what the story it told was, is irrelevant, the fact that it does so-so effortlessly is impressive.
Better yet was the way you subtly changed the mood from beginning to end without it ever sounding abrupt or out of place, it flowed smooth as butter. And this is one of the few songs on NG that have truly given me chills, the good kind, while listening to.

Complaints... not many, mostly that I think overall this felt a little on the quiet side, while I enjoy some good dynamic in a song, this spent a lot of time on the quieter, more mellow side of things, and I think you could have pumped up the quiet sections just a tad to make the entire song a little more consistent, given that it wasn't very often that a lift in the music came along.
I also was a little unsatisfied with the ending, while I understand what you were going for, I do think you could have done a little more to establish the feeling you were going after. As it is, I felt it just kind of disappeared, leaving no real conclusion. I think the issue I take is mostly with the note you ended on... Unfortunately, I can't really find words to describe how I'd improve it.

Overall, chills, stories, and emotions. This was done very well, and I'm quite impressed. 8.5/10.

BlazingDragon responds:

Your reviews always seem contrary to those of everybody else, and I appreciate that. Several other people have mentioned how this sounds stitched together, but you wrote that it flows smooth as butter. XD

I understand what you're saying about the ending. If I recall correctly, this piece was composed in a 15 hour marathon from start to finish and was turned in right before I left for college classes in the morning. To be honest, the ending was partly out of convenience and time-restraints, although I did have a thematic purpose in mind as well.

Thank you for the thoughtful review. :)