Back-From-Purgatory's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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.
^_^

[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

[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 :)

[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. >:(

[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. :)

[Mio/Homura]

NGADM 4 and stuff.

Yes... I went hardcore Simon Cowell on this one, and I'll tell you why, because it wouldn't be fair not to.

The idea behind this was really good... but you most definitely bit off more than you can chew, mixing was a mess, vocals were way too loose and extremely sloppy, wobbly, and you were trying to pull off things that I quite honestly don't think you're capable of doing properly at your current level.
Unfortunately, I can't say too much about the music because the focus of this song was very clearly on the vocals, the music wasn't much more than background noise to what you were trying to achieve with the vocals. And as harsh as it is, it was a huge flop for me, while they weren't over processed as they were in your previous submissions, the execution was severely lacking, sometimes they were too quiet, sometimes they were too loud, they went off pitch and while the more active sections sounded like they could be truly epic, your execution made me think of a bunch of babies wailing into a microphone in an attempt to imitate something of an indian styled acapella chorus.

While I've no doubt you put a lot of effort, heart and soul into this, there are times when you should step back and try working a little closer to your comfort zone. Here, it sounded like you jumped out of your comfort zone and booked it without looking back... which is commendable, but it's certainly not something that you should expect great results on. Being ambitious is good, but you have to keep up with your own ambitions to bring them into reality as something great.

4/10

Troisnyx responds:

No, BFP. I thank you for being honest with this review.

But if I were to perpetually stay in my comfort zone, I would never find things that I could improve on. Once I painfully stretch the limits, I would soon know how to flesh them out. I knew that Mio/Homura was daring in every sense of the word, and I have no regrets.

[Alpine]

NGADM 3 and stuff.

Absolutely beautiful. Soothing, mellow, active, yet serene. This is the kind of thing I'd wanna listen to-to cool down after a bad day. Again, excellent piano work, it sounded very natural and fit in with the song just right. The percussion I thought was perfectly seated in the song as well. And the very subtle pad in the background added a bit of ambiance, which was a nice touch.

Only 2 complaints on this one. While the bass line fit well, I do think it was a tiny bit too loud. And the ending felt very abrupt, it really feels like there should have been something after it, but instead of moving on into another section of the song, or into an outro of sorts, it just sort of stops. Makes the piece feel unfinished.

Excellent execution, very, very well done. Found very little to critique on this one. 8.5/10.

BlazingDragon responds:

You were right in saying the piece feels unfinished. To be honest, it IS unfinished. That's something I honestly struggle with during these death matches. Hopefully it will be different this coming year!

Thank you for the thoughtful review. :)

[Of Epic Proportions]

I approve of this masterpiece.

That is all.

RobSoundtrack responds:

You rock Purgy

I have to have listened to it 1000 times
I still like it!

Everyone did fantastic