Deemo-R's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Gojou's Theme]

Oh wow, I LOVE this one. Probably my favorite of the bunch so far. Awesome stuff!

Sodapiggy responds:

Thanks a lot! I will post some more soon.

[Amplified]

I was going to leave a review when you first posted this, but my brain was just fried last night.

I know what you mean about the difficulties in producing a convincing guitar part, though any instrument that gets put into the foreground like that can suffer from that issue, especially when it comes to solo writing. I think the challenge of writing around the software limitations is a good one for the brain, and it'll always be a factor since having every instrument you want on standby isn't always possible. I think your writing is good enough to stand out despite perhaps not having the little "extra spices" you'd like.

I think Shreddage is going to be a nice upgrade for your future writing, though. I remember it being very flexible from the short period of time I got to use it (probably the best guitar VSTi out there atm). I can still tell it's not a real guitar, but you'll probably find ways to make it more convincing in the future. As it stands, this will please most people. The tone of it is pretty nice. What was the amp sim you were using? Guitar Rig? I also like the use of Shreddage with SS Drums. They've always been pretty compatible, in my mind.

At 0:32, the first few notes of the guitar always remind me of "Collective Consciousness" from MGR. I think it may just be the character of the drums being similar, I dunno lol. For the rest of the song, however, it sounds much more Sakuraba-ish, like your other battle works (a quality I really enjoy). The use of the guitar to double the solo at 2:22 reminds me of the demo zirconst made for the product. Speaking of that solo, I originally didn't like the organ lead right there, but it's been growing on me as I re-listen to it. The organs throughout all add nicely to the piece.

I really like how you've written it. The parts all come together nicely, and it's very progressive with a lot of quick changes that keep it interesting. The time you spent on this one shows! Gonna have to favorite this one! :)

ILG924 responds:

Hello Deemo, I'm glad you liked it

You're right about it being difficult to make instruments sound convincing when they're in the foreground; it's a lot easier to pick out the flaws in a realistic sounding VST compared to the obvious synthy sounding ones. Shreddage is the nicest sounding guitar VST I've heard, very flexible. I find it hard to make a nice sounding pinch squeal though, but maybe I'm missing something. I used Guitar Rig for the guitars, along with a few synths. It has a ton of effects, useful for pretty much any instrument, it's great.

MGR's the only MG game I never played through, but I do remember it having some interesting music, I'll have to pick it up sometime.
Also, you're not alone in not really liking the organ sound. That along with the synths at the beginning were something I wanted to change, but that didn't occur to me until 17 hours into this song! The mix was mostly done by that point, so it would've been like untangling a bunch of wires to try and change them. I also find it kind of hard to imagine any different sounds after hearing them for so long, would've taken awhile to find the right sound so I just decided to finish it up and render it.

It's nice to hear that all the parts fit together. I like to write off my lack of knowledge of song structures as it being progressive (even though it'd only take a few minutes to research), but progressive music being my favorite genre, I find writing what comes naturally is working fine so far. I remember scrapping three different sections in this, and I also forgot to save a melody that I wrote for the guitar lol.

Thanks for the review, it's appreciated!

[Illusion]

Despite how you may feel about the strings in this one, it already sounds far better than the last time you used them to me. They sound a lot more believable now, which is in part due to the added articulation. The piece itself held up everything very well. You write some really cool melodic content, and I enjoy hearing it come through in any mood that you write for. The production's pretty good, too - better than I'd do with the samples you're using. I can imagine the title scenario in my head vividly with this. Really enjoyed this one, nice work! Congrats on the front page, too! :)

ILG924 responds:

Oh I was wondering where all these plays were coming from! I think I got lucky with this mix, less work than I usually do. Just some reverbs, delays and a little bit of EQ and it came out sounding pretty good. I guess that's cause there's only a few instruments.
Thanks for the review, Deemo

[One Inch From Death]

Guilty Gear music is the bomb-diggity. Love your take on it, it's high-energy and full of memorable part-writing! :D

Mattashi responds:

I know right? Daisuke Ishiwatari is a genius :)
Glad you like it!

[Road to Solitude]

Your harmony and melodies are the kind of stuff that's right up my alley of interest. Very JRPG-like! I especially enjoy the section from 2:49 to 3:09. :D

I haven't used the Kontakt factory library myself since I'm comfortable with what I have now, but I think you'll find a ton of freedom in familiarizing yourself with the key switch articulations available to you. Making the articulation convincing on instruments goes a long way towards improving the piece, as well as the mix. Personally, I feel that the majority of the mix in an orchestral piece is done in the composing process, where you consider the texture, balance, and function of everything. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts in an orchestra. When things get a bit busier in this song and more voices are involved, it seems like everybody's fighting to be center-stage. Some adjustments to the dynamics of the instruments would really fix this up, especially since not all the instruments are from the same library. They could be all over the place in terms of mic placement, reverb, etc. Giving some dedicated time on individual dynamics can also help to bring some memorable inflection to your melody lines. Your woodwind solos here would stand out a great deal more. On a slightly unrelated note, I also think the pizzicato sounds really unconvincing here, though that's very possibly because of Edirol's limitations (I've never used it myself, so I can't speak for it).

I think you have a pretty good grasp on how to make things sound nice regardless of inexperience with the instrumentation. A little bit of practice and research on the topic should really propel your skills with it forward. :)

ILG924 responds:

Thanks for your insight, Deemo!
I have played around with the key switch articulations before but I think my main problem is me not listening to enough orchestral music. I know the very basics of orchestration, like where instruments should be, but proper instrument dynamics just doesn't come naturally to me yet. Maybe Samuel Adler's book will help with that, along with that OrchestrationOnline Youtube channel.

As for the pizzicato, Edirol doesn't sound very convincing at all and it probably wasn't the best choice. it kind of has a synthesized orchestra sound to it, like something from the early 2000s.

Your reviews always give me something to think about improving so I really appreciate it! I'm sure my instrumentation will improve once I start listening to a variety of orchestral stuff

[Forest of the Black Flame]

Glad to see more stuff from you, Neon!You are most certainly one of the best people when it comes to creating an atmosphere. I think it fits the picture perfectly! I haven't heard anything from FFCC myself, but I think this would be extremely fitting for any sort of RPG. :D

The looping issue is something that seems to be happening on every song on Newgrounds at the moment. I'm not sure what that's about, either. In any case, the quality of the track is relatively unhindered by it.

Neon-Bard responds:

Much appreciated, DMO! Thank you very much for your kind words. It's good to know that the looping issues is universal, I was starting to think I was messing something up in the export process. Glad to know that this is relatively a non-issue! :)

[Here They Come]

Always nice to hear more music from you. Your pieces for this mod have all been very nicely done in both the writing and production department. Very percussive all around. The blending is pretty impressive given all the elements that are blaring at once. You know your libraries pretty well! There's not much aside from the minor triad to tritone at 1:28 melodically, but it does keep itself from getting old with different rhythms and a nice modulation at 2:00 to renew the tension. The nature of the project likely demands that it be more of a background piece anyhow. This would work very well as a piece to influence the tone of the scene it's inserted into. It could very well fit into a lot of action sequences in many different contexts. Tense and pounding. I enjoy it a lot!

Is the mod team planning to use this in a trailer, or in the game itself? I can't really figure out from following the links. I just saw a bunch of older stuff.

Mattashi responds:

Thanks man! I'm not sure what they will use it for, it should be for their next campaign release. They asked me to write a couple of tracks and they were going to work the music into their project so I guess they let the music inspire them which is pretty awesome! I will have to do a couple of tracks for scenes they are planning in the future.

[Africa (Singalong)]

The campfire has gotten a little bigger, eh? Really like how this turned out, definitely the biggest haul thus far! I only wish you luck in keeping up that quality into the next one... and the next! The copious amounts of percussion leaves me all tingly inside :)

Ceevro responds:

Yeah, I never expected to see a single song hit 50+ tracks to make happen...but here we are!

[Our Last Hope]

Some people seem surprised, but I honestly expect this level of work whenever I see something of yours get released. Your talent is palpable, and I truly enjoy listening to whatever you put up. This definitely has your prints all over it, both in style and professionalism. I hope you enjoy the winner's circle!

Regarding the entry, there's not a lot that I can say that hasn't been said already. I love the idea for the opening (and it sounds like you really made the most out of the choir library), but I'm not quite buying the "evil laugh". I can't really blame you for that, though, it's the limitations of the software, and I respect the fact that you tried the harder route. The intro immediately reminds me of Dancing Mad, which I'm guessing was partial inspiration? ;3

A few times throughout the song, I kept mistaking the solo female vocalist for an erhu. The range and timbre is just strikingly similar. Hearing "meow" at 2:11 is impossible not to do, I'm sorry xD But hey, it gives the people something quirky to remember! They'll be sure to be humming that when it comes up!

I highly doubt you'll need another entry to carry you through lol. Stay awesome, man! ;D

Mattashi responds:

Thank you Darkmetroidomega :), It's been a while since I last heard that song, Dancing Mad. I didn't really get the inspiration from that but definitely got inspiration from those good old RPGs (Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy,etc...)
I had a hard time finding a good evil laugh that wasn't copyrighted or anything, there were only a few from the Mystica Library and this one seemed like the best out of all of them.
Now that you mentioned it's starting to sound a little like an Erhu for me as well xD
It's this humming vocal from Voices Of Passion.
Thanks a lot for the review man :)

[Mihai Sorohan-Forward]

Excellent composition, very tight execution by all the players, and great mixing/mastering. Fantastic work all around, I love both songs on this EP. Awesome! :D

sorohanro responds:

Thank you very much. New material is coming soon. Also, thanks for buying my music :)