Nomader's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[_-={An Ambitious War}=-_]

Amazing.

It seems you have too many reviews to respond to them all nowadays, MaestroRage -- but I'll still do my best to review as many as I can anyways! >:D

... anyways, on with the review.

I'm beginning to notice that you seem to have a preference for strings and solo instruments... and it really comes through on this song. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that there were strings and percussion for most the entire song -- if I'm wrong, I'm probably just tired. :P

You haven't been making as many epic songs recently, which in my mind is somewhat of a shame -- you're epic pieces have always been what you've been best at (in my opinion), and though you do make amazing slower pieces as well, they just don't stand out as well as these sort of epic pieces do... it's this sort of song that I can truly enjoy just because I'll remember it for so long after I hear it.

It may be that I'm listening to a little bit too much classical music nowadays, but I feel like the strings sound a tiny bit synthesized -- not a problem though, because they still sound really amazing. :P

I docked two points for the repetition of the violins (... I hope I'm right on that instrument) in the beginning, but once the song picks up at around 1:05 (something like that), so does the quality of the song, and I enjoyed it immensely more after that transition.

Sticking only to the violins (again, I hope these are violins -- if they aren't, I'm sure you'll correct me) at around 1:30 really worked well. By taking out the other parts, we realize the true beauty of the piece you've put together, and by that point, I'm sold. :D

Like usual, I loved the work -- but respond to the reviews! >:D
(Seriously, if you can't, it's just fine -- I care about the music more than your dastardly non-existent sarcasm and wit. :P)

[Halo - Kickass Dark Theme]

Not bad... but not amazing either.

I couldn't bring myself to give too good of a score to this -- but, I didn't totally hate it either. :D

I'll try to listen to the song about ten times -- my review will sort of be a running commentary of my thoughts as I listened.

I really enjoyed the much different guitar that comes in at around :50 or a bit after that. But though the guitar sounded much better, it played far too loud, and drowned out all the other beautiful parts to the Halo theme music that made it so good -- the organ in the background sounded really nice, but it's so quiet...

This song does sort of sound like you took the Halo song, slowed it down a bit, and added in your own strings, guitar, and percussion to it, while lowering it all the same. The slower speed just sort of doesn't do it for me, I felt that the guitar sort of dominated the chorus (which is one of the coolest parts of the song -- but in the beginning, I give you credit for making them sound much cooler as a lower group).

I had some volume problems on my speakers -- it might be just mine, but it's a new computer, so it better not be. :D

Anyways, I noticed that when the guitar comes in, the volume of the guitar is three times as loud as the rest of the song -- the more I listened to the guitar piece, the more I felt it was grating against the rest of the ambivalence that this song has... it sort of takes away the relaxing atmosphere that you can get out of it.

Pretty much, it was a pretty good effort -- but, I'll be looking for more of your work in the future. G'luck!

JakesFable responds:

Thank you so much man and I'd really like to thank you for your very detailed comment, honesty, and the effort you put into the review, A big thanks from me ;)

[SMRPG Forest Maze Remix]

Glorious!

This is one of the greatest re-mixes I've ever heard from one of the greatest games ever made -- a job well done! :D

I must admit, I loved how the song opened simple, as though we could hear it in the game, but you add in your own twist on the song -- the instruments and beats you add in perfectly fit in, and the entire song just meshes on a level that I can't really describe.

If there were a weak point to the song, I'd have to say that the transition at :08 does sound a bit weird, but it's a weird part of the song -- in-between a sort of video game style sound and a more usual sounding one.

The best part about this re-mix is how many times I've played it. I just left it on my computer -- I played it while I worked, and truthfully, I never got tired of it because of the amazing variation in the sound. :P

After quality like this, I might just have to check out some of your other songs -- amazing work!

[Zelda Memories]

Incredible.

I'm normally not a fan of using video game music in songs -- I've always wanted people to put things together that are original.

But when people combine so many amazing songs that are so perfect -- and make them even better, it's hard to ignore. :D

This composition is one of the best video game pieces I've ever heard on Newgrounds, and I almost feel that the rating I gave it above simply isn't enough to do it justice.

The composition you put into the song is just wonderful -- you slowed down the second song to make it almost more... dramatic, and the other songs have been changed enough that we recognize that these are the same old pieces from Ocarina, but that you've put your own spin on them.

A job well done indeed. :D

[Burning Heart [Hardcore]]

I promised. :P

Reviewing all of your work may take a bit longer than a week -- or, I may never finish -- but, you recommended I check this one out, so I decided to give it a look at first. :P

At first, like the loop I reviewed earlier, I was really put off by the fast pace -- but I have nothing but praise to deliver the entire song after I got used to the pace.

I'm not going to go into too much detail because, well, there's not much to criticize -- I could probably dig up some small little thing at :29 about how the video game music stuff doesn't really fit in -- but it so does with this sort of song. I was amazed at how many times I could loop this song (over and over) and still never get tired of it.

This is some amazing stuff -- good job! :D

(About my other review where I said the Xylophone thing -- I reviewed it when I was tired. I thought it might've been a harp, but I decided to put down something that wasn't my gut guess - sorry!)

mechanoid-9 responds:

It's ok if it takes longer or you can't check out all, take your time. It's no good to hurry with reviewing a song anyway - in fact I think it's better just to listen to a song for a couple of days and as you get to know more and more details and have more ideas you can make a much better review. Hmm, come to think of it, I don't often follow this piece of advice :3 but in the future I will, I promise myself...
The fast pace does take quite a lot to get used to - but it's rewarding :P Back when I just started listening to hardcore songs I also felt it was weird, but nowadays a normal hardcore song (ca. 180 bpm) doesn't sound too fast for me at all.
Again I see the main flaw of this song (it's only a flaw for me though), I wasn't planning to achieve a video game effect with the fast arp, and it still sounds a bit like something different for me, but only because I know my original intention with it :/ That's the problem with one's own songs, you hear some things as you want to hear them, while others may not. Anyway, I'm glad you like it, and also that it doesn't get boring in your opinion. Btw this is my favourite of my works currently and will stay so unless my next piece of insane hardcore comes out better XD So the good opinions on this song really mean a lot to me - they let me know it's not only me who likes this kind of doped shit ^^

About the harps/whatever: Lol. All I can say is don't make a review when you're feeling undead XD better wait with it as I said above. No offense taken of course, actually I've experienced this a couple of times before, although mainly because of the what I make myself hear - what they hear effect, again as I said above.

[A Clash Of Destinies]

Incredible.

Too bad I won't be able to review all of your songs tonight -- but I'll get as close as I can!

I loved the fokesy feel to this song -- I'm not sure if I would consider this classical simply due to the use of such odd instruments, but they all fit in perfectly.

I loved how this song speeds up on you and you don't even notice it -- the pace quickens, and it crescendos up to the point at 3:00 where it suddenly calms down -- it's one of the few songs where I truly feel drawn in by the music, and I loved it.

The only problem with it was that I felt some of the instruments were too quiet at the end -- but it's so minor compared to the rest of the song, I just have to give this one a ten.

Amazing work!

mechanoid-9 responds:

There isn't much I could write as a response to this apart from a thousand thanks ^^ Keep on reviewin, I need the constructive ideas/criticism XD

[When All Things End]

A masterpiece.

Like I saw in 21 Loop, this song really is great for its genre -- and what's even more surprising to me is that the slow, steady pace of the song really worked for me, when most of the time, it just doesn't.

A few complaints -- but they were overshadowed for the most part of the quality of the song -- I figured I'd give you what I thought about some parts.

- The snare drums at :45 really dominated the bass and the bells (or xylophone? Sort of sounded like either one), and continued to be too loud throughout (during the trumpet section, this happens again at right before the 2:00 mark)
- The weird snythisized string instrument at about 1:15 didn't fit in very well, but it did when it moved to the background.

But, with every bad thing comes good stuff, so...
- The string parts (violin?) sounded really nice. Amazing, actually.
- The final rise in the piece by the last instrument at 3:30 was one of my highlights in the song.

I can't stress enough that I (personally) thought the snare drum was too loud -- but, it does give a definite beat to the song. I'm sort of a bass kind of guy, so I was rather disappointed by the drowning out of the lower parts throughout the song -- but overall, it was a masterpiece. :D

mechanoid-9 responds:

Well, it's disappointing to hear that a lot of the instruments used didn't manage the intended effect.
- Those are neither bells nor xylophone but are supposed to be harps <_<
- The instrument at 1:15 is a normal marcato violin I still use today, it begins with a lower pitch and at the next repeat of the melody it's topped by the same instrument, only one octave(?) higher.
So eh. I need to make a more realistic sound i guess.
About the snare drums: I think it partially depends on the speaker system, some bring out a type of sound better than others. When I was making it the volume levels sounded okay. Try listening to it on a different system. As an example, the bass drums in this very piece sound good on almost any speaker or headphones, but in my mom's car they are incredibly loud for some reason, quite ruining the song.
But maybe you're right and they might be a tad bit too loud. They were supposed to give drive to the song, along with the bass drums, it could be that I overdid that aspect.
I know the song has its flaws, and therefore doubt that it could be called a masterpiece, but not bad for one of my first classical attempts I guess. I'm glad you liked it after all, despite the mistakes. Thanks for the review!