mutty99's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Desert Fever]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

This submission is different from any other I’ve heard in this competition, and not because of the length, but because it’s more of an experience than a single track. The arrangement is beyond stunning, and with an extreme attention to every single detail in the mix: every instrument is present for a reason, and it has his own role and importance. The chord progression is made in a way that the listeners can sit, relax, close their eyes and dive themselves in imagination, letting their mind to be guided. Here is my vision of this track: this is a journey where you get to discover a new world filled with small oasis-cities, with new food to taste, new places and wonders to explore, and new traditions to discover. That’s why I punctuated this track is an experience: it’s been made with that purpose, and it’s quite inspiring. No wonder it took those many hours to finish. Now, I’m more than certain to assert that I have found no issues in this piece: you did an extraordinary job for this round, well done!!!

Originality: 2/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 2/2
Impact: 2/2
Total: 10/10

VociferousMusic responds:

Thank you very much for the kind words and the detailed feedback! :)

[Our Last Day]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

Despite the beginning with the electric guitar panned to the right, which I’m not fond of, after both guitars come in, the track jumps at super high stakes. The technical department is flawless, with an extremely polished balance between guitars and drums; the chord progression is quite interesting as well, not too repetitive and quite captivative, keeps the interest vivid and constant. I struggled a bit to hear the vocals without reading the lyrics, but they are mixed well so it’s not that big of a deal. Even if I don’t listen to Heavy Metal quite often, I can say this piece has a really high quality; it adapts pretty well on both headphones and speakers, proving itself even more solid than expected. Really good job for this final round, this submission rocks!

Originality: 2/2
Composition: 1.9/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1.6/2
Impact: 2/2
Total: 9.5/10

TSRBand responds:

Thanks so much for the detailed review! Glad you enjoyed it :) rock on! ♪

[Hole In The Sky]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

Pretty relaxing and bittersweet piece of music we have there… The first seconds give a nice atmosphere to begin with; you chose a great piano for that purpose. I think the strings beginning at 0:59 are too high in volume when they reach their max at 1:46 and also at 3:41 and 4:17, causing them to cover too much the other instruments. The rest of the song is pretty good: I enjoyed the funky bass and the chord progression, both original and impactful. Maybe the drums are a little bit too dry, you could have put a small amount of reverb to make them richer. 3:53 is my favourite section, liked how you arranged it and how the instrument come out. I’d say this submission is pretty good, nice job!

Originality: 1.5/2
Composition: 1.9/2
Structure: 1.7/2
Tecnicity: 1.33/2
Impact: 1.57/2
Total: 8/10

[The Concept of Time]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

This is a really interesting and complex submission. The strings are polished to the extreme, and the drums + percussions department is flawless, especially the clock ticks at the beginning and at the end of the track. I enjoyed a lot the section as 1:12, and I also noticed a quote to Skyrim at 1:24: a true man of culture indeed. I can tell you’ve been inspired a bit also by “The Dragon Warrior” by Zimmer for the movie Kung Fu Panda 3: the vibes are really similar. Back to the review, everything between 1:28 and 2:16 is amazing! The evolution of that section flows uniquely, and gives a lot of space to the imagination of listener: this is an aspect I really enjoy finding in cinematic and orchestral music, and you did it great. The choir at 2:23, even if it could have been louder, is well blended and gives richer goosebumps to the listener. Overall, this is a fantastic and well composed piece of music. Awesome job!!!

Originality: 2/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1.9/2
Impact: 2/2
Total: 9.9/10

KevinMueller responds:

Thanks for the review and thanks for the great score! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I see, you're a man of culture as well. :P

[Alabaster]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

The beginning is really deep-inducing, really like the windblows; don’t understand why the first 7 seconds are empty though. The chord progression seems quite strange and repetitive, I can’t understand very well what you were trying to achieve with that; the sfx and drums departments, however, are really good and mixed almost perfectly. The music flows nicely till 2:22, where I can hear some desynced drums which are quite disorienting; same goes for the last minute of the song, which was mostly composed of noise sounds. Summing up, I’m not sure what to think about this track: it’s not bad, but it’s really chaotic and a bit cluttered, almost like you tried to come up with an original idea in the short amount of time given, then ending up getting lost in the producing of the submission and rushing the piece as a consequence. Even if I went a bit deep with the feedback here, this is not a bad submission, and you did a great job by coming this far in the competition.

Originality: 1.7/2
Composition: 1.5/2
Structure: 1.5/2
Tecnicity: 1.2/2
Impact: 1.6/2
Total: 7.5/10

Zerisan responds:

You're pretty much spot on with your analysis lmao. Thanks for the review!

[A Journeys End [NGUAC 2020 Final]]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

You did a good job with the atmosphere there and those strings; spot on. The piano is a nice touch as well, but whenever it plays there is some sort of muffled noise playing synced with it; it’s not that big of a deal, but it still influenced my opinion on this track. The impact kicks at 0:18 and 0:35 could have been more powerful, maybe even stereo-panned to give that surprise/goosebumps effect specific of cinematic music. The section at 1:09 is the best in the entire submission, with the most effective emotional carriage, balanced and with a solid harmony; really enjoyed it. The SFX department is various and original, making the experience even better. Really nice piece of work!

Originality: 1.8/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1.4/2
Impact: 1.8/2
Total: 9/10

LazerwingMusic responds:

Thanks a lot for the complete review and the positivity :)

[Nebulous - Paranoia (NGUAC 2020 | R3)]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

You decided to take a totally different direction comparing this submission to the one you sent for the KO Round. I like the fact you wrote some sort of context behind the track, it’s a sign of dedication. The beginning is really good, and the glitch effect at 0:26 is even better; the build-up at 0:40 really shows the tension growing as well. I’m not too much fond of the first drop; in that sections the mix has a higher volume in the high band than necessary, therefore making it sound too bright and less impactful. This applies even more at 2:00, where the bass, while being deep and nicely EQed, doesn’t back up for the atmosphere: a deep synth pad could have worked out pretty well with it. The second drop, while still being a bit too plain, is much better and more balanced. Overall, pretty ambitious and well-structured piece, with some ups and downs, but pleasant enough to listen to.

Originality: 1.4/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1.35/2
Impact: 1.75/2
Total: 8.5/10

ShockblastDeluxe responds:

Thank you so much for leaving a review about it!

[Stargazer]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

This is by far the best submission I’ve heard by the Composition category. The concept matches perfectly with the guitar you chose, and I like the way you processed it as well; the strings pad doesn’t interfere with the main instrument, and that’s a really good thing as well. For some reason, I also get Steven Universe vibes while listening to this: you know, the scenes at the beach where either Steven or his dad play guitar, with their friends listening, while “Stargazing”. Coincidence? Back to the review, the only aspect I’m not fond of is the finale, where you ended with an E right after “playing around” with D: that was a bit unnecessary, to the point where I ended a bit confused. Apart from that little critic, this is a simple but really solid track, good job!

Originality: 1.94/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 1.65/2
Tecnicity: 1.6/2
Impact: 1.81/2
Total: 9/10

Thomastique responds:

Thank you for the review!

I didn't know about Steven Universe but I looked it up and I get what you mean 😁

For the final chord I just LOVE ending on a 6/9 second inversion (without the root).
To me it sounds very open and calming.

I can see how it can sound a bit confusing, because I didn't use a lot of fancy chords throughout this song and then the end hits you with the 9 (E) as the top note.
But for me, the ending might be my favourite part of the track 😜

[Tea Cup Massacre Epsilon: Descent Into Madness]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

The beginning leaves much to be desired: the different synths come in too abruptly, making difficult for the listener to adapt gradually to the atmosphere. From 0:45 onwards, the track becomes much better, evolving in a more complex and balanced sound. The best aspect of your song is that you’ve organized it in a pretty original way; every part is quite different from each other, making it more interesting as time passes. The section that begins at 3:18 is the most solid and appealing: powerful and decisive section with a lot of strong appealing synths, especially at 4:11 where I got quite some goosebumps. This track gets better while listening to it, making a sort of “journey” effect which I found really interesting. You did a really great job!

Originality: 2/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 1.9/2
Tecnicity: 1.5/2
Impact: 1.8/2
Total: 9.2/10

RosesWolf responds:

Oh wow, I gotta be honest, I really didn’t expect such a positive response, especially given how great the discrepancy between the first and second drop is, and the vast amount of silence used. I’m honestly at a loss for words. Thank you so much! Really nice to hear the journey idea paid off!

[Nebula (Official Release)]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

I’m absolutely in love with this piece! The mix is not too bright neither too deep, and you did an awesome job with EQ and bands balancing. The title is appropriate as well, since this track, just like a Nebula, may seem simple but it’s actually really complex and full of many different things. There are a pair of constructive suggestions I want to give though: even if the sounds you used are quite captivating, some variations on the main chord progression could have made it just a little bit more original; also I think that the snare which comes at 0:51 and 2:34, while still being good the way it is, could have been improved by making it more open and impactful, to give more power to the build-ups in particular. The transitions are original and dynamic and there are no sudden breaks, therefore the track flows really nicely; I can tell you raised the stakes for this final round, so props for that. Podium or not, you’ve finished your journey in this competition with a banger!

Originality: 1.75/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 2/2
Tecnicity: 1.85/2
Impact: 2/2
Total: 9.6/10