mutty99's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[Rainwave]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

The beginning is so-so: panning the guitar to the left and the drums to the right in the first seconds, unfortunately isn’t a good start. The vocals, even if a little detuned at first, are pretty good, even if they could have been more impactful and a little higher in volume in the sections at 1:21 and 2:50.
I found the final section starting at 3:21 way too long, to the point of being overwhelming: if you were looking for a conclusion in it, I think it should have been much shorter. If you were trying to make a different section, you could have alternated calm sections with strong ones, maybe with the electric guitar you used in the drops, which I enjoyed quite a bit to be honest. The drums were really nice as well. The concept behind the mix is promising, but it feels like it’s kinda rushed: just a little more tweaking, and it could’ve become an even more interesting piece of music.

Originality: 1.6/2
Composition: 1.8/2
Structure: 1.8/2
Tecnicity: 1.2/2
Impact: 1.5/2
Total: 7.9/10

[10 Pieces of Bread]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

What a nice orchestration we have here: I really like how you made the violins notes short on purpose, to give that feeling of “Fairy tale” like ambience. The lead strings, even if they could have had a little more reverb, are pretty good as well. At 0:28, the transition feels quite out of place; maybe a sort of “marching percussions” pattern would have connected better the related two segments of the track. The rest of the first half of the track flows nicely, almost like something you can hear in a Disney classic, till the bridge at 1:25, which I found well-composed. Same goes for the “Egyptian” section at 1:50, brilliant choice. The cymbals at 2:12 are too wet, you could have made their sound a little drier and brighter, and maybe stereo-pan them to give more impact to that section in particular. Summing up, I think your submission is quite the piece, well done!

Originality: 1.8/2
Composition: 2/2
Structure: 1.7/2
Tecnicity: 1.5/2
Impact: 1.7/2
Total: 8.7/10

[The Beginning]

-Official NGUAC 2020 Final Round Review-

The beginning is indeed the best part of the track! It gives the piece an excellent start: I liked the piano notes as well, with a correct amount of reverb. The next segment is solid too, and shows clearly that you are pretty good when it comes to create “ambient-ish” parts: however, the track falls a bit lower when the synths come in, and becomes less appealing as a result. This makes a strong influence on the strong structure, and it’s clearly audible. The drums department is not bad, even if the kick is very loud on the low frequencies: eQ-ed like that works well at 1:42, but not as well at 0:52 where it becomes a little overwhelming. Try to make it more punchy and less “bass-ish”. Despite the tweaks here and there, I enjoyed this track quite a bit.

Originality: 1.53/2
Composition: 1.7/2
Structure: 1.42/2
Tecnicity: 1.3/2
Impact: 1.75/2
Total: 7.7/10