Birdinator99's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hard Seas and Maelstroms]

Hard seas? But water is soft XD

So first off, the synth choice at the beginning is good -- it's a little edgy and aggressive, kind of like a storm at sea, no?

The bass coming in with the kick is cool and ominous, and really works with the tempo increase. Unfortunately, I would say that the song is too slow overall, but only by about 10 bpm or so.

Whatever the hell happens at 1:06, I like it!

At 1:23, things start to get, well, "wavier" is the only word I can think of, but that just again shows what a good title you picked, so good job on that.

A lot of your songs, including this one, seem to be laden with this weird, wavy kind of reverb. I normally don't have an issue with it, but there seems to be a tad too much in this song. If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a listen to the first 20 seconds or so of your "Enigmatic Hills". I actually don't have a clue what it is.

The melody is good for this genre of song -- hypnotizing!

The kick drum rhythm change at 1:57 I don't mind, but it didn't have to be there to enhance the piece. Just a matter of taste, I suppose.

At 2:45, that high synth that sounds like an organ is a great addition. It disappears at 3:00 for the outro; this is a good length for a climax of a song (15 seconds), because any longer might be too much of a good thing, a little overpowering in general, or it may ruin the flow of the piece altogether. You seem to have a good knowledge of song structure, which is something important that quite frankly, I need to work on myself -_- lol

Good ending, too!

All in all, this is pretty good; it's just not my cup of tea, so to speak. Whatever, we've all got preferences, so I'm not going to complain.

Keep it up, dude. Good stuff.

If I had a boat, I would sail these seas. But boats are too expensive, so never mind.

OpenLight responds:

Haha thank you! This review helps a lot. I can't put my finger on what's causing the reverb. I think it's my synth choice and I can't really affect that... but I'll try to do less of it haha.

Thanks again!

[[AL] It just isn't. . . .]

Mahahaha

Aw yeah, more breakbeat with a glitchy twist!

Everything sounds so crystal clear -- therefore I am envious :3

How do you get the guitar so widely and evenly spread out in the stereo mix? Also, do you play that yourself? That's some quality stuff right there.

To conclude, I'll say that the transition at 0:40 took me by surprise, and made me think, "That's definitely what this song needed just now," so kudos on that.

ChampionAnwar responds:

I just considered it Trip hop or something glitchy ehehe, I'm a huge IDM fan.

It's not finished so reserve your judgement =P.

To get it evenly spaced it was a case of remixing the whole guitar part down again and again making adjustments. I think something as easy as stereo imaging can do that though or stereo delay separation too. Oh and no, I can't play guitar~ it's good when someone else does it for you ;D

Thanks a lot man, you're pretty fecking awesome.

[A Traveler's Journey]

K this is wack

Some really cool melodies in here bro; great lead choices, and good overall flow of the piece. You gotta teach me how to mix kick drums some time -- seriously.

The lost point out of ten? The snare is fitting, but it's kind of generic. Dunno if it's just me having heard it too much in other songs, plus I couldn't think of something better -- but it must be out there!

The solo that starts at 2:03 is so ace, though. BOOYAH HOLMES

Nice stuff here.

OpenLight responds:

Haha thank you, man!

Yeah this song isn't getting rated well score-wise but I don't mind with all of these positive reviews. And this is one of my favorite solos out of all of my songs, so thanks! Haha

[Plains Theme]

Oh Snap

Wow, this piece is so well mixed, it's like coming alive or something!

First off, those twinkly pads you used in the beginning remind me of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, yay! I won't bother to explain, but it's a good thing, I assure you.

The flute lead is very soothing, super job there.

The transitions are so fluid, and they do their job wonderfully.

All the percussion gives the lower end a cool, solid foundation, which really gives the track some substance.

The guitars sound really nice, I gotta check those out as well.

Overall, I'm gettin' a "Lion King" kinda feel from this song, which is strange because I never saw any of those movies >__< but I imagine that's what they'd be like. Keep up the good work; I'm happy to drop by and leave a review anytime.

I AM THE KING OF SHORT PARAGRAPHS RAWR

Step responds:

Thanks for reviewing! I can always count on you for a detailed review with helpfulness and short paragraphs of course.

"Wow, this piece is so well mixed, it's like coming alive or something!"

IT LIVES!!! :D

"First off, those twinkly pads you used in the beginning remind me of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, yay! I won't bother to explain, but it's a good thing, I assure you."

I never really played Metroid before so I can't relate to what you're saying, but if it's a good thing, then thanks I guess!

"The flute lead is very soothing, super job there."

So that makes 2 votes for me to leave it in the song as it is and 2 votes for me to take it away or change it :P.

"The transitions are so fluid, and they do their job wonderfully."

Thanks, glad you like them! I'm always happy when I see that people enjoy the transitions I make :3.

"All the percussion gives the lower end a cool, solid foundation, which really gives the track some substance."

Great! I was worrying that the percussion was a bit too bassey, actually.

"The guitars sound really nice, I gotta check those out as well."

Yeah, they're quite realistic. By the way, here are some free guitar libraries for Kontakt if you have it:
http://www.pettinhouse.com/html/downl oad.html

I didn't use them in this song but I used them in others (like my song Dancing Flame if you remember it) and they sound excellent. Just thought I'd mention them in case you didn't see me link to them before in Dancing Flame's Author's Comments :P.

"Overall, I'm gettin' a "Lion King" kinda feel from this song, which is strange because I never saw any of those movies >__< but I imagine that's what they'd be like. Keep up the good work; I'm happy to drop by and leave a review anytime."

Thanks man, I'm really grateful for that. Glad you liked the song!

"I AM THE KING OF SHORT PARAGRAPHS RAWR"

YEAH WELL I AM THE KING OF QUOTING YOUR SHORT PARAGRAPHS AND RESPONDING TO THEM RAAAAAAWR.

[[AL] Distant Stranger]

Fuck

Fuckin' keeps gettin' better n' better. At a true loss for words.

NOT ENOUGH APOSTROPHES

ChampionAnwar responds:

Hehe thanks man! I'm glad you think so. :D
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF! PUNCTUATION IS TOO BIG FOR IT'S BOOTS MAAAAAAAAANN!

[Bottomless Pit]

Hah

I hear the bass line from your Falling Further Redux in there. Pretty crafty :p

But the synth tones blend so well that I can't complain!

OpenLight responds:

Haha oh crap did I duplicate a bass line? I seriously didn't mean to lol but it's a good bass line... I'm going to check that out.

*goes to check it out*

Haha it does sound a bit like it. I didn't mean for it to though lol.

Thanks for the review lol. I'm glad you liked it!

[[AL] Sometimes]

Gah!

That is the best choice of lead you have EVER made wowowow. So smooth...

Guitar at 1:40 is DELICIOUS WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

Subtle counter-melodies placed throughout are really appropriate woo! Piano accompaniment blends well :D

The drum style sounds right up your alley -- sort of a light hip-hop/breakbeat feel to it DID I SAY BREAKBEAT HMM I WONDER WHO'S GOOD AT THAT

I haven't listened to the original song, and I don't plan to because this version will be better anyways. I am a bad person mahaha

ChampionAnwar responds:

My boy, synths are to be made. . . Presets are so 2009! Thanks for the compliment there.
Guitar is another home made rip =P

This isn't breakbeat, this is smooth stuff sir! I wouldn't look to breakbeat it up, maybe a few IDM elements, but that would spoil the ambience of the whole tune.

You don't have to listen to the original ehehe. Thanks for your words man!

[Falling Further Redux]

I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST FOUND THIS

HOW DID YOU MAKE IT SO MUCH BETTER AHHHHH

If I could solo like that, I would RULE THE WORLD MY GODDDDDDD

Funny enough I still have a remix in the works, but it is based off of the WIP of this lol

OpenLight responds:

Oh sweet! Haha I always wanted to remake this song, and I'm so freaking pumped to know that you're remixing it haha.

Let me know whenever it gets closer to being done!

And about the solo, I love solos lol. I'd say 80% of my music has a solo, and all of my favorite submissions do. Including this one!

Yeah of course this solo was added in just for fun, and I'm glad it's good!

[[B99] Spectral Sojourner]

Dude

I did NOT expect this lol.

Putting our musical styles together gets some wicked awesome results. I can't thank you enough for this. It's one thing to make music, but to have it considered good enough to remix is a different story.

Breakbeat makes everything better mahaha.

Great stuff!

ChampionAnwar responds:

I don't JUST do breakbeats ya know =P Well thanks for letting me sample your tune man, I still can't stop listening to it on my iPod. 95% of breakbeat makes stuff better XD. Thanks again for your ongoing support man, it's always a pleasure to know that I'm doing it right by at least one person :D!