Codefreq's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Seize Ur Moment]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

Your explanation makes more sense to me when I hear the buildups and drops due to the sense of tension. That said, I recognize you didn't have a particular intent with this piece, which is fine; it's an approach. I said what I said in my initial review because, from my experience, having more of a focus in a piece generally leads to better results in the final version.

Original 4 Star Review:

"I'm curious what you were thinking when you made this piece. I can't give constructive feedback that fits my standards (see link below) without an adequate description of where you were coming from when you made this piece. Adding that description could help me review your piece based on how clear your intent came through rather than purely by my own taste. Therefore, I could also provide better feedback and a more accurate rating.

Some things you could think about:

I'm curious about the title. Why did you name it "Seize Ur Moment"?

Why did you make the thumbnail artwork for this piece what you did? I find it unclear.

I hope this helps. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

Azuleux responds:

The title is a play on words, firstly literally saying to seize your moment, but spelling similar to "Seizure Moment," so basically it's implying to take your chance before it's all too late in way. Of course, this is just what I imagined, but I like to keep it up for interpretation :P

So yeah I didn't really have a clear intent on where I wanted to go with, just kinda evolved overtime

[Revenge of the Woods]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

Your submission makes a lot more sense having the information you provided in your response to my review. The scale of the percussion and orchestral arrangement reflects the scale of the battle you described as, in my mind, like the battle between the mechanized forces and the indigenous people of Pandora from the movie Avatar; the vibe you communicate is incredibly vast and epic.

The thing is, knowing the information you just provided, I recommend changing the title from "Once Upon a Time" to something that better summarizes the story that was in your head; something that reflects battle, rebellion, reclaiming land, forest, and/or other elements of the story. To me, "Once Upon a Time" is a compelling title, but it ultimately does your story, therefore your song, a disservice because it doesn't provide enough information about what your song represents.

I hope you find my additional feedback helpful. :)

Original 3 1/2 Star Review:

"You really nailed the vibe of a forest-like environment in the very beginning. The sound effects and the calm atmospheric strings set the mood really well to the point where I feel like I've entered that world. Unfortunately. that goes away at around 0:29 into the piece.

I think the orchestral instruments gain steam too quickly and as a result it changes the mood to be more epic. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with that, except that you are making a song with a forest theme. As I see it, forests symbolize peace and ambiance more than an epic-battle vibe.

I'd like to hear more detail from you about the musical decisions you made and why you made them. It would help me put into perspective what you were going for, and it would allow me to judge based on how well I thought your intent came across rather than just by my own taste. It could affect my rating and improve my feedback as well.

I will say that, from what I can tell, the thumbnail artwork really fits the piece quite well. I'm curious about the title. Why did you name the piece "Once Upon a Time"? I could guess, but I want to hear it from you.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

Benji-G responds:

First of all, thanks a lot for the review, I highly appreciate it! So basically, 0:29 was supposed to be the intro, and I quickly realized that it was too 'epic' for an intro, so I brought in a cello for the intro instead.

The title 'Once Upon a Time' basically came from that I had this story in my head, of a guy who lives in the forest in a village. Later it got depredated by another group of people. And now it was the time he striked back since he was seeking for revenge. Therefore I wanted to make this song epic, since he was about to get revenge on the people that destroyed his village.

As you said, forests symolize peace, but this was more of a battle in the forest, than about the forest itself. That's where the intensity and epicness comes from.

Again, thank you for taking time to review this piece, it means a lot! :]

[Rise Again]

This feels like it would fit well in times of Ancient Rome and gladiators in the Colosseum. You've got a good sense of "Prepare for battle, my champions!" type of vibe.

I'm not sure if that's exactly what you were going for, since the description is a little vague. Was that what you were going for, and if not, what was it?

Also, I'm not sure what the title and accompanying thumbnail artwork have to do with this piece. Care to elaborate?

If you provide the information, I can give a better review and possibly a more accurate rating, based on how well I thought your intent came through rather than just judging by my own taste.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

ChillyBite responds:

Well, the "Prepare for battle, my champions!" was pretty much the vibe I was going for. But not specifically "Prepare for battle" and more "Prepare for round 2". Personally, when listening to the track I always imagined it being about a soldier who is dragged out of a pile of corpses by another survivor (the initial build up) and grouping up and rallying with other stray survivors (second build up). When it hits the final climax, that's them returning to the heart of the battlefield and realising that the battle is far from over and there is still a long fight ahead of them. Thus, the title "Rise Again". But ultimately, "Prepare for battle" is more of less what I was going for.

As for the thumbnail... well... I just grabbed a random image I had laying around, lol.

[Corkscrew - Hazard]

From a technical standpoint, I think the overall volume of this piece could be louder. The compression and sound of the song is fine, it's just the peaks are quieter than what I think would be ideal.

I'm wondering about what you were thinking going into this song. What was your thought process? Putting that in your description would help me give more helpful feedback based on how well I thought your intent came through (rather than just by my own taste), as well as a potentially more accurate rating.

One example of something to consider is the title. I'm curious, why call it "Hazard"? Also, it's not clear to me what your piece's thumbnail artwork has to do with the song itself.

I hope this helps. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

ItzCorkscrew responds:

Hi there, thank you for this very long review, I love them!

I don't know myself what I was thinking when I was producing this, just because I always decide in the moment what to do. I do a lot of tries, and then I continue to change it until it sounds good. I tried a lot of time to follow some schemes but it always ended up in melodic songs and/or boring songs and/or banal songs.

The title has been chosen casually, I thought it sounded good with the song so I decided to name it like that.

Thank you so much for the technical advice too, I'll keep that in mind!
Cheers :)

[Spike]

There are several things I have to note:

1: I think it would be a good thing if you put in your description what your thought process was when you made this piece. If you do that, it would allow me to provide better feedback, possibly a more accurate rating, and I could judge based more on how well your intent came across rather than just by my own taste.

2: I'm curious why you named this piece "Spike".

3: Why did you pick the thumbnail artwork you did? It's difficult to see the purpose behind using the image you did.

If you're getting your feet wet in creating music, I think it's at least a good idea to put some thought into what you are trying to do instead of just messing around not having a clue (not saying you don't have a clue, just making a comparison). From my experience, the more focused the piece, the better the piece overall.

Right now, what you've got is a good start, particularly in the way you've mixed the song. I just think it needs a bit of work.

I hope this review helps. Good luck. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

VaraXMusic responds:

Thus does help a ton actually... this was my first song trying to make it not less than 1:30 so i really wasnt going for anything. Also the art itls some random crap i threw together... tbh i wasnt ttying on this track i dodnt expect much from it

[Darkside]

I agree this has a horror-esque feel to it in the sense that there is almost a sense of being hunted. This is especially present when the song increases in tempo in the last third of the piece.

One of the problems, as I see it, is there is an inadequate sense of tension to support that "scare" vibe. One suggestion I have is to try messing around with the buildups before the drops so the piece doesn't play like you'd expect it to. In the final third of the piece, you do this a little already, at around 2:16, and again at around 2:36.

Normally in this kind of track repetition isn't something I'd complain about; it could be used in many different ways to support the intention behind the track. However, from my experience, if the mood you are going for is "dark horror", repetition and traditionally expected cues in that piece can be especially detrimental and the intent tends to not be seen as clearly.

I'm curious about the title. Out of curiosity, what were you thinking when you named this track "Darkside"?

Overall, I'd say it's a pretty good piece, considering Dubstep isn't typically associated with horror themes. I just think it needs a bit of work so the mood you are going for is expressed in a way that is seen the way you intended.

I hope you find this review useful. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Monoliph responds:

Oh hello! I'm happy to actually see full on feedback <3

Yeah. That is true. I see what you are talking about when trying to present a horror like feeling to the track.

I tend to have a bad habit of repetition when it comes to my tracks. I'd love to work on sort of making the beat more organic. Which I kinda tried at the end. Not quite sure where to tackle that.

I named this "Darkside" because of how I felt making this track. I wanted to capture the essence, but as a nooby I don't quite reach that level of attraction, but as of course I am still learning.

Yeah haha, that is true. I do listen to Code:Pandorum, Lord Swan3x and others who produce a sub-genre known as "Deathstep". They are who I sorta pull inspiration from. I do enjoy a lot of electronic music from ambiance, drum n bass, Future bass and so. I have a ton of unfinished "Flp" files and hopefully I can bring more to the table in future uploads.

Thank you so much for the review. It's very rare that I do get them. I appreciate it a lot dude, Also makes my day :D I wish I got more feedback like this, haha. Hopefully I can find good tutorials and lessons in the future to expand on my tracks.

Thank you again :)

[Thomas the murder engine]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

I see now that your intent was to make the song morph the way you did.

However, I stand by the rest of my feedback.

Original 3 star review:

"The beginning of this feels like what you'd hear if you were in the middle of a dark tunnel at night and you noticed a train heading your way. Given the train-like rhythmic percussion, the feel is pretty spooky. This lasts until around 1:12, where the buildup starts to plateau. At that point, the creepiness starts to give way to danceability.

It's hard to know what you are going for, exactly. I can guess, but I'm curious to hear what you were going for when you made this piece. It would help me be able to give better feedback and a more accurate rating, as well as judge this piece by how well your intent came through rather than merely by my own taste.

That said, my personal opinion is it gets less interesting after the buildup stops building and it becomes more like dance music. I think the song is too long to be able to effectively make use of that time and make the piece sustain a scare-factor. Also, IMO, the ending is underwhelming in the way it peters out. Personally I think having an ending that doesn't resolve and is more ambiguous in mood can be more compelling than slowly reducing the amount of instruments until there's nothing left, as what is done here. That's not to say what you did here was wrong or bad; I'm merely making suggestions.

Also, on the technical side, there are parts of the song where the sound becomes distorted, particularly when the kick drum is present. I suggest changing the volume or messing with compression settings until it doesn't distort.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

TheCrazedSide responds:

thanks for the detailed feed back, most people don't go very detailed when reviewing my music, so it's pretty refreshing to see a more detailed perspective from someone.

I'm glad to know the intro worked out well. Looking back at this song, my intent was to make the song go from a creepy train-like sound to a more calm sound, like something you might hear in a show like Thomas the tank engine mixed with intense dance music, so I could see why this might make this song a bit disappointing after the intro. I've heard a lot of music that had a good mood at the beginning of it, only for the mood of the song to completely change and mess up the song. Maybe it would have been better if I split this into two different songs? I wish I could go more in-depth on my intent, but making music has become such 2nd nature that I don't really think much about what I'm creating. There's some songs I made in the past where I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I created them lol.

I'm not usually too creative when it comes to the ending, especially as this song was mainly going to be used for a parody I made. I knew I wasn't gonna use the end of the song in the parody, so I allowed myself to be a bit lazy. I'll think of making a more ambiguous ending to my songs as it is a pretty lazy way to end a song.

I'll take a look into fixing the technical side, a lot of times I don't seem to notice how distorted my songs get.

[Broken Out]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying. I think the artwork suits the song very well.

Very nice work! :)

Original 4 1/2 star review:

"This piece has a really strong "eerie" feel to it. Like Metroid Prime in a room where the power is out and it's difficult to see anything. Feels like paranoia.

It makes me want to run away from wherever I was headed. As a horror piece, this succeeds. Well Done! :D

The only thing is I'm not sure about what your piece's thumbnail artwork has to do with the song. It's hard to see. Can you elaborate on what that is and why its there?

Other than that, I think your vibe comes through loud and clear. Well done! :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

BlighterProductions responds:

Sorry for the late response. Thanks for your kind words first. Second, about the artwork, it’s colored monochrome because it’s part of a newspaper from the early days. It’s actually a doctor being ripped apart inside of his laboratory. It was to give the idea of a rather violent, paranoid horror scene.

In this scene, there is only suspense present.

[Desert (Jumping World Soundtrack)]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying. All of it works now. 5 Stars! :)

Original 4 1/2 Star Review:

“You bet it does! :D

It reminds me of the old N64 Paper Mario, in a way.

Nice job, really conveys "desert" to a tee.

The only thing I'm not sure about is the thumbnail artwork you chose for this piece. Out of curiosity, why did you chose that?

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806”

Trubiso responds:

wow! thank you! yeah, this song would really fit an old game :D

Edit: I chose that thumbnail because it is the game's logo (with its name on top).

[The Botanist's Guild]

Feels quite peaceful. It's the kind of music that should be played in the floral section of a grocery store, or a flower shop in an anime setting.

I'm unsure why you chose the thumbnail artwork you did for this song. Given your piece seems to be about flowers and plants, which are generally colorful, it seems to me an odd choice to make the artwork be more or less grey.

The only other issue I have is the description doesn't quite match the song. The song is laid back, yet "ruthless control" is phrasing that, to me at least, implies some resentment.

Other than that, I'd say your themes come through quite nicely. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

popolamusic responds:

it's hard to tell but the thumbnail is actually me and the boys in the sauna in ffxiv