ErikMcClure's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lordant - A Star Like Me]

This is simply beyond my ability to criticize, if there is anything wrong with this, I can't find it. I don't know how you can write music like this so quickly, it boggles my mind. Despite the time crunch, I noticed that you managed to put in a ton of very subtle instrument effects that really give it an organic, natural feel. The little flutter on the strings at 2:15 is incredible attention to detail that I would never have thought of.

Lordant responds:

I'm glad you've noticed it :D Thanks a lot again!

[Lordant - Allegro Fratturato]

Um, wow.

I am struggling to process how incredible this song is. You effortlessly blend a wide range of instruments together seamlessly, in ways I can only possibly compare with the legendary Thomas Bergersen.

The singular piece of advice I can give is at 1:11, where it seems like the violin attack doesn't have the same latency compensation the other instruments do, so it's a bit off beat. But that should be an easy fix.

Lordant responds:

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it! Thomas Bergersen is one of the composers whose works inspire me, so that's actually wonderful to hear.

As for complaint you've mentioned. I didn't notice it back while I was finishing the song, as I wrote that section quickly. Now I relistened it, and I agree that there is potential for improvement, will fix it after the adm, if I have enough time and desire

[Flight of the Drake]

I think the mixing here could be better, but the song itself has a lot of momentum. Good work!

CloakedSoup responds:

Yeah, for sure. I barely managed to finish writing it today and most of the mixing was done while I tried to finish the music in time for the competition! haha

[Shuttle pt.II]

This is a great song, with excellent sound design work and fantastic use of different instruments to create an evolving soundscape. My only suggestion would be to bring in the melodies a bit earlier, as second minute of the song has no melodic support. Other than that, great work!

CloudUmbrella responds:

yep,I'll take your advice

[Murasame]

This is a really great melodic trance song, although I think the overall sound design here is much more simplistic than in your other songs. Combine this song with the great synth work in Moonbow and you'll be unstoppable :D

CloudUmbrella responds:

omg！It's my honor to be evaluated by you！thanks！

[Moonbow]

This is a fantastic trance song, and I scouted you for the audio portal, because this should have way more than 16 views. You have a superb grasp of soundscape design (probably exceeding mine), but I think you could use a better melodic hook and a stronger harmony instead of relying on the admittedly fantastic synth design.

CloudUmbrella responds:

Yeah,For this piece, I did not use very colorful chords, just pay attention to the use of synthesizers. When I released this song a while ago, sorry, before I uploaded this song it was in October last year, but it was only uploaded to Newgrounds a few days ago, so I feel like it's missing something soulful. However, thank you for your comments and feedback!

[Ice Cap RMX]

The overall soundscape in this song is very good, but I think your leads need some improvement. They all seem to be in the background of the song, and a lot of them seem very plain. I'd either add some release envelope, reverb, or delay to them. I think a lot of them would benefit from pitch modulation on the tail end of the notes to give them a more organic feeling.

Also, I'm going to whine about your kick too :3 Your kick has more presence than mine, but it seems to be missing some very low bass frequencies.

The synth you have around 5:00 is just a raw saw wave with a filter on it and it sounds very cheesy. Most of the other synths seem fine, so this is really out of place.

In general I'd suggest trying to work on the repetitive nature of the song, because your melody is only about 16 bars long, and that just isn't long enough to repeat over and over and over, not without significant variation. You might be able to give it a boost by adding a secondary melody on top of it, or possibly a counter melody. I really like the drumbs at the last leg of the song, though.

ArcaneSoul responds:

thank you for the feedback man. I actually appreciate it :)

So as for the leads, unfortunately i kind of get into the habit of using presets which i really need to stop. most of the time i at least try to edit major parts of the presets though. Sound design has always been a particularly hard point for me since i can never just get whats in my head onto the vst/software/etc. Like for example, i would of made a sort of sparkly sounding lead for this but how does one get that kind of icy feel? Sure delay and reverb helps but i tend to avoid that unfortunately. i worry too much about mudding the mix.

I'm quite surprised to not see much about the mastering in this since thats always been a point ive worried about alot. You are right though, the kick is a little weak too.

Not much else i can agree or argue here. Most of the stuff you pointed out has been long term problems i have with songs. Generic leads, repetative parts, its almost a habit. Even then though, thanks a ton for the review and like i said. Please keep doing what you're doing man :)

[Main Title Heroes]

Of all the NGADM songs, this one has the best intro, and I would argue that the intro and the quiet part at 1:40 are the strongest parts of this song. The rest is a good attempt at action-ish music, but isn't quite as well executed as the quieter parts. I really like the ideas the song explores, but I'm pretty sure time-constraints prevented you from really effectively exploring them. I kind of want to try and remix this song myself just to try and get closer to what you were shooting for.

TheBenjerman responds:

Feel free to remix!

Not really an attempt at action-ish music, I was aiming at that totally-overblown kind of style that you get in the main titles of action flicks, but I didn't quite hit that either.

And yeah, I had about a day to write this and if I had had more time after I got back to my studio I would have done some things differently, but I stand by it anyway!

Send me a link if you do remix. ;)

[Ling Kano's Fighting Show]

I have no idea what this song is about, but I LIKE IT. I do think the guitar is a tad harsh, though.

SourJovis responds:

Thank you. I'll look at the guitar. Maybe reduce some of the high frequencies, or do something about the distortion, but still have it stand out.

[Glacier Pass]

Apparently the guy below me doesn't understand how video game music works. This is excellent background music, although it sounds more like a cavern to me than an icey pass. The drums seem really mellow and in the background, I would recommend giving them more punch and bringing them forward in the mix. You should modify the foreground instruments to have a stronger presence as well. You have a bit of harmonic support but its really really faint and would work really nicely if it was louder and given some volume dynamics.

Acrylia responds:

Well the original working title was Ice Cave but I thought Glacier Pass sounded better somewhat. Plus, this was a quick little project, so I wasn't all too concerned with technical stuff, just getting it out.

Although, the point of some parts being very soft was not necessarily to make it be heard. When actually playing a game there are a lot of parts of the music that you don't pay any attention to, but are there supporting the entire sound of the game. Everything being soft and the bass being kind of loud is to support in-game sounds, since most sound effects in flash games are in a higher frequency. Balance will come with sound effects that a game would have.

I appreciate your review!