Lethal-Input's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Our CyberLord & Savior]

I like the idea of mixing a heavy techno beat with these kind if vocals... Still, I like to be able to hear the vocals. A lot of other songs of this type have as hard to hear vocals as this, so maybe that's what people like. I was never a fan of it though. I really like the beat of the instrumental. Gives off a kinda of, ravish, divaish feel, if that makes since. Really interesting style overall, and very well put together.

Lich responds:

It's pretty common within the general genre for them to sound like that. Still, I wish I could achieve something to what Detroit Diesel done in their 'Coup D´Etat' vocal-wise (but maybe a little bit more clearer).

Glad you like the instrumental-side of it though. It took me awhile to figure out a slower and more Warped/De-tuned lead sounded alot better than what I previously sequenced. The actual lead synth itself was one I designed from the ground-up myself in Gladiator2 around 4 or 5 months ago, this is the first track I've decided to properly use it in and I think it went down quite well :)

Thank you for the review!

[Blood, Steam, and Punk]

I'll be honest, the western music thing didn't really come to my head the first time around. Then I read the description and listened to it again. I can definitely see the influence now, and it's pretty cool. Makes for a unique tone. I have never in my life ever thought of techno and western mixing lol. Anyway, I don't really have any gripes with this piece. You used a bunch of great sounds, and the song had all kinds of variety. Overall a great song! I enjoyed it a lot.

JoshuaHughes responds:

Appreciate it, Lethal.

[Orange Waves]

Love the atmosphere of this. Really gives off a sort of uneasy feeling. I especially love it around 1:13 when those harps sounding things come in. It really adds a lot. I actually listened to this quite a few times. It helped me focus on my homework =P. I've never heard of Miami Vice, but it kind of sounds like something that would be in this game called Hotline Miami. I guess that place is associated with this vibe... I dunno lol. Anyway, I don't have any real gripes with the piece itself, although it's not exactly my type of music. Still, very good song!

SoTJake responds:

Hey thanks, I hope you finished your homework ;)

[Nostalgia]

Unlike a lot of songs that I have personally come across on here, the intro immediately caught my attention. The plucks sound you used is great, and the main on going theme is solid. I can tell that you were trying to keep the variety up. There was never a time where I thought that it was getting truly repetitive; It always felt like it was evolving into something else. Though that could be partly due to the fact that I liked the tunes enough to not get bothered by the amount of repetition that was there.

Even though it mixes the beat up exceptionally for the kind of song it is, I still feel like it could have actually strayed from the main theme you had going there a bit more. I thought around 1:56 or 2:11 would have been a good time to do that. Instead, it almost feels to me as if you were scrambling to find something that kept the main theme/beat stay fresh, even though it was overstaying it's welcome a little. I think the song would have been overall more powerful if you had tried to go for a more proper bridge, rather than trying to run your main melody to tears. That contributed to the feeling of fatigue I got when the outro came along.

Or maybe that's not what you were going for. Maybe you wanted to keep the main theme going throughout the whole song, and that's fine. I still think it could have been done a bit better. I wasn't that big a fan of how you used the synth that popped in around 1:59, and around 2:31 it started to feel grating instead of being the big climax that you were probably going for.

But anyway, still really freakin good considering this is your first song. So keep it up!

ThomasTimms responds:

First of all, thank you for the in depth review. They help the most.

Anyway, thank you for the compliments on the melody and the plucks. It took me a while to see what sounded good in that chord progression.
As for straying away from the synths at around 2:11, That's not technically the drop yet. I was aiming to preview the synths after the buildup, Then the drop comes.
Also as I stated below, I was trying to go for the big house music type feel. Which usually involves an array of synths as the main chorus.

"it almost feels to me as if you were scrambling to find something that kept the main theme stay fresh"
I do see where you would say this, because the song had a change literally every 10 seconds. But i was honestly just trying to lead up to the main chorus at 2:11.

"and around 2:31 it started to feel grating.."
If you could, please elaborate more on what you mean by this. I don't quite understand, but I feel this could be extremely useful criticism.

Thank you for leaving a great review. and i will most definitely give you the flp to see what you could do with this track. I am sure it would be amazing.

[Prepare for Battle]

Definitely good for what it's going for. I can easily see this playing in the background of a preparation screen. Even before I read the description, I thought of a scene similar to that. Everything sounds very clean. The drums you used sounded high quality, and the beats themselves were good. It fits in with the many other professionally made songs that are like that, maybe even a little too much. It felt a little generic; generic to the point were I feel like I've heard it before. That's probably not your fault though. What all can you really do with a track that consists of all percussion like this? Anyway, good song overall! 4/5

DoctorAppetitus responds:

Thanks, I appreciate the positivity! I can see what you mean about its fimilliarness, as it is a pretty generic loop. Incase you wanted to know, I'm using Native Instrument's "Damage" library for my default samples. They sound hella rockin. Anywho, thanks for the time~

[Absurdity]

This is tight. I felt like the "echo" of that beat was off at first, but I like how it sort of comes together. I usually like when a song does that. That upped the epicness by 100%. The only gripe I have with it is, well I really like how the tempo raised at the end, and I wasn't paying attention to the time bar. So I was thinking "Oh snap this is really about to be intense," but then when it ended it felt like I had just run into a pole... Lol. Still a really great track though!

Back-From-Purgatory responds:

Ha... Yeah... this wasn't a serious project at all, just something to keep the creative juices flowing, even if just a little bit.

Glad you could enjoy it though.

[Downstream]

This is pretty sick. I really love these kind of epic/dramatic/sad track like this. Just like the other guy said, it feels like and epic/emotional talking scene. Like seriously, a scene just popped in my head as I was listening to this where someone has been searching for their friend for months. Then when they finally catch up, the friend is has changed and declares that he is going to the "evil side" while the other friends are desperately trying to convince him not to, even though they have no chance in changing his mind. (I promise, I didn't try all extra hard to come up with it or anything, it just came to me lol) It really sets a powerful atmosphere. It made me visualize a whole environment ant everything.

Now as for the actual feedback, I think the some of the chords that come in should be more prominent (like the one at 1:23). That would have added a lot I think. I did like the choir synth you used, but I feel there are better sounds you could have chosen for that part though. Very nice song overall though! I listened to it like 5 times =p

Crimsonskies455 responds:

Really glad you liked it! Thank you so much for the awesome response! :D

[Extraterrestrial Dance Song]

Definitely not of this world indeed. I was in the mood for something more chill since I've been working on my song a bunch lately which has a bunch of energy, and that kind of wears me out after a while. Anyway lol, to your song. I like the main synth you used for the lead. At first I thought it sounded weird, but after a bit I started digging it. I was never really bored at any part of the song except maybe the very beginning, and that's only because I wasn't into it yet. It actually got me pretty relaxed. The melody was nice, the percussion was nice, I just really don't have anything negative to say about this song right now. I mean, generally, it's not exactly my type of music, but it's very good for what it does.

Chemiqals responds:

Thanks for the review! I know what you mean about a song wearing you out after working on it for a while! Glad this got you relaxed, haha! =P

[Only The Beginning]

Really like the piano melody at the beginning. What it actually turned into from there really surprised me, and not in a bad way. I didn't think the transition was bad at all at first, then I read the other reviews and went back to it. I could see how it wouldn't everyone's cup of tea, but I personally kind of liked the rapid change in tone. Everything about this song is wonderfully put together, and I rarely see a tempo change like that in songs at all. It was done very well. The song was anything but repetitive, which is a super plus. Just from all the songs I've heard since I got into making music, (I've listened to TONS of stuff on Soundcloud) You really have a standout style... Well I mean, I haven't heard any of your other songs yet... Maybe I should change that xP

Back-From-Purgatory responds:

I'm not big on staying on one idea for too long, unless I'm specifically designing a song to repeat a phrase. I like to keep the "story" moving forward, if you know what I mean.

Incidentally, one of my biggest weaknesses is transitions, which can make moving from section to section difficult for me. But I'm glad it didn't bug you here.

And yeah, feel free, check it all out, ALL OF IT! I demand this of you.

And thanks for the review. Glad you liked it.

[Sleigh Ride]

Wow your style is great. This sounds like it would fit perfectly in a Disney movie or something of the like. I really have nothing bad to say about this. Everything is so well put together and just sounds professional. Seriously, if I was somehow playing in another tab and I had no idea what it was, I'd think it was a part from an old Disney movie playing. There is nothing in this that sounds synthy, muddy, or rough. It's just great all around! Congratulations, you get my first 5/5 on newgrounds =D

DavidGrossmanMusic responds:

Thanks. I feel honored that I got your first 5/5 on Newgrounds. I love the music from many of the Disney movies, but personally never thought it sounded like a Disney piece until you mentioned it. As I had also mentioned in my reply to your review on 'The Celebration of a New Year,' that professional sound is one thing that I strive for and pride myself on - in fact, the very first comment I got from my composition teachers on this piece and from other music majors and musician friends was that, had they not known I wrote it, they would think it was written by someone much more professional than myself.

I agree with your comment on pieces that sound too synthesized or muddy. I could be listening to a famous classical piece by an extremely well known classical composer, and wouldn't like it (maybe even hate the recording) if it sounded synthesized.

Again, I feel so honored that one of my pieces deserves a 5/5, and that it is also the first one you gave on Newgrounds.

David