Death-9's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[{Heim/LC} Radical Intervention]

dude, this is awesome

I've already listened to it hundreds of times while you guys were swapping your files, and I must say this is a masterpiece. both of you guys rock. Kevin's percussion patterns are simply thrilling, and your orchestral talent is awe-inspiring. I really hope to see more collaboration between both of these talented artists!

JeffHeim responds:

haha yeah Kevin is a wizard when it comes to percussive techno/electronica. This collab was a lot of fun and I'm sure we'll collaborate again in the near future. Thanks for the kind review!

[Hopeku - Quantum]

nice stuff, Hopeku

I like the semi-relaxed feeling here. You really nailed this one. Like ph0ne said, could use a little EQ for added punch, etc. I'd absolutely love to see this one a bit more hard-hitting, especially if you wanna use it for a boss fight. But, for the style you're going for, this is amazing. I love it.

Keep fighting the good fight.

hopeku responds:

IT's true I completely fucked the EQing and I don't get how the fuck haha. Anyway now it's too late. I'll just keep making new music.

Thanks man!

[[LC] -Conquering The Summit]

weird but cool

i like the tense feeling to this. it flows very nicely, and you hardly notice any major transitions. Very epic, background-y feel. sounds like a soundtrack or something. its really a very unique song, I'd like to hear more of this style.

Good job mang

ElectricalBypass responds:

Hey! Thanks~!

[ph0ne vs Hopeku - Aerodynamite]

this song is pr0

it totally kicks butt. loving the awesome slow buildups and relaxed overall feelof the song. it's not in a hurry to get anywhere, but it still goes there. absolutely incredible, you guys did it again. Very glad you two started doing collabs together.

hopeku responds:

haha at first I wasnt sure he was good enough (When you asked) but it turned out that I liked his stuff like hell and he inspire me like no one!

Thanks man!

[Hopeku - Crazy Illness]

Amazing

Like always, Hopeku, you're a god. I love the way you blend supersaws with fullon bass, it makes my favorite pseudo-genre of all time!

Mastering on this one is great, I can hear everything clearly and let me tell you, there's a lot to be heard in this track. This is a great song, in every aspect, and I can only say you've done it again, Hopeku.

Also, hey, as a favor to my buddy ph0ne, why don't you see if you can get one of your collaborations released to a label? I'd like to see him get out there as an artist, and I'm sure he'd be really pumped if he actually got a song in the market.

hopeku responds:

Well I finally decided that our last track wasn't good enough. But we're gonna try again next week and see what happens. I'd love to get signed with him!

Thanks for your wonderful comment on my track, this is really appreciated!

[We Are Lost (full Vocals)]

What is this

Please, stop making music. Learn to use compressors, or at least how to EQ properly. The vocals are jarring and sudden, and very painful when they enter. Another complaint that I have with this is that it is terribly repetitive. I could count the total number of patterns in this song on my own two hands, and for an 8-minute song that's embarrassing.

Your effects and even your synths are over-used and contrived. It's completely unoriginal, and extraordinarily boring. The song's progression is simply tiring- it repeats entire sections with NO modification. You ought to at least spice it up a little bit, it's just terrible as it is.

I'm going to be honest, your song made me almost fall asleep, and not in a good way. The only reason i didn't go completely unconscious was because it was so poorly EQ/Mastered and so terribad.

statueofdiveo responds:

It's a club song. I've seen way more repetitive songs.

Can you do better?
Oh, and the entire songs is compressed
Are you wearing headphones?

[Ph0ne - Jew Golds (Hopeku rmx)]

Hopeku

you are a g0d amongst men, Hopeku. You bring light back into the world with your block rockin' beats. This is quite possibly one of the coolest psy/goa I have ever heard on NG. It's hard, driving, and awesome. This will certainly give the jews a run for their money :D

hopeku responds:

haha thanks Mr Death-9, you're as cheering as always!

Thanks for your comment, but we must admit there isn't much goa/psytrance music on newgrounds. The best i've heard yet are Ph0ne in psytrance and Zenon in Goa ;)

[[LK] Euphoria]

eek

Good stuff here, but I'm really shocked this gets THAT MUCH praise. I have noticed that your mastering is really poor, which kind of ruins a very awesome song for me. And is it just me, or did you actually DELAY THE KICK!?!?!??! You NEED to duck your kick, and you NEED to compress, compress, compress. Way too much interference from different noises messes up your sound, and it's very foggy, not crisp and clean like it should be. My subwoofer is at 0 gain, and not even at it's loudest level, and it's just producing noise. And that's not even counting the sub-bass frequencies. This is obviously not a problem with my sub, because I've listened to this one other speakers, and it's still the same.

I think you have awesome skill, but you need to get better equipment so you can refine that skill. Learn about side-chains, compressors, limiters, multi-band compressors, and all the different types of EQ's. Unfortunately, that's where most artists usually fail, and that's what makes a good song into a GREAT song. Just play around with those things, and you'll find how to make your songs sound 10 times better. This sounds good to a normal person, but music publishers would be turned away almost immediately. If you can do all that, I think you would be a definite candidate for a record deal.

Kudos, and good job :D
Death-9

LK412 responds:

You are absolutely right. I know that ALL my songs are shittily mastered/mixed if not at all.

I never have gotten around to actually learning how to do it because 1. Im lazy 2. I dont know where to start, and 3. I'd rather spend my time making music rather than fine tuning it. I know its necessary, but im just never in the mood.

When school is out i will definitely read up on it, but as for now, im just winging it, and hoping that it doesnt sound too bad.

I dont know thats wrong with a delayed kick, i love them. =P

Thanks for the review. =D

[[LK] I Like To Move It (WiP)]

ouch

Good progression and all, but your mastering leaves MUCH to be desired. I heard ridiculous clipping, terrible ducking, and retardedly overpowering synths. The solo synth at like 1:00 and the kick drum were far too loud, and caused horrible overlap and mad clipping. Reverb was massively overdone, which probably contributed, too. Side chain the kick and synth (bass?) and you'd add 1. Otherwise this is simply really boring, which means you need to spend more time working on it.

And since you said you had trouble with the vocals, I (as a DJ) recommend you use something like Ableton to beatmatch your loops once you've made them. Make the main song normally, then take the vocals and add them however you want to in Ableton. You can then tweak with your samples etc even more if you feel like it. That's what I personally recommend from my experience, having used it a couple of times.

LK412 responds:

Thanks for the tip,

ive dropped this song, but your tips will really help me in future projects. Thanks a lot.

[Pico factory (Pico day)]

Well done

You really can't enjoy minimal techno unless it's longer, though. I'd like it if you expanded on this one. It's not that hard to make, just automate like, everything on maybe 3-4 instruments and throw in some random sounds. I'm sure an expanded version of this would be awesome

hopeku responds:

Haha you're quite right, but if I make more minimal song, then i'll just start a new project!

Thanks man!