m1kclark's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[A Priori]

The ambiance is incredible. There is no theme to determine the mood, so it's completely open to interpretation. It seems overall optimistic, but is soft enough to allow for sadness. The added noise is an excellent touch, suggesting chaos in the background and that this music described a moment in time that is separate from the mundane world and connected to something much, much bigger. I think it's wonderful, and I'm happy to see you keep uploading things, sir.

Slug-Salt responds:

You are to kind, I hope you are well my friend!

[[HP] Artificial Nature]

Nice mixture of timbres

As a background for a game, this is perfect. The piano and strings lend it beauty and emphasize the dramatic impact of what the player sees, but the omnipresent percussion give the song some drive and impetus to match the movement and task-oriented nature of the game.

It would make a poor song for a puzzle game, RPG, or RTS, but it is perfect for a visually striking FPS or 3rd-person adventure. The scope of the music also suggests a 3D game, rather than a side-scroller, because of the level of detail and the sense of space that the reverberations give. It's truly perfect for its goal. Hats off, sir!

ZaronX responds:

I honestly find RPGs and side scrollers to make the most use of music and crank out the more memorable tunes in gaming (but maybe it's time to change that?), and think 2D can get a lot of depth into a world in its own way. You pair the right elements together, and dimensions or even genre don't matter anymore; you're in this world now! And that is how a well-designed game should be!

The question being if I can pull that off. x:

[F-777 - "Life"]

Unfortunate coincidence

The musical content is very nice, a good sample of the genre and of your talent for combining sounds, and I like other works of yours for this reason. But it suffers as a result of a random coincidence.

There's another song "Frost" on NG (http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/list en/385985) that uses many of the same instruments and even some of the same melodic motifs and general structure choices. I've been listening to "Frost" for a year or two now, so it's really familiar to me. The similarities to "Frost" cheapen your new song in my ears. It's unfair, actually, because if the order had been reversed and I heard "Life" before "Frost", I'd feel like the other guy's song was cheapened for being to similar to your work.

The take-home message is this: it's a great composition, but you might want to get experimental with new instruments, sound fonts, and filters. With all the users on NG submitting music, it's hard to remain unique when several people are using the same exact toolboxes.

F-777 responds:

Thanks for the review!! I listened to the song and havn't found a single
same sound XD. The chord progression is the same but its used in
a million songs. Actually i can name 20 off the top of my head hehe.

I do appreciate the note though =).

Thanks again for the review!

[Acid Paradox - Progressive]

Echo all good reviews below, plus ...

Triplets FTW. That really, really added texture to the sound!

And I absolutely loved the moment at 2:22. "Yey!"

Acid-Paradox responds:

Yeah man, triplets are the best thing in the universe.

Awesome

Ruben-Acid Paradox-

[Spaze Unofficial - Mixed Emotions]

I *really* like this!

I can't exactly say what I like about it (which is unusual for me), but the use of classical piano in an otherwise electronica track has something to do with it. The melody and tones are not what caught me, so much as the beauty of the music and the focus on how consonant it is, simultaneous with the focus on the rhythm. It's almost like techno-orchestral, but more seamless. The ending is the only part that needs work; it's sort of like "Oh, we're done now, are we?" But otherwise I really like listening, and this is still going into favorites.

[let the siege begin]

Metroid

(a) Excellent instrumentation! (b) Good discordant music! (c) Wonderful progression from theme to theme. Hands down, just a great piece of electronica.

['09 Batman's Pain]

Zimmerized Elfman

Your composition is awesome as it stands alone, but I was partial to the original Danny Elfman soundtrack for its darkness. Even when Hans Zimmer did 'Batman Begins' and 'Dark Knight', it was much darker than this. Meanwhile, your composition is so epic and movie-like (and you used the original movie's them) that I *must* compare it to what the (paid) professionals did. So, I've both put you on the level with Elfman and Zimmer, and stated that you aren't as good. I hope you focus on the complimentary part!

[Hardcore Disco (DJWT Mix)]

Too much for my taste

The music was nice enough for its style, but it gave me a headache. This is just a personal opinion, but I think you could reduce some of the higher frequencies in the instruments and use a less aggressive high-hat.

MSXOmega responds:

Thanks! I personally don't think it's too much, being a happy hardcore song, but I guess different strokes for different folks. :P

[Enemies (industrialnoiser]

Wonderful contrast

The harshness of the instruments and even the content of the lyrics is very dark, which is at odds with the nice-sounding melodies and progressions, particularly in the chorus. I love the harmonies on "dissatisfied", like poetic irony in music. Excellent stuff.

LupeGarcon responds:

It's all in the textures, man. Writing this song was more about planning the shifts more than creating the music itself. I'm not a big fan of overdubbing multiple vocal parts, but i will admit it paid off here. Thanks for giving me your valuable time.

[Thundersocks]

Sounds like

Instrumentation reminds me of Trent Reznor. Musicianship reminds me of KMFDM. Elements of the video game genre are contrasted with far more experimentation than you would want in a song that's supposed to be background. Gave a 9/10 because I'd like to hear more action in the center. Overall, the effect is excellent, and I'm really enjoying it!