ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Possible Conclusions (EP)]

Here at Act and Consequence, and your drums sound good -- except the hat needs some modulation. It really sticks out. This seems quite the morbid piece -- like the aftermath of a murder. Your composition is strong in the theory, if a little predictable once we start the falling progressions. Predictable, however is not always a bad thing. I feel as if there is something missing from this act melodically at the chorus. Like some buildup that stops right before the actual climax. Could be the organ not standing out as the lead in my ear.

Moving on, outro was nice. I sense we are at B. The melancholy theme and delay play as it sounds is serving well. Loving the drumset introducing melody. Very dark carnival sounding stuff here around 4:20. Your progressions do not disappoint. Clearly you are quite talented in transitions as well. The accordion-banjo sounding synth that I can't put a finger on at first seems out of place, but upon its second entrance, I realize this is because the attack sounds approximately the same on every note. Bass solo is excellent. Crashes and rides were sticking out a bit though. Modulation is your friend! Drum solo is also very well written and we arrive at our chorus shortly after. I quite like this piece. Outro is well executed again.

We seem to be playing with the same chords with each transition. Excellent stuff here.

And here we are at e, I believe. Effects on the drums here were very appropriate to lead in with, however what sounds like a deeper cymbal, two hits, was jarring due to sounding less reverbed, somehow. Less metallic is what I'm going for. Pay very close attention to cymbals in a space. They stick out so much without any help from a momentarily untuned ear. This being said, I also feel as if there is something melodically missing here. Makes for very good studying music, however -- or cinematic music.

Final transition here. This one was slightly jarring when it came in due to the attack of the synths, but once it was there, it was cleverly written. The sample caught me offguard. It fits the track well, however.

Drums come in and we are at our slower finale. Definitely getting the vibe of people being ridiculed on stage -- or just people laughing at others. I'd say you accomplish your goal well. This one is short enough that I don't feel something is missing, and the outro is nice. Laughter ends a smidge short of the bass, which wouldn't have grabbed my attention were it not such a quick fadeout.

Overall, your pieces stand together well, and the presentation is pretty fabulous. It was a pleasure to listen to. I do not know if it would have kept my interest if I hadn't been consciously reviewing during the listening process so as not to lose place. Listened to it once full through and spot checked where I made marks. Review is largely unedited so you get the full picture as I went through the piece.

Thank you for the request. A for effort, and A for content. Great listen. :)

LexRodent responds:

Thanks a lot for this highly detailed review.
The hats and cymbals are the part I had more doubts about, I lowered it's intensity, but I wasn't sure if it was enough, now I know they need some extra work, which I'll do asap, as well as double check all the details pointed. Nice to see you caught the "essence" on every "part" and the transitions intentions (which are indeed 3 variations on the same theme). You too deserve an A for such a good review. Thanks again :)

[theme of some guy]

Pretty decent for a phone app. The sound quality of the piano does kind of grate on me. Is this straight up programming the notes? Is it original? It sure is catchy.

diesezme responds:

(no programming experience btw)
Yeah, pianogato is a pretty awesome app. you just click and drag the notes onto the staves (plural for staff, I learned that like a month ago) and you have a little bar at the bottom of the screen where you can modify the notes, like make them sharp and flat. if you get the 10$ upgrade you can do basically everything possible in music, except ritardando and use an instrument other than piano
And then it can play it for you :)

and yes it's original all by me (i mean, the piece of music not the app)

[Psybot - Rumble]

Love that progression and the falling kick. Gorgeous sounds. Could have used a bit more cymbal in the mix. Nice stuff!

[Psybot - Second Level]

Classic tune here, but distortion has it sounding like YouTube 360p. Definitely could have used a spectrum analyzer and master limiter. Beautiful otherwise. I especially love that bass at 00:48. Beautiful contrast to the mid frequencies!

[Psybot - Techno Stage 1]

Great piece, but distortion ruined the louder parts. Could really use a revisit. A master limiter would have made this song perfect. The melodic content is fantastic!

[Psybot - pixel]

Never thought I'd see you again! This one would probably fare better in Dubstep (videogame is harsh on non-mainstream game tracks usually). Nice to see you've updated your style, and happy to see you're still producing!

I like this one a lot. The kick is strong, the growls are varied yet also keep a central theme -- and then you even seem to go between dubstep and dnb. Nice stylistic changes a lot of artists don't employ here. Could use just a bit of sidechaining at the last full-out chorus to help the percussion stand out a little bit and breathe some life into it. Excellent otherwise.

Glad to have you back!

Psybot responds:

Thanks alot for your fair words! I have changed the genre of it and I will take your suggestions and advice onto the next track :D

[Chased]

Your mixing is fantastic here, at least on my end. Could use just a bit more hattage. I'm not sure I would call this techno either. The drums and bass pull me toward dance, but it's too slow for that. New Wave maybe (don't trust me here -- barely know that genre)? Or simply Video Game?

Certainly would make a fantastic video game tune, especially if it were looped. Great work!

LexRodent responds:

Thanks, extra work on the hat its a good suggestion.
I know what you mean, I added a little of various genres, decided its sound was a bit more on the techno side , video game is a nice choice too.

[Skrillex eight bit remix]

Pretty decent, but could use a lot of work on that outro. A fade out would have been fine. Needs a little bit more hattage for my taste, and that snare could also use a little bit of work. maybe make it grittier, etc. Not bad for what I expected with a Skrillex remix, for sure!

[Backup part 2]

Sounds more like drumstep or drum and bass than it does dubstep, but I like it quite a bit. Nice use of samples. Very catchy feel-good stuff here. :3

EdKempeper responds:

Yeah, its clearly not dubstep, I don't know why I chose this category...
Thanks for your review !

[{ND} Phantoms Cure]

Gotta love going back to the oldies. What a pleasurable throwback. Really loving how absolutely unapologetic this is. Reminds me of some old French core I used to listen to almost with the distortion.