ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Ultra Demon Cannibal Force]

A fantastic idea garbled together with the execution. The vocal filters and mixing are completely muddying the sound and soaring above the rest of the track in an unpleasant way. Generally, I adore screaming, but I can hardly understand it at all. Sometimes it sounds like holding a microphone in a wind tunnel.

TSRBand responds:

Thanks for the tips :D I have lots of practice to do with these vox, will definitely be trying other approaches in the future!

[LL (Old) - Enslaved To The Pain]

This gives me a very keen, uncomfortable feeling. Probably stems from a lot of abuse in my life, suicide, etc. The double vocoder stack is not so much a bad idea as one that could have been taken better advantage of melodically, rather than in drone. Transitions are well done here, and poetry is quite evocative. It's just hard to get behind without an overarching melody in those vocals that cover up the hopeless atmosphere you've crafted.

Lich responds:

Ayyy, the stack was a weird one to control, very sensitive to even the slightest of changes. Pushing it through different notes via a carrier makes the stack sound wildly different and in many cases, worse. Keeping it as a monotone throughout the track and slapping extra chorus on ended up being the safest compromise in this case. I wish I was doing this through a hardware vocoder, much easier to do then haha. I'm usually used to doing Power Fry-Styled Aggrotech vocal processing on my pieces so this was a gamble I was willing to go for in the end.

[An Fáinne Nua (The New Ring)]

Composition-wise, this is very solid, dynamic, and quite enjoyable. What I dislike is the mid-range reverb ringing, which is just very unnatural to my ears. No matter how much I enjoy the composition itself, whatever reverb plugin you've got going on is just not doing it for me.

frootza responds:

Thanks for your thoughts EDM. No reverb plugin, just the reverb that comes with Versil's EtherealWindsHarp VST. Composing for playable harp can be challenging, (which this scored composition is, a playable harp composition). At any rate thanks for leaving a review :)

[The Dark Desolater]

While I much prefer the atmospheric portions of the track to the dub elements, this is a whopper of a composition. You took several seemingly contradictory elements, added some malice, and here we are. Stellar job. Tuba synth really threw me off until things came together. That's something that probably could do with a bit less nakedness.

Spadezer responds:

I appreciate the feedback. Thank you. I guess the tuba seems to stick out like a sore thumb (especially when it's pointed out more than once lol). I didn't change it much compared to how it fits in the rest of the song other than maybe the dynamics of it, which I guess goes to show how much blending and mixing can make a difference.

Your first sentence gives me hope on this track being competitive. I don't expect to win this contest now (which isn't as important) but it's good that the composition is noticed.

[AIM - The Lonely Hermit]

I actually think I prefer this to your usual vein of work. It shows a sensitivity and freedom of expression rarely seen. ASMR elements make for an unusual exploration of sound, which I feel very much represents a story. I will say that the eating bit absolutely annoyed the SHIT out of me as a misophone who normally listens to music at obscenely loud volumes in order to ignore eating noises -- eating noises which were currently going on around me. Subtracting half a star as I was supremely disturbed by that part. Very good piece, though. Thoroughly enjoyed.

EctiBot responds:

Dunno if I'll be able to make something like this again, but I certainly hope so :D.
Glad you liked it :D

[AIM - Gravitational Attraction]

This is a very fun piece, but unfortunately buried with less than stellar mixing. The chords are all very relaxing and creepy at the same time. Drums in particular need a little liveliness, both in tone and compression, reverb, etc. They're very... soggy, not crisp.

Bass is buried in the mix. Needs more grit and presence. Everything else I could possibly whinge about has been mentioned, but in short, I enjoyed the piece, but the quality could be much better! If you do ever decide to go back to your old projects and bring one to life, pick this one, please. I'd love to hear it.

Kalviter responds:

Yeah the mixing on this one has been an absolute nightmare, I've definitely gotta try to redo it when I get time. This is what happens when you only learn how to sidechain properly halfway through a song. Glad you like the concept though.

[Whispers of Remembrance]

Excellent writing. The only drawback is overly synthy leads that don't quite mesh with the acoustically realistic accompaniment. This did take me out of my element quite a bit. Regardless, the piece still represents the sense of wonder and perspective conveyed in the artwork, and I enjoyed it enough to download. Spellbinding composition!

ChronoNomad responds:

Thank you for the fine review, EDM364! Yes, I do wish that I had something better to work with, but I do try to squeeze the most out of what I have. Without spending large sums of money, it's really difficult to get a particularly realistic violin sound, whether with a high-priced suite or an actual violin.

Nevertheless, it's always nice to know that the integrity of the composition can still shine through despite inherent flaws. Suffice to say, I am happy to have left you spellbound! As long as the spirit of the artwork is felt through the music, I am content.

[AIM - RPM Overdrive]

Enjoyed this piece for reasons already mentioned. The bass I think could actually use a bit more presence in the right places. Right now, the high mids are sticking out a bit and the bottom end is hanging out somewhere. We don't know where, so our ears are drawn to those finicky mid-frequencies and it ends up sounding quite thin and crunched up.

I really didn't enjoy the half key change around 2:20 and the octaved arpeggio. Really took me out of my element and felt a very lazy add-on. In short, good work, but could have been more thought out. Solo sections were nice, mixing was fairly well done, though could be better in places, and I did enjoy the listen.

TSRBand responds:

Thanks for the review! Will definitely try to reel in that low end a bit in the future, really appreciate the tips. Glad you enjoyed it :D