Coop's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Kieranmau5]

Simple and a good start

This piece could be so much more - you've got a good introduction and a well balanced piece of work here, but the way it feels like it needs to go is getting something along the way of development across the top. Make it loop as the backing track, removing the intro after the first cycle and move on by adding more instruments.

A bit of bass, a few drums, or even something like some strings or vocals would change the dynamic of the piece and be able to give you a much better track for sound and longevity, as after a few passes in the current format, it does tend to sit heavily on the concious, stifling the imagination a little.

[Review Request Club]

[-RG- In a Teardrop]

Great stuff

Well, what a way to come back to the Audio scene.

I think that the contrasting sounds of the glockenspiel and the strings on the intro are brilliant and I'm straining my ears to hear if you carried these on when the more dramatic music comes in and takes over.

To be honest, I'd say that you're looking at Ambient as the genre for this music, since it's something that can very easily be adapted to a great many themes, just as backing for silent flash, since a lot of people do go and make dramatic flash suited to this sort of music.

I think that with the percussion coming in, it does tend to dominate the track a little and perhaps the balance is slightly out there, considering how the strings have come across as dominant early on, so perhaps the drums and cymbals need to be toned down a little, just to add some balance to the track in all.

[Review Request Club]

Raven-Guard responds:

"Well, what a way to come back to the Audio scene."

Cool :3.

"I think that the contrasting sounds of the glockenspiel and the strings on the intro are brilliant and I'm straining my ears to hear if you carried these on when the more dramatic music comes in and takes over."

Personally I can't be sure, since Darklight took care of all this stuff, and I'm deaf from one ear so I can't tell, but glad you like the intro. That's actually a xylophone though :D.

"To be honest, I'd say that you're looking at Ambient as the genre for this music, since it's something that can very easily be adapted to a great many themes, just as backing for silent flash, since a lot of people do go and make dramatic flash suited to this sort of music."

Hm, an interesting point of view. We were first contemplating on whether to put it in Classical or in Miscellaneous. Classical because it incorporates strings and brass, including a few other orchestral influences, but Miscellaneous because of the rock drums, although Ambient isn't such a bad idea.

"I think that with the percussion coming in, it does tend to dominate the track a little and perhaps the balance is slightly out there, considering how the strings have come across as dominant early on, so perhaps the drums and cymbals need to be toned down a little, just to add some balance to the track in all."

Haha, yeah, you're entirely correct. I'm thinking of EQing all of the drums, probably by then the balance between percussion and strings will work out a little better.

Thanks for reviewing, and sorry for the late response.
--
Supersteph54

[<EagleGuard> Never give up!]

Awesome

What an amazing piece of classical music that really has some great variation and instruments thrown in there. I'm not sure why or how the guitar fits, but it really works so well that I'd consider asking you for a bigger part for that guitar.

The harp is the real centre piece of this track and as a result, it's quite "light and fluffy", though the backing strings and the drums do lend a more sombre and grounded atitude, as if there is combat either ahead or just behind. It doesn't quite have the emotion and pace to be something that really grabs your attention, taking it further to a real life or death situation for me, but you're one of the better artists on this site that can protray a huge gamut of emotion in a few minutes of music.

[Review Request Club]

EagleGuard responds:

Wow, thanks! Wasn't too sure about the guitar part, but I'm glad it worked out OK ;)
About it not really 'grabbing your attention', you're right, that's something I have to work on.

Thanks for the review!

[Capital katlean (remix)]

Slightly haunted

Hmm, this piece seems to conjure up imagery of a haunted house, with the piano playing a slow, almost disjointed melody that really does speak volumes for the rest of the track. This covers the first few minutes very well, especially as it blends into a duet.

When it goes quiet and then gets recreated with synthetic instruments, you've got a very different dynamic to the piece and it comes alive, as if it were someone trying to recreate a sound that they heard, possibly as a child. I can see this being played and in the middle of a floor, some ghostly couple waltzes around in time to the music as everything takes hold. The piano is in danger of being a little too dominant here, so it does need to be reigned in ever so slightly.

I also think that you could have added more strings to this piece, as that seemed to be the natural progression, as strings always accompany waltzes really well.

[Review Request Club]

Calamaistr responds:

Based on a future katlean makes your interpetation close to correct, seeing as katlean in the story is a 'undead' hermitage, the atmosphere of the little melody was definately meant to portray such a topic, not actually haunted but eerie and horroresque nevertheless.

I never even noticed myself that it was a walz heh. Now thats eerie too about my own work. :P

As usual, thanks for the review. :)

[BOUNC3 BirfdaySong!]

Happy Birthday

Not a bad piece, but it does get quite repetitive after a while. I like the crescendo that you've got built in to this piece and the way that it sparkles. I think that it's a case that slightly more bass is needed and from there, the melody could use being toned down ever so slightly, just to give a more balanced look to the piece.

As it progresses, the really high synth sounds seemed to go against the grain for me, so I'd recommend that you cap them slightly, giving rise to a more well developed piece.

[Review Request Club]

[Dragon Flight - BK]

Good use of piano and effects

I like this piece and the way that the piece is carried forward on the back of the piano, kind of in a symbolic fashion of how the dragon carries someone on their back in flight.

I think that there is a great deal of work that has been done with all of the effects here. You've clearly gone overboard with the effects and different sounds that the synths can produce to get the desired sound in this piece.

Perhaps it could have been shortened slightly, giving some sort of sound for the dragon taking off and landing at either end, this might make it loop better, who knows?

[Review Request Club]

[Future Janitor Battle]

Interesting concept

But very boring.

Seriously, there is little else to this track, except for a recycled beat that feels like it is drilling tiny holes in my sanity constantly. I think that this needs to be changed, by cutting down the massively endless seeming voids of this sound alone, by throwing something else in there.

The variation, when finally added was decent, but it seemed like it was a few minutes too late, as this beat had already convinced me to turn down the volume, so I wasn't as impressed by it. When you repeat that melody over the top ad nauseum, you're not really writing much more than 10-20 seconds of track. All the rest is just recycled.

Give us plenty more variation, keep us guessing as to what is coming and hope that people enjoy your ideas. I'd have expected Janitors jousting with mops on jetpacks in space to have been faster paced and to be based around a more intense feel of combat and possibly even a big pause in the middle, as a lusty blow is landed and the flash producer makes some sort of matrix like slow motion camera angle, for example.

[Review Request Club]

["Frozen Clockwork" -GST Mix-]

MADNESS!

Having only recently watched Madness Combat 6.5, I can't think of a better place to start with this piece - your work would be right at home with this sort of piece. The pace is hectic and there are only the pauses that really stop the listener from exploding, as the tension seems to keep building through the tracks, hitting these sudden drains and starting the climb once more.

With the way that this goes, I think that a solo would be the best thing to do. Take out the bass and give us a run for our money with what the synths are capable of. I know that you changed them at around the 3 minute marker, but the beat was still there. Take it out completely and show us off that the synth melody can take the track elsewhere.

I like how it built up after the solo, so perhaps that needs to stay though.

[Review Request Club]

Dj-GST responds:

I don't know if I wanna do that or not...

Anyway, I'm happy you liked this so much. Thanks for the 9 and the great review :D

[Stargenx - PsyRockin]

Good rock tune

The guitar riff in this reminds me of the intro riff that was used for Alice Cooper's "Prince of Darkness" tune from the 1970s. It's a very well constructed piece that allows the listener to hear a good range of sounds, carried along by the lead guitar with some good backing from the bass and drums.

I like this tune, but I'm torn as to whether or not it could use some vocals to improve it - with the vocals, the track will go in a radically different direction, but without, there is a danger that it goes a little stale.

With the way that you've laid it out, there is a good balance, but perhaps it calls for a rhythm guitar to play alongside, as opposed to just guitar and lead?

[Review Request Club]

Stargenx responds:

Possibly. You have some good suggestions. Thanks for the review!

[Campion's Brag]

Great Piano

Well, this piece certainly grabs the listener's attention with the piano, before hitting them with the drums, which is an interesting combination, especially since the percussion is cymbal heavy. With how it all comes together, the piece seems far better as the piano, as opposed to the way that the percussion seems to drown the piano out.

To take this further, I would tone down the cymbals and work at getting the piano to do something else, as opposed to just this tune that you've got. Perhaps a quicker solo piece, just to get away from the cymbals, which might seem like they are trying to be oppressive?

[Review Request Club]

Sawdust responds:

The cymbals could probably represent teachers? Lol. I'd probably tone the drums down then, Maybe reduce it to a simple drumloops sample.