Coop's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[S_Rock] Carol of the Bells]

Very good remix

I think that this piece is a very accomplished piece of work, taking a classic that has been used is so many ways over the years and then giving it a new lease of life. Perhaps it would have been beneficial to add some lyrics to it, but as it stands at present, you've got a damn fine sound as we are.

The piano was brilliant and it made the tune instantly recognisable, since a change of the instrument would have taken away from it so much, like playing a brass piece on a guitar, for example.

With how the beat comes in, it doesn't really drown out the piano and it goes so far as to actually compliment it, which is a fantastic step. Perhaps you could have gone for a modern solo and cut the piano out for a while, to let the hip hop show through and then bring the piano back in to place.

[Review Request Club]

S-Rock responds:

Thanks :) Thats a good review :)

[chicken humpin']

Funny Hick Rock

I like the writing of the lyrics here, but I think that the music did let it down just a little, as you could have done with a more aggressive solo, particularly on the drums. Throw some moves in there from someone like Animal, for example, and see how it pan s out, since the guitars get the idea, when they play the chorus, but the drummer seems to ignore this and carries on at his own pace.

A good song, but a little more work will make it even better.

[Review Request Club]

TheBardOfBlasphemy responds:

cheers man... yeah i did have plans to layer some drum fills over the heavy "incest section" (i'm assuming this is the part you meant by chorus) it really was a shame i couldn't get it to work.

if i redo this song that would be one of the top priorities... that, and to just play better overall!

thanks for the review and positive feedback, you rock!

[The Alley (War) - Cover]

I like it - but a little short

I think that there is certainly potential here, with the way that you've set the track going. The sound quality was a little low, since I had to turn it up quite loud to get a volume that I could listen to properly. As the piece itself progressed, there was a good amount of metal elements in there, but it didn't really bind together as it should have.

I think that the lead guitar solo should have been made longer and more aggressive - this is a cover, but you are allowed poetic licence on what you do to it. Fading out halfway through what I perceived as the tune was a little weak as well, so extrapolate it and give us more of a tune.

Some lyrics wouldn't go amiss either, since they can really change the sound of a song.

[Review Request Club]

Jeffaro responds:

Its not loud? I thought it was at a decent volume. Also, I do agree with your thoughts on how the piece progressed. As I said in my response to Haggards review, I ran out of steam really fast with this one.

I shouldn't have made this.

Thanks for the review.

[Battle of Supremacy]

Certainly not classical.

Sorry, but throwing a few strings into this piece does not mean that it is classical. For me, the techno parts that you added to this track took away from that particular part of the piece that you were conjuring up.

The pace was good, as was the fact that the strings managed to carry the track largely by themselves was a welcome boon. As the track progressed, there was a nice feeling of expectation developing, where the pace seemed to be taking us somewhere as yet unknown. Then the track stopped, which was a little disappointing. Perhaps you could have put a little more work into looping the track, or going for another minute at least in length, to get us where I feel this track could have been.

[Review Request Club]

[Euphoria]

Good ambience

A nice pace to this track, you certainly have a sense of decent timing, though the piano could be a little more emphasised, since there is such a range available to this particular instrument.

With how the rest of the track sounds aside from the piano gripe that I have, it's quite light and airy, with a nice flavour that conjures up happy imagery, so you've named it well :)

It's got a decent length, but I always though that ambient tracks needed to be good loops, in order to have a truly wide ranging purpose, which is the real issue with the track, otherwise people are restricted to the 4.49 length to make their pieces within. Granted, most of the works using this piece would be sorted within that timeframe, but as it stands, there is a little room for manoeuvre.

[Review Request Club]

DJ-Chilvan responds:

Thanks! This song was at 110 BPM, and I must say, it keeps an ideal pace. After a while, I did sense a range for the piano, but I just couldn't manipulate it at the time because there was some sort of writers block=P
The track is very dreamy, you can literally sit back, close your eyes, and drift away.
Yea, length for songs has always been an issue for me, but I tried my best to switch things up and fit things in accordingly. I'll try harder on my next track of this genre.

Thanks for the review!

[CKC - Amen]

A strange blend

I really have no idea what to make of the marrying of the vocal samples and the music, which sounded like it should be from an epic tale akin to Lord of the Rings. There could be so much more to this if I could actually hear all of the vocals, but occasionally it gets drowned out by the backing ambience. With that in mind, perhaps take the volume of that up slightly and reduce the music, just for balance. I kept catching snatches of it, but was unable to take it further, which was a shame.

I think that the epic sounding parts of it could have been tempered by some more rousing cymbal crashes, since they were a little on the quiet side. When you added synth / piano into the tune at about 3 minutes, I think that you need to perhaps make that a proper piano and develop this a little more, as such an instrument is worthy of far more than just a cameo.

[Review Request Club]

CKC2009 responds:

i havent got a real piano in my arsenal of VSTs :O

[SN | Bipolar | SN]

Borderline industrial

I like the way that I can hear things like ratchet's returning to their original position in the ending - it really makes them seem like the piece is just winding down and getting ready to start again, which is what happens when it loops.

I can compare the drum beats to the beat of industrial hammers, just landing in time to get this piece working to a steady rhythm.

I think that in the end, this track was just a little on the short side, but overall, you have really put some quality effort into it, with a long buildup, that did reflect poorly on such a short track. When it's all done and dusted, adding about an additional minute of music couldn't hurt you, so give it a go and see what you've got when you've done that.

[Review Request Club]

SessileNomad responds:

never really thought that, but i suppose this does have a slight industrial feel

[Strangled-you start somet]

Strangely out of key...

I can hear what the piece is supposed to sound like, but it seems that you're playing notes that are just off where you want to be. Perhaps a little flat in places, so tightening up on the sound of them there would certainly help you.

There is definitely a sense of creepy music in this one, as if akin to a haunted house of some kind, where you're not sure exactly where you are, let alone how you got there, or how to get out. There is some sort of serenity there, that might be a ray of sunshine peeking through a boarded up window here and there, but it still feels rather eerie.

[Review Request Club]

[USB]

Rather obviously artificial

I'm sorry, but this piece appears almost as manufactured as the Spice Girls. I think that with the way that everything has been set up, particularly with the really fast plucking work up and down the chords, there is a real sense of there being something amiss on this track.

You could really use some vocals on this track, but with the way that you set out to get the track across could use some work as well. I feel that there's something amiss with that it's not really there with the traditional feel of a lead and rhythm guitar. The drums were good, but I can feel that the drums were picked out by someone who probably isn't a drummer - did you hit another drum with the cymbal hits? When you've got the high hat bouncing like you have in the track, it's not really needed, I'll admit, but there's no real massive cymbal crashes, which would seem to be needed two or three times to add punctuation

[Review Request Club]

Sawdust responds:

Well to be fair it is completely artificial. And I'm no drummer, I'm a guitarist though, but I don't know much about the science of guitar sound.

And yeah, I need vocals on this.