Coop's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Minimalism (Day of Trance #3)]

Minimal is the key here

This is a nice piece, especially considering that the way you've created it doesn't really have that much variation, so as a result, you wouldn't expect me to be raving about a track that was nearly six minutes in length, due to me being a real stickler for variation throughout the track.

As I listen to this piece, I can really feel the expression of the author come through. The bass is fast and thunderous, while the way that the melody blends in for the introduction is really nicely done, presenting a much more balanced track than you might have expected without reading the notes or listening beyond the first minute.

I thought that the pauses were too long at around the 1 minute mark, so that was the only real blemish on the piece.

[Review Request Club]

jxl180 responds:

Thank you for your great and helpful review. Always appreciated.

[Dead Winter (Trance Remix)]

Sad melody, jumpy overtones

An interesting track, but certainly not a brilliant one. Personally, I'm not a fan of where the piano is playing in the background, sounding sad and slightly mournful, but the main melody of the piece is the trance progression, which to me really doesn't mix well with the piano at all in this format.

The length is good, bordering on a little too long. I can see what you're trying to do with the piano, in conjuring up some sort of wintry theme for the listeners, but it needs something else to make it like that. Perhaps change the trance synths to something a little softer and smooth, as opposed to the current setup of ramming it home with the bass beat on top and trying to mix the two together. Perhaps consider the sort of sounds you get from wet fingers around the rims of glasses and work with that as the main melody. The tune would suddenly seem much more like it was a winter theme, as opposed to the in fighting I can sense at present.

[Review Request Club]

[(FMC) -=Bowser Armageddon=-]

Reminds me of the Alton Towers Averts :P

I like this track - the way that it sets up for something epic, slightly scary (the way that you built this up with the piano was absolutely fantastic, complete with the foils of the synths and the guitars) but overall gripping and pacey.

I love the way that this is something that could be played during some sort of Boss Fight Sequence for a VG Flash. I don't think it could be included in the game, as the ending was a little subdued and you tend to prefer loops for things like this, so it does have a target audience, so to speak.

I think that this would be very well presented if you could do a second piece to explain the aftermath of this, since the rapid pace indicates the fight, but there is just an end, with little explanation of what happened to the hero after the fight. Did he survive? Was he crushed beneath the bulk of Bowser, as he collapsed, exhausted?

[Review Request Club]

FunkmasterCatking responds:

I actually had an elaborate battle/flash movie mapped out in my mind as I was making this. I have no flash skills, however, so they're just ideas.

And you raise a good point, the outro is all of a sudden and doesn't really tell what happens exactly. I might go back and redo it at some point, if I were motivated enough..

Thanks for the review!

[Life is the Drug - BK]

Good work :)

I like the way that this song never seems to stop - it's like you've got a definitive setup for it and as one part seems to be drawing to a close, you change the direction of it on a strange tangent, allowing you to take the piece elsewhere and with such style that it all blends nicely into one. Even when the track comes to a stop, I get the feeling that it's about to carry on for another few minutes at this nicely balanced pace.

Personally, I think the best part of this piece is the bassline, as it's the undertone of all of the track, despite the rhythmic changes that happen over the top with the melody. Relatively few instruments have been used here and as a result, you've got a great setup for the rest of the track to build from.

With the way that everything else pans out, you could seriously consider adding something more to the track in the form of perhaps a bass solo, since that would add a new dimension to the piece, in my ears. The quieter parts of the melody may sound like a bass solo, but it's pretty unchanged, so why not give that a go?

[Review Request Club]

Bracksta responds:

great suggestion :), i should make a bass master remix :)! As always thank you so much for the great review, ideas, and compliments :). I love you guys, you maka mea soa happia!!!

[Celestial Palace]

Regal fanfare

A very royal welcome from this piece, as we are hailed in to fanfares, synths and bells. That certainly makes for an interesting combination of instruments that gives this piece a particular feel of being something that has been created by royal edict.

I think that with how it started out, I wasn't expecting this, until the fanfares came along, up until then, it just sounds like it could be something to do with Legend of Zelda and so forth. With the way that you've presented it, I quite like it and can see it being deployed for any medieval sort of flash project, so there will be artists out there searching for an ambience of that kind, so good luck to you with looking for people to use your work.

[Review Request Club]

Birdinator99 responds:

That's great man -- I actually thought you wouldn't like this one! Guess it's all good though :).

[CKC - Avatar]

Good, but a little repetitive

I think that this is a nice sounding piece all told. The major issue that I have is that the only real variation you added was the outro, which really sucks for a 5 minute track. This kind of sound got quite old quite quickly.

For some improvements, I'd consider changing the piece so that the intro doesn't take so long to build up and get us into the track, because that's almost a minute that you could halve, because the increases in volume were so minute, the casual listener would think that they were never going to get there.

You've added backing pieces to the music, but the way that it pans out, it's as if there is something trying and failing to make itself known to the track. With the piece being dominated by the rhythm, you need to crank up the volume on the melodic parts, if you want them to have an impact, which this piece sadly lacked.

[Review Request Club]

CKC2009 responds:

meh...

[80 (WiP)]

Nice loop

A well constructed piece, this loop certainly does have good staying power, despite the fact that it is less than a minute in length. I think that you've got some good phases in there and a reasonably wide range of instruments used, which makes for a good variation that it takes a while to get bored of.

To improve, I'd suggest that you try increasing the length and from there perhaps consider something like a longer guitar piece, even with a solo there that doesn't rely upon the beat and the synths to carry it along. The way that everything builds up there, it does seem a shame to end it so prematurely, after all.

[Review Request Club]

SFaPiL2 responds:

He he... it wasn't supposed to be loop at all. I just didn't feel like fooling others that this was an entire song ^__^.

About what you wrote. Ouch. I managed to increase the song to around 2:30-3:00 minutes in length, but I never managed to make a guitar solo as you suggested =__=: I used it more as an accompaniment during the entire song.

For now it's missing a final transition towards a conclusion and it should be set... hopefully I didn't make any big mistakes.

Anyway, thanks for helping me out Coop83. Much appreciated.

[Strangled - to be the sea]

Too much hiss

I can hear a hiss that Dolby would disapprove of and remove using their latest technology. Please do something about this >:(

The piece itself sounds very strange and almost tuneless, as the sound effects that are used just seem a little disjointed and with the fact that the melody doesn't really have much of a tune, it is kind of creepy, as if it is somewhere within a run down old house that has strange things inside. The best part of this tune was the organ in the background, but it needs to be more prominent, in order to take control of what is a piece that requires a lot of work overall.

[Review Request Club]

Calamaistr responds:

Strange... there is no hiss in this track, maybe you misinterpeted the rain?
I also dont see why you mention it to be 'tuneless' when i made clear this whole album is atmospheric, like a music score.

The tune is in the detail.

Nevertheless, thanks for your review.

[Experienced Loss]

Tear-jerker

Very well written and nicely player for something that deserves to be put into a flash piece as an accurate representation of when someone's close friend, relative or mentor has passed away.

I can see it now - the rain clouds passing overhead and the corpse lying on the damp earth, with a figure hunched over, a single drop of rain causing ripples in the puddle at his feet. Not the end of his story, but the end of a chapter where someone with a large influence has ended their involvement. Now it is time to move onwards and take this piece to the next chapter. Either for vengeance or redemption.

Good work with the strings, perhaps the addition of a lone flute would be a nice requiem sound and also the fade out could be changed, as it sounds wrong to fade such a poignant piece away, taking some of the emotional strength from what is present here.

[Review Request Club]

callitsleep89 responds:

interesting thought. i think a flute would sound nice, though i actually wanted to try and keep this as simple as possible for once, even with the instrumentation. also, since this is made to loop, the fadeout wont be as sudden as it seems here if it is actually put into a game or flash. anyways, thanks for the review!

[Your Makeup is Running]

Rather generic

Sadly, it seems as if everything that you've used here is too generic to work it into the Rock Genre properly. Personally, I view it as "pop-rock", which is the manufactured stuff that gets to the top of the charts, occasionally actually beating some of the manufactured garbage that people who watch X-Factor are told to like.

With the way that the piece is put together, it sounds like you really need some vocals to take this piece further. As it currently stands, you've got a nice sound, but it really does sound manufactured. The guitars need to sound like they can carry the tune and it needs to all become more tied in together as the constituent parts keep handing control over to each other, as opposed to blending in nicely with the rest of the piece.

[Review Request Club]

Sawdust responds:

I suppose the rhythm needs more bass, and the bass should be brought down, and the lead should be distorted. And vocals, vocals would be nice. I'll attempt, or at least imagine how this could turn out if it were better. Thanks for the honesty, too.