Coop's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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.

[The Last March (Plz Reveiw)]

Hmm, an old march.

Not really the sound of a marching troop, I'll admit, but it does kind of resonate with me that this could be down to something like an accompaniment for a film piece, that shows a small, but significant force moving out towards their ultimate battle.

From where the notes increase in volume, there is a little feedback / static, so it needs to be remastered slightly there. Other than that, I can find little to fault the track on overall. I can certainly agree that this piece puts out some poignant emotions, especially when you consider the deeper meanings that accompany people marching to war.

I think that I'd have made the drums slightly more prominent and deep, in order to convey the feelings of the march, above all else.

[Review Request Club]

Cimba responds:

Thanks for the review :), i think it might be your speakers because i havn't noticed this issue.

[Hit_That_Bass! [Box-Killa]]

Not bass, more Sax, tbh

Interesting name for a track that focuses on the Bass, when to me it sounds more like some free form jazz with a Saxophone, in all honesty. I think that you could have added more bass after the introduction, when the Sax starts to get into its element, but you've got a decent bassline, so the title is not completely devoid of meaning.

With how the track is laid out, perhaps you could have cut the bass out and headed for a saxophone solo, just showing what it's capable of all together. It is a pretty good all around instrument. The bass solos that you come up with are more bridges than anything I'd view as a solo, so perhaps lengthening those would help the piece also.

[Review Request Club]

[ComTune]

Pacy and driven

I think that this piece certainly has a lot of potential going for it. The way that it all seems to stand ready for something else to take over, I would say that there is just a certain something lacking, which does need to be addressed. Let's focus on what we have so far:

1) A decent beat, with some good instruments in there.

2) A good vocal sample, which works well as an introduction.

3) Good crowd noises - always good for the Techno crowd, as it tells them when to make some noise, as opposed to bouncing up and down.

From this, I'd say that it needs to have some sort of solo in it, possibly with a deeper quality. Listen to tracks like Zombie Nation and you'll hear what I'm thinking of with the solo / chorus parts there. From messing with the sound of the tune and possibly adding a few different vocal samples in, you'll end up with a much better sounding piece.

[Review Request Club]

[[herd] Triumphant]

Well worked

This is a nice sounding piece, that certainly allows people to hear a good gamut of sounds. The beat and rhythm are well worked, though you could use a little more on the melody, just to add something that links all of the sounds together. Without that, it sounds a little broken, so just a little mroe working to get it all inclusive would be appreciated.

I think that it's a nice track, but there are still a few issues that need attending to - like that one bass note at the start, because it just sounds so out of place.

With the "8-bit" sound as a flourish, that's a nice touch, I could see this being used a little more, possibly in conjunction with other similar sounds, possibly helping it to integrate more.

[Review Request Club]

Herdunculus responds:

Ok, I see what you are trying to tell me. I think it's funny how you didn't mention the "genericness" of it, but that's probobly because so many have said it before...

Anyways, thanks so much for the review.

[i ate the easter bunny]

Disturbing lyrics, catchy music

The simplicity of the music is somewhat counterbalanced by the lyrics that go for shock, as opposed to actual musical accomplishment. The way that everything sounds all together is slightly off putting as a tune, but it's akin to a song that small children would sing, as opposed to the shock value of "So What", by the Anti-Nowhere League, for example.

With the way that everything is set out, it's not too bad a tune and I can certainly say that you've got the potential, but doing more with the keyboards, as opposed to just having the backing drum beat on there, you could make a professional sounding piece that would take your lyrics to the next level.

[Review Request Club]

TheBardOfBlasphemy responds:

yeah, that's a bass guitar, not keys. I do wish I could get hold of a midi device like a set of keys as it would open up a whole dimension of sounds to me.

as it stands, i think there's a guitar missing... i think it needed some funky/weird shit happening to spice the track up... but that's beyond my skill level.

cheers coop and the RRC! you guys rock!

[Mentality Breach]

Catchy, but repetitive.

I think that this piece could easily be used for a lot of parts, be it menus, or even as a backing track for certain games, but the way that it is set out, there need to be a few changes, just to get it back to where I feel you're aiming for:

1) Some of the notes have a little too much high-end feedback interference (static). This mostly occurs in the drum and cymbal notes at around 2.30. Try quietening these down a little, just to smooth that part over and then you'll have a much better piece.

2) More variation is required. Perhaps something can be done with the synths, taking it away from what sounds like a basic child's game theme, giving them an alternative sound or dynamic, similar to what you started the track with, but then cut out after the first minute. This was good and a little underplayed in my opinion.

3) Try cutting out the long pause between the intro and the main part of the tune, it sounds untidy, as if there are two tunes that you've got in this submission.

[Review Request Club]

Birdinator99 responds:

Thanks for the review, and I totally know where you're coming from on the cymbal thing -- I spent a little time trying to rework it but apparently not enough.

lol don't worry I'm working on variation and transitions.

[Flood of consequences]

Good Metal!

I like this tune, but I'm not sure about the transition from the thrash metal to the very mellow by contrast part at around 2 minutes. Perhaps this would be lessened by the application of lyrics, but I'm sure you already knew that.

The way that it picks back up again is good, but I just think that the change there is too great and it needs to be lessened. The way that the rest of the tune sounds is pretty damned good, with the fast drums, well devised guitar and a nice sounding melody. With how fast the drums go, you could ahve stood to go faster. Not that we're talking Malmsteen style speed there, just something that reflected the thrash nature of the drums that you've given us.

[Review Request Club]

[Dreaming Away]

Good music, poor lyrics

Personally, I think that if you're after ambient, you don't need words, save for maybe some sort of high pitched latin stuff from a choir on occasion. The music is good, well paced and well thought through, if a little poor in the quality stakes. I'd suggest messing around with the equalisation, taking the bass out and adding treble, to make it sound less muffled.

Yes, this can be a little long of a piece - I'd have considered making it slightly shorter, by perhaps a minute or two and then looping it, so that it's usable in various flash pieces, since that's a great way to get your music listened to more.

[Review Request Club]

Monkeydelic responds:

Thanks :)

I agree, but sometimes it's nice to express myself through lyrics, besides, if i ever want to be good at it, i have to "practice"

It will most defineatly be shorter next time around, now that i have a better idea of how much time i need to give the effects the space it needs.

Thanks for the review :)

Namaste.