50Steaks's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hi-LiGHT]

The intro sets the mood for sure. The voice lines set the stage for them being used more. But the transition into 0:26 has a weird clipping sound, and again at 1:48. It almost sounds like an overly loud hi-hat. It takes you out of the immersion a little bit. I can't even describe what it is fully but it is definitely noticeable. Sounds like you might need a stronger crash there to bring in the extremely fast melody. 0:47 is a very quick transition into a dubsteppy part that I'm not sure entirely fits with the rest of the song. Also the high end at 1:08 feels very crowded to me. Pretty much the only thing in the lower register there is the kick drum. I do like the guitar and voice lines in the section following though. At 2:08 the snares are extremely quiet and could be turned up a ton I feel like. Also the synths get a bit chaotic there, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Overall this is definitely a bop with a few rough areas around the edges for improvement that don't significantly hinder the fact that it's a bop. Thanks for coming out!

icantpronouncethis responds:

Thank you so much for the thorough analysis of this track. I think I've added a bitcrusher that fades in for that weird clicky part. I think I added that for texture thing. Now that you mentioned, I might just get rid of the crush because it doesn't seem to matter too much for the track. I always pull back when it comes to beats and I was hoping I pushed a bit more for this one. Definitely I'll be looking this once more before I package it. Thank you so much,

[Malleus Maleficarum]

This is awesome. The intro definitely sets the mood with the cellos doing their eighth notes and what I think is a glockenspiel leading into a choral section with brass and bombastic percussion, all in the span of 40 seconds. It is actually really impressive how quickly you move from section to section here, though I think some areas may have benefited from a little more time spent in them before moving on. Because the pace of the piece is usually pretty fast, a lot of the slower, calmer areas risk not having the emotional impact they should up until the second half. But this is largely avoided by just really good orchestration, except for 1:42, which sticks out and doesn't really match the rest of the piece. The last minute or so is actually my favorite part, because the pace slows down and you spend a little longer reveling on the journey you just went through. It feels very heartfelt and meaningful. The transition to 2:15 is a little rough and quick, however. That would be my final complaint for this piece; it is truly spectacular. The outro is AMAZING; very few complaints here. Thanks for coming out!

CloakedSoup responds:

The two parts you pointed out (1:42 and 2:15) were where I (last minute) wrote an extra section. Before that, there was a direct transition from one to the other, but I felt like the opening didn't have enough time being played (as you said). I wanted to write an extra part where I repeated some of those melodic ideas due to the aforementioned feeling that the intro needed to be longer. It's impressive that you intuitively noticed where I inserted the extra part! haha

[Fate]

Welcome back for another round! This one takes you on quite the emotional journey as always. But I feel like there's an element of soul missing this time from the performance, almost like you're rushing through the notes without taking your time to really emphasize the emotional beats of the piece. A good example is 2:13, which as Spadezer said is a very abrupt change of tone and lasts for like 10 seconds. I feel like a slower tempo here with a softer, more delicate touch would have greatly benefited the performance of this section. I never reviewed your previous round 3 submission but it is by far my favorite of your NGADM submissions. It literally gave me shivers listening to it. I didn't get the same response here unfortunately, likely because it did feel a little rushed and discombobulated at times. Mixing is excellent as always though. I find it admirable that you perform your own pieces with such eloquency. Thanks for coming out as always!

Solacitude responds:

Thank you very much! Happy to reach semi finals, it's been quite an adventure!!

I get what you're saying, it's often hard to get to record takes that are depicting properly what I have in mind, to get an inner flow that's projected properly on the keys, it's so easy to miss. 2:13 might be too bold for the overall feel of the piece. I knew it was a strong contrast and it's what I was going for, but maybe overdid it? It's a little 10 seconds but it had to be practiced a whole lot more than that! :) I'm thinking maybe I'll remove it completely from this piece and keep the concept for another more aggressive one. And maybe split this one into 2 completely different pieces.

I'm glad Windy connected with you this way! It's also my favorite own composition up to now, I had more episodes of strong inspiration at the beginning of the round 3, which gave more time to put into the end result. This one inspiration was not flowing as easily in the first days, but still I tried to do the best I can with the 2 ideas that came my way. Maybe I should have kicked the whole first part out and built more based off the second theme to get something more integrated. Not sure yet what I'll do with this piece.

Thank you very much for the feedbacks!

[Oh brother part 2]

This is such a potential bop! Unfortunately it is very very short of course. I like the intro quite a bit actually, it's definitely the best part. I'm not gonna give this a full review due to the situation but yeah this would've been really cool and I think you should finish it.

[Waterfall]

The first 2 minutes or so made me feel things I never felt before. This unmistakable determination, the minor key not oozing nostalgia or sadness but determination with the rhythmic piano cords. I really don’t know how to describe it. Something about the crazy time signatures during the intro section is so unique. That feeling went away a bit with the percussion and lyrics but was still present throughout. This is definitely a great song to listen to specifically in the mornings when you’re struggling to get out of bed and brush your teeth. Or when you’re in between classes in your dorm on campus and feel swamped with work and extracurriculars and 17 credits with multiple research projects as well as studying for the MCAT which you’re gonna take in like 4 months and you have barely made any progress. (Definitely not speaking from experience there btw).

You’ve earned yourself a follow.

[Sweet Memories]

The intro is really weird to me and doesn't represent the rest of the song very much; it gives a weak first impression fs. That guy just saying intro over and over is pretty funny though tbh. Honestly 0:40 is so groovy and it scratches an itch in my brain. I just think it needs a little more bass, that's it. Just something to fill the mix on the lower end. The bass comes in in the very next part, so it should've been there a little earlier imo. Same goes for 1:28, so instead of copy pasting adding that bass doing something would've been cool... aaand same goes for 2:32, and for basically the whole last third. I think you're starting to see the problem here. Nothing really changes! It's so groovy and a bop but something has to be added to keep it fresh or else you'll bore the audience as they listen. You just switch between A and B for the entire song it feels like until the outro.

This is a very unique song because of the sawtooth synth ostinato pattern that is not at all in key but still works because it adds texture to the whole song. The way it is mixed is honestly masterful. I just wish the song had a little more development because this has HUGE potential to be even more groovy! The voice lines fit super well btw which is rare for songs in general imo.

Best of luck next year!

music69012 responds:

thank you so much!
see ya next year!

[Patterns [NGADM Round 1]]

Before I review this, let me put out a disclaimer: I don't really listen to hardstyle bass songs all that much as to me they all sound fairly samey. With that being said, my POV for this review is to judge it compared to other songs of its genre that I have heard, and what this does to separate itself from the masses.
Quite the intense intro! Probably the loudest intro in this entire round. Sets the mood for sure! At 0:25 we get a melody with more creative usage of the hardstyle bass sound than a lot of other songs of this nature I have heard especially right at 0:31. The following section is more traditional, but then we hit the bridge which is probably my favorite part of the song. More melodic elements, those classic cinematic orchestral hits, polyrhythms, and it is overall just a treat to listen to.

Unfortunately 2:40 is the weakest part imo. The melodic elements go away completely and we're just left with pretty harsh synths, which makes me feel like the only point of this section was to assault your ears. A soft, smooth piano playing a more developed version of the main melody would've been a great way to both spice up the final chorus and the outro. Either way, thanks for coming out this year!

Raylectro responds:

I agree that 2:40 is quite weak, I never really put too much effort into that part :< my future works are gonna be so much better though, you can count on that, your insight into this song is detailed and simple to follow, I'll use your tips for future reference :)

[Aftertouch [NGUAC]]

The percussion is a little imbalanced at the intro, where that clicking thing is the loudest thing in the mix over the rest of the instruments for some reason. The clicking goes away and we enter a far superior section headed by what sounds like a koto and other obscure instruments. At 0:45-1:12 we get a very empty mix that repeats measures a bit too long in my opinion. Then the piece goes totally off the rails with a dubsteppy type thing that I don't think fits with the rest of the song at all. Honestly the best part is probably the very end with the soft koto and the smooth chords bringing us home with a jazzy feel to it that I wish was expanded on earlier, maybe doing that instead of the dubstep part.

Best of luck next year!

[D4 - Dimension IV]

The intro sets the stage incredibly well, a pattern I've noticed in this year's rock submissions. I feel like there is either too much compression or too much bass on the kick drums at 0:17 though as each hit covers up the rest of the mix in a way I'm not a fan of. Could just be the type of kick drum. A similar issue occurs at the next part as everything sidechains away at each kick drum.

Then we get slammed in the face with the epicness of 0:50 as I'm blown out of the room by the brief but heavy hitting guitars! This part is mixed perfectly 0 complaints here. The synth breakdown is also really cool and avoids the kick drum issues from earlier. 1:57 is really cool though I do wish it was played a little less or changed significantly when it comes back later instead of just adding one little riff. Cause some of the energy is lost with the slower pace of notes there. The bridge at 2:46 is a great way to evolve the intro as the song continues and the transition into the next part has to be my favorite moment.

Thanks for coming out this year, and I hope to see you come back for revenge!

D4W1LL13 responds:

dully noted! i appreciate your feedback! Thanks a ton for listening!

[PARTY HATZ! - Captain Obvious]

I am loving the chord progressions at the verses. It just oozes nostalgia from my childhood. Also, I'm finally old enough to get some of the lyrical references to that time period like "cross my heart and hope to die" being straight from 2012's One More Night!

I just have a few general concerns. Firstly, Andrew kinda hit the nail on the head mixing wise, as it can be hard at times to hear the drums during the choruses. Maybe this is just me but I think the lyrics at these parts are just a little bit cheesy and generic. More melodies would be nice in general, maybe somehow incorporating this hypothetical B melody into the second chorus to bring some variety to the second half of the song. I also think the chords at the choruses are, like the lyrics, ultimately pretty bland and generic, which was probably done to match the time period (I'm thinking OMFG and LMFAO here) but there comes a point where you dont want to repeat the same mistakes early 2010s music made for the sake of the theme! I already think the verses pay homage enough.

Despite all this, the emotional beats of the song resonated enough to make this song shine, and I'm looking forward to see what you have in store!