50Steaks's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Let's Bounce]

This song is so unique. I honestly can’t think of anything that sounds remotely like it. I was introduced to it through GD, though it wasn’t ditched machine that did it, it was some other random grayscale level which was much easier.

The synth at the start always sounded like a really well mixed cello, and as a cello player that part hit home. Into the bouncy melody with a very very strange bassy synth thing that more or less defines the song. One of the more obscure memories of my childhood that I still think about from time to time. Also I only ever knew you as shtigra or whatever since that was the name you showed up as in GD.

Edit: the level was called vertex by echonox. It actually has more likes than the jeyzor level.

Zodin responds:

Thank you for the kind review :)
You know, when I originally made this I thought that it wouldn't do too well because some of the sounds used are a bit 'harsh'. But I am very glad that you enjoy the uniqueness of the track.

Yeah I did used to be called Shtriga many many years ago across all my platforms. It is the name of a creature from the TV series - Supernatural. But I figured I needed a proper name to go more official :)

Thanks again and I hope you continue to enjoy some of my newer stuff too!

[Heart]

Reminds me of those youtube pieces which look like cats but still sound good

EarthDash75GMD responds:

yep

[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!

[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 :)

[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!

[Roulette (NGADM Entry)]

I'm vibing with the intro! It's so danceable lol. Sets a great foundation for the rest of the song with the jazzy chords and the smooth percussion. Everything up to 1:14 is so good in my opinion!

But then 1:14 hits and something is lost that you had before: the grooviness kinda dissipates here and I'm not exactly sure why. It might be because that earlier rhythm disappears until 1:44 which I like, but then we get another transition with a riser before the actual chorus comes back? It feels like the flow of the song is just totally lost between 1:14 and 2:10 tbh. Every section feels very distinct and the transitions between them are pretty sudden in my opinion. The flow comes back at 2:10 and then the outro feels like it should've occurred like at 1:14 with that synth under it instead of whatever happened there.

Mixing wise as well I feel like the strings are too quiet at 2:29 and there should be another instrument there to support them so they aren't alone in the mix like that. The main synth at the choruses are very juicily mixed which is why this probably got the FP regardless of its structural issues. Also there's like this army voice going on that I think should just be removed completely because it is a little distracting and doesn't fit that well. Idk maybe that voice is just omnipresent at casinos, I wouldn't know as I've never been. But yeah anyways thanks for coming out! I look forward to what you'll have in store next year as this has huge potential.

HG-HL responds:

I really appreciate the super in depth feedback! I’m looking forward to next year :)

[memory_tape_07_2003.wav NGADM Submission]

Honestly, this is phenomenal. I think I gave this the highest score out of all of the round 1 submissions because it really did blow me away. The fade in in the intro sets the stage perfectly as you are instantly transported to a world much like the one depicted in the image. I can imagine myself in a long lost memory walking through a forest, with the beeps and boops giving off a computery vibe. Then we transition into the middle quieter section with some distant voices that again, increase immersion, though the transition is perhaps a little too sudden. Then back to more of the glorious intro as you hear tape sounds this time, bringing home the title of the song. Porter robinson is a name I recognize because of his old song "sad machine" that was given a remix by Ardor for GD many years ago that blew up a bit. But if this is inspired by his more recent work, then I'll definitely have to rediscover him.

The only major flaw I can think of is the outro with the weird robot voice that I don't think fits very well to be honest. But mixing and sound design wise this is one of the greatest songs I have ever heard on NG, and so a high score reflects that. Of all the submissions, this is the one that whisked me away the most, and that is saying something because we had a very VERY competitive lineup this year. I am honestly THRILLED to see what you have in store for the next round. Best of luck!

CorruptModule responds:

Id highly recommend Porter’s album nurture and he's also has a new album out and a tour going on. But mainly nurture is where i drew inspiration. Thanks for the review and im glad you enjoyed it ill try my best to work more on this style as well. 👍