HalfStepTides's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Anticipate]

Great synths and great arrangement! Keep up the great work, I'm a fan of the saw on here!

[Lead]

Very nice instrumental. Went well with the poem, keep it up! I do happen to enjoy the synthwork.

[(F) _Waidor_]

This is my type of music dude. Amazing, ethereal, spacey - so awesome! Downloaded.

Fubaka responds:

Thank ye.

[A New Beginning]

Good stuff! I think the main melody might be too invasive for all of the elements that are contained, which are great! I think you're onto something good here, I can see this song in a nice little indie game. Keep it up!

[A Penguin in Sunglasses]

I think the mixing leads to the main riff being very repetitive, but I liked the jazzy feeling of the leads and the overall beat. Very chill, I could see this in some games! The drums are a bit clashing with the sound/tone of the guitars, but I can't complain about it too much. Nice work, man.

[Flare]

You've got the guitar tone down, in my opinion (for a WIP) but something is bugging me about the overall structure. It sounds a bit too rigid, try to make it flow better. You seem to have the breakdown thing going for you, and it's not bad by any means. The background lead reminds me of Meshuggah, which sounds like an influence of yours maybe?

Keep working at it.

Arkaft responds:

Thank you. I know, i need to work a little to put it more together. I'll send you a PM when it's finished ;) And yes i love meshuggah. But its been a while since i've listened to them. Always appreciate reviews.

[Goodbye Gloom Hello BlueSky]

While the arrangement itself is sounding a slight bit cluttered, I think the themes are all working quite nicely. I enjoy the warmth between the piano and the other synths, they go very well. The bass is a highlight, you wrote it exceptionally. I also enjoy the structuring changes into a more relaxed pace around 1:40 - it gives it some nice variety. What I would suggest is mixing it better and taking care of the background space with perhaps a pad or some sort of ambient "fog" that will fill it and make it a more atmospheric piece.

Great job anyhow! Keep it up.

Stealth-Emergence responds:

Thank you HalfStepTides

I'm happy you liked this piece, I absolutely loved writing this and that change you refer to, you'll have no idea how long and how many listens through for me to decide and work out how that would sound afeter I created the build up I knew I wanted a different pace and took forever to figure out the direction to take it, multiple tries until I eventually settled on what you hear here.

Thanks for the advice on background filler, I rarely use pads, don't ask my why, I rarely think to use them, I love working with multiple instruments though, especially when they can compliment each other with an interwoven feel between the instruments.

I certainly have more in development and they'll all be released when I feel they're ready

thanks for your review, glad you liked it

Stealth

[Deep Pursuit]

It's a great start! I love how it gradually builds and builds until a nice beat takes hold. Makes me want to listen to the rest of the song! Good job with the synths and the percussion too, sounds pretty good!

alanisnotcool responds:

thank you!

[Tripleton - Dawn (Acoustic)]

You set up some brilliant atmosphere with the synth in the background, but your piano and guitar arrangement needs some work. The rhythm and flow is a big jagged and the piano itself sounds very fragmented. A song like this needs more flow, more natural feeling - that way the audience is taken willingly for a journey and isn't being pulled along for the ride instead.

Mixing could also use some work, but on the whole, I think you've got a firm idea about what you're doing and what it is you intend to do with this type of music. It does indeed have a very Minecraft-y vibe about it, and that's never a bad thing. I could see it being a song in a Minecraft-esque game or anything with an air of zen about it.

Good job, keep up the work.

[Affirmative Insanity - Dull]

The production is pretty messy, but I do like some elements of the arrangement like the lead parts whenever they come up. Even if the composition is overall a bit generic, it sounds like it would be popular with fans of the genre. The cleans do need work as do the high range screams. The lower growls though, are quite good. He'd be good in a tech-death band, in my opinion.

Keep at it.

SonicRyder responds:

Thanks man, the production honestly gets on all of our nerves. We've since cut all cleans in our music and stepped up technicality in composition. If you enjoyed it enough, keep a look-out on our new CD sometime next year.