Bezman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Flash 'Reg' Lounge Song]

Funny on the first listen.

The rhymes are reasonably well laid out and fairly funny.

I liked the background sounds. The main melody was kinda repetitive, but I loved the variance from the beats, scratching and extra fx like the strings.

There was some noise on the mic, but the whole thing still sounds aweome, in a homegrown way.

Ultimately, technical quality doesn't mean much here. It made me smile. made me chuckle a little when I first listened through.

Well done. Also, the fact that someone even made this... that's funny enough as a concept.

"Since then its grown
more and more
keeping up with it
is almost a chore"

Too true...

Oh, and 0 points docked for me not being in it. ;-)

Hamalo responds:

Hah thanks :P.

This song wasn't exactly made to be good, because I couldn't make a good song if my life depended on it. It turned out to be ok, but it made people laugh, which was the point of making the song from the beginning.

Geez those extra 0 points really could of helped my review average!

[What's This? {^}-{Alix1}-{^}]

Great tune, but pales in comparison to the origina

This was well played and It is a great song to recreate but in the end I just prefer the original.

The slide at 0:59 was cool.

The bg repeated notes could have maybe been lowered slightly in volume to increase the impact of the melody - just now it sounds slightly repetitive because of the 'left hand' part.

And with the absence of the vocals, maybe you could have added another instrument to beef it up slightly and stop it feeling sparse.

Also, the end seemed as if it needed one more chord, to sort 'close off' the tune.

If you worked out the notes for this yourself, I'm seriously impressed with your skill.

Just not as fun as the original though.

[Extreme Hardcore]

lacking in 'punch'.

The opening 'bubbly' sound is a bit odd for this kinda music, but I like it.

I'm not too keen on the screechy sound we hear at 27s and throughout until 47s. The whole 27s-42s bit sounds a bit too sparse and repetitive to be just an instrumental. I'd suggest changing it up a bit more.

I'm not keen on the transition into those parts - I like the drumrolls, but when you change into those repetitive melodies, it sounds kinda jarring to me.

The guitars and drums keep a tight beat.

Some part were fun - I liked the ending and there's a fair bit of energy.

At the moment though, it feels a bit thrown together and doesn't have the punch it could have.

svere responds:

odd is good! But well well, thanks for your time.

[Leap of Faith {durn}]

Fun to listen to - like a space voyage.

I downloaded this just over a week ago and it seems to have been changed radically - the bass and beats are a lot heavier, the volume louder and there seem to be a few other tweaks...

I actually kinda liked the quietness of the original - that had a soft, chilled aspect - it was kinda something you could play whilst lounging about.

This one has tons more energy and fits better into the genre. Still, I'd have suggested submitting a new version (as an 'edit') rather than overwriting this one...

You still haven't fixed what I consider a notable fault - the ending. It just sounds curtailed - you should wait until the resonance fades away. Or if you were trying to make it loop, just know that it doesn't work. And no-one would use a song this long as a loop.

Opening beats sound great. Love the 'engine noise' synth that pops up around 14s, then plays for about 2s each time it pops in. What is that?

The way you introduce the higher melody at :57ish works well, the transformation to the synth at 1:37 less so imo.

It's not until 1:52 that the beats really start and it starts to get into the groove.

The melody played at 2:25ish is kinda simplistic but works as something to hang the other instruments off of.

Cutting everything out at 2:45seems a bit much - it might have been an idea to keep the beats or something with a harder tempo going.

I love the reinterpretation at 3:47. I think this would've worked well as a focus. If you'd built up to this part then used it as a chilled out 'climax', it might have worked.

I feel like it's a fun piece to listen to. I'll probably keep it. But in terms of being something that we can really groove along to? No. I feel you need to learn to judge better when to let the beats drop, how to keep the tempo going and use the chilled out bits more judiciously if you want it to be a pumping track.

Still fun.

durn responds:

lol, weird dude. I haven't updated/changed the tune at all. the one you heard when you first downloaded is the same one that's up now. :)

the engine sound is just an analog saw-bass with a bit of portamento running on it (sounds engine-like at first because the freq. is being slowly raised)

the groove I get into at 1:52 was something new and different for me so I'm glad you liked it though I hear ya about my rhythm sections; they're always the weakest part of my tracks.

and aye, the ending is weak, couldn't think of what to do. :P lol, so sue me. :D

thanks for the comments, dude. :)

[Tears of Remorse]

Desperately poignagnt. Filmic. Loops well enough..

All your work seems really filmic!

The song is wonderfully paced, the notes you dropped in from a high octave twisting my emotions round its little finger.

The faster part towards 1:30 provided a lovely contrast and nice respite from the tension of the earlier sections.

The song even loops well enough to be used as a background tune in a section of an RPG or something along those lines.

I don't have any real suggestions for improvement. Er... maybe it could be about 0.2s longer or 2s shorter, to make the loop match the beat perfectly?

Nigh on perfect.

BlazingDragon responds:

Filmic is good; I'm considering film scoring in the future, after all. :P

I feel as though high notes really have the ability to grab you by the throat and demand your attention. Especially in a sad song, they really seem to pull at the heart strings.

Respite is a good word to use at around 1:30. I had built tension with the high notes at the beginning and was going for emotional release at that point. I imagine someone truly battling with themselves at the beginning, and then simply pouring their heart out that 1:30 mark.

I hadn't intended for this to loop, but I can now see your point. If anything, I think I would cut it just a tad bit shorter personally.

Thank you for the wonderful review. It is well thought out and helpful! :D
~Blaze

[.:-{The Approaching Storm]

Filmic military energy.

A positive energy. Kinda poignant with the strings and wind but yet some hopeful, aggressive aspects, maybe because of the drums.

The opening wind/string section is so peaceful and the drums really add that military aggressive feel.

With the instruments you've got going on, it has a real filmic quality.

I think there should be something of a crescendo at 1:57ish - maybe add in one more instrument to pump it up before that ending. As is, the ending is a bit flatter than you intended, judging by the story you wrote.

There's an incredible energy here and a sorta 'hopeful' emotion overriding it all. The end is perfect.

Great work.

BlazingDragon responds:

We were definitely going for a cinimatic feel with this one, as you have pointed out. The calm at the beginning could almost be thought of as the "calm before the storm". A little while after the drums came in, we switched the hocrds to minor so it would be more war-like.

I completely agree about the crescendo. We really wanted an epic ending. As I listen now, I feel as though the climax wasn't near large enough. The problem is that we were already pushing volume levels quite high. Squidfont Orchestral (The soundfont we used) is naturally quiet, unfortunately. What we should have done is increase the project volume, lower all the instrument velocities, and then really create a huge swell in dynamics at the end. Maybe another instrument to thicken the texture, a slight speed in tempo, more complicated rhythyms to convey that sense of urgency, and a louder drum hit at the end would have been better...Sorry, I'm rambling to myself now. I've never been good with climaxes! :P

It is a bit hopeful, but that is a feeling I believe we were both going for. Kind of like, "I'm going out to war and may not return, but it's alright, because I'm doing it for my family and country!". Something along those lines. That "Hope" could also be looked at as "determination".

Thanks for the review,
~Blaze

[We Love You Jason]

Kinda amusing the first time.

Well, it kinda made me chuckle the first time I heard it, but I doubt I'll be keeping the song - it got old fast.

The first half had a decent guitar riff. You mess up the timing and seem to play a few bum notes, but I guess that sorta adds to the so-bad-it's-funny quality.

I find it really hard to make out what you're singing about, but the accent is hilarious.

I think the part around 2:10-2:40ish could have been cut and maybe cut out 3:30-4:39.

After the initial 'shock', the 2nd part didn't make me chuckle much at all and after around it gets old before you're finished.

There are some decent chords in the bg, but musically, it's really only good as a joke.

KlanMaster911 responds:

Indeed.

[SWITCHBLADE]

Amazing energy. Tight performance.

I thought this was a pro band when I first heard it. Upon hearing this just now, I tried to remember what pro track it sounded exactly like - only after looking to the left did I remember I'd just heard it in PR2.

You capture the Smashmouth/Goldfinger-ish sound really well.

I guess that's 4 of you playing? Bassist/lead/drummer/vox? I can't tell if it's one or two lead guitarists.

You sound really tight together, but maintain an incredible energy.

Apart from literally a couple of words here and there, I can't make out what you're saying, yet I can still enjoy it for the frantic fest it is.

You could have maybe had a bit more instrumental variation - specially at the last 30s, where it becomes a short instrumental.

Remains an awesome listen.

[>Welcome to my Haunted House<]

Creepy toytown vibe Feels like it should be longer

It actually sounds like we're in a major key until 0:11.

Then you start dropping in notes that identify it as a minor, before the laughs and it goes all-out creepy. Good work.

The laugh is perfect, with a macabre nature about it and the fast piano work that follows.

It gets a bit repetitive with the pattern towards the end, but that kinda adds to the evil toytown feel.

My main crit. is simply that the song perhaps isn't long enough to really develop the mood you start.

DjCompass responds:

Thanks for the review, and thanks for the advice. That's the only thing that i like more than people enjoying my music, is people pointing out (in a polite, refreshing manner) what's in need to improvement. Thanks again.

[Sad²]

Memorable but aggravating mismatched beats.

For the first listen, I really felt like the beats and slow melody didn't match up at all in tempo. Though I don't find it quite as aggravating anymore, it definitely still sounds odd.

Not much of a song - it just sorta starts, adds the beats, then keeps going with no movement. I mean, the melody doesn't go anywhere - just looping over and over. At the end, I just feel unsatisfied.

The thing isn't particularly emotional either, despite its name. Though in a minor chord, you've got to perhaps make the beats a simpler match, get some varied melodies on the go, then maybe give some emotive melodies the space to breathe.

Keep at it.

In the end, the mismatched beats became memorable, although I'm not sure I ever enjoyed it.

loogiesquared responds:

i'm not sure i ever enjoyed YOUR comment, mr.!