Bezman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Done With You]

Cheesy, repetitive song. Production and voice ace.

Not my kind of tune, sounding a bit cheesy, but it's brilliantly produced! Not quite as bad as Boys2Men...

The starting instrumental bit is great. All the tracks working well together. Brilliance. I'd have liked it if it started to diversify or shift a bit earlier though. It kinda sounds like you never change it - just add on other layers - and that kinda gets in the way of the diversity. Even taking that track away or maybe mixing up a few notes in those tracks could add to the freshness.

I heard a tiny pop around 0:52 (in the vocal track I think). Another around 1:44 and a few minor pops during the rap. Other than that, it sounds pro.

I like the multiple vocal tracks. Your voice is brilliant, hitting all the notes and a soft tone.

The lyrics seem a bit repetive though.

I do like the beats you add and the 'comments', specially towards the end.

==
Great production, but the lyrics and background instruments seem overly repetive.

KungFuDropouts responds:

Cheezy? Yeah. Repetitive? Ok. Brilliant voice? I guess. But...saying that it's not your kind of tune...That's ridiculous.

But, in all seriousness thanks for your suggestions. They are greatly appreciated.

Kung Fu Dropouts!

[Skin and Bones]

Some lovely piano, some annoying glitches...

When the piano started, I was loving it.

Though I sometimes enjoy some interesting glitches, I found that the glitches here, that broke up the rhythm, kinda got in the way of my enjoyment of the track. Specially between 0:30 and 1:15.

The higher pitched piano melody that comes in really adds something to the track. Beautiful for a moment. I kinda wish you'd persued that thread further.

I like the little pops as tracks are reset.

I felt there were a couple of times where the whole thing loops too many times with too few variations. Like around 2:55 - though the drum varies, maybe one or two loops could've been cut?

The ensuing paino melody is, again, great.

It worked well having the soft melody to that kinda marchy beat.

==
I really like some of the sounds, love some of the piano, but the glitchiness is at times annoying rather than fascinating and I wish you'd developed the piano part a bit more.

notorious responds:

Thanks for the awesome and helpful review. I'll keep that in mind!

[- maybe -]

Dislike the tempo, minor key and lack of surprises

I'm not too keen on the scales you use. I just don't like the switch early on - it sounds odd to my ears and almost like it's been done for no reason.

Also, the voice seems slightly off-beat at a couple of moments when coupled with those beats. I got used to it after a few listens, but really reckon you maybe should've changed up the beats somehow. I think you matched up the tempo as well as you could with a steady loop for the beat, but it does sound a bit odd.

When the extra melody comes in around 1:30, it's quite cool. I really like that 'tinkling' kinda sound. However, I reckon the scale of the bg bass should switch back into a major key.

Another complaint is that for the most part, the changes you bring in are kinda obvious, and there really aren't any surprises or any cool little twists. It's quite a 'by-the-numbers' thing.

===
There are a few cool instrumental bits, but the minor key gravitation and the lack of interesting variations put me off.

[not the best but listen]

The demo 'feature' ruins any potential enjoyment

I'm gonna assume the 'AVS media demo' is a 'feature' of the demo version of the program. Try and maybe use another program or maybe up the volume of everything else.

It sounds like you've got a chilled bass and some nice beats, but the voice just doesn't let me enjoy it.

I did notice that later on, it sounds like you break the tempo a bit. Sounds a bit odd.

Anyway, like I say, it's really hard to listen to anything you make with this voice over the top.

[Tetris [Remix]]

Some classy variations. Why no loop? Unreal instru

The instruments do sound really 'electronic' and not really real, but that doesn't get in the way too much.

I like the tone of the starting instrument and the way the drums fade in.

The instrument switch is cool and I like the little shuffle in the beats around 0:48.

The cymbal crash around 1:05 works well and I really like how in the slower part, you have the original melody more in the background than using it for the main thing.

The quietening was cool and I liked the little 'zwoo' sounds around 1:50.

I love the way you mix up the beats.

I think that with some real guitar plugged straight in, or maybe some other real instrument - piano? - it'd improve. Also, I always find myself disappointed by a Tetris remake that doesn't loop.

Also, maybe another instrument could be thrown in?

Apart from that, it was a great remix with a good bit of variation thrown in.

preffertobedead responds:

Wow nice review..well...the instrument like the orchestra sound electronic on purpose...i didn't want them to sound real to give the "TETRIS FEEL" ..i make more realistic strings "In Mass Destruction".

i could have made the song Loop but i dunno i forget it ..im human and we make mistakes..=(...

i can't throw another instrument cuz it would lose more clarity...is difficult to distinguish all the melodies on the fist listen of the song so if i throw another instrument this would be too unanderstandable.

Excuse my sucky english im from Argentina =\...

Thanks for the advices man!..i'l check ur stuff when i have the time

;)

[Cuboy Masters Music]

Makes me grin.

A brilliantly addictive tune for a classy flash.

Question: why don't you link your tunes from your flash submissions? Had I known I could save this to my hard drive, I'd have downloaded it straight after watching the episode!

Despite the repetitive main vocals, there's a good bit of variety in the background. The way you mix it up later on made me chuckle.

I like the deep 'bum be dum be dum' in the background at one point. Great string instrument - is that a guitar?

Your flash was near-flawlessly produced, maybe a tiny bit lacking in substance, bringing a smile and a great sense of style with it.

The same can be said for this tune.

EdibleCastle responds:

haha thanks for the kind words. yeah it's just an steel stringed acoustic guitar

[.:Because:.]

An interesting slant on the Beatles' song.

I really like how you use stuff like glass-tinkling and all sorts of other unidentifiable stuff.

Sounds kinda like a swamp/marsh and at times traces of an indian street, with animals and clattering...

I'll take away originality points for the vocals (and they really are the bulk of the piece).

You've managed to give a different slant to the song and present it in a new light.

If I were to make a criticism, I suppose it'd be that I'd have liked it had you further deviated from it, maybe messed around with the vocals more, maybe mixed up some lyrics...

==
But yeah - definitely fun to listen to.

Thanks!

RedHotPoker responds:

Cheers Bezman. I suppose i could have messed the lyrics around a bit but i just don't have the ability to do so. I'm glad you had fun listening.

[.:Nixon:.]

I'd have preferred more layers, but cool mood and

I really like how the whole thing sounds kinda arthritic. The strange minor-key synths in the bg are kinda like wheezing and we later gets beats kinda like an old man stepping up...

And the whole minor key does sound kinda unsettling and reflect the mood well.

There's some really wierd sounds in here - some sorta squelches, paper rustling and other odd sounds. Works nicely though.

I found though that the whole thing seemed a bit lacking. I mean, after listening to it a few times, I'd had enough of it. It's well produced and all, but I'd have liked maybe a few more layers... maybe if you'd had more speech going on throughout, maybe short bits...

==
Not entirely to my tastes, but definitely evokes a mood and it's good how it's a different take on the basic theme.

RedHotPoker responds:

Cheers man i get water u mean about more layers. The whole thing is kinda barren. :[ Lol arthritic. That gave a laugh. I would never have thought to describe my music like that. :] Thanks for the review.

[Elastic Baalbeck]

Oppressive, kinda scary. Monsters in a factory.

I felt it sounded more mechanical than anything - like it was all clanging pipes, steam escaping... and the droning harmonic noise sounded kinda electric...

The 'pulsating' noise made for a bit of a harmony and the 'beats' were all complex and never felt old - always feeling kinda more like random noises than an actual tune (as you no doubt intended) but were always right on the beat.

Loop is perfect.

I don't see how anyone could find that relaxing!

This shit is oppressive and kinda scary!

It'd be perfect for a game where you're in a dystopian environment where a run-down factory has beasts and monsters running around in it.

==
I can't take much of this, but it'd be perfect for a fear-filled part of a game.

Arnas responds:

Alright thanks. Some say it's nature music and some say it's futuristic. Nope. It's not relaxing. If you want relaxing try Liquid Basik. I don't like this as much as I do Liquid Basik because I usually prefer calming music

[m- Sashao's Journey]

Kinda like Actraiser or Sa.ga. Start ruins loop

The whole thing makes me think of horse-riding. I think the odd beats at the start contribute to this, (the 3 beats, then 1 kinda like a horse's hooves?) as does the melody. Anyway...

Yeah, does remind me of the Sa.Ga gameboy games and the tune is simple, gratifyingly retro, and still fairly pleasing. A wee bit of variation in there.

Also reminds me of Actraiser and another similar Snes game.

I heard a wee bit of noise in this track when the melody was in full-flow. Listen out for it. Got irksome.

Liked the way you altered the beats at the end.

Not too keen on the start - it sounds cool, but it makes the loop a bit obvious. It is a near-seamless loop though.

==
It's a cool tune. If I were to ever try and make a game similar to Actraiser, I'd definitely check this out again.

I just find the way it begins a bit irritating. Started getting on my tits after around 3-4 loops.

BMC-Audio responds:

hey, thx for the review. im really glad you liked it. i know for some reason the end got messed up and didnt loop... but i also thought the beggining wasnt too bad, i can understand how it could get a little annoying though.
i didnt notice the noise you were talking about...oh well. ill try harder on mastering next time.

thx again. il check out ure stuff.

-mawkeetus