Bezman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[EpicDnB_EnergyLoop]

Packed full of energy. Perfect for a transitory sc

screen on a game.

I've gotta admit - I can't really tell the difference between the first half and 2nd half of the track. Except that maybe the track starts without the resonance of the last note, making for a slightly imperfect loop?

Imperfect, but nigh-on perfect.

Anyways, for the length of the loop, you pack in a lot. The drums sounds specially ace and I liked the medium-tempo melody.

The slow, high-pitched one could perhaps have been slightly lower in volume? It seems to dominate a tad.

Still awesome work. I'll definitely return and listen to more of your stuff. Looking forward to it, if this is anything to go by.

[{dj-N} Not Alone (RMX)]

Great for increasing-intensity rhythm-tied game.

I wasn't too keen on the fast high-pitched synths you started off with. At first, I was kinda irritated by the high modulation. Or maybe it's the static you mentioned.

I got used to it by my 2nd listen though.

The melody that kicks in at : 25 is really joyful and fun! I love how you have a fair amount of variation and loads of instruments within the 2 minutes.

It had some repetition within each channel, but that's kinda part of the style.

Fun to listen to.

[Jasons Phone Call]

Surreal, but the script got dull.

The idea of pimping Jason was kinda amusing. I also liked the Arnie impersonation and the 'HahaHahaHaHAAaaaaa' chorus on the Jason song. Kinda surreal.

About a minute in though, the conversation started getting dull - sounding like a million other phone spoofs.

Maybe if Hugh Heffner had a better voice it might be funnier? Also a more engaging script.

I like the 'you sound so happy!' bit, but most of the rest just sounds like it's off the cuff, and unengaging thanks to it.

KlanMaster911 responds:

/

By the way..There was no script.

[Succubus]

Unique sound, though the guitars destroyed it.

I really liked the distortion on the voice. No idea how you did that, but it does sound pretty cool.

At 1:03, where the guitar becomes the main instrument, the song becomes kinda repetitive and the aggression of the guitar kinda nullifies the creepiness of the vocals.

Maybe you should concentrate on the creepy vibe and maybe throw in some other random shit in too? Breathing, glass breaking, howling...

KlanMaster911 responds:

Negative.

[Forgotten Tears - Mjattie]

Desperately poignant and affecting.

This kinda reminds me of the Snes DKC music. Slow but contious changes in everything. Repeating a phrase 4 or even 8x may happen but only with changes elsewhere. Each new element is judiciously timed for its entry.

The opening atmospheric noise is excellent, as is the tremendous resonanating echo of the drums.

I love the way the melody originally comes in at around :40, in the background.

Pulling back everything else at 1:23 is a bold move, but you pull it off perfectly.

When the 'main' piano first pops back in it's a great payoff.

Hitting the higher notes at 2:57 is also a lovely pattern.

I feel like the whole last 40s is kinda weak - a bit of a cop-out. The 3:55-3:58 bit kinda felt like it was gonna go for one last spin, so to hear it finally wind down was disappointing.

What makes it even worse is the chord played at the end. C'mon! The song's unsettling, slightly poignant and why give us a payoff? Leave us hanging! Stop on that one last note if you've got to have an ending.

If you'd had it loop though, that would've been a boon in my opinion. I like being able to listen to songs as great as this over and over with no pause or stop in between. ;-)

[Winter Dream]

Filmic. Poignant on first listen.

Slightly affecting, but the formula kinda seemed overly visible on repeated listens, making it lose its charm.

The whole piece has a filmic quality - kinda like a soundtrack.

For the first minute, you're putting out phrases, followed by replies, then you start moving from one phrase to the other. By the 1:40 mark, when you're replaying old phrases, it does get a bit tiresome. I feel you could've varied those phrases a tad when they pop up their 2nd time.

The last chord seemed a little too full and joyful for the tone of the piece. Maybe something a little more thoughtful and quiet - maybe ending on a single note?

You do have some great sounds here. Try to be more adventurous at times though.

BlazingDragon responds:

This song was one of the first times I had really jumped into using many instruments of the orchestra. It was originally just an experiment to hear how the musical colors and textures would be affected when I gave the melodies to various instruments. As such, the form is quite exposed.

I did strive for a cinimatic feel. Perhaps I'll redo this eventually and create more variation. It does repeat quite extensively...As for the ending, all my songs seem to quietly end on a quiet note. I really wanted to make this one more grand and enjoyed it personally. I can understand where you're coming from though.

Thank you for the review. I will try to be more adventurous in the future as you suggested. My more recent songs are a bit more varried, though.

~Blaze

[Bob-The Chase]

Some real energy.

Now THAT's a track I can get behind! I'm hearing the passion and it got me up dancing for 5 minutes. Good work.

The melody from :22 - 0:47 should perhaps have been a little louder.

There are a couple of points where the lead synth could have had a tad more variation on the melody.

The 1:48 bit is fantastic - kinda mirroring the powerful main riff in its own way, whilst providing a new viewpoint and a little respite.

Cool track and there's a real feeling of energy from that lead synth. The drums/bass in the bg provide some good atmosphere and help add energy, even though they never do anything notable.

Bob-Music responds:

Thank you, at least you don't hate all my tracks! :)

Thanks for your helpful review

[Journey through Dreams]

Again, lacking aggression and too repetitive

I wasn't overly keen on this. The whole thing has a kinda repetitive house-vibe, but it doesn't have the aggression I'd look for in that kinda music.

Love the opening bubbly noise.

The variations at :40 - :50 on the synth were kinda cool.

Also liked the synths you later bring in at 1:06 and 1:17.

Also the change-up on the lead synth around 1:40.

I feel like if you were going for something really pumping, maybe giving your beats a bit more resonance would help.

It can get a bit repetitive at times and maybe playing with the lead synth more would help, as that's really the instrument that comes to the fore.

Bob-Music responds:

This song sounded perfect to me before I uploaded it, and I've since found that the earphones I've been using make songs sound a whole lot better than any other music system I've played this on. There are some instruments that can't be heard at all as well.

Sorry you didn't like it but thanks for your helpful review.

[Bob-Lucid]

bass gets a bit dull.

Overall, this was just straddling an uncomfortable position - it wasn't quite engaging or intricate enough for me to enjoy sitting, listening and wasn't furious or 'passionate' enough to inspire me to get up and dance.

I love the slow synths at the start.

The bass that pops in at :24 and continues on throughout the entire piece is a bit overpowering - specially when it gets to 1:20-2:00. It just sorta made that part seem really repetitive to me and didn't sound passionate enough to be repeated so many times. I'd rather have been able to hear the synths and whatnot you've got on top.

The :30 - :50 part is way cool though. Love the sorta semi-staccato break-beat-y sound.

Ending was cool too.

but maybe either add more fury or more intricacy and a touch more gentleness - with this tune straddling the 2 sides, it currently fails at both imo.

Bob-Music responds:

Thanks for your review, I find critisism very hard to take on this song though as it's my personal favourite. I've taken on board what you've said though and I can see what you mean, I haven't really got the hang of mastering yet so I could be hearing it very differently to you, I do need to work on varying the bass a little though.

Thanks again for your review

[Enigmatic Automatic]

Perfect for a time-challenge abstract puzzle game.

Does indeed loop pretty well.

The melody that rides through the whole thing makes me think of a puzzle game where you're trying to work out the puzzle in the fastest time you can. There wouldn't be a time limit. The graphics would only be basic shapes - lines and perhaps squares and circles, as well as corner curves and equilateral triangles. There'd be an awful lot of black. Maybe cogs?

The long drawn out notes work well and I like the quickly played melody that starts at 0:19.

I don't have much to criticise. The beats and melody seem oppressive and it could get too much for some folk after 10 minutes or so. But without it there wouldn't be that same tension.

Maybe lowering the volume of them by a tad?

My other criticism is that the start and end feel a bit vacant - specially in comparison to the middle.

gregaaron89 responds:

I like the imagery you saw in it, nice :) I had a game in mind when I made this, that's why I made it loop. Yeah you're right about the beat, and looking back I don't really like the bass in this one. Needs moar pads.