MadMath's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[earlyWork]

Ok.

But a little too cliché in my opinion. The fade in and fade out on the techno-dance melody is overused in my opinion. Your drums sound a bit too common too, when they arrive on 0:49. They are not badly constructed but i'm sure you could make something a bit more original.
About your melody, I'd change something. I think it is too choppy. Cause of the small silence that punctuate and the repetitions of notes it could seem that it's kind of "blocked", or has got difficulties to move on. And btw, try not to keep a single melody on the whole song. Cause even if you change the instrument, or play with the cut-off button (i don't know what you did), it's still the same melody.

About positive points, it's well structured ( i mean the different musical cells are well linked), and the drum transitions are well done.
3/5 and 5/10.

Flashoverdose responds:

I made this a long time ago, I agree with everything you said. Most of my new stuff avoids repetition, so you can check those out and tell me what you think.

[Darkient]

Ha ha ! That's awesome !

No kidding, no false step, everything is done with an excellent taste.
You got together every ingredient for this kind of atmosphere.
The kind of diapason behind, the little noise of -maybe- a hand of an old clock, and this main... ok let's call it "melody", that progresses perfectly on this descendant steps.
I don't hesitate a single second. 10 and 5.
That's a fantastic job ! Congrats.

Ruas responds:

I've always loved making horror-ish/dark-ambient loops and songs, that's just something I feel very comfortable doing. Thanks alot for the detailed review!

[Hammer-Drone (WiP)]

Why not.

Cool ambiance, the overall goes in the same direction, and you try not to stay on the same musical cell all the time. But in the end, I feel you a little breathless, and it start to be too repetitive. I guess it's not really good for an ending.
Another thing that is not particularly good in my opinion is the drums in the beginning. They don't mark any strong tense and are not powerful enough for this kind of song, and the break between two repetitions is too long in my opinion.
Nevertheless, the instruments were pretty well chosen, the samples were nicely used and incorporated into the song.

This review is more subjective than the other ones i use to write. So it's more a matter of taste than a true critic. But for me, it's a bit too repetitive (even if quite nicely structured for a second song), even for ambiant dubstep, and a small melody, even a discrete one could be welcome wherever you want.
3/5

dmgpunk responds:

Thanks for the review.
I'll definitely keep this in mind when I remix it later this year. I'm not sure how I'll make the drums more powerful, but I think of something.

[-ZERO-]

Too flat and strict for me.

Even if this loop is short, i got almost bored at the first listening.
You don't have any melodical line and drums can't entertain that long or they must be really really good. Here, they are not badly composed, but it sounds they are more an accompagnment than a true principal melody. The density and the superposition of many elements of drums can't change that.

So, ok, for the ascension, with some new entrances each two repetitions (each 7 second if you prefer), but it still doesn't have a lot of interest, according to me, particularly because it's too flat and cause the construction is too rigid.
And making all those instruments coming suddenly produces its effect, but did you think about some transitions, bringing the new cell after a roll on the drum or something like that ?

So I'd say, it's not bad, but not super good either.

[The Jesters Burden [8-bit]]

Nice !

Good song, awesome sounds, i don't know which plug-in you used to make this song, but it definitely sounds better than mine.
Good melody, with some irish vibe (at least i got this feeling). Could be more varied though, cause it's most of the time a repetition of same theme, even if you transform it a little, it remains the same. But the soaring in the middle and the end are really cool. Btw, i would have like you to make a song and not a loop, cause the end is really the best part of your creation, and it starts to get more and more punchy and I would have love to listen to an awesome finish, taking place after a long cadenza.
I wanted to give you an 8 at the first listen, but i had the time to listen it 2-3 times more while writing this review. And I definitely like it a lot. So...

GfRusty responds:

thank you very much. I wrote the song in guitar pro and exported it as a midi, which i imported in GXSCC, which converted the sounds into this 8-bit music.
Yeah I'll try my best for a song ;)
thanks for the 10

[Donkeys]

Good rhythmics.

Nice work on drums, very varied with a lot of elements and rythms. Good job on transitions and breaks. The first melodical instrument sounds awesome. I immediately wonder why this song got such a bad rate with such an awesome intro. But finally, this song doesn't keeps its promises. Cause the main "melody", the dubstep instrument, goes too anarchic, and plays without taking the drums in consideration. And finally, the drums lose their strength cause they aren't backing anything any more.
Maybe the add of a true melody next to the dubstep sounds could be a plus. Anyway, there is a good basis, in contruction, drums and choice of instruments, and with a little work on it, that could be really awesome.
I still like this song despite my objections.

DjThePluck responds:

this is what i mean such an feedback like this help me . thank you ^^

[take you to the blues]

Ha ha ha ! Old school !

That's nice to hear something like this song on a site where everyone post D'n'B and Trance.
Nice one, even funny and joyful. With the same overdriven guitar which sounds really really like old times. But here again, there is a problem of mastering i guess. This guitar is really too loud ! We don't even distinguish the other guitar behind. You should really try to work on this volume issues.

Anyway, the riffs and solos were really cool, on the border of the tone, you've got no inspiration problems, for sure. The way of singing was perfect for this kind of song. You are recreating ambiences where nothing could appear unauthentic.
Very good, keep it up.

gazzz63 responds:

thanks for taking time to to have a listen and to give your comment.. you say that you cant hear the other guitar behind..but there is only one guitar playing on this track.. guitar bass and drums..and all 3 can be clearly heard... i have taken your comments on board and thats the reason i put these tracks on here. to get opinions.. cheers gaz

[|-NGHH 11 - Destroyed-|]

Nice one.

A very good and effective song in my opinion.
Maybe a little long to start - actually i was a bit afraid listening the first time to the beginning, cause it was really repetitive, even if nicely constructed and agreable to hear, and that's a problem with hip-hop song, that when you don't have lyrics on it, it gets easily boring - but finally it went varied, while still staying in a good and homogeneous continuity.

You created a nice environment that we could handily associate to images, which is a good thing for me, I like "talking" melodies. And the clear sharp drums are contrasting with the softness of the piano and the violin-cello in a pretty good way. It's an ambitious creation you presented, with classical instruments used in a very modern way (ok, I know, it's not particularly original, but everyone can't make something correct with it).

So overall, I think it's quite a success, and even if we can identify 2 themes that are mostly used in the entire song and repeated a lot (the first one with chords, the second with piano), it's not that disturbing cause that's finally rather an ambient song. And the effects and transitions are well employed to spice it up.
That's a good job, even if I'm not totally sensible to the melodies, but that's just personnal. 9 and 5

O-Prime125 responds:

Wow thank you your awesome review man, means a lot!! :)

Glad you enjoyed =]

[Optimist]

He he

Ha ha your melody made me think about Brahms's hungarian danses (the 5th one), cause it starts with the same notes and rythms.
Anyway, the melodies were not bad, and match well to each other.

Just some issues in my opinion. For a song of 1 minute, it starts too slowly, and for an example, i was expected the battery at 0:11. Cause when you make it enter i find it not appropriate, it's in the middle of a phrase, and it would have been more striking before.
Overall, the drums should be re-thought i guess. You just have one kick every two times and one "snare" each half time. It doesn't make the drums interesting. More than that, they just appear and stop. Some transitions, and some changes in it would be benefic i guess.
Maybe you should also try to make the melodic voices sound a bit different and not using the same timbre.

So globally, i guess this song should be worked on a bit but has got a good potential. 7 and 3

[Valentines Blues]

Nice

Very good in its style, for sure.
The battery is perfectly executed. A great bouncy rythm with good transitions, leading to a good battery chain (with the entrance of the hat for an example).
Melodies are ok, nothing that is really soaring out from the song (except the solo, but even there it was still not too excited, with long notes). The smooth voice was suiting well to the rest in a coherent atmosphere of calm, but could have been a bit louder.

The problem is that the overall sound is really dirty. Except the battery, your overdriven guitar sounds really stifled, you should make it a bit clearer, even if you want to keep this kind of intimate sonority. Be careful to the solo guitar too that sounds a little out of tune by moments.

Overall, i find this a very good work despite these few complaints. 4/5 and 8/10.

gazzz63 responds:

thanx madmath.. i,m an amature and can only get better.. check out my other creation Take You To The Blues.. i,d be interested in your opinion.. cheers gazzz