SourJovis's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Flipping]

It's an okay song. At least it's very interesting. It grows on you after a while, because it has something but it's a bit unsubstantial, and never takes you where you want it to take you. I call it catchy. It's hard to place. Certainly not scary. I can't grasp what your intentions are with this. The bells sound quite nice, and the chords have a nice ambient feel. The chords are too dissonant though. It's hard to tell what direction the song takes. If I can give you a tip it would be; keep the melody, but think about your chord progression. Make it a little more straightforward and easy to grasp. Kill (or lower in volume) some of the more dissonant tones so you know what chord is supposed to be what to give the song more substance and sense of direction. If I don't understand the song properly I can't review it right, but it's your job as a composer to make me understand the song when I hear it. I hope this review was still somewhat helpful to you. R4R. Didn't mean to be harsh.

eatmeatleet responds:

Yeah, thanks a lot. It is very useful. Progressions are weakest link i this song. I wanted to make it somewhat special but kinda didn't complete it too well. About the direction.. :) I was going for somewhat different feel but I was asked to change it up so thats why it feels somewhat lacking of direction. Thanks a lot for being honest though

[[DSBM] River Ov Despair]

I like the long stretched guitar riffs layered with the synth pad (if I hear correctly that's a synth and not just reverb). Indeed not as lo-fi as you other songs. I think it works for this one to get that more cinematic feel. Good thing you write the lyrics down, because I wouldn't be able to understand them otherwise. I think the song might have been even better if the drums gradually got more impact. I'm talking mainly about the base drums, because I can hear the snares fine. They get faster later on which is good, but they are drowned out by all the long stretched chords. It would be good if they get above that sea of chords, to give the song more dynamic, and a sense that it's going into double time. It may be just a matter of giving the base drum some more treble, so you can hear that attack click better. I like the guitar sounds at the end. Sounds almost like tubular bells. The timing of the start is a little strange (or is it just me). Doesn't sound like it starts at the first count of a bar. I would've either started it earlier, or at the beginning of the next bar, when all the reverb is drowned out (which would probably be better still). I'm not sure if I like the high hats during that guitar part. I think I like it better with only the guitar. Btw the guitar may be a base with a lot of overtones, I can't say for sure. R4R I enjoyed listening to this.

Lich responds:

Thank you for the review.

Kind of a synth-pad, it was a Choir and Sustained strings ran lightly through a CHorus Plug-in hidden behind the track. I did achieve a really nice low-fi sound to the whole track (similar to how a Xasthur track sounds) after uploading this originally but it was too late by then :(
I did make this when I only just got Superior Drummer and started playing around with it plus I didn't want to make either of the Kick Drums sound triggered. It's like juggling between making a Kick sound more Organic vs Making it hearable (and sound decent-enough). I'm sure If I remade the whole thing today with some of the extra plug-ins I have obtained and learned to use I could correct most of these mistakes in the track in the future. I'm feeling up to making another DSBM track soon, a lovely excuse for me to make something so angsty and depressive

I double-checked in FL that beginning bit, it's just the volume automating at a weird time, nothing to worry about. Most of the tracks in this tyle when they fade into the track sound a little like that. Just embracing the genre ;)

The guitar sound at the end is one of the guitar patches in Omnisphere which I use,d can't remember off of the top of my head which one without loading FL up.

[Contrast]

Great sounds. I like how all the instruments blend so well into one sound. It sometimes sounds like a crystal glass ringing. So beautiful. Fits the artwork well. I can see the two girls playing this together, supported by a fullblown orchestra.

PascalPalomino responds:

Thank you for the comments. I listened to your stuff and you have very cool pieces to. Thanks again.

[Cats]

Another great song. Interesting reverb. You know the previous song and this one particularly remind me of Muse. That's not a bad thing because I like Muse. It has the same dramaticness about it, only you don't sing that high pitches, and that's also a good thing to be honest.

motakay responds:

Thanks! I havn't listend to Muse at all acctually, so I guess I need to do so. :)

[Missa Angelis - Kyrie]

This is such an epic sound, I'm blown away. The choir doesn't sound quite real, but still pretty good you could pull this out of a computer. Better than what I can do. Great composition.

SoundChris responds:

Thanks for your kindness! You are right - the choir could have been a little bit more realistic. But i have to confess that working in three different instances of logic (my old mac mini has been to weak for the choir library - even though i deactivated all the release notes to save resources) just drove me crazy ... Thats the reason why i finally purchased a new mac after that editing horror :D

Hope to increase the realism within the next choir piece. Glad you liked the piece!

Best wishes!

[Torment]

Cool song. I like how transparent it is. Each instrument sounds clear and well defined. Very dark and eerie. Good luck in the competition.

TitanMusic responds:

Thanks alot man

[Sasaniyans]

Sounds great. Coincidentally two weeks ago I made a 5/4 song with Persian scale. What are the odds? (I know you made this earlier, but I only heard it just now) Very unusual music. I like that. The instruments sound very good. The synthetic and acoustic sounds blend well. Maybe the electronic instruments are a bit too clean and inorganic for my taste. I didn't like the kick when it first kicked in. But when you know where the song is going it isn't so bad. I'm glad it never turns into a pop song. Not too fond of Iranian pop songs. It's very dark, cinematic and nice. Just the way I like it. Good job.

Wurfel-Waffles responds:

Thank you for the detail response, SourJovis. :) I should go to check out your songs too.

[Caveman]

Disco cavemen.

Satyre responds:

They are rockin' ;)

[Redemption (Schrank RMX)]

Troll minor is my favourite key. I remember having given advice on this song when it was still under construction. That's a long time ago. It has become a good song. I'm glad you added the strings and the chip sounds. Makes it more melodic and interesting. It has become a good song.

wandschrank responds:

Yes, I sent you a very early version, and this still took me months to finish. Thanks again for your help, I'm glad you like the final result!

[Behind the Barrier]

Good song. Very atmospheric. I like the sounds. I already gave you a longer review. I thought you did better in the previous round than in this, but that's also because everyone else did better in this round than in the previous, so perhaps it's just relative. The thing I like less about this song is that it goes by you a bit too much. That doesn't have to be a bad thing. In a film scene the music shouldn't distract. And the contest seems to be film related (or so it seems to me) But in a competition it's better to have a song really be memorable and stand out from the rest. I know when I first heard it I liked it. But when I made a list at the end of all the songs I liked best, this song wasn't in there, because it didn't make too much of an impact. I'm looking forward to your submission for the next round. I hope you're doing even better than before. All in all you're doing very well in the competition, and that's quite deserved.

Neon-Bard responds:

So did I! I think there are number of things I could have improved upon with this piece. Thanks for the advice, I couldn't agree with you more, especially about the song needing that 'memorable' quality about it. Again, thanks for the feedback and for the support. :)