MrMusicalLion's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Ignite This!]

Nice atmosphere; Potential for more variety

The piano sound used has a very nice mood to it. Quite eerie yet adventurous at the same time.

The 'beeping' instrument line that starts at 1:13 would sound a bit better if it had slightly more reverb on it, because it doesn't seem to blend into the mix very well. It feels out of place and it has a negative effect on the atmospheric beauty that the rest of the music sustains.

I think that you could have added another instrument to this. Perhaps a low cello, or some sort of low brass/string sound? Something to give it a feeling that we are viewing a very vast cavernous scene, full of dark mystery and wonder - like in the Inception soundtrack. It would also provide more contrast throughout the mix, making the higher notes sound more prominent and grounded at the same time.

As usual your music has an atmospheric quality to it that I quite enjoy, making it a pleasure to listen to.

P.S Indeed.. that is a snail.

[What is This!]

I listened to it all :D

It would be interesting to add a melodic bassline to this.. i.e a wet/smooth repeated note just to keep the listeners attention. Nothing too imposing - to preserve the mood.. something very subtle and low-key is what I have in mind. Ever played the game 'Uplink' or 'Darwinia'? This would suit such a game [Almost. This is slightly too happy for those games]

The music was quite random, I liked the ambient and atmospheric nature of the track, from the beginning it caught my attention.

The piano track is a nice touch, perhaps it would be better to add a slight bit more reverb to it or change the type of reverb, because it sounds a bit too close, it would be better if it sounded a bit further away. Or at least, if you could make some of the notes sound further away than others, to give a sense of echoing depths...

Overall I quite liked this. Definitely original, although it is similar to some Swedish ElectroPop & IndieRock.

P.S Nice snail :P

-Review Request Club-

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thanks man! I could probably do with a bit more lower end :) But I'm glad it caught your attention. I'll take your advice about the piano riffs into mind with my next project. I'll have a look at some Swedish Electropop now. Haven't listened to much of that :P

Oh, and yes. The snail is my mascot I guess. Maybe I should nickname myself something to do with Snail. But that might be too yuck.

Thank you for the kind review! :)

[Lost Spirit]

Needs a little bit more Sugar & Spice

The part of this music that I liked the most, was the way that parts of the mix would drift in and out of the background, it gave me this feeling of when you're doing one thing but your mind is elsewhere in a land of its own. The choice of instruments was good; the beat was steady and kept me listening. The multiple layers kept me interested on several different levels.

I found that the music was a bit repetitive from time to time. I would have liked to have heard more variety in terms of Texture [different combinations of instruments] and Melody.

I think the Bass could have benefited from a bit more of a punch, I love the beat yet I want to really feel it hit me from time to time.

I feel that a few more musical SFX would have been a nice addition - to add to the atmosphere. I once made a piece similar to this [It was Dance style, same sort of tempo]. For the background layer I recorded a thunderstorm from the inside of an insulated metal box. I then took that recording and reverbed it until it had a very nice ambient feel to it. This then served as a perfect atmospheric layer that just filled in all the little gaps in the music so that there was always this sense of vibrant activity.

I like the energy and constant upbeat nature of this track. It is uplifting and makes me want to do something. Yet I can't see myself remembering this music when I walk around, the tune wouldn't catch in my head. A stronger melody would make this more memorable.

Nonetheless, in spite of all this, the music is well worth listening to.

Keep up with the Ear Candy ^_^
-Review Request Club-

TheBellmaker responds:

I would love to use custom sfx in my music, but unfortunately I've got no decent recording equipment :(
I've noticed a lot of people who have pointed out the lack of an outstanding melody. I'll definitely keep that in mind for my future works. Anyways, thanks for the review, and hopefully my three help you out!

[A Child's Game]

Paper Airplanes, Strange Sweets; Forgotten Fun....

This captures that childlike feeling perfectly.
I gave you an 8 because it is quite short. 1:46... that's a few minutes short of a substantial piece of music.. why not go back to this and explore it a bit more? If you can, that is. Certainly, you captured the magical innocence of childhood - yet I feel that you missed the comical way in which children can become so extremely concerned about the most trivial of things, i.e when they think they are losing or something has gone wrong.. a little bit of drama would be a nice addition to this.

Anywho.
Good points, wonderful strings. Nice and smooth, also there is a 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' feel to this, the choice of instruments matches the sort of music I'd expect to hear in an enchanting toy shop..
Improvements that could be made: There are usually at least 2-3 instruments playing at any single point.. it would be interesting to hear a very short intermittent solo from one of the instruments, to provide a distinct contrast in texture.

I think the music itself was pretty much spot on; the instruments are well balanced, the volume levels are such that each instrument can be clearly heard in the mix too.

Good work :)
8.4/10

[EML - Skeleton]

Make the 'rolling' a tiny bit less sharp.

I've got pretty tolerant ears so all I can say is that it's just a tiny bit too buzz-like. And I mean, a very, very tiny bit.

I like the feel of this music. It doesn't feel like it's going anywhere but why not use that to your advantage? It'd be a great loop. It'd work well as the background music to a Desert Wasteland themed level, or an abandoned city theme.

I like it all really. It's good and I think you can take this further, remove a tiny bit from that buzz/roll and you'll be halfway there. Other than that.. you could add more SFX here and there and take a more ambient approach with this, to form it into a nice atmospheric loop.

[Water in the Sky]

Add more atmosphere. That's what this lacks.

Have a listen to Etude by Empire of the Sun.
Listen to how that piece builds up this incredible atmosphere.
In background layer up some peaceful airy wind-like synths,
Entrance the listener with the music, lull them into the world that you see within the music. Use ambient SFX, make them musical too i.e make them match the chords you already have.

This piece has great potential it just lacks that outline, it lacks a frame, the painting has already been done but without a frame it sits blankly on the wall and has nothing to say 'HEY. I'M HERE!!!!!!!'

So give it that depth, that atmosphere and honestly this will be total ear candy.

Good work on all levels here, the mastering, choices of instrument, I think perhaps you should add some clearer/stronger melodies that fade in and out of the mix, luring the listener in even more.. check out Rebirth, [one of my pieces of music] and you might get some ideas from that..

-review request club-

[Waiting For The Madness [WIP]]

This got me from the first second

Why not a 10? Because I feel there could be a bit of EQ work here and there. How about a bit of slight distortion added into the vocals at times? I mean very slightly.. nothing to make it sound robotic etc but just enough to convey madness.

I truly love this track. The lyrics are fantastic and it speaks realms to me. This is the sort of track that I'd hear on an album and it'd make me instantly want to buy it without listening to the rest of the songs.

Great vocals
Great guitar
I like that subtle instrumentation in the background .. the flutey organ sound..
I think perhaps pizzicatto strings could be added to this at some point. You could get some interesting percussive melodies blended in with that. Just a possibility, that's all :) I think it would help with re playability, to add subtle extra melodies and rhythms here and there so that the listener can latch onto something different each time.. you have so much room to work with here, i.e the idea of madness.. you can add ANYTHING with that sort of theme.

Anywho
Wonderful work. As a WIP it's fantastic.
-Review Request Club-

StickyRemnant responds:

Let's be honest, you didn't give me a 10 because you're a fascist! ;)

Seriously tho, thanks very much for the high praise and expecially for the suggestions.Suggestions are gooooood

I'll give the strings and extra melodies a go and will definitely look into upping the madness stakes. I instantly thought of adding some TV static type sounds here and there to simulate a break in reality. May mess about with some time stretching as well.

Thanks for the great review. Hopefully you'll like the next version even more

[Cygnus]

Like a sun that is half-risen..

I can see that this is beautiful yet I feel that there is more to be revealed, yet.

For instance, I felt that for the majority of the track that there was masses of 'empty space' in the mix. There could [and I daresay, Should*] have been another instrument/rhythm/melody added to fill in the music, I didn't really hear anything that wanted to keep me listening, sure, the music is beautiful and of course it is very pleasant but I didn't feel like I was really being led on a journey, I just felt like it was static place, a picture of flying birds - I want to see those birds move, not just stand there, frozen, as beautiful as it may be..

I really like the intro, the instrument used has a fragile fantasy feeling to it. You could have increased dynamic variety throughout the piece, it stuck out to me that the instruments more or less stayed around the same sort of dynamics.

I think the part I liked most was at 2:45 where you filled in the music a bit more with that extra lead.

It reminds me somewhat of Owl City's music, too.

I feel that there should be more instrument variety. The instruments you have used great. Just I feel this would benefit from more different voices/textures etc, the piece seems to describe such a large atmosphere and it also describes an energetic place, too, yet there is very happening in this place. I can see the water.. the mountains, the sky and so on yet it feels somewhat like it is lacking nature, wildlife, huanity and so on...

Anywho. Good work :)
-Review Request club-

[Troll Dance]

Imma gonna troll dance to this whenever I'm vexed!

This is freakin' awesome. Absolutely love it.
The gritty yet slightly sweet bass & lead-saws,
The catchy melodies and the oh so delicious harmonies
Coupled with those perfect rhythms
This is the sort of music I hope to be able to make sometime soon.
Thanks for the inspiration ^_^

[SR - Plateau]

Fantastic Atmosphere, could listen forever.

This just.. takes me away.. everything to it; the white noise, the guitar.. the synths..
I imagine myself there, on a wooden rocking chair, straw hat over my eyes, the blazing heat and humidity making it hard to breathe.. chewing a piece of straw in my mouth, and looking over the plains.. and then in the distance I see that some of the cattle are running frantically but I make nothing of it.. until I see that they have bite marks all over them and some are missing limbs..

Brilliant, absolute brilliance.
Would not feel bad at all if this places higher than my own entry.
Well done :)