FlamingFirebolt's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cheesey Dance Madness!]

Oh god, do i have to review this? :(

I hate what you made me to do xeon >: l Your in my debt.

Anyhow, let's get this overwith.
Let's start with the title, how it's cheesy alright.. Dance? well i suspose it is. Madness? Why certainly. You get 10 points for the right title there.

It's extremely happyness and overly colourfull display (currently have spinart ) makes it sure something special. Why would you attempt such a thing anyways? :p

THe piano sets the mood. It's fast and happy. The beat comes in and it pretty much stays the same trough out the song. You build it with a cut off synth and then let it go again to let the bass and beat do its thing. Works better with trance though :P. I love the synth at 0.43. It adds that extra 'sillyness' if you know what im saying. The melody is generic and nothing special. It doesnt stand out, what it does is that its actually catchy due to it's simplicity. Where it does stand out is in the utterly joyfull dancing around sunny care free world kind of thing. It's weird. It's nothing like anything i make. And for some reason i am aiming for this stuff.
Ugh getting off track. So the melody is catchy and all that, joyfull stuff. BUT
The beat just doesnt cut it for me. It's anoying and it makes me feel it just goes where ever it wants. Maybe try making it a 4/4 or a proper breakbeat. The hihats and snare are weak but i don't know where you are aiming for with this so..
The bass could be better. I think it's too light and not really bassy. But if you would change it then it would destroy the mood. So i'll let that one slip.
Variation is oke. You kinda do what i do, just let the beat and bass play and add random synths on top :). Works pretty well in some ways, it adds variation and it's actually easy to make. 1.19, that trumpet sound fits really good. Im still anoyed by the beat. Maybe add some more effects and fancy stuff to make it more adredeline filled music. I don't know, i geuss you could experiment with it more considering this is nothing like you usually make. I suspose i could give random tips but that would only to make it sound more cheesy and nobody would want that...
For the mixing it sounds pretty decent on my end, considering i have crapspeakers made out of sh.. well you know. And the perception of the quality of these sounds are ceverly low. How does that sound? :p. Well the kick strength is good, though has wished it would be a 4/4 or lighter for more a breakbeatish feel. The pads are nice and warm though only background. The arp steals the show obviously. The extra sounds like the trumpet are a nice add like i said before because they fit so well. But all the sounds, especially the arp, have the urge to drown the bass. But it manages to keep up well maybe because its on average, a fairly easy song. Now i don't want to offend your music nor your skills :P but its just my oppinion. It's actually short too but that can't be helped. I would suggest to make the intro longer, i actually got an idea but im not going to remix it or whatever :P. And ofcourse fix the outro a bit. It just ends. Maybe make a break somewhere, where theres a slight space of sanity and calm. You must mix and combine elements not only use cheese. But if your going this way why not make it more cheesy, detuned saws ahoy!

Bla die bla

So what number should i give this? I don't think my oppinon could be expressed in numbers but i would give it a 7,5. For the total random cheese. BUt this is not much compared to your other music so i dunno. YOu would get minus points for your musical skills :P.
Just make another one, only more cheesy. .. And faster

-firebolt-

ps. Most useless review evah!

DjXeon responds:

Like wow, this is the longest craziest review over the most cheesieest uselessest randomest song ever :)
Congrats on that lol.

Yeah, i didnt write in the title, this was a total muck - around song. Nothing musically to be gained here, just was bored one afternoon and tried to make quite literally the happiest cheesiest crap ever :) and it turned out quite well :)

Probably never again will i make something like this!

My new stuff that im making... well its at a stand still, and like got 6-10 songs that are like about 10% done. jsut a whole load of ideas, and nothing solid is coming through :(

I need inspiration :) wheres that slow trancey cloud song you promised :)
Haha, i might send you a compilation of my 40second demo random songs sometime, ill mediafire them to you :)

[Blue Escape (3rd Demo)]

:) Has a retro feel to it

The first opening hits remind me of a retro game for some unexplaind reason.
The actuall feel is spacy and ambient-ish. The beat mostly ruins it for me and some of the cheap sounds. But considering your not a FLgod ill let it go :).
The beginning synt hand the gated sqaure (?) and that awesome synth at 1.20 makes it all feel spacy. The beat makes it slow and kinda bouncy if you know what i mean. The pad on the background just glues evrything together.

You made some nice choices escpecially how you blended all these together. It's a pretty solid track with a mere basic beat. But that doesnt mean it;s a good thing. You could make it better maybe with some other beat since its more like really slow dance. The 4/4 beat and a gate. It could do much better with a other beat atleast that's what i think. The piano sounded like something out of FLkeys, bit too cheap, i don't know what your resources are for any good sounds or whatever so i'll let that pass. But still it buggs me a bit compared to the other synths. The snare roll is kinda anoying, and it didn't suit the song well. I thiunk you could better make a spacy breakdown with the pad and maybe a sqaurish slidey synth? Even with the chorus (?) going i can't help feeling a slidey synth on top would make it tons better. Since all other synths are 'short' a long one would make up for it i suspose. Maybe add some 'air' sounds FX to it. To top it all off add some extra FX for that extra mood-boost to the whole song. I thought of air sounds, like when air releases from something in space, white noise which fades actually. That might help set the mood.

Overall i got to sum this up. I like the song ideas and where it's going to. But i can't help feeling it feels rushed and uncompleted, atleast it's not completely what you had in mind. But that's only from my eyes and oppinion. You should experiment a bit more with FL. Maybe then you can express your feelings more in a song :D. (Sorry if i offended you in any way)

9/10 for the awesome space mood, and giving me some ideas awell, Kinda inspiring. I usually avoid using sqaure synths and all but meh. Keep going looking forward to your next song.

-firebolt-

Please check out my song :D

Heitoki responds:

Thx for all ur input! ^_^ i kno this song is missing allot of things ~ and i really needed input ~

[Eurodisco (Overboard)]

Funky chiptune?

So i heard the first few hits and it didn't sound that promising. But immediatly at 0.12 it became tons better. I love that background synth by the way, really SID commodore 64- like. The snare fill is really 'retro' . There are some things i like and ofcourse something things i don't.
+ points
SID!! WOO
Beat is simple but effective
Nice choice of combining old with new(?)
Feels bit 80's somehow
-Points
Sometimes the notes didn't feel right. And at some points the vocals are obvious pitched. In the chorus, i didn't like the second half of it, it feels false compared to the others but it keeps the flow nonetheless. I expected more eventually since it's a pretty long song and you must keep your 'audience' entertainted, and you can't use the same thing over. It seems like you didn't contineu building it in my oppinion. But, this style is kinda hard to review
just a personal touch - Make the bass more funky ;). It seemed like you were going for the old disco feeling but somehow missed it. uniqeu genre maybe? i don't know i just love the sid sound :D.

Now i should say thise before i review this, but i've never heard of Mitch or Dane, Neither Shanon Hurley. So i don't know howmuch you added/improved it. Since the sid was composed you mean you didn't make it yourself but only sample it?

Tips: Oddly enough, i don't have much tips for you. Since it's like, you combined 2 genres while i can only keep my mind on 1. It does feel way more disco-ish though. Maybe thats the problem (with me ) that it sounds a bit weird. Maybe you could add more chiptune-awesomeness. This is a unique and awesome blend! Maybe consider making another counter melodie and maybe a break ( with the vocals and pads or something ). It's a pretty solid song but it feels like it could do more.

-final judgement-
8/10
This does the complete opposite of what i expect of this site, not being generic ( SORRY NG! :( dont hurt me ). It feels like something new while actually using things from the past. Combining chiptune with something is cool, i've heard some songs like Chiptune+dnb which is awesome, or Chiptune+dance but they tend to be more chiptune-ish. Nonetheless, keep experimenting with the SID or hell don't. Just keep on making music i;ll be looking forward to your next song :)

-Firebolt-
Please check out my song :D

Ic3m4n responds:

Wow ! Thanks for this huge comment! I think i understand what you mean. Maybe some additional harmonics could do the trick (to make the chorus more changeable).. i should really rework this track...but that must wait a while -.-
But i agree with most of what you said...i will keep that in mind, when reworking this piece.

[} Crump NC {]

Noisecontrollers? oh well.. good choice

Now i love the noisecontrollers. Especially there melodies and crump makes no exception. I like how you copy it just to show off your kick. very nice choice. well anyway,
First thing i noticed is. That the song sounded too slow. Maybe higher the bpm, its a small but necesary touch :p.
The main synth of the crump melody, ( the sqaure-ish one) is actually a preset in Nexus. I don't know if they actually used it but its damn similair. Maybe you could check that out just for fun i suspose, it will not add anything. Anyhow!
YOUR KICk
yes thats the main reason of the song. I'm currently listening with my headphones so i can't judge it on bass. But the main sound sounds pretty good. I like the bass in it, but not the 'clicky' sound of the bass. You might be better off using a sampled kick-click on top of that bass. Just a suggestion. You would give it a bit more attack and more structure, basically making it better ( if done correctly ) with such an easy sample. However there are tons of disadvantages then making/sampling it your own ofcourse. But i think you could try.
I give it an 6 or 7. But an 8 for the choice of melody :p. I am wondering how you did that kick though. :) Doesnt smell like 3ocx :p.

-firebolt-

theta4 responds:

Yeah, I copy melodies a lot to hear what my kicks sound like. It was kinda slow.

Also, I don't feel like paying for Nexus. It sounds like it's pretty powerful, but I use ZynAddSubFX for pretty much everything. It's also free. And I'm using LMMS, so Zyn comes free.

This is an older kick, though. I've gotten mildly better.

As far as for how I made this kick, I used a variety of EQ and distortion plugs on a kick made with expodrum (expodrum's a free VST from xoxos). That's how I make most of my kicks.

Thank you for your suggestions. I will keep them in mind next time.

Also, my favorite Noisecontrollers song (as of now) is Shreek. You should check it out.

[~EnV~Demo Mix 2!]

Great demo's

I like where's this going. Great ideas. Still waiting for 'Set me free'.

Anyways, ... SO MUCH SIDECHAIN !

Envy responds:

hmmm everyone seems to be waiting for that 8D

[Karco - Abyss]

Amazing

Experimental ambient ey? Hmm sounds like dark ambient to me.
I like the fact that it keeps 'evolving'. Like progressive ambient? :S
Small changes are added atleast each 16 bar or so. And the piano on top is briljant. Without it the song would collapse. And the 'choir' samples sound really fluctuating. I can't really explain but they don't sound real. Yes i know if it's nexus, it's synthesized. But there soundfonts that don't fluctuate. The wind effect are nice. You added some other fxes aswell. I wonder howmuch reverb you used :/.
Well i must zellers. He said i sounded like an underwater journey. And oh yes. It's like playing Bioshock or something.
And special note to you: I heard each thing there is to it in the first time >: l since you said that in author comments i heard the song closely. ( HA in your face ).

-firebolt-

ps. I want that piano damnit >: l

Karco responds:

That piano's in Nexus2's Dance Vol. 3 expansion! :D

Hmm, funny thing, it's not a choir. :P If you listen to the preset itself playing individual notes, it's a solo singer, but I had it play two notes at a time, which explains the choir-ish feel. And since this all was a big experiment anyway, I don't mind if you don't think the choir sounded real. It didn't have to. ;D

The underwater journey feel was EXACTLY what I was going for... which is why I called it Abyss (that, and the fact that the pad preset I used had the same name XD).

Weird, second time someone mentions Bioshock to me. I really should look it up. :O

Thanks for the review FlamingFirebolt! Glad you liked it. :D

[Somewhere in Nevada]

Awesome

The intro is maybe a tad to calm. with the weird percussions and the bell-like synth. But then suddenly the reese kicks in! :O amazing. Altough i expected it to have a little more bass. The whole rhytm is amazing. The variation is good. I like the fast-paced effect it has. Altough, i suspose i won't see this in any madness game. YES, it's paced, has alot of good DNB stuff. But it isn't really Dark/evil like in the most other Madness song's. And it doesn't have that 'Tough battle' feeling to it. If you know what i mean. It's, almost too happy for that lol.

-firebolt-

Please check out my new song! :)

WritersBlock responds:

Lol, yeah. I'm actually working on making this more madness-like. I've taken out the other synths, so there's just the light plucking tune at the start and the reese, but I'll probably mess with the pluck, pump up the bass, and add a bunch of weird junk in there, so hopefully it might stand a chance in the comp.

Sure, I'll check by your new song sometime. ;D

[{DjF} Gravity]

Sounds cheesy ^^

Intro is oke, overdone but alright.
I really dislike the weak synth. In the intro and those chords doesnt help much either. But after a while it gets better. ALOT BETTER. But after such a massive breakdown the chorus is such a let down!! Try to imrpove the chorus ALOT more. Like adding hihats ealier and more fxes. More background synths to keep it alive. It needs to make people either dance or wave there arms in the air. If you would make the chorus better you got yourself a great track. The varation is great. Breakdown is awesome. You've got some good ideas but i think that it's isn't aswell executed as you wanted it to be. Just a hunch.
But oh god, i want to remix this. With what program did you make this? I presume FL. Not sure about that tough.
Please come in contact with me :).

-firebolt-

Please check out my new song too!

Dj-Final responds:

FL.. you would be correct, thanks for the honest oppionion, i'll definitely work on this and make it a little better, the intro honestly sucks i put no effort into it whatso ever. But this is why i have people to review my stuff so i know what i need to do for my next piece or even this song. and i'll definitely work on this and add some stuff and try to make it not so simple i guess.
Thx boss.
DjF.

[-={DJ-PHX}=- Crafted In Heav 2]

Hmm oke..

Alright first off..
The intro is bad. There isn't really an intro. Maybe next time try adding a smooth intro.
The beat is weak and lame. Lack of punch and bass in the kick and boring hihats doesn't help the track. I would love hearing a clap or snare.... Some distort on that synth that comes in around 0.28. Probably because of the low freqeuncy's in that synth. Try eqing that away and compress it . That might help.
Bass is dull and to be honest, is there a real bass? Well yeah there is but it needs more volume. Piano is nice. Counter melody is good. I should remove partly the beat there if i were you. Alright, fix the ending too lol.
I hope you take some of my advice in your next track. You still have a long way to go :) So keep it up.

-firebolt-

Please check out my new song :)

unrealdark responds:

I know I need to do more than that, But I can't fix much about it, I only use the 'Stock' stuff in Fruity Loops Studio, And since I got nexus I only can change a few things, to let it sound real nice.
I will change the kick later, because I used the stock one, I only EQ'ed it though. :P
Still need help with my vengeance samples, if that's done I can get a monsterious kick + leads.
But thanks for the information, I will keep that in mind for the next Updated Extension.
And sure I will check your songs out, only not today though, I am to bussy atm. :)
Thanks for the constructive review! :D

[Mario Land Ending Remix]

It's oke!

Intro is really awesome.
Soft with piano and guitar. A little pad. So far so good. I would like some reverb on the guitar tough. WOuld make it better. It has this good laid back feeling espeically when those hats/percs come in. And the bass is maybe a bit too soft. I would give it more structure. the drums are amazing. I love that snare. Greatk work, i didn;nt knew you could remix a song like THIS! So i had to check it out. And im suprized, It's waaaay better then i anticipated. Good work. It's a bit stock-ish tough :D.

-firebolt-

Please check out my new song ;)