Esn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Siege of Red Mountain]

Excellent feel

I really love the harmonies that you used here. They were quite complex, or at least seemed to be.

The first half of the piece was just a great progression, upping the ante with each phrase. The one thing I think you really could have used was a strong low brass section - two tubas playing loud long notes way down below would only improve things, especially when it gets really intense. Possibly some bass trombones too, for that really brassy sound (maybe you know what I'm talking about if you've ever heard a brass band play). Try it out sometime.

Unfortunately, the second half slightly disappointed me because I felt that I had already heard it before. It would've been nice if you'd moved onto something quite different. Nevertheless, a very nice piece.

And yes, zero voters suck. I've been hit by them as well - sometimes when my submissions already have scores over 4.50, other times before anyone else has even rated them (in which case the next person who votes 5 moves the overall score to 2.50, and nobody will listen to it). Check out my recent two pieces, eh? :) I'd love to get a comment or two from someone of your experience.

Bosa responds:

You said what I would like to say.

[The Only River]

It is indeed the only river :)

It starts out as a nice new-agey, weightless piece... this part is generally pleasant, but I would've liked to see just a little more harmonic progression here - it gets a touch too monotonous.

I like the various industrial noises that intrude from time to time, and the one that intrudes at the end was a wonderfull surprise and a great thematic development. It gets trully scary here. How did you make that throbbing sound?

The file seems to end in mid-sound, which I thought was a bit odd - was that intended?

Anyway, it's quite a good piece overall. If it hadn't had that new section at the end, I would've given it a "7".

LfunkeyA responds:

thanks for the review. yeah this track is far from perfect, it was more like an improvisation, i didn't expect it to become my most popular track. The weird industrial sounds were made with some tweaked sytrus melody that was played on a scratcher, as far as I can remember, I've lost most of my old files (system crash).

[Bosanian Beauty]

Unlike the 2 below, I'll try...

...to leave a balanced review.

You have quite an eclectic mix of styles here. Although by themselves any of the different sections are quite good, they are frankly not integrated very well at all, with no transition from one style to another.

At first you have this nice plucked violin/cello duet, then it sounds a bit like the Braveheart soundtrack a little after the beginning there... and then you have this weird brass/bagpipe thing, a flute/woodwinds section, etc. I would have very much liked to have heard each style as a natural progression from the previous, or at least for there to be some kind of overlap. The plucked string solo at the beginning could have easily been continued and merged into what follows. Also, even if a particular style is subdued, some elements from it should make way into the parts that follow (in subtle ways like similar harmonies, rhythms, etc) - things like that give a piece cohesiveness.

This is why I gave you only a "6" for diversity, despite the wide range of the styles - the lack of integration.

Another thing that marked down my score is that the song had no real ending, and it doesn't really work as a loop either because one can tell quite easily that the loop has ended.

The individual sections of your piece would, if developed, have easily earned an "8" or a "9" from me. However, this is one case where the finished product is clearly less than the sum of its parts.

P.S. I got hit by the ZeroVoter guy too, but somehow I think that he may be a guy pulling a stunt to draw attention to the audio portal's complete lack of the review rating system that the flash portal has, and the consequent problems. See my post in the Audio forum. So, strangely enough, this may actually turn out to be a good thing. Maybe, just maybe, the leaders of the site will implement the same review rating mechanism that is employed in the flash portal - the audio portal has a much bigger review problem, after all.

Bosa responds:

Thank you for the advice. Thankfully we can produce stuff better than all these Newgrounds piano songs.

[-The Epic Battle v2-]

Exciting arrangement

I can't give you a high originality mark unfortunately because the melody is from a Soviet musical film called "Prisoner of the Caucasus" ("Kavkazskaya plennitsa").

That having been said, the arrangement of the piece isn't half bad. It's very energetic and would fit well in a flash submission. High marks on everything else.

I'm not entirely sure that the melody is not copyright-protected, though. The "pre-1973 USSR works are public domain in the US" copyright ruling was overturned a while ago.

mariomusicmaker1 responds:

all i can say is that it is accidentaly simmilar. thanks for enjoying it and the info!

[/|\A Legendary Legacy/|\]

Short, but it's good.

Gah, I submitted my review to the wrong place. Anyway...

Yes, it's short, but it's an excellent, excellent loop (despite the slight break between the beginning and end). I can see this really helping out someone who's looking for a sad mood in their flash. Thank you for submitting these songs to Newgrounds!

Oh, and Maestro(whatever), would you be so kind as to tell me what you think of my latest audio submission? I'm trying to get better and would really like some advice... thanks.

MaestroSegments responds:

I'm glad you enjoyed it Esn. A full version of this song is currently in production, originally it was meant to be just a loop but I felt it had too much potential to just lay down like this.

The break at the end is because of the mp3 format. In ogm, or wav there is no "break" when a song starts and stops, but because Flashes can only take .wav or .mp3, and we're only allowed to submit .mp3, the break is inevitable. The only "flawless" way of making a loop is to have a silent ending, and a fade in beginning.

As for your latest piece, i'm afraid it was I who learned off you Esn. I'm surprised that song got so little attention. It's probably at the level people think it's stolen. Keep them coming regardless, I am keeping an eye out on you.

[Welcome to the Field]

Some very, very good bits!

Most of this was a joy to listen to... my only beef with it was that the violin solo sounded rather colourless - but that's the fault of the samples you used, not yours. Still, it does mar the experience a little.

Other than that, beautiful! I especially like what you did when the drums came back (the violins at the top).

It has a weak ending, but that makes it work better as a loop, so I didn't deduct any points for that. :P And you can be sure that I voted "5".

(oh, and could you please check out my latest submission and tell me what you think? Advice from the pros is always welcomed! ;)

Bosa responds:

Yes, I was a bit conerned about the Vins at the end. DAMNIT!!!! If only I had added that final rant of a lower toned VinsI and maybe lower toned Violas. That would have brung the mood of the epic out.

Obliged to Your Ideas,
Bosa

[Kheni - Silver corridor]

quality!

Thanks for your vote, Esn! You voted 5 for Kheni - Silver corridor, raising its score from 0.00 to 5.00.

You know, it gives it a certain extra meaning when you listen to it knowing that you wrote in a hall when nobody was around. The beginning was indeed very lonely.

I loved the harmonies that you used, particularly from 0:30-0:45. I'd really like to know what the chord progressions over there are... ;)

The instruments sound pretty good, too, although sometimes lacking that lifelike vitality... that's mainly why the score is a "9" - I suspect that it would've been a 10 if this was played by good live musicians.

Overall, great work! I'll have to check out your other stuff! (and you could check out mine if you wanted to, but the only thing that I've submitted is amateurish song that I wrote a year ago. Your choice ;) )

Kimken responds:

Thanks for the 5!

Only the almighty knows.. Actually I can't remember right now.

I've tried to make it sound as real as possible, but it's hard when you've got virtual instruments. Even though this actually does sound kinda real to me.
I'll try harder next time.

I recommend Desert Wind and "Don't know".
Sure, I'll do that :)
Thanks for the review!

//Kheni