Azhthar's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[What Lies Beyond]

So... Finally I find some time to leave a review.
First, this is an awesome track. You got lovely melodies, nice chord progressions and a really nice minimimalistic combination of instruments. The instrumentation sounds very fantasy themed and I really could hear this in a fantasy movie or the cutscene/intro for a lighthearted fantasy game. The harp combined with the flute sounds a bit celtic but on the other hand you stick too classical cadences and combine these two points really nicely. Your transitions work perfect and the flow of the track is nearly perfect. The mood is really immersive and I could really imagine wandering on some green irish meadows surounded by Stone Hengy circles, fairies and trolls...
I wrote "nearly perfect" because the brass at the end pushed me a bit out of the world in which the track pulled me in... It sounds a bit distorted and doesn´t really fit to the other instruments and to the whole atmosphere of the track... Everything else is perfect in this track but that brass :(
If I would be nitpicking I might say that you could have used some bass instrument or that the tubular bells sound a bit too close and present but these are really just some minor complaints because the whole rest of the production is awesome. The sound and the mix sounds great. Every voice has it´s place in the mix as well as composition wise. And I really love the harp. You didn´t just repeat arpeggios with it but varied it subtle all the time and it feels like somebody is jamming over the chord progressions on the harp all the time instead of just soulless programming or something. All in all: Really nice track and great job!

ChronoNomad responds:

Hey, thanks for leaving me such an incredible review, Azhthar! I'm really glad that you like the overall Fantasy vibe, chord progression, and mix of instruments. Harp and flute just go together so well, don't they? And if it sounds a bit Celtic for it, so much the better...I do have a bit of Scottish blood flowing through my veins, after all. I really like the breathy quality of this particular flute, and I'm sure it serves to enhance the Celtic imagery a bit. Also really happy to hear that the transitions keep the piece flowing so well! I generally wanted to keep them simple yet effective.

Ah, I knew what was coming up when you said nearly perfect. That bit of extra forceful brass at the end has been quite divisive, so I'm quite curious to see what the judges will think. Almost no one seems to get what I was going for here, though it does seem to grow on people, so maybe give it another listen through or two and see if it does. As far as distortion goes, there certainly isn't any added, so I'm not sure what you're hearing. I kept all the instruments quite natural and only used filters to enhance those qualities and clean up the mix.

The cello was my bass instrument here, actually. It was admittedly a bit of a trade-off to use those slow, expressive vibrato notes so often since they're not constantly present in the bass field. Regarding the tubular bells, I did consider having them 'farther away,' but in the end I wanted them nice and up front as though all the instruments were on a stage, so chalk it up to personal preference. As for the overall sound and mix sounding great, that's stupendous to hear! Mixing has not always been my forté, so I guess I've come a long way in that regard. Also really glad to hear that you love the harp so much! I knew that it was going to be one of the driving forces of the piece, so it needed to be doing lots of different things throughout the composition. The fact that you've taken the time to really listen to all the fun and interesting things I did with that harp makes me happy! ^___^

Thanks again for taking the time to review, it is very much appreciated!

[[IV]Mokosz]

This is a nice one! I´m a bit tired, since I just finished mixing mine so that´s probably not the most in depth review.... Your mixing and production is awesome. I wish I could be able to produce such a clear mix. It´s actually nice that you stuck to the hybrid sounds although the track isn´t overloaded with action. Your choice of intruments is perfect. I like the flute and the folky strings the calm feeling it gives to the track. I think it could have been a bit more dynamic in the track but on the other hand my tracks are often way too dynamic... It actually makes the track more coherent IMO and it actually would fit perfectly as a loop into some cyberpunk like game (Shadowrun). Awesome track! Good luck here :)

IglicaV responds:

Thanks a lot for your review! My response will be short, as my english is always an obstacle - good luck to you too, I'll listen to your song as soon als I will have some time :) And you're the second person who mentioned Shadowrun :D

[Zen]

Yay! First one for round two... Awesome like always. Maybe the lead guitar at the beginning could be a bit louder. The part around 3 mins nearly reminds on Joe Satriani. He has a similar sound on a track of album "Strange beautiful music", but your drums sound better ;)

PirateCrab responds:

Lead guitar should come across louder now! Thanks for comparing it to Satriani, he's a long time influence! :D

[Who Killed The World?]

Man this year is full of awesome submissions! Really cool percussion work and some massive sound. I just learned how much ressources and work this is... Also quite nice guitar sound. Did you play them yourself? This is some perfect trailer music. Like the oriental feeling around 2 mins and the tension buildup. Maybe the end was a bit to sudden. But I always have the same problem ;) I just heard good things about Mad Max. Really have to watch it (is the number 1 on my list)...

LunyAlex responds:

Hey! Thanks for the review!

Sadly the guitars are sequenced, mostly because of time constraints. Had one day left and having to practice the riffs would've probably put me on edge a bit, hah.

See the movie! :D

Thanks again!

[Take-off]

Catchy as hell! I wish you all the best in here.

Mawnz responds:

Ayyy thanks man you too :D

[Tenebrarius]

Awesome! Nothing more to say... Maybe I´m jealous ;)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks, Azhthar!!
I heard your track yesterday, and it is amazing as well, so there's no reason to be jealous XD
I forgot to review it though, as I was browsin' through so many tracks. I'll go do it now :D

[Sidestep]

Dammit your mixing is so good... This will be really tough to beat. I hate the deathmatch ;) Just finished mine, too, although I will mix a bit tomorrow. Anyway, nice track and all the best for the NGADM!

AeronMusic responds:

Thanks a lot! Goodluck to you too! (:

[Friction Point]

This is awesome! You are so good... Enjoyed your stuff last year, too. The only thing is that something is constantly pumping your drums and rythm guitar volume up and down which sounds a bit strange...

PirateCrab responds:

Glad to have a long time listener! Yeah I've fixed that with my most recent mix, it was over compensating on the compression so I've pulled it way back. It should sound much clearer now, cheers! :)

[Ghost Train]

That´s quite awesome! Love twisted circus music. I actually didn´t realize that it´s a loop and already listened it four times in a row. Great job!

Yahtzei responds:

Thanks so much, man! :D

I've just realised we're in the same group for NGADM! Best of luck to you, dude :) I'll be sure to check out your stuff ^^

[Hope For A Tree]

Now this was surprisingly different... Your voice fits the atmosphere perfectly! I love your retro organ keys. The voice could be a tiny bit more present in the mix but otherwise it sounds good to me. Good luck here!

SoulSecure responds:

I was thinking about turning it up slightly myself. Thanks for reinforcing that.

Thank you for the review!