IndustryStandard's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Setting Equipment - OST]

I love it! The sounds you use go great together, the changes and the way the song builds are smooth. The one thing i would say could be improved is where it loops. Don't get me wrong, it works fine, but the song builds up an energy, and you can kinda feel it drop when it goes back to the beginning. this is where i stop being helpful though, because I'm not sure what could be done to fix it haha, it's just what stuck out to me. Overall though, this is awesome, seriously, I know you said you were a beginner at this but you definitely have a knack for it.

ZepicZorua responds:

I'll keep that in mind lol. The hardest thing is coming up with something to make and finding the right tune.

[quake]

I should note at the start that this really isn't my kind of music, but here's what you did that i was able to appreciate:

The sounds you used all work together really well and every change was smooth and added something interesting to the riff, or changed it in some significant way without ever feeling jarring. I also like the sounds in the intro that kind of built a world around the kick drum; simple, but atmospheric. I kind of thought the individual riffs went on a little long, or could have used some more varied repetitions, if that makes sense; someting like, repeat this riff for 3 times, then the next twice, then another one 3 times so you end up with a total of 8, still fitting with the 4/4 time signature but varying the changes up. That's my 2 cents but like i said, this isn't the kind of music i would actively listen to. This track is, however, something i would love to play Geometry Wars to. Good stuff!

[Dream]

Nice, I don't know why but this track gave me an odd nostalgic feeling. It's a little awkward when the drums go from halftime in the beginning to straight quarter note beats, if you had some kind of small drum fill to cue the change it might be a but smoother. My only other major complaint would be that the main chord progression doesn't change, and while all the riffs and instruments you've used go well together, it's a little lacking in variety. Good stuff though, keep at it!

Zekronz responds:

Thank you for the feedback!

[[Tsets] - Jack Is Coming For You]

I love the way the bass kinda thrums through the entire song; it adds an almost electric feel to the song, and it never gets in the way of the other sounds. Mega props to your mixing skills my friend. I'm not sure how i feel about the speed up in the last third of the song, but the pieces individually go together really well and i didn't feel like it took away from the song so that might just be a preference thing. I do think the slowdown at the end works beautifully though. I'm not really sure where I'd see this in a video game (aside from maybe a DDRE track) but I would be neither surprised nor disappointed if it were in a game i was playing. The ending I think would have been way better if you'd let that last note ring out instead of cutting it off, but as it is now it actually loops pretty well so I wouldn't call that a problem so much as, again, a preference. Keep it up!

TsetsukenMusic responds:

Thank you!! Mixing has always been a worst enemy in a lot of my songs and that means a lot that you say that. :D

The sped up part in the last third of the song I'm thinking of actually changing/working on (or writing a Version 2 with a separate upload and leave this one as is possibly). I felt like it could build to something nicer (or approached differently essentially) and just couldn't find the right piece to fit in there.

This track is mostly for fun, I honestly wouldn't know what kind of game it would fit in either. I think in he beginning, where the beat starts up, could be looped and made into something for background music for sure! The arp in the end could also be salvaged and made into something, slow it down make it creepy, could work in something I think.

I'll have to work on a version 2 of this song, it seems like the direction I might take, nonetheless, thank you so much! :)

[Dylnmatrix - Hyperresonance]

I definitely dig the echo on the intro riff, It's really active but it's not jarring at the start of the song since it's kind of muffled. The first percussion instrument, that comes in at around 0:57, is a little loud, especially compared to the kick that comes in around there. It takes a lot of attention away from the other instruments in the song. Other than that, there's a ton of variety and it all flows really smoothly together, and you make really good use of the wah-like effect. The beat also changes up frequently enough to keep things pretty interesting along with the new riffs.

4.5/5 stars, but only because of the level of that first percussion instrument. I'd give it a 4.75 if i could because it's not that big of a deal but it definitely detracted from the intro in my opinion.

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks for the review! I agree that the hi-passed kick at the beginning is a bit loud. When it came to releasing the track when I did, I meant to actually automate the volume of the kick so it wasn't so loud, but completely forgot before rendering ^^;

Other than that I'm glad you liked the track!

[The Nyarlathotep Step]

I love the noisy aspect of the song, it's very atmospheric. a little abrasive as far as intros go but it fits well with the rest of the song. I like the use of the ring modulator too(or at least whatever it is that sounds like a ring modulator), it definitely adds to the atmosphere. You might want to work on making your stuff more melodic though, as there's not much aside from atmosphere here. I'm not terribly familiar with industrial music aside from listening to a bit of NiN, so if melody isn't what you're going for then by all means you keep doing you, but overall I'd say you have a solid foundation, yet it's missing something pretty to hold the interest; like a warehouse wall without some sick ass graffiti.

TheSecretProvider responds:

Thanks man, yeah I was trying to capture the way Nyarlathotep communicate through colors rather than purely through sound so I wanted to paint with textures as much as possible; glad you picked up on it.

[Rage]

I like your choice of sounds quite a bit, but the lead riff could use a little spicing up. It's interesting rhythmically but since it only switches between a few notes it gets a little old kind of fast, at least since it's so high in the mix.

Also, everyone else commented on this so i may get my two cents in as well: If this were the background music to a boss I wouldn't feel like it's out of place, however the specific idea i get is one of those parts of a game where you fight the final boss preemptively, where you're either supposed to lose or the fight ends via some deus ex machina. I feel like this track is more suited to a scene where the villain begins enacting his evil plan or doing something generally unpleasant for the protagonists, something the audience feels helpless to stop. This is definitely villain music, and overall i liked it. Like I said though, maybe vary the lead riff a little more.

SoTJake responds:

Yeah, you are right, the main lead should have more variety or lower in the mix. I put it higher as I thought the bass riff sounded too aggressive and could be hard on the ears. I also thought that if you are in a bossfight, especially a fight where you are struggling to survive, you are more concentrating on the fight and the soundtrack should be driving, yet also a bit repetative. Maybe I overdid it a bit with the "repetative part".

As for the impression of this track as boss music I think that your impression is quite on the spot. When comparing the track to actual boss of games I played (only gameplay-wise, not comparing the soundtracks) I thought of the fights in Deus Ex, where you had to fight in a more indirect way and the bosses where always chasing you, and Hotline Miami, where this driving atmosphere and constant fear of getting killed with 1 shot was prevalent. Anyways, thank you very much for your review, glad to hear some useful advice :)

[Capetown Remix]

I like how you've managed the delay, only hitting certain instruments with it and hitting them with different levels. If this were behind a game or movie I would be totally into it, but by itself it drags on a little bit. It's very mellow and I get that, but it doesn't quite hold my attention. It could use a few more melodic riffs or even a few little rhythmic fills, just something to keep it interesting over the straight beat.

Other than that, I'd recommend bringing the piano up just a tiny bit in the mix. Good stuff overall.

[Butterfly]

No part of this song is bad, in fact I would have to say that I enjoyed each piece quite a bit, but that's the problem: I felt like i was listening to a bunch of pieces of a song, but they didn't quite mesh together. The first part I noticed was where the drums come in. right between where the strings fade out and the main part comes in(around 1:00) the song kind of seems to lose direction. I think it might just be the guitar note, try for a higher pitched one to keep the tension that the intro builds going. The outro seemed a little out of place too, melodically. I don't know if there was a key change there but it sounded drastically different from the rest of the song to the point where it felt like it wanted to go on. Try to find something that resolves there instead, or continue the outro until it can resolve itself.

Other than that, the electric guitar sounded very synthetic. I was just recently given some advice on this; try varying the velocity of the notes, or maybe even look for a different sound for that part. The strings(violins/whatever it is) start to sound a little synthetic when they get to the higher notes, but they still sound good so I wouldn't worry about that unless you want to.
Everything else sounds damn good though, just find a way for them to mesh together a little better and you'll have a track worthy of an anime fight scene or something.

[Auditory Cortex]

This track is like listening to noises in the real world from inside a dream. Damn well done, sir. The part at around 4:30 when the louder lead riff comes in is a little jarring, but the part it fades to a minute later fits much better. If anything, I would recommend maybe moving that part to the end and moving all the lead riffs that used to follow it to before it, that way it can kind of build up to the sharper sounds of the lead synths at 4:30... Sorry if that's confusing, I'm not really sure how to word what I'm thinking of. Bottom line is, great track. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.

BemSound responds:

thank you...it does seem jarring too. might be better if that was at the end and not so bang in your ears, and have a kinda intro to it that way its not just bam into the orchestral part