CWN's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Betrayal to An Epic Degree OLD]

Mmmm...

To kill a mocking bird is actually a pretty good book :-)
Now, this review may sound negative, but it's not suppose to be. I only take my time to review songs, if I see some potential or if they are good. Both apply here :D
Besides, reviews like OMG THIS IZZ SO KEWLLL never helped me.
OK.
The song itself: Nothing really to say here, the buildup was cool, I always enjoy some sampled speeches / quotes etc. Very metalcore.
The guitar:
Your playing was great, the style was cool. BUT i did hear some parts out of tune, is that what you meant with 'flat'? The part starting at 6:32, you can hear that the two rhythm guitars panned left/right don't fit. But it's just slightly out of tune, no 'biggie'. Just remember to tune your guitar during recording ALL of the time. Best is to always have a tuning device connected and constantly checking. The tone of the guitar was ... ok. I'm guessing you're going directly line-in, and not recording via a mic and amp. The sound is very fuzzy, it has that typical line-in distortion sound. I also record that way, i use a noisegate, then a distortion pedal, and then go directly into my audio interface. But i found a great trick to get rid of that 'fake' distortion sound: impulse loaders. PM me if you want to learn more about em :D I'd be glad to help.
The Vocals:
The quality of the recording was good, the volume should be lowered just a tad. Also, the vocals do not really blend into the mix, simple solution: add some reverb. but not too much. The vocal performance, was ok, i certainly know what kind of style you're aiming at. The problem is, you're not using the full potential of your voice. There has to be more fry in your voice, the beginning of each 'shout' is clean only at the end it turns into a real 'scream', if you know what i mean... :D Just try it all LOUDER.
The bass blended in pretty well, i like it when the bass has a little more presence, but that's just a personal opinion.
The drums also sound quite ok, the bassdrum did a good job. haha
The snare sounds a little trashy, like an empty can or something, but it's ok. The symbols sounded a little trashy at times, but meh!
Overal 9/10, 5ed.
I know what it's like to dig up old songs and try to make the best of em.. it's a bitch!
:D

Jakisdead responds:

Thanks very much for the review man. It means a lot to me for a number of reasons.

I will most definately take into account what you've said about my tone and PM you on that at some point. And yeah, I was sloppy with the tuning by the end of this one.

I'm intrigued by what you said about my voice, I'll certainly try to crank it up a little :]

I plan to turn down the kick a little in future. I am partial to a more 'clicky' pedal but I think it's a little overboard in this one.

Thanks again for the review man. I shall be in touch soon :)

[Apocalypse by EDS]

The recording..

.. really blows, like the guy said below. Sounds like a single mic placed in a room.
The bassdrums still has some nice clicks, though.
BUT
the song itself is great. I can really hear some awesome riffs hidden in there, brutality, your vocalists also sounds great. upload the new version. FAST!
8/10 for the bad recording quality.

[[5SCC - ****************]]

oh man....

and i thought my 5 second clip is annoying as hell... LOL
This is the clipping, spastic thing I've heard in a while.
:D

jarrydn responds:

Haha, I checked out your submission last night, and I'm pretty convinced that you're going to win. I'm thinking of using it as my phone ringtone hahaha!!! XD

[Ab Logic Test]

Logic = ownage.

I use logic for everything. Once you get the hang of everything, you will never want to switch to anything else.

Jeez, how low are you tuned? Sounds very ballzy. The guitars are a little too distorted, but could be a stylistic mean. The ending riff was very cool, the harmonies really added a nice feel.
What kind of drums are you using? Almost sound like real ones, the snare sort of sounds like an empty can though :D
5ed.

PenguinBomb responds:

Guitars are tuned in Drop Ab (Bb standard: 6 semitones lower than normal, with the bottom string dropped another 2), And yees I lurbs my distortion :D :D

Drums are DFH samples, I likes em. and tbh I started off with a thicker more processed snare sound, but after awhile it started to sound machine-like, so I'm still searching for a semi-organic snare sound.

tyz for the review :)

[Solus- 5scc Lol China]

I clicked on this...

... and then the phone rang... and it kept on running... and looping... and looping.
it is quite captivating. I left it running another 5 minutes while drinking my coffee. haha
I will try to cram some music into 5 seconds as well.. I bet it's not easy.
:D

SolusLunes responds:

Actually, this was pretty easy. :D

[Xxdeath Before Dawn Demoxx]

Sweet.

The riff was fucking killer. The drums are a little mushy, the bassdrum could use a little more high frequencies... Are those real drums?
The guitars could use a little noisegate and a little less distortion, they're giving a little too much noise in the parts where they shouldn't :D
Otherwise: Fuck. Yeah.
Sweet shit.
5ed.

[trigun-demo]

Pretty cool.

The guitars are a little crunchy for metal, but the tune was quite nice.
Very groovy. And yes, the widdly widdly part was pretty cool :)

K, i will not ignore the drums here, because I have an offer. lol
If you want I can program you some decent drums, it would be a shame to see the song go to ruin because of some crappy drums!
PM me if you're interested! You can listen to my 2009 songs, they all have some proper drums. I can make the drums sound more natural, less like a metal drumkit if you want, too.

Liau responds:

you're drums are pretty awesome lol :P
I'ma try putting the rest together and see what I can do with what I've got, if it sounds shite, then I'll send you a mes. thanks!
(the drums are mostly just to keep a beat while I record at the moment lol

[Waking the Beast]

I just read...

... you like the bassdrum sound of Kataklysm. haha
Their drums sound the nastiest on Serenity in Fire. That bassdrum sounds so... CLICK. can't describe it in any other way. lol
The drums on your track sound pretty cool. Nothing to say about that. I think your rhythm guitar tracks are way to awesome to stay so quiet. They have to shine through like a knife slaying little children. (wow that was a weird comparison)
That was a little exaggerated, they got just use a tiny bit of more volume.
You say it's a bit repetitive, but I don't really think so. The only thing missing to NOT make it sound repetitive are vocals. I experience this a lot when I record. All my songs repeat a certain riff/melody/idea, and I always want to change it... but as soon as vocals are slapped on... BAM!
Also, a small tip from me:
I use a lot of breaks in my song, where it gets all quiet and really suddenly the guitars and drums hammer in. What you do is add a small fade in to the guitars that smash in. But a VERY, VERY short one. That way the Human ear gets used to a new sound coming in and it doesn't sound like the added sound is 'out of place', if you know what I mean. My friend (studio engineer taught me that one... that fucker)
I would do that on your lead, once it comes in, the one at 0:28 for instance.
But that is really just a SMALL SMALL detail.
Overall, great mix. Great tune.

Bad-Man-Incorporated responds:

Thanks very much man. Glad you dig it. It was originally intended for vocals, and the parts with the lead, break lead, was going to be the chorus. I just got a little carried away. I see what you mean on the breaks.
Awesome review, and glad you are listening to my shit. You are one of my favorite artists on NG. :D

[Suggested Entanglement2]

Yes.

I remember the tune.. those damn leads have been sticking in my head for while, but i forgot where they came from.
Simple, down to the point. I also share your mentality of simpleness :D
Complicated or fast parts do not make a song good. It's the quality of the melody that brings a song to life. Some people tend to forget that. Not you, though.
METAL!

Bad-Man-Incorporated responds:

Yeah, complex shit can be awesome. But sometimes can be a lot of work to listen to .haha.
Glad you dig, brother. \m/

[[Forever Mine]]

Cool.

Firstly, I consider what the guy below me said as a personal insult. Fuck you.
K, to the song.
I liked the melodies a lot, the build up was cool, it had a sort of generic metalcore sound to it though, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing at all. In a songwriting aspect, it's great. It has enough repetition in it to make it stick, but enough riffs that change. The piano fit in perfectly, as well. If anyone would put vocals on this, and it wouldn't include well sung parts, it would be an insult to the song.
Great stuff!

deathkllr84 responds:

Lol, don't take it too seriously. People will criticize you your whole life, its up to you whether you let it get to you or not.

I can kind of understand the 'generic' part of this, the breakdown is very core-ish. It's what I thought would fit best though. Some of the riffs were a little AILD based, but hey man - thats the stuff I was raised on you know?

thanks man! \m/