EmperorCharlemagne's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Melody Of Death]

Many things need much work.

First of all, I am completely baffled as to why you thought this was fit to go into the Classical section. I am not trying to be a category whore or some Aristotelian prick, but come on. You should know what classical music sounds like in comparison to your own music. But that is minor (in many cases I would call Frank Zappa classical) compared to the larger things.

First off, this is about a 10 second loop, maybe less. I didn't bother to count. You stretched a ten second loop over 2 minutes. That is a load of crap, frankly. I am sorry if that sounds harsh, but that is the truth of the matter. There is nothing wrong with repetition; several of my own songs are rife and entirely based on repetition. But the difference in that is that you can't repeat the same thing over and over again, but rather, you need to expound upon the musical idea so people can follow your thought pattern. Because as it stands, this is entirely forgettable. The only meritable thing to say here is that the sound quality wasn't that bad.

I know there is the whole "That is not what I was going for" thing you can play, but then, if it is a simple loop, then why is the loop over two minutes? With that length, you make someone think that something is going to happen during the song, but it doesn't. If this track was 30 seconds long, or 40, tops, the score would not be as bad. Probably a 4. But I personally feel that doing something like that is pretty not-cool. You say "nothing fancy like chorus or crap", but really, adding ANY changes could have made this loop 50x better than what it is. "Nothing fancy" is not how I'd put it. I would put it "something that makes this thing musically coherent". You can achieve a much better effect of "dark and lonely" without a short loop repeated ad infinitum, a much better effect in that people connect to your song.

I am sorry, as I was not "gentle" as you wished. But posting audio is a lot like posting flash. You have to put some actual effort in to it, and it can't be some half-assed stuff done in your program and then sent to a public place, hoping for praise. Don't settle for mediocrity, or below that.

[Remember the Killings Finished]

Rather polished and well-made!

Gotta say, everything really flows on this one. The guitar work was good, the lyrics enjoyable (certainly heavy metal/death metal!), and I feel like the sound production left no discernable flaws in the performance.

Whoever did the vocals I say a good job of keeping things clear, understandable, and at its best, emotive.

The work with melody was impeccable, and I feel this bleeds (lol pun) quality. A top knotch job over usual Audio Portal fare (the type that one doesn't even bother to review). Liked the solo-ish parts at the end, and all in all this is a really well done piece of music you have here. Kudos to you.

Bad-Man-Incorporated responds:

Thanks muchly.
I did all the stuff here, guitar, bass, drums (programming) and vocals. Glad you like it.
Thanks again!

[/SN/ Rarefraction Serenade]

I like this one quite a bit.

Might have to go back and download it a little later!

Very nice job on everything, I liked how low-key the drums were until they swelled at the end, very nicely done.

Good job layering and ushering in everything, as this is a all around well-made and well-put together track.
Kudos.

SessileNomad responds:

glad you liekd it

thx for reviewing

[Castlevania:Simons Theme 2009]

Far too conservative.

As far as it stands, this song is pretty average. Not good, not bad, just average. Now, that might be tough to hear, since you probably put a good amount of time on it, but this 'arrangement' is anything but.

As opposed to doing something with the actual song, the main problem here is that you touched up the instruments with a modern touch, but did not do anything else, musically speaking, or production-wise. If this had its sounds replaced with the original SNES sounds, there'd be no distinguishing this from the original in the Super Castlevania.

So that in effect makes this song in many respect hackneyed. It lacks anything unique, and worst of all, it lacks any kind of personal touch to show that you actually made the song. This is bad, because it does not reflect well on you musically.

My advice would be: Get a little bit more daring. Don't just add new instruments to a video-game song, actually mess around with it. Toy with the ideas and see things in a different light. Try to make the songs both homages to the games you enjoy, and respectable pieces of music. Because this mediocre stuff is well underneath any respectable music maker. So try to be different; I honestly believe that you will have a more enriching time making a song. Plus, since the AP is full of morons who vote 5's for a song if it's in a video-game you like, your ratings will stay high too! : ) (Sad yet true)

[{KgZ} Encounter! (Loop)]

Well done!

Indeed the strings and dynamics could be more life-like. But I guess I can excuse that to a degree. That's really the only knock against the song, that things do not change at all in the dynamics department. Other than that, the song warrants a 4/5 for good instrumentation, good production values (aside from the aforementioned volume changings, or lack thereof), and a catchy melody. Nice on the use of 5/4 time, as it should be used more.

Overall, good job!

[xKore - Eledraunic]

Not bad

I liked towards thirty seconds the beats kinda got syncopated and cool like that.

Stuff like that is what makes a song unique.
Generally, you kept the beat nice and interesting throughout the whole piece, though it certainly did not feel completely like a house song to me.

Admittedly, this is not the type of music I normally listen to. Regardless, I think you did an all right job with this one. It's nothing groundbreaking or dazzling, but it is what it is, and that's more than what can be said of a lot of other pieces on the AP.

[Toshredornottoshred?-MJ]

Very nicely done!

Though a bass certainly would have helped, it didn't hurt you to not have one. Excellent guitar playing, and I think you did a great job at evocative playing right there.

The drums sound a little fake to me, thus the not-5 voting. If I am wrong, I apologize. Also, another thing I thought could be worked on is a better transition to the part beginning at 1:35. It felt like it came out of nowhere.

But keep it up, as it is all good stuff.

Metaljonus responds:

Thanks guy, The drums are fake hmmmm since they are'nt real and programmed. I really did'nt put a whole lot of thought into this jam. I basically wanted something to play over rather than make it into a complete song. Thanks for listening.

[/SN/ Singing Angels]

Nicely done

The song is nicely put together.

Things flow very easily, thanks to a tight chord progression and kick beat. I like piano myself, and I am glad to see how you used it in this song, because it added a little flavor to the piece which is greatly appreciated.

I liked the fade out at :28 leading into the main trance part of the song, and the extended intro was also a nice touch.

This is not to say the song is perfect. The bass sounds like it is a bit too sharp, and while this works sometimes, other times it is a bit grating. I would also recommend quieting things down at points (like at :34) in the bass end.

But overall, well done, and keep up the good work.

SessileNomad responds:

yeah most ppl dont like the sharp basses, but i kinda prefer mine like that

i luvs teh piano as well, its my fav. instrument

thx for reviewing

peace out

[Oriental Field Music (WIP)]

Not bad!

For added experience, I would recommend listening to a smattering of oriental music in order to help you get into the feel of the genre a bit more. Not to knock your work (which I liked), but a twanging instrument with some strings playing fourth-intervals does not entirely an Oriental song make.

The sound quality was good, and the instruments sounded nice as well, so good job on that.

In short, this has the making to be a fantastic piece, so keep working on it!

[-[Sound of my Dreams]-]

Well put-together

The transitions are pretty good, for the most part. I agree with the previous reviewer though, as there are more than one way to move from section to section than a snare roll. Variety is the spice of life, they say, and keep on experimenting with things that work! As well, the outro sound did sound a bit out of place, but that is all right in the long run of things.

The quality of this production is a step beyond what I am used to hearing, and that gets you good marks from me. The whole thing has a lot of shine and polish to it.

I give you an 8, but I voted a 5 because I did not want to see the score go down, myself (as this weird audio voting system is).