EmperorCharlemagne's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Tocatta of Skulls (final)]

This is definitively great!

It seems that all the problems that were present in the older versions of this song were finally worked, and the final product is something that is both technically proficient as well as structurally sound.

All the different instruments weave together to form a tapestry of sound that works very well on all fronts. I especially loved the brass coming in at :45, which was was much appreciated, much needed, and executed near flawlessly.

All in all, it was great seeing this piece progress from something ok to something amazing as time went by. Great job!

masterjiji responds:

:) YAY. yea the other submission i made the same day as this one initially scoreda whopping two points lower.

[Sand Glass]

Not bad my man.

What could have helped this piece out is as Nosferatu pointed out, some variation. Perhaps a bit of melody thrown in, or some varied drum beats?

The bass is fine, and the drum beat is fine, all it is is that variety is the spice of life, you know? Still it is a step above the usual Audio Portal fare, and that is an accomplishment in and of itself.

This is a good track, and if it is your last, as you so claim, it's a good finish.

Mitrox responds:

You're right, i could of added some more drum variation and more sound effects along with more melody.

which i will do in my future tracks off newgrounds.

thanks for the critique review dude.

stuff like this is helpful.

[Preludes of Mélancolique]

Emotive, and a great job!

I loved the chord progressions, and the melody shows some technical know-how that is refreshing in Audio Portal songs.

This is a great job.

Some of the harmonies don't quite mesh very well, that is the first knock I have against an otherwise good song. I won't point them out one by one, because if you listen, you'll know easily what I am talking about.
As well, the second knock is that this piece could use a few (emphasis on few) les block chords in some places and more arpeggiated stuff.

Nocturnes are often very lucid pieces, and very fluid. This one is a bit more 'in your face' at places, but that is by no means a bad thing. In fact it works more than it does not, and that is quite a feat.

Good job again!

sarias responds:

Well thank you yeah im a big fan of disonance, as far a bass line chords i never thoughout about it i will have to try and see how it sounds

haha as for nocturne i still havn't decided if thats what i want to call this, because it wasn't intended to be one, but i needed a name and i just was like screw it its going to be a nocturne :P
ok well thanks for the sugesstions

[Another Story Come (RMX)]

Normally, rushed remixes are bad...

But this one turned out not too shabby. I didn't notice any large flaws with anything, and it was generally smooth in everything.

I don't know how much of this was "you" as opposed to the "remix", but I liked the song and the melody for what it's worth.
It says something when a rushed job can turn out admirable.

Just don't get used to it!

ViceOfFire responds:

Thanks for the review, I appreciate it :D

The only thing I used was the acapella, did the rest myself.
Problem is that all remixes of this song sound similar in melody (it's been done to death)

[[JD]is coming for you(SCA]

Excellent redux

Most of the things I said in the last version apply, but I must say that the additions here work even more this time around to achieving a singular effect. Good job on the extras, the weeooeoeoeo's and whatnot, as they did make the song 'scarier'.

Nice.

enders1 responds:

I told ya, I was gonna make this one scarier muahahahahahahaha

[[JD] Is coming for you]

Does its job admirably!

A good entry in the ambient genre!

The feeling produced by the pedal (the warbling woooohh) is perfect in trying to convey the mood that you want to do.

Creepy, yes, but this is a good creeping.

I also like a few spots of dissonance in there as well, as you cannot have foreboding without dissonance.

Good job!

enders1 responds:

Thanks man, That was the whole Idea, but maybe I will upload this one again, I finded out that doing some high disonances it gets more scarier.
thanks again

[The Journey]

Tally Ho!

That's what the opening horn fanfare made me think of...

Though I admit that it would have been nice to see the horns return again at some point of the song, because if they are only used at that one spot they feel kinda out of place and almost detract from the feeling of the rest of the song. There were parts where the horns would have been a welcome addendum to the strings; just remember that if you have something in your ensemble, make sure it gets a good amount of time on there too.

The below review is correct in saying that the drums were too loud. When the really cool choral part (where you did interesting harmonies that warranted a second listen from me- very good job!) came around, having that drum beating loudly away took away from the intended effect. As the advice said, panning (or even lowering the volume at that point) is a welcome idea.

All in all, this was a rather good piece from you, and one that it quite enjoyable in its listening, and full of adventure. Continue with the good work my man.

Iodyne responds:

Hey, thanks for the review. This being my first orchestral piece ever, thanks :D

Not much to reply, but the drums are kind of an important part in the design -- I'll see how they work out a little lower next time. About everything else... well, it's sort of a themed piece.

Thanks, though. Roger, wilco!

[Forgotten Winter]

A good start.

Sometimes, having a specific aim when you write a piece of music can be a very good thing; it gives you direction, it gives you a sense or idea of where you are going and how you are getting there, among many other things. The only thing to ever watch out for is that your imagined world doesn't get in the way of your musical vision, so to speak.

Now on to the review...

The strings/piano combination is a very popular one when a newish/amateur (not in the bad sense) starts off writing music that he/she deems 'classical'. This is because both of the sections in question are very expressive, and useful for communicating easily any overlaying message the composer has. The flipside is that this has a chance of limiting the overall expressiveness of the piece by limiting it to a few instruments. Sometimes, in a string quartet, this is not a problem, but for larger-themed pieces it can be. That said, I think in this song it veers a little close to that area. Not completely, though. I would recommend, if you should try this style again, experimenting with using more instruments to say more things, to make more ideas made tangible for this listener.

Also, key to composition is utilizing your instruments to their fullest, and bere is where I think some good constructive advice is necessary. The strings and piano here mainly never leave a general area of the scale, and I feel that this limits the piece from being everything that it can be. They all hover around the same chord progression, never going much higher or lower than that. You wanted to capture sad nostalgia, I would explore that idea completely! Having the piano travel the excesses of the keyboard, high and low notes sounding in unison, all of these and more have a powerful effect on the listener, and it really allows you as the song-writer to breathe a sigh of relief as you explore the feelings you feel when you think up a melody. If you are confined to a single area, and the feeling conveyed is not a bit claustrophobic, then in my personal opinion, something is lacking.

This is not to disparage the melody or makeup of the composition, though. This is to push you, should you continue to write music like this (or any music, for that matter) to not confine yourself to a small set of tones and trying to make a melody out of that. A good composition fully explores things, it leaves no stone unturned. It doesn't matter how many instruments are there; what is there is enough for the song to communicate, or to even reverberate some thing about life. If a song can do this, then it really is worthwhile.

All in all, this is not a bad song by any means. It merely lacks an imprint that can make someone say that"This is a ViceOfFire work". I think if you can find that voice, it will be so much the better when you write songs like this. Hope you continue on.

ViceOfFire responds:

Thanks so much for the in-depth review and constructive criticism!

I agree with you on all points, but you have made them that much more clear to me that I can now focus on them and work on doing that. Especially the being confined to the chord progression and not higher or lower. Thanks so much for this, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it :D

[[JD]whammy city]

Whole lotta whammy...

Nice beat, and good for you using real instruments on it.

Thining of this song as a whole, this is a nice underlay, background stuff, and I suppose that that is the goal, what with it being under 'ambient' and all that. However, I don't think ambient means 'no melody'. I personally feel that if there was a really slow melody up higher, one that only shifted around a few notes, the song would have been ace material. I was waiting for it to happen, but it didn't.

But keep up the good work and continue towards making what will look to be a cool album.

enders1 responds:

The main melody was the whammy part, But I know what you mean by that, I will experient.
thanks

[Melodic Drama]

I like improv...

The end kinda sums it all up, where everything just kinda mashes together and falls apart, with no rhyme or reason.

Now, in pieces like Pierre Boulez' piano sonatas, this works and gives it a high amount of energy. But this is just you and some friends messing around.

Glad you had fun, but not too many people will be rushin' to download.

Keep on truckin'.

SimonG responds:

Totally agreed. Thanks for the nice review :)