LucidShadowDreamer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[I've No Idea What I'm Doin']

Whoo!!! I love the energy in this track :D
I kinda wanna stand up from my bed and start dancing around. But I don't think my neighbors would appreciate that as it's past 3 am...

I hear nothing bad with the mix, but I am not the best (actually, probably among the worst) people to ask when it comes to production :p

I like the melodies and the intrumentation too. I've said it before, but your style really reminds me of ParagonX9. In a very good way. Maybe you are ParagonX9? Did I solve the mystery?
Nah. It wouldn't fit with all the information I already have on you (be afraid) :p
Maybe it was the Sonic references that made me think of this again? That, and the awesome parts like the one at 1:13. This is one of my favorites from you!

Good to hear you got some great headphones! :D

As always, this sundae was very tasty, and I think I'll need to vomit it up so that I can enjoy it again ;)

Noisysundae responds:

Bah, I'm not him. I was simply going to tag "fast" but I suddenly think of Sonic in that moment. Looks like he likes Amy so much though.
It's alright if you can't say anything about mastering. It's just in case some audiophiles or professionals pass by. And the melody at 1:13 was pulling up the chords by one third each bar. (I'm a novice on music theory if that's confusing for you.) Done that technique in so many sundaes. It's a life saver when I'm running out of idea. :P
Thanks as usual too.

[Vehemer But Slower]

Hey! This sounds pretty cool dude :)
It could progress a bit more though.

Good job ;)

[Musical Meadow - Across the Worlds]

This sounds amazing, dude! o.O

stunkel responds:

Thanks! It was so much fun to work on.

[Who Killed The World?]

I saw that movie very recently! It was great :D

As is this track. I can definitely tell it was inspired by Mad Max: Fury Road. The music in that movie was awesome.
This sounds pretty experimental, in the best way possible! You're not afraid to do things out of the ordinary, or to include pretty simple yet effective parts, like the one at 1:05!

I think everything here is wonderful. I think that the only thing that could be improved is perhaps the ending, as it's so sudden. But on the other hand, it kinda fits too :p

Brilliant job, and good luck!

LunyAlex responds:

Yep, I need to work more on my endings. Hardest part of writing for me, and probably most others. I just can't figure out how to turn it around into a smooth decline to silence. One day!

Very glad you liked it, and very glad that it seems the more experimental elements worked well.

Thank you very much and good luck to you as well!

[How to Drunk?]

This is brilliant :O!

[In Gods Mournful Design]

"...this is a pretty grey area as to whether I think this would be considered decent or not..."

I don't think that this is decent :/
I think it's frickin' brilliant!!!

How did you even manage to pull this off, with all the mixing? You're insane, dude. I love everything from the intrumentation, the effects, the progressions, the percussion, and the melodies to the overall atmosphere. Also, you did a good job tweaking those choirs.
The ending works well too.

This if anything, could work well in a movie or a game. The production quality is quite amazing.

I can't even fathom the work it must've taken to make this.
I really don't have much to say. This is simply too good. Your group better watch out, because I think you have a good chance of making it to the next round with this.

Awesome job, dude!! And of course, good luck ;)

[Bamboozle]

Something about this track reminded me of "La Folia", especially the faster interpretations of it. But I'm not going to dig into exactly what that is. Mostly harmonies and progressions and such :p

I agree with OmegaP that a harpsichord would've been a cool addition. But I like listening to this in it's current format too.

Here's a thought. There has always been one thing that I've had a slight difficulty of appreciating to its full extent with this kind of classical music. Don't get me wrong, I totally love classics of this kind as a whole. But I feel that in some ways, there's not enough variation in some of them. Especially when it comes to rhythm, and structure. Not everything has to have variation either, of course, but still... The melodies are great, as are the chord choices.

The progressions and movements, even in different chords and scales stay similar throughout the track, to the most parts. On the other hand, I do enjoy the contrast between the bass melodies and the higher melodies, while allowing room for eachother. But I guess that the reason I may feel that the method is overdone, is because it has been done for centuries XD
Nothing wrong with using an old technique if it works :)

And as I said, it's only a personal preference. And I couldn't honestly remove any stars for it even if I wanted to (which I don't), because you absolutely nailed the style of Bach with this, which is what it would seem you were aiming for.

And I'm far from deaf to the actual changes in progression. That was more of a comment as to why I can only listen to bach's preludes for so long before getting bored, than a comment on this actual piece. When you take a more "chaotic" (although still structured track) like Toccata and Fugue, I'm onboard for the entire ride, even if there are instances of what I talked about. Just a preference when it comes to style of arrangement :)

But in this track, there is actually more variation than in many of Bach's preludes (the ones I've heard at least), which I really appreciate. I especially enjoy the little extra (perhaps a bad choice of words, but currently I have no better) parts like the ones at 0:37, and 2:07, for instance. The slowdown at the end, although it sounds mechanic, works wonders. I say mechanic, but a real orchestra could definitely play that part in the same style as well. I guess that I simply prefer something where the musicians are more independent, and their own individual styles shine through, than something like this that would most like be directed exactly according to the sheets, as most major orchestras tend to want to reflect the original composer's style and intentions as closely as possible.

Now, as I've said, the melodies and progressions are wonderful, and stay true to the style you were going for. It's a shame that Kor-Rune was disqualified though.

Overall, I really enjoyed the track, for what it is :)

P.S. This turned out not to be much of a review, now did it, hahha? XD There's no need to leave a long response to this :)

Phonometrologist responds:

Instead of a harpsichord, how about I keep the piano and add a Moog? I've updated this so it can sound more chaotic, and it doesn't sound quite as old

[The House by the Cemetary]

Yup. You can definitely make it to the next round with this. It is brilliant. Reminds me of some old horror/action mosives, but also of newer things. Even a bit of Yoko Shimomura (regardless if you've heard anything from her or not).

It's nice to hear something more dark, as many of the songs on Newgrounds tend to be of a lighter nature. Dark stuff also tends to be my style, so you get bonus points for that XD

But yeah. Everything from mixing, to instrumentation, to melodies, to the pregression is great. I actually really enjoy the orchestration. I've always thought that the objective is for something to sound good, not "proper" ;)

Only thing I could even try to mention is that the ending is perhaps a bit sudden. But it doesn't sound wrong. It's just an opinion. I probably would've went for a slightly slower ending, or done something that indicated its coming :p

Unfortunately, the only way to change the title is to remove the track, and reupload it entirely, which would not be desirable. You might be able to do it if you message the staff.

Brilliant work, dude!

Azhthar responds:

Hey thanks a lot for the detailed feedback! Now I feel bad about my one sentence review...
Yep I also tend to some darker stuff usually... I didn´t even think my mixing was good in here, although it took me ages... For the ending I also thought to reduce the dynamic a bit but then I sticked to the action ending. Thought that full cadencing would be enough to introduce the final but maybe I was modulating too much before... And when I read what I just wrote I assume maybe sometimes think a little bit to theoretic.

[Oak - Mobius (NGADM'15)]

As expected from you, you uploaded something great somewhat close to the last minute XD
The melodies and mixing seem fine to me. The vocals may have seemed a tiny bit off, but not much. But the uplifting progression and intrument choices definitely make up for that :D
The loop is so smooth that I didn't even notice it at first!

Great job, dude, and good luck ;)

Oakwood responds:

Thank you for the kind words, LSD!