LucidShadowDreamer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[ZSPOOKI ZOMBIE HOUSE PARTY]

This is some nice jazzy stuffz. Good to hear something new from you :)
Although, it's so spooky I'm afraid of listening to it, of course.

johnfn responds:

WOULD YOU SAY IT'S... TOO SPOOKI

[I Miss You]

This is a really neat track! Good job!

PapoFuradoPA responds:

Thank's man! You can use if you want ;) see ya!

[FD - Unrequited Promise]

Just as I said earlier, it sounds great :)
I love darker kinds of tracks, which are all about atmosphere. I think this track would perfectly in quite many settings!

The loops is rather smooth, though one can hear it (might just be NG).

ForgottenDawn responds:

Thank you, glad you appreciate the atmosphere :) Believe it or not, many tracks came to mind when I made this. Games like Ib, for instance, (the track "Dining Room") or Higurashi. Even my really old track Prisoner, from nearly 6 years ago (damn, time flies) might have been an influence.

[T-Logic - Construction]

Ooh, I remember this! I heard the WIP on soundcloud more than one and a half years ago xD
And I still instantly recognized the sound within the first seconds! That must mean you're doing something right when it comes to sound design recognizability.

The WIP was good, but I like this finished version better. I actually prefer the later half of the song. The rhythm is nice and solid. I guess the percussion at some points could be a bit louder, imo. A lot of interesting sounds and effects are used, which I love (always so much going on). This actually reminds me of some retro video game music (more american games, I think). The mix sounds pretty good in general. Good dynamic balance.

The melodies are okay, though I don't find any of them to be incredinly catchy (those sub-melodies are really nice at times though, like the bass-synth-ish stuff). That said, I liked what was going on at 2:38. I think that at 1:41, 1:48, 2:54 and 3:01 I would've preferred if the highest note was actually held for a while instead of immediately gliding back down, as it now only hints at what could've been the sweetest spots (or the peaks) of the melody, which kinda left me haning a bit.

In general, I really enjoyed the piece, and I'm glad that you finished it. This has that distinct "TheDoor6" quality to it for sure, and I've missed it :)

Good job, and keep it up!

TaintedLogic responds:

First of all, thanks for the review! I'm really glad you recognized it. :) I personally prefer the latter half of the song too, but I thought it sounded more climactic if I did a lot more with it during the second "chorus," if you could call it a chorus. I also got a little too attached to the first 1.5 minutes after hearing it every so often for almost 2 years. XD About the percussion, I didn't really try to leave too much space in the mix for the kick or snare, but I did leave plenty for the industrial FX in there (there's an anvil at 2:55, a gun in rapid fire at 2:45, etc.). But I agree that some parts didn't come through as clearly as others. The FX was really the crown of this piece IMO, and I'm really glad that you thought the mixing was pretty good. Melody-wise, this piece is kind of lacking, I agree. I certainly don't think the riff at :56 constitutes a proper melody. I just wanted it to be catchy and/or terrifying. If anything, the bridge at 1:43 offers a melody, but that soon gets buried in mean industrial effects and stuff later on. :D I totally understand what you mean about the "immediately gliding back down" from emotional heights and whatnot. I wanted this piece to sound jittery, frantic, and urgent, but I'll definitely consider that for my next piece. I'm actually really curious what you mean by the "TD6" quality it has. I simply need to know how you think my style has evolved in the last few years. Please PM me. In the meantime, though, I really appreciate the review! Have a nice day. ;D

[Making Memories]

It's nice to see that you're so active at submitting :)
You create a lot of great stuff. I know I've said it before, but it's true :p
Good job, and keep it up ;)

LawnReality responds:

Thanks! I'm really happy you like my stuff! :D

[Edge of Night (All Shall Fade)]

Oh wow :O
Your performance here is beyond wonderful. I love the fact that you decided not to add any instruments here. Just the reverb, which causes the atmosphere to become really powerful. You really can keep yourself in key without any help too, perfectly. Which brings me to...

"no autotune/pitching effects have been used on my voice~"

=> Lol, your voice needs no autotuning XD

Amazing job dude. Keep it up! Can't wait to hear what more you have in store for 2016 :3

etherealwinds responds:

I could've sworn I'd replied to this sooner! My apologies. Thank you so much! Haha, I feel that it's mandatory to post that on NG... I get so many comments referring to my voice being tuned when I don't. ^_^

Hope you're well!

[Illuminated Tree]

Man, technical problems can be so annoying, to say the least. But despite them, I think you've done quite a good job! The mix is good, and I like the sound design too :)

The melodies are indeed good. Your transitions are as smooth as always, and your instrumentation does its job more than adequately. I like the fact that this track is 4 minutes, and has a lot to offer, without getting too repetitive. It has some nice breakdowns, and makes use of variation.

I don't have much else to say, other than that I think you've done a really good job with this one. Keep it up!

Everratic responds:

Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the mixing and sound design.

[Retrograde Meanderings]

Ugh, once again there are some zero-voters hanging around, I see :(

I think that this track is great! It actually reminds me of pokemon games, to some extent! But other than that, it quite naturally, reminds me of old RPGs. The melodies here are so nice! They really speak to me. I would love to play a game that featured this music. The chord progressions are awesome too o.O The transition at 2:00 is brilliant.

You too, manage to layer several melodies on top of each other, which I can really appreciate. I like the sound design, and the mix is very clear to me. It's impressive that you're able to bring forth so many emotions and atmospheres, using the sounds you used. You've very good at harmonies too. I think this is probably one of the best songs I've heard from you! If you would've submitted this against my track in the NGAMD, I have a feeling you might very well have won, to be honest XD

You don't have too much repetition either, and you constantly make sure that the track is interesting. You build up tension, and you release it at the right moments. I would've loved if this track would've been even longer! But as I got to listen to 3 minutes of awesomeness, I guess I can't complain too much...

Splendid work with this track :)

ChronoNomad responds:

Yeah, I was hoping that the plague of zero bombing wouldn't infect 2016. No such luck.

Pokémon games, eh? I wasn't thinking about those at all when I was working on this, but I can totally see the similarities. For me, certain sections and note progressions brought to mind a lot of the older Final Fantasies, especially IV. I'm overjoyed to hear that you enjoy the melodies so much! I haven't really done anything in the chippy style for quite a while, so this was a heck of a fun throwback for me. So you dig my little key change transition at the two-minute mark? Excellent! It's no fun to just move up the scale without a bit of flourish, after all. :3

You said it, man! Plenty of melodies going on here, that's for sure. I wanted to create a truly harmonious palette of sound, especially since I was working with such a mixture of old school instruments. I used just seven different instrument sounds, and one only comes into play for a very limited time. An eighth slot was taken up by my percussion VST. That's it! I mean sure, it's more than the old 8-bit games had, but I didn't want this track to sound too thin.

I must admit, it is decidedly awesome of you to say that this is one of your favorites in my repertoire. You think this could have won over your track in the NGADM? Hmm.... I'm not so sure, but wow--what a compliment! Right nice of you to say. :D

Yeah, there are just a couple of motifs that get repeated, but even those are expanded upon in some way, and there's always something different in the note progression. I suppose that's why I ended up having almost 90 patterns in the end. I was originally thinking it would end up being an even shorter track by a good half minute, not to mention a loop rather than a fully hashed out song, so I'm pretty happy that it ended up being longer than I had initially surmised.

Many thanks yet again for another sterling review, LSD! Your feedback is always appreciated.

[An Autumn Dream]

Once again, you amaze us with a track that is brilliant in every way. I feel really alive when listening to your music. Maybe that is because your music feels very alive, not to mention, very real.

I like all the different sections. I love the approach at the beginning, but then again, I'm biased towards ambient sounding music. That said, I think that the sound design, and the performance, is actually really good, no matter who the listener is. This piece of music, I feel, could be part of a really powerful movie soundtrack.

2016 will be an interesting year in many respects. It can be scary too... But I'm sure it will be filled with moments of light, to balance out the darker times. This, I hope, is true for all of future. I've been feeling lately, that life is way too short to be afraid of putting your bets on what you know will make you happy. Or that is, on what you honestly want to do. Like you said; to live out on your own dreams.

This track is really beautiful. The pacing is perfect. The mix is great, the intrument use, the melodies, chords. They all work together to create a piece of art, which is not too far from resembling the real world, in one sense or another.

This is one of my new favorites from you. Incredible job, as always. I can't wait to see what else you have in store for us in 2016.

Phonometrologist responds:

You know, I'm perplexed on how you find the time to write, listen, and review as much as you do. But it's an honor that give your time to do this. Newgrounds is lucky to have you considering how much you bring to the community. I knew you would be one that wouldn't mind the strange beginning. Its remarkable what people can create with their wooden instruments when you just think of a sound first in your mind. While others wouldn't think of playing near the bridge of their stringed instrument, I find it to be quite soothing in its raw, primitive sound. It's always fun to see their looks of uncertainty when I tell them to do it as they push the boundaries of what is "supposed" to be done and stray away from the learned teaching of a particular instrument. Got to get messy with music! Okay enough of that tangent. I'm just glad that you, along with a few others, have taken a liking to it. Not that I need it to continue writing as I always will, but it sure is encouraging and good for the soul to know that I can share music with others in what I find to be therapeutic for myself. This year will be good despite how I might feel about it. God willing there will be more in store for all of us.