xxxZigZagxxx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[LTM² - Miniature Fantasy]

Hi ListenToMyMusic

It's interesting that you have chosen to remake a track, because this means it's more about the reproduction of sounds than the actual composition itself. But I will try to make as accurate of a review as possible.

Based on the actual song, I can say that your repeated patterns are generally pleasing to the ear, but it lacks a certain fluidity that a lot of house/trance tracks have. You can hear the individual textures, but I'm not sure if they "mesh" well.

Your skill in mixing, etc. is pretty decent. I wouldn't say professional level yet, but getting there. Just keep learning stuff about EQ, compression, automation, etc. (not that I am that good at it either) but I can see you becoming a very good musician.

It's emotional, but it doesn't evoke extra-strong feelings from me. It seems like it's just exploring the same subject as a lot of other electronic music without providing a new and unique take on it. But at least it's not gimmicky or full of distractions, it has a nice structure.

The theme is semi-catchy, but it would help to learn some professional skills to make your mix "pop" more, or have more flow. Thanks for letting me listen to your nice tune.

Cool.

[That Mentality]

Hi SmellyCheeseMan

Synthy, distorted and padded to the max, it captivates you from the beginning but gives way to monotony later on. The repetition of the main pads is jarring to the ears, but it has that eerie feel to it that is redeeming. The textures do not necessarily complement each other, they are too same-ish.

The EQ-ing needs a bit of work, either that or your synths. The overall sound is harsh, as you said, "like a NES went horribly wrong". That said, the rough patches are complemented by very good patches, in this highly inconsistent song. I would cover my ears in some parts, and bob my head in others.

It is supposed to be highly emotional, but somehow the emotion seems to have been EQ'd out of the way. The drums are glitchy and super-8-bitted out, but I sense that you need to work on your mixing and synth-making skills to make this more like you wanted it to be.

It is unique in that it uses very distorted samples of 8-bit, but under the current production, its true genius fails to shine through. I can see the feel that you are going for, but it's a bit too distorted for my tastes.

Overall, your statement is a good one. But the production is lacking.

OK.

SmellyCheeseMan responds:

Hey! Thanks for taking the time to comment!

It's kinda sorta meant to be jarring, the feel for the game its designed for calls for it in certain parts. Admittedly yes, its way too distorted. The entire project was under a glitching VST and a "vinyl" VST. A lot of the low end was cut off because of the vinyl vst, and again was intentional for the project it's for. The synth used was a simple 3x Oscillator and the the main "pad" as you called it was a very distorted and crushed violin.

Thanks for listening and commenting :)

[A Prelude To Glory]

Hi Halindir

I am captivated by the strings in this work. They are very beautiful and haunting. I don't know why someone gave you a 1/5 for this work, because it is simply stunning. The repeated shapes and patterns meshing over each other are extremely appealing, and the composition is A+.

The skill in composition is fantastic. Your strings layer over everything in a booming hush, and the foreign vibe is extremely euphoric. The mixing is top-notch, and nothing seems out-of-place or jolting. Good job with the professional feel of it.

This is emotional and it provokes feelings from deep within the dark abyss of my cold heart. Feelings rise fast from the ashes of burnt dreams, climaxing in wisps of fate. It seems to reference the Arabian sands, large expanses of hot deserts reaching into the deserts. Roomy.

The subject is new. It feels like the genre has been flipped upside down, like that guy flipping the table. This music makes a bold statement that not all music on NG has to be booming DnB or wubbing Dubstep, but it can be its own feel without being the same as everyone else.

The aura is one of peace, and positivity. I love the rising guitar chords, and I hope you recorded them yourself, but it's OK if you didn't. This piece is amazing, and you should feel good about it. It has meaning, purpose, poise. It is a true work of art.

Thanks.

[Children of earth]

Hi SeanSullivan

This music is captivating, because it lulls the listener into a sense of catatonic unnerving knowingness whereby they might understand the world more completely. The textures complement each other quite well, despite being quite jarring, and they provide an almost "industrial" feel. The levels of the kick drums don't seem to be "boomy" enough for my liking.

The composition is largely brittle, in that it doesn't have the "punch" that I would give more defining works. It has its rough patches, for instance, when the rug is pulled out from underneath you at the end, and it feels jolted, and out of focus.

This piece is emotional, but it lacks variety, and it seems like a loop looping over and over again sometimes. The horns evoke an almost apocalyptic feel to it, giving it a post-futuristic vibe.

The song is unique, in exploring a new type of feel almost a la Burial. But unlike Burial, the drums don't jump out at me like his clicks and bleeps do. This would work well in Future Garage.

I can see the statement you are making. But it is done in a very numbing fashion, so that after a few loops, it seems to sink into your mind, so that you do not want it back. It's not mindless mumbo jumbo.

Sweet.

[Kr1z - Forever (NM Remix)]

Highly audible!

~~~xxxZigZagxxx's Listen-a-Trak~~~
0:00 Trancey start, with a hardcore tinge. Epic swoops.
0:30 Snare fades well into the kick.
1:00 Bass is muddying up the mix! NOPE.
1:15 Seriously, someone needs to EQ that bass.
1:30 So far highly underwhelming, but it could get better.
1:45 Ah well, at least it's melodic. You've got a nice lead line going on there.
2:15 This is starting to sound very epic. The addition to the lead makes it 5x better.
2:45 Ah yes, that kick is good. But might need a bit more high end, so you can feel the presence of the rhythm? I'm not sure, that or it might ruin the mix.
3:15 Very chill vibe going on here. Just cruising along the trance route. The hi-hats are a bit weird though. Sounds like they're going through a flange of some sort. Insane upon the membrane!
3:45 Amusing synth coming in here. A bit puny. Is that all you got, synth? Also, Y U GO OUT OF TUNE?
4:15 An overly loud synth that is clearly out of tune.
4:30 Get that annoying buzzy bee out my eardrums, ASAP!
4:40 Thank you.
4:55 Starting to get a bit boring.
5:15 Meh... yawn.
5:30 OK I'll stop the review here.

Very interesting rendition of a great song. I don't believe you nailed it like you could have. There were some minor mixing issues, including a major one at about the *ahem* 3:45 mark. ( I would mute that channel if I was you.)

But yes, overall, entertaining but underwhelming. Gets boring around the 5 minute mark, which is kinda good considering that 3:30 is the ideal radio track length. So your experiment kinda worked.

Production: 6/10
Listenability: 7.5/10
Creativity: 5/10
Style: 6.5/10
Reviewer's Tilt: 2.5/10

TOTAL: 27.5/50
GRADE: 55%
VOTE: 3/5

xxxZigZagxxx

MessanyRecordings responds:

Now that was a long and helpful review.
In fact I could try to improve this remix indeed.
But I will probably finish some WIPs before I get back to this one.

[In a New Dream]

Cool piano tune

TRACK LISTEN REVIEW:
0:00 Sounds like a regular DnB track, which is nice.
0:20 Interesting orchestral hit sounds... add to the epicness of tone.
0:30 This violin part is extremely well produced, and the snare is poppin'!
0:45 Snap! Things changed in an instant, to a grungy-type police-chase music. Exciting!
1:15 Back to the main theme again. That piano is very nice and dainty.
1:30 There's the orchestral hit sounds. Sounds very retro-80's tv show.
1:45 I just LOVE those violins. They're crisp and beautiful and sweet.
2:00 This transition is very abrupt and doesn't really fit in with the mood. But it is still nicely produced.
2:25 Back to the main theme. This doesn't get old.
2:40 OK, now it's getting kinda old. But it doesn't get repetitive for some reason.
2:55 I'm guessing you're just gonna loop this song three times. Very good economic use of your music material. I usually switch things up everytime it comes around, but this is still good.
3:35 Oh, nice ending. Sounds like "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton.

Overall, a very enjoyable listen of a crisply produced track with contrasting themes. It's very retro-80's grunge material, such as some cheesy track played for the TV sitcoms, with punchy drums. Good job!

Production: 8.5/10
Listenability: 8/10
Creativity: 8.5/10
Style: 7/10
Reviewer's Tilt: 7/10

OVERALL: 39/50
GRADE: 78%
VOTE: 4/5

xxxZigZagxxx

JinNJuice responds:

Oh my. I haven't been given an in depth review in a long time. I'll be honest. I was a little frustrated in making this right. Many ideas that I put into this turned out badly. I kept the ones that I liked, which obviously wasn't that much, really.
Anyways, thanks for taking the time to listen AND review! -KN

[Better than I said]

Smooth, relaxing, ultimately chillax material

A moody piece, with great swinging guitars and a light beat that turns dextrous later on in the song. Your lyrics are very professional, reminding me of Tom Waits on Rain Dogs, or something from Oasis, or Pearl Jam. The snare is very "poppy" and nice to listen to, and everything has kind of a lo-fi feel.

The hi-hat is a little loud on the hi-frequencies, you could benefit from turning it down slightly. You could make the lyrics come out a bit more from the mix, somehow, up to 0:30. But from then on, it's good that it remains in the vast plethora of noises.

You remind me of the great alt rock bands. Good job, guys.

ZigZag

Jayson420 responds:

Thank you very much man! Sorry I didn't get around the responding I don't normally expect people too say anything. But I appreciate it man. I've only recently got this drum kit and didn't know how too individually turn down each part until a couple days ago. But the sound i get out of my ghetto setup it pretty much all i'm looking for haha, thanks again man take er easy!

[Molly's Lips [Cover]]

Can hardly hear the vocals

All I hear is this dog barking. I can understand it's very experimental though. It's quite nice sounding, but I would like to hear your words a bit more. You create a vast sonic landscape with your interesting distorted guitar and little shaker. It's very soothing.

Thanks for sharing :)
Benjamin

[Space Jan - Syre (Bass Fix)]

Pretty good man

Sounds are really nice fitting together, there's some nice production of the bass going on there. It's almost got a dubstep feel going on there with the "wub wubs". The bass sounds really unique and interesting.

That's what people are looking for in artists, so yeah... very interesting and unique! I once met a guy in south carolina. He had a very large mouth and big vaporizer. He took me to another planet where we met on Mars. Plenty of beats are stronger than ours.

But no matter, 2.am. on the platter. This song is the ish, and that is what matters.
Thanks for letting me listen!

Benny

Aleksander91 responds:

Thanks for a good review man, appreciate it :) and thank YOU for listening ;D

[[TFC] - Mystline]

That's beautiful

Fantastic to lsiten to at 4:30 in the morning. I'm so tired I feel like I'm on drugs gnigh.t

TheFantasyClub responds:

Oh, thanks!