tourmi's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Void]

Is this inspired by Metroid? The start of the song really feels like it is from Metroid, it almost gave nostalgia chills. And I just noticed that someone also reviewed about that. It really feels inspired from it. Anyway, here's my actual review!

First, I want to say that the whole song really is soothing and someone could fall asleep to it easily. If it is what you were aiming for, good job! I really loved a lot of things in your song like the synth playing in the background for almost the whole song. It really made the song feel calmer and I think the Metroid impression mostly comes from it. I also really liked the melodies of the "violin" (I know it's not a violin, but that's what I'll call it) instrument appearing at 0:45. It made everything everything sound sadder and more beautiful.

Next, I want to talk about the flaws of the song. The flaws I found are mostly my personal opinion, so feel free to disagree with what I'm saying. For an ambient song, I feel like there aren't enough variations. It's obvious that you were aiming for it to be repetitive, but it can be too much sometimes. The "violin" felt repetitive, because of the amount of times you repeated that same melody with it. It would have been fun to hear some other melodies coming from it. There's only one other instrument that I think was repetitive, but I actually don't mind it, and it's the hi-hat. To me, it really feels fine, but someone else might complain about it being always the same thing trough the song. But yeah, the only instrument that I felt was repetitive is the violin's melody. The rest is perfectly fine.

Also, I really felt like the choir was out of place that first time it appeared. It was too sudden. I was legitimately surprised by it. Maybe fading it in would fix it, since I don't think there was anything else with it. It's only a small problem, but I still felt like saying it.

So, yeah. The whole song feels really nice, the stereo you put on the different instruments made everything feel more spacial and great. The title fits perfectly with the song. Really, good job on everything about the song, it would definitely fit a video game with a sad/lonely atmosphere. The only complains I have are about the repetitiveness of the "violin"'s melody and the choir appearing too suddenly.

Keep it up!
4.5/5

Chemiqals responds:

Wow, thanks for this! Not everyday you get such a wordy and helpful review! I actually haven't played Metroid in a loooong time, haha! This was mostly inspired by one of my favorite soundtracks which is for the game FTL: Faster Than Light! Which might actually have a resemblance to the Metroid soundtrack since they are both sci-fi!

[Octavia vs Fiddlesticks]

Yes! A new song from you! Your songs are awesome and then you come out with this even better song.

To me, almost everything was perfect. The choir was perfectly fitting and really put a great "epic" ambiance to the whole song. The percussions felt really heavy in the start and they were really building up to a more light part of the song. I can't say anything more about the instruments, they were perfectly mixed and everything, I would just repeat myself.

I noticed something, too. At 2:47, I had a great deja-vu impression. Then it hit me, this part was just like Octavia's Secret. Really, it was a great bonus to the song, and, just for information, your song Octavia's Secret is really a great song and I actually listen to it often. But yeah, let me go back on the review, now.

The song was really awesome the whole way through, but there's a single part that I didn't really like :s. It was the transfer at 4:03 to the Fiddlesticks song. I didn't like it because of how abrupt it starts and because I thought it didn't sound as good as the rest :/, but really, when the fiddlesticks song starts at 4:30, everything goes back to normal to me. That was really the only part that I didn't like, and it was short, so it's really not that bad.

Like I already said, your song is epic and there's only one spot that I didn't like. Everything else was perfect. and I also liked the reference to your own song in the middle of it. Also, I've listened to a lot of your songs and I've always been wondering, what VSTs/Samples do you use for your violin sounds? They always sound so realistic/awesome, I would really like to know ^^

So yeah, keep up the great work and I hope you'll do more music this year!

TheBellmaker responds:

Thanks for listening!

I want to comment on that part at 4:03 you brought up. I actually struggle a lot with what was supposed to come next, because I had already written all of the buildup, but I didn't know what I was building up toward. I was debating doing a "typical" finale to transition to Fiddlesticks, but I instead thought what if I did something completely unexpected, yet still Octavia like?

To me, stringed instruments give the feeling of darkness. And so I played on that, writing a section of dissonance, fear, and chaos that often accompanies darkness. In hindsight, It may or may not have been fitting, but I always like to try new things.

[Technoplasmatic - Technobitch]

Nah, it doesn't sound good... It sounds great! It has been a while since I last reviewed something, so I'll do a big one right now!

The song's really catchy when the melody comes in and the ending was REALLY well made. The bass, like in every other songs you made, is perfect. I really love how it changes in the song, and is not always the same thing. It's not repetitive. The drums are great too, not too powerful but loud enough. I really liked it. Really, I loved the song and it would be something I would listen to multiple times.

Though, every song has its flaws. (Note that these "flaws" are mostly my personal opinion.) The melody was great and really catchy, I also liked the slight differences and effects you made with it, but, the thing that I didn't like about it was the fact that it is the only melody in the whole song. I found it really repetitive and really, the song could have used another melody at some point. It's only a personal opinion, though. If you wanted it to be like that, just disregard what I just said.

Also, the intro was too long for me :S Usually, I would expect the main melody of a song to come sooner in the song, not after the two minutes mark. I felt like after the two minute part, I was actually listening to a different song (But still good, though!). I don't know if that was what you were aiming for, but I actually think that the first two minutes weren't really fitting because of that delay on the main melody. It could have been a four or even three minute-long song, but yeah. Again, don't mind it if you don't think that's true or if you wanted it like that.

But yeah, like I said, the song is really awesome and catchy. The bass is really present and I love it. I only could find two "big" things that I didn't like, but the rest was great. All of the cut-off effects, ambient instruments and drums were awesome and brought something unique to the song. I really love the direction you're going with your music and I hope you keep making more! ^^

Keep it up! You're a great artist!

TastyTeo responds:

I know what you mean, my aim was to make it kind of loopy from the start so it could be used in cars with boom boom boom volume maximum bass if you understand me haha because we do wierd stuff like that in Greece, your opinion about another melody was wicked i think im gonna use it the next time and thanks for that. as for the very long intro and after that it seems like another song, well you're kind of right but that was the feel i wanted to give, the unexpected feeling. you got the points so i guess you're right after all, thanks for your suggestions, i am glad you liked it ^_^ don't forget i still have time to improve

[Zippe - Eat My Four Notes]

I really liked the song and I think it is really original, however, I don't think it is perfect. The song would be perfect for some calm and relaxing video game, but it doesn't feel like it could be listened to outside of a game, during someone's spare time. There is only two things that I didn't like in the song, the rest being really good.

I'll start with the 1:29 part. It really feels like the violin part is unrelated to the rest of the song (Well, until the 2:00 part). The rest of the song being totally made out of electronic synths and percussions, the violin stands out way too much compared to the rest of the song, where the melody feels integrated to the background instruments. I personally think that a synthetic violin of any other synth instrument would fit better here.

Next, but it's only a personal point of view, I didn't like the ending. I liked the build towards the last part and the rest of the song, but I didn't like how it ended. It just finished like that, without any real finale, just the instruments stopping all at once a few bars after the song's final build. I didn't like it, but if you enjoy it or if it was intentional, then, please, do not mind this.

In all, really great song, but could be improved. Keep it up! ^^
(BTW, author favorited. I might listen to your other songs and give some reviews)

zippe6 responds:

Thanks mate Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. and i appreciate yours. i do agree an actual ending seems appropriate.

[Waves (8-bit)]

Really great and catchy. I listened to your song this morning, before going to school, and found myself having the quick background melody of your song stuck in my head for a while. Your song really is catchy, but at the same time, it's really calm and soothing. It really could fit a video game, or even one of those pixelated flash games.

The only complain that I have is, even though I really like it, the background melody being a lot repetitive. Even with the small variations we can hear through the song of that melody, it still feels repetitive. I know it's a big part of the song, and I don't know how you could remove that repetitive feeling without ruining the song's ambiance.

So, 4.5/5 and 5/5. That song really is awesome and it's going directly on my MP3 player. Keep it up! ^^

[Windows 7 Techno Remix]

Well, it isn't so bad for an old project. I really liked it and I must say, I do not have a Windows 7 computer. All I have is a Windows XP computer and a Windows 8 Laptop. (By the way, Windows 8 is shit) Anyway, the song is really catchy and the only problem I see is that it is repetitive and feels a little empty. It feels like more instruments could be added to fill that emptiness. That is only my personal taste however.

So, 4/5 and four'd
Good song for an old project! ^^

TastyTeo responds:

Thanks =3