HybrisHybrid's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[Dud] Modern Piano]

Good work

The beginning sounded a little off beat when I first listened. I assume that was intentional. Can't say I liked that too much, but it was an interesting touch.

By the time the song sped up I could hear it come together with a little bit more structure. This is a very unique song with interesting rhythm and structure altogether.

I really enjoyed this. I probably wouldn't have reviewed if I didn't think it was good. The melodies on the right hand are great and the variation in the chords you used go together well and kept it interesting throughout.

A couple things I gotta say against you is that, first of all, you should use more of the piano. Most of all go up and hit some of the higher notes, but the lower notes too. I don't play piano a lot (at least not very well :) but it sounds like you were in the same two or three octaves throughout the song and it started to get a little boring. Secondly (and I might be mistaken), it sounds like a lot of the left hand is playing fifths or "power chords." Whether or not thats true, I thought a lot of the time it sounded thin or hollow. Maybe its just the way your piano sounds, and maybe my first suggestion would have helped. Personally, I'd stray away from all the fifths. Instead maybe try some octaves, lower bass notes or play higher on the piano with the fifths.

Like Dexi said, I can tell you had fun playing this. Its a good song altogether (I don't wanna make it sound like I don't think so).

One thing I gotta say is I can hear expression in this song. Its got "feeling" if you know what I mean.... its the WAY you played this that really makes it good. Among other things, thats what I really liked about it, so keep it up.

Oh and by the way I don't get on Newgrounds very often anymore. Just thought I'd say that since you asked me to review this over a month ago... anyways, if you have more you want reviewed go ahead and ask and I just might. Otherwise, I hope my advice helps you out.

Dudidum responds:

Again you're a big help with your detailed reviews :)

That the beginning sounds a bit off is because I play the
right hand part at the very end of each measure. I wrote it
down in Finale Notepad and the Midi sounds exactly like I played it.

It's true that I only used a bit more than one/two octaves up and down from the center C. I don't know why I did this, perhaps because I'm not skilled enough to use the whole piano ;).

The left hand is a funny thing because I'm only playing one note at a time. It's very minimalistic and stays mostly the same during the whole song. But I thought that it sounded nice the way it was so I didn't alter it.
I'm always trying play a steady accompaniment with one hand (simple or complex) and then I'm playing around with the other hand.
Anyway I'll try some of your advice for the left hand :).

What I'm really glad about is that the "feeling" went through ;).
I could play anything be it simple or complex but without a certain expression it's worth nothing.

Thanks a lot for this long and good review!

ps: I sent you a PM since you offered to review more ;)

[-=LJC=- Tribute]

very unique

I like the beat. Weird sounds in rhythm... wow. Very cool. The bass line sinks so perfectly into the track. Its one that you don't need to hear, because you feel it. Thats the best kind of bass line.

When phones are dialed on Earth, I think this song is what what entities in parallel universes hear.

Truly some crazy sounds were put into this with some strange method of organization. Its really hard to review this but I was glad to see LJC on the top 5 so I had to drop a comment. This song needs to go in a trippy flash. I think I might try and do that.

I hope I don't have to stuff like this to have a career in music because I can't even begin to grasp how you put this together. The organization and variation mix up so perfectly. I've been listening for a while, and although the bassline is pretty repetiive, I can't remember hearing the same pattern twice and I know the song must have looped at least 4 or 5 times by now. How? Mind blowing... my mind is blown.

Good one LJ, keep them coming.
-hybrieoufdalhfda

LJCoffee responds:

:D

Let's see, "phones are dialed...parallel universes hear" that was great!

As far as having to "do stuff like this to have a career in music" - Don't worry at all about that, just look at my music career - ha ha - apparently doinf stuff like this is a pre-requisite for not ever having anything that resembles a career or fans XD

I really enjoyed your review.

Thanks again!

[Rage (loop version)]

Fun but kind of weak

Good to see some metal entries in the contest. This is some fine guitar work, but overall it sound very weak.

The guitar is played nicely but I don't like how the distortion sounds. The guitar just sounds weak. Maybe some bass would have helped and some better guitar effects. I think you should have put some more guitar soloing or playing with the higher frequencies a bit. All these things would have made the loop much heavier sounding. I do like the riff though, good stuff.

The drums are as boring and repetitive as they get. I imagine you do not have the proper equipment to set up a drum part to put your guitar on. Either way you managed to get something that sounds like its basically lacking effort-wise... I'm not dissing your ability, I'm saying you could have done better but you didn't.

Hey, least you got used in a badass flash at the very least. Better than I did =X. Keep at it and have Bad-Man-Inc make you more drums, cause "this hate inside us!" sounds WAY better simply because of those drums. Good job on that guitar riff though.
-hybrisyinbrid

DarKsidE555 responds:

A long and detailed review for such a small loop. lol.

Hm...you're really one of the first who think that my guitar sounds weak. Maybe it's because of the compression or the fact, that I don't have bass (yet) in my submissions. A guitar is focused on the middles and highs you know. Bass gives all tunes a better brighter, not as bla weak sound. But I get your point. ;)

Drums? Oh yeah...my big problem...is history. I got EZdrummer now as well and I'm doing pretty well with it. No more beatcrap for me. :D

Indeed, the usage for flashmovies kinda suprised me a little there but it's cool stuff, so I'm pretty happy with it. Also, I got 3rd place in the contest, which was kick ass as well. :D

Thanks a lot for the big review man! I'll pay ya back soon! ;D

[Valhalla Piece]

Cool song, bad loop

I have to with what Bezman said about this one. It sounds like you were making an intro and then an actual loop - good idea if you split them up, but in this case bad idea.

I do like the intro though. However, the drums are just a tad too crazy and throw it off. The drums in the rest of the song are simple and get the job done.

This is a very original piece. I like the bells and it's strong on all the musical aspects. I like the little chaotic breakdowns at the end - gives it that chaotic battle sound like you'd hear in oldschool video game. This is definitely distinguishable as a battle loop and thats a good thing.

I think if it weren't for the poor looping cause by that introduction, you'd have something pretty good here. Unfortunately, it throws the loop off and makes it hard to say how well it will do. Either way good luck.
-HybrdafdisHybriASDFd

Alpharhino responds:

Thanks for the advice. I definatly see what you meen about the bad loop, and this may have been a case where adding something extra took away from the whole. But thanks for both your criticisms and your praises.

[Torrential Uprising - Loop]

Good sound, repetitve.

I wrote a much longer review, as I usually do, but I fucking closed the window on accident! I'm pissed.

Anyways, time to sum it up in a scrambled irrational review - the song is badass and really repetitive. It doesn't loop perfectly and the drums are cool. I can't say much for the vox, they were cool but would have been better if the song was full length.

5/5 from me, I wish I hadn't closed the damn box... I said all that and more in 6 long ass paragraphs. Damn what a waste of time. Good work and good luck with the contest, its a cool song and I'd write out another long review, but theres like 40 more entries I plan on reviewing. Peace.
-HybrisHumbuckle

Winterwind-NS responds:

haha thanks

thats happend to me once
i dont think i reviewed it tho lol
i think i gave up..

thanks for the review

again, this is incomplete cuz i misunderstood the deadline by a whole month haha. It loops perfectly now and i already made a full length song out of it, but if i upload em, ppl will leave bad reviews.. :/

w/e

[SR - Pico's Battle]

+ average looping, good sound, a little repetitve

This contest really pulled out some interesting loops. Pretty amazing what kind of stuff you get for a contest with one relatively small payout. This is definitely a good example of that. In other words, this is just a really unique loop.

I like the way the song changes more than anything. You have the music cut out and go to drums, then bring something totally new in for just a couple bars to finish off the loop. The loop really does lacks in diversity, but I'm talking quality over quantity.

There have been many good entries I don't even know how well this will do... I'm glad I'm not a judge. This loop's hard, unique sound gives a good edge in my opinion and I just plain like the way it sounds compared to most of the other loops, yet it get repetitive relatively fast. I don't see these as needing to loop for more than a couple minutes and I had it looping for a while before I came to that conclusion. These things are really hard to review, I hope I'm not going back and forth with my words too much.

As for the loop - it loops pretty well - I'd say a little above average. There wasn't much put into making it loop other than it starts in the right spot and ends in the right spot. So really nothing special, but good to the point that it can be useful in a flash and isn't annoying. Them damn mp3's are near impossible to loop right - I know.

I think thats about as many words as I can scramble together and call a review for now. I hope you do well in the contest... if those damn results ever come in =X
-HybrisHybrid

SineRider responds:

thanks dude weeee

[Static Call (Full Version...)]

Tappity tap tap goes the higgity hi hat

First of all, you got a real thing for drums man!

I like this song a lot. The drums and the crazy distorted melody go together very well. Then you got that breakdown type of thing on the drums. Sounds great with the string sounds you got going.

For being a full version I'm disappointed. It ends much too soon and the beat is so catchy I wanted to hear more. Indeed, what I would call a musical cliffhanger.

I somehow let this one slip by me - for the MAC that is. I'm listening to it now and I'm pretty much beyond the hopes of winning that thing any more. Way too many good entries and the wait is killing me. I'll review that one separately though.

Back to the full version. Your best feature is definitely the drums. This was true with Antagonist as well (those drum rolls were sick). That catchy synth rhythm goes well with the percussion and the string sound help a lot too. Some parts sound a little too distorted and the drums sound maybe over-compressed a bit, which adds a good feel to them... but maybe just a little too much compression this time around.

The overall diversity is lacking, but its catchy and I like the breakdowns, especially the last that ends the song. The way the high hat taps to that one simply amuses my ears.

I voted 5 for Static Call (Full Version...), keeping its score at 5.00. Just thought I'd let you know.

And for the third time let me emphasize that drums are awesome. Keep the cool music coming, very fun to listen to. I rarely listen to tracks after I download them, but this is definitely one I will. So until my next review...
-HebrewHybrid

Quarl responds:

haha, drummer for 4 years. I understand rhythem, it's melody I usually have trouble with....haha, best review i've recieved yet...wait,...no...one guy said one of my songs was sexy...that was odd, but very amusing.

So far, the two problems I'm finding about this track would be the drums are too distorted and the track in just too short...arrr. Eh.

Thanks for the awsome review. I'll keep in mind that people like it when I play with the rhythem. I think I get better feed back when I work harder on the drums. As for your mac 7 entries, I thought they were awsome. I loved glitch. It was really atmospheric and just so cool. I also loved how slaughter looped. SO COOL! I think you have a chance man. Don't give up hope man :D

[_-={Wrath of a Broken Soul}=-_]

More Timpani!!!!!!!!!!!!

This one seems less "clear" than the others I've heard, but otherwise I like everything about it.

It opens up with a nice violin melody. Brass instruments and more strings. Very nice work. You music provides that rushing-into-battle feeling. I wish you had ignored that pico feel nonsense and entered the MAC with something like this. You could have easily beat most of the contestants (if not all). In other words, its a great battle song but I'm glad I didn't have the extra competition =X

I like the percussion throughout the song. I see you got some tubular bells going in there too - can't go wrong with that! Why not some more timpani here and there...?

At whatever point - the song completely changes into some kind of interlude - the word genius popped into my head. I loved it and the choir sounds nothing less than fantastic. I very much liked the ritardo (i think thats the term) on the violin before the end. Awesome, I don't know how you did it so well without making it sound shitty. I know I've tried slowing down a song and got pretty bad results. Maybe its in tempo and you made some longer notes... hard to tell just by listening. Either way good work.

I very much enjoyed this piece and I'm at the point where I write my criticism... but theres not much to say. I think some parts, especially with in the intro and where the percussion hits, it sounds unclear. Most of your songs generally sound better as well... don't know what exactly it is. Doesn't really hurt you at all though.

When I think about what I would add to this all I could thing of was crash or some other kind of symbols. I don't know how good that would sound... but just a thought. Also, more timpani! Can't go wrong with more timpani (just kidding... or am I...? I don't really know anymore.)

Well, despite my poor attempt to make criticism, its still 100 times better than I could do. Perfect 10/10 here. I knocked one off of diversity and clarity: Clarity I explained already and diversity was not quite 100% but plentiful, nonetheless.

Your work has inspired me much in my Newgrounds lifetime - although I don't believe I have taken time to drop any reviews... Oh look at me getting all serious. But really, I like all of your songs and you always take time to review a few track and post on the forums from time to time. Thats respectin' right there mang, keep it up.

Well anyways, 5 and a download - for personal interest not numbers. Take it easy and keep the god ones rollin' (I think I said the same thing to the last song I reviewed... ha.)
-HibrisHibrid

MaestroRage responds:

ah, thank you kindly for the review Hybris *or Hibris as you signed :D*.

You really wanted to hear more timpani eh? I can't blame ya, I wanted some more punishing percussion myself, but I didn't have much more, and on top of that the lower end of the frequency spectrum was already at it's limits. You thought having this amount of percussion made it unclear, you should have heard it with the other hammer sounds I put in there.

Distortion all around D:!!!

I should have added crashes :/. No excuses for that, simply never came to mind whilst building it.

And to be honest, this song has also a few failed pico loops in it :O!! The beginning was a pico loop revamped, and most of the end was a pico loop, but it was too defiant, and pico doesn't defy, he destroys.

But oh well, next time maybe.

I'm glad you found inspiration in these works Hybris. I hope I can put up more things that invoke new and interesting stories in you, as that is what they are here for.

Thank you for your review, I am glad you liked it!

PS. I just noticed there IS a clarity issue isn't there... maybe I should have exported it at a higher bitrate...

[(_RGH_) Pico Crossing(mixalot)]

Good work and good luck

This is my favorite entry I think. Its just so catchy and diverse.

I like the strings throughout the piece and you got it to loop very well.

The strange drum sounds are awesome. I especially like the sound you got using what sounds like a bp filter on a snare. Some really great sounds in this one drumwise.

And the synths... shit, they're bad. The good kind of bad. See I worked my ass off on my submissions but I think raw musical talent has come up with something much better (not to imply you didn't put an effort through). We'll see when the results come in, but I wouldn't mind losing to this loop.

What else can I say? Well I already sort of mentioned you have a really catchy melody. Melody is one of the things many submissions lacked. The mixtures of sounds supporting the melody killed altogether.

I don't know if it makes a difference but the thing one thing that didn't work out for you, if I'm not mistaken, is that you had this under the battle category. This one would sound much better while cruising the halls of Pico school in the slower moments, if you know what I mean. I don't think it will effect your chances though cause I don't know how the judging works. So anyways, good luck to you! Keep the good ones rollin'.
-HybrosHybrood

RyeGuyHead responds:

Thanks for the review,

Your words go a long ways.... perhaps to Pluto

My other submission was even more unbattle like haha

[[Dud] Adventure Music 6]

good piece

Nice work here Dud. A really well organized piece, which is surprising to hear on something played on a real instrument and not programmed in Fruity Loops.

What really kills you again is that fuzz; the constant stream of static. I don't hear as much background noises and didn't catch any big mistakes, but the static seems louder and more noticeable in this one so it hurt the clarity a little.

Well you've got some talent for piano and an ear for music. I really like the chords you hit, but the melody is something in itself. Definitely fits the title of Adventure Music.

I say get steal yourself some better recording equipment and look into some recording techniques and post production type of shit. If you want I can try to spice up some of your songs. I think I'll PM you about that.

Another great track man, keep up the good work!
-HubrisHighbred

Dudidum responds:

Thanks again!
I think it's the most organized piece I created until now.
And it would be really cool if you could tell me a bit about post processing :D.

Dud