xZiriusX's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[2049 AD - Home Appliances Uprising]

Never thought i'd be able to headbang with screeching synths and an Atari-ST voice yelling at me, but you managed to achieve just that. The clash of feelings and environments at first seem that they could never be put together, but you somehow managed to make it work and it never feels out of place. Well done!

Daru925 responds:

Glad you liked it!
I kind of followed the trope in tech hardcore, where it starts with an innocent (often misleading) happy voice, and before you know it, HELL! ^^

[To Destroy The Altar NGAIC Layer 4]

Your songs always sound so brutal and raw, i love it! The tone is dirty yet clean at the same time as I can still distinguish what's being played. The drums in general sound really good and never get lost in the mix, specially that ride cymbal, i love when they sound really bright. Only the crashes i felt could sound different, as they seem to have some particular hi-mid frequencies that can sound a bit painful at times.

The mix might be very mid-focused but i can still distinguish every element in the song. The composition itself is varied well enough so the riffs never feel tiring at all, also the solo hits right where it needed to hit. Overall, this is a very enjoyable death/thrash metal track i could enjoy non-stop, keep it up!

Banana-head responds:

thanks for the review!

[NeverEndingStress(NGAIC layer 3)]

Oh man that's a stinky kick, and I say that in a good way, VERY good way. This feels amazingly well balanced for a loud industrial song. The synths are not very bright, which for me personally makes the song much more enjoyable.

Probably my main complaint is that it should've been longer, it felt like it was cut just short of being explored so much more. Also I think some of the leads at 0:54 don't have as much mid range as they should, which I think could've made them far more present and memorable. As it is, I feel that it has the right amount of layers, although it could've benefited from a more aggressive low-end tone. And again, I really feel it had the potential of having more ideas and layers if it was even just a minute longer.

Arponax responds:

Thanks...i think if i didnt thought it sounds balanced or (normal XD) i wouldnt share it.

Since its for NGAIC i just make shorter concepts(or longer if the ideas come smoothly)...its not said to be longer so :D im thinking about finishing the songs at the end....so i could try to make it a full track or just polish the sounds a bit more.

[Tlatelolco Feel]

La frase que usaste durante la canción la escuché ya hace bastantes años y desde ese entonces nunca se me olvidó. Éste horror no se puede pasar de largo por nada del mundo y me gusta ver canciones que hablan de esto 50 años después de que pasó. Este hecho nunca se debe olvidar en nuestra historia.

VariableGROfficial responds:

lo se amigo, nunca sera olvidado un hecho, causado por nuestra propia gente y gobierno. el terrible suceso lo quise retratar para que el mundo viera la verdad de un pais

[dimensions Horizon 1]

Damn it's been a while, and man, your riffs are still solid as always! Keep it up :)

HighBallers responds:

man good to see you're still around. thanks mydude! still sucking at mixing

[Dimensions Horizon]

Your riff playing is amazing and tight as always, and the solo in the background is great and complements the song as a whole. You seem to know how to mix the drums better, and that's great. What this song needs the most is bass. It is really low in some parts, feels almost missing. Making it louder would really help make the song feel less empty. Also the synths you used in your AIM track were a welcome addition, and i'm sure they would've been great here too! (edit: yes there is synths in here, i'm deaf)

Yes, the song is pretty short, and cuts itself pretty abruptly. I know it's because of NGUAC, 2 weeks just aren't enough. But i could see this song to be part of an even longer-progressive song. You know, like a sort of solo-breakdown or middle section. I guess all i'm saying is keep working upon this idea, and surely something great would come out ;).

I have to praise your riff playing again, it really never dissapoints. Keep it up man, you are really good :)

HighBallers responds:

Man i really appreciate you listening to my stuff! thats super cool. MAN i know...i mixed this song using these headphones that made it sound bassy. I was fooled, and i rushed the mixed. I'm gonna take that tax hit lol to fix the low ends.

I'm glad you like my riffs! I'm more of a rhythm guitarist then a soloist. I wish i can shred ;(

[The Ride on the Pianofalls]

Great and ambitious track, i really like it! The drums are amazing and such a joy to listen, although they sound a little too dry for my taste, considering how orchestral the song is. Some instruments sound a little too "midi", but that doesn't matter when the song is really good! You deserved that 9.63/10 on that contest :)

ScottSoul responds:

Haha, yeah, I went for a more hard rock/metal mix for the drums and kept a particular focus on the overhead microphone. It is quite dry, but I felt it was taking too much space otherwise. Who knows, maybe I'll learn how to do it differently in the future :)

And yeah, sometimes it's hard to get rid of that MIDI feel when you're dealing with a couple of free/cheap VSTs; it doesn't help make other instruments sound realistic! With time I'll learn how to do work around it better.

You have good ears, Zirius! Thank you so much for your review and appreciation. I'm grateful to you. :)

[Prevention]

Pretty good! Reminds me of those racing games i used to play on my psp back then, good memories :'). In my opinion, the kick should be a little lower. I know it's common to see loud compressed kicks on modern metal, but i still think the more subtle kick from the 80's is better. That's just me though, so take it as a grain of salt. Still, this song is enjoyable as is.

By the way, the riff at 00:50 is similar to one i used in a song i made (denouement). What a fun coincidence hehe.

HighBallers responds:

thanks for the review dude! i been tweaking this mix for so long. I got the kick kinda slapping. Been trying to get it more of a punch. I'm gonna check out that song lmao

[Ordinary]

This song represents your inspiration very well, i love it! This clearly shows that expensive equipment don't automatically make a musician good, but rather a good musician can make free plugins sound good. I've been looking for free vst's, so the list of all the stuff you used will be very useful :D

Great track!

zybor responds:

You got that right :), tools don't define your music, you do. It's not a challenge to make good stuff with free or cheap tools, people just feel like they have some need to get expensive gear so they could make things sound better. The reality is that it doesn't matter what you use, you could have had Omnisphere or Serum and still sound like shit.

Thank you for your review. Take care.

[Lead The Charge]

i really like the ideas in this one, some 80's helloween vocals would fit perfectly. Although the drums are a bit too loud, making the other instruments kind of fade out, and some reverb in them would definitely fit better in the song in my opinion, but overall it's pretty good

Ritz190 responds:

Thanks alot! I always have trouble with volume levels when it comes to drums and everything else. Songs like these are helping me sort that out. I appreciate your input!