UltimateCJ64's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sanctuary]

You and your orchestral genius... I swear dude, if I had half the talent you had... well, I don't know. But it'd probably be awesome.
Description: TL;DR: This is an awesome song that took a LOT of work, time, and CPU.

Overall, this thing sounds like it's for the intro of some epic movie that takes place in the medieval era, and there's dragons and wizards and trolls involved in some way.

I'm not really sure how to give any criticism on this, being this good, great composition, awesome use of orche-- HOLY SHIT THIS WAS MADE WITH A DAW?!?!?!?!1? (Joking of course, already read the description. ;)) So I figure I'll give some vague ideas for a possible movie or Flash or something.

First minute is like your "so and so productions presents... in association with blah blah blah pictures... and music by Stephan Wells... yada yada yada pre-title credits... TITLE IN BIG LETTERS!!!"

The middle seems like a "we are now showing several views of the town this story takes place around," and see a shadowy figure run past the camera for a split second, we switch for a few more views, then we see them again; it's a young boy around 12 or something who later turns out to be the hero or something.

Then the ending is like he catches up with his best friend who later sticks with him for most of the movie (and dies near the end from a self-sacrifice or something), they have a small conversation before we switch to the town square or something, where they meet with someone else just before someone runs in injured for some mysterious reason...

Man, I just read all that, and realized if I can make all that up, why can't I write a freaking 5-page essay?!

Anyways, awesome work, man. Stuff like this is why you're on my favorites list. :D

Step responds:

Hey man, thanks for yet another detailed, large review!

"You and your orchestral genius... I swear dude, if I had half the talent you had... well, I don't know. But it'd probably be awesome."

Haha thanks! A lot of it comes naturally though. I don't know much music theory and all I know about making music is from personal experience, rather than research. So yeah, even though you call it a talent, a lot of it is just thanks to over three years of experience.

"Description: TL;DR: This is an awesome song that took a LOT of work, time, and CPU."

Yeah I could've just written that :3.

"Overall, this thing sounds like it's for the intro of some epic movie that takes place in the medieval era, and there's dragons and wizards and trolls involved in some way."

Did someone say Skyrim?!

"I'm not really sure how to give any criticism on this, being this good, great composition, awesome use of orche-- HOLY SHIT THIS WAS MADE WITH A DAW?!?!?!?!1? (Joking of course, already read the description. ;)) So I figure I'll give some vague ideas for a possible movie or Flash or something."

Lol thanks!

"First minute is like your "so and so productions presents... in association with blah blah blah pictures... and music by Stephan Wells... yada yada yada pre-title credits... TITLE IN BIG LETTERS!!!"
The middle seems like a "we are now showing several views of the town this story takes place around," and see a shadowy figure run past the camera for a split second, we switch for a few more views, then we see them again; it's a young boy around 12 or something who later turns out to be the hero or something.
Then the ending is like he catches up with his best friend who later sticks with him for most of the movie (and dies near the end from a self-sacrifice or something), they have a small conversation before we switch to the town square or something, where they meet with someone else just before someone runs in injured for some mysterious reason...
Man, I just read all that, and realized if I can make all that up, why can't I write a freaking 5-page essay?!"

Wow, it's awesome to think that my song made you think up all that! It's also great to know that my music sounds like it'll fit well in a movie, since while I'll probably be a programmer or something when I grow up, I think film scoring is really cool.

"Anyways, awesome work, man. Stuff like this is why you're on my favorites list. :D"

Heh, good to know! Thanks a lot for the awesome review!

[Zero Divide - Demonised]

I love it! :D

Intro:
Super Action Bros! Classic 80s style metal, liking it already!

Vocals:
Reminds me of Throttlerod and Seether, little less accent thrown in though. Rough, but not unintelligible. Took a sec, but it sounded appropriate with your instrumentation (is that a word?).

1:40:
What the funk?! Sounds great, but almost unfitting, up until...

2:00: Okay, classic solo riffage... the main part of Xenogenocide we all know and love.

2:25: Why does this remind me of the ending of Paradise City? Sounds awesome.

Outro: Faster tempo, knowing we're leaving, kind of sad we are, but glad we heard the song. :)

Overall dude, I'm liking the band so far. Keep up the good work, can't wait to hear this live, and some more songs by you guys. :D

[I Make Shitty Music]

Well you admit it...

And no, this doesn't count as a capella. You took a quick voice sample and screwed around with your keyboard or something it sounds like. When someone says "a capella," I usually expect to hear someone's real voice actually trying to really sing, with the possibility of some actual harmony. Not some weird fx'd voice sequenced or banged on a keyboard. I'm sorry, but this just doesn't sound good to me. Creative, yes, but not good. Maybe if you did this with some electro techno beat or something, but by itself, just, no. Sorry.

[Sky Chase (Flight Training)]

Good remix, not getting the dogfight feel though..

The original is too upbeat for that kind of thing. If you ask me, this sounds more appropriate for a Christmas-type song. Quite honestly, it sounds that way to me.

The brass and guitar are a bit too loud, and the drums aren't loud enough. I might suggest using a better rock-sounding kit. The rhythm sounds good, just not right on those drums.

If you want more of a flight/fight type thing, heavier drums, moar power guitar, more minor chords. This sounds good, but it doesn't sound the way you describe.

krazyfro2 responds:

You know, I agree. But here's a thought. How about a victory anthem?

[Digging Deep! (Demo)]

So far, pretty good...

I always love me some good rock loops, bit of synth included. But the lead guitar blares over everything. Even that out. And the string bends go a bit too high after 0:34. If you don't mind, try to avoid that. But a promising start nonetheless. Good luck dude.

Skyler182 responds:

Thanks for the word on what you think. I'll keep that in mind.

[Running For Glory]

I'd love to hear a remake of this...

But for now, this version will do. Was the lead guitar improvised?

Would've done a lot a better if there was an intro solo to this, but you're still getting a 10/10 because it's pure awesome. Drum fills could've been better too, but this was in the 80s, it sounds great anyway.

There's so many things this would be appropriate for...
- speeding
- flying attack choppers or fighter jets
- snowboarding
- resisting arrest
- fighting
- playing Sonic
- parkour
- surviving zombie hordes
- Guitar Hero
- speeding
- blowing up shit
- jetpacking

Downloaded, 5/5, 10/10
Thanks dude, the Audio Portal needs more stuff like this. Consider making more.

[-A New Leaf-]

An "okay attempt" my ass!

MmmThis sounds like 80s to early 90s pop, best pop music there is. (Quite frankly, today's pop music sounds horrible and it all sound the same. Listen to some Lady Gaga if you don't believe me.)

Okay, the piano intro... I kind of got mixed feelings on that. Like you said, some people like it, some don't, I'm kind of in between on that. The actual pop part after the intro was really good. Not really much for me to say, not that much needs to be said. It's uplifting and inspirational.

The strings suit this well, much better than every pop song that uses generic synth leads for that kind of thing. Would probably sound more fitting if the strings were more synth-like though.

Good acoustic guitar, also very fitting for this, and also not generically used. Sounds awesome with the rest of the accompaniment and gives a good sense of atmosphere. Not quite sure what kind, but I like it.

Drums? In a pop song? That isn't a generic trance kit? Holy tits, there's something worth mentioning! Very good use of your usual random samples from the net. How come you haven't made a full kit out of those yet?

Overall, a good 90s-era-sounding pop song. It makes the mainstream stuff (at least here in the US) seem even shittier than it already is. I swear, there are musicians here that should be inspirations to the "real" artists. How haven't you picked up a record deal yet?

Step responds:

Wow, another review. Thanks again!

"MmmThis sounds like 80s to early 90s pop, best pop music there is. (Quite frankly, today's pop music sounds horrible and it all sound the same. Listen to some Lady Gaga if you don't believe me.)"

Oh no haha I believe you. I remixed a Lady Gaga track once for a pantomime. Not a pleasant experience :P.

"Okay, the piano intro... I kind of got mixed feelings on that. Like you said, some people like it, some don't, I'm kind of in between on that."

Yeah, you can't please everyone! If I had continued the song, then perhaps the piano intro wouldn't feel so out of place. I was planning on making a few subtle repetitions of the piano intro's melody later on in the song so that the piano intro will feel like it makes more sense and not just something extra I added, if you get what I mean, although I lost inspiration and started to dislike this song. Ah well!

"The actual pop part after the intro was really good. Not really much for me to say, not that much needs to be said. It's uplifting and inspirational."

Thank you!

"The strings suit this well, much better than every pop song that uses generic synth leads for that kind of thing. Would probably sound more fitting if the strings were more synth-like though."

I never thought about that. Whenever I need an orchestral instrument I just go for East/West every single time :P.

I probably don't have that many good synth string samples, which is ironic. I've got more of the realistic stuff and less of the synthy stuff. Meh xD.

"Good acoustic guitar, also very fitting for this, and also not generically used. Sounds awesome with the rest of the accompaniment and gives a good sense of atmosphere. Not quite sure what kind, but I like it."

A member from another forum recommended that I add an acoustic guitar strumming in the background, so I'll have to thank him for that.

"Drums? In a pop song? That isn't a generic trance kit? Holy tits, there's something worth mentioning! Very good use of your usual random samples from the net. How come you haven't made a full kit out of those yet?"

Lol, glad you like the drums! I probably haven't made a full kit yet because of the way I choose my drum samples. When I choose them, I start like "right then, I need a kick", and then I look through my hundreds and hundreds of different kicks till I find the right one, and then I edit it a bit.

After that, I'll need a snare, so I look through the hundreds of snares. I like doing that and using a full kit probably wouldn't work because I'd just end up going to look through my hundreds of drum samples again, even though I've got a full drum kit nice and ready for me :P.

"Overall, a good 90s-era-sounding pop song. It makes the mainstream stuff (at least here in the US) seem even shittier than it already is. I swear, there are musicians here that should be inspirations to the "real" artists. How haven't you picked up a record deal yet?"

Wow thanks! I haven't actually looked for a record deal. I'm afraid I might get some massive bout of writer's block and not meet the expectations. Yeah I'm paranoid :3.

Really glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback!

[Unwavering Assault]

Holy tits, dude...

(Usual self): THIS IS FREAKIN EPIC SOUNDING GOODNESS!!! WHERE CAN I GET SOME OR AT LEAST LEARN HOW TO MAKE SOME?!

(Semi-professional self): Okay, now that I got that out of my system, this is pretty awesome-sounding, man. I gotta say, your orchestral/rock stuff gets me almost every time. Even for something that isn't your own, it's like you took the original and cranked up the awesome by 9000x.

As usual, you got the orchestra doing their orchestra thing (I really wish I could afford the East/West stuff) and sounding realistic about it. Nicely arranged.

SSB's guitar contribution was awesome as well. Wouldn't be the same without that lead. Your rhythm guitars on the other hand were a little too subtle. That could just be my opinion though, I am a rock nut.

Overall, I could see this being used in a Metroid remake or a similarly-styled game. 10/10, 5/5, downloaded. I'm going to keep listening here though. I can't stop.

Step responds:

Haha thanks man. Your reviews are awesome :3.

"(Usual self): THIS IS FREAKIN EPIC SOUNDING GOODNESS!!! WHERE CAN I GET SOME OR AT LEAST LEARN HOW TO MAKE SOME?!"

AW DUUUDE IT'S SO SIMPLE. JUST GET A TEASPOON OF LUCK, A DASH OF EAST/WEST, A PINCH OF METROID, THROW IN A FEW YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, A BIT OF SBB,'S GUITAR, MIX IT ALL IN A BOWL I LIKE TO CALL FL STUDIO, AND THERE YOU HAVE IT. TOP OF THE RANGE EPIC SOUNDING GOODNESS :D.

But thanks haha. Glad you think it's epic-sounding goodness!

"(Semi-professional self): Okay, now that I got that out of my system, this is pretty awesome-sounding, man. I gotta say, your orchestral/rock stuff gets me almost every time. Even for something that isn't your own, it's like you took the original and cranked up the awesome by 9000x."

Thanks! I really like making orchestral/rock (when I'm not making full-blown orchestral or some weird pop genre I invented :P) so it's great to see people are liking it.

"As usual, you got the orchestra doing their orchestra thing (I really wish I could afford the East/West stuff) and sounding realistic about it. Nicely arranged."

Well, the version I have of East/West is literally the cheapest version you can find, and even though it takes a little bit of saving up, it's definitely worth it!

"SSB's guitar contribution was awesome as well. Wouldn't be the same without that lead."

Agreed. The older version had a sequenced guitar and it's not even comparable to SBB's guitar work.

"Your rhythm guitars on the other hand were a little too subtle. That could just be my opinion though, I am a rock nut."

Yeah I think you're right! To be honest I added that rhythm guitar as a bit of an afterthought because I wanted an excuse to use Virtual Guitarist, so I didn't give it that much importance :P.

"Overall, I could see this being used in a Metroid remake or a similarly-styled game. 10/10, 5/5, downloaded. I'm going to keep listening here though. I can't stop."

Thanks a lot mate. Really appreciate the review!

[Cobra Remake (WiP)]

Okay, I agree with your bro for some of it...

The orchestra part on its own is just as awesome as it was in the original, but the drums, well, I don't know what to say. They just don't have that same impact as the original. I'd suggest using rock kit samples rather than electronic kit ones. Here's a list of what I think you should do:

1. Replace electronic drums with rock drums
2. Continue the song all the way through
3. Extend
4. Add guitar
5. ???? (optional)
6. Profit! (optional)

Good luck with it dude!
-CDJpro

Step responds:

Thanks for the review man!

Yeah I guess the orchestral elements are better than the percussion here. I'm quite proud of the orchestral effects I used throughout the song, but the percussion is pretty iffy, it's true.

I don't know if I'll ever be continuing it, but thanks for the helpful pointers! Hopefully my newer rock song has better drums :P.

Thanks again.

[Reconcile [A-C]]

Your stuff? Excellent!

This song on its own has great structure and sounds awesome, hard to find real stuff like this anymore. I hope you guys don't mind, I'm making a CD with a couple of your songs for my workplace. It's a small-town bakery/cafe/restaurant, so this is fitting, and I'm getting sick of the classical music after listening to the same songs for almost a year. 10/10, downloaded, fav'd. You guys rock! Keep up the good work!

Autumn-Collapse responds:

UltimateCJ64,

Thanks a bunch! We're really, REALLY glad you like it. We're trying to stray away from the typical genres of music that are heard on television and radio almost everyday. This was kind of a first attempt at that, and it's nice to know that we didn't miserably fail at entertaining an audience with it.

And it's also really cool that you're going to be playing it in your building. Hope your customers enjoy it too!

Cheers,
Autumn Collapse