McGorilla42's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Afterlust]

This is excellent! Great melody, great mix, great composition. The only thing I notice that isn't *perfect* is a possible little mud on the vocals (400Hz build up maybe?) or something (listening to this on my crappy TV, which actually doesn't do this justice, but they're my only monitors).

But hot damn, this is absolutely radio-quality. I'm sure you will do really well in NGADM and I can't wait to see what you pull out next!

FinnMK responds:

Thanks a bunch!

[AIM - The Lonely Hermit]

This is beautiful, Ectisity. This piece tells a story and I love the way you integrate foley or "real-world" sounds with the music. Damn, I wish I knew half of what you did. Was there a hint of Scarborough Fair in there? Or at least a very nice Dorian melody? Great work. I'm not surprised this won AIM!

EctiBot responds:

Thanks, glad you liked it :D.
Ahh, you sir are an angel. I honestly thought I made the melody it myself, but it's clearly inspired by Scarborough Fair. Think it was the theme song of a british childrens show I watched as a kid.

[Endowment]

Oh gosh I just wrote a long review then lost it. I was saying that I'm stunned by how good this piece is. The way you effortlessly blend two styles that have nothing to do with one another (atmospheric/orchestral into 450bpm-electro-something) is incredible. You're only 19 and you're making stuff like this? I'm amazed you didn't do better in this round of NGADM, but if you don't flat out win it in the next couple of years, I'll actually riot.

EctiBot responds:

Wow, really glad you liked it :D. Good luck in the NGADM!

[toil]

Damn mr midimachine. For the amount of ludicrous and hilarious trolling you do, I'm surprised to hear such a sincere piece of music from you. This is great and your singing (your singing, right?), is really good too! Would love to hear the vocals pick up a little after the drop, whether it be by changing up the melody or jumping an octave, but it still works how it is. Great work

midimachine responds:

there is a time for all things under the sun :^)
jk it's TROLLING TIME BABY hahahahaha ok i'm bored now

[Another Adventure]

Oh man, again, I WISH this was longer! I don't know if it's intentional for your pieces to be this short or if you lose interested, but they all feel unfinished which draws away from their fantastic quality.

What newfound skills did you discover to lead you to compose this? I'm always looking to learn new things, so if you have any resources that you found particularly useful, please shoot them my way :)

GoToMyNewAccount responds:

When I write my pieces, I don't like to extend the song for unnecessary filler. In this case, the track was composed as something similar to Klonoa. Like a cutscene or something along that line.

Also you can PM me any questions you have and I'll help you out in my spare time.

[ACE Magnum]

You've nailed that 80/90s game sound here and I really dig it. I can absolutely picture this being the backing track to some kind of side-scroller shooting/ninja game (BTW Daru's comment was hilarious). The constantly changing melodies and voices keep this piece interesting. The only issue I have with it are some strange timing issues that might be fixed by quantising? The melody that comes in at 00:20 sounds like it's a little off time.

Anyway, great job. Really enjoying all of your music!

GoToMyNewAccount responds:

Thank you for the kind words. The reason why that part at 00:20 sounds off is because it's in swing.

[Advent Arcane]

This once again reminds me of certain parts of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I like it a lot and although it loops nicely, I wish it was longer (please write longer compositions like this and the previous one I commented on!). I've been wanting to make some atmospheric/ambient music myself lately and something this simple, but warm and full is quite inspiring. Great work

GoToMyNewAccount responds:

I'm glad I was able to inspire someone here. I'll remember that. ^_^

[Let me tell you a story. (One Hour Composition)]

Mmmm...Has a serious Zelda vibe to it and the chords you're using are beautiful. I would love to hear this turned into a longer piece. BTW, which chords and scales are you using?

GoToMyNewAccount responds:

I don't know a lot about chords and scales to be honest. Still learning that one. I just play/write what I feel.

[War and Peace]

This is beautiful. Your voice is stunning and sincere and the melodies and instrumentation are perfect. Good luck AND DON'T FUCK IT UP.

etherealwinds responds:

thank you mcgorilla, shantay you stay xx

[Dust Sweeper]

I had to listen to your piece after your comment. This is excellent, and that isn't just a polite reciprocation in respond to your kind words on my song -- I mean it. You've somehow managed to blend rock, game music and jazzy fusion into one style and it works. What really caught my ear most of all was your interesting use of rhythm throughout the piece and the odd time signature in the verse. Are you a drummer by any chance? I really enjoy that element of your music. The vocals are also cool. I enjoy that drawl that you have...almost reminds me of Julian Casablancas' style. The composition is super solid overall and it's an interesting song (in a good way) and the chorus holds it together -- what I mean by that, is that if you had all the odd time signatures throughout the whole song, it might get a bit much, but the 4/4 feel in the chorus adds a refrain from that and makes the whole thing sit nicely together. I'm being so inarticulate, good grief.

In terms of criticisms, I'd say that the instruments are mixed pretty well overall, but the vocal processing doesn't quite match up with the mix of the rest of the piece. I think with a tiny EQ tweaks (I think the low mids are a bit too present and it sounds a little muffled. Were you singing super close to the mic?) and some delay or reverb, it'd sit nicely and make the whole piece sound brighter. :D

I hope you make it through to the next round of NGADM so I can hear more from you! Keep well and keep making good music! :)

LunacyEcho responds:

=> blend rock, game music, and jazzy fusion =>

Haha, that's a great way of describing it! I've been having a hard time nailing exactly what this track is, but that's a pretty good description. :P

=> drummer =>

Yes I am! And I'm so happy you could tell—I've really been trying to step up the drums I use (because unlike mixing and production stuff, drums are something I'm confident that I can do well if I try hard enough :D!)

=> Julian Casablancas =>

Oh gosh, that's a huge compliment. I'm nowhere near, but thanks so much for pointing that out!!

=> chorus holds it together =>

Huh, I never thought about it that way! I think I see your point—it's good to have the anchor of a song be more familiar. I honestly totally didn't do that with that intention in mind; it's just hard to write in weird time sigs XD

=> vocal processing =>

Er, not sure when you posted this comment in relation to some of the edits I've made, but I've definitely processed the vocals more since first submitting it at the initial deadline! I've done some compression, reverb, and delay, so hopefully they sound a *biiiit* more like studio vocals now.

(tbh I'm preeeetty sure this comment was posted before I made those changes because I think I used your suggestions to actually make them!)

=> super close to the mic =>

Lol how did you know XD I've never sung with a mic like this before (or, y'know, sung before on a track), so I'm still getting used to its functionality. I plan to use it more in the future though!

Thanks for the awesome review, McGorilla42! I wish all the same to you :D