Insomnimatic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Nihilanthropist]

Damn, that was an amazingly interesting mix. I've always wanted to experiment with Chiptune and Metal but I wasn't sure where to start or if it would even be worth the time. You really blew my expectations out of the water and now I may pursue making my own "ChipCore" tracks. Now I need to find a Chiptune set and learn how to use it properly. Hopefully it's as easy as programming Superior Drummer 2.0 with the piano roll. However, amazing job on this and I hope I hear more like this from you in the future.

-Insomnimatic

[Instrumental 1]

Very cool first song to post on here. That intro was pretty epic and like a "calm before the storm" type of style. Great riffs and very nice use of dual guitars with octaves and panning them pretty good on the left and right channels. Also noticed that you didn't keep reusing the same riffs over throughout the song which is always nice to hear considering a lot of music gets repetitive when it is written with the same riffs and/or in the same key. All of the instruments are set to a pretty good volume relative to each other but I would say turn down the guitars just a tad bit.

Criticism:
-Not to discourage you just hoping to help with this next part.

Timing - Your timing is a tad off between the instruments at times. I would recommend using a metronome when recording to make sure you're always in time. Most DAWs (Digital Audio Workshops) have them built in. Alternatively, you could write the song, throw down the drum track and follow that track but the metronome will be easier to follow.

Clipping: I can hear the clips in the song from when you cut a certain part out and re-recorded that part of the track. One way you can help with that is if you feel like you can't play two riffs consecutively, you should play the first riff completely and play the first few notes leading into the second riff. Cut that track back to the last note of the first riff and record the second riff from there. Playing into the second riff in the first clip will make sure you don't hear that clipping noise (Sounds like one of the instruments just cuts off when more should have followed). Following the metronome will also help with this so you know exactly when you hit that last note.

At 1:25, when the music first picks up, I would say let the clean guitars ring out when the drum track comes in so it sounds more natural. You actually did this exact thing at 2:05.

Other than that, great track like I said and keep it up. Don't get discouraged and just keep writing. This is honestly better than a little more than half the song I posted in 2014. Hope to hear more from you!

-Insomnimatic

[Titanium Tower]

Good track. Lots of great ideas in this track and it sounds "full". It sounds like you spent a decent amount of time and put thought into this song and it shows. You have a good sense of timing as well. Definitely an awesome track for your first upload. Definitely keep at it, man. I hear a ton of potential just from this song. I enjoy the mix of Dubstep and Metal songs with bands such as The Browning and Beyond All Recognition so I'm glad to hear this genre mix here on Newgrounds.

(This next part is not to discourage you from making music, I just want to point things out that I've noticed and some of it is just personal opinion / preference)

Criticism:
I did notice some of the panning of the instruments was to the extreme left or right channels and that usually isn't a good idea, I would say about +50% to each side is a good point up to +75% (Play with that percentage to find a mix you like) This is also goes with the symbol and tom panning, you could make it sound like each one is being played more to the left or right but not completely left or right.

It has quite an extreme change at 2:05 almost making it sound as if it's a new song all together. I would say slowly transition into a drastic change like that. (Opinion)

It sounds like the levels are all trying to overpower each other. On your DAW (Digital Audio Workshop), you will see the main sound level bar when you play the track. Try to make sure that bar is somewhere in the low yellow range (mid range if it's not colored). That's why there's some crackling in the audio at certain points. You could either turn the track down as a whole or during the loudest parts turn the audio down.

The crackling could also be from your raw guitar input (if you're using a real guitar to record those tracks). Check your input levels on those tracks in your DAW and on your interface (if you're using one that shows the input level) and adjust those to get a cleaner sound.

Other than that, great job and keep at it. Can't wait to hear the next song you put out.
-Insomnimatic

[Singer neeeded!!!!!!!]

Not really my style of music but this is pretty damn good. Nothing is overpowering one another and the seams are great. Really reminds me of game music. Wish I had this kind of talent haha.

[FaceCruncher (LSB)]

This is a very interesting song, I've never really heard anything like this before. To me, this is a unique song and a unique style. I do enjoy the song but I'm not sure if the voice effects really "fit" this song. It's just my opinion about that but as I can see below this review that others actually enjoy it so it's just a personal preference. As for the music itself:

-Mixing: You did a great job on getting everything clear. Nothing overpowers another in this song and that's a great thing. 5/5

-Voice: Like I said, personal preference that the voice didn't exactly "fit" this song. 3/5

-Percussion: Awesome job, stayed on beat and it's not out of sync at all. Fits the song and changes up when it needs to. 5/5

-DareDevil424

[Settle it IN SMASH]

This is really a great piece of work. Everything blends together and there are no gaps of silence that ruin the vibe it's throwing off. It definitely reminds me of Smash Bros. The effort put into the must have been great because it doesn't sound like it was just thrown together, it sounds like you took your time to master the elements of the song and I must say it went well haha.

4.5/5 - Amazing :D

-DareDevil424

[Xext99]

This song caught my attention right away. It almost sounds like classic video game music along with a techno touch. This is quite an amazing piece of music. Techno is not exactly my style of music but this song hits home. I really don't have any con's with this song. I can hear the time and effort put into this. Everything blends together perfectly and nothing seems out of place. Hope to hear plenty more from you in the future.

5/5 Great song!

-DareDevil424

Qvarcos responds:

Glad you like it! I'm happy to announce you to such an underrated genre (Or may i say overshadowed by typical electronic music/EDM) Anyway, check out Ceephax, he got that classic video game music/techno mash in the best possible way in his music.

[Things livin in sewers]

You set out to achieve an atmosphere with this piece and you certainly achieved that!

This would be a great intro or menu screen kind of soundtrack. Excellent work on getting each sound to play its role in this. It makes me think of literally being down in a sewer because of the sounds you use. Looking around each corner expecting to see something you probably don't want to. A dead goldfish, half eaten carcass, or maybe even the things that live in the sewers.

Great work! 5/5!

-DareDevil424

Azhthar responds:

Thx a lot! These things in the sewers love dead goldfish, especially when it´s rotten for a long time...

[Wrong Way]

Amazing piece. This is not my genre of music but it may be now because of this song.
This has a nice feel of old-school techno, Video Game music, and a soft drum track.
Mixed extremely well as I can hear each individual sound well and nothing seems to fade another out.
The loop is seamed perfectly and goes right back into the music as if there is no cut at all.
It sounds kind of funny although I can "feel" this is industrial. Like this is how it was meant to be.

From me you get a 5/5 and 10/10

Excellent song my good sir and I hope to hear more from you in the future!

-DareDevil424

TheNegativeIon responds:

Wow. You really thought it was that good? I'm flattered. Especially coming from someone who doesn't even like this kind of music.
Well to be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure what genre this song is myself. Out of all the options that were available, Industrial seemed to fit most to me.
But regardless, thanks for the review. I hope I can impress you again.

[Blue Dog Run (V1)]

I think this is a pretty damn good piece you've made here. I like it quite a bit.

Pro's: Everything blends well together, you've merged a nostalgic electronic sounds with a DnB piece, it sounds like you took your time with this and did not rush anything and everything was mixed well.

Con's: It sounds like some of the sounds are out of place or are not lined up perfectly with the rest of the music. For instance the sound that comes in between 1:41 and 1:42 sounds like it should have been just a tad bit sooner than it had been. One last con is the "bomb dropping" sound at the end of 1:19 it just sounds a lot lower quality than the rest of the music and takes away from the rest of the music at that point. I do however like the idea of using the bomb drop sound to move into the next part of the song. It's a great idea just poor execution.

I know it may seem like a lot more con than pro but I still think it deserves a 4.5 star rating.

-DareDevil424

divinorum responds:

Thank you, man. The cons were very helpful and I agree with them. I might have to make a version 2.0 later down the line.