DivoFST's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Make A Scene]

You are a strange one, i always get confused and mesmerized by your songs xD
You did it once again, each song you make gets stranger and even more unexpected than the last.
Mixing, vocals and composition off the charts!
Awesome job Zipper, i expect you to get far...2013 is Zipper year!

[~SW~ Winter]

I love how experimental you went on this song, i think the song shines mostly for the idea behind it than the song itself.
I love the intro, very atmospheric and SkyeLike, things sound really awesome and floaty.
The bassline is really great and possibly takes the cake on what captures my attention.
Like BFP said the stick does sound a bit in your face, maybe making it a bit lighter in volume or even changing the instrument itself would be appropriate.
The drums are really well made and have a lot of effort into them and with the exception of the stick sound the percussion is really awesome.
The vocal melody and lyrics are pretty good, the vocals in themselves are quite decent it is obvious that you are not a bad singer and just need a little practice to better yourself.
The word winter is out of tune and the "Voice of Mind" section has some other parts that are not quite in the spot, the problem is not in the voice, you have quite an enjoyable one its in the pitch control, also the vocal part is really high maybe you should have started with a lower tone for your first vocal attempt?
I love your voice and the pitch is spot on in "Cannot hear her cries".
The ending i would imagine it a little different, with a little more conclusion just after you end the "Cannot hear her cries" sentence.
Overall i love the bassline, the percussion, the melody and the overall atmosphere. The vocals had some flaws and the ending doesn't feel very right to me.
I like the song but i think you have a lot more in your box to give us, i hope you do get to the next round and slap us all in the face with another awesome song like "Astral Nation"!
Great Job Skye!

SkyeWint responds:

Oh hi.

The idea is really something I wanted to do, I have a big reason for it which isn't really a good thing to share publicly. I'm sure people understand, there are some things that just shouldn't be shared.

The clicking from 0:43-1:06 is actually a lot quieter than what I had initially had it as. :c Oh well, I guess I can still understand it.

Vocals are still definitely an issue for me, but for a first attempt I'm satisfied. I think I could do it a bit better next time, which is a good thing since I hope to do another submission with vocals at some point. Pitch control is undoubtedly the biggest issue, though rhythm is another thing I need to practice. I'll definitely be focusing on training my voice in the future to be nice 'n clean. ^_^

The ending really isn't what I wish it could have been. D: I was planning on having Trois sing some parts and have it end in a different way, but unfortunately she was offline until today for personal reasons, so I couldn't get her to sing. Mew. :<

I have a lot more in Pandora's Box to give y'all. The question is, are you sure you want to open it? :3 Divo, if I'm up against you in the next round (assuming I get past this one), I will open it wide and give you a nice big slap in the face with one of the really nice ideas.

[Dreamyard]

Classic Kor-Rune, listening just a few seconds from the section after the intro is more than enough to discover who composed the song xD
It always baffles me how you manage to change the flow of the song so quickly without making it sound unnatural at all...also...mixing...damn...how...oh well xD
It saddens me that this song does not feature vocals, you can certainly make an interesting piece without vocals but i think the song asks for them.
Overall this is awesome but i kinda want to give less half a star for not making it with vocals xD

[First Flight]

This song would be great on a trailer about the story you tell in the description, i can certainly feel the determination and the dream from the instruments you chose.
The mixing and composition are top notch and my only complain is about the length, this feels like a preview to the actual song....a really awesome preview nonetheless xD
Great job Jacob!

[The Ancient Ones]

Mmm...not sure why they wouldn't like the intro, i think it is pretty great, the biggest complain i have is with the mixing 00:45 to 00:56. things sound very muddy and it lacks a lot of definition because of that, otherwise the intro is pretty good and the percussion you used works great with the guitar.
I think the song from that point on has a very "epic" feeling, the choirs and the percussion are great in doing that.
I love the composition, the mixing however seems a bit too loud for me and when the drums hit hard things get a bit messy, maybe even clipping is heard.
Overall the song is great, you kept it somewhat simple with just over 3 minutes and that's fine, its certainly better than forcing the song for the sake of making it longer, i think something closer to 4 or 5 minutes would have been more appropriate being for the NGADM however. I love your samples and they all sound really awesome by themselves, i didnt particulatly enjoy the way they were mixed together and at times things sounded messy.
Awesome job Titan! 4.5/5 :D

TitanMusic responds:

Thanks for the review!
I decided, seeing as I have a lot of college work due, that I would have to keep it short and just work with what I can rather than try and create a large, multi layered song. I went short and epic and I think my opponent did too.
With regards to mixing, I have pretty much no idea what I am doing. I have watched tutorial videos and read a lot about it but I am still having trouble getting it down. This wasn't helped by the fact that the programs I usually use for the strings, Miroslav Philharmonik, just stopped working before I finished this song. So I had to use a program I am not as familiar with.
I tried my best to make sure clipping doesn't occur but perhaps I failed.
Thanks again!

[Come to Reality]

Love the first section, it absolutely sets a great mood, the synths used work great in this kind of song.
When the metal guitars enter the song the first thing that pops to mind is how they are awesomely mixed. The song precedes through with great playing and great mixing, i really cant get over how freaking awesome the metal guitars sound xD Double tracking with opposite panning?
Overall its really easy to see the work you put into this, the mixing is very clean and there are sometimes quite a lot of things happening at the same time, the playing is also really awesome and heavy.
I cant however ignore that this song is over 9 minutes and since people are criticized for submitting a 2 minute song i thing the opposite is also doable!
It is really hard for me to keep interest in a song without vocals that spans over 5 minutes and in my opinion 9 minutes is too long and seems a bit more focused into making your song more intimidating for your opponent and maybe give the judges a second thought because making 9 minutes of music is not easy at all instead of serving the purpose of enhancing the song itself, you did however a great job through the 9 minutes, still doesn't justify the length thought.
Awesome work Metallica!

Metallica1136 responds:

Woke up feeling pretty awful this morning, but this review put me in a better mood! I'm really glad you like the mixing! You got it man! Double tracked guitars, panned 100% to each channel! Big Monster for left, Slip Note Wide for right (Guitar Rig 5) Used to never double track. I realize now, double tracking is exactly what makes a tone heavy. THAT's the whole secret of getting a kick ass tone :)

But yeah man, I realize though, the biggest flaw in this song is it's length. I've got a habit of writing songs over 8 minutes. Yeah my goal was to make the song challenging to beat, though the length wasn't the reason (main reason at least) Hopefully the judges like this song as well.

But thanks for your review man! If I ever need some constructive criticism, I know who to message! :D

[Fisherman's Fantasy]

Great intro, i love the piano it is very sad and atmospheric...the sea sound however seems to be a bit repetitive and maybe a bit too loud (the loop is too short maybe?).
The change you implemented in the song is a very bold one and comes out of nowhere i think the song definitely needed an intermediate section where you could prepare the listener to the heavier section instead of stopping and restarting. Maybe giving a more detailed description to guide us through the song would have helped in this case also, you say this is about a game, i can see the 2 completely different parts fitting a game intro for example, however if you gave us some detail it would have helped a lot picturing it.
I like the lyrics, they have a strong sense of purpose and a good structure.
So...i think the biggest flaw is indeed the change out of nowhere, i really like the first part and despite having a kind of annoying sea sound i rate it 4.5/5 , i love the piano melody it is really great, the second part i really like the lyrics and the composition, the mixing choices seem a bit off here and there but overall it is still quite enjoyable 4/5.
Overall, you have here an interesting song to hear but on a closer look the transition cant be ignored 4/5.
Great Job SourJovis :D

SourJovis responds:

The sea sound isn't a loop. It's 2 and a halve minutes from a 4 minute recording. I suppose sea just sounds that repetitive. The turning point is indeed sudden. Can be unpleasant if you don't expect it. I think it would work well on an album with mostly metal, where you expect a dramatic change to metal. If I would change it, I would make the change more sudden with louder more powerful guitars, to give it even more impact.
The game is still in development, and I can't say too much about it since I'm not the main creator and I don't know how much I can spoil. As a matter of fact I'm a bit of a fifth wheel. I was asked to do additional music and animation, then I was dropped because the main composer and animator wanted to do everything by themselves. Later I was asked to do sound effects, and they liked what I've made so far. Now it's under debate whether I can write some songs after all, because they like this song/these songs. I think the piano piece might work well as intro or title screen music, and the metal part (probably without vocals) as boss theme or action driven cinematic. I think the first and second part will be separated, but they share the same melody and theme. But I have yet to see if and how it will be used. If I know more I will put it in the description to prepare the listener more. The turning point sounds more pleasant when you expect it I agree.

[Spanish Lullaby]

Very beautiful, the melody and the effects are great.
Great playing Jay!

[CLAB - Jar vs DiVoTion]

Well the victor is basically chosen xD
I gotta agree my enunciation came pretty bad at times and the mixing was low in the first verse.
I have to give it to Jar, he is indeed the best rapper and deserves this win for his flow and style alone, his lyrics are smart as well btw.
Thanks to everyone who appreciated my effort in my first Clabtrap i had a blast :D
Good luck Jar!

[Bim Berugmi]

Whoa...dude you are one of the most creative people i ever seen!
Really good..you are awesome Zipper!

ZipZipper responds:

Thanks Divo! Your fanship is much appreciated!