Saltbearer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Break Time]

Smooth vibe, compelling rhythms, nicely done overall. 8) Mixed feelings about the cymbals/clap though - so loud, clear, sharp, defined... my eardrums want to caress every tantalizing squiggle of crystalline soundwave, but doing so, at least initially, caused pain to happen, in a pain way. I poked some others in possession of ears for generalized opinions, and the clap/hats were a main point of criticism, though perhaps more due to personal expectations for perc priority than pain receptors (WORTHLESS OPINIONS). Unfortunately, we all know that reducing the high end at all takes the magic out of music, so... what's the harm in occasional ear spiciness, anyway?

ThatAndyGuy responds:

Definitely some Very Good feedback! Glad you liked it and BONUS POINTS to you for being honest as hell, I'll revisit it when I'm able to set my computer back up to work!

[Monolith (Speedcore)]

Drone-inspired speedcore is something I've been wanting to hear lately, so it's cool to stumble into some while gawking at someone's prolific output! The genres sound like near-opposites at first, but there's clear points of overlap - it's apparent here that a low, distorted bass rumble in itself isn't too far off from a long extratone kick drill.

This kick might be a serious point of contention for me though. It's got a solid body and a transient that remains sharp up to extratone speeds, and considering the drone influence and track title, it feels a bit questionable to criticize it for being… monolithic. It can pass for stylistic, how something simple becomes powerful as the tempo increases - but that's inherent to extratone. For what's typically regarded as the centerpiece of genres under the speedcore umbrella, where you'll be hearing a LOT of the one thing, it seems underdeveloped at its core. static. dry. clean.

So far, I've made one deliberate attempt ("Revitalize the Battered" under my audio) at simultaneously taking influence from drone (moreso electronic ambient than SUNN O)))'s doom) and speedcore, and I made a few other things in the past that veered in that direction. In ReThBa, I used a complex (… rather needlessly convoluted honestly) yet soft synth kick, separated into independent frequency bands, with their own automated effects and ranges of potential variability... I even squeezed many other percussive sounds out of the automation. All of that kept it interesting for me to listen to, even at the beginning and end where, as a whole, it's about the only active element.

I did not, however, decisively achieve my original vision for drone speedcore - I envisioned more gradual and controlled drifting of attributes on a kick with less low end and more distorted buzzing high-end punch, and thought a good way to mix the genres would be to shift between gentle textures so frequently, regularly, and chaotically that it would all register as one droning mess of sound. Pressed for time by February Album Writing Month, up against SunVox's technical limit on modules, and conscious of storage space, ReThBa only comes close to touching that in the last minute, nowhere near as chaotically/sound collagey as I wanted. Reason to revisit the concept someday!

Back to Monolith, my ears like things that are wide, scratchy, and screamy above the mids, so it has all that going for it. 8) The "screaming" distorted cymbal and bass in the beginning feel nice. Rhythmically, hard to go wrong with expeetore. The way the different elements sit together in the mix is fine, as is the tension arc in which they prop the energy to a satisfying peak. From my comments on the kick and ReThBa though, it should be apparent that I have a general preference for highly-ornamented and semi-unpredictable music. Some people don't, but I usually sense *room* for a bit more flavor in everything. Could sprinkle in more one-off sonic events for dramatic flair, play around more with how everything's distribution in time affects tension, complicate some timbres… you may even be able to squeeze some things like pad layers in some spots.

All that fuss is why I've allowed hundreds of things I've started to sit around and rot though, which doesn't seem to be your speed. Good job on having things to show for your efforts, a diverse breadth of work including obscure genre fusions like this one! Keep that up!

One other thing - "atmospheric speedcore" is at least a notable-enough specific subgenre for it to be named in a YouTube video some guy made a decade ago, and I'd say this matches. Probably a good term for the tags!

etK responds:

Wow, thanks a lot for the constructive criticism! Yeah this was something that was on my mind for a while. The remastered and final version of this track will be released alongside the album, hopefully soon enough!
Well if you make Drone Speedcore or Speedcore in general, I have this channel called Speedcore Network, and you can send me a message at [e-mail] and maybe your track will be featured, it would be a pleasure!
And out of curiosity, what is the video talking about Atmospheric Speedcore you're referring too? (you can tell me by editing here or by sending me a message anywhere if you like)
Thanks again! Might try this again in the future.

[I Do]

SO MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE GLORIOUS NEW ERA OF NAL1200 UPLOADING FINISHED TRACKS TO NEWGROUNDS ON A REGULAR BASIS

(Regular interval: 5 years, longer than previous upload to today)

((It's a nice little melody though, and it's nice to see you!))

nal1200 responds:

Hey thanks! I'll try and upload stuff more often hahaha

[Fluid State]

Instantly in love with that rich padded bass! And the snappy wetness of all the perc, my god. The wide high-end ear-ticklin' sounds. The smooth guitar. All around a nice clean space to dunk my head into. Struck nice balances with progression, variation, and detail.

Fresh start better treat you well!

jcunliffeuk responds:

Thanks for the kind words Saltbearer!

[Babu]

Was just wondering if you'd been up to anything! Love the sound of what you described and the sound of the music - deep and detailed with compelling timbres, rhythms and atmosphere. Looking forward to more!

I've got my arm around my own cat as I'm writing this.

ActualElf responds:

Hey Salt thank you so much ^^

Yeah I haven't released anything for a long while now but I've been making music every day, just collecting finished tracks and getting as much practice as I can.

Really glad to see you're still active on Newgrounds!

(Say hi to your cat for me the next time it wanders home)

[Psychic]

It's taken me a month and a half to get back to this tab after my initial listens, because I wanted to say some nice words and then dig into your uploads, but I know I can sink hours into overthinking a few paragraphs, and at no given moment did I feel like doing it for something I would just be gushing about.

Love this. Clearly taking inspiration from the best of Iglooghost with those wet and wiggly vocal chops, stuffing our brains with confident textures both organic and digital. A twisted wall of dense and powerful sound, extending its tendrils to beat and pull your sense of self deep inside it, while cradling your primal senses of comfort and wonder. It feels like being more alive than usual by way of magic.

The depth, detail, variety, and contrasts here are everything I aspire to. The energy is one I wish were easier for me to tap into. May you and all who inspire you continue to inspire all who listen.

KawaiSprite responds:

hey thank u man, im glad i can incite such a good reaction

[Totem]

Chill beat, soothing chords, rhythms held my attention to it. Had me nice and relaxed real quick. 8) Fine track. IMO, could be taken to another level with a few additional layers of subtle atmospheric pads and decorations, particularly around the 3:47 slowdown, which doesn't feel well-supported by the soundscape right now. Also thought it would be cool if the percussion were softened further, just here and there; sections of slower attacks, narrower/duller filtering over it plus an additional reverb/noise layer. Would go as far as suggesting to give the impression of "melting" all the perc into a formless burble of reverberations over the last minute.

Hope all goes well with the album!

KayJay-Artique responds:

Thank you very much for the feedback!
I guess I could have put more atmosphere into the piece but I just had to get it out there at some point because my way of thinking is "if a project gets to a point where you're only making minimal to no improvements it's either time to release it, quit or come back to it at a later date" but I've done the waiting method multiple times for this project so I just went and released it with the best of my abilities.
But you do have some good advice and I'll keep that in mind, thanks!
Sorry for rambling lol.

[Source]

Oof, completely uninspired perc. The most basic rhythm in all of techno without anything resembling a fill, or any form of modulation. The few other samples are looped just as dryly - not confident you actually rendered any of them yourself since nothing else would suggest you've done much sound manipulation here. They fit together pretty well, I'll give you that.

The omnipresent wash sounds beautiful, but the decay as its components cut off feels awkwardly fast. There's a number of ways to go about making any given end of the loop feel better: an additional tail of reverb and mid-to-high-frequency noise (or some other tail effect), a decisively sharper cut, an extra bold sound on top to justify its quick ducking (as if sidechained), etc. Take your pick. I'm also stuck interpreting it as offset by a measure, thanks to its long attack, soloing in the intro, and low isolated string pluck's timing.

Assuming that it's one sample that you simply selected from a sample pack or something, so you wouldn't have the option to spice it up with variations from the source, creating a viable, manipulable substitute shouldn't be too painful. It's essentially a tasteful mix of commonplace synth elements spread out a bit in stereo.

… hm. After going and skipping around your 140 submissions, it's hard to get an exact read on your knowledge, but you clearly have a genuine interest in music production. :V I'm just gonna say keep screwing around with effect automation, seeing what combinations of things do what, pushing yourself to create new sounds. Take the time to unload more of your arsenal of tricks into each track. Use more rises and such to signify transition measures in advance, allow instruments to come in/exit a bit before/after the first beat of a measure where appropriate, and sprinkle neat little atmospheric sounds wherever they sound good. Stay prolific!

CyroNG responds:

Well, there is one thing I have to admit about this track. I was really lazy during the production of this, I know that I could have added more effects to many of the samples I've used but it was getting really late (around 10PM-ish or so).

I've improved drastically since 2017 and I would actually say this is a pretty bad track, for my standards. It just sounds really empty and boring overall, but it kind of fits for this certain style I chose. Sort of a hybrid between ambient and techno in a late 70s time.

I will take your criticism into consideration, and make a better version of this. Just keep your eye out.

-Cadmiae/CyroNG

[Cloudier - FEAR;life]

Hoo bwee I love me some stark soft/cute and harsh/dark duality. Coherent while far from stagnant. Clean and detailed production, nice melodies, respectable sound design/selection. Lovely bowed string, satisfying crunch to the guitar, blasting synths carry weight in the right places. Vocal and instrumental agree with each other. Execution of the moment of tension at 1:54 stands out to me as something to highlight - just enough motion to maintain peak attentive listening, perfectly smooth exit transition.

Personal-taste-wise, doesn't fully grip me - the structural dynamics kept me listening, but my primary interest is texture, and the overall texture palette here is hard to distinguish from countless other songs I've heard in passing. BUT, I'll bet it won't be long before your music is in that mix. Obviously, this particular blend speaks to a lot of people, and AFAICT, you're nailing it. You seem quite capable of doing what you want. 8) ★★★★★

CloudierMusic responds:

Thank you for your kind words, we really appreciate it! We will definitely improve on the texture and blending everything more o/ Thank you for giving us a listen!

[Chant Of The Lone Wolf]

Epic indeed! Tried-and-true palette of instruments, nothing out of place. Cool subtleties giving richness to the atmosphere. Great dynamics and beautiful tone to the lead... though a lot of that is probably baked into a sample pack, right? Regardless, it comes off very organic.

A few thoughts:
- First impression of 1:25's widening noise thing was that it could've been louder and sharper-sounding. Maybe sidechain the rest under it to some degree, too, with very fast attack/release? Very quiet, hissy, high-frequency additive synth band with reverb could also complement it.
- 3:13, those note volume shifts seem pretty wild against the quick attacks. Might go for a lazier volume response.
- The distorted notes have a fairly distinctive vibrato shape, if you'd want to obscure that. The distortion may be a bit loud for my taste as well, though the strength is fine.

Welcome to the site, looking forward to hearing more from you!

FBole responds:

Thank you !

I usually work this way : 50% Virtual instruments 50% organic instruments. It allows for a more "homemade tone" and avoids the sounds to be too perfect when coming out of a sound bank.

- I agree with you on the widening at 1:25, I wanted to use no synths in this track and tried to make a very powerful blow on this section using only cymbals & taikos but it turned out pretty weak compared to what is expected. I will try your recommendation on future tracks !
- Agreed, my mistake here was to accept the discontinuity in volume because of hearing the track to much, one of the reasons why mixing your own tracks can be hard at times.
- Noted, I'll be aware of that.

Thank you again for your feedback!