TsizzinC's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Shadows of Loneliness]

The Shadow of Loneliness

A splendid piece, very enjoyable. I listened to this piece with the youtube video. So I saw most of the images. Before I review the music, let me just make a couple points:
I wished I hadn't viewed the images because they distracted me to make a purely musical review. There were some really cool pictures and I just like it too much lol.
The song is so long. I understand that there is a story, which is good. Being a man fascinated and extremely critical of stories and literature, again this review may be tainted. A good story is hard to come by these days eh?
So here comes my weird biased review. This song begins steadily and it seems very dark. Dark but the sounds are very light at the same time. I am instantly drawn to the song at this point. The beautiful yet lonely voice of the piano vibrates through the story, picking up velocity and power. The pace at which the song is moving at this point halts, giving me time to reflect on what had just happened, but not much time as it picks back up again quickly. The voice changes as I believe the point of view has changed in the story, the music creates the effect. Slowly the loneliness returns shortly a brief moment of serenity and calmness. The loneliness does not take over, it is merely accepted.
Truly beautiful piece! Like I said, a good story is not easily found these days, and if you are composing to a good story you are distracted from the music because of the story. I believe this song could tell a good story... I wish you the best.

Jabicho responds:

That's so cool! thanks for watching the video too! I'm glad you liked the images =) hehe yeah another friend also told me the images can interfere in the melody =P Thanks for the amazing review I love reading it, thanks for all the support my friend!

[Chrono Trigger - Schala Theme]

Congrats!

You have brought me back to the audio reviewing biz, and that is a feat. I used to be quite active, but I stopped due to the fact that there were so few artists that could write to my picky and unique taste. I used to only review songs that really stood out and looking back, those songs were dwarfed by your emergence.
Ok, on to the music. I love the beginning and the subtle darkness in the intro. It picked up beautifully, as it progresses, a sad lost theme can be heard, but it is powerful and it demands respect. As it fades, the song presents a theme that to me seems forgotten. So Schala is beautiful, dark, powerful, respectful, forgotten...
The only problem I had with this song is that the end kind of left me hanging. I don't think this song is yet complete.
Oh, and by the way, Chrono Trigger is my favorite game. I also write screen plays, and I am seriously considering writing one for CT. Epic? Ha. Yasunori Mitsuda's music is amazing, and you have transcribed it beautifully. I will soon review more of your songs. Thank you for this amazing piece.!

Jabicho responds:

Wow man, that made my day! thanks so much for the amazing words! your review is great to read, it's so complete.

Hope you write comments in my other pieces, take care! =D

[Ice Princess(in memoriam)]

This was one of my favorite songs!

10's across the boards. Though the clarinet entrance was sketchy, but the rest of the song made up for that. The key transition was also very cool! There aren't many people that could pull those off with like you did. Very nice job! I heard this from a while ago, 1 yea? Glad to come across it again. Hope you liked the review.

sorohanro responds:

glad you liked it ... guess "score 0" is a ... let's say "browser error"
liked the review but still don't know what you mean by "clarinet entrance was sketchy" ... there are at least 3 instrumente beside that (flute, oboe, english horn) and i always try to build melody and background

well, hope you'll write more reviews but with better marks ;)

[Rig - Genesis]

Awesome

If there is any other way to describe this song, let me know. So I really liked the beginning of this song, up to the part with the guitar thing. I think the guitar lick sounds good, but it doesn't really express anything. It was hallow, if you will. The first caesura was well executed, and you had used the choir to a maximum extent. With that being said, I guess the hollowness never really go away. It seemed empty, but it sounds good. The mood change as well, but a little too subtle, there was no preparations for me, so it really took me by surprise. The ending was weak, and I believe you know that, but overall a very nice piece that demands respect!

Rig responds:

I didn't really have much control over how the guitar sounded - I used Nexus and only Nexus.
Thanks for your honest review! :)

[_-={Dark Skies}=-_]

Very Rage typical

You seem to have mastered the upbeat war themed style of composing. Very similar to your other works, of course you haven't exhausted this style, there is still much to be learned. Great piece!
There are some cord progressions that didnt seem to resolve, but fits just fine. The choir entrance was shaky to me, but still a high scoring song.
Is this a loop or is the ending just screwed up?

MaestroRage responds:

Yes there is still much I can do in this style. To be honest I havn't done any kind of battle theme in this category and I really should. They're useful, entertaining, and brilliant practice.

This is indeed a loop, as it was designed to be a final battle track at some point. The track was decided to be taken out however, so I plastered it up here for everybody else to use :D!

I kinda like the choir. The choir program I use does however tend to lag behind the other instruments as it's attack is significantly longer then the normal orchestra. I didn't quite know how to adjust that when producing this track.

Thank you for the review, i'm glad you liked it!

[{CW} Gates of Heaven {Final}]

This is what we call

This is what, we in the music reviewing biz, call cheap harmony... haha, great song man, but seriously the harmonic lines really boring... Its a good line and it fits with your song, but its repetitiveness really bugged me. It doesn't illustrate any creativity or motivation. Great melodic phrases, and nice choice of instrumentation. would be a 10, and you know why i knocked it down a couple points ;)

CrimzonWolf777 responds:

I understand. It does get a lil boring after a while. You got some good point though. but I'm glad you sorta like it.

[_-={A Place for Dreams}=-]

Very Beautiful

Great song, yet again man, this one starts out with mysteries in the bell phrases that move strangely yet appealingly, nothing wrong with that there, the long tones by the violin, or after the stretched melodic line really made this song drag in theme. The brassy part's short loudness... get this... I actually wouldn't recommend. It doesn't fit well with the theme. The long brass phrases were beautiful though. Very nice flowing harmonies, but it does get boring without an equally strong melody. Very nice piece, props.

MaestroRage responds:

I find articulation is my weakest point. I have been studying some famous pieces lately and it has become painfully clear that not only am I not using the strings to their fullest in these segments, I am not even stepping in the right direction.

Mistakes made, are mistakes noticed.

Wouldn't recommend the brass eh? A valid opinion, and one I can see. I personally like the brass, but without it, there would be a different sense, which I believe is what you wanted? Perhaps.

Thank you for the honest review, I am glad you liked it TsizzinC!

[_-={Apocalypse}=-_]

Not today, maybe tomorrow, when it not a saturday

Now when the world does end, this song should be playing... nah just kidding. it portrays the cool destructions and explosions that may be found, but not so much to the suffering and sorrow all around...

now about the song :)
dramatic from start to end. Nice trumpet fanfares and base drum phrases. I dont really hear any melody though. Just a bunch of short harmonic lines, which sounds amazing though your masterful craft. Great job, I believe i heard some sweet short horn coolness... keep up the good work!

MaestroRage responds:

indeed indeed, if the world was ending to this tune, then it means there was either a nuclear war that brought it to this point, or some force of anger, with no other sensation has taken it upon itself to remove our existence.

Besides such a piece would have to be significantly longer, I don't people would be alive long enough to hear it loop, so a good 20-30 minutes would be ideal :D!

And you are correct to say there is no definite theme, phrase, or melody. This song is a flow of different sources of anger. The man in the story that this song depicts is one that holds such contempt, such hatred for all things around him that it would be impossible to pin it all down on one source.

I do have a lot of subtle instruments going on and off in most of my pieces, so if you did hear those horns, say hi to them, because they often get missed and ignored, and then I have these depressed instruments who can't do squat >:(

Thank you for the review, i'm glad you liked it!

[_-={Precious Seconds}=-_]

Now how can I not write a review about this???!!!

10/10!

This song is a masterpiece!

Now the choir comes in subtly and mysteriously, but when it begins to gain phrase, it was plain and pretty boring. I don't know about the entrances at times, the dynamic level was... surprising and it had startled me at times. Solid brassy sections! Great melodies! It wasn't until near 2 minutes in that I've figured out that the ticks are that of a watch or clock... it made me appreciate this song a lot more! I usually listen to the songs a couple times before writing a review, but I wrote this one on the spot. And I will read the first review afterwards. Cheers to another great piece!

MaestroRage responds:

ah TsizzenC, I am glad you found this piece entertaining! Having earned your 10 is a reward in of itself!

The dynamic levels of this song are often abrupt, then again, the ideas, the desires that are left aside, often pop back up in an abrupt fashion, which was exactly my intention. Sitting there, until when it is almost too late, it all storms back.

I hope you enjoyed the review, and that it gave you an idea of what I wanted to give. The fact you were able to hear the clock at all without any hint is impressive.

Thank you for the review, i'm glad you liked it!

[_-={Mighty Hails}=-_]

Not feeling it...

I like this song, dont think that i dont like it. I've put it on my mp3 player! ok, now thats thats established, lets get to the juicy part :D
The pace set by this song in the beggining really raised my expectations. There were some cool effects. The back ground base drum thing really set a nice mood for the song and the dynamic contrast really made me believe that this was an exciting piece.
the reason why i wasnt feeling it was because of the unmoving whole notes that were everpresent in the song. Your phrases were beautiful but are they appropriate? The pace really becomes slow and imo, some really cool effects were overlooked. I couldnt hear the horn rip (i play horn) the first time through. My compliments for including a horn rip. man i shoud just give u a 10 for the horn rip lol. but that would do you no good if i just lie...

Nice mix of instrumentation, great beautiful stuff! Vocals are always nice, you've made them work.

MaestroRage responds:

I never feel bad about your reviews TsizzinC, your honesty is something I hold dearly. The song WAS supposed to break out into a big bad beat, but I decided against it last minute because I wanted to keep it a somewhat familiar tone to it. Changing the beginning to accommodate this decision would entail many hours of work, so I decided then to portray the story differently, holding the same values of course.

The horn Rips are indeed subtle. And I chose them to be this way. I have a song coming out very soon TsizzinC, which has... a LOT of horn rips, I think you might enjoy it :D!

The whole notes are there for support, and for the extra support from the back. The melody relies on this support to maintain itself, and though this may be a bad thing *some people say the melody should be able to play without any kind of support*, I feel differently.

Thank you for the honest review, I am glad you liked it still!