AlexPhott's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[I hate this feeling]

Excellent

I noticed how this isn't quite as heavy and chaotic as your other stuff, which just goes to show that you are quite diverse. I greatly enjoy the more melodic aspect of this song. Can't wait to hear your new stuff!

TheRealSam responds:

Yeah, I quite tend to compose basing myself on my mood of the moment, and what I'm listening to. I think you'll realize it with the new stuff I'll post, quite different too ^^
Thanks a lot man!

[My Other Self's Keys [...]]

Brutal!

Chaotic, technical and brutal. You've done it again! Words cannot do this justice, so I will end this with one word:
EPIC

TheRealSam responds:

EPIC is what I was aiming for... thank you so fucking much for this! :D

[Nothing is beautiful]

Sick!

As always, great work! Delicious triplets and chord progression, man. I notice a couple of riffs VERY similar to some in your other track "A Day to Remember", love it. I especially like the strange chords you use through this song!

Can't wait to hear more from you!

TheRealSam responds:

Similar riffs? Seriously? x) Well there might be some, I've never realy paid attention ahah, especially comparing these two tracks, which I thought were totaly different x)
Anyway, thanks a lot for the review, don't worry more to come soon :)

[Fall For Anything]

Loving it!

I always had a weak spot for this sort of stuff, combining different instruments with the heavy guitars. I think the track moves forward really well, and there's so much feeling that solo! It's brilliant. At times, though, I think the drums could be a bit lower, put more focus on the guitars instead. But it's not near enough to ruin this masterpiece. Full score, sir!

[B7 - Riffy Metal Song]

Excellent!

I know that feel, millions of 30 seconds to 1 minute riffs taking up a lot of space. Just being there, forgotten and never expanded. This sounds awesome, triplets for the fucking win! I think the fact that you combined a bunch of riffs gives this track a really great progressive feel, nothing repetitive (something which I struggle with a lot when making music). Well done! 5/5 - 10/10.

[-A Taste Of...- V.3]

Great!

Nice to see another REAPER user (and EZDrummer)! We use a very similar set up actually.

Love the use of symphonic instruments, great melodies and riffs. However, the entire sound of the track sounds a bit weak, it's lacking a fat bass track to back it all up, and the guitar comp riff is drowned a bit by the lead guitar.

Overall great work, and as you said: It's work in progress. So there's definitely a lot of potential here.

Back-From-Purgatory responds:

Yeah, there will be a bass track in the finished version, but bass is always the very last thing I do, dunno why, but that's just how I work. I'd imagine once it's in it'll make it sound a bit more beefy.
I do still have a fair bit of mixing to do, but at this point in time I can't raise the overall volume of the track without pushing it into clipping unfortunately... but like I said, the bass should remedy the weak feel.

And yeah, I agree, the lead is drowning out the rhythm a little too much, that's one of the first things I plan to fix in the next version.

Thanks for the informative review! Glad you enjoyed it despite it's flaws!

[Sam D. Hyde-A Day To Remember]

Dude...

I think you are far too hard on yourself, though I can relate to that. :P
Seriously though, really fucking heavy guitar sound you have, I've stated it in another review on one of your songs, but this is my inspiration now! Whenever I will sit down and record, I shall take in a couple of your songs, just listen to them.

This is exactly the kind of stuff I am sort of aiming for when making music (I think you can hear it in the only metal track I've submitted so far). Brilliant stuff this is, really.

TheRealSam responds:

Thanks a lot man!! :) Well I may be too hard on myself ahah I don't know, when I do something I want it to be as perfect as I imagine it to be x) It's always hard to recreate with concrete materials the image you have in your head ahah!
Anyway, I'll go check your song out :) thanks a lot for the review!!

[A shot to the liver]

Brilliant!

Holy. Shit.
HOLY SHIT!
This is absolutely amazing, I just wish you could have kept going with the melodic parts that stop at 1:15 or so, man that is some inspiring stuff! Though the rest is incredibly sick stuff too, but it's like it changes into a completely different song. I can hear a lot of influences from Meshuggah, heard of them? It's more or less the "progressive metal" aspect of it. I'm just wondering, are the drums programmed MIDI tracks? If so, what plugin/s are you using?

The entire song feels like it's taking you from one place to another, like a journey or a tale. I wish I was half as good at composing metal. This is truly inspiring for me as a musician myself, just makes me want to sit down and record stuff right now! Cheers!

TheRealSam responds:

Ahah Of course I've heard of Meshuggah ^^ even though I wasn't influenced by them back then, and even now actually (I prefer the "new wave of djent" ahah, with bands such as Periphery and so on).
When you talk about the "journey" aspect of the song, that was quite what I've been aiming at when I composed it, to go from one thing to another, sometimes abruptly, something smoothly ^^
Anyway, thanks a lot for your review(s) ahah :)

[-Glorious morning-]

Truly inspirational!

When I first heard this song in Age of War I was completely enthralled by the music, when I later started doing my own orchestral pieces I used this as my inspiration. I had a friend who heard one of my pieces point out that it reminded him of this even! I love the spiccato violin driven melody in the intro, a truly inspirational track.