TheWisestMagi's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Helix - Archetype]

Wow. <(Notice period for emphasis)

This is my favorite of all of your works, followed by Red Rock Operation.

Your industrial music has made me a fan of industrial..or at least your music -_-.

Anyway, I like the way you start this piece cutting the transition between each emphasis hit in half each time until you reached straight quarter notes.

The middle is nearly flawless so I can't say much there. I really like the pauses you have put in between each emphasis note. (don't know what else to call them).

I love the ending how you use what sounds like steam blowing out of something with higher and higher pitches and then when it is about to take it to the last step, low and behold it happens to be the starting note for that nice little string tune that sounds like the strings from some awesome film (like the matrix). And anyway, how you make that tune the last part of the highpitched steam sound.

I love it, the only reason I give a 9 in clarity is that (I'm sure you've realized this) the beginning is kind of staticy sounding.

Also, best of wishes for you to make it through all of this business you've been suffering from lately, hopefully you will catch a break soon.

Also, If you do...take a real break = ).

Helix6 responds:

Glad you enjoyed this song. Work will probably never end... Hopefully 60+ hours a week ends someday. :) Fortunately my job might be buying a full-fledged music workstation soon...

[Nessatta]

HOLY CRAP

Man, where did this piece come from? I can't believe I didn't listen to it before now...This one is your first?!? Dang..quite good, although I do agree with a few of the guy before mine's comments..needing something to spice it up.

Aresdev responds:

Yeah. OLD. And okay for a first, you're way too nice!

[Afterburn]

One big problem is all

Clarity... I see this is one of your earlier pieces though, where you seem to have been struggling more with clarity. Anyway, if i could maybe hear that singer better, and a different drum beat..with a snare on all of those accented notes to the techno-style theme to it. Pretty good though..I hope I am not bringing you down because you're quite good, I am just trying to be constructive.

OH I HEAR THE SINGER!(There at the end..i just added this part).

Aresdev responds:

Thanks man. You're not bringing me down, I'm still learning how to do all this, playing music is much easier than mixing, and making.

[Ethnicity]

Not too shabby = )

This is fairly nice. Not much to really say, it gets slightly repetitive is one problem, the only other problem I see is that the strings you use (i mean like orchestrated stings, not guitar like ones...I mean to say the ones that first get shown in the beginning) seem to be a little dark for the piece, or even a little too epic. Orchestra might have needed a not so...heavenly gospel feel to them as well...maybe need to be more like a bouncey-type choir..(if you know what I mean..not a AHHHHH type of choir, but a booop...or something kind..

Nice if your just reading a book or something like the guy before me wrote.
Overall not too bad (just keep in mind that my ratings are in comparison to some of the legends and greats on NG, so your actually pretty dang good).

I'd like to hear maybe one more song like this out of you, to see how it goes.

~Good Work~

Aresdev responds:

Sometimes it's hard to make something not repetitive, especially when you are limited in ability or programs. I'm getting better, no?

[Captain Feel]

Decided to review another

This was surprisingly good to me, the only problems were:

A. Got slightly repetitive

B. WHY DROP THE BASS!? I really think that the bass should have been laying down the beat throughout almost the entire song, excluding parts where the music gave a kind of pause, or a trancey themed electronic sound. Although, yeah, you would have to make sure it differed slightly after every pause because of these things that it made.

Quite good, a 7 just do to lack of...I don't know, substance? I can't tell, but nice.

P.S. Hopefully you get noticed soon.

Aresdev responds:

I just got my program when I did this. I was experimenting a little, and I realize it isn't that good. I had fun though.

[_-={The Metal Visage}=-_]

Woah

I read your story first, It greatly fit into the music, which I listened to as I read the story. Everything definately fit in perfect with your story, as I must have read it at the same rate of the music's progression. However, I am going to attempt to write a completely different story...sheerly for the fun of it ;).
(hopefully to go along with the entire linked-stories theory I've been conjuring up).

A band of heros and horoienes aproach a labrynth, which is shrowded in a fog that even the swords and axes of our friends couldn't cut through. This fog..is a dark one, concealing only what the band fears, and nothing they would enjoy to say the least. The doors creak open as the group approaches, for someone, or something knows that they have arraived. The main room that they enter is a dark, sinisterly lit room.

Out of nowhere, the doors slam with a force only reckoned by evil. A sinister laughing takes course as the room fills with an aura that weakens the friends very spirit...something was there. As the heart sunken warriors scan for the hidden evil, their hearts sink, but for a reason undefined.

It appears, a man...shrouded in a black reaper-like cloak, or in hatred...our group cannot tell, for their senses have gone into sheer adreneline due to the unwelcomed visitor. The face of this villain is covered by a mask...one of sinister looks, as it is of metal...has eyeslits that are of the same kind as you would see the red eys of a demon through, but they were emmiting something dark and evil, a smoke if you will. The mouth had the same look as that of a wraith...undefined and hellish.

It lays out a first blow of an dark, psychic force that blows all of the heros onto their backs...but they recover with a roll, and counter attack simultaneously. The evil is taken back by the force, and seems to eraticate, but only for enough of a moment to be able to catch the heros off-gaurd.

Everything now seems to be racing as the two sides exchange blows, but the evil is unrelenting and seems to be unfazed by the attempts of our heros to stop it. It menacingly strikes having more power then the combined efforts of our friends...but it didn't have something that our group did...they were fighting for their lost companions, who seemed to be the only ones actually weakening the beast. A light shines through the stain glass windows at the menace, and it smokes with a bloodcurdling laugh...the last laugh it would have...or so we thought. With a glass breaking shreik our heros are knocked completely out of what they know as reality and enter a place of distortion, distortoin made for dreams, and nightmares. "A place of Nightmares" if you will...as it has no boundries, no reality...and..no hope.

And with that I end my story in hopes that another piece somewhere along the way will let me finish it. I hope it linked with the other stories that I believe are portrayed.

Also, this song is one of, if not the most epic pieces you have written to date, I LOVE IT.

5/5 and should stay at 5 for as long as the tales you can tell keep being told. Don't know what else can be said other then, I LOVE IT.

MaestroRage responds:

I'm glad you took the time and spent the energy to write such a long and detailed story Magi. I enjoyed reading it, and it was essentially of a core very different then mine, which was of course a great treat, to see what your mind brought forth.

It is strange that you have made your villain of such a dark and ruthless core. To give him eyes of demons and the soul of a murderer.

A very interesting part you wrote is as follows

"they were fighting for their lost companions, who seemed to be the only ones actually weakening the beast"

A favorite scene for me is to have fallen comrades reach beyond their grave and assist the main hero with their spiritual force, either giving the hero more strength, or rendering the enemy powerless, or even for the really brutal battles, both.

Even though that villain seemed to have perished, his last laugh was one that effectively rendered our heroes lost in what could possibly be their worst nightmare.

In any case i'm glad you liked the piece, it is thus far my biggest accomplishment, and I think may really begin opening some doors for me, as well as practice refining the epic style I seem to have clung onto for reasons beyond me. Thank you for the review and ongoing support, let's see if I can end your story with the next piece ;).

[_-={An Ambitious Spirit}=]

Hmmm

This song is an interesting one. It doesn't actually (to me) give you an image of a battle with soldier fighting valiantly, but gives you the idea, or the insight, of what a heart of a pure soldier is.
I can see battle in this piece, but it is blurred, hard to describe, and I can see peace, but it is blurred in the same fashion.
Due to this I am at a loss of what I should be looking at. It's kind of a fun feeling actually, yet I am vastly confused at the same time.
Anyway, as I had stated, this is (to me) definately the heart of a noble, pure, or at least good intentioned soldier.

Well done, different from your other pieces due to the emotion it portrays.

P.S. I have a village in Tribal Wars, interesting game, good to take up time like you said ; ). Also, I went to the Escalation-Online site, but just for a moment, I see you are a member of the staff? Cool, anyway I also sent you a message which can be found in your inbox, about a wonderful insight I had.

Super P.S. I can see one (or more) of these characters being portrayed in this song as well...

MaestroRage responds:

It is an interesting game, though truth be told it was eating up WAY too much of my time so I've decided to give the reigns over to a friend. Let him drive it all to the ground XD.

A pure and noble heart, was indeed a premise for this song. I believe that is why some people referred to a samurai or noble warrior in their reviews.

In your Super PS, are you referring to one of the characters in both Gazing and Brotherhood? When I think about it, there are so many ways each one of these pieces could relate and connect to one another. Quite startling. Zen was actually I believe the first to write a story using most of these works. Yet I myself have never done anything of the like.

Maybe it was my own fault, as I do tend to cater to each piece with a fresh slate of characters and world to live on.

In any case thank you for the review and ongoing support, it means a great deal to me ^^. I'm glad you liked the track.

[_-={An Ambitious War}=-_]

*Thinks*

Although I realize you have a very limited amount of space for the description of the song, it is not quite the image that I had invisioned while listening to it.

I see a worrior, torn up from previous battling, and the tide of the battle has turned in a negative way for him and his allies. A second ago they were filled with morale and security, but this moment arrives and it seems as though all of his allies, and even friends have fallen.

Standing a short distance away from the battle he looks to his feet at the warrior that he has just slain, he realizes it was an ally. Now seeing that everyone is fighting completely blindly he looks at the towards the battle, everyone is poking and choping haphazardly at everything that moves.

But even with seeing this, he charges in, enraged at everyone for fighting with such blind fury. But as he does this, he takes suit with the rest, for the fog that is rage had fallen over the valley as they fought.

Everything was pointless, the fighting ruthless, but no one thought to stop, or even to hesitate. No remorse was created that day, nor was there a winning side to the battle, for the purpose of it was long forgotten.

This is the image I had gotten out of it. Nice song all around.

P.S. I do believe that I (or someone else) could link all of these songs of yours into a story, all of these characters/stories are quite epic, they need a novel to go with them ; ).

MaestroRage responds:

I was thinking of getting an account at someplace like www.fictionpress.com and post up all of my own stories for these works, as well as a lengthier description of the song. Of course I'd have to do this in the first review, probably by another alt account that i'd create. It opens more doors, so we'll see.

As for a great novel, it is possible, but unfortunately I don't think I portray enough emotions to really write a well sound novel. I have a lot of angry/sad epic, with the occasional serene piece like Rite of Passage and Brotherhood. THere is no happy pieces, or fully happy anyways. I'll have to work on that won't I :D!!

Thank you for the review Magi, i'm glad you liked it. Thanks again for your ongoing support!

[Chozo Lore]

Nice effect

This does sound alot like something from metroid prime, good call, and it does sound like a part in metroid that isn't a boss battle or anything, but definately one of those parts when you are stuck on a puzzle (I'm sure you know what I'm talking about) or even a menu of some sort.

That nice fast tribal drums type part gives a nice break from the rest of the piece, and makes the song more exciting, so it doesn't sound like the same thing over and over again (even though it may not me).

This piece also loops quite nicely, I have completely lost track of how many times it has played = P.

Overall it has a nice ambient-but somehow slow industrial sound...which somehow gives it a nice video game metroid prime-style feel to it.

P.S. Sorry for the late review, I was out of town.

Aresdev responds:

Thanks for the review man! Do you have any ideas how I can get more views or attract more people to my music?

[Immortal Crossings]

NICE ONE!

This is a excellently put together piece by your part. The guitar part was especially creepy, the piano parts where wonderful, and creepy, AND beautiful all at the same time. This has also has alot more clarity than a few of your others i have reviewed = D YAY! It is altogether a quite wonderful piece, all that I am at liberty to say in the way of criticism is the fact that it (in my opinion of course) could use more instrumentation (substance if you will).

~Veeery well done, keep it up~

Aresdev responds:

Yeah, the clarity issue is totally not my fault, I swear! I appreciate your opinion on the instrumentation. I was going for something particular, so I left out certain sections. Thanks for the awesome things you've said about my music!!