X3LL3N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[SayMaxWell & Max Rena - Try Again]

Ayyy, welcome back :)
Love the part at 0:33

[Skybreak & Nytrix - Our Moving Picture]

I absolutely love this song :D

[Uprising]

This is very solid ! :D

[Weird Food]

Official Review for NGADM Round 2 :

I don't have much to say about the first part, just your typical sleep paralysis demon.

The chords playing afterwards are kinda weird, but in a good way. Those synthwave drums complement it really well. I also like that sparkly arpeggio quite a bit.

The chewing chimichanga sound effect at 0:44 is a funny, but useful addition. Must be how it feels to have a twitch ASMR streamer eating her mic in your right ear.

I like the funny flute and piano sounds, but I'd have liked some ambience in the background, which you fixed at 0:55 by adding some more elements.

i really like the lead transition at 1:15 honestly, the SFX's that go with it are also pretty damn cool.

The part at 1:27 suddenly shift vibes, which is an interesting touch. Those weird-ass alien vocals complement it well.

The second drop is once again quite experimental, starts out slow but nicely, but then I FUCKING LOVE that waterflame-ish chiptune metal part !!! It sounds super fun with some great instruments and melodies.

You made a switch near the end of the drop, which is a good way to not make the song too repetitive.

I'd have liked it much more if the end went batshit crazy rather than reusing the same chords as in the beginning but it's fine.

So yeah, funny whacky experimental :)

[h8ju]

Official Review for NGADM Round 2 :

The song starts with some nice lo-fi chords. The intro snap is a bit too loud imo and could have some gotten reverb, but it's fine.

I have to be honest with you : those damn "h8ju" vocals are extremely obnoxious for me.
If I were to find a wild creature doing such noises irl, I'd slap it out of pure anger xD

Those vocals work much better as ambience, like you did in the drop. I feel like the drop itself doesn't go well with the part before (but that's for the better because i couldn't stand those damn vocals haha).

The sweeps near the end of the transition after doesn't work in context imo. I think some bright instruments could have lightened up the mood as well.

Then the other drop plays and it goes much better with the first part than the first drop did... BUT THEN, THOSE DAMN VOCALS COME BACK FROM THE GRAVE AHHHHHHHHHHHHH (feels like some tiktok music lmao)
Still, this drop has a nice flow if you ommit the damn vocals.

Overall, I feel like the song is a bit messy and some parts don't go well together (for coherence).
The processing could have been better and some instruments could have been changed as well, but that's just my personal taste.

But yeah, my only big complaint is those godforsaken vocals that are after my bootie and my soul.

This gets in my "WTF" playlist for sure :)

[Metal Up Your Ass]

Official Review for NGADM Round 2 :

The instruments are slowly introduced, the bell is a really small but nice touch. I liked the dark melody quite a bit, at this point, I didn't know what to expect yet.

Then suddenly, the guitar starts playing, and I gotta say, it sounds really good ! I especially like at the end of the part when it goes up.

I think the small transition part after that could have been a bit longer and you could have introduced some more instruments to it.

Then, the drop starts. I really like the drums. the guitar melody is cool, but I feel like this part is a bit empty overall. it would have benefited from some more melodic instruments and some more ambience imo.

What I prefer in the song is when you automate the guitar, it makes it feel natural. Also, I love the harmonies.

I have the same critics for the end of the song as I had for the other part, until 2:37 when it gets a little bit more interesting (double guitar, automation, and last but not least, the acceleration at the end).

Good stuff ! (but you could have cut the guitar resonance at the very cery end lmao)

[The Infinite Monkey Ball]

Official Review for NGADM Round 2 :

I'm not sure where to start with this, so I'll probably start with the basses since the song is focused around them.

While the sound design is good and the bass patterns are quite enjoyable, it felt like the "colour" didn't work well sometimes. The part also stretched out a bit too much for my taste, which made it feel repetitive. I think it would have worked better with some fills and maybe some more effects on the bass to make it more interesting.

I much preferred the part where the switch happens at 1 minute, though the transition to the next part could have been executed better.

About that emotional part at 1:26, I believe it would have worked much better if complemented by an emotional piano and probably some ambience and choirs (but the breath sound felt really nice). I also think the dnb drums at the end of it could have been implemented a bit better.

I might be wrong, but the track feels very experimental and messy, which makes it stand out more but also makes it harder to judge properly (I had the same problem with another industrial submission with harsh sound choice).

Anyway, this is a really good submission, but a little too repetitive for my won taste. Good job nonetheless !

[Fortress]

Official Review for NGADM Round 2 :

I have to be honest, at first, I wasn't really impressed. The reason is probably because I'm much more into melodic music and this felt like a draft.

But after listening to it a couple more times, my opinion changed a lot !

I think you really nailed the industrial vibe, especially with this harsh choice of sounds.

The ambience very dark, almost sinister. Pure Chaos.

I'm not sure if you'll understand this, but the sounds feel raw and unprocessed, which work amazingly well in context.

So yeah, a pretty solid entry.

deepfriedfiend responds:

Thank you! I've been layering+distorting sounds and keeping them otherwise very dry recently. I think I'll keep doing that for most things.

[Garance's Theme]

Official Review for NGADM Round 2 (keep in mind this is the first one I'm judging) :

The storytelling here is amazing, I'm able to actually visualize various scenes with the music.

At first it kind of feels like being introduced to the first village of an mmo/fantasy movie. Then at 0:38, it almost feels like "a ballet".
At 1:13, it gets a much more "melancholic" vibe (if that's the right word), like if we were following a different character. It brings a change of vibe and I really like that !

There's a wide variety of instruments, like a symphonic orchestra. It's really cohesive, nothing feels out of place. They all have their own place and work together amzingly well (they don't overpower each other).

I think what I like the most here is the energy of the song and the fact I'm able to visualize it, which RARELY ever happens. I think a little soundscape in the background might have been a good addition, but it's probably just me :)

It's only just starting and this entry is already an extremely solid contender. Amazing job man. Definitely a solid contender :D

[The Nova Irone Symphony Orchestra]

Crazy good :)