MalTheDestroyer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Solus- Lost Paintings]

Nice

This is probably the only version of Lost Painting I've heard in that particular octave--it gives it a nice airy touch to be played up there, though truth be told I prefer it in its normal, lower octave.

On an unrelated note, I'm somewhat surprised that you found sheet music from Castlevania Symphony of the Night just sitting around a store somewhere! (In case MaestroRage is still curious, by the way, you can tell him that this was composed by Vanessa Mae.)

SolusLunes responds:

Yeah, it's a small music store just down the road a little bit from where I live at the moment.

[Nocturne no 8 Adagietto mesto]

Awesome

I positively love this piece. It sounds to me like Chopin riffing off of the chorus from "Young At Heart." It works perfectly, though. Maginificent work.

[Startup Remix]

Ha!

This is brilliant! 'Nuff said. :)

SHADOWFOX2 responds:

Well thank you very much!

[Casted Life]

This grew on me

I had to listen to this twice before I appreciated how really amazing this piece was. I don't think I've heard anything quite like this before. It sounds like it belongs in a movie, in a montage scene where many people are coming together to accomplish some kind of great feat and ward off disaster, like building an enormous dam to save their city from a flood they know is going to destroy their way of life. One man starts by chopping wood, then he's joined by another. Slowly, people start appearing from everywhere to help. By the time the strings come in, people are literally filling the streets in a full-blown effort to save the city. I found it very stirring! Thank you for making this.

Bosa responds:

I love this story you've brought me today. Just reading your review here has cheered me up a little bit.

I can't really tell you what I had imagined when I made this. Either I can't remember, or I just didn't imagine at all. I believe I may have pictured a gatorade commercial or something, where the all star is making that winning touchdown that brings tears to people's eyes. I really don't know, to be honest.

But thanks for the review and everything, I do enjoy reading what you guys think.

[Zelda Theme (Thunder Orchestra]

Awesome

I love this strings-only rendition of the major Zelda themes! You say you used FL? The strings sound incredibly realistic at times for prepackaged FL samples. You did a tremendous job arranging this if that's true.

So, there's only two criticisms I have: (1) you use flanging and stereo flutter effects at points where it hurts the continuity of the song and adds comparatively little; (2) some of the transitions between themes are extremely jarring. If you fixed these two problems, this would merit a 10, easily.

[Apple Tree]

Good!

Musically, this song is really lovely. I love the sound of the guitar, the riff is memorable, and the harmonies sound great.

So why am I only giving this 7 stars? Two words: the lyrics. I fail to see exactly what the apple tree is supposed to be a metaphor for. The singer's overbearing parents? The part about God would make very little sense then. A codependent relationship? Then the part about waiting for the tree to pass away would make little sense (unless he's dating an 80-year-old woman).

Bottom line: I haven't a clue what you were trying to say with the lyrics here, and that's bad. You really should think your words through more carefully next time.

monkeycat responds:

I strongly disagree, there are many songs that make no sense. When a poet or a song writer writes a song we aren't always trying to communicate something to someone else, we are trying to get something off our chest that isn't always easy to put into words.

Thats not the case however with this song. It makes perfect sense if you know your literature. The Tree is a Metaphor for the "Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil" which is found in the account of Adam and Eve. Traditionally painters have portrayed this tree as being an apple tree even though the type of tree was never specified. In any case we all have a side of our nature which works to bring us down and this part of us can be traced back to that tree.

The reference to God hanging on the apple tree is Christ dying on the Cross and paying the price for our fallen nature. I didn't want the song to be blatently religious which is why its a bit obscure.

That is what the tree stands for. I hope it makes sense now...

K

[~Silver Memory~ -hania]

Awesome!

Wow, that was fantastic! I'd love to take a crack at adding in orchestration. I'll let you know if I try a remix. :)

[Highland Dream, Celteach Grá]

Very good!

Aside from the fact that this is a nice melody and very well-orchestrated, your instruments sound fantastic. My only complaint is that you overuse portamentos during the first half of the song. To sound authentic, you should really only be pitch-shifting the last one or two notes in a phrase. It makes it sound almost more Middle Eastern than Celtic when every note in a phrase uses a pitch bend. Other than that, though, I can think of nothing else to improve upon. Fantastic job!

Bosa responds:

To be honest, this was actually a portamento experiment. Sorry if I disappointed anybody.

[City of Illusions]

Good job

This is a pretty neat piece, though it does seem to meander pointlessly at times. I really like your piano sample, but your violin sample drives me up the wall--it sounds like there's a fly in my ear, more than it sounds like someone playing an actual stringed instrument. Overall, good work.

[Death of a Ranger]

Sorry

I kind of laughed too, honestly--the title is just funny in juxtaposition to the actual music. It makes me think of a dead power ranger, and combined with the extremely serious, sad music, I just have to giggle.

Musically, though, this piece is well-produced and pretty. It's not the most original thing I've heard by any stretch, but I'd say it deserves a solid 8/10.

TheCrazyPianist responds:

The last reply was a joke. Do you think anybody who would make a sad version of power rangers wouldn't have a sense of humor? I mean really.