Score: 8

"Hmm... trippy!"

submission: Helium

date: November 24, 2009

I could definitely see this working for one of those neo-retro-style arcade games or just as a kind of chill-out music.

It's nice, well composed, and I usually don't like this kind of lounge-y trance music (or D'n'B as you categorized it). Although it does end abruptly... it left me wanting more - maybe a little variation and repeating the main theme again could help round out the composition and make it feel more complete.

Other than that, I like it a lot. The voice sample is really cool as well -- it is really contrasting with the style of the rest of the song yet somehow it they just fit together perfectly.

Score: 5

"Pretty good..."

submission: Rock Bond Theme

date: August 27, 2009

...but it would be so much better if you had a better recording setup.

This just sounds like a bunch of distorted noise - you need to work on your audio levels. Listen to other rock songs - the instruments really shouldn't be competing with each other.

Score: 4

"Eh..."

submission: Nothing But The Blues with vox

date: August 25, 2009

Kinda surprised this is "NewGrounds Audio Portal's Best Ever" track. I don't hold out much hope for the rest of the music here...

It's pretty poor quality, though, and really needs a more talented singer. The rest of the music is decent, but not a patch on other blues music that has been produced.

Not to mention, the piano sounds like shit. It needs to be louder, less jazzy, and more bluesy. It sounds like a freaking honky-tonk. To be 'from the soul' it needs to be a full grand piano!

The recording quality sucks and I don't think I'll be listening to this song again any time soon. At least it stands out from the techno and dance music on NewGrounds, but this definitely isn't "Best Track Ever" quality.

Score: 10

"So cool"

submission: Super Mario Land (Punk Cover)

date: August 20, 2009

Now do one of the underworld theme, because that's always been my favourite Mario BGM =D

Nice track - 10/10 & 5/5

Score: 10

"Oh snap!"

submission: out of ink

date: August 1, 2009

Now this is a fun and exciting tune!

Best of luck in the contest... not that you really need it because this piece is awesome!

Score: 8

"But where's the storm? lol"

submission: Waiting for the Storm to Pass

date: August 1, 2009

Sounds pretty damn nice. Are you sure you're new to this?

You have some pretty interesting chord progressions in there - very odd and unusual, but very refreshing.

I love the repeat of the theme that you introduced at the beginning of the piece. But... it needs to be longer. You can surely come up with some more variations and other themes, right? At the moment, it stands to be a very short ritornello (Theme A, Theme B, Theme A). I'd love to see at least another minute tacked on to this - you could easily add another two minutes if you repeated the main theme again.

You don't even seem to have much parallel motion, which is a good thing.

The bass line is pretty simple, and if you expand on the theme you might want to hand the main theme over to the left hand and let the right hand play a countermelody.

Other than that, your themes are fun and interesting, your use of oblique motion is excellent, and your chord progression fresh and exciting. This song is energetic and I look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

4/5 & 8/10

Score: 10

"Awesomesauce!"

submission: +BT+ The Paladins Ride

date: June 10, 2009

The beginning was a very nice medieval sounding piece, then it blended fairly nicely into a film score-esque piece, whilst keeping the medieval drum beat. And then it goes back to the medieval sound. Awesome!

Now, to avoid spoiling too much for the reader, I will just say that the piano and strings at the end sound absolutely brilliant... partly because of the theme, and partly because they sound nice. I'm not too sure about the last four notes played on the piano at the very end, because the pianos and strings ended on the tonic, and the piano seems to end on the subdominant (IV) which makes for a weaker ending.

Other than that, I think it's... well... awesome!

Score: 9

"Good themes -"

submission: DancE3 <Seth>

date: May 25, 2009

You have some very nice dance themes in there, and I think I'd like to see some of them expanded into separate songs.

As for the whole 'hard to follow' thing? I kind of agree with that: you managed to make a very nice sounding fusion of different themes, which is impressive and hard to do (I've tried to use drastically different themes in the same song... needless to say, they haven't turned out very well).

Score: 9

"Nice and Video Game-y"

submission: Team of 3 demo

date: May 14, 2009

It has a pretty nice feel to it, almost like a march.

I love just about everything in the minor mode, but it definitely cuts off too early. (Keep it going longer - develop it more, bring back the chorus and the theme in strings, double the theme up in octaves and bring the piece to a real close with a cadence!)

4/5 & 9/10

Score: 3

"Sorry but..."

submission: Cheerful Celebration

date: April 22, 2009

...when I heard the first two chords, I was nervous. When I heard the third and fourth chords, I was worried (I was really hoping that the fourth chord was going to resolve very nicely down a 2nd). When I heard "Chopsticks on Steroids," I was scared. And after that... well it was hard to get any worse than chopsticks.

I don't get it: how it was cheerful? I mean, I was happy when it ended...

It was a shame, really, because with the first four chords on their own, I really thought it had potential; as if the fourth chord was going to resolve downwards and then the piece was going to evolve into a very romantic piece with impressive chord progressions using a simple arpeggiated chord in the bass.