thatbennyguy's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Scorched Hair and Burnt Guitar]

Deadpan lo-fi beautifulness.

Hey ryanson,

--Production--
Contrary to popular opinion, you don't need a new mic, nor a metronome. I absolutely love the lo-fi mixing and your off-beat lyrics are quirky and beautiful. I agree you can't hit the note at the end, but I'd reckon taking the double voice off and try to do a harmony :) The mixing of the background at 3:00 is amazing.

--Experience--
It's a great journey from the 'subpar' drudgery to an all-out singfest at the end. The repetitive guitar strum is a staple for the song, and holds it all together beautifully. You should make it into a medley.

--Style--
The style of your singing is separate and different and new. It's got a special quality to it, that doesn't necessarily need the perfect pitch. I mean, let's face it, most indie bands don't have that great vocalists anyway. They just have vocalists who have soul and relatability. You have.

--Wow Factor--
I wasn't wowed at first, but I like the intimacy of just the mere guitar and your voice. I would recommend putting drums to it near the end to up the intensity, but apart from that, it's most interesting from start to finish.

--Personal Tilt--
I like it. It's quite deadpan and almost emo, but it's got a happy feeling about it too. There's a rainbow on the horizon, where joy lies :) Just strive for your best and try the truth. Thanks for letting me listen.

--Production-- = 18/20
--Experience-- = 17/20
--Style-- = 16/20
--Wow Factor-- = 15/20
--Personal Tilt-- = 15/20

OVERALL SCORE: 81/100

Benjamin

--REVIEW REQUEST CLUB--

Ryanson responds:

Thanks again for the review!

I don't know whether to laugh at the title. "Deadpan" lol. I'll take what I can get

I would totally use drums if I had them.

Man, I'm so scared. I want you to review my original content as opposed to my covers. Idk what you'd say though haha.

[[dj-Jo] Metal Coat]

Yeah that's the machine gun man!

Hey dj-Jo,

--Production--
Mostly fabulous. The drums were crisp and clean, the synths light and moving. The bass was rocking. All was fine, except for the general noise accompanying every kick. I realise that this was a stylistic choice that you made, but for me, it could have been made more subtle, so that rather than dominating the music, it complements it.

--Experience--
I like that this song describes a person or character, and you do it quite well. The loud banging parts highlight his badass-ery, and the quiet synth parts are the moments before he "breaks the fourth wall", as you say. It's sorta like he's saying "And what you gonna do about it, huh?". That's what I gathered anyway, I hope it fits :)

--Style--
I like the style of dubstep employed. It wasn't just all tuneless bass, like some do. It had a nice progression with strings and different high synthesisers to lead up to the climax. It was very mechanical, much like his weaponry he is loaded to the brim with.

--Wow Factor--
Overall very surprising. This brings amazement with it, as soon as it pops after quiet parts. It's very satisfying and not disjointed at all. Everything flows nicely and you aren't left at any moment feeling "WTF?" It all flows beautifully.

--Personal Tilt--
I'm not a huge dubstep fan, but I liked this. This was very nice and bass-light for the genre, but without reducing the intensity. The drums were glitchy enough to keep things interesting, but not hog the spotlight. Overall, I would say job well done. Thanks for letting me listen.

--Production-- = 16/20
--Experience-- = 16/20
--Style-- = 16/20
--Wow Factor-- = 17/20
--Personal Tilt-- = 16/20

OVERALL SCORE: 81/100

Benjamin

--REVIEW REQUEST CLUB--

dj-Jo responds:

WOW!

Thanks for the incredible amount of feed back and criticism!

It's always welcome :D

[Heaven's Cries]

Favourably produced, but noisy and disjointed

Hey kirbyfemur,

--Production--
I'm not sure quite what to say about this one. It's very noisy, with lots of "industrial" type noises, especially in the first minute-and-a-quarter leading into the main portion of the song. I would say at about 2:30 the glitchy voices end, and that's where I started to get into the groove. That's about 2/3rds way which is a little late for a song, to say the least. I would improve on the uptake a bit.

--Experience--
The glitched choral voices and the mechanical shunts are experimental, but a little unsettling. It's very hard to try and be moved by this vibe of music, for me. Transitions could also be worked upon to bring that sort of "journeying" feel, as if the song is going somewhere.

--Style--
This is noisy, industrial music. Most of it is focusing on the production of the songs and clanging of the beat rather than the melodic and harmonic components of the song. I would say that the style that you employ after 2:30 is better, simply because of the lack of excessive noise.

--Wow Factor--
There is that wow factor induced by the amazing skills of production, and the experimental nature of the song. But looking beyond that there is no real surprise as the song goes on, it kind of drones on in the end, until you're wondering when it will end.

--Personal Tilt--
I wasn't favourably disposed towards this song, mainly because I was trying to find its purpose. The two disjointed portions of the song didn't really flow. It's really important to unify two themes in the song if you're going to travel someplace with it. I thank you for letting me listen though, and I hope you find this feedback useful. Thanks.

--Production-- = 14/20
--Experience-- = 9/20
--Style-- = 10/20
--Wow Factor-- = 10/20
--Personal Tilt-- = 9/20

OVERALL SCORE: 52/100

Benjamin

--REVIEW REQUEST CLUB--

Kirbyfemur responds:

Well i'm glad i seem to be doing really good on producing the songs lol I'm sorry that you haven't really liked my last couple songs though. But i like it, and it's the weirdness and chaos that i love about it, but your opinion has been taken and i will try to incorporate some of the things that you have talked about in the future :3

[|Brainwaves|]

Dancey!

Hey RetromanOMG,

--Production--
The production is bassy yet eerie at the same time. There is a lot of low frequencies in the beginning, which are then pierced by higher ones. Things don't change quickly, they rather fade in slowly or are introduced after a long interlude.

--Experience--
This felt beautifully assembled in terms of introducing elements, but some notes felt out of place and weird to hear. You've got production almost down pat, but there needs to be more coherence of chords in order for it to make a more pleasant listen.

--Style--
It's a nice style. I don't remember hearing any one of Deadmau5's songs, but if this is anything like what he makes, then I must have a listen. Your sense of direction for the song drifts along with the moods of the listener. Before you know it, you're 3 minutes thru the song, not waiting for it to end.

--Wow Factor--
It certainly has that feel of polish that warrants a "wow" from the listener. The minor irks in composition are belittled by the beautiful production and exquisite timing of events. Dancey!

--Personal Tilt--
This is a nice song in a genre you can make very well. I would call this progressive dance music, which is a very broad genre, but there is definitely market for this. Thanks for letting me listen to your very cool song.

--Production-- = 18/20
--Experience-- = 15/20
--Style-- = 17/20
--Wow Factor-- = 16/20
--Personal Tilt-- = 15/20

OVERALL SCORE: 81/100

Benjamin

--REVIEW REQUEST CLUB--

[Tricity -GST Mix-]

Happy feel-good stuff

Hey DJ-gst,

--Production--
Very well made and sidechained, this song has a definite polish to it. As you listen, it feels crisp and clear, if not a little dry. I found the guitar wasn't fitting in place for some reason - maybe too much bass, too much reverb, or just too much slap on the strings.

--Experience--
The experience is a happy and hardcore one, reminiscent of the genre that does not originate in the place you live but people enjoy it a lot anyway. Like EpicFail said, this would be great if played live in your local neighborhood or whatever.

--Style--
Happy and free, this song releases all care to the wind and just hurtles along. It's a good remix by another NG artist, who approves of it wholeheartedly ;). The repeated synth has an emotional feeling about it that made the original song good, and makes this one even better.

--Wow Factor--
There was certainly a feel of great production and amazing quality from the beginning, which sort of deteriorated when the strange reeverbing guitar came in. But you could still tell that this was made very nicely and it had a little of the Wow! factor in there.

--Personal Tilt--
I like the production and the beat. The synth melody can get a little repetitive, hence people rating it down a little, but the reason people like this so much is because of its professionalism and feel-good attitude. Two things we need more of in the audio portal. Thanks for letting me listen.

--Production-- = 18/20
--Experience-- = 15/20
--Style-- = 17/20
--Wow Factor-- = 16/20
--Personal Tilt-- = 16/20

OVERALL SCORE: 82/100

Benjamin

--REVIEW REQUEST CLUB--

Dj-GST responds:

Production-

Thanks!

Yeah, I may have put too much delay on the guitar. For the bass part of it, I tried compressing it a bit but it didn't work too well I guess.

Experience-

Thanks man. Maybe when I move to a big city I can play it, but UK Hardcore's not too popular in my small-ish town unfortunately.

Style-

Awesome!

Yeah, he's a good artist :D

Yeah, it does.

Wow Factor-

Yeah, a little too much delay on the guitar :P

Personal Tilt-

Thanks!

Yeah, it can.

I'm really happy to hear that it sounds so pro!

Haha yeah, there are some really generic and amateur sounding tracks on here :P

No problem man, thanks for reviewing :D

OVERALL SCORE: Awesome!

-GST-

[A Flask of Wind]

Fantastico

Hey masheenH3ad,

--Production--
This track is very calm and serene, then turning to all-out orchestra for epic effect. The guitar is clean and crisp, and sounds real, rather than VST. The Orchestra sounds very VST-ish, which is probably because of its near-zero attack and release times. It still sounds relatively appealing, however.

--Experience--
This is a nice journey through the mind. Through the serene parts to the very ambitious and happy moments. It feels like morning, noon and night, and its cycles. The beginning part would be waking up, then the orchestra would come at noon. 1:15 sounds very night-like, at least to me. It's a nice journey.

--Style--
This is very nice and different, as EpicFail says. Reminds me a bit of Birdinator99's submissions, the same quality in production etc. There is a certain dryness about your works that attracts listeners.

--Wow! Factor--
This is a well orchestrated piece complemented by fantastic guitar riffs. It's a well thought through ride of adventure that amazes me through every turn.

--Personal Tilt--
I enjoyed the piece, and your combination of Solo Guitar and Orchestra. I would suggest going along this same vein more often, maybe even adding quirky instruments: sitar, theremin, etc. I would love to hear that. Thanks for letting me listen.

--Production-- = 18/20
--Experience-- = 18/20
--Style-- = 18/20
--Wow! Factor-- = 16/20
--Personal Tilt-- = 17/20

OVERALL SCORE: 87/100

Benjamin

--REVIEW REQUEST CLUB--

masheenH3ad responds:

Many Thanks thatbennyguy!

I always appreciate intricate reviews such as this. It never fails to inform me on what part is needed to work on to improve my work.

Thank You Very Much!

[dead mans catheter]

Pretty hard.

Hey horsebugger,

--Production--
The quality of the guitars is pretty sound. I'd like to hear some crispness from the rhythm guitar, but most of the composition is spot on. There's points where timing is off, esp. about 1:30, which will need fixing.

--Experience--
It's all guns blazing from the very begin, so there's not much sense of a journey of purposeful going-anywhere. I didn't like the part 2:15-ish, which just sounded like random noise, and detracted from the melody.

--Innovativity--
It's different and special, but I would like to hear some sort of recurring riff in there to distinguish this song from all the other heavy metal songs. It could have been the 2:15-ish and 3:20-ish (again) part, but that is tough, noisy, and drones on longer than it should.

--Wow! Factor--
It's very good (your guitar skills) but I have to say a lot of it is very uninteresting except for the final organ about 4:15 to end it. I would have liked to hear some of those parts with a light guitar over it between the loud parts.

--Personal Tilt--
I'm not a big fan of heavy metal, so I'm not sure if they prefer everything stay the same intensity, or whether there should be quiet parts too. Because in my mind the song should take you on a journey somewhere, and it needs to go over its hills and valleys to get there, if you know what I mean. Thanks for letting me listen.

--Production-- = 16/20
--Experience-- = 15/20
--Innovativity-- = 16/20
--Wow! Factor-- = 14/20
--Personal Tilt-- = 14/20

OVERALL SCORE: 75/100

Benjamin

--REVIEW REQUEST CLUB--

horsebugger responds:

thanks for the review.

i think the reason that it keepsthe intensity throughout is mainly due to the secong guitar holding the long chords over the rhythm, i think mabey taking that idea out may make the rhythm guitarmore solid, and provide a bit of a break.
as for the middle section where theres all the sliding going on, ive worked out a way that i can get both guitar parts covered on one guitar by using some delay, leaving the other free to mabey either solo or just provide some light melody over the top, and it will also mean that the section is more likely to keep in time which i think is the main reason it sound kinda noisy. hopefully i can get a reworked version done soon.

[~Alfa~ Muse (NG Mix)]

Amazing.

Hey aliaspharow,

--Production--
These earphones are <$5, which is intriguing. I would have listened to this out loud, but I'm in a public place at the moment, so I guess "I'm not really listening to it". Bull crap! I'm listening to an amazing piece of production that's beyond much of what is currently on the site. Something professional, brilliantly EQed, and uses sidechain to a dizzying effect. So I'm listenin' to it, baby, whether you like it or not! (but i know what you mean ;))

--Experience--
It's ethereal and beautiful. The mixture of pads and how things flow along is amazing. The kick is beautiful and succinct, the mood clear. I certainly have no complaints about the feel of the song. I guess my earphones must be really good at simulating low bass then ;)

--Innovativity--
This is a special and unique ride through the muse of pondering thoughts. The pace has brilliant transitions from slow to middling, middling to big, big to blazing hot, and then back to slow again.

--Wow! Factor--
It hits you as soon as the beginning lower synths start along with the glitchy drums that this thing is just gonna explode. Everything is thought through amazingly with the listener in mind.

--Personal Tilt--
I have little to no complaint. This is epic, amazing and beautifully surreal. I can already assume you're in the upper echelon of this site's prolific artists and have a ton of experience. Now teach me. Thanks for letting me listen.

--Production-- = 20/20
--Experience-- = 18/20
--Innovativity-- = 17/20
--Wow! Factor-- = 19/20
--Personal Tilt-- = 19/20

OVERALL SCORE: 93/100

Benjamin

--REVIEW REQUEST CLUB--

aliaspharow responds:

Wow! Massive review! Thanks man. Really appreciate it all.