Assassin2's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[~{The Palace of Halassar}~]

Very cool.

I like this, eastern music is always refreshing. Flows nicely in this case too, you might be thinking surely I'm not serious about liking eastern music, I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.

VGSongbird responds:

Lolz! YAY! Points for "Airplane!" reference.

And I like eastern music too! I was hoping to really capture that style, and I still have a long way to go to get even close. But I'm glad you liked it ^_^

[Wishing Star]

I love this.

"it's a ... sloop" - For a small wooden ship, it gets the job done as far as floating goes. If it could sail into the wind, you'd have it spot on, maybe it can I dunno.

The melodic aspect of it, (btw I laughed at the key change, wasn't expecting it, nice timing) makes for a great friendly, kids and christmas feeling. Some of the sounds don't, particularly the drums giving it some different energy. I would friggen love to hear this with an orchestra, and plays at a slower tempo, it would make for a good movie theme. Tell you what, I'll make a movie* if you remake this using an orchestra. and use your voice for the harmonising and chords or whatever you want.

*Movie may be in the form of interpretive dance and go for under a minute.

VGSongbird responds:

lolz. I know, right? I had no idea "Sloop" was an actual word, and now I just feel ridiculous!

And I love your reviews, btw. They're thought out and make me giggle most of the time ^_^ Thanks for all your support. I love it!

[|Baldur's Gate: Town Square|]

Dancepression

I would appreciate being pointed in the direction of the original, since I haven't heard it. From what I get from this, the start and ending are really appropriate to the story, but overall I don't feel sad, I just want to dance.. Does that make me cynical? I like the piano, I hope you have some piano pieces somewhere. One way to find out.

VGSongbird responds:

Lolz
I do have some strict Piano/Vocal originals, that I just haven't had the balls to put up for review yet. Maybe I will in a while.
Thanks for listening again!

[*Hymn of Fayth*]

Awesome bananas.

S'cuse the french but this is fu#%ing brilliant.

VGSongbird responds:

Merci Beaucoup ^_^

[Lilium arr. Piano and Cello]

High

I don't like the song myself, though I've not heard the original. I just don't like the pace of it, it seems like it should be more aggressive. Make more stuff though.

Dude09 responds:

Thanks for the high rating though. There's a flash called "Lilium" in the Noir category (that or Goth) with the original song. It's the theme of an anime called Elfen Lied. Thanks again.

[Mad World -Cayler]

Personal Favourite.

Always glad to hear your stuff. I really like the original and Jule's version even more so. Your version was pretty good but there was something in your voice that made it not as good as Jule's. I think it's how you articulate your words, was similar with your Hallelujah cover. Still really awesome, and where would one find your songs not on NG?

Cayler responds:

There are several different places where my music can be heard which can be found in my journal entry. But the one that I keep updated the most is myspace.com/kaybocorp

[Anxiety Cure - Club (A->N)]

Not bad.

Checked the original on myspace, I kinda like it more, REALLY liked These Walls too, ought to be in a film soundtrack. When I get the chance I'll have to check out these releases of yours.
Take it easy.

ApproachingNirvana responds:

Thanks again for stopping by Assassin. This song was an effort to do something very different with our original. It worked but some people may prefer one over the other.

Our new EP (Sounds of Summer) is out July 1 and it includes These Walls, Break Away (another song featuring Lira and in the same general style), Welcome to the Party (The song on our widget), and many others in the same vein. We really like the EP and will be really happy once it's live on all the digital distribution sites. You can actually preview the songs on Amazon.com if you'd like, but they won't be fully available until the release date.

As for more stuff, we're having a full 17 song orchestral album releasing mid-July and it should be available for only $10, so it's a pretty good deal :D:D. Hehe, we'll be putting some stuff up on our myspace soon to prepare for that launch, but judging by which songs of ours you've been interested in, you should definitely check out because we think you'll like it!

Anyways, enough shameless self-promotion. We'll be updating newgrounds every now and then to give something back to the community and as we transfer over to doing music full time, expect more frequent updates.

Great to hear from you!

Thanks again.

[[KgZ} Jazzman (Song) ~SMB~]

This kicks ass.

I had to comment. This is the funkiest thing ever. Very refreshingly cool and tasty.

[Breaking Influence EP (A->N)]

Hehe.

Listening to this makes me realize how much I don't like the vocal treatment. It's almost the equivalent of using Microsoft Sam, it hasn't got any soul. I'd rather hear god awful singing than this electronic voice box. I honestly think (especially after hearing the last 20 odd seconds) that your music would just explode with a better sound if you didn't have the vocoding.
If you have anything like it lemmi know I'd love to hear.

ApproachingNirvana responds:

Hey Assassin! Thanks again for stopping by here. As we've mentioned before we're looking to phase out the autotune as we get better. At the time when we wrote these songs, we honestly weren't that great at singing so we sort of relied on the autotune.

Fast forward to now and Sam and I are looking at more complete, more powerful music with better vocals. The next EP (due out July 1st) is just that. It's WAY more professionally mixed, the music is more explosive and a lot more catchy, and the songs are just overall better.

That being said, we still like these songs and are planning to do FULL remakes of a couple of the songs. This will include better vocals (ie - not autotune, etc), better mixing, and better mastering.

You will be excited to know, however, that we just finished wrapping up the orchestral album. It's titled Cinematic Soundscapes Vol. 1 and includes Wrecked by Deja Vu, The Heist, From the Foreshadows, along with 14 other original orchestral compositions (some of which you may recognize from SinJim's compositions).

We are really, REALLY proud of this album and it will be a stark contrast to the current stuff we have on myspace. It's ALL instrumental and it sort of tells a story in and of itself. We're submitting it to digital distribution retailers this week and all 17 songs should be available for about $10 - a good deal if you ask us :).

Anyways, we'll definitely keep you updated! Like I mentioned in our other response, check out our widget on Myspace. Although you may not like the style, we're looking for help to win over that record deal. Also, that record deal means we get to quit our jobs and do this full time - ultimately reflecting better quality music and more music for you guys!

Thanks again so much!

[Waterfall - NG EDIT (A->N)]

Stuck in the middle.

I don't know what to think of your music. It doesn't have obvious hooks, and it's flow isn't basic for dance. I kinda liked it most when it got a phat beat, and the piano. I think it might be your minimal lyrics that make it (to me at least) be this sound that I don't want to dance to and doesn't get stuck in my head. I don't think I could be any less constructive.
I guess if I could offer any opinion it would be to be more objective with the overall sound for each song. Make it all about the killer beat, make it about the story in the killer lyrics, make it about catchy hooks and sounds that get drilled into your skull; rather than having a small bit of everything.
Always keen to hear the next.

ApproachingNirvana responds:

Thanks for the review Assassin! It's always good to see you drop by. This song was made as a NGs exclusive and this version will always stay that way. That being said, your comments are well taken and noted for the final version of the song.

As it currently stands, the structure of the song is closer to an extended intro than anything else. It's pretty good in its own right, but it doesn't feel like a complete song. So I can agree with you on that.

Hopefully you'll see that our vocals are improving! Comparing this song to our album (the preview you commented on), you can tell a pretty large difference. That's one of the areas we've received the most criticism and that we're trying to improve the most everytime.

Drop by our Myspace for some new tracks! We're also in the running for a Record deal so help us out if you can!!

Thanks again for checking the song out!