Burn7's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Metal Up Your Ass]

Shit yeah. I love hearing metal tracks by people who say they rarely do metal because it always turns out to be very unique with their own tones and voices in there. Don't know why but I just couldn't help but get Bowser's Castle out of the portions when those twin leads played off one another. Actually all of the harmony bits were crisp yet slinky which is just what you want to hear in a track like this. The playing was consistent enough I was wondering for just a brief bit if these were VST guitars but NOPE, just really damn in-time. The 3/4 changeup at the end was really damn good as well. Drums were versatile and kept solid pacing throughout the whole thing, for someone who doesn't write metal very often I'd be sad if you didn't more often in the future after this :]

TeffyD responds:

thank you i appreciate your comment!

[Summertime Memories]

Bruh you have a fantastic voice. Would recommend placing your vocals more into the forefront of the mix, your voice is definitely strong enough to carry the track forward. There were goosebump moments in there when the choral parts came in and during the buildup at 2:00. You should definitely be more confident with what you've got.

Hope ya make it to the next round with this!

Curruff responds:

Thanks for the reassurance! I guess it's just easier to see from the outside.

[Ultimate Battle-Metal Remix!]

Fucking excellent.

As a fellow DB fan I am so happy you spent the time doing this. It really sounds great, incredibly true to the original while still having your unique voice in it.

Metaljonus responds:

Thanks!

[Till Death-Dark lofi]

My man.

Yes.

I'm absolutely in love with the vibes of this shit. I keep trying to fit guitar over major keyed lo-fi and it just sounds like obnoxious pop-punk. But you really nailed making lofi not just minor key dark but even darker with some of those switches. It sounds like grunge mixing but with black metal backing, and that high trem is such a great addition. That was genius.

If you're down we should collab on something like this. I swear there's something to adding some of the somber, punky or riffy tones into something so chill as lofi.

Metaljonus responds:

I'm sorry for the late reply bro! This was a challenge for sure. I'm going to keep experimenting with the sound just because it's so different and fun to try. I would be down for a collab! I'm working on a synthwave EP and some music for my band. I am getting together up here in Seattle. I'll shoot some ideas when I come up with something! <3

[Need some study music?]

It's both easier and harder to write this stuff than you'd think. But once you get the formula down you can really just pump it out.

This is dope for a first try, got that kinda detuned vibe plus the chill beat. I think that's all most people are looking for. 8-bit section was fun but the strummy guitar at the end is absolutely perfect, 10/10 chillness.

Also, is that a bitcrushed/downsampled rain sound constantly in the background? Cause if so that's genius.

Although I do think the string pads at the beginning are a bit overpowering. They do add to the detuned vibe but it's a bit loud? Idk, the rest of it is great though. I would challenge you to try and mix metal and lofi if you can find the time. I'd be interested to see what you come up with :]

And yeah man! I am surprised there's no lofi section with how popular it's become.

Metaljonus responds:

It's a conflicting process for sure lol I'm just going to keep practicing and writing and see what happens. Now, lofi metal is a fucking challenge! How do you take two things that are the polar opposites and make them flow? I'm up for the challenge but doubt I could write anything good lol. I'd want to tremolo pick over the beat with some black metal vibes instead lol.

Hopefully, they make a lofi section. It would be easier to select when uploading. Thanks so much for listening and feedback my homie! <3

[Gates of Heaven]

This is pretty solid, you got me diggin' on this for a good while.

It's very, erhm... simple. And I do mean that as a compliment, some 'minimal' tracks just can't hit that balance of groove you have goin' on here. The section from 1:16-2:08 was by far my favorite, super solid piano lines.

I do think the typical ass lead synth could use a bit more modulation/vibrato action and the 'wubs' could use just like... a bit of something. Harmonic resonance with the background more? If you're using serum like everyone else, try binding the blend to a macro and automating that line a touch. Or maybe oscillate the finetuning a bit, idk.

I mean, solid overall though. Would recommend.

FlickVendor responds:

thanks for the advice

[Creatures of the deep]

"Oh fuck,"
- Me, at 0:44 when that bass starts up

This reminds me of some Lisa tracks. Really digging this quite a bit. I've also never heard anyone use that "farty synthbass" tone at 1:28 so kudos there.

The note choices starting at like 2:00 start to... creep me out a little bit? Like I'm not sure if that's the intended effect or not but with a lot of those sustain synths it almost starts to feel kind of uncomfortable-ish? Not in a bad way, just in a... Subverting the vibe kind of way.

But then it picks up at 2:41 and just kicks back and chills from then on. This is not the kind of thing I'd normally listen to but I'm damn glad I did. Solid as hell.

RealMrSnuggles responds:

Thanks a lot for the review. It's supposed to feel like you are facing a creature from the deep, that's part of the reason for the note choices ;)

[Vibe 2 This]

Wow real feel vibes in this piece. There's a lot going on. "Frantic but controlled", which is I think what makes the best metal imo.

I agree with Roguetoad, the low end is certainly a biiitch to try and put together for metal. Something weird going on with the basstone when the snare hits. Like maybe they're stepping on each other a little bit? I'm not sure, I really shouldn't be trying to give mixing advice. I couldn't mix a fucking cake.

Either way this is pretty rad.

Metaljonus responds:

Thanks, dude. I guess the way I can describe is taking a hit of acid and when it starts to hit you go through that woahhhhhhh point and then you have a nice trip hahaha. And yeah, I gotta go back and see where the frequencies lie with the bass and drums and cut them fuckers to create more space. And or go through the ambient parts to see if there is any unnecessary low end. Still a work in progress mix wise but I wanna share this either way. :D Thanks for listenin homie!

[Full Force!!]

Oh shit mate, this absolutely rocks. The synth lead is really, REALLY well placed. The whole thing is just so... well supported and composed. I especially like your 2:40 transition, that added quite a bit to the continuation of the vibe. I also always love your use of accidentals, it's always additive and never distracting.

Solid work, dude!

DanJohansen responds:

Appreciate the awesome review man! Went a lot back and forth with the EQ to get the synth to pop just I wanted it to. Rock on!

[The Dead Brown Fox]

Hey, this is pretty sweet! I really dig the high-toned lead overtop the driving rhythm bits.

Here's a cool little trick you can try if you're using that Odin II thing: Normally with rhythm guitars in metal tracks, standard mixing practice is to double-track it and hard pan it to either side (So you have one recording playing in only the left channel and another in only the right one).

That's hard to pull off with a VST plugin for a couple reasons. Mostly because every note will typically play one of a few different samples. If the Left channel and Right channel ended up playing the same sample note at the same time, it ruins the stereo image and becomes mono.

To circumvent this with a guitar plugin, simply increase one side's midi notation by +1 semitone, then in your chain (before the amp FX), add in a pitch shifter (Preferrably something with both pitch and tamber/formant adjustment) and decrease the pitch back where it's supposed to be. So it'd look like:

[Midi Note (+1)] -> [Guitar VST] -> [Pitchshift (-1)] -> [Amp FX] -> [EQ/Comp/etc]

The logic behind this is, because it's just a series of samples being played, if the guitar VST is playing the samples from one note higher, they will never intertwine/overlap and drop things to mono when you're panning.

Also, go check out some free OTT plugins for your drums. OTT compression is just nuckin' futs and I guarantee you'll enjoy using it on your drums if you play with the settings a little bit. Xfer Records has one that's free, just search for Xfer OTT Plugin.

joe-4-kerr responds:

Thanks for the tip, but in fact Odin 2 uses panned guitars, and I shift panning myself a bit as I like a less linear sound, so instruments don't intersect in space (at least that's how I feel it should be played). When asked Maxeme directly, he said that there's no need in second track if you just select panned playing - should do all for yourself (but again maybe I didn't figure how it works, or my panning shift makes it less apparent - you tell me in DM when you try the plugin :-) )

I'll check OTT when I'll get back to writing my next track (decided to make a cover this time to experiment with genres - will be black metal).