Score: 8

"Not bad"

submission: Back Alive (Re-recorded)

date: November 19, 2009

I think that the vocals needed more emphasis here, if I'm totally honest with you - it sounds like you're singing in a cave, so perhaps even up the bass on the vocals there, so that there's more projection. The music is good, perticularly the lead guitar. The rhythm isn't bad, but considering adding a bass player would be a great addition to the band and the piece.

I think that the lyrics are well written and the close harmony that you get going at the start is good - how many voices are there singing there? I think that the lead guitar and the drums should both have a solo and take this piece to the next level.

[Review Request Club]

Score: 8

"Borderline Industrial"

submission: Brittle Nature (WIP)

date: November 19, 2009

I really could think of this piece as Industrial, if the beat was anything to go by. Perhaps some sort of amalgamation of Legend of Zelda and Metal Slug, where the industrial sounds just seem so mixed with a video game that it can't be the medieval setting of Zelda any more.

I think that you've certainly got a lot going for this track - it loops pretty well and has a nice perpetuation, so it continues to roll along nicely, though I couldn't listen to it all day, which is a shame. Perhaps more variation would combat that. Something like a darker, more menacing sound than the 8-bit keyboards, perhaps? At least in a solo or somewhere, so that you can break it up and get the flavour of the piece across.

[Review Request Club]

Score: 9

"What's the difference?"

submission: HouseTrance [Box-Killa]

date: November 19, 2009

A great blend of the two, despite the fact that I'm still oblivious to the difference between the two styles here. I think that you've got some real talent for these genres and with three phases that you subtly change to, with the rewind and the fade out / fade in, it all seems to come together nicely.

I think that you've got a great sense of being able to convey difference pieces within a piece here and I'd suggest for the main part that you give us two or even three different pieces as expansions of the samples that you've got in here. If I could hear each piece that sounds like it belongs in a song of its own on its own, you'd be onto even more of a winner here, I feel.

[Review Request Club]

Score: 3

"Get a new mic"

submission: Test 4 Tayler

date: November 19, 2009

I think that the best piece of advice I can give you is to get a new microphone - the quality of the recording was shocking and if you're using audacity, you need to spend some time getting the equalisation sorted, so that there is less background sound coming through, giving you a chance to show off your own voice.

If you're going to do a totally vocal piece like this, please put the lyrics in your comments - I couldn't understand much of the piece, so with that taken into account, I'm inevitably going to mark it down. Have a look at the rest of the Audio Portal and see if you could find a good piece of DnB or RnB that you could use as a backing track. This would suddenly give you a beat to perform to and it would remove tempo issues - sometimes you gabble, others you go relatively slowly, so practice makes perfect.

[Review Request Club]

Score: 9

"Nice improvements"

submission: Aleos (Take2)

date: November 15, 2009

I think that the ambience of this piece has improved dramatically with the new version - you've got a sinister and scary overtone, but in combination with that, you've got a great way of showing that there is something else at work as well.

The atmosphere starts off dark, with the bell tolling and it only gets better, with the way that there seems to be more background depth to the track, not really allowing the piano to take the entire dominance of the track and giving something that sounds as if it should be within a crypt or graveyard - kind of like the smoke or fog, that seems to give off a haunted ambience in old church yards.

The subtleties of the cymbals in the background have not gone unnoticed and these sort of things just add more depth and dimensions to the track, especially in combination with the strings, that have improved nicely, since the first track.

I think that it loops pretty well, which is a very good thing, judging by the ambience of the piece all together. Please show us more of what you're capable of!

[Review Request Club]

Score: 9

"Could probably use some vocals"

submission: Darkness in You

date: November 15, 2009

A great track that has a really nice driving beat and a good melody. I think that it can get a little repetitive, a fact that would be neatly disguised by the addition of vocals, no doubt!

I think that this advice should not be taken as gospel, as the sound that is produced is of such good quality that it is only slightly taken away from by looping it. The way that it repeats ad infinitum could be an issue, but that's more to do with the fact that there isn't really much variation, save for the one solo that I can pick up in there. Perhaps a change of tack, with having a higher pitched solo or bridge would certainly make a big shift for you and the track.

[Review Request Club]

Score: 8

"Good ambience"

submission: The Ancient Ones

date: November 15, 2009

A very nice, calm, soothing piece, that gets the listener into a nice tranquil environment, presenting images that remind me of tranquil lagoons and a nice smooth flowing river basin that has small animals residing on the bank, without a care in the world.

I think that this is the sort of piece that games developers might use as the end credits roll. Not that it would be solely reserved for this sort of use, as there are bound to be scenes in movies, possibly as people get transported by river or by air to one destination or another. Of course, I'm only being speculative.

As I said in my review for your darker, flip-side piece, you could do with making this shorter and looping it, as this will give people that use it a much better chance to make it usable for their own requirements.

[Review Request Club]

Score: 9

"Dark and mysterious"

submission: Demon Voices

date: November 15, 2009

It's a nice sounding ambient track that gives us an impression of dread and perhaps a little foreboding. I can certainly see this piece having an effect if it were being used in games or movie pieces that had the requirement for larger than life fear.

The main issue with this is the length - you need to cut it down to size if you're hoping to get a more effective piece here. At 7.1 meg, it's going to put off prospective users who may have considered that for their pieces. If you made a slightly more condensed version, say to about half the length and made it loop better, you'd certainly be onto a winner.

[Review Request Club]

Score: 9

"Tested by small children."

submission: [:Beyond Your Mind:]

date: November 15, 2009

Well, as I put this on to play, my niece's face just lit up and she enjoyed dancing to it, so there's a thumbs up from the under 1's category. Personally, I felt that it wasn't too bad a track, having a slight downfall with the notes reaching the top of the scales in the intro and it causes a bit of static feedback, which is a shame.

I think that you've got a good sounding buildup to the techno part of the track - the beat was a little weak for D&B, so that could do with upgrading - possibly the addition of a bass solo would assist with this.

[Review Request Club]

Score: 8

"Not really rock"

submission: [Dr.S] Keep On Movin'

date: November 15, 2009

It's a good sounding piece, but I'm not sure that I'd class it as part of the Rock genre. You've got a good use of the synthesisers and the guitars don't really seem 'rock' enough for me.

I like the drum beat, it's got a good pace and the bass guitar seems a little drowned out with the rest of the track. If you gave that more power and then put the guitar in for a powerful solo, before you made that sound too synthesised, it would sound a lot better of a track.

[Review Request Club]