3manonMusic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Frostbite-]

I will have to agree with aforesaid commentary, the general instrument quality is pretty low. That being said, I feel like the track goes along pretty incoherent. The parts on their own sound pretty good, but there's some grid errors and mistimed parts that lead to some pretty awkard stuff like 2:41, until it kinda sounds, quote on quote, like "a mess of chiptune, breakbeat, and orchestral".

Sorry if I started out on a bit of a negative side, lemme get to the positives! I think the atmosphere of racing VGM is definitely there, as it sounds like an old retro arcade racing game! And I can't really blame you for the low instrument quality of course, because having high quality orchestral stuff can get really expensive really quickly.

Production/composition: 6/10
Mix/master: 8/10
Relevance to the theme: 6.5/10

Creeperforce24 responds:

Well… if that’s the case I’ve been set in place, if the instrument quality is THAT low, then I’m thinking I should just quit the competition, cause it’s apparent no one wants to hear my shitty violin samples.

[Chocnoon x Carboluka - LAS AVENTURAS FLIPANTES DE JOAQUIN ALEJANDRO EL DRAGON AZUL (DCLXIX)]

As far as the theme goes, I don't really hear arctic in here I'm afraid. For racing? Sure I can definitely interpret that (especially with the literal racing samples in there lol)
I really like the drop starting at 1:29, reminds me so much of Ultimate Destruction haha.
For the rest I don't have a lot to say, it's a pretty solid, but safe song. I really like the break at 3:00, that's a little bit more arctic there. There's some notes in the bass there that are out of key tho, which is definitely unexpected from the average quality of you guys.
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Composition/production: 7/10
Mix/master: 7.5/10
Relevance to the theme: 6/10

[crispy x Solacitude - Boreal Speedway]

Really cool atmosphere, I'm impressed what you guys managed to achieve here in terms of theming. An issue I have with the mixing is that the entire low is pretty muddy in general, which especially is an issue in the intro. That speech is pretty cool, but kinda of sounds like an intro for some old hardstyle track, which I'm not sure you guys wanted to achieve there. Solacitude absolutely smacked it on the solo again, which doesn't seem to surprise anyone anymore at this point. I also like the saxophone solo, although that doesn't really shred through the mix unfortunately. Definitely would have liked it if that was a bit louder. Very well-done.
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Composition: 9.5
Mix/master: 8
Relevance to the theme: 8

crispybatteryacid responds:

Glad you enjoyed, and thanks for the feedback! There isn't a sax in there though lol, not sure what you're referring to on that front

[one80 & radon - Arctic Overdrive [NGMC 2025 Round 1]]

very interesting. quite oldschool with the chord stabs. I absolutely love the drop, I think that's pulled off very well. There's a lot of racing theme I can make up from this, although I am struggling to see how this could relate to an arctic or cold track. Except maybe the part from 1:42-2:07 which is quite heavy on the atmosphere. The second drop again absolutely SLAPS, very nice listen. The fact that it slams into the limiter is taking away some points, but somehow it doesn't sound that bothersome at all except for some clipping here and there. Great job
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Composition/production: 9
Mixing/mastering: 8
Relevance to the theme: 6

[Mo i Rana [NGMC 2025]]

This is really slick. It reminds me a lot of waterflame's productions in terms of optimistic energy. I think it's a bit too soft in general though, and I also think when the drop comes in at 1:25 it probably would have been better to get rid of the wind sfx, since that comes in as quite a nuisance at times.
For the rest I don't have a lot to complain, other than this might be playing it a little safe; it didn't seem like a very daring/experimental track. That's just my preference in style though!
Composition: 7/10
Mixing/mastering: 8/10
Relevance to theme: 8/10

[digdugcore]

My name is Joe DugDig, rival of Johnathan DigDug, I dissaprove of this audio. It's so good it will steal my audience of DugDig

[TheBroox2000 & Itz_Gamepoint - Frozen Road (NGMC 2025 Entry)]

I think there's a lot going on in the song, and maybe a little bit too much imho. There are a lot of cool idea, but because they all want to be executed in such a short amount of time it gets really loud and muddy. I also think there is kind of only one instrument that indicates this is arctic themed, that being the instrument that gets introduced from 0:10 and later also gets an appearance. I think the sound design is pretty cool, although it sounds a bit hollow: lot of high and lots of sub, but not a lot of mid-bass, which you could've profitted from, because that would give it some more oomph.
I like the atmosphere and chord progression.
Production: 7/10
Mixing/mastering: 5.5/10
Relevance to the theme: 6/10

[Charlmot & PiAHC - Tundra Showdown]

I'm pretty uncertain about the choice of instruments... They sound pretty low quality most of the time, such as the (sploinky sounding?) lead at the beginning
I also think there's a bit too much of highs in the drums, making it not really satisfying to listen to while blasting at max volume. The transition from 1:13 is really cool and epic, but a bit random, especially with arctic in mind. From 1:50 it's a cool idea, but I wouldn't say it has the best execution unfortunately, the drums get really really muddy in the mix. I do like the little victory jingle at the end though!

Another positive: I think the intro's chord progression sets the tone really well for arctic surroundings
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Production: 7/10
Mixing/mastering: 5/10
Relevance to the theme: 7.5/10

[ArikXu & arsalchowdhurymusic - Wanderers of the White Wilderness]

I love the reese at the beginning. Very solid. I think the "woo-hey" is quite generic and a little unfitting imo. It's also very soft in the master throughout for some reason. I really love the liquid vibes though, mixing is done quite properly. The vocals are not really understandable because they are so much drowned in reverb and at the very end a square lead solo starts before the track fades out, which is a shame because I would have loved hearing more from that instrument. It does sound really icey though!
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Production: 8/10
Mixing/mastering: 6/10
Relevance to the theme: 9/10

[Chrome Frost (ft. 3manon)]

Chat did we cook

3manonMusic responds:

This is chat speaking, I believe we did