Ryan-of-the-Metal's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[TheRising-Metaljonus]

There will be uprising.

Since I listened to this. This is really groovy, and heavy too. Usually, I don't hear something heavy like this from you, a possible new style perhaps?

Anyways, I liked basically all the riffs used, the high notes with the strong influence of echo effects leading into the solos after the middle quotient were especially exquisite, being a really interesting contrast.

Of course, I can't neglect the groovy opening riffs. When I started to beleive that they were becoming repetitive, they'd progress, thanks for reading my mind sir lol.

The rythm used too was interesting, I always tend to like something that sounds like the rudiments some sort of lag creation. I say lag, since I don't know the actual terminology, but it's the closest thing I can use to describe.

The bassline sounded nice and rumbly, rich, simple as far as I could discern, but necessarily so, has anyone mentioned that you have serious talent? Lol.

Drums sound strong and flexible to me, can't say much since I have an IQ of -20 when discussing percussion.

I have to admit the middle-section bothered me a slight bit, only since it went on longer than I would have expected, but the rest is really awesome, including those solos.

My MP3 might not know how to handle this.

Metaljonus responds:

Dude, thanks for the wicked review man! YOU are one of the few who get what I go for in my songs at times and god damn it thanks!

[Dependency (Revisited)]

Holy Censor.

I recall the previous, original instrumental Dependancy by Xenogenocide. When I listened to that, I thought that was reall frickn' cool and it reminded me vaugely of Tool.

Well, vocaly, it throws the conception of Tool of the proverbial window, but replaces it with something just as awesome, if not more. Actually, it reminds me now of Sad but True by Metallica. Odd.

Let's crack our knuckles and get started. The guitar tone thanks to Bad-Man is definately sweet, I noticed though that it doesn't sound completely like the original Dependancy.

The riffs are all the same, of course, but the riffs are a bit more muddled and less clear, although, that doesn't take away from the submission, not the least!. I also noticed the addition of some reverb.

Drums are tight. I don't really know anything about drums lol.

Vocals. My dear word, you really don't know what the word "mercy" means, ha ha! With a peice like this, you really shouldn't have any mercy at all too. The lyrics are really effing awesome.

Also, along with the vocal sustained notes remind me that you should be involved in production of something professional, sir.
Yeah, vocals' style is perfect for heavy metal, and really feel like they really attack.

Don't quit, you do this too well, Bad-Man!

[Mercenary.]

Fantastic.

Quite, this submission is really awesome. It sounds similar to the other songs that you have on Newgrounds, but it also has it's own dynamic of difference. The only other song that I like similar to this is Discipline, it does sound similar to that too.

The intro is really cool, and caught my attention, with a low-gain twangy tone that could fit well for a mercenary feel. After I heard the scale used, it also sounded suspiciously similar to the one used in Discipline.

The chords for the rythm track aren't really all to heavy, but the chugging heading into the vocals is really addictive and catchy.

The drums sound and feel solid, with a really firm kick along with some interesting resenous drum fills that seems to hold everything upright just fine, further defining this submission in terms of awesome stature.

Vocals. Really, wow, when I first heard the vocals, I didn't know what to say, the vocals are fantastic, along with the sort of tempo used complimenting the rythm, it's really so much to explain, overall, they're simply top-notch. They have thier own style, Schief style of vocals, sick.

The section after the first solo-esque sequence really sounds awesome, how the chords switch with progression and the drums link, sounding different with the rest of the sections of the song.

I did catch a few recording scrape noises early in the submission, I don't know how that's caused or fixed, but it's really the only flaw, otherwise, pure awesomeness.

Schleif responds:

wow man, awesome review. thanks alot, i really appreciate it. yeah, you covered pretty much everything i spent alot of time with in this song, i'm really glad my work paid off. great review man, thanks again! you kick ass - keep rocking \m/

[RT - Enraged]

Well...

He's got a point, it's not as good as your other stuff, my friend, sorry. But that means I should offer some possibly helpful advice, then.

The guitar tone is simple as usual... Heavy still, but the lead is what is throwing me off big-time. The lead doesn't quite seem distorted enough, and the the arpeggios coinciding don't quite fit the method of the progression of the chords as well as I'd like to see. Not too mention, they seem to be a bit stuggled.

The drums are a bit too different to be applied here, they seem to have some odd sort of aborigine sound to them, which some bands may somehow attempt to work. But maybe just not here.

The ending also loops badly, and, really that's my worst. Painful? I hope to think not.

I really did like the main riff on the rythm guitar though, I must salvage that though.

[RTC-3057 - Troglodyte]

Something a bit friendlier?

Yes, maybe. This still has that upsetting sytle of riffage, but... What's this? Not so heavy? Kidding, this another very awesome thing, just, it seems a bit more uplifting than the other submissions in the albmus uploaded.

The arpeggios and main riffs are deffinately more uplifting than the usual, but is that problem? Nope, lol. I've made the argument before that uplifting music can definately still be heavy and just less angry, but still aggressive.

By the way, I like the echo used for the lead, it's interesting and a bit more livening.

Drums sound a bit snappier, and the cymbals also sound like they have the capacity to ring out more too. That makes this sound a bit more different, like it! Especially since it loops nicely to boot.

Wait, what is a troglodyte anyway? O_o

[Sleep Apnea - Wander]

Sickening Riffs.

Really, sometimes the stuff that you make just makes me want to cry, this is great.

I originally thought that this was another instrumental, until the vocals crept up and surprised me, really. Actually, I find that pretty cool and admirable for vocals to do that. :O

This guitar tone is so seriously gut-wrenching, I can't understand why nobody else will bother to attempt to TRY some type of tone like that. It makes me sad. It is simple, but there's no exostential problems with that, if it works, good, if it works well, \m/.

I especially enjoy the vocals for this, they're too different to not enjoy, with the upsetting, growly main vocals, pared with the haunting harmony, my ears, I'm not sure how I'm going to explain that to my friends. And that's a good thing lol.

There is some minor problems actually with the tone, since there seems to be some sort of high-pitched buzz that seems ot work it's way into the sustained riffs, mainly in the intro. It's a minor issue, but one I like to mention.

Download win.

[Sleep Apnea - Drain]

Schleif is right.

Not heavy, true.

But, what the hell? Why so zero bombed? This is pretty effing sweet, this type of sound is so incredibly offbeat from mainstream crap (excluding NG), that I must find some place in my heart to enjoy it. Especially since it's metal.

I love all these tones that seem to cascade through the submission. The intro felt really emotionaly, actually, most of the song was, and emotional metal is not bad in least. Now, emotional %u2260 emo, hell no. This is really just one of so many that are part of all of those albums.

Now that I'm finished with that, the technical aspects of this song far, but many,, with many tempo eruptions that I need to enjoy. 2:50 quotient, excellent.

[SF - Fractured Reality]

I'm surprised by this submission.

Especially since it took me such a while to stumble across a submissions as this. Time to review some metal...

Of this, I really like this peice as I'm listening to it. The riffs and chord progression sound really frustrated and aggrivatred in a completely good way. It's not brutal, but still something nice that's heavy that one can feast upon. After all, you need to take a break from headbanging sometime and let the vertibrae recover lol.

The guitar tome seems quite simple for the rythm, but despite that, it doesn't loose anything for that since it still is just as effective, and conveys the metal flow.

The lead though I find interesting. It doesn't really sound saturated with distortion, which is quite good since I hate that inelligble buzz. It's definately distorted though, quite enough to sound different from the rythm distortion but low enough to make the arpeggios sound lovely. Not to mention I really like that sort of middle-eastern sound anyway. :P

I really can't offer much useful information about drumming. I don't know if this a program, as I've heard so much about. They sound fine in my opinion, but maybe not striking and heavy enough, maybe give the kick a tad bit more depth.

This actually sounds similar to something that Duarntiam would possibly make, in my personal opinon.

[Akin (A.C.T)]

I wish I was Akin to this song.

Since it's sick. This song boldly reminds me of Pensive in terms of construction, being the heavy and clean-chordy sections, which the skillful upbringing of these two elements together is the Zephman style.

Start heavy, then convert to airy and clean, which, in my opinion seems to be a formula that works. The guitar tone really has some drive to it, it's definately distorted, but not overly-done, which can definately ruin songs. This is at an appropriate level where you can have a beastly kick of crunch and still get your grind in. ^_^

I honestly could listen to just distorted guitars, but the chords that are used clean wouldn't have the same identity if distorted, which really makes the discarding of the distortion appropriate for a dynamic sound.

A little past 2:00 the first breakdown-esque section doesn't feel completely fitting, but as they progress they feel more and more Akin to the submission. (what is with my puns? >_<)

After the harmonic section, the low-gain, low-tone strumming added another possible element to the song, which fits really well with the chords again. It could just simplt be the same clean section used earlier though.

ZephMan responds:

You must be a Zephmanologist! Thanks for the kind words man. The breakdown part you mentioned at 2:00 is were the hiccup is I'm pretty sure, so that might be why you're thrown off. That is the same riff as the opening if you didn't notice :P.

[Dark Matter Consumption]

My word...

Shadrock's back, hell yea. :D

Classic Shadrock style of combining heavy-heavy-heavy-grindy-scrapey pipe sounding guitar tones with the pianos and a sort of ominous choir to produce something quite epic, here we go again lol.

Double-bass kick, I like the implementation, it's always produced to make someone want to kick another in angst, but that's thier problem. >_>

This all opens out quite well, but as the track progresses... There's some odd panny-techno thing, but it ends quick, then back into those grindy riffs. I usually like the slower songs of yours best, but this is still something to behold in my opinion.

Of this track, I especially liked the middle-quontient, it sounded the most diverse and overall interesting... Not that the rest of the tack isn't though.

Although, don't like how the song suddenly ends though, it felt like getting shoved off a cliff while blindfolded. It also in my opinion felt like it maybe should've taken more time for production to better develop all the parts, but simply my opinion.

Shadrock responds:

All great criticisms and ones I agree with, techno part I'd like to rid of and the ending was actually never finished, there's supposed to be a panning out solo in the end but I haven't gotten around to doing, might update this song in the future though so keep checking back!