BenTibbetts's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Understand (Why)]

9/10

I liked this a lot. Even though the song never changed keys it never became monotonous. Kudos to your drummer and the drum feel, which really works against the moving guitar line and the repetitive bass line. Get a better mic. :)

[[JohnWE] Silent Night]

Sweet!

What simple, rich harmonies you use. I really liked your take on the song and felt like it was just the right length. Interesting that you didn't start with the melody- a choice I don't think detracts from the piece at all. Thank you for sharing this.

[{Heim} A Storm in the Night]

My favorite of the three.

As the summary says: this is probably my favorite of your Nightfall triptych. I felt such excitement and foreboding listening to this movement. I listen to it most often of all your pieces. Something about the harmonies in this one just hint at something elusive, especially the incredible A major to F major for the last 30 seconds... it makes a brilliant final cadence to a very evocative piece. Really great work and I can tell you worked hard on this.

JeffHeim responds:

Hey, Ben!

Thanks for the kind review. I'm glad to see you're active on NG :D
It must be pretty cold all the way up in Maine...

[-Orr- Four Brave Champions]

Way to go!

Such a good track, David. My favorite part starts in the last 20 seconds and is reminiscent of James Bond soundtracks. It loops beautifully and not a second too long.

DavidOrr responds:

Hey Ben, great to see you on Newgrounds! Thanks for the review :)

[{Heim} Chorale in D Minor]

Beautiful

What a beautiful piece; I guess I missed this one. The sudden dynamic changes are so well-placed! And the ending, soft and an octave down in the same key, is effective. Yeah, write more.

JeffHeim responds:

haha thanks! will do :)

[P2]

Oom pah pah

Aw, this is cute. I think it's quite a lot too long. You could have stopped the whole thing after about a minute, and kept the accelerating ending.

[Prelude]

Ab minor!

Hi. I think this makes a terrific little prelude. It's simple, sweet, and sad. The harmonies remind me of parts in the opera "Dido & Aeneas"; specifically, "Dido's Lament", which is near the very end.

I'm giving it an imperfect 8/10 because the ending didn't do much for me. Somehow it seemed that the moving 8th notes had already been over with and the piece was drawing to a close, and at that moment you chose to play them again and I thought by then I'd had enough of that motif. Maybe I could be convinced differently after hearing the whole piece, so... happy writing!

Pandaguru responds:

Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback. I will take your point about dragging the song on into account for future works.

[Paint a Picture with your Mind]

Fishing

Cool. The bass part in the beginning is a really satisfying repeating figure for a while. I especially like the way around 1:30 that it takes precedence over other things, but the constant eighth notes are satisfying too. When you change it a little at about 2:20 the change is unsettling and it only gets more sinister right up until the end. Right up until the end I found myself getting ready for something to happen. The unhappy chords, especially with the solo violin at the end, are also kind of suspenseful, so after all that when it just stopped on a B natural I felt a little cheated... like someone turned off the TV in the middle of a good program. So my take on this is it could be longer and the story could keep going. But I don't know what would come next; of course that would be up to you.

[Halindir - Burden]

Gorgeous.

Gorgeous harmonies here, so smooth. It IS simple, but I don't mean that as a criticism. Rather, it's very touching. Especially the last minute, which just falls and falls in such a beautifully lilting way. Unfortunately it doesn't loop very well, that could be improved on. Also, I wonder if the melody starting at 1:09 could be put in another instrument so it doesn't blend in so much with the slow strings. Maybe a slightly bolder sound over the strings, like a solo horn or bassoon. Ending with positive: I'm downloading this track for sure. Solid 9/10.

Halindir responds:

Thank you very much for the comment BenjaminTibbetts. I will try out your advice on the melody at 1:09.