octopus58's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Court of the Garlic King]

I found two things very interesting about this song: Firstly the chord progression is unusual but very interesting, kind of a mix between sounding royal and menacing. Secondly, the melody being grouped in bars of 6 is cool too, as usually it's in groups of 4 (or multiples like 8 or whatever). Both those decisions gave the song a quite creative edge! The chiptuney-ness reminded me of Shovel Knight but still sounded very unique. Once again great work, keep it up!

[Mirror Heart]

Reminds me a little bit of Donkey Kong Country music with a breakbeat kick and some other unique elements, very nice! The bass was an interesting choice but it warmed up to me really quickly and I think it was a great decision. The melody itself is interesting as it feels a little unexpected at times but that's also another thing that gives this song its edge. I love all the different percussive instruments you used as well. Awesome work, keep it up!

[Tropical Euphoria]

Very nice and smooth tropical music, I like it! Sounds like something that would perfectly fit looking out the window on a car ride along a tropical coast during sunset. The plucks with the reverb sound very fitting of the genre, and the retro synths also really fit in the harmony. Great work, keep it coming!

[Delve]

Interesting mix of melancholy, calm, and a little happy/relieving. The instruments you chose with the low cut off really help establish this calm feeling at least while the melody establishes the moods. I like how for each phase there are different parts that make it feel like the song will change chords, but it stays on the same sustained chord. It helps emphasize the feeling of falling, just something being dragged out, but in a good way. Keep up the great work!

[AIM - Harmonic Dispersion]

This sounds happy and chirpy, I like it! The melody flows very nicely and is soothing and exciting at the same time. The instruments you chose, from pads to synths, all sound amazing and work together very well. All the drops make an exciting buildup worth the wait and just boost the mood with good feelings. Great work, keep it up!!

LordAndiso responds:

Thank you soo much! I appreciate it :)

[Ice Caverns]

Very subtle, very beautiful, and definitely very gentle. It sounds happy and a bit melancholic with a magical feel to it. Definitely reminds me of classical music to a large extent, specifically the styles of Bach and a British composer I forgot the name of (oops). The reverb really helps establish the space and makes this song feel roomy. The choice of organs and bells was perfect too, gives the song a cold feeling to it. Amazing and beautiful work, I'm really happy I found this song. Keep up the awesome work!!!

[Synthetic Fields]

Definitely got a very nostalgic 80s feel to it, I love it! It sounds like something that would play in the background of a soft action scene in a movie from around that time. I love the synths you chose, and how you made everything work together. The orchestral hits are also perfect for the time period/style you were going for! Made me feel good listening to this as 80s/90s is some of my favorite music :)
Keep up the awesome work!

ModernBard responds:

Thanks for the comment :)
I decided to choose synths that use short wave, kinda like wavetable synthesis, and some FM bass synths typical mid-80's for that.
Then i used classic drum machines like Linn and oberheim for drums, some other drum machines were used.
Then electric guitars and hammond organ for the harmony and solo.
I'm glad you liked it (:

On top of that, i created from scratch the orchestra hit i used here with orchestral vsts and hit samples.

[~Leaving ice castle~]

Very beautiful :)
It sounds a little sad, but mostly happy. It also reminds me a lot of tracker music too. I like the little swells you have here and there before the melody returns to something more peaceful. All in all this felt really nice to listen to. Keep up the great work as always!!

[Built to Last]

Very interesting handsup song. It sounds colorful, and has a lot of different phases that verge from trance to early 2000s dance, with rave stuff in between. When the different parts combine at first around 1:40 it just sounds like pure bliss! This could fit so many moods and environments in general, while being very unique on its own. I also really love the pad intro, it was really beautiful. Hearing it come back the second time with the pluck arpeggio sounded so nice! But yeah this was just an amazing piece to listen to, keep up the amazing work!!

FlashMemory responds:

so nice to hear what you said, thank you!!@!

[Incoherent Hysteria]

Love the clash of genres going on here, it sounds very intense and crazy! The title definitely fits the song, as it goes all over the place (but in a good way). It sounds scary and disorienting, but also kind of mad if that makes sense. The song keeps evolving over time so it never stagnates or gets repetitive. Good use of effects and panning here too. Great work, keep it up!