00:00
00:00
Newgrounds Background Image Theme

Kinoki just joined the crew!

We need you on the team, too.

Support Newgrounds and get tons of perks for just $2.99!

Create a Free Account and then..

Become a Supporter!

Reviews for "Dark Days"

Axtekk's beat so good!!!

Really good song here. Even with the quite dynamic and awesomeness of this beat, the mixing of the vocals was very audible and on point throughout. Lyrics are solid and have a very heart broken poets vibe to them. The transition from the verse to hook was executed very well on each verse. Definitely one of the best deliveries I've heard from ya; your voice really hits the right emphasis to make the lyrics really sink in. Ironically enough, I think a "depressing" song like this, may just help someone who's feeling down; so a feel good song it very might well be!

Props and keep up bro

Teqneek responds:

Wow Mickey, regarding your closing comment there... I just got done about 2 hours ago explaining to my mom almost word for word what you just said. Haha that's crazy. Anyway thanks for the input man, you my most improved friend 2016

Aiteeeee there's a lot of things I love. Basically all I want on top is some extra mastering and mixing and shit basically because the sonics sound kinda blocky with the compression of the vox on top of the beat which is limited all in a block. But money and shit, and mics and shit. Also having a hook would make this more catchy and relistenable because easy digestible structure, but the beat really doesn't allow for that, so that one's on me.

Shit I love:

- Intro cueing in the first line building anticipation
- A million and one different flows weaved inbetween lyrics that fuck with the blocky 4/4 beat
- Alternating vocal tone with the chorus and the verse keeping it fresh but related
- Melodic tone keeping it interesting in the verse
- Those "swoosh" sounds in the 2nd 16
- Consistently relatable depressive truth bombs

Fuck you for making me wanna kill myself. But that's also a sign that this song's fucking dope? So basically I like I guess even though it hurts me so :'(

Teqneek responds:

First of all lol there IS a hook my bruhbruh.

I'm not the best at mastering my shit. Really. And I spend HOURS on it lol. But I spend months writing a song sometimes. Sometimes years for real. I need to dedicate a little of that time into learning to properly master I guess. Although for real I kinda thought I did learn enough to not sound amateurish, at least in my ears. Some of the things people ding me on are actually intentional, haha so idk. I put time into mastering, yet all I seem to ever hear about is how this and that needs to be fixed.

I do appreciate the input btw, but after a while I guess it kinda gets me down because idk what else to really do and I don't really WANT to learn it to be honest. I respect the shit out of it though- trust me. I'm just not neurally built for audio engineering. I'm a writer. And a lover of women. And protector of the land.

Lol also I'm copypasting what I said in response to your comment on my other recent depressing track The Depp End. (*haha not even correcting that spelling error for it opens up a whole world of ideas).

"...glad I could somewhat do your beat justice. Although, for me (and I know it may not be the majority, but others feel me on this too), sad music has a reverse effect. It somehow makes me happier. When I'm at my lowest I usually go for September Sun (by Type O Negative), or The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot (by Brand New).

Anyway, I hope certain people can listen to this song and feel "better" knowing there are others going through something similar to what they are. Thanks again homie, yer my guy..."

good thing.

Q ~~

Teqneek responds:

This is what I crave on my most personal of works. The coveted 2-Word review! Anyway glad you liked it Q, your other reviews cover this... hiccup... if you will...

Damn.

I assure you this isn't me being a lazy reviewer. This is me in awe. The content was SOOOOO perfect for how I've felt for years. And the way the flow fits into the beat is like a shuttle docking with the ISS. SO satisfying. Great work, old friend.

[DJDj]

Teqneek responds:

Thanks, you just made my day brutha

Literally the only issue with this track is the compression and distortion as a result of said compression -- the volume leveling basically. Watching the spectrometer, there's a lot of red lining, which tells me either everything is just turned up way too loud to get a clean output. This takes away from the darkness and sonaural strengths of the instrumental and -- have you ever had a battery powered speaker start dying on you? This is the equivalent effect, except Reaper literally can't render the audio any louder than it is, so when it tries, it ends up distorting the shit out of it and losing its gravitas. Some people intentionally ramp up the output and compression to all or part of a song because they think it's hilarious making ears cry in more extreme examples. This I assume you really don't want, since without it, you've got some filet mignon on the plate.

TLDR: Watch your output levels. Your peaks should never consistently ride 0 dBFS. Otherwise what you hear on your rig and in the mixer might sound great, but what comes out is going to sound -- well, just worse than it would if you rendered everything at a more reasonable volume and then went and amplified it in Audacity (being sure not to allow clipping, or you'll have the same problem).

Around 2:47, your sync between recordings is a little off, just enough to jar me but not enough to draw my attention from the verse, which I will say is impeccably written and meaningful, as always. So no comment here other than a thumbs up.

On vocals, do have a look at noise cancellation like I mentioned. This will bring your vocals up a notch and help with mixing them properly. You could also do with some more clarity in the 12-18 khz range, and if you've been doing the sock on mic trick like I did for years, might swap to a sock stretched over a wire coat hanger. I mean, because hell, it works just as well as the 20 dollar clip ons if you have some clothespins.

Keep killing shit. Mad respect -- you've always got something interesting to bring to the table.

Teqneek responds:

Hahaha oh man I just died but it's cool. Just funny is all...

OKAY- Let's do a quick science experiment; we shall follow these simple steps...

1. Take the first 8 words of your review.

2. Gently cover up all the other words in the review.

3. Read the 8 words ("Literally the ONLY issue with this track is"...)

4. Remove hand to reveal entire review.

5. Laugh at yo silly self.

Hahaha I can honestly see myself doing exactly what you just did so don't take what I just said as an insult btw.

It was just kinda hilarious to me. I read that and was like "Oh cool... And this is a long review too so I'm about to see some praise in them 3 paragraphs down there. Yonder".

Anyway I ain't jabbing on ya, well maybe but only kiddingly if that's a word.

4Realtho- Thank you for your review and pointers. I REALLY just need those hip hop Keebler Elves to whisk my recorded vox away and hand me back a professional-sounding vocal file with some chewy chocolate chip cookies. Why can't this be reality? Anyway... fuck this is becoming a long-winded reply; lemme get to it...

Yadda yadda my mastering needs work. We've talked equipment so you know that situation. As for the other advice you left, I appreciate it and will heed those tidbits of knowledge. As for the sound...

If you're talking about that feeback-y noise audible mostly in the beginning... it came with the beat Ax sent me. But for real I gotta re-read your comment to fully get a grasp on your pointers, but thanks! Btw, a comment worth a second read is a GOOD comment. Unless... the reason said person is re-reading is because of illiteracy- whether his own or that of the commenter. But I digress...