TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Frozen Industry]

I like the ominous percussion and atmosphere at the beginning. The progression is a bit slow-paced, but the echo effects and heavy percussion help keep things interesting for a while. The rhythmic content is good, too, and the alternating ascending and descending synth lines (like at 1:01) are also pretty neat. By around the 2-minute mark, though, I’m getting a little restless with the persistent minimalism of the piece. The atmosphere feels a bit more saturated by that point, but I still need some harmonic content to grasp onto at some point. There are some creative compositional and rhythmic ideas in here, and the bass at 2:33 helps at least outline the skeleton of a chord progression, but it’s not quite enough to keep me engaged after a while. I could see this piece fitting quite well in a post-apocalyptic-themed video game, but as a stand-alone piece the composition is pretty bland at the end of the day. You’re clearly a talented producer with a knack for creating catchy beats, foreboding moods, and rich textural atmospheres, but I was looking for a bit more harmonic depth here. My favorite aspect of this piece is probably the mood. You do overuse the ascending and descending synth patterns a bit by the end, but in the meantime there’s plenty of great nightmare fuel in here, especially at around 6:10. Keep at it, VictorLincolnPine! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.5/10

VictorLincolnPine responds:

The piece was designed for a game where the world is foreboding and deadly at every turn, but eventually the player becomes so powerful that world itself can literally be erased by them if they so choose. I didn't necessarily compose it for engagement, but rather as the background for something the player is already doing (in this case trudging through the very deadly Frozen Vault, where there's explosives literally buried in the snow).

Thank you for your honest criticism. I will keep it in mind for future works. (especially for this knockout round).

Addendum: Just to let you know, there are in fact no chords in this piece. The work is a shaman style piece that uses drums and sound design with sparse synth.

[Memory of a Muse]

I like the cutesy instruments and melodies at the beginning. The chords sound a tad clunky, though - you might want to make sure the notes aren’t too close together in pitch, just to open them up a bit. No need to change the actual chords, just move notes up or down an octave until they sound a bit looser and milder. I like the injection of energy at :39 and the vocals at the transition at :38. The harmonic content here is pretty repetitive, and I also wish the melodies were a bit more prominent in the mix. Otherwise, the mixing here is quite good, and the dreamy solo at 1:42 helps hit the piece home towards the end. Really catchy and cute piece overall, Vater! Keep up the good work. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[User 817sd - APAC:3]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the echo-y synth line at :10. The reverb is a bit heavy by :19, to the extent that it distorts the texture a bit. Part of the problem may be that the pads and melody synths have too many bass tones left in them in the equalizer (send me a PM if you don’t know what I mean). I also think the chord progression and some of the instruments here are a bit generic, especially the drums. The harmonic content gets pretty repetitive after a while, even if you vary the energy levels and instrumental palette well enough. At some point, it might’ve been advisable to go for even more contrast by stripping away the beat and adding an atmospheric bridge or breakdown. I like the transition with the drum fill at 2:14, although otherwise the rhythmic content here is also a bit bland. You certainly have a good sense of harmony, progression, and atmosphere, but you’ll need some tighter mastering and more variety to boost your score. Keep at it, User! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
6/10

[UDG]

I like the groovy synth guitar riff at the beginning and the glitchy elements of the texture. The drums are really underwhelming in the mix, though - I think they could sound a lot punchier with some more compression. The main guitar line is nice, but at some point it would’ve been nice to switch it up and include something more melodic and/or atmospheric in the texture for the sake of contrast. The texture also sounds pretty bottom-heavy for most of the piece, with a lot of bass and mid-range tones and not much else. I’m envisioning either a guitar solo or piano chords layered on top of the existing texture to balance it out a bit more. Otherwise, I like the sound design, rhythmic content, and progression of this one. Some more variety and tighter mixing and mastering would help improve your score in the future. Keep at it, TVP06! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[=If I made Stereo Cloud now=]

I like the cutesy E-piano riff at the beginning. The piano chords that play on the downbeats are occasionally dissonant, and the percussion at :32 (and every 2 bars thereafter) sounds pretty grating and harsh. Ditto with the open hat roll at :49. Maybe the open hat roll would work if you filtered out some of the mid-tones and added some wet reverb onto it or something, just to make it sound softer out outside of the body of the mix. I definitely don’t think it should be the loudest thing going on for a third of the piece. Overall, I think you tried to get a little too fancy with the percussion, while the harmonic content of the piece is pretty repetitive and bland. I’d encourage you to add more variation to some of the melodic riffs here, or even switch them up entirely over time, rather than try to keep things interesting by adding percussion alone. It’s a good start to the piece, with an upbeat tone and some fun rhythmic elements in the main melody line. I just wanted to see some more dynamic harmonies here, is all. Keep at it, TimeWarpKnight! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5/10

[ThunderFrank - Apocalyptic Destruction [NGUAC]]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning, but the percussion is way too overpowering - I think that’s mostly the fault of the compression, and partially the fault of the reverb. Either way, please rein in these volume levels. Otherwise, the drop at :46 is catchy, if a little minimal, and I like your sound design and progression. The composition gets a little disjointed and dissonant at 1:23 - the transition there was very sudden and jarring for me. I think the mix would sound much better balanced with more mid-range and treble-range frequencies in there at some point, and the percussion roll at 2:19 is way too grating and harsh to be given that much space in the mix. Overall, you have a good sense of rhythm and atmosphere, and a talent for adding interest to your pieces with quirky transitions and mixing effects. That said, you went a little too far with the compression here, and the composition is both choppy and bland. As far as how to improve, the first thing I would do is turn down the gain on those compressors and reverb plug-ins - that might give you a full extra point, to be honest. Then, I’d layer on some atmospheric content at the drops, and maybe mix in a melodic section at the bridge at 1:23 instead of those jarring piano chords. Obviously, you can work on the piece as you want to, but the bottom line is that the mix here should really sound less harsh and the composition should have more harmonic interest at a couple of key points. Keep at it, ThunderFrank! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
5/10

ThunderFrankMusic responds:

you wrote a lot of text, thanks for your punctuation, judge!!!!!!!

[Holy Omnipresence]

I like the rich strings at the beginning and the church bells. It’s a little hard to follow the rhythm at times here, until the beat comes in at least. The crisp drums pair well with the choirs, although the choir’s melodies seemed a tad jumpy. The breakdown at 1:40 was a welcome switch-up to the texture, and you keep the percussion interesting throughout. The synth melody at 2:25 was a pleasant surprise, and overall the composition comes together well at the end. I think it’s still missing a final climax or “point of arrival” to hit it home, though. It can be hard to make a piece sound engaging and climactic when the main “emotional height” is in the first third or so of it. That said, you nailed the mixing and mastering, sound design, harmonic content, and mood of this one. Keep at it, TheTrester! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Sasayaki]

I like the airy bells and wintery vibe at the beginning. The sound design here is great, but the reverb is really overpowering, especially on the percussion. At the same time, the mix is pretty quiet overall. Toning down the reverb could help avoid distorting the texture and give you some more space in the mix for additional layering or other mixing effects. I like how the composition oscillates between the foreboding texture with the powerful percussion and (piccolo?) bleats and the more dreamy, mellow parts. At some point, however, I would’ve liked to hear a more dynamic melody or big “point of arrival,” but my biggest problem with this piece is also the easiest to fix: the reverb. The slight tempo automations at the very end were a nice touch, and you’re getting full credit for sound design and originality. Keep at it, Tetrahedrix! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Still Here - Instrumental]

I like the moody vibe at the beginning and the plucked guitars. Some more reverb or something might’ve been advisable just to fill out the atmosphere there, but once the lead guitar comes in at :27 the texture sounds richer. The mix could’ve been a tad fuller here - adding a bass or drums to give the piece a stronger sense of drive would’ve been welcome, but I really like the tone of the piece by around 1:30. It’s somehow both soothing and melancholic. The guitar at 1:53 is also great to add some extra soul to the piece, but its melody still felt very in-the-chords. At some point, I would’ve liked to hear a more dynamic melody, but maybe that’s what the vocals are for once you get around to them. I like how you switch up the instrumental palette intermittently here - it helps keep the piece interesting despite the slow pacing. Overall, really beautiful atmosphere and sound design and strong recording quality here! The composition could’ve been a tad bolder, but as it is you’ve stitched together a really evocative texture. Keep at it, TentoTheC, and Слава Україні! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[Exercise in Difficulty]

The bass slide at the beginning was pretty cool, and I like the crisp beats and airy synths. The texture is pretty minimal, but the mixing and mastering are solid. The arpeggios at :45 are nice, too, but at some point I would’ve liked to hear a more dynamic and memorable section where you fully explore some of the harmonic themes of the piece. In other words, during the middle section of the piece, you alternate between a bunch of different short-lived melodies, but they don’t feel very well-connected or flowing, and the result is the piece is pretty disjointed and lacks a strong climax or “point or arrival.” It might help if at some point you had a bridge or breakdown where you strip away the beat, and only after that did you introduce the main melody. But otherwise, I like the sound design, mood, beats, and mixing here. Keep at it, TechnoDrama! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
7.5/10

TechnoDrama responds:

My reaction to this is exactly how I reacted to @ADR3-N earlier, so I'll just be lazy and copy and paste:

Wow. I've been around a long time. I started posted my songs on MP3.COM in the late 1990's. All these years of posting music online and I've never heard anything like this. Ever. This is absolutely, hands down, the best and most constructive feedback I have ever received. I put this stuff out and no one ever talks about the mix and that is the piece I struggle with the most and the part that I always worry about the most. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. I'm going to back and try these suggestions out and see what happens. Thank you so much.

Also, I realize the irony in being around all this time and still not knowing how to mix but I do have a life that, for good or bad, takes precedence over this hobby of mine. By the time I figure it out...well...I'd rather not think about that yet.