TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[4nZwar3 - Rebirth]

I like the bright tone at the beginning. The fade-in technique was a bit one-dimensional, but there’s a good sense of climax into :24. It’s a little hard to keep track of the key signature at the beginning - lot of funky chords that trip over each other a bit. The riffs at :24 are super catchy, although the sidechaining there is a bit heavy. I like many of the quirky synths and cutesy arpeggios/harmonies. Sometimes, there’s an instrument that sounds a bit harsh in the mix - 1:30 is a good example. The first post-chorus also might’ve dragged on for a bit too long, but you did a nice job with the re-intro at 2:30. The piano melodies there are really nice, and there’s a nice, subtle build-up into 3:18. I was enjoying the flow in the second half, although the build-up at 4:18 seemed a bit forced and less legato than the rest of the piece up to that point. Same thing at 4:55. I think you tried to do a bit too much with the piece towards the end - the energetic house beats at 5:04 feel a little out-of-place, although the piano outro is a cool touch. In the description, you label the piece “repetitive,” but I think some more cohesion towards the end would actually help you out here. Overall, the piece has a lot of strong, engaging, and catchy riffs and decent sound design and production. I’d caution you not to over-compress the mix, and also to streamline the arrangement a bit, possibly by cutting some of the section from 4:18-5:28. Otherwise, solid work here, 4nZwar3! Keep it up. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

[The Last Petal]

I like the heavy piano chords at the beginning and the dark, foreboding tone. The reverb might’ve been a tad too heavy for my tastes - it’s either that or the chord spacing that’s distorting the piano a bit at :10 or so. The melodies are nice, although there could’ve been a bit more variety in the instrumentation, especially early on. The kick drum at :37 sounds a tad too heavy for a piece like this, but it still helps give an extra little punchiness to an otherwise very flowing piece. The vocals and strings at 1:15 add a nice bit of variety, and the violin chords at 2:00 are a nice touch. I think what this piece needs compositionally is a stronger sense of direction. The sound design has a great potential for emotional impact, but in order to capitalize on that you need more dynamic contrast and phrasing - gradual build-ups and breakdowns that give the piece a stronger narrative flow. Otherwise, you’ve pushed all the right buttons here with the production quality, harmonies, and atmosphere. Strong work, 4203! ^^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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
9/10

[God's Winter]

I like the emotional quality at the beginning and the rich harp arpeggios at :16. The rhythm is a bit square throughout, and it could use some more prominent melodic content during the first half. The string riff at 1:10 is a good start on that front, but the piano during the final climax still feels like the main affair. The mixing is pretty good, although sometimes I wanted the drums to be a bit stronger, especially during the more energetic parts. The sound design is a big plus here, though - beautiful use of strings, harp, and piano. Overall, strong work! The piece really won me over with its majestic tone and flowing piano riffs. Keep it up, 0ldm4nn!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
8.5/10

[Draten-Megalovania Remix: Ultralovania]

I like the catchy synth riffs at the beginning, although the little volume automation on the 6th note of every bar was throwing me off for a bit. The lead has a bit of a harsh edge to it, but it fits the character of the piece overall. A bigger problem is the mix, which sounds very distorted during the busier section at :29. I can barely hear the drums there, and I think the bass is causing the synths to duck under occasionally too. The ominous part at 1:18 was cool, although once again some of the harmonies sound pretty indistinct. This is especially noticeable when the main riff returns at 1:46.

An important step towards fixing that is cutting back on the reverb, but the main thing you need to do is use more filtering. You shouldn’t really have any frequencies beneath 100 Hertz or so in the melody synths, or anything besides the bass and kick drum, really. Ideally, you’d select your instruments before composing a piece, keeping “slots” in mind - assigning one or two instrument each to the bass range, mid-low, middle, high-mid, and treble range. That way, even if the 2 instruments belonging to the same frequency range are playing at once, you can keep them sounding distinct in the mix using tools like panning, sidechaining, and stereo widening. In reality, most producers don’t usually do this “slot” technique, but while you’re learning how to mix and master your tracks it can be really helpful. Try looking up how to use an equalizer in your DAW.

Still, the composition is pretty good - cool melodies, smooth flow, good sense of atmosphere. Some of the sound design is a bit cheesy here, but my main concern is still the mixing. Hope this helps. Keep at it, Draten! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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
5.5/10

[this is what it's like to be gay]

Really powerful song, man. Your voice is beautiful, and the raw, organic guitar really bolsters the realness of the message behind the song. Production quality is crystal clear, too. The verse structure is a tad repetitive, but there are some fun details to add in variety (like the "scream" at 1:43). I also like the optimistic touch at the end. Really strong work overall. Thanks for sharing, Rosendale! ^_^

[Please Forgive Me]

Beautiful track, Bosa! I like the stop-start patterns towards the beginning and the melodic flow later on. The emotional quality here is great, and the "cliffhanger" ending seems fittingly ambiguous. Wishing you the best going forward, Bosa. Let me know if you want to talk.

Bosa responds:

Thank you very much for being available to talk, I am very happy to have a friend like you.

[The D]

I like the flowing, airy vibe of the guitar at the beginning. Nice bright tone and loud mix. The recording is a tad static-y, but it doesn't bother me too much until the very end. I think your ideas for the rest of the instrumentation of the final product sound great too. It's a tad repetitive at times, but given that it's just the guitar part it's hard to tell if that's detrimental or not. At the very least, I'd suggest shaking up the chord structure at some point in the song, just to add some depth to the harmonies. Overall really nice work, though! Has a nice and tranquil feel overall. You're clearly a talented guitarist. Keep it up! ^^

W00ki3 responds:

Thanks for the review :) Yeah it's repetetive only because it's background guitar. Main sound will be violin and vocal. Maybe i'll change some parts of track. Anyway it's nice to see your opinion. I admit that it helped me to see this from another perspective. :D

[Spaghettification]

I like the retro vibes I'm getting from this. The pads at :16 come on a little strong, kinda overwhelming the beat and bass. I like the gritty bass at :45 - the syncopation there is really cool. Good sense of flow later on, although some of the transitions are pretty sudden (e.x.: 2:03). Could've used some more variety on the back end here, but I like how the beat and bass gradually fade to make way for the pads during the last 30 seconds. Keep at it, LN! ^^

[Beauty in Chaos]

I like the gritty bass at the beginning and the filtering on the drums. The ominous tone and rhythmic elements are nice, although the texture is somewhat minimal throughout. The phasing and other mixing effects are done well. I might've liked to see a bit more of a distinct build-up to the part at 1:06 - that sounded like the climax of the piece. The character of the second half of the track is super different, but I really like the nature sound effects and drone-like quality starting at 2:10. Really evocative work here. I think you captured the concept of beauty in chaos quite well here, right down to the abrupt ending. Congrats on the front-page, and keep up the good work, Logan! ^^

[Mechanism]

I like the strong beat at the beginning and the groovy bass riffs. The ominous E-piano riff at :40 is really nice, and the gritty guitar-heavy texture at :50 contrasts well as a more fluid and legato element of the piece. The filtering on the drums at 1:30 is also a nice way of compounding the mysterious flair that the piece has. Overall, the texture is pretty minimal here, and I kept waiting for the big knockout solo that never quite came. That said, it strikes me as really good for a video game, and the riff at 2:35 is super catchy. The second guitar melody at 3:06 was a good way of wrapping up the piece, although I might've liked to see a bit more variation on the solo there, just to give it a stronger sense of progression. Still, solid piece overall. Production is really clean, and the sound design is super fun. I kinda wanted to hear more of that E-piano later in the piece, but assuming this loops in-game, it'll work fine for an OST. Keep up the good work, 8-bitheroes! ^^

8-bitheroes responds:

Thanks for the suggestions and feedback!