TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Blooming Nightshade (Remastered) in C]

I like the ominous-sounding riser at the beginning and the funky retro synths. The rhythmic content here is strong and the mix is crisp and well-balanced. The melodic content at the 1-minute mark is nice too, and I especially enjoy the frantic drums at the drop at 1:25. The atmospheric details of the piece are really eerie, and I'm digging the variations in the drop at 3:01. Really strong work here, NoisySundae! Brings me back to the sound of 2008-ish Newgrounds. :'D

Noisysundae responds:

"You're praising the 2015 me's composition. I got less creative than back then tbh. All these remasters are literally me trying to fill in what were missing in those earlier works of mine: Mixing/mastering. I think I should step up my game, find some inspiration, and continue the current WIP (new menu) very soon, thanks." — The Manager

[State of the Art]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the intricate rhythms at around :20. The occasional chromatic harmonies (like at :50) helped spice things up too. The piece could've been a bit more dynamic at times, but you also kept things engaging with the guitar solo at 1:40 and the chill breakdown thereafter. The editing at 2:45 or so might've needed a tad more work to synchronize everything properly, but the distorted guitars and energy during the last major phrase really help tie the piece together at the end. Overall nice work, MetalRenard! Glad to see you experimenting with some looser harmonies and such. ^_^

MetalRenard responds:

Thank you for the detailed review! You spoil me. I was planning on fixing that later but couldn't be bothered yet. Haha! You have good ears! I'll make sure to do it next time I open the project.

[Welcome To The Underworld]

I love the eerie textures at the beginning and the foreboding vocals and guitar riffs throughout. The gritty drone-like quality of the mini-piece at 1:40 is a highlight for me. The male vocals at the 3-minute mark are pretty evocative after the mostly female vocals during the first few pieces. I also really like when the female vocalist is low in her range, like at 4:05 or so. The string riffs at around 4:50 really penetrate through the texture, despite the continuous heavy atmosphere. I like the subtle swells at around 6:00 and the pitch-bending in the vocals at 6:18-ish. The details of this piece really add a lot of haunting goodies to an already haunting piece. Truly captivating work here, Vocif! Keep it up. ^_^

VociferousMusic responds:

Thanks as always :D

I took inspiration from both the games. The game Black & White does have two games. One is very different to the other in terms of gameplay and even the musical aspect. What I did is to try combinate both the styles and see what comes up, and this was the result. The BW1 track was more mysterious and slightly creepy (at least for a child). but the BW2 evil tracks were just purely horror-themed, like at ( 1:52; 4:15). I tried to reduce that, but not fully remove it. People who played the game found the original track to be too 'brutal' or 'intense' in terms of the creepy aspect.
The general oriental aspect of it is done because you play the greeks in the game - counts for both soundtracks (paradise and underworld).

Speaking for 'Paradise', the original didn't sound too peaceful and I tried push that up so you really feel like you are in a paradise without any worries. :P

[Welcome To The Paradise]

I like the dreamy atmosphere at the beginning and the (sitar?) melodies at around :30. The vocal phrases at :45 were really nice, too. While slightly different in sound design and rhythmic structure, there's a lot that unites these little bites of music - tone, atmosphere, a pleasant meandering quality. It honestly wouldn't take much more to craft a single coherent piece out of this content. Lovely job with the mixing and vocals, though, especially at around 4:30. The echo-y chords at 5:50 are another highlight. The flute melodies at the end was a good distinct way of concluding this compilation, too. Strong work here! You got me curious about this game. :)

[Mayday]

I love the apprehensive mood at the beginning and the sound design. The horn melodies at around :30 are beautiful, and I love how the piece gradually morphs into a victorious-sounding fanfare. The subtle build-up before the last flourish is a great touch too. Mix is really strong as always. Overall, really strong work, Erik!

[Torture Dance Remix (JJBA)]

Fun piece! It's a little hard to get a sense of the rhythm at the beginning, but that might be because of the reverb/delay instead of just the quantizing. Otherwise, the rhythmic content and sound design are really neat here, and there's a lot of variety in the texture throughout. I especially like the descending line at 1:22 and the energetic breaks at 2:11. Solid work overall, CG! Glad you're experimenting with different styles. ^^

[Open Your Heart To Me]

Nice to see a post from you, Adrean! Been a while. I like the powerful vocals and edgy guitars. Sometimes the balance is a little off, and as a result it's often hard to make out the lyrics, but I like the added distortion at around 1:40 and the throaty touch at around 2:40. The piece doesn't always have a ton of variety in the texture, between the languid flow of the vocals and the punchy guitars. By the 3-minute mark, I'm starting to really appreciate all the vocal layering and the positive message behind the chorus. Totally dig the sound design too. Keep it up, Adrean! ^^

ADR3-N responds:

Indeed it has! This was one of the files I managed to save off of my dead computer, unfortunately not in stem form, so I couldn't just slap it together and master it, and then call it good. I had to actually go in and use RX7. You're right, there's a LOT of bad balancing in the mix, the vocals are kinda muffled, and actually, it's so hard compressed in the file I touched, a lot of intricate detail in the chords and other synthesizers is lost, but I'm glad you dig it. Thanks for stopping by! I have a lot more time now than I've had in the past year with my career. Be sure and drop me a piece if you got something you'd like to show me :)

[FLAP (OST)]

I like the groovy synths and bright tone of the strings and higher-pitched leads. Really well-balanced texture and good sense of flow. I wish there was a little more variety in the energy and dynamics levels, but a sense of continuity is probably more important in a videogame soundtrack. Nice work on the rhythmic details here, too. Keep up the good work, CG! ^^

[The Rocks]

I like the bright synths and shimmering 80s-ish pads. The melodies are catchy, the mix is full, and the sound design reminds me of Johnfn's stuff from the glory days of 2013. The mini-breakdown at 1:20 is a nice touch too. Love the heavy kick and sidechaining on that pad. The filtering and modulations in the final 30 seconds were nice too. I'm pretty sure that vocaloid thing at the end is saying "penis", so you get points for trolling too. Keep up the good work, LE! ^_^

[I Can't]

I like the dark, distorted guitars at the beginning. The atmosphere is great here, but by comparison the vocals sound a little thin and robotic. I like the crisp beats during the verses and the filtering work at :57. The piece has a nice sense of flow, but I think it needed to be a little more dynamic toward the end to hit it home. Overall, lot of potential here. Mixing and sound design are really strong. The vocals just needed a little more punchiness and variety imo. Keep it up, guys! ^^