TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cult March]

I like the foreboding mood at the beginning. The atmospheric guitars are pretty nice, and the sense of suspense is really strong with this one. There’s a tad too much reverb on the drums imo, but the climax into 1:10 is nice. My main problem with the first half of this piece is that there’s not a lot of harmonic depth or variety. The acoustic guitar that appears in the background at 1:43 added a nice layer of pensiveness, but it still takes over 2 minutes for you to get into any solid melodic content, which is a long wait. That said, the melodic line at 2:18 is pretty sweet, even if it could be a little more dynamic. I like the foreboding tone that 2:50 has, and the soulful riffs at 3:30 are great as well. The choir in the background provides a nice sense of atmosphere too. The piece comes together well at 4:08, despite the somewhat repetitive nature of the main riffs involved. The outro and fade-out fit well with the thematic content, though. Overall, strong work with the production, harmonies, atmosphere, and mood. Compositional details aside, this is a really fun piece. Keep up the good work, thebitterroost! ^_^

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9/10

[Reality (demo)]

I like the smooth guitars at the beginning and the atmosphere. You have a great sense of harmony and rhythm. The vocals are :54 are pretty nice, but also sound pretty undecorated. They might need a little more reverb and other mixing effects. Sometimes the vocals also duck under the mix for the splittest second, like at around 1:50. I can’t tell if that’s because of the mastering quality or the recording, but either way it warrants fixing. Once you get into the higher register at around the 2-minute mark, the vocals sound a bit thin and strained, too. I enjoy the meandering harmonies, but I would’ve liked to hear some more structural variety here. The piece has a near-constant intensity for almost 2 minutes, which is quite a while without any sort of breakdown or bridge section. There’s actually an escalation of intensity at 2:15 before anything else, which helps make the piece feel climactic, but also doesn’t do much to maximize the dynamic contrast and emotional quality of your piece overall when the baseline is something like 1:08, which is also pretty full-textured and driven. The solo at 2:43 is pretty sweet, though, and overall I think the composition of the piece comes together really well. I also really like the lyrics themselves. The line towards the end, “I’m feeling the wrong way” hit me hard. The end comes on a tad suddenly, but the guitar amp fade-out helps alleviate that. Overall, solid work with the flow, melodies, and vocals. Some of the compositional details might need a bit of work, but the production, mood, and rhythmic content were also strong. Keep at it, ZappaFan52! :)

P.S.: Sorry to hear that you’re depressed. Let me know if you need someone to talk to.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

ZappaFan52 responds:

The depth and specificity is greatly appreciated, I'll definitely keep all of that in mind going forward! Thanks again ^_^

[Lapse of memory]

I like the quirky synths at the beginning and the atmosphere. It has a nice sense of build throughout the first minute, but overall the progression is pretty slow. I thought there was a little too much reverb on the clap at :43 (and in general), but the harmonic content here is really cool. The white noise at 1:04 seemed a bit undecorated - could use some rhythmic variation or filtering. Either way, the drop is pretty cool, if a bit bland harmonically. My main problem with the piece is the lack of harmonic complexity. The chord progression is pretty generic and simple, and overall it doesn’t feel like there’s a strong sense of direction to the piece overall. Absolutely a lot of potential here, but it almost feels like I didn’t get to hear the second half of the piece, where you (supposedly) provide another emotional height, melodic development, a modulation or other harmonic variety, and maybe even an atmospheric bridge or something. Still, really good start here. I really like the sound design, rhythmic content, and atmosphere, and I’d encourage you to keep working on this piece! Keep at it, klru27! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
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

klru27 responds:

Thanks for pointing out my lazy mistakes. I'm still glad that you scored it better than I expected! Newgrounds has been a nice place for me thanks to people like you! I'll try to bring better works later! :)

[Jade]

I like the sound design and atmosphere at the beginning. The eastern-sounding instrument at :07 is cool, and the pitch-bending on it at :14 was a nice touch. The pads and percussion are also valuable additions to the texture, and the blissful mood here is great. The piece has a strong sense of climax into :37, and the melodic content is really catchy and fun. The mix sounds a bit over-compressed, though, and overall the arrangement and rhythm section of the piece are pretty generic. The breakdown at 1:38 is effective, although I would’ve appreciated some more variation on the melodies during the second half of the piece. The distorted bit at 2:20 was a nice touch, too. Your style reminds me a lot of EnV. Overall, solid production quality, mood, sound design, melodies, and atmosphere. My main complaints are the lack of originality in the structuring and the lack of variety.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

[Burning Rush]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The synth rolls were a bit much - I think they would be better if they had a distinct rhythm, but I like the bass instrument at :11. The kick could come through the mix a bit cleaner, and the melody at :22, while catchy, seems to have a few too many notes to be memorable. The chord progression is also pretty cliche. Honestly, my main problem here is probably the generic sound design and harmonic elements of the piece. The way the lead cuts off at 1:08 is a little sudden, and the harmonic pattern of the piece changes very suddenly there. Given the frantic tempo of the piece, it might be a good idea to put in a more spacious breakdown so that you can give the listener some time to adjust to the new harmonic content. You actually have one at 1:53, but unfortunately it comes after you switch up the chord progression. That said, I like how you combine the two main harmonic progressions at 1:45 and again at 2:10. The transition back into the refrain at 2:18 was good, but once again there’s not a lot connecting the sections joined by the transition at 2:41. You have the crash and drum fills, sure, but that feels like a bit of a Band-Aid solution. I’d encourage you to make your transitions more gradual. Ideally, the different sections you’re connecting would share a couple of instruments and even the same riff. The melody at 3:26 also kinda came out of nowhere. Overall, despite my compositional complaints, I enjoyed the blissful mood, energy, and overarching structure. This piece just needs a little more tightening on the mixing, some more creative sound design, and a smoother flow. Keep at it, Mutty99! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7/10

mutty99 responds:

I'm happy you liked the energy, that means part of my "experiment" worked!

The instrumentantion choice has always been problematic for me, i think i should find new plugins for when i'm gonna come back this Autumn.
About the structure, the sudden transitions were voluntary: i tried to get inspired by the direct and simple style of Pokémon tracks, but maybe, following your review, i could've put more parts of my composing style. Understandable :)
One last thing: the 3:26 melody is a variation of the 1:30 one, i put it to make the mix less annoying and repetitive.
Glad you enjoyed the mix, i'll try to improve my style even more!

[Probe]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. Some of the synths are a bit cheesy, but I’m enjoying the swells and filtering/automation in the texture. The piece is a little slow to progress, but the production quality is pretty good. There were moments where I thought there was a bit too much reverb in the texture, but the transition at 1:03 actually works quite well. I wish there were more high-pitched tones in the texture to balance things out a bit. It’s a very bottom-heavy track, and the atonality here is a tad excessive. Great job with the energy and emotion - I would be scared for the protagonists if this was the background music in a movie - but it could use a bit more harmonic depth and melodic content. It also has a lot of tension and intensity throughout the piece - at some point I would’ve liked you to push the reset button and give the structure a bit more shape. The thinner texture at around 3:30 helps, but it’s very short-lived. The rhythmic content at 3:47 is a little hard-to-follow, but at the same time very creative and unique-sounding. The creepy outro is well-done too. Overall, solid production quality, atmosphere, mood, and compositional details. The texture needs a bit more contrast, especially in terms of pitch and harmony. A melodic bridge, greater density of effects at the upper frequency range, or even a mid-range pad drone would help fill out the texture a lot here. Keep at it, BiPolarBeat! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
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
7/10

BiPolarBeat responds:

Thanks for the feedback, i guess my style is slowly shifting into more retro vibes i.e. 2006ish limewax, so i guess stay tuned for that ;)

[AIM - SuperNova]

I like the minimal club beat at the beginning and the sense of anticipation. The atmosphere at :13 is nice, although the synths and pads are a bit generic and cheesy. The piece is a little slow to progress, but I like the additional atmospheric riffs at :40 and sense of build into 1:04. The piece is still a little thin on higher-pitched frequencies, and 1:30 feels a bit like an anti-climax. The melody line at 1:30 is catchy, albeit not very dynamic rhythmically. It’s also completely overwhelmed by the bass lines at 2:00. The structure of this piece is a bit too drawn-out for my tastes. You go back to a downtempo atmospheric section at around 2:20, and overall it seems like it’s been a little too long without an emotional climax in the middle section of this piece. I also wish you did more with the drums throughout this piece, especially given the cliche samples. I also think the drums duck under the mix a bit at times, and you might want to tighten up your equalizers on a couple of these synths and take a little bit off the mix of the reverb. By the end of the song, the harmonic content here seems pretty repetitive, and I wanted you to do more to heighten the structural contrast in this piece.

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[Broken Hearts]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning, but the sharp hi-hat was a little much imo. The sound design is really cool here, especially the sound effects at :23 that sound like you spent a lot of time modifying some recordings of bird calls or something. The pensive mood here is great, although the progression is a tad slow-paced. The drop at 1:07 is really refreshing, and I love the groovy synth bass and quirky vocals. I suppose I would’ve liked to hear some more melodic content at some point, though, and I think the refrain drags on for a tad too long. The return to the beautiful ambiance at 1:53 was quite welcome, and the sense of build starting at around 2:30 is great. Throughout the piece, I thought you could’ve done a tad more with the drums, which at times (especially 2:58) are a little overcompressed, btw. Unfortunately, this piece doesn’t have a strong sense of harmonic development over time, and I would’ve liked to hear a more distinct outro too. Overall, despite the top-notch production and sound design, I think you could’ve done more with the composition here. I kept waiting for these groovy - albeit somewhat contained - beats to break and ascend into a fit of catharsis with some gorgeous, climactic melody, but it never happened. The result is that the structure of the piece feels more like a stagnant cycle than a smooth narrative. Still, the instrumentation, mixing, and atmosphere definitely kept this piece afloat. Keep at it, Aoraz! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Aoraz responds:

This review has honestly made me so happy!

I will try my best to improve on my composition and make the overall flow of future songs have a more fluid feel.

Thank you so much! I hope I can get a 10/10 on your next review :)

[Dance of the Creepy Forest]

I like the waltzy vibe at the beginning and the woodwind melodies. The orchestral samples sound very realistic, and the orchestration is indeed quite good. The additional harmonies at 1:29 are really nice, although I would’ve liked to hear some more variation on the main melody. I like how the texture gets gradually thicker through 1:47, although there could’ve been a smoother transition into 1:48 (and also into 2:08, for that matter). It also would’ve been nice to vary the harmonic progression a bit more at some point, but overall the variety in the sound design helps keep things engaging. The re-entry of the woodwinds at 2:30 has a nice emotional appeal, and overall this piece comes together pretty well compositionally by the end. The production quality is also rather strong. Overall, this piece is beautiful and, despite my minor compositional complaints, you did a fantastic job here. Keep up the good work, MajorMusic! :)

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.5/10