TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Anemone]

I like the ominous, industrial vibe at the beginning and the sense of climax into :20. Nice job with the filtering and automations during the intro, too. The chord progression and drums at :20 are refreshing, although I would’ve liked to hear some more prominent melodic content during the refrain. The breaks at :56 are nice, and the bass swells and vocal samples are valuable additions to the texture as well. I like the more atmospheric section at 1:15 too. The bit at 1:30 serves as a nice breakdown/re-intro, and the quirky lead synth there sounds super neat. The transition into the second refrain at 2:18 was pretty smooth, although I would’ve liked to hear some variation on the chords and lead riffs towards the end. The section at 2:46 begins to accomplish this, but it serves more of a wind-down rhythmic purpose rather than a melodic emotional height. Overall, the production quality is probably the strongest element of this piece. I have absolutely no complaints there. Elements of the composition could’ve been stronger, but most of my gripes are missed opportunities rather than things that actively bother me, which is certainly a good thing. Strong work overall! Keep it up, ISMCataclism. ^_^

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

[Metric]

I like the smooth guitars at the beginning and the dreamy atmosphere. The crisp drums are cool too, and when the bass comes in and the intensity increases at :26 the progression really comes together too. The melodic content here is really refreshing, and the descent into a more atmospheric vibe at 1:10 sounds like a daydream in the middle of a hectic workday (i.e., awesome). The breakdown at 1:46 is really pleasant, too, and the melodic content thereafter is so dynamic and cool. You really told a story with this one. Wow. If I had to complain about something, it might be that the plethora of melodic content and constant driving energy of this piece compromises its sense of cohesion and structural contrast a tad. Still, the progression is so smooth that none of those nit-picky structural complaints actually bother me that much. Amazing production quality, sound design, atmosphere, rhythmic and melodic content, and sense of shape and flow. This piece is awesome and you should feel awesome. Keep up the good work, Introverse! ^_^

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

Introverse responds:

Thank you for awesome feedback. It's awesome to have some recognition on my childhood's favorite site :D. I really appreciate it. Cheers, hope to see you at the next round.

[Ozone]

I like the heavy bass and drums, although the progression at the beginning is a tad bizarre. The rhythm is pretty square, although that improves slightly as the piece goes on. I like the ominous mood, and there are moments of atonality that heighten that vibe. The harmonies are in need of some variety after the first minute, and indeed :54 seems a bit more dynamic in that regard. A lot of the instruments you use here are pretty cheesy and inauthentic, from the string and woodwind samples to the classic EDM snare. I think the mix could be a lot cleaner, as it’s noticeable that the drums are fighting against the distortion in the bass range. I’d suggest using an equalizer to remove the bass frequencies (~200 Hertz and lower) in all your instruments except the bass, kick, and snare. That’ll help make the texture sound less muddy. I like the more dreamy section at 1:58. It makes for a nice, short breakdown, although the piece could’ve had a better sense of shape and structural contrast if you had played more with dynamics and phrasing in that section. Bringing back the strings for the final climax at 2:33 was a good idea, although this is another section where it’s really apparent that the mixing is messy in this track. The string harmonies, drums, and even bass are all fighting for attention because they share some of the same frequencies. You can fix that with mixing tools like filtering, panning, and stereo widening. I’d suggest you do some research on how to use those tools in whatever DAW you use. It might also make the mix sound cleaner if you eliminate some of the reverb in the texture. Overall, production quality is definitely my main concern here. The melodies, progression, and atmosphere are all fairly good. Honestly, clean mixing and polished sound design are the best indicators of popularity on Newgrounds in my experience. Improve those attributes, and you could have a top notch piece here, my friend. Keep at it, IndexatioN! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7/10

[Virtual Riot ~ Init (Incise Arrangement) [Refix]]

I like the pulsing vibe at the beginning and the bright pads. The mix is really loud, but there might be a bit too much reverb and compression in the texture. It sounds a bit over-saturated. That said, I like the melodic content and the sense of build into 1:15. The instruments are cute, if a little cheesy and generic, but the mix is generally crisp and clear throughout. Nice job with the re-intro at 1:52. It was good for creating some structural variety after an extended emotional height. Later in the piece, I think you could’ve varied the melodies a little more. They get repetitive after a while. During the refrains, I lose the kick and clap on the downbeat in the mix a bit, although the snare still pops through well. Besides the repetition and minor mixing issues, I think the main problem this piece has is how generic it sounds. Everything from the structure to the sound design to the chord progression seems like very textbook EDM. There’s a lot of room for more originality here. That said, the upbeat vibe, overall solid production quality, and pleasing melodic and harmonic content definitely keep this piece afloat. Strong work, Incise! :)

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[On The Prowl]

I like the bouncy synths at the beginning and the blissful vibe. The chord progression is a little simple, and the breaks at :31 are a tad cheesy. The progression of the piece as a whole is also a bit bizarre, with sudden transitions at :52, 1:14, and other places. The piece cycles through a number of riffs without having a strong overarching sense of direction, which worries me from a compositional standpoint. There are certainly some good ideas here, but they just seem stapled together without any broader sense of storytelling or build. The way the piece is arranged is haphazard, in other words. I also think you should’ve varied the harmonic progression a bit more. Despite the different iterations of the riffs, the chords get pretty repetitive after a while. There’s also not a lot of dynamic melodic content in here. That said, I thought one element of the piece that was particularly strong was the mixing. All the instruments sound clear, crisp, and loud throughout. The rhythmic content of the piece is also enjoyable - it’s catchy and danceable, and the instrumentation is pretty good too. The composition just needs a bit more ebb and flow, and the arrangement needs to be smoother - those are the core of my concerns here. Keep at it, Immitis! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.25/10

Immitis responds:

The most constructive criticism I've ever received, thanks!

[Light of the Darkhouse - Darkhouse Soundtrack]

Cute riffs at the beginning. Sounds almost melancholy in a way. I think the synths you used sound pretty cheesy and generic, but I like how you layered the melodies on top of each other. The beat at :40 is a little bizarre, with a lot of glitchy and distorted sounds that clash a bit with the otherwise legato and smooth melodies. The part that begins at 1:01 clearly shows a good sense of harmony, but the arpeggios also seem a tad distracting given their prominence in the mix above the main melodies. I also wanted to see you take some more advanced approaches to creating variety besides just adding and subtracting instruments over time. Examples include volume changes, filtering, automation, and the like. The ending here is a bit sudden, and the structure of the piece only really ever involves one emotional height, gradually becoming thicker and denser until around 1:40, after which you strip away some of the arpeggios and secondary melodies. I would’ve liked to hear some sort of bridge or breakdown at some point to give this piece a little more shape and structural contrast. Still, I think the mix is pretty well-balanced and full-textured throughout, and the melodies have a nice emotional appeal. Keep at it, ImminentDeath! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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
6.75/10

[Welcome (Benvenuto)]

I like the intensity of the guitars at the beginning and the drum rolls at :06. The melodic content is strong, and you maintain the energy and drive of the piece until the very end. The drum roll at :36 seemed a bit excessive, though, and also revealed the inauthenticity of the drum samples imo. While the content that’s here sounds good, this less-than-a-minute piece doesn’t give me a great sense of a lot of compositional skills, like transitions, structuring, storytelling, and progression. For an incomplete piece, it sounds really good, but I’m not sure you necessarily showed off a sufficient variety of compositional talents here. Fleshing out the composition more would help give this piece a stronger sense of ebb and flow, as well as help maximize the emotional appeal of the track via structural contrast. That’s my main complaint, but there are certainly compositional and production skills you have shown off well here, from the melodic and harmonic content to the flow, sound design, and atmosphere. Keep at it, IkarosTheKing! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.5/10

[What's the Rush?]

I like the ominous mood and atmosphere at the beginning. The quirky percussion and furtive guitar riffs at :18 were nice additions to the texture, but the piece still sounds somewhat minimal for most of the first third or so. I’m not sure I like how distorted the mix sounds, either. It’s probably just the heavy panning, but somehow a lot of the components of the texture sound very harsh in my ears. That said, the mood and sound design remain engrossing for the duration of the piece, and I really like the hipster lounge vibe I’m getting from this. That said, the piece also has some structural concerns for me. It has a sense of continuity that could use breaking up a bit, as in with a bridge or breakdown to give the piece a little more shape. The sudden ending exacerbates the idea that this piece doesn’t sound structurally complete. The melodic content in the piece also seems to come in fits and starts, which contributes to the ambient vibe of the piece in a really cool way. It’s like all the instruments are playing on an even playing field, without trying to stand out from one another. Overall, I really like what you’ve done with the instrumentation and atmosphere here, but I think you could maximize the potential of this piece with a little more work on the mixing and structuring. Keep at it, IceAcheSocial! ^_^

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
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
8.5/10

[You Come Upon An Old Place]

I like the dreamy vibe at the beginning. The sound design is really soothing, and the cute synth melodies at :15 are beautiful. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture - probably too much for my tastes - but the mix is still pretty sharp and well-balanced. I absolutely love how the piece resets itself at 1:20. The subtle crescendo over that first 1.5-minute section really helps maximize the emotional appeal here. The string solo at 2:05 is beautiful, and also sounds really organic. Did you record the viola for this? I also like the piano at the breakdown at 3:05. It adds a bright tone to the otherwise vaguely somber elements of the texture. I also like the guitar solo at 3:45, although the texture here is very distorted, and I think this is the part where the reverb is most noticeably excessive. It’s also around this point that I think the piece begins to lose a sense of cohesion a bit. There are a lot of different melodies and instruments added throughout the piece, but given how the ending just gradually fades after the guitar solo, I’m not sure that all of these different sections felt like part of the same story as much as I wanted them to. Other than that, this piece is beautiful, dynamic, and showcases a wide range of compositional talents. The mood and atmosphere are haunting, and the piece has a great sense of ebb and flow about it brought on by the subtle dynamics changes and vacillating energy levels. Strong work here, Greyvoice! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10