TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[~Fore~ Shadow (NG Edit)]

I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the atmosphere. Really cool use of vocal samples and sound design. Where are the vocals from? I love it when that grouchy bass comes in at 1:05, and the riser at 1:54 is really cool too. The more melodic content at 2:05 was a nice change to the texture. There are a lot of minimalistic moments in the piece, but overall I really like the progression, texture, and instrumentation. The production quality is also rather sharp. I suppose I would've liked the vocal samples to come back a little earlier, though. It would've offered a nice relief to the repetition that characterizes most of the 2nd half of the piece. Still, I can tell you spent a lot of time on the mastering and mixing effects here. Strong work! Keep it up, Aliaspharow. ^_^

[Detious - Ataraxia]

I like the quirky synths and filtering at the beginning. The piece takes a while to develop, but I like the synth that starts fading in at :31 and how the texture comes together a bit more by :46. The drop is cool, and I like the vocal samples in the post-chorus, but the texture seemed to be a bit too thin for my tastes. Almost seemed like it was missing the middle frequency range at some points (especially around the 2-minute mark). Still, I like the variety, transitions, and sound design here. Production is super clean as usual, and I like how atmospheric the outro is. Good luck in the NGADM, Detious! ^_^

[Timescape]

I love the apprehensive mood at the beginning and the chord progression. Excellent job with the phrasing and intensity throughout. I love the gritty synth bass that comes in right before the beat, and the pensive, arpeggiated patterns maintained throughout the rest of the piece. The transition at 1:51 is a little sudden, but the cinematic vibe of the piece really helps hit it home in the end. Sound design and production quality are both strong, even if the drums don't come through the mix quite as well as I want them to at 1:51. I really like how you slid the arpeggios up an octave for the outro, though. That really helps maintain the intensity until the end. Solid work! Good luck in the ADM. ^_^

LunyAlex responds:

Hey thanks for your review!
It's very motivating. I'll give my best, hehe.

[Hide the Light]

I love the ambiance here. Reverb is beautiful, especially combined with the haunting pads. Definitely has a celestial vibe about it, and I absolutely love the collage of instruments on display later in the piece, from the cello to the electric guitars to the piano. My only complaint is that the piece needs to be at least 3 times as long to satisfy my craving for ambient music. Fantastic work, Ale. Your production skills have improved a lot recently, too. Looking forward to hearing more from you soon! ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm glad you liked it! I just got a new reverb plugin, which makes the sound a lot less muddy, even if you use a lot of it. I had fun picking out the instruments. You're right about most of them, but there is actually no cello, the Joshua Bell Violin just hits some pretty low notes ^____^

I know! It totally should be longer. Alas, it's time to move back to Finland tomorrow :3
Thank you for the review :D

[Flee]

I like the frantic, eastern-sounding instrument and the creative rhythms here. Gets a tad repetitive after a while, but there's some novel content at around 1:20. Sounds like it would work great for a GD level indeed. I'm glad the "boing" sound effect comes back before the end, too (1:47). Keep it up, man! ^^

[Peril and Providence]

This one's really cute! I like the cheesy sound design and cheerful melodies. The "oom-pah" in the background is a great touch too. The mastering is solid, too. My only complaint here is that I thought the mood change at 1:06 was very sudden. I would've liked to see you do more to smooth that transition over. I also think you didn't quite complete the ABA form of the song towards the end. I'd love to see an expanded version of this with a fuller A-section at the end. Still, nice work! Fun instrumentation and mood, as always. :)

[Phantom at the Exhibit]

I like the classic rock organ and groovy electric bass. Sound design here is killer, and the rhythmic elements add a lot to the texture. Drums are bangin', and the piece has a soothing sense of continuity despite the decent amount of variety. I love the rhodes solo at :47 and the heavy use of ride cymbals. The bass solo at 1:30 almost functions like a breakdown, and I like how it comes full-circle by the end. I didn't know you had such a knack for jazz, CG! Keep up the good work! ^^

[Hollow Knight Main Theme Remix]

The beat is a little simplistic, but moves the piece along nicely. The ominous melody is cool, but it would've been nice to have some additional harmonies in there - bass, back-up melody, etc. - before 1:26 or so. I think the main riff sounds really indistinct in the mix, which is probably my main problem with the piece. I'd suggest removing some of the reverb and delay effects to add clarity. It's possible that they come with the instrument you used, but I think having fewer mastering effects in the texture would add some clarity to the mix. I hope you continue to work on this, though! It's a catchy tune with a cool atmosphere. Keep at it, man! ^^

DaVaP responds:

Oh damn, thanks. This was made in a bit of a rush to have something done for the game's anniversary, but that doesn't excuse it being as not-well-made as it is. Thanks for all the tips, means a lot. This was made in FL Studio Mobile which isn't quite as versatile as its PC counterpart, and I'm new to making music. I'll definitely try to do better on my next song/s as I'll be getting a laptop fairly soon, so look forward to that. Thanks again for the review!

[Etherscape]

I like the atmospheric style and soothing instrumentation. The pulsing of the pads at :47 was refreshing, but overall the piece is a tad slow to develop, and just when it seems to be coming together and building towards a climax, you launch into the breakdown at 1:24. The huge build-up of reverb into 2:05 was fun, and I like how it suddenly gives way to the frantic synth line and drums at 2:06. In fact, that last minute and a half or so is probably my favorite part of the piece. The mood and harmonies just come together more in that section. Overall solid work! Looking forward to those DnB tracks, too. ;)

Alloud responds:

Hey thanks for listening! Your review is very appreciated I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Whirlwind]

I like the strings at the beginning. Love the fusion orchestral-breakbeat style. Reminds me of some of Waterflame's old tracks. You have a great knack for creating catchy, energetic riffs that progress well over the course of the song. I especially like how one section bleeds into the next, like at 2:37. The piece gets a tad repetitive towards the end, but the energy is certainly maintained and the mastering is great throughout. Keep up the good work!

P.S. Where do you get your string samples from?

ErikMcClure responds:

Pretty much everything here is EWQL