TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Cove-]

I love the airy sound quality and the smooth pads. The progression is a tad slow, but the laid-back and atmosphere and mood really sell this piece. Later on, the mellow guitar solo and chord progression totally hit me in the feels. The track does get a bit repetitive, but I'm a sucker for these chill-out tracks. You sold the emotional appeal really well by stripping away the beat at the end, and the radio effects/static was a nice thematic touch. Overall great work! I would buy an album full of tracks like this from you. ^_^

Waterflame responds:

Thanks! That's great to hear :) Appreciate the feedback.

[-Viscid-]

I like the atmosphere. Similar percussion to "Dim," but the bass is heavier and the thematic content is a lot different between the police sirens and clavinet and organs. I really like the harmony, but I wish it developed a little faster at times. It has a bit of a linear progression, without too many surprises or structural changes...which is not necessarily bad for a rather short piece, but I could still see you doing a lot more with this. My favorite parts of it are the rhythm and instrumentation, which contribute the most to the funkiness for sure. Keep up the good work, WF!

Waterflame responds:

Thanks! :) Yeah, true about the progression and potential.. i felt like I was building a theme before a possible 2nd act, but this track took me long enough, it would be another 2 weeks. I felt like it was forcing it beyond the end point. The way I see it I would rather finish and try similar later than to over-produce on one piece.

[Fear Not This Night]

Beautiful melodies at the beginning. I love how the instrumental swells into :40 and then dramatically dies before the vocals enter. It's such an effective way of building anticipation after the intro. The vocalist did an amazing job. The thematic content is giving me Lord of the Rings vibes, yet the quality of the vocals makes me feel like this could be in a Broadway musical. The shape and arrangement of the piece are probably my favorite elements of it. There's such a wonderful sense of storytelling to the energy and directionality of this track. The climax at 3:40 feels like heaven, and the dream-like bells at the end leave a lingering sense of hope, matching the theme of the lyrics. The mix is flawless as usual. The orchestral instruments are lovely - I particularly liked the strings and piano towards the beginning and the horns at the climax. It makes my day every time to see a new track from you guys. Sorry I didn't get around to reviewing this earlier. I'd love to see more of you guys around the Grounds in 2019. Well wishes from across the Atlantic! ^_^

[sp0M0ky]

Hahaha...nice job with the cheesy organ and riser towards the beginning. Has a great, full texture and vaguely classic rock feel. The lyrics are a little cheesy, but certainly fit the bill thematically. I personally didn't like how broken up the delivery of the lyrics was within phrases. There were also a lot of sudden changes in energy and dynamics, which made for a wonky overarching structure. It's a fun piece, but I think a bit more effort could've gone into the arrangement and transitions. Still, excellent job with the mixing, sound design, and vocal quality as always. Hope to hear more from you in 2019, Garlagan! ^_^

[-Dim-]

I like the quirky instruments and white noise. Really helps set the scene. The beat is a little simplistic, but the bell-like synths have a really interesting rhythmic element that helps give the piece more character. By 1:30, the progression starts to come together, and the more hard-hitting snare rolls by 2:15 help channel the energy going into the re-intro/breakdown/coda at 2:30. The very end even had a more melodic vibe. I really like this track. It sounds very different than a lot of your recent work in character, yet something about the instrumentation and drum work is still quintessentially you. Good to be all caught up with your recent tracks, Waterflame! Looking forward to hearing some more soon. :)

Waterflame responds:

Thank you! Glad it still shines through. I am getting more comfortable with making these kinds of beats at last.

[-Groovy Tower-]

I like the distorted vocal samples at the beginning and the catchy bass riffs. Later, the frantic melodies and quirky secondary harmonies really make this piece a fun adventure. I especially like the apparently Middle Eastern-inspired riff at :58. The choir in the background at around the 2-minute mark was a nice surprise. Seems like you were still itching to use that sample after finishing "Running from Demons." ^_^ The sub-themes of the piece all come together really nicely by the end. This piece has a really strong sense of direction and cohesion overall, which I really appreciate. The ending was a tad sudden, but that's honestly my only major complaint. Another baller track. Keep it up, WF!

Waterflame responds:

Thank you! :D Yeah those choirs are nice, Its 8dio samples so quality is great, but I actually destroyed the quality in this one to make it fit the track more and not poke out so much. It just seemed right at that part. No idea why, but I went with it!

[-Escalade-]

I love the industrial sound effects and the James Bond-style guitar at the beginning. Interesting...at first I thought this was going to be one of your bassy, rhythmic tracks. The progression is a tad slow for the first minute, but you do a great job of slowly morphing it into a more upbeat track. I'm definitely getting some older Waterflame-style vibes here, but the instrumental palette is a bit richer and the texture feels more saturated, both of which are pluses. There's a lot of melodic content to keep me engaged. Your mixing has definitely gotten better in the last couple of years, but I think that snare wasn't always as prominent as I wanted it to be. The piece also feels a tad repetitive by the end. The contour in the main riff is very similar throughout the track. I also thought the ending could've been a bit more creative. Overall, though, I really like the sound design and mood here. The bass is really important to the texture of the piece, but it's still a really strongly melodic track. Keep it up, WF!

Waterflame responds:

Thanks for the review! Thats great to hear. I actually agree with the criticism too, I was entranced by the repetitive melody. I tend to fixate on certain bouncing appreciating things and make them go on for a tad too long. This could def. have been cut down a bit and mastered with less emphasis on the bass.

[-Jumper 2-]

Wow. Love how different it sounds from the original at the beginning. Cute synths and really bright tone to everything, including the bass and pads. I definitely start to recognize it by around the 1-minute mark, and the ongoing energy and melodic themes help it maintain the feel of the original too. I especially like the quirky synth at the breakdown at 1:48. The mixing is strong with this one, too, although at times I thought you could've done something more interesting with the drums. The final melody at 3:15 has a great victorious vibe about it. The ending was a little sudden, although it's certainly a loopable track. Nice work, WF! ^_^

[Japanese Theme Remake]

This feels a little thrown-together. There's some cool sound design between the airy guitar and heavy synth bass, but I'm not sure they blended well or complemented each other harmonically. My main problem with the piece is that the rhythm and harmony lack clear structuring and progression. I think a good next step for you would be to make a piece that has a more regular beat. Maybe you could make a simple 4-measure pattern or something, and then build more harmonies around that riff. Or you could also make a drum beat that sets up a more consistent way of emphasizing the rhythm of your piece (strong downbeat with a kick drum, hi-hats on the off beats, etc.). PM me when you finish a track like that, and I'll give you some more feedback. Keep at it, Jillroller400! :)

[Cs - 'Mirage']

I like the victorious vibe at the beginning and the gradual fade-in. The tempo felt a little slow (and the texture a little dreamy) for a dance song, but maybe all it needs is a drum beat to give it some drive. I appreciated the changes in dynamics, but they seemed occasionally haphazard to me, as opposed to reflecting the harmonic direction to the piece. The synths are a bit cheesy, but they fit the cutesy mood well. Solid piece overall. I can tell you're improving. This one is particular has a smooth flow a well-balanced mix to it. Keep it up, Csucskos! ^_^

Csucskos responds:

Thank you. I was in big dilemma when I had to choose the genre. I thought, the dance was the closest to the mood of the song.
The drum is a good idea, maybe only the bass kicking is not enough for keeping the tempo "feel".
I know the second melody just jumps out of nowhere, but I feel like this song needs that really bad. I may have a solution though: I'll repeat the main melody a few more times, giving the listener the opportunity to familiarize with that and only than will change to the second melody.
Thank you for your feedback again, I'll definitely improve on them in the next iteration of this song.