TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Garden of Eden]

I love the atmosphere at the beginning. Feels very evocative of nature between the instrumentation and sound effects. The production is strong too. The mix is loud and clear, and everything blends together so well. The piece takes a while to develop, but I thought the re-intro at :46 actually functioned quite well for the piece as a whole. I certainly see how Xtrullor influenced you, too. The transition at 1:32 was a bit sudden, but the atmospheric elements of the piece after that were really spectacular. I love how this piece has such an ebb and flow of energy and texture. The incorporation of the more energetic electronic elements at 1:46 could've been more subtle/gradual. I think that's actually my main complaint here. The orchestral elements clearly function as more than just an intro here, and therefore the drop really does sound like a completely different piece. The close proximity to the second drop was also a bit jarring given the pacing earlier in the piece. I'd almost be tempted to juggle around the structure to move the first drop earlier and leave more orchestral elements for a bridge in the middle. That said, I enjoyed the piece overall, but especially the orchestral parts. You have a great sense of atmosphere and progression. I look forward to hearing what you produce for this next round. Keep it up, Tennon! ^_^

Tennon responds:

Wow I didn't even see this review. I pretty much agree on everything you said here. I will do my best to avoid these mistakes in the future!

[Miston Music - Miston's Arcade Medley]

I like the cutesy mood at the beginning and the sound design. Sounds a little generic at first, and I think the transitions between a lot of the various sections could be smoother, especially :29, 1:48, and 2:10. The production quality is quite enjoyable, though. The lively drums and well-balanced frequencies do a lot for the piece. Obviously, the structure of the piece doesn't sound too cohesive, but at the very least the sound design and rhythmic components of the piece were threaded through the piece as a whole. I also really like the sound effect at 2:54. Cute and fun piece! Keep it up, Miston. :)

Miston responds:

thanks. :)

[Should Have Stayed Home, Should Have Stayed Out Of Trouble]

I like the phasing at the beginning. The sudden punctures of the pads at the beginning contrasts nicely with the airy atmosphere of :15. Reverb on the clap felt a bit excessive, but also contributed to the atmosphere in its own way. I especially like when, later on, you interchange the drier clap and wet one. The progression is pretty slow here, but I like the soothing mood and sound design. The production quality is also good. The transition at 1:45 felt very gradual, yet the sharp attack at 1:56 still felt heavy and jarring in a way (but I think that's what you were going for). You clearly have a great sense of harmony and progression, though. The piece just takes a long time to develop. There isn't a lot of prominent melodic content in this piece, and I would've liked to see a more creative ending than a fade-out. That said, I like how the texture erodes away in a subtle way before the transition at 3:52. The sound design and atmosphere have really sold this piece. Keep up the good work, RedSoul92! ^_^

RedSoul92 responds:

It's definitely a main idea that drags around for 5 minutes, the absence of a lead melody is intentional to give the ambience a bigger role. The fade-out may have been caused by a lack of structure in the ending.
I will keep it up, thnxs!

[Akasha]

Woah. Harsh sound design at the beginning. Sounds a little grating, but the rhythm by :16 is really creative. The progression is a bit lopsided, by which I mean it doesn't have a clear directionality to it. The experimental sound design is impressive, but my personal tastes require a more cohesive structure and clear harmonic framework. Given that the piece is so short, I think the current content you have in here would function quite well as instrumental breaks to relieve a more grounded structural form. That said, I can certainly see why it's getting so much attention from the NGUAC judges and/or community. The strong production definitely enhances the punchiness of the rhythm, the gritty sound design, and the haphazard nature of the progression. Keep at it, Pusga!

[The Kiratose]

I like the progression at the beginning. The dense texture at :08 is really fun. The strings sound a tad harsh in the mix, though - lot of high-pitched tones. I like the frantic synth arpeggios and loud mix, too. I think the melodies at around the 1-minute mark were a little hard-to-follow, and the piece has a couple minimalistic sections that don't really fit well into the rest of the fabric of the piece, most notably 1:24. You did a good job of keeping the vaguely creepy vibe embedded in the harmonic framework, though. The ending seemed a bit rushed/lazy. The piece doesn't even fade out all the way before the end cuts off. Despite the almost-too-fast pacing and compositional complaints I have, this is a really fun piece that seems suitable for a videogame. Keep at it, Alphysans! :)

[Asher Postman - Going to the Sun (ft. Annelisa Franklin) AtRysk Remix]

I like the chill atmosphere and vocals at the beginning. Mastering is rather strong too. Nice sense of build-up into 1:12. The drop there was nice too - good pacing especially. The somewhat generic instrumentation and arrangement detract from the piece a bit, though. That said, you’re clearly a talented producer. Everything sounds clean, loud, and distinct in the mix. There’s the perfect amount of reverb, and the drums are crisp and clear. Very feel-good sort of piece. Well-structured and flowy too.

Sorry we had to disqualify you. I hope there are no hard feelings. It's a good track, but it simply doesn't fit our criteria for originality (and maybe not the site's either).

Good luck with your future projects, man.

AtRysk responds:

No hard feelings. Thanks for the feedback!

[Cutting Corners]

The reverse crash at the beginning felt a bit forceful compared with the calming mood of the rest of the piece. Beautiful sound design and melodies, though, even if the piano melody sounded a tad square rhythmically. I like the ongoing sense of directionality in the texture until 1:06. The stop-start transition has a nice sense of drama about it, but I still thought it was a bit abrupt. Nice work with the progression otherwise. You know how to give the composition of your tracks an ebb and flow really well. The final climactic section at around 2:35 is super great. I think the lower string line could've come through the mix a little clearer at 2:40, but otherwise I didn't notice any huge problems with the mastering here. My biggest compositional complaint is that there's a lot of transitory/build-up content without much cathartic/emotional height content. Perhaps that's merely typical of cinematic tracks, though. Overall really strong work here! You really sold the drama with this one. Good luck in the ADM, AceMantra. ^_^

AceMantra responds:

Thanks for the input and kind words, TL! I totally agree with all of your points. I meant to make the transitions a little smoother, but I ran out of time as usual. But it's finished and that's what matters.

Thanks again, and good luck to you as well. :)

[TeslaX - Celestial Abyss]

Woah. I like the punchy texture at :06. The piece kinda throws you right into the middle of the action, though. Would be nice if there were more of a proper intro. I really like the instrumentation and drive the piece has. The orchestral sub-theme was nicely integrated into the electronic texture, too. The drop at 1:07 is really cool. Reminds me a lot of Xtrullor and Helixix's work, actually. The transition to the breakdown at 1:57 was really strong. You've really maximized the dynamic range of this piece - it's impressive. The vocal samples at 3:22 also function well, even if you hadn't introduced any similar elements earlier in the piece. The final climax works well to add some finality and resolve to the piece. The spacey percussion "slam" kind of effect at 4:17 was a nice touch, too. I think my favorite element of the piece is the production. Everything just sounds so crisp, loud, and distinct throughout. You did a great job with this piece, Tesla! Epic sound. Good luck in the ADM! ^_^

[stardust [NGADM Round 1]]

I like the chill mood at the beginning and the sharp snaps on the off-beats for the first 30 seconds or so. The balance seems a bit off to me, though. The chord progression/bass are really heavy, and the melodic content doesn't really shine through the mix that well during the refrain. Then, the breakdown at :59 comes on really suddenly. A subtle filter doesn't really cut it as a transition in my eyes. I like the more gradual sense of climax into the next refrain, though. Overall, the production quality is really strong here, and the mix has a lot of top end that sounds really good (those crisp hi-hats, soaring synth arpeggios, etc.). The sudden transitions, lack of originality in the composition, and balance issues just detract from my enjoyment of all these positive elements, unfortunately. And then the outro sounded pretty ominous, which didn't really fit the character of the rest of the piece imo. Overall, I'd say that you're clearly a talented producer, but I can tell that the piece is rushed. Good luck in the ADM, though! Keep at it, N1NJA-Official. :^)

N1NJA-Official responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I didn't really have a single cohesive idea throughout, coupled with stress to finish and cpu issues with playback from too much layering. A lot of the fine details were glossed over like you mentioned.

[On Go]

The tempo automations with that synth at the beginning are really cool. Bongos are also cool. I love the swells with the pads, too (first the big one at :05 and then the smaller ones starting at :22). The piece is really catchy, albeit a little slow-paced. The melodic content at :54 is super funky and refreshing. The sound effect at 1:01 sounded a little harsh, but overall that entire refrain is really creative rhythmically and pleasing harmonically. The dreamier melodic content that starts at around 1:30 is a quite welcome shift in the overall texture/flavor of the piece. The breakdown at 2:38 is also a great element of the progression. Despite the slow pacing of the piece, there's a ton of structural variety and ebb and flow in the composition. The jazzy chords at around the 4-minute mark serve you well. The final refrain really comes together nicely. This piece takes me on a journey, 1f1n1ty. Great work! Probably the strongest composition I've heard for this year's NGADM so far, at the very least of an electronic track for sure. By all means, keep it up! And good luck in the ADM. ^_^