TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[ALESDA! - Lost]

I love the atmosphere at the beginning. The explosive transition at :05 was pretty sudden, but worked well in the context of the piece. The mix is very loud, clear, and well-balanced, and the climax into :28 was great. The compression on this piece is SUPER heavy, though. The kick completely hijacks the mix every time it plays, which is actually a bit jarring in the context of the smooth, melodic vibe of the rest of the piece. That's my only real complaint here, though. The composition is fantastic. I love the melodic content, atmosphere, and sound design. The little moment of structural relief at 1:45 was great, and the percussion at around the 2-minute mark is also really cool. I love how the build-up into 2:42 is overlaid with this gorgeous melody. The texture here is so rich and full, too. Your transitions are all very well-done, and I love the spacey, majestic outro. The details of this piece are really strong - the perfect amount of reverb, the rhythmic patterns, all of it. Fantastic piece overall, man. Keep up the good work! ^_^

[Omniverse (2014)]

Solid guitar riff at the beginning. Drums are pretty loud and crisp, too. I like the atmosphere and melodies at :22, but I think the pads are distorting the mix a bit. The composition gets a little repetitive after a while (at least during the first half), and also might need a little more textural fill. The breakdown at 1:20 worked well, and the melodic content at 1:45 really helped give the piece more drive and energy going into the more climactic section towards the end. I think there are a couple transitions in here that could use some smoothing over, notably :22, 1:44, and 3:07. The fade-out at the end also seemed to come on a little too fast. That said, I really like the energy, production, and structural variety on this one. Strong work overall.

I remember really liking your work back in the day (I think you submitted something to the NGUAC back in 2015 or so...). I'm excited to see what you produce in the next round! ^_^

Ritz190 responds:

I appreciate the review! oh yea my mixing ability can be pretty hit and miss but it's all part of the fun. This song follows my usual upbeat positive vibe and I'm pretty happy how it turned out over all. Hopefully I can pass on to the next round with my next submission! again, thanks alot! :)

[[EXTENDED] Mountains of Ethnia and Rebuilded Auroras]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning. The soulful guitar pairs well with the oscillating bass drone. The percussion sample that comes in at :31 sounds good, but I think the pacing of the piece could've been a lot faster there. The atmosphere fades away completely there, and I think that ruined the flow a bit. The piece develops a brighter mood in time, which was nice in its own way. All of a sudden, the percussion sounds more danceable than intimidating. :) I guess my main complaint with the piece is that, especially during the latter 3.5 minutes or so, the only way the texture changes is by the addition/subtraction of instruments. There are certainly some awesome riffs and melodies, like the brass at 2:56. But the piece also didn't really fully capitalize on its potential for phrasing and structural "ebb and flow," which is particularly notable because the beginning part of the piece had so much of that compositional aspect. That said, I've been really tough on you so far. I love the sound design and the blissful mood of the piece. The production is quite strong. The only minor mixing/balance issue I noticed was that the main western-sounding guitar seemed to be struggling for attention in the mix at the final climax (~4:30-5:00). Overall, though, super fun piece. Keep up the good work, AlbeGian! ^_^

Albe responds:

Thank you TL for the feedback! Gonna keep it in mind for next time

[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. :)