TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Spectre of the Marionette]

I like the waltz-style instrumentation and time signature. Melodies at :05 are beautiful, and the build-up into :27 is great. The piano flourish at :38 is great, and the victorious, blissful mood here really sells this piece well. I also appreciate the structural contrast at 1:03. I thought you overused the crashes a bit at around 1:20, and also that the brass sample at 1:56 sounds pretty inauthentic. That said, the sound design here is fantastic otherwise. I also would’ve liked to see you vary the main melodies a bit the second time around, but I don’t have any other complaints with the arrangement or structure either. Very strong work, overall. The production is quite good, too - well-balanced, clear, full, and loud. Not much to complain about here at all, Tennon. Keep up the great work!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10

Tennon responds:

Wow, thanks for the review! I was waiting for you to mention the piano at :38 lol!

[Torque]

Woah. Funky beats at the beginning. I like the quirky sound design and the drama. Sounds like a postmodern movie soundtrack. There isn’t much of a proper intro here, but that decision reflects the thematic content pretty well. The experimental texture is actually really cool. Some of the high-pitched percussion at :41 sounds a little harsh in my ears, though. The texture from around :41 to 1:37 could use a bit of thickening. There’s a lot of minimalism, and I think you missed a big opportunity to capitalize on the funky sound design and ominous mood to really blow the listener away. Right now, there’s a lot of suspense in this piece without much cathartic content to hit it home. The swells at 2:02 sound absolutely amazing, though. You get full credit for instrumentation, atmosphere, and originality. The production quality is also really good, despite my complaints with the harsh percussion. My main concern is the lack of fill for most of the piece. I think it would help to have some more melodic content, bump up the volume on those bass frequencies during the emptier sections as you’re able, and also implement some more legato/drone-like content to keep up the flow. Otherwise, sweet piece. Thanks for the nightmares! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
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
7.75/10

[Vengeance Fighter]

I like the sound design from the get-go. The piece might need more of a proper intro, though. As it is now, it kinda throws the listener right into the action. I also think you could’ve used more phrasing in this piece. The first 30 seconds or so doesn’t have a very good sense of build-up. The refrain at :34 is fun, but I think you tried to do a bit too much with it in a sense. The texture felt very busy, and the progression of the melody a bit haphazard. The post-chorus at 1:01 was a nice additional structurally, but I think the drums could’ve come forward in the mix a bit more to make that section feel more punchy. In general, the mix here is pretty loud and well-balanced, but also a little dry. Some more reverb would give this piece a more full-sounding texture too, but be careful not to overuse it. The clarity of the mix is more important than having lots of reverb. The outro bit at 2:21 was fun, although I wish you had changed up the second refrain a bit more so that it didn’t mirror the first one as closely. Overall, cute piece. Keep at it, NGBaronAwesomeness!

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

NGBaronAwesomeness responds:

Thanks for the review dude! Although I didn't get into the KO round I still beat my friend @OfficialHenyx (who is, by the way, generally better than me at everything) by making a song in a genre that I've never even tried before.
I understand how in the beginning of the song it was a little one-dimensional, and that's mainly because I intended to make the transition between the intro and the next part more suspenseful.
Also, I agree that the mix was kinda bad. The software I used to create this song didn't have a very good mixer/master, and even if it did, it wouldn't have been very user friendly.
But with all that out of the way, thanks for making a full-on review of my song, I greatly appreciate it.

(P.S. I can't afford supporter rank so I have to go with "NGBaronAwesomeness" thanks to myself 3 years ago. It's Prospect if you were even wondering 😝)

[Miston Music - Warm Mood]

I like the thin, pizzicato-y synth sound at the beginning and the subtle build-up into :15. There are a lot of short, staccato elements to the texture; I think you may have needed a stronger pad or something in there to fill out the texture. When the harmonies dropped out at :47, it was a bit jarring, but I enjoyed the refrain at 1:03. Melodies are cute. The mix is also really loud and clear here, although sometimes I think the drums get a little distorted (1:22, for instance). The breakdown section at 1:37 was nice. The pacing of this piece is really fast, though. There are a lot of distinct sections squeezed into a short amount of time, and that can come across as disorienting as a listener. Also, I’d encourage you to double-check how harsh the upper-register frequencies in this piece sound, especially at 2:57 or so, for example. Otherwise, the arrangement of this piece is really nice, and it feels conclusive by the end. Aspects of the harmonic progression were a bit cliche, but overall the piece feels engaging and fun. Keep at it, Miston!

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
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
8.5/10

Miston responds:

I’m glad you liked it. ;)

[Welcome To The Accelerated World]

I like the guitar riffs at the beginning. The piece could use more of a proper intro, but it’s got some great energy from the get-go. The sense of progression isn’t always so strong, other than the high-pitched riffs around the 1-minute mark. The production quality is good; I can hear everything clearly throughout. I would’ve liked to see you offer the listener some more structural variety at some point. The piece has a near-uniform intensity that makes it hard to stay engaged after a while. The composition needs more ebb and flow, and when the structure does change it’s really sudden, like at 2:01. In fact, 2:01 was probably my favorite part of the piece. Really fun melodies there, and the piece comes together pretty well by the end. Keep at it, Meatboot!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

[The Reunion]

I like the nature sFX at the beginning and the quirky percussion that comes in at around :15. The progression is a bit slow, but the piano line at :41 was really nice too. Has all the makings on an ambient beauty, especially with that lush cello. All of the elements of the texture sound so well-reverberated and full. I also really like the big break in the flow that the flute provides at 1:45. The piece really started going in a different direction afterwards. The melodic content of the strings and flute are beautiful, and I love how the melodies are tossed around between the different instruments. I guess my main complaint here is that the melodic instrument absolutely consumes the texture when it’s playing. I wanted to see the texture fill out at some point with some harmonies that were a little more present in the mix. That said, the arrangement of the piece is really nice, and ambient beauty minimalism is the right kind of minimalism to have. The voice acting at the end was so well done that I was worried (until I read the description) that it was from a movie or something and I was going to have to disqualify you. XD Seriously, though. Captivating work. Keep it up, LucasMasoch!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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?)
1/1
Composite score
9.5/10

Baumarius responds:

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'll probably go back and work on some of what you specified before I release it on the album. Thanks for the review!

[Stay]

I like the somewhat contained sound at the beginning and the cute synth riff at :13. I like the refrain at :26 too, but I think the texture didn’t quite fill out how I wanted it to there. The sub-bass is the most prominent addition to the instrumental there, and I think the texture could’ve used a tad more atmosphere (maybe even with some more mid-frequency tones if there’s room in the mix). I like the verse at 1:05, too - the backing vocals help fill out the texture too. I think the two vocal lines at 1:42 kinda trip over each other a bit (same thing at 2:58), but that’s a small detail. A bigger concern I have is that the harmonic framework of this piece feels pretty stagnant. The chorus is never varied throughout the piece, and the instrumental needs a bit more variety as well. I also thought the fade-out ending was a little underwhelming. That said, the melodic section at 2:21 helps out this piece a lot. It just adds a sense of directionality more so than anything else in the piece imo. I also think there are some generic aspects of the arrangement and lyrics in the piece, especially during the refrain. Overall, though, this is strong work. The production is really clean, and the piece has this underlying moodiness that’s easy to get into. Keep up the good work, Kurtiskong!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Impetum Immortui]

I like the energy and the foreboding mood. The samples don’t sound very realistic, especially the brass. Production quality here is good, though - loud, clean mix and well-balanced frequencies. After a time, the progression is a tad hard to follow. The pacing is very fast, with few “arrival points” and clear directionality to the energy level/intensity. The piece still stays engaging throughout, although the ritardando towards the end felt a bit awkward given the rhythmic structure and pacing of the piece. Overall, I think the drama, fun brass riffs, and your occasionally contrapuntal approach to the harmony sell this piece pretty well. Keep at it, JacksonTime!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10