TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[CHIPS In About 3 Minutes]

Catchy piece. Fade-in at the beginning could've been more creative, but I really like the pulse by around :16. Kick was a little weak - I'd try some more compression and/or layering of different kick samples. It was also really jarring when the volume got suddenly quieter at :37. I'd suggest foreshadowing that volume change with a drum fill or at least crash/sweep. The vocals at :41 feel kinda long-winded and out-of-place, but I appreciate the comedic value of :52. I think the repetition of the vocals in rapid succession went a little too far, though, especially at 1:54. I know this isn't supposed to be a serious track, but you're kinda just sacrificing a lot of the musical value at that point. The sudden volume changes are mastering issues are probably my main concern. I also was a little confused by the sudden change in sound design at 2:23. Overall, a fun listen. Keep at it, man!

SplatterDash responds:

In some cases, yeah, the kick can be improved, but since I have Live Lite it's hard to find good items that fit your song, so I used what I could there. The volume changes before the vocals are meant to be actual dialogue and not just text-to-speech (fun fact), so all the changes mean is that there an outside-of-the-daw event. I had the text-to-speech as fast as it would go, and any faster caused it to sound... off, in a non-comedic way. 1:54 was probably the most stress I gave Steve Harwell's voice in the entire track XD The only reason that 2:23 sounds different in sound design is that it's the Discord call sound, which leads into the final skit in the track.

Nonetheless, I'm glad you enjoyed this track! CHIPS is gonna crank out some more compos so I'll be posting more music here as well ;)

[Toxic Hunger]

I like the instrument at the beginning. The chord progression is a tad cliché. The drums sound really dry and generic, and the panning doesn't do much for you imo. Panning can be a great mixing tool, but usually it's a good idea to keep the fundamentals (drum, bass, melody) front and center. Speaking of melody, I'm not hearing a lot of it. You have some creative rhythms at 1:10, but melody is usually the most memorable aspect of a piece, and the piece sounds really repetitive without it, even with the changes in sound design later on. Some of the layering comes across as a bit experimental, and besides the panning I don't think there was much effort put into mastering either. My main worry here is the composition, though. Very little structuring, stale and repetitive riffs, no melodic content. I'd suggest writing a melody first next time, and then trying to arrange your piece using the melody as a focal point. Right now, the piece just sounds a bit stale with the chord progression rammed down your throat. Synths were probably my favorite part of the piece - really distinct mood portrayed through the sound design. Sorry to be so tough on you. It's a good start. It just doesn't feel like a very dynamic piece yet. Keep at it, man!

Justin12611 responds:

Wow, I've never seen that kind of opinion I ever recieved. Well, thank you so much for it!! I'll try my best in the future, I'll always practice and try to improve them as I can. ;)

Seriously dude, Thanks!! ( ^w^)/

[Song In A Minute]

Hahhaha...cute vocals at the beginning. Catchy riff at :20. Not used to hearing house from you - it sounds clean. I think there's a bit of dissonance in the harmonies at :36, but the melodic content and chord progression in and of themselves are good. Thematic elements of the piece were definitely my favorite part. Fun piece, 1f1n1ty. :)

Onefin responds:

rsk said i sound exactly like miyolophone which isn't true but i guess it's true that my voice raised in pitch sounds like miyo's voice raised in pitch

didya like the ending that's the best part

also you should go leave a good review on splatterdash's remix, i think he'd appreciate it :)

[The Flow]

I like the dreamy (electric piano?) at the beginning and the cute, upbeat synths. The build-up to :45 seemed a bit rushed with that quick sweep. The melodic content, while kinda cyclical, was really effective. I wasn't a huge fan of your drum samples, though. They sound a bit unpolished and generic. Cute piece, but way too short. I haven't heard a lot from you this year, man! We should catch up sometime.

Also, CHIPS soon won't be chips? Wut?

[Over The Mountains (Onefin Remix)]

I love the dreamy atmospheric quality of the piece. Something about the rhythm and contour of the riff at the beginning bothered me, though. I think the pick-up notes after the pauses at :03, :08, etc. made it hard to get a good sense of the beat. That said, I'm really enjoying the warm pads and the bass at :25. In a way I like how the drums were way in the back of the mix for the first 1.5 minutes, but I also think the piece needed a bit more drive between :25 and 1:25, which the drums could've provided. Production quality is pretty strong. This piece has a lot of reverb, but the mix is still rather clean and well-balanced. The drums sound a bit indistinct at 3:12, though, which kinda detracts from the final climax of the piece. Overall, mood and atmosphere were definitely my favorite elements of the piece. Keep up the good work, 1f1n1ty! :)

Onefin responds:

oh hey tl! didn't expect you to show up on a remix i thought ng people didn't listen to those

the beginning was like i stalled each pause for an extra half measure, was that throwing you off? :/

i was sorta going for a relaxing kind of thing for the first one and a half minutes, and then bringing in the big groove later, i was hoping that like super light drums and a bass would provide a bit of dynamic contrast for the first bit

i almost sorta like how the drums are indistinct-ish at 3:12 but maybe that's something I should have looked at

thanks for dropping by! appreciations <3

[Trippy do]

---Official AIM review---

Wow. Vocals really sound like they’re from an old-fashioned movie or something, but the beat really gives the piece a more modern feel. Nice job juxtaposing the two. The drum fills actually did a great job of smoothing over the transition into :56, but the transition at 1:21 was very sudden. Overall, this content is enjoyable, but there’s no escaping the fact that it isn’t really structurally complete. It also might’ve needed a little more shape and variety. For such a short piece, it has a really effective sense of progression and character. I also like many of the subtle details, like the wind FX at :22 and the vibraslap at :40. One detail that I don’t think worked quite as well is the bass bomb at :05. Still, solid work. I’d totally recommend extending this into a full-length track. Keep at it, Arbelamram!

7/10

[When Rebels fall]

---Official AIM review---

I really like the atmosphere at the beginning. The entrance of a couple different instruments at :10 sounds a bit harsh. I’d suggest checking the volume levels there. I also think :16 sounds a bit harsh, this time mostly because of the high-pitched frequencies that could use some filtering out. Despite the really unique sound design, which I found enjoyable, the harshness in the mix continues. Part of it might be that the panning is a bit too far to one side on some of these instruments. The texture is very experimental, and at times it’s hard to discern the moving notes. Structurally, the piece is actually quite effective, especially given the short breakdown at 2:13 before the final climax at 2:21. The bold sound design and harmonic choices generally come off rather well, although at some point I would’ve liked to hear some more melodic content. Perhaps you could extend the breakdown in order to include some of that. You’re clearly very good at crafting atmospheres, but again: the volume levels need your attention. I’m worried about the distortion that seems to be occurring because of the excessively loud mix at :06 and :10. Overall, though, quite a creative piece. Full points for originality, atmosphere, and sound design. Keep at it, Arbelamram!

7.75/10

[AIM - Grandeur]

---Official AIM review---

I like the ominous beginning and the emotional piano at :12. The reverb was a bit excessive, and the ascending line in the echoy synth at :55 was a harmonic progression that I think you could’ve foreshadowed better. I love the filtering work leading up to the part at 1:17, though. The drums are really strong in the mix, and give the piece a great sense of drive. The melodic content at 1:39 is a nice touch, too. At 2:24, I like how the drums are exposed, but I definitely appreciated the proper breakdown at 2:46 with a full contrast in energy. Somewhat bold compositional choice with the addition of such an uncharacteristically processed instrument at 3:07. It actually comes off quite well, but I wish you did a bit more with that riff at 3:07 besides just filtering it out once you get back to more melodic content at 3:29. Despite the heavy atmosphere, the production is really strong here. Structurally, the second half of the piece could use a bit more variety. It was especially noticeable that 2:23-2:55 is essentially the same as 4:36-5:08. Still, excellent job with the emotion, atmosphere, and instrumentation especially in this one. Beautiful work, yet still energetic and engaging when appropriate. Keep up the good work, BeauXuan!

9.25/10

BeauXuan responds:

Whoa, didn't leave anything out, did you?
I'm working on getting better at using valhalla reverb, a newer plugin for me, and I see what you mean about it being a little excessive. Good point-out.
My little transition between 3:07 and 3:29 was a bit of an experiment that I do kind of regret but chose to keep it in there because... I'm not sure why...
I do have the habit of copying sections to fill out time and not really doing anything more with them, so I can only blame my laziness for some sections sounding repetitive.

I'm just going to say thank you so much for your detailed review and hope you have a great day. :D

[AIM - Something Evil In The Forest]

---Official AIM review---

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. Nice use of atmosphere and sound design. The progression is a tad slow-paced, but the texture has a great call-and-response between the bell-like synths and orchestral swells. The percussion could’ve been a bit more creative - mostly consisted of a kick drum until around 1:25. Nice use of panning at 1:38. The minimalism is starting to wear on me a bit by this point, and I think the piece could benefit from some melodic content or something. There’s a lot of tension built up in this piece, and not a lot of release of said tension. The part at 2:25 was quite a nice balance of being sharp, but not overly harsh. After quite a change-of-pace, the orchestral bit at 3:25 felt really nice. I think my main worry production-wise is an excess of reverb, and also that the percussion doesn’t come through very clearly at times, notably around the 4-minute mark. The distorted vocals at 4:34 are absolutely haunting. Excellent job with the instrumentation and atmosphere here. I would’ve appreciated the addition of some melodic content during the bridge at 2:44, though. Something equally as haunting as the rest of the piece, but a bit more grounded harmonically (an echoy piano, perhaps? Emotional strings?). Either way, strong work here. Keep it up, FateModified!

8.5/10

FateModified responds:

Thank you for the excellent in-depth review! I agree with you on everything you pointed out. I did struggle a bit in trying to make the percussion more interesting in the first part, but I kind of settled for the "breathing" kick drum along with just a touch of higher register percussion (bits of Damage loops thrown in here and there). I didn't want to add too much percussion early on in an attempt to slowly introduce more and more tension as in many horror movie soundtracks. I've been listening to John Carpenter's music lately, and he seems to use a lot of repetitive kick drum which builds tension in the track.

I meant for the part at 2:25 to kind of be a monster's scream when the woman finally comes face to face with the demon, and I meant for it to fade to a sublime calm, as when you've faced your worst fears and you know that you've made it past the most difficult part so you've got nothing else to fear. That's kind of why I let it rest on that single high note for a while at 2:44 and then slowly introduced the distant wailing and then the crickets. The crickets represented a return to reality in the woods, safe from the realm of evil. Perhaps you are right, and I should have added melodic content at this point. I did think of using piano, but unfortunately I decided against it.

I did have a problem trying to add both the breathing kick drum and the repetitive low monster growl into the mix while the strings, brass, and woodwinds played at around 4 minutes. I knew the kick was kind of lost in the mix, but when I took it out, there just wasn't the punch that I wanted on those certain beats. So I decided to leave it in even though it kind of got lost in that part.

I'm glad you liked the distorted vocals at 4:34. I wasn't sure whether I should leave it in because I was undecided if it really fit the artwork. In the end I decided, hey, maybe the woman goes crazy from her encounter with the demon and starts talking crazy gibberish, haha. Anyway, it seemed like an interesting way to end it so I went with it.

Since you pointed it out, and I've seen you mention it in other AIM reviews, I've become more aware how important melodic content is. I've been focusing lately on ambience and effects, but not as much on actual music. I'll need to do get back to studying the books for that I think. Harmony book, here I come...

Thanks so much for the awesome review! It helps a lot. :D

[AIM-Red Blitz]

---Official AIM review---

I like the riff at the beginning in the piano. The piece throws you right into the middle of the action a bit without a proper intro. The synth bass at the beginning also sounds like a generic Moog synth. You may have gone a little overboard with the reverb, too, especially on the drums. The progression is pretty slow during the first minute, and then the chords at 1:00 sound really dissonant. Most of the second minute is quite repetitive from there, and then you have a build-up at 1:53 that doesn’t really lead anywhere. You have some amusing rhythmic elements at around 2:10, but overall I think the call-and-response that starts at 1:54 gets quite worn out. You use that main riff way too much, and overall the harmonic framework of the piece lacks creativity. I was also rather confused by the transition at 3:17. Sounds like a very different piece all of a sudden. The part at 3:40 was probably my favorite of the piece. Still sounds a bit square and generic with the sound design, but at least it’s more melodic than the rest of the piece. Sounds like you tried to make up for the excessive repetition of the first half of the piece by trying out a lot of different directions in the second half. The result is a rather wonky structure that’s not really effective at creating an overarching narrative for the piece. I think you should try consolidating some of your ideas here. That said, I was impressed by how loud the mix was, even if you could stand to improve some of the reverb issues. You have a lot of good ideas here, but I think you could organize and build on them a lot more effectively. The lack of melodic content was probably my biggest problem with the piece. I’m getting the sense that you rushed making this one a bit because I recall that the previous piece I reviewed of yours was a lot better. Still a lot of potential here, though. Keep at it, man!

5.5/10

J-XVII responds:

At least you were honest, I was certain this song was not gonna go far, because I tried
this kind of idea for a piano based horror song a long time ago, and it was bad. Thanks anyways, I guess sinister joy’ll have to pull me through!