TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Finish Line!]

Fun sound design and fresh rhythmic elements. Some of the chord progressions are a little unoriginal (I'm eyeing the descending thing that first appears at :08), though. The melodic content at :40 is pretty cool, and I also like the prominent slap bass at :57. The mix is clean and bright, although I think the kick could've been a little more...conspicuous. There are a lot of creative ideas in here, like the xylophone solo at 1:40 or so. By the end of the piece, it gets a tad repetitive, and I think it needed a bridge or breakdown section to give it a little more shape. Nevertheless, I like the danceable, victorious vibe here. I hope you're still enjoying your gap year, and here's to 2018! ;)

LunacyEcho responds:

lmaoooo i never realized how much i use the descending chord progression until miyo sarcastically commented on it once and now i feel guilty every time i use it XD

but thanks for the comment! hope you're enjoying college, and same to you for the year to come!! :)

[Exterminator Groove]

Really quite groovy! I can totally see the Johnfn influence in the instrumentation. :D I think the snare doesn't quite pop enough, though. I'd suggest giving the treble end a boost in the equalizer. This piece has a lot of fun riffs, but seems a little patched-together. The melodic content is really cool, but some of the transitions were smoothed over with a simple snare fill or crash, and I think you can come up with something more creative than that. Overall, though, really fun and catchy piece. Keep it up, LE! ;)

[Promised Land]

I like the nature sounds and the bright strings. Reminds me of some of Waterflame's old tracks when he used to do more orchestral stuff. The melodic content is nice, and I like the ornaments (e.x., :55). May I ask where the string samples are from? I love the woodwind solos that start at around 1:35 - that's probably my favorite part of the piece, in fact. Excellent progression and harmonies throughout, guys. I'm a huge fan of the bells during the outro as well. Nice job bringing out the emotion. You really painted a picture with this one. Congrats on the 5th place finish! :)

Everratic responds:

The string samples are from Kontakt Factory Library, which came with Komplete 11. I'm glad you liked the woodwind solos! It received a bit of criticism for being melodically divergent, but I still don't regret it.

Thanks for the review! :)

[Spirit of the Lilies]

Very calming and majestic mood at the beginning. I like the progression/build-up at around the 1-minute mark. The drop is cathartic and not too heavy, and also has some really fun rhythmic elements. The mix is super loud and crisp and clean as always. I also really like the reverb-heavy beat at 2:45. That section functions really well as a breakdown. I really like when your song's two refrain sections are so well-varied, yet the song maintains a lot of its coherence through the chord structure and instrumentation. That's worked well for you in the past (e.x., Volt), and it works well here too. Those emotional piano outros get me every time. :') If I had to criticize one thing, it might be that your style has become a tad formulaic. Your tracks tend to have a very similar progression and sound design. That said, taken by itself this is another killer track. Keep up the good work, Lockyn! ^^

Lockyn responds:

Thank you for the feedback as always TL. I agree with you - I try to shake things up, but this track definitely falls back on some of my usual patterns. Hope you enjoyed regardless. :)

[Rebuilding the haven]

I like the atmosphere, warm synths, and crisp drums. I think you could've used a bit of a smoother transitions into 1:00, 2:58, and 4:45 - just a little something to foreshadow the changes in energy level there. I think you did a better job of that at the transition at 2:00, though. The mid-range bass there is great, and everything sits nicely in the mix. At times, I thought the drum part could be a bit more creative, and the melodies could be a bit more complex, especially for such a long piece. That said, overall this piece is really enjoyable and cleanly produced. Keep up the great work, man! You just earned yourself a scout. ^^

[Summer Days]

Very luscious sound at the beginning with the warm synths and reverb. The progression is a little slow-paced until :50 or so. Nice melodies there, though. The breakdown section at 2:10 was probably my favorite part of the piece. If I had to criticize one thing, it might be that the drums were pretty bland throughout. I also thought the bridge section was a little dragged out (1:52 - 2:40), and that the ending could've been more creative. Still, nice work here! The production quality is strong, and the piece is well-structured and smooth-flowing. :) Keep it up, John!

[The Tomb]

I love the ghosty pads and the echo-y bass. The piece could use a bit more melodic content and textural fill, but everything sits nicely in the mix, and I love the sound design and atmosphere. The structure could stand to be fleshed out a little more, too. At 1:15, it seemed like the piece was growing towards a climax, but then you scaled back the pacing a bit. It's a really well-produced track, but I think you also could've done a lot more with it. Either way, congrats on the first-place Spooktacular finish. ;)

AntonM responds:

Thanks for the feedback + giving me some good stuff to work on :)

[-=Death of the sun=-]

Sorry for the slow response! I like the gritty synth at the beginning, but it sounds a tad harsh at the treble end. At :19, the kick is very heavy on the sub-bass, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it probably contributes to the peaking problems you have at :38. Newgrounds' new visualizer system actually makes it a lot easier to tell when your project is too loud. From :38 to 1:16 and again from 1:55 to 2:14, there are distinct flat lines at the height of the audio waveform, which is a sign that you need to eliminate some tones in those instruments, or simply lower the master channel volume. Otherwise, your track will sound really distorted, and could also damage the sound systems of people who listen to it. I think this piece is really well-structured, and I like the phasing synths you have sprinkled throughout. That said, I would've liked to hear some smoother transitions, especially at :38, 1:17, and 1:36. Adding some drums could help smooth over some of these transitions. The part at 2:16 is fun - that instrument that kind of sounds like an electric guitar adds a lot to the character of the piece. Overall, I think my biggest complaint here is still the clipping. I can tell that you're getting better, though. Keep it up, man! ;)

Beluga-of-time responds:

Thanks for the review, I turned down the volume a little bit ;)