TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Garden of Eternity]

The rhythmic elements of the piece are appealing from the get-go, and I love that quirky synth lead at the beginning. The panning might’ve been a bit excessive, but it does keep the mix relatively clean. You have an excellent sense of progression and harmony, btw, and the smooth melodic content in the strings at around 1:10 is absolutely gorgeous. The texture is very rich, although I couldn’t help but feel it was missing some atmosphere at around 1:30. Some of your instruments are a bit too dry, while others have a lot of reverb that allows them to take over the mix a too much IMO. The structure is also very hard to follow, and there aren’t really any predominant melodies over the other ones - it’s just a continuous wave of successive melodies. I also thought the transition at 2:49 was a bit rough, perhaps a last-ditch effort to give the piece some coherence. The sound design here is absolutely amazing, but the composition feels very thrown-together and inconclusive. If you had given this piece a little more shape and direction, you might’ve won the competition IMO. Still, admirable work. ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Baumarius responds:

Thanks! I started to notice those things after a while too, but my sample subscription ended, so I couldn't really change it. I'll go back before I release the Kadamitas album and fix it up a bit c:

[Quaid City Bar]

I like the groovy drums and quirky sound design. I think the kick could be a lot stronger, and the snare also needs some compression. The rhythmic and melodic elements of this piece are really amusing, though. The melody at 2:01 was particularly enjoyable - very soulful and even tranquil in a way. I appreciated the change of pace when you broke down the bass line at 2:40. At the same time, I thought the piece could’ve used a distinct emotional height or finale to really hit it home. The fade-out ending came across as a bit lazy. I know you wrote this for a videogame, but tracks in this competition should really function as stand-alone pieces. I also thought the bass lines could’ve been a little more distinct - you might want to be stricter with the equalization in the low frequency range. Still, the mood and atmosphere are absolutely fantastic. Keep up the good work! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Joey4Track responds:

Thanks for the review! Yeah I actually don't have monitors atm so my mixes aren't up to par, I have no idea what's going on in the lower frequencies right now, lol. And yeah the song is meant to be looped but actually I totally do have a problem ending songs haha. It was really fun, thanks for judging and for the great feedback :)

[Dovax - Mellow]

I like the atmospheric vibe at :05 and the melodic content. The drum samples seem a bit generic, but they sit well in the mix. I like the lead instrument a lot, and there’s a good sense of climax into 1:15. The minimalism there made the progression feel a bit anti-climactic, and the transition and re-intro at 1:45 felt a little lazy. Perhaps my biggest problem with the piece is that it sounds very generic, especially considering the pads, transitions, and structure. Filling in the texture with reverb alone is a bit risky. I really would’ve liked to see some more harmonic depth throughout the piece. It’s a catchy piece with solid mastering and an enjoyable atmosphere. The composition is extremely lack-luster, unfortunately. Keep at it, Dovax. ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Zyzyx - Stroll Through Space]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning. The blend of orchestral and synthetic elements was enjoyable. Has a bit of a jazzy vibe, which I also appreciated. The groovy melodic line at :21 is great, and the mix is rather clean. That said, the drop at 1:04 seemed a bit underwhelming by comparison, and didn’t add much to the piece musically. I also would’ve liked to hear more of the arpeggios in the background there - toning down the reverb might help with that. The breakdown at 2:30 with the cool panning and drums is also enjoyable. The melodies at 3:14 really tie this piece together - that last bit of catharsis really gives it a great sense of resolve, and I like the outro with the orchestral flair. A couple of the transitions in the piece could use a bit of work - you have a habit of connecting everything with risers and sweeps, so I would’ve liked to see some more creative transitions at 3:35, 1:48, and 2:29. Overall, though, the composition is really strong here. It’s really only a few little things that bother me here. Keep up the good work, Dj-zyzyx! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.75/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

DJ-Zyzyx responds:

Thank you so much mate :D

[Dalux & Fhyre - Ambiguity (Old Version)]

Nice job with the atmosphere at the beginning. The piece has a really smooth and soothing vibe. The kick for the first 26 seconds is pretty weak, and I think the lead and clap at :30 both sound a bit generic. The blissful mood is good, though, and the melodic content is enjoyable. The sub-bass is a nice touch, too. I wish you had given the hi-hats a bit more of a boost in the mix (perhaps some more compression, or just lifting the treble range in the equalizer) - it’d be great if they sounded more up-front and crisp. The melodic development at 2:38 is great, though. This piece comes together really well, and sounds very climactic and conclusive. The strings at 3:03 were a nice touch as well. Overall, really strong work here, guys! ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
2/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

[Reckless]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. That guitar sample isn’t my favorite, though, and the pacing is pretty slow. At :58, the percussion and pensive guitar/synth line mesh really well together. I think you could’ve used a stronger transition into 1:51, though, and the minimalism there made that part rather anti-climactic. The melodic content at 2:18 is enjoyable, but I still think the texture needs more fill. The more atmospheric part at 2:45 was a nice change, but this piece still feels a bit too drawn out and empty to serve as a stand-alone piece. Nice job with the phrasing into 3:38, but the minimalism thereafter felt really underwhelming again. I think you needed some sort of emotional height to hit this piece home. Overall, nice job with the mood and atmosphere, and the mixing is also fairly strong (despite a bit of a treble-heavy kick). The composition is a little lack-luster, but that’s your biggest problem here. Keep at it, Cursedsnake. ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[Abendland - Thrillseekers]

I like the apprehensive mood at the beginning, and the adventuresome vibe that follows with the melodic content at :09. The pulse of the strings gets a little lost in the mix at :16, though. I think you need to be careful about equalization here, especially in the lower range. The low percussion at :47 clearly distorts other instruments. That said, the composition here is quite strong. Nice job with the instrumentation, too - the vocals at 1:15 were particularly a nice touch. The transition into 1:57 was a tad lazy, but overall the piece is well-structured and smooth-flowing as well. I think the mastering is the biggest culprit here. Otherwise, strong work. ;)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.75/2
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the above elements interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[Hero Reel]

Production was really well-done, and the voice acting was great. All the sudden changes in the music were a little jarring, though. They got distracting after a while. Still, quality content. Keep it up, man!

[NGADM 2017 Round of 32 Podcast]

Sorry I'm late to the party! I appreciate you doing this Chrono. The smooth, western-sounding piece in the background works well. By around 2:40, I thought the music got a tad distracting, but maybe that's just because @Etherealwinds is so damn good!

I agree that we need a better platform for people making recommendations about the future of the contest. Maybe we should set up a "suggestions and comments" thread after the contest so we can be as receptive as possible to the community's requests. Still, I appreciate the way you addressed those issues here. And personally, I don't think you have anything to apologize for at all. :)

Super impressed that you're making the sigs for the winners yourself, btw. Keep it up with the podcasts/judging/administrating, Chrono! ;)

ChronoNomad responds:

No such thing as being late to a party that quite literally goes on for five whole months! (;

Happy to see another review from you on these silly ol' podcast thingies. I'm glad that you enjoy the background music, and I don't even mind that Jordi's singing distracts a bit from the underlying message. I kept tweaking the volume incrementally, but I just didn't want the song to be too soft, and then the ending always gets so rich and full...ah, well! Six of one, half a dozen of the other, I suppose.

Yeah, I tried to be honest about how problematic that became, but it wasn't even really the nature of the conversation that was ultimately the problem. It was the massive walls of text that were, quite frankly, making the whole thread look downright unattractive. Obviously, if folks want to have water cooler discussions about the NGADM, they can have them in real-time on Discord, or simply make a thread dedicated to it. But hey, if going way off topic is against the rules, it's my responsibility to say something. I may not always do that in the right way, but when tensions are already high for various reasons, even someone with the patience of Mahatma Gandhi would end up taking return fire.

Aw, thanks! I was always planning on making the sigs, and it's feels nice to be able to do a few of the more artsy things for the NGADM. Even though I'm taking a hiatus from making new music during the competition, I still need a creative outlet or two. And hey, you keep up all that judging and administrating that you've been doing, TL! On top of a busy academic life and all that jazz. We must really love the people of Newgrounds, eh? ^__^