TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[War and Peace]

The nature FX at the beginning was pretty quiet, and I think the (electric piano?) at :20 has a bit too much attack. The tranquil mood and atmosphere were great, though. The vocals were amazing, of course. Very smooth and reassuring - they fit the mood well. The thematic elements of the piece are really enjoyable, too - avoiding conflict in a deathmatch, while getting samples from your opponents. :)  The minimalism adds to the emotional quality of the piece, yet by around the 2-minute mark I was itching for a little more textural fill. The lyrics themselves are quite strong, though, and I love the melodic content in the piece. I think the part at 4:20 is my favorite (no marijuana reference intended). The vocal riffs there were just really calming and flowy. I did think that there were a couple of transitions that might’ve needed a little smoothing over in the piece, such as 4:45. The sense of climax, however subtle, the piece has at 4:45 is great, though. I think you could’ve done more to add some more emotional heights and energy to the piece at times, especially since it’s so long, but overall this is stunning work. Great job with the atmosphere, mood, and instrumentation. I couldn’t help but admire the production quality as well. Keep it up, Etherealwinds! ;)

9/10

[Colossal Encounter]

I like the drama at the beginning, and the vocals fit the texture well. The progression is a little slow, and I think you needed some stronger transitions at some points (1:11, 2:13, etc.). The melodic content was enjoyable, but overall I think you could’ve done a lot more compositionally with this piece. It has a great cinematic vibe, but the harmonic work is a little underwhelming for the first minute and a half or so. I also thought the percussion could sound a bit more distinct and powerful in the mix. Overall, it’s a cool track that could use a lot more shape and flavor. Keep at it, AceMantra! ;)

8/10

AceMantra responds:

I agree with all your points. The mindset I had with this piece was more "get it done" rather than "make it the best I possibly can" and it shows. While they are both important, a healthy balance of both is ideal.
Thanks for the review! I will certainly keep your feedback in mind for future compositions. :)

[Slowing Down]

I like the quirky atmosphere at the beginning and the blissful mood. Stellar sound design. The vocals are really smooth, and I love the breaks at :45. The production quality is superb. Sometimes the articulation on the vocals could be clearer, but the cutesy nature of the vocals at 1:02 really won me over. Well-structured and smooth-flowing piece. I love the percussion at 2:05, and the chant-like vocals at 2:27 fit in really well too. You might’ve needed a smoother transition into 2:45, but overall the progression is great. Honestly, this piece probably has the best mood of any piece I’ve reviewed for the ADM so far this year. It actually made me laugh out loud because it was so cheerful and quirky. Really strong work here, Garlagan! ;)

9.5/10

garlagan responds:

thanks for the feedback tl!

[Gottcha]

Catchy piece. The chord progression is a little cliche, as are several of the synths. The descending synth pattern at :55 was a little absurd, and the (drop?) at 1:24 was very minimalistic, and could’ve used some more high frequency tones to fill out the texture. You also needed a stronger transition at 1:49. The production quality is strong, although I really needed to hear some stronger melodic content and more development in the 2nd half of this piece. It has a bit of a stagnant structure, and overall is rather generic. There are some strong attributes of the atmosphere and rhythmic components, but I think this piece needed a lot more effort put into the composition. Keep at it, JaThu! :)

6.25/10

JaThu responds:

First of all thanks, and yes, it's mostly a basic piece with not much love. That's all in fact, thanks for the review and ofcourse I'm going to expand this later, make it more "songish"

[A Whisper From The Heart.]

I like the emotion at the beginning, especially with the floaty piano synth arpeggios. It certainly has a simplistic texture, but the simplistic texture gives it a lot of emotion too. The melodic content is strong here, and it’s very flowing and structurally coherent, which is good. I think you could’ve put more effort into the composition, despite the emotionally driven simplicity, but overall you won me over with this won. Keep at it, ColinMuir. ;)

8.5/10

[Chordive]

I like the smooth synths at :03, but I was a little confused as to the role of the vocal sample at the very beginning. The progression is a tad slow, and the clap sample is a little cliche. I like the prominent role of the hi-hats here, but I wanted to hear a few more moving notes than I did. By around 1:30, I was really itching for some melodic content. I appreciated how you broke down the drum beat at the 2-minute mark or so, but it really didn’t help fill out the texture, which you badly needed. That said, I’m impressed with the production quality and rhythmic elements of this piece. I also liked the subtle chopped vocals at 3:37 (and other places). The composition is just very lack-luster, which is a significant problem. Good job with the sound design overall, though. Keep at it, Waidmann! ;)

6.75/10

[Breaking Through]

I like the intensity at the beginning, but I might’ve asked for more of a clear intro instead of throwing the listener right into the action. I also think the rhythm at :28 is a little overly  convoluted - same with 2:38, in fact. The part at :49 is really cool. I love how you made some effort to vary the energy level there, even if the texture changes very slowly in this piece. The drums are nice and loud and crisp, too. The piece has much more of an easygoing vibe by around 1:45, but that makes me a little concerned about coherence. The structural progression is clear, but I would’ve liked to see you give this piece some more shape. Varying the riff you play every 20 seconds doesn’t give the piece any variety in terms of dynamics, phrasing, or energy levels, which is what you needed to keep my attention after a while. I did enjoy the solos at 3:33, though. I just want to see you try to structure your piece more around emotional heights and contrast rather than continuous streams of riffs. You’re clearly a talented guitarist, but the composition feels a bit thrown together. Keep it up, Metallica1136! ;)

8.25/10

[Shadow Steps]

I like the tension at the beginning. Has a dark cinematic vibe. It’s a little slow to progress, but I like the sense of climax throughout the first minute and a half or so. I think you overused the reverse crashes a bit, as well as that transition with the ping-pong floaty synth at 1:08 (and other places). The production quality is impressive here, and the drop at 1:29 has a great frantic energy about it. Perhaps I would’ve liked to see you better utilize the high end of the frequency range from 1:30 - 3:00, though. I also think that section dragged on for way too long. In the second half of this piece, there’s not much in the way of new content, and I didn’t think the piece needed to be over 6 minutes long. It’s also rather lacking on melodic content. The drum fills and sound design details of the piece are quite impressive, though. Killer atmosphere and mood. Keep at it, Demon-Wolf! ;)

8.25/10