TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Superstitions]

The distorted guitars at the beginning are cool. I think the vocals sound really dry, though. They need some reverb at the very least, and the mic didn’t seem to pick up the words “past” or “cat” very well at all around :40. The texture sounds a little too busy - verging on clashing - at :45 or so. It’s also pretty difficult to hear the kick in the mix during the busier sections. Overall, the mixing could sound a lot cleaner. I like the solo at 1:22 a lot, though. The lyrics are also enjoyable. I thought the fade-out ending was a bit lazy, and I also think you could stand to flesh out the structure of the piece a little more. Right now the pacing feels a little frantic and rushed, squeezing in an intro, 2 verses, a chorus, and solo in 2 minutes. My favorite elements of the piece, on the other hand, were the sound design and mood - they combined to make the piece really punchy and engaging. Keep at it, man!

6.25/10

johnnyq1233 responds:

Thanks for the great review! I knew throwing something newer into the contest was not the best idea.. but it was the newest piece I was working on and at the time I was totally into this piece..lol
My sweat girlfriend bought me a beautiful Behringer FX-2000 processor to give me some more tools for the battles that lay ahead!
ROCK ON!
Best wishes to the ones that went on!
JQ

[DJ P1E - The Final Theory]

I like the energy and mood at the beginning. The breaks at :15 are pretty cool, too. I think the drums need to stand out a little more in the mix. Some more equalization and compression could help, and if that’s not enough stereo widening is the way to go. I like the synths, although I think the texture could stand to be thicker during the first minute or so. The vocal sample at the 1-minute mark does a good job in aiding the transition to 1:01, and I like the melodies at 1:16. I think that synth detracts from the clarity of the bass line a bit, though - again, more equalization is required. One thing the track lacks is a lot of structural variety - sounds very energetic throughout, and there’s not much phrasing or dynamic changes. The drums could also use a little more...creativity. The piece is very catchy, though. You have a good sense of rhythm and harmony. I think your chief areas of focus going forward should be the mixing and filling out the texture (with pads, layered synths, reverb, etc.). Keep at it, man. ;)

7/10

[Dreamz]

I like the atmosphere and tranquil mood. The drum part at :17 is creative. The melodic content is very relaxing and smooth. The kick drum sounds a little thin, although perhaps this isn’t the sort of piece to have an especially bassy kick anyway. My main problem with the piece is that it has a sense of continuity without much structural variety or shape. The ending is pretty sudden, almost as if it was intended to loop. I’m not entirely sure it’s structurally complete, either. The instrumentation and mood of the piece are both really enjoyable, though. Good job.

8.25/10

[Into The Forest-[Cinematic]]

I like the flutes at the beginning. The string pizzicatos sound pretty fake, but the guitar was a nice way of smoothing over the texture. I’m getting a bizarre sense of different moods occurring at once from the texture at :12. The flutes sound regal and light, while the pizzicatos are sharp and rhythmic, and the guitar adds some flow and harmonic depth. I wasn’t sure what to make of the mood/atmosphere you were going for. I also think you need a stronger transitions at :37 and 1:08, but I did like the direction it was heading in then. I thought the percussion at 1:08 was a little weak, and sounded a bit thin in the mix. The piece is lacking strong melodic content until 1:38. The mixing is quite impressive, though, and 1:38 reveals that. The mood of the piece actually comes together pretty well, but I don’t think this piece is structurally complete. It ends pretty abruptly, and only really has one emotional height. It also doesn’t have a ton of coherence, and seems to be changing directions a lot. Despite these criticisms, the melodic content is beautiful and the texture is well-balanced and full almost always. If you think a little bit more about the progression and flesh out the structure a little more, this could be quite the engrossing cinematic piece. Keep at it, man!

7.5/10

[Walking Dead Theme Hip-Hop Remix]

I like the string arpeggios at the beginning. They have a nice underlying intensity and drive. The sample is actually pretty good, too, although I can still tell it’s fake. The piece is really slow to progress compositionally, though. You switch up the instrumentation a lot without warning, although I did like the melody at :56. I think the drums could’ve been a bit stronger, just to give the song a little more bite. The song has a feeling of continuity, which I would’ve liked to see you break down at some point. The arrangement doesn’t have a lot of shape or phrasing, and the energy level is very similar throughout. Experimenting more with dynamics and filtering could be a great way of expanding your compositional repertoire a bit. I also would’ve liked to see you vary the main melody a bit. There are a lot more creative things you could’ve done with the composition, although I did like the sub-bass and beats. You have a good sense of rhythm and harmony. Keep at it, man!

6.75/10

PureJoy responds:

Wow, thank you so much for your complete argumentation ! I'll take into consideration your whole analysis ^^

[Divine Architecture]

I like the texture at the beginning. You overused the crashes, though, and I think you could stand to take a little treble off of the crashes as well. The synth at :33 wasn’t my favorite - seems like it belongs in a cheesy, old-fashioned trance track. The piano at :52 and the melody synth at 1:08 also seemed a bit generic. The piece had a constant sense of energy, but I really would’ve liked to see you have a section with more structural relief in here somewhere. To some extent, 2:17 serves that purpose, but you could still do a lot more with phrasing, dynamic contrast, and changes in energy. I like the spacey and somewhat ambiguous ending, but the structure of the piece didn’t quite come together for me. There’s not a lot of melodic development or other variation later in the piece to build off the first half. I also thought there were several moments of dissonances in the harmonies at 1:08 that didn’t quite work for me. Overall, elements of the composition might need cleaning up, especially with the harmonies and variety. The mixing was pretty good, although the kick does get a little buried during the busier sections of the piece. The piece has a really interesting quirky mood - that was probably my favorite part of it. I suggest you keep working on this - you’re most of the way there with all of the major parameters. Keep at it, man. ;)

7/10

[Dreams]

I like the cute synths and upbeat mood at the beginning. The melodic content at :20, although fleeting, is enjoyable, and the pitch-bending on that synth that first comes in at :26 is really refreshing. The drums could’ve been mastered a bit louder IMO, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the piece much at all. The texture is so full and everything blends together really well. The breakdown with the strings is gorgeous, and really gives the piece a nice sense of structural contrast. The variations on the melody at 2:07 were great as well. Honestly, outside of the contest, this is just everything I look for in a piece of electronic music. Excellent work! You’ve set the standard high, my friend. Fave’d and DL’d. By all means, keep it up! :D

9.75/10

Namice responds:

thanks ^_^

[Koroshimasu]

I like the ominous fade-in at the beginning and the gritty synths at :09. Sounds very dark and experimental. I like the climax into :45 too. I think it needed a texture shake-up after awhile, so I was glad when 1:26. It’s full of some pretty minimal and transitional content throughout. I would’ve liked to hear some stronger melodic content, too. The sound design is very innovative, and the texture sounds very spacious, but I just had a hard time finding anything to latch onto here - a melody or prevailing riff, that is. You shake up the texture a lot, with a lot of dramatic build-ups that never quite hit the piece home. I think you just went a little too experimental here, Trunotfals, and it didn’t quite work for me. I’m sorry. I know you’re an extremely talented artist. You took some risks that didn’t pay off here, IMO. Better luck next time!

6.75/10

[Double Jump ft. eSoreni]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. The part at :11 with the vocal samples is really catchy and cool, and the heavy synth bass adds a lot of drive and texture to the piece. I love the sense of climax starting at :44. The drop was amusing, although it seems like you went right from the post-drop into a build-up for another drop. I would’ve liked to hear some sort of breakdown in the middle. In a way, this breakdown comes at 2:19, although that section still has quite a lot of energy and drive, and I would’ve liked to see you strip away the drums at some point to maximize the structural relief that section offered. I did like the melodic content at 2:19, though, and I think you did a good job of varying the drops during the latter half of the piece. The 8-bit theme worked well too. The production quality of this track is excellent, btw - the instruments are all clear and crisp and blend together very well. Overall great work!

9/10