TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Neon Dream]

I like the mood and atmosphere at the beginning. Some of the synths and drum samples are a little cheesy, though, especially the clap and the synth that comes in at :07. The melody at 1:02 is a little square, and needs some rhythmic variety. I’d also prefer the drums to be a little stronger there. Usually, the snare should be the loudest instrument in the mix, and this is no exception. The pitch bending at 1:54 was a little bizarre, but worked strangely well to inject some cute quirkiness into the track. I think my favorite part is at 2:52. It has a great atmosphere and fullness to it. The mixing is overall pretty solid as well. I think you went a little too far with the pitch-bending at the end. It simply didn’t sound conclusive. Also, I’d like to see a little more variety in this in terms of energy. It’s worth taking the time to strip down the drums at some point to give this piece a little more shape. It can be hard to stay engaged with a piece if it sounds uniformly energetic, and this piece is pretty close to being just like that. Still, I think you won me over in the end with the cute synths, upbeat mood, and luscious atmosphere. Solid work!

7.75/10

NoStereo responds:

Thank you very much for the review! I'll keep your criticisms in mind as I work on my future projects! It's a rare thing to get such a complete review.

[Memories in Melodies]

Ah, Larry. It’s been a while. I like the dreamy vibe at the beginning and the sense of climax into :30. The melodic content at around :45 was great. At around 1:30, the drums seem to be a little weak, probably at the hands of that all-consuming lead and pad combo. You have have gone a little overboard on the reverb, but otherwise I’d encourage you to be stricter with the equalization and maybe even employ some stereo widening or panning. The ending is a bit rushed - it almost sounds like you intended to loop it. The texture is full throughout, but perhaps you should’ve given your instruments a little more space at some point. You may have gone a little overboard with the sidechaining, too, but the mix is cleaner because of it. The piece seems to be missing a proper breakdown, and is lacking on dynamic contrast and phrasing. My high structural standards aside, this is a solid piece. The atmosphere and instrumentation in this piece were easily my favorite elements. Keep up the good work!

8.25/10

larrynachos responds:

Hey TL! Thanks for reviewing my track! Haha yeah, the pad/texture might be overbearing, but I was really proud of it because it was a completely custom made patch in serum. Glad to hear that my mix is improving. Maybe I'll be able to finally snag a 5 star rating from you this ngadm. Song structure has always been hard for me (you know how I am with endings lol). I appreciate the feedback!

[NGADM Royal Rumble]

I like the energy and intensity at the beginning. The melodic content at :32 was also quite enjoyable. It seems like the drums get a little strained in the mix at around that point (and also later during the busier sections), though. The constant intensity might warrant some structural relief after a while. If your piece is uniformly energetic, it still makes it hard to stay engaged. Structural variety would seriously help you out here. Stripping away the heavy guitars and drums at some point would help give the piece a little more shape. The riffs themselves are well varied, but I’d encourage you guys to think about varying this along such parameters as energy, dynamics, and instrumentation. These problems are compositional, but the texture always feels full and rich, and I love the portamentos, like at 1:22. You use panning to your advantage here, too, which is nice to see. Overall, it’s an enjoyable piece. Keep at it, guys!

7.75/10

[Speed shard]

I like the guitar riff at the beginning. The snare sample wasn’t my favorite, though. The snare and crash are both incredibly weak compared to the kick, in fact. It’s a catchy and energetic piece, but it lacks strong melodic content and the mix feels a little thin. I think you need to add some reverb and compression to make the texture feel a bit thicker. It also couldn’t hurt to flesh out the structure a bit more, as this is a short piece without a ton of variety. There are some neat ideas here, but the composition is a bit underwhelming. Keep at it, man!

3.5/10

[Dovax - Deep Jungle]

I liked the dramatic crash at the beginning. The synth lead is pretty cool, although I thought the drum samples were a little generic. The transition at :30 seemed to take the piece in a new direction really suddenly, though. I’d suggest smoothing that over a bit. The drop at :38 was pretty cool. I especially liked when you started using those cool effects at :53 that altered the timbre of the instruments. You then switch back to using that other lead with a pretty lazy fade-in at 1:10. I’d suggest using cross-fading or another more creative technique to connect the two characters I’m seeing in the piece. The mixing and mastering is solid here, although I would’ve liked to hear more structural variety - stripping away the beat at a non-transitional moment might be a good way to achieve that. Overall, the structure of the piece relies on the switch-off between the drop and the build-up without much to bridge the gap. I’d like to see you add some more complexity to the structure next time, and maybe even some more memorable (i.e., non-transitional) melodic content. Otherwise, it’s a catchy piece with some cool sound design. Put a little more effort into the composition, and you’d have a really solid track on your hands. Keep at it, man!

7.75/10

[Somewhere We'll Remember]

I like the somber guitar riff at the beginning, and the flute is a nice touch. The melodic content is beautiful, and the piece has a good sense of climax into around the 1-minute mark. The vocals and strings also fit into the texture nicely. The melody at 1:58 is probably my favorite part of the piece - quirky, yet beautiful. The piece never quite outdoes the emotional height of the first minute or so, but nevertheless has a neat structure and is engaging throughout. It’s a smooth-flowing, tranquil, and also well-mastered track. Sometimes, the pizzicatos sound a little indistinct when they’re playing low notes, but that’s the only mixing issue I noticed. Nice work!

9/10

Veneox responds:

Very glad you enjoyed it ;)

[March of the Wicked Beasts]

I like the mood at the beginning. Seems very apprehensive, but also grandiose, like you’ve discovered the lair of the evil clown army. The mixing and mastering might need some attention, though. The bass drum at :03 sounds very indistinct and muddy, and it’s hard to make out the harmony brass and strings for large chunks of this piece. Equalization and compression are your best friends, and panning and stereo widening can also help a lot. The instrumentation is fantastic, though, and there’s so much drama and emotion packed into this short 2 minutes. Excellent melodies, too. Perhaps the melody could’ve been varied a little more the second time around, but honestly that doesn’t bother me too much. The composition of this piece is fantastic, but the mixing and mastering is where it falls through for me. Please educate yourself on equalizers and dynamics manipulation tools like compressors and expanders. You have the potential to be Newgrounds’ next great cinematic composer (and you seem to have already garnered a lot of attention to your content), but production quality is still important. Keep it up, man!

8.25/10