TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[3xOsc Party]

Really amusing concept. My favorite elements of it are probably the portamentos and the tempo. Sounds like a clown just got home from work and starts doing acid. XD The chords probably made me think of something circus-y. Well done. If there's any way I can convince you to make a full piece out of this, I would. ^^

EnNinja responds:

Thanks man. I might maybe finish it sometime in the future xD

[F-777 - The Secret Dynasty]

I like the melodies at the beginning. The instrumentation in this track is especially cool, although that lead does get a bit shrill after awhile. The drop is cool, but could use a bit more variety sound design-wise. I just think you have this one bass instrument that does most of the work, and there's not much else in the texture at that point (1:07). The vocal samples in the background at around 2:30 were great, though. I love the energy of this piece. It's really engaging and catchy, without being overly repetitive. Total banger here. Keep up the good work, dude!

[Incursus]

I like the synths at the beginning and the filtering effects that create a mini-climax into :07. The piece was a little slow to develop, but the stop-starts at :30 ruined the flow for me a bit. I would suggest adding some reverb to smooth it over a bit there. It sounded like the piece was building towards something around the 1-minute mark, but you didn't exactly release the tension. I like the tempo automation at around 1:30. I was craving some more melodic content by around the 2-minute mark, but it never really came. It seems like you have a couple of cycles in this piece where you skip right over a drop/refrain and go from a build-up to a breakdown immediately. I think the structure would be a lot more effective with an emotional height in there somewhere. Your build-ups are also fairly drawn out, especially the one from around 3:10 - 4:30. It's just a little excessive, and once again only leads to a chill chordal section. This piece is very long and has a lot of tension that never quite resolves. I like the style of this piece, but I think you should think more about the composition next time; cycles of tension and release are really effective in music, but you need some more release for it to work here. I also thought the piano at the end sounded really fake, and the ending itself wasn't that conclusive. Sorry to be so harsh on you, though. It's a bit of an experimental piece, but it certainly conveys some neat moods and has a cool unpolished aesthetic. Keep at it, man! ;)

stegosaurus responds:

Thank you for the very in-depth review, in some areas this track turned out quite rough, since this was my first time trying to produce industrial music. It's interesting seeing the critique with the piano, since my intention was to sort of mess with the uncanny valley with it. I do certainly agree that the composition was kinda lacking on this piece, since my main focus was the sound design. Thanks for the review, and I'll have something a bit more polished for this year's NGADM.

[REALITY GLITCH AUTOMATON]

Fantastic piece, Johnfn. Catchy, well-mastered, awesome melodies, and cool modulations (like at :45). The mechanical whirring effect (like at :52) gets me every time. ^^ My only complaint is that the kick could've been a little stronger. Otherwise, it's well-structured and flows very well. There's plenty of variety here to keep me engaged throughout, and I love the variations on the melody towards the end (~3:10). Thanks again for hosting the Chip contest! I very much plan on doing the second one too. :) I knew that this was your piece almost instantly, btw. Trademark Johnfn ending too. XD Keep it up!

johnfn responds:

Haha, yeah, I don't think anyone identified it faster than you did. Props. I really should diversify my lead style ;-)

Glad you liked it :)

(And thanks for the double review!!)

[They Taught Us To Dream]

Fantastic piece, my friend. The bright piano sound offers some excellent contrast to the gritty synth breaks later in the piece. The mood and atmosphere are superb too. It might be a little slow to develop at times, but I love the breaks at 2:36. You have an excellent sense of rhythm. I really appreciate that you brought it full-circle with the piano riff at the end. Mixing and mastering are solid throughout too. Keep up the great work, man!

DEM0NW0LF responds:

Thanks for the review !

[F-777 - Yin & Yang]

The rhythm was a little hard to follow at the beginning, but it got easier after the beat came in. I like the upbeat vibe at :22. The mixing and mastering are great. My only production critique is that the kick could've been a bit stronger. I like the breaks at 2:28 a lot. This piece has a near-constant energy and drive, which I think needs some variety after awhile. There was a brief moment of relief at 3:10 or so, but I don't think it was enough to draw much contrast. The piece also gets very repetitive by the end, and I don't think it needed to be quite this long. Still, I like the mood and melodies here, and I'm quite impressed by the production quality. Keep up the good work, man! Two songs from the original CDM - Shaolin Warrior and Kung Fu'd - are still among the all-time most played songs on my iTunes Library. :'D

[BrightSide]

NEW AUDIO FROM LUNACYECHO? Haven't seen that notification in a while. I like the mood and energy here. The drums are especially good, I think. They sound pretty organic, but they mesh really well with the electronic instruments here. The melodies at 1:04 are great, as are the ones at 1:35. There's actually a lot of melodic content here. I think the melody at 2:08 needed to come through the mix a little more, whereas I might've toned down the high-pass a bit on those pads, or otherwise transposed them down an octave. That way, it opens up the mix more to cover a broader frequency range and also help the melody stand out. Still, this piece is seriously good. Well-structured, smooth-flowing, and quite thematic, I might add. Hope to see more of your work soon, LE. ;D

LunacyEcho responds:

Great to hear from you, TL! One of the things I've missed about uploading audio to Newgrounds is seeing your religiously written comments on everything. :D :D

Let's see if I can still remember how to respond...

=> drums =>

Yeah, I used an acoustic drum kit as a part of the funk section of the genre mash. I was also surprised by how good they sounded with the synths! :)

=> melodies =>

I'm actually super proud of some of the melodies in this song! Especially the second theme, which enters at 2:08.

=> mix =>

Hah, my headphones are a little short on treble. :P I should probably factor that in when mixing, lol. I've definitely been keeping the broad frequency range in mind; in fact, I'm also kinda proud of how I mixed and edited the bass in this song.

Thanks for the review, TL! Hope to hear more music from you soon, and I look forward to competing in future Chips with you. ;)

[Deceived by Demise]

Stellar work, man. Listening to it for the second time, I'm even more impressed. The atmosphere is very well-crafted, and the production quality is very high. I love the dissonance around the 2-minute mark coupled with that gorgeous string melody. The climactic part at 2:51 could've had more of a build-up, but the wave of sound that hits me is still an effective way of channeling the mood. The final minute or so had a strong emotional appeal too. Amazing work! Keep it up, dude. ^_^

EvilRaccoon responds:

Thankts TL! :D Really appreciate it.