TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[8BitWarframe: Corpus Star]

I like the initial dynamic between the furtive strings and the gruff electronic bass. It has an overarching sense of climax for the first minute or so, but you also change different elements of the song in bizarre anticlimactic ways (for example, you have this energetic drum section at :41, which you then exchange by :55 for a more mellow one). The beat is amusing and unique. However, there’s very little melodic content in this piece, and when there is (1:57), its rhythm is flat and dull and you don’t bring it forward in the mix nearly as far as you should. The piece has a sense of continuity about it which I would’ve liked to see broken at one point in order to offer structural variety. The string pads are droning on for basically the entire piece, thereby missing an opportunity to create more dynamic contrast and emotional highs and lows. I have no complaints with the mixing and mastering, however. The piece has a full texture throughout with well-balanced and clear frequencies all around. Overall, this is a solid piece, but you could have channeled the emotion a lot more with some more melodic variety and a more visible breakdown section. Keep at it, man. ;)

8/10

[London Night (2016)]

I liked the panning at the beginning. This is a catchy piece with some refreshing instrumentation. It’s also bass-y, moody, and mastered incredibly loudly. Despite the slow progression, there’s plenty of texture to keep me engaged. I think the kick could’ve been a bit more up-front in the mix, especially since this is a house track with a strong beat. The melodies at 2:20 also need to be brought out much more. You have very little strong melodic content in this piece, so when you do have some you should expose it! The piece also has a sense of continuity without much structural relief or dynamic contrast. Perhaps it would serve well as a dancefloor favorite, but loses points as a stand-alone piece because of this lack of variety. The ritardando at the end worked well, even if it did seem a bit unconventional for house music. Overall solid work! Keep it up, man. ;)

8.5/10

deliverance84 responds:

Thank you very much dude :) I think you are very correct, this still needs much more work. I need to master this again and like you said, bring the main melody's forward. Massive thanks for the high praise and the great review, at least I know what to do for this track now :)

[This Endless Space - DubAudio]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning. The cello sample at :18 sounds really fake. The uniform vibrato completely gives it away. I like the progression, even if the development is a bit slow. The drums are enjoyable, and the mixing and mastering is solid. It’s very flowing, well-structured, and smooth, with a great sense of continuity. I wish there was more melodic development, though. The melodies as they are (3:21) rely heavily on arpeggios. The sounds here blend well together, though. The piece felt a little repetitive by the end and probably didn’t need to be over 5 minutes long. Generally, I regard fade-out endings as lazy, but it seemed fitting here. Overall, I think this is a pretty safe piece. You could’ve done a lot more with the melodies, instrumentation, and emotion. This piece wants to be cinematic, but instead it feels more characteristic of background music. You know how to structure and master a song well, but I wanted to hear a bit more ebb and flow. Overall solid work. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.75/10

[Resolution]

The intro is a bit confusing for me. I really didn’t think you needed that drum fill when you already had a brief fade-in and some satisfactory synth patterns. Perhaps that’s a small detail, however. This piece is pretty slow to develop early on, but I enjoyed the build that begins at around :50. This piece is catchy and melodic. I wasn’t a huge fan of your clap sample. It sounded pretty generic. The stop-start transition you had at 1:34 wasn’t all that effective IMO, even with the reverb. I think you could’ve at least faded in the next section, or otherwise used more reverb. Same thing at 2:06. It just needed to be a bit smoother. I found it a bit jarring that you launched into the melody at 2:37 in the middle of a measure, also with little in the way of transitory material. You also didn’t develop or vary the melody much the second time, which is a missed opportunity to add some overarching sense of climax and finality to this piece. The piece is also pretty minimalistic, especially during the inter-chorus section (1:34 - 2:52). I liked the ending, though. As for the mixing and mastering, it’s pretty clear throughout. I thought you could’ve done a lot more with the drums. Most of the time, it’s just a straight-forward kick-clap-kick-clap on the beat. Overall, this piece is catchy and fun, but not remarkable. You could’ve taken more risks here, especially with the melodic development and sound design. I also think you need to work on your transitions. That said, I liked the mood, structure, and the melodies themselves. Keep at it, man! ;)

7.5/10

CyanSandwich responds:

Thanks for the review man! (And all the judging)
I'll definitely keep all of this in mind.

[Space stuff]

I liked the atmospheric intro. It’s very bass-y, pensive, and catchy. The melody at :24 is very enjoyable. I love how the texture gradually gets more complex. There’s a great sense of development throughout the first minute or so. That said, you never quite released the tension, and 1:10 was extremely anti-climactic. The sounds blend really well here, though. The transitions are solid. I especially liked the one at 2:41, and you did a good job of varying the drop the second time around. The mood, atmosphere, and instrumentation are all huge gambits for his piece. The ending was appropriately conclusive, yet cut off a little suddenly at 4:19. This piece probably has the best phrasing I’ve seen so far in the competition. You’ve done an excellent job of varying the melodies and harmonies, and the mixing and mastering is solid. My main complaint is that I think you could’ve capitalized on channeling the energy more. For example, the drops seem very safe and even minimalistic compared to the empowering climaxes preceding them. Overall great work! ;D

9.5/10

[All You Said (that I Thought Was True)]

I like the 90s coffee shop rock vibe here. ^^ The lyrics are a little cheesy, but nonetheless enjoyable. Your voice is mastered loudly and clearly, and its tone helps propel the narrative elements of the lyrics really well. The piece is smooth-flowing and well-structured. The fade-out at the end came across as a bit lazy, though, and you didn’t really vary or develop the chorus in any climactic sort of way at the end. I don’t have any complaints with the mixing or mastering. Nice work with the balance, too. I thought you overused the crashes a bit during the bridge at 1:37. That said, I enjoyed the mood and overall feel-good vibes here. The soundscape was solidly built without being especially unique. This is a solid piece all around. Good job!

8.5/10

[Don't blink!]

I like the atmosphere and instruments. However, overall it has very little sense of development and overarching direction. I think you needed a smoother transition at :55. I would suggest varying the drum patterns toward the end of the previous section and then inserting a big, cathartic crash on the downbeat. The vocal sample served pretty well as a transition, yet it completely buries the instrumentals in the mix. The part at 1:06 offers little variety, especially rhythmically, from earlier sections of the piece. Also, the drums at 1:06 are clearly not as loud, crisp, and clear as in the first half of the piece. This is blatantly a mastering issue, and the kick was also not as strong throughout as I would’ve liked. The piece also lacks strong melodic content. Overall, I think you need to flesh out this piece a lot more, including adding variety, more structural and dynamic contrast, smoother transitions, and more harmonic depth in places. There are some good ideas here, but unfortunately you’ve failed to capitalize on their compositional potential. Hope this helped! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to PM me. Keep at it, man. ;)

5.25/10

COWOX responds:

word man! :3

[Chael - Nightmare]

I like the mysterious mood at the beginning. It has a great sense of climax starting at around :30. The gritty synths and ominous tone add a lot to the piece. The dissonant chords at 1:19 are awesome. The drop at 1:30 is great. Perhaps you could’ve brought the snare out a bit more there just to add that much more punch. The structure of this piece is a little bizarre. It has a lot of high-intensity content and not much contrast and relief. I don’t think you ever really had a proper breakdown or bridge to separate the first drop with the one at 3:00. That said, the mood and atmosphere really sell this piece. I wasn’t a huge fan of that piano sample at 3:27, and I think some of your other instruments could use a high-pass to limit distortion in the bass range, especially during the drops. Also, the ending felt a bit rushed. It might not even make a bad loop, even if 4-minute-long dubstep loops are a bit unconventional. It could also use some stronger melodic content. Overall, this is solid work. Nice job with the builds, transitions, and intensity. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.75/10

Falsesouth responds:

Thank you so much for the review!

I have gained a lot of mixing tips and insight that I cannot wait to try out, as I just got time to work on some of my projects (especially high passing). You caught the slightly rushed part (good for you dude). This track was made with a lot of pressure of final school assignments and everything in this track was only instinct. I did not really have time to think (saved that for the school work and it paid off). I don't know what makes this seem more like a loop; however, I completely understand the part about creating stronger melodic content. XD yeah I love the dissonant chords at 1:19 too :D
This could have used a breakdown, and I will keep that in mind in the future.

Thanks once again, and I would appreciate any other thoughts or responses that come to your mind based on this response through Private Message if possible.

Great judging by the way; this was very effective and the rubric idea is golden and useful.

[Maginot]

This thing is full of emotion! The vocals sound a little furtive, and I know it’s supposed to sound that way, but I think you need to emphasize your consonants a little more because some of the lyrics are hard to make out. However, the lyrics themselves are very good. The instrumentation is simple yet effective. I’m loving the organic vibes, but I might point out that the song has little sense of development until around 1:20. It might be beneficial to flesh this piece out more by splitting the first 80 seconds into 2 shorter verses connected by a brief bridge. The solo at 1:45 is great - very heartfelt and soulful. Some of the vocals seem a little misplaced - such as the line that ends at 2:34 - but overall I think your voice fits the character of the song really well. Not only did you write a song here, you also told a story, which is an important distinction. The minimalism works really well here, and I have no complaints about the mixing and mastering. Nice work, Ceevro! ;D

9.25/10

Ceevro responds:

Well...that's one of the highest scores I've ever received here! Thank you so much! It would appear I've set myself a high bar here. And I'm not even one of the high-scorers in the opening round. This shall be a challenge indeed! I'm looking forward to it.

[Jon Toniq - PWNED]

This is a catchy piece. I love the sub-bass that pops in at around :30 and the pulsing synth patterns (e.x. :38). It’s very melodic and upbeat, too. You did a great job of creating some space for climax at 1:00. The tranquility at 1:04 contrasts nicely with the risers that follow, and the panning during the build-up is amusing. The drop is nice too. I might even suggest that the kick be a bit heavier to maximize its contrast with the snare. Then I love this Far East-sounding bridge you have at 2:16. You’ve done an excellent job of creating structural contrast here, and those chopped vocals at 2:30 add a lot to the piece. This piece is well-structured, well-mastered, smooth-flowing...the whole sh-bang. I’m not sure you needed to repeat the Far East section again at 3:34, but it still serves to offer some contrast really well. I appreciate that you varied the drop the second time around. The coda was brief, yet served the purpose of conclusiveness well. That last sweep was a nice touch, too. Overall, this is obviously a fantastic piece. In fact, I think the only thing I’ll dock points for here is originality, as some elements of the piece (the intro and risers, mostly) were a little generic. Keep up the great work, man! ;D

9.5/10