TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Medieval Electronic]

I like the melody at the beginning, but it sounds a little dry. I think you should add some more reverb. The chord at :18 is both too loud and rather dissonant. The bass riff at :36 definitely overpowers the celtic melody. I think you need to think more carefully about how you balance the volumes among different instruments. The transitory material in this piece is pretty cool, though, like the crash/sweep combo at 1:36. I wish you had varied the celtic melody towards the end of the piece a little more. Also, the guitar riff at 2:11 pretty much comes out of nowhere. Usually it's pretty jarring to introduce new instruments into a piece during the last 30 seconds, and this is not exception. Overall, this piece has a unique sound design and some cool melodies. I think you need to be more careful about how the different riffs connect harmonically, though. Keep at it, man. ;)

EatMyDonkey responds:

Thanks man! Love the feedback, I'll look to fixing those things. For the part at :36 was supposed to be bass driven while the Celtic melody is in the background.

Anyways,
Have a good day :)

[Out Of My Zone]

Awesome. This is totally unexpected from you. I love the gritty bass riff and crisp drums. Reminds me a bit of Zircon. It progresses a little slowly, but 1:17 offers some more melodic content, which is good. I think the transition into 1:17 could've been smoother, though. The mood is great, though. I could see this being in a videogame. The ambient bridge at 2:15 came on a little suddenly, too. I love how spacey and atmospheric it is there, though, and I think you transitioned well back into the busy section at 2:35. I love the sensual guitar and hi-hats and how they mesh so well with the gritty bass. It makes for a pretty unique sound design. I think the mixing and mastering might need a bit of work. The bass sounds pretty distorted towards the end, especially at 2:35 and 4:10. That said, I certainly enjoyed the instrumentation, mood, and structure. I'd highly encourage you to continue experimenting "out of your zone." :) Keep it up, Ceevro!

Ceevro responds:

Yeah, I'd love to try my hand at dubstep, but I no clue at all how to mess with the sounds like that. I'd also like to do some stuff like this with vocals...kinda want a hook. Thanks for the feedback! I'll take it to heart!

[Cling On Like Klingons (Acapella)]

This is great! I love the lyrics. Your tone gets more intense as the piece goes on, which is quite musical. I'm not sure if it's the mic quality or what, but sometimes the consonants don't sound as distinct as they could. For example, when you say "rake," the k sound doesn't come through so much, which makes it hard to discern the lyrics there. Same thing with "lake" a couple of seconds later. It might just be that you need to push the air through a little faster to emphasize the consonant sounds. Anyway, that's a pretty small detail. Keep up the good work, Cyberdevil! Happy 2017. ^^

Cyberdevil responds:

Hmm might be unpolished annunciation more than recording quality, shall try to better myself there. Lyrical clarity's probably the thing I need most practice with.

Glad you liked it overall; thanks for the good feedback! Happy 2017!

[We are number one but it's a fat beat]

Catchy and fun piece, if with a cliché chord progression. I love the vocals and the sort of confidential, gothic tone of it. Sounds like I'm a curious kid who snuck behind the curtain in a circus, and the ringmaster started giving me a lecture. XD The mixing and mastering are solid, too. I can hear all the instruments clearly throughout. This is a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece. You may have overused the "we are #1" vocal riff by the end, though. Nice job with the panning and melodic content. Like I said, the mood is what really sells this piece. Keep up the good work, man. ;)

CANDYdisturber responds:

Awesome review; thanks for the critiques!

[Tailout]

Sounds like a preset from "Plucked" at the beginning. :) The rhythm doesn't sound completely in sync at :09. It sounds like you recorded each instrument separately on a MIDI, but the riffs didn't change notes at the same time. Even if I'm wrong, something sounds indistinct there that makes the texture a little jarring. I liked the drums, but I thought the bass at :20 was a little too muddy and really overwhelmed the other instruments too much. May I ask what DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) you use? Those glitchy effects towards the end were cool, though. It doesn't make a bad loop, either, but otherwise it's a structurally incomplete piece. The quantizing problems (if that is in fact what's causing the problems) are my main concern with this piece. Otherwise, keep at it, man. ;)

jdogisbest responds:

I used GarageBand, very hard to sync it well, but I got it as close as possible. Thanks for the feedback! (^^)

[Refresh (Intro)]

I like the atmospheric vibe and the chord progression. I think the melody at :15 is a little overpowered by the harmonies, though. I would suggest automating the reverb to make way for the lead there. You could also use some compression or volume automations, but in my experience automating the reverb sounds cooler. :) I like the instruments, though. If you're looking for a next step, it feels like this song needs an injection of energy. Some drums and more dynamic/busy melodies might help. Looking forward to hearing the final product! Keep at it, TeraVex. ;)

[Stay Inside Me]

I like the bouncy synths and the easy flowing melodies. The texture is very pizzicato-heavy, but the melodies are still memorable. You may have overdone the reverb a bit, too, yet the mixing and mastering are both solid. I wish you had varied the melody a little more during the second half of the piece, but you still kept things interesting with the vocal samples. Well-structured piece with a great atmospheric vibe. Keep up the great work, OcularNebula! ;)

[Watching the Trees Go By]

I like the bouncy strings and sense of climax into :14. Some percussion would've helped channel the energy a lot more. I think you need a crash or other transitory element at :14. The main riff is pretty repetitive, so :57 was a nice moment of structural relief. I love the emotion at 1:10, and you transition back into the main theme at 1:30 well. Well-structured piece. The instrumentation and harmonies are both great, but I would've liked to see this thing fleshed out a little more in order to maximize the cinematic appeal it has. Right now, it's a little too fast-paced to fully display its potential for drama and emotion IMO. But that's pretty picky. This is a great composition, my friend. Keep up the good work! ;D

Columbers responds:

I actually paid attention to the musical form in this song, and it paid off. I was running out of ways to repeat it, so that's why it's so short. Also, I struggle with writing percussion parts, but I don't try very hard to add percussion so I can't complain much. Maybe next time I can use more than a snare drum. Thanks for your review though!

[Lead Me]

I like the chord progression. Perhaps you could've brought out more emotion with the piano at the beginning with some humanizing/dynamics, though. The piece progresses really slowly and overall has a pretty simplistic texture. It has a lot of potential, but you could've done so much more with this. The track has a lot of underlying tension that never gets resolved. The ending is sudden and inconclusive. Otherwise, I like the samples and atmosphere. Keep at it, man. ;)