TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sly]

Welcome back! I hope you're here to stay. ;) This is a catchy piece. I think that first bass riff gets a little distorted when the other instruments come in. It's especially noticeable at :16. This is a very bass-heavy piece in general, and I'd caution you against making the frequency range of this piece so lopsided. In fact, you seemed to have enough of treble tones for most of the latter half of the piece. Perhaps it was just the mid-rangers that were missing, but I still think some of those instruments needed a high-pass. Also, there isn't much strong melodic content that's not riff-based. I don't think it's a very effective way of channeling the energy to keep the stop-start form of the more melodic material for the entire piece. That said, you did do a pretty decent job of making it feel climactic with the more intricate harmonies towards the end. Fitting title, too. ;)

Glad to have you back, TeraVex. ^^

[Rituals Of Sin]

I like the apprehensive mood at the beginning. The instruments mesh well together. It has a good sense of climax into :30. It’s a bit slow to develop after that, although I like the melodies with the piano, even if you could’ve used some more creative rhythms there. It has a sort of continuous flow to it, whereas I would’ve liked to see some dynamic contrast at some point, possibly in the form of a breakdown or bridge section. After the first minute or so, you offer very little new content in the piece. Therefore, it fails to keep my attention after a while and is in fact quite repetitive. It doesn’t really have any sort of meaningful conclusion either. Perhaps it would’ve served better as a loop anyway. With this little structural variety, though, it doesn’t really function as a complete piece IMO. You have the skeleton of a piece here, but it needs more variation. I wanted to see you develop those melodies more during the 2nd and 3rd times you repeated them. Otherwise, this song sounds like directionless background music. Giving your piece a structural ebb and flow will help bring out more emotion, drama, or whatever feeling you’re trying to convey. The mixing and mastering were solid, but compositionally this piece was flat, dry, and dull. Some of the percussion could’ve been compressed more to contribute more to the energy and drive of the piece as well. This has potential, but I’d like to see you build off of it a low more. Until then, keep at it, man! ;)

5.5/10

Zodiax responds:

Thanks for the constructive review! I really appreciate it.

[Suddenly a Sound Was Heard]

I like the atmospheric arpeggios. The wet synths and Lo-fi effects were cool too. It has little sense of development before :30, and then launches into this minimalistic, distorted drop that doesn’t really reflect the mood of the first 30 seconds very well. And then 1:04 sounds like a completely different piece. You took some big risks here with the composition and sound design. I personally think that the instrumentation-related risks paid off, but the compositional risks did not. This piece has a lot of jarringly disparate sub-themes and rough transitions (1:04, 1:23, etc.), and most of the time the harmonic depth is not sufficient to keep me engaged. The mixing and mastering quality is solid, and you used a lot of creative effects here. It’s an amusing experimental piece, but doesn’t really appeal to any emotions, drama, or sense of danceability I may have. I understand the theme of radio sounds and strings popping in periodically (as if you’re turning the dial on a radio), but instead of serving to offer pleasing contrast, it comes across as being a detriment to the sense of coherence of the track. So...creative, yet compositionally lacking. I could see you doing a lot with some of these themes in a more flowy, longer piece, though. Keep at it, man. ;)

6.25/10

Zanzlanz responds:

Dude, thanks so much! What a well thought-out, very professional review of the audio. I need friends with this much detail in their feedback.

But you're absolutely right - I should have submitted something way more structured to NGAUC, as a proof of ability, instead of something completely experimental. ;)

Take care with the rest of the event!

[guitar thing.mp3]

It’s a little hard to follow the rhythm at the beginning, although it helps when the bass comes in at :15. I also enjoyed the drums at around :30. It has a great sense of flow and additivity about it. The instruments mesh well, although I’m not hearing much melodic content until 1:33, and even then it’s way far back in the mix. If you used a bit more panning and filtering to really clarify all of the harmonies in there, this piece would be that much better. I liked the structural relief you offered at 1:48, although perhaps you could have used more dynamic contrast to heighten the sense of climax later. Unfortunately, during the second emotional height at 2:19, you don’t add a lot of meaningful content that wasn’t already in the first refrain. I like how exposed the melodies a bit more at 3:05, though. I appreciated the full texture this track had throughout. You have a good sense of harmony and tonality, and the mixing and mastering is generally good despite my minor clarity complaints.

8.25/10

Yoshiii343 responds:

Oh wow. I honestly don't know how to respond to this. Thank you so much for the review!

[Desert Overworld Part 2 - An Oasis with a Water Slide]

I like the melodies towards the beginning. You may have overdone the panning a bit there, though, and by :10 I think the melodies are a bit too jumpy (as opposed to stepwise). I like the beat at :21 and the cute mood. I’m not really sure why you simplified the texture so much at :38 so suddenly, though. It doesn’t really help create any sort of structural or dynamic contrast. You have a couple more transitions (1:38, for example) that could’ve been much smoother. I’m enjoying the melodic nature of this piece, although perhaps you should be careful about creating too many disparate melodies and instead focus on developing one or two melodic themes. That said, I thought 1:51 served to offer some structural contrast really well, and you transitioned well back into the more energetic section of 2:20. Overall, the texture of this piece is a bit bare. Perhaps you could’ve used some more pads or other less mobile content to keep the piece grounded a bit more. Between 2:20 and the end of the piece, in fact, it seems like you bounce from one melody to the next without any sense of direction. You needed to give this piece a sense of coherence and overarching climax by creating a clear refrain in which to develop your earlier melodies. And then the fade-out ending came across as lazy and inconclusive. You’ve clearly displayed your ability to craft beautiful melodies here, but now I want you to focus on simplifying the melodic content of your piece while adding more depth to the texture and more phrasing and progression. The mixing and mastering is pretty good. You did use panning creatively during the piece, although perhaps you could’ve brought certain instruments out more, such as the arpeggios that pop in at 1:21. Overall, pretty solid work. Some more compositional considerations, and this would be a top-tier piece. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.75/10

[Lockyn - Aqua [Karaplex Remix]]

I like the melody at the beginning. You might want to eliminate some of the treble tones from that synth, though. It was a little harsh-sounding in the high-frequency range (:12). Also, you dragged out the sweep that started at :07 for way too long, which made it a little anti-climactic. I loved the mood at :22, though. The unconventional beats at :31 were really cool, too. I thought you could’ve brought out the piano at :31 a lot more, though, because there’s not a lot of melodic content going on there. This piece piece is slow to develop towards the beginning, but the section at 1:26 has a great sense of flow and catharsis. It sounded like the drums started to be fighting a losing battle a bit by 1:56, but the full texture and harmonies you have going on there are great. At 2:21, you offer some much-needed structural contrast that lets the piece breathe a bit. Perhaps you could’ve done more with dynamic contrast during this sort of re-intro section, but you still had a meaningful build-up into 3:44 that was once again dragged on for too long by the long-form snare hits on the downbeats starting at 3:16. I loved the variations at 4:11. I’m usually skeptical of the introduction of new instruments this late in a track, but in this case it worked really well to channel the energy. You have a ton of variety here, and I love the classy finish at 5:06. ;) The instrumentation here is great, and I think you sufficiently added to the original. Sometimes I don’t think you properly balance the various harmonies perfectly (for example, at 3:44 there’s a lot of atmospheric content that could’ve shone through the mix a bit more), but overall the mixing and mastering were both pretty good. Perhaps you rigidly kept a few riffs and motifs from the original, but this track has a very unique sound design overall. Nice work! Keep at it, man. ;D

9/10

[Sentinel of the Great Gate]

This is a catchy and refreshing track. It has a cute yet energetic vibe. There are a lot of really sudden changes in the chord progression and/or modulations, such as at :24 and :34, for example. There were also a few out-of-place dissonances, such as :26. You needed some structural contrast here, too. It has a constant sense of energy and continuity, yet very little dynamic contrast, phrasing, or overarching sense of climax. You’re stringing together a lot of relatively independent ideas here. I would’ve liked to see you flesh out a couple of the themes here instead of moving on every 15 seconds. The fast pace of the piece may be fitting for a videogame, but as a stand-alone piece it’s hard to keep the listener grounded with this constant variation. You need to develop your melodies within the context of structural repetition, building on things you’ve already established in the piece instead of completely usurping the texture every 8 bars. The mastering is pretty loud and clear, but I can barely hear the drums throughout. Drums are a great way of channeling the energy of a piece, so the fact that they’re largely absent from this one is fitting. The loop is smooth, but as a solitary composition it lacks the structural ebb and flow that maximizes emotion and drama. I think you should focus on fleshing out your tracks more and letting them breathe. A good exercise for you would be to make a piece that’s more atmospheric and has as much dynamic contrast as possible. When you feel like you’ve done this, PM me and I’ll review it. Until then, keep at it, man. ;)

7/10

[Oppression Method]

I like the distorted ambient pads and crackly percussion. The piece is slow to develop, though, and the hats at :46 may have been a bit too loud. I like how the energy of the beat ramps up just as the pads mellow out. That’s some complex shaping right there. Overall, though, this piece is extremely minimalistic and drawn-out. I’m hearing very little melodic content, and the drums are way too up-front in the mix. The mastering is solid, although for a lot of the piece there isn’t a lot to mix and master. The harmonic content is very bare during the track, and after a while the piece just fails to keep me engaged. At the very least, you start using more percussive and ambient effects at around 3:30, perhaps most notably that sound effect at 3:41. This is a catchy piece that makes for good background music. Sounds like something the DJ plays at a smoky club at 3 am when everyone’s already passed out drunk. Unfortunately, as a stand-alone piece it’s just way too repetitive and structurally flat to hold my attention. It has little sense of conclusion, or for that matter of phrasing, climax, or dynamic contrast. I’m seeing a lot of potential here, but in order to capitalize on that potential you have to have a keener sense of pacing, offer more structural variety and melodic content, and maintain a fuller texture. Until then, keep at it, man. ;)

5/10

[Breaking]

The beat at the beginning is catchy. It’s a little slow to develop, but I like the atmosphere that starts fading in at around :31. I enjoyed the pitch bending at 1:15 and the subsequent frantic synths at 1:23. Still, it’s pretty minimalistic for the first 90 seconds here, and I’m hearing very little strong melodic content in general. The piano at 2:33 was an interesting and welcome addition to the texture. You do a good job creating structural ebb and flow here, but overall there’s very little sense of coherence here. I can see how all of the independent riffs are related tonally and thematically, but you need to flesh out and develop some of the ideas you have here more instead of just moving on to the next one. Otherwise, the piece seems directionless and jarring, and the ending will testify to that (it felt neither conclusive nor appropriate; I would’ve at least added some more reverb or a ping-pong effect). The atmosphere of the piece was amusing, and it’s extremely catchy throughout, but you could’ve done a lot more with this. The mixing and mastering are both solid, and I enjoyed your synths. If you planned out your composition more carefully, this would’ve been a top-tier piece. It has that potential, but right now the scatter-brained structure just doesn’t work for me. Sorry. Keep at it, man! ;)

6.5/10

[Flying Free (2k16 Remake)]

I liked the atmospheric, climactic intro. The part at :17 felt powerful and full-textured. You had some melodies in there at :17, but they got really buried underneath the mix. The melodies at :56 are blissful and catchy, but I thought you could’ve used some more creative rhythms. Those same melodies also got a little lost when you added those additional harmonies at 1:18. There are also other instruments that sound indistinct at times, such as the crashes during the transition at 1:12. The emotional height early in this piece seems really drawn out, lasting essentially from :39 to 1:56, and even then the energy doesn’t stop. By 2:19, that structural relief is more than welcome, and even then it’s short-lived compared to the overall pacing of the piece. You also don’t really have another section with strong melodic content in this piece after the first half or so, which kind of limits the overarching sense of development this piece has. I also thought your transitions, some of your instruments, and chord progressions were pretty generic. You have a great sense of harmony, but unfortunately that harmony isn’t coming through as clearly as it could because of the mastering flaws. For example, I love that bell-like atmospheric synth at 1:57, but it’s hard to discern its melody. Perhaps some panning would’ve helped there. I suggest you explore more stereo widening effects in the future, and maybe also simply more careful filtering/equalizing. If you improve the production quality and flesh out the final climax more, this would be a very good piece. Until then, keep at it, man! ;)

7/10

viewtifulday responds:

Lol it's happy hardcore. Thanks for your feedback tho