TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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

[Magna Cannon]

I like the intensity at the beginning. It has a great, frantic energy to it. The drums are also really loud and prominent in the mix, which is a huge plus for channeling the energy. I enjoyed the panning at :44, but you don’t provide a lot of structural relief for an extended period of time here. You have a good sense of melody and harmony, but in order to create some structural contrast and maximize the drama of this piece, you needed to have a low-energy breakdown or bridge section at some point. The piece becomes pretty predictable and repetitive after a while, too, and I don’t think you vary the melodies enough later on. The mixing and mastering are strong here, but compositionally you could’ve done a lot more with this. You also do very little to vary the texture at all during the entire piece. You have the bass guitar, lead, and drums (and nothing else) for the entire track. Overall, there are several good ideas here, but you need to offer more structural variety, changing the intensity both within distinct sections and between sections. This piece is oozing with potential, though. Keep at it, man! ;)

7.25/10

TSRBand responds:

Thanks for the tips! Will be sure to keep them in mind for the future :)

[AIM - Spectrum-X]

I’m enjoying the melodies a lot. The piece sort of launches right into the action without much sense of introduction, though. It’s almost as if :17 was meant to be the intro and :00 was meant to be the refrain. You have an excellent sense of harmony and tonality, though. I thought the drums were a bit too far back in the mix, especially the kick and snare. You also could’ve used some more prominent drum fills and/or crashes to help you transition between sections of the piece, such as at :59. The piece doesn’t have a whole lot of coherence, which probably isn’t helped by the lack of dynamic contrast and overarching sense of development. There’s some repetition, but overall the structure is very hard to follow because the melodies are so intricate and fast-paced. I would suggest simplifying the melodic content more, or otherwise creating a little more breathing room with a few more low-energy sections/verses between the melodic/energetic parts. After all, this piece is only 3 minutes long as is. I understand that you want to show off your excellent melody-crafting abilities, but after a point it’s a little over-stimulating. Also, I really hope you intended this piece to loop, because otherwise the piece cuts off very suddenly at the end. In general, there are quite a few positives here. The harmonies are well-balanced and create a nice, full texture. The instrumentation seems fitting, if not entirely unique. Overall solid work! ;)

7.75/10

Teckmo-X responds:

Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you liked it!

[Another Life]

I like the cute mood and synths at the beginning. The effects were pretty cheesy, yet effective at enhancing the mood. The piece progresses really slowly, but at least you added a bit of atmosphere at 1:01. The mastering is solid, but until 1:21 this piece feels really contained and tight, probably because it lacks a lot of lower frequencies. The mastering is quiet, but I can hear everything clearly. You used panning and reverb effectively too. Overall, it’s pretty minimalistic and lacks an overarching sense of direction. It has a sort of continuity to it, without much ebb and flow. You could’ve used more phrasing and dynamic contrast here. I like how you varied the melodies at 3:02, but they lacked an energy and finality to them that I expected as the piece came towards the end. This piece is catchy and well-structured, but you could’ve done a lot more with it. Overall, it felt very safe and a little lack-luster by the end. This is especially disappointing because I enjoyed the atmosphere and instrumentation a lot. Overall solid work. Keep at it, SynthGoddess. ;)

8/10

[SWeissen P - Extinguished]

I liked the dramatic intro. Those choral samples weren’t my favorite - the uniform vibrato gives them a bit of a fake quality - but you built up to the drop really well. I would’ve liked to hear the vocals a bit more prominently in the mix at 1:15, but otherwise the mixing and mastering here is really solid. The breakdown at 1:43 is awesome. Some dynamic contrast is exactly what this track needed at that point. Unfortunately, you don’t give this piece much sense of direction towards the end because you failed to vary the drop at all. The ending then felt rather rushed. I would’ve fleshed out that second build-up more to maximize the drama. There’s also very little strong melodic content here. Some more memorable melodies could’ve been incorporated into the breakdown section especially, which would’ve helped enhance the cinematic vibe. You do a good job with phrasing here, but you could’ve channeled the energy more effectively by broadening the climax a bit towards the end. Overall solid work. If you had thought a bit more about the pacing and progression here, this would’ve been a top-tier piece. Keep at it, man. ;)

8/10

[The Journey Begins (Remastered)]

I like the sense of excitement and adventure. The powerful melodies at :18 have a victorious tone to them that’s very engaging. I think there are some slight mixing and mastering issues. For example, there was some sort of percussion hidden under there at :31, yet I could barely hear it and overall it didn’t add anything to the piece. Also, the strings seem to be fighting for attention a bit at :11. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t regard this as a structurally complete piece. The mood and atmosphere are great. It’s has a full texture and some strong melodic content...but in order to maximize the emotion here you simply needed to flesh out this track more. I wanted to see you draw some structural contrast by offering the listener a low-energy section, after which you would build to a final refrain that gave the piece an overarching sense of direction. Right now, this piece lacks a sort of structural ebb and flow that makes music - but especially cinematic music - so enjoyable. I was really divided about how to score you here because, despite the structural flaws, you nailed the atmosphere, tonality, and harmonies. I can FEEL the potential oozing off of this song. So I think you’re going to make it to the next round (I’m writing this review on 7/15/16). You just need to promise me that your piece for that round is going to communicate to the listener every last detail of the story behind the track, including all the twists and turns it deserves. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.75/10

SteveSyz responds:

Hey thanks for the awesome feedback! I definitely agree with your points, I probably should have mentioned this track was for orchestration practice two years ago! I'll definitely have a more complete musical form next round; I'm always composing to impress ;D Also thank you for taking your time for such an awesome musical analysis, most people just say 'this string part was cool but that flute was meh'.
Looking forward to knock some people out (musically) haha!

[Spaze - Who You Are]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and sense of climax at the beginning. The melodies at :31 are catchy, although the bass is a little loud there, even if it doesn’t detract from the mastering that much. I suppose I’d question the pacing of this piece a bit in that the intro and build is only about 30 seconds long, while the melody repeats several times, playing for almost a minute in total by around 1:30. Also, the section after that was a little too drawn-out as well. I think you needed a less energetic breakdown or bridge section to really highlight the structural contrast in this piece. You also fail to vary the melodies during the second refrain, which leaves this piece without much of an overarching direction to it. The fade-out ending was also pretty lack-luster. I thought your drum samples were pretty generic, although you mixed them in well. This piece shows great potential, but doesn’t capitalize on that potential IMO. You could’ve done a lot more with the melodies, especially later on in the piece, and you didn’t add much meaningful or different material to the track after even the first refrain. If you take some more opportunities to create dynamic contrast, structural relief, and a more refreshing and unique sound design, this would be a top-tier piece. As for now, it fails to keep my interest after a while. Keep at it, man! ;)

7.25/10