TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sidestep]

I liked the ominous and apprehensive mood at the beginning. I thought the fade-in method you used for the intro could’ve been a bit more creative, though. I also like that spooky, pulsing bass at around :48. This piece is slow to progress, but the sense of climax into 1:10 is superb. However, I don’t think you really primed the listener for such a heavy drop or even the chords you used during the drop. In fact, the drop almost sounds like a modulation. I would’ve probably had that same chord playing way back in the mix during the intro, because it’s not good to change keys just in time for a refrain. Anyway, the drop is awesome. I love the variety and the synths. In fact, I might’ve put a bit more reverb on the snare too, just to make it a little more impactful. I think you needed a smoother transition into 1:57. Even a crash or sweep would’ve helped ease some tension there. The part at 2:12 confused me a lot. It sounds like a completely different song. I realize it’s based largely on the intro, yet I could’ve sworn it changed key again. Usually, modulations should be used only when a) you want to create a sense of climax and direction towards the end of a piece, or b) you want something to sound jarring and atonal, which I don’t think was your intention here. I appreciated your attempt at varying the drop during the second time around, but 3:18 sounds a little too disparate from the part at 1:10. Then, amidst all of the heavy, industrial sounds, the piece starts taking on an upbeat tone at 3:42, which confused me further. The coda would’ve been fitting if it had anything to do with either the drop or the intro/re-intro. Instead, this piece simply comes across as lacking coherence, I’m afraid. I would suggest trying to flesh out one of two ideas you have here rather than skim the surface with a whole bunch in one track. That’s essentially my main problem with the piece. Otherwise, I like the synths and breaks. There are a lot of riffs that, isolated, are really cool. Hope this helped! Keep at it, man. ;)

6.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

AeronMusic responds:

There is some small reverb on the snare, but I prefered it not to be that long in this song. I know that there lacks coherence in this song. I also tried multiple things on how to continue this song at 1:57 but they turned out to be pretty shit, in my opinion. So yeah, you could say this song actually becomes different when the second part starts. I know I could have solved most of these issues you stated if I took more time but that's just my fault.

Anyway, I thank you a lot for the detailed review. This really helps me improving! (:

[Death Match]

I like the soothing mood at the beginning. Your vocals are soulful, down-to-earth and flowing. I also really like the lyrics themselves. The solo at 1:06 was very heartfelt and catchy, and I liked when you started getting slightly less unplugged at 1:26. The solos at 2:13 initially seemed overly busy and crowded the mix a bit. I think you have to work up to the level of intensity you had at 2:14 more. One thing I liked about the solos at 1:06 and 1:26 is that they still left a lot of space in the texture. However, I also felt like by around 2:50 you had successfully led up to that emotional height, although I was disappointed by the fade-out ending. It struck me as a bit lazily done tbh. Still, I appreciate this piece stylistically, and you know I like the organic soundscape and the passionate vocals. Keep up the good work, Ceevro! ;)

8.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

Ceevro responds:

I know how much you hate fade-out endings. But I like 'em! Gotta end things somehow, and it seems that I get flak no matter how I end! Perhaps I need to look at that.

Thanks for all the work you've done over the past while...I'm sure that by the end of all this you'll not wanna be listening to a new song for quite some time! See ya next year, though!

[Wings]

I like the atmospheric intro, as well as the pensive little synth that comes in at around :15. The vocals at :30 are really cool. They have this soulful vibe to them that compliments the mood here very well. The lyrics themselves are also quite enjoyable. The piece progresses pretty slowly, though. I’m not sure it needed to be quite this long. Obviously, the bass is very prominent in this piece, but it’s also the main thing going on for long sections of the piece instrumental-wise. I would’ve liked to see you do more with the instrumentals at times, especially during the verses. I did like the Spanish vocals you incorporated, though. Also, the melodies at 3:10 are really cool. You have a lot of quirky and fun instruments here. I like how you start adding some variety at 3:42, although at the same time that part lacked engaging content and got pretty repetitive after a while. I recognize that vocal sample at 4:05! I’m afraid it doesn’t really fit the groovy yet contemplative mood you have during the last 1.5 minutes of the piece. The vocals at 4:35 were comical, well-timed and edited. I will say that I expected you to at least return to some more prominent themes you had during the first 2/3 of the piece, though. 0:00 to 3:42 and 3:42 to 5:22 sound like 2 completely different songs! The glitchy industrial sounds at 5:07 also didn’t really compliment the mood you established earlier in the piece, especially since you tried to make it function as a coda in your piece. You have a lot of interesting ideas here, but I think you need to focus on concision. I would try fleshing out a couple of ideas more, rather than skimming the surface with several separate themes. The result is that this piece lacks coherence IMO. Still, I like the soundscape and the synths. Hope this review helped, and keep at it, man! ;)

7/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

TheMoebiusProject responds:

Thanks!! This review is really helpful, very thorough! Yes I think i could have been more creative with the guitars but i had to rush it cause I had to work on other stuff U.U. And yeah that mood change in the end was with the idea of taking flight, going faster but youre right it does feel like a whole new song! jaja. But anyway, even if we didn't make it to the next round, it was a very stimulating contest, so Im glad we were able to participate..You'll be hearing from us cause we got a whole bunch of tunes just waiting to be shared!! And, now, to keep rockin!!!

[Oxidize]

I liked the atmospheric intro. I thought the kick was a little weak, and I’m not sure I liked your hat and snare samples too much. That said, your voice had this smooth and soothing quality to it that I really liked. I also appreciated the chorus at 1:12. I liked that you aimed for a texture that was nice and full there, although I think the lead guitar and kick could’ve come through a lot clearer in the mix there. You might’ve needed to do some more careful equalizing. The “heartbeat” part at 1:29 was clever. I liked how you then created some structural contrast with another relatively soothing verse. I also thought that the transition into the second chorus at 2:11 was a little rushed, though. The post chorus at 2:26 was a valued addition to the structure as well. I thought you really overdid the crashes at 2:43, and they quite noticeably duck under the mix at 2:49. I didn’t think you needed that last chorus (it was sort of just extraneous repetition), although this piece did feel pretty conclusive by the end. I like the vocals (as well as the lyrics themselves) and structure. The main problem here is the mixing. Fix that, and you’ve got a really solid piece, my friend! Keep at it! ;)

7.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015

Jacob responds:

Myyy reviewwww!

The mixing and EQ of the drums has been a consistent challenge for me, and I think I honestly need to step away from Addictive and start using separate samples and soft synths that I can master as discrete entities. But, that may not fix it. I also lack some fundamental understanding of the mixing, and I have to figure that out sooner or later. You've pushed me to experiment more. :)

I think I agree with you on the abruptness of the second chorus transition. Although that was the intent, it wasn't done properly. And that may have been as simple as finishing four measures instead of only three. Or maybe the idea itself was lame! Man I don't know I'm just a username.

THANK YOU for telling me that the last chorus was unnecessary. I have this annoying nagging voice in my head telling me that three choruses are absolutely necessary, but it almost always feels so FORCED when I do it. I've gotta figure out my own non-ABABCB song structure.

Your review is so appreciated, man. It's nice that you're taking time out for the losers. Hahaha
I'd love it if you could give me some detail via PM on remedying the mix, particularly the percussion. But you're busy as hell with technical advice as it is, so it's 100% cool if it's not in your time-budget.

Thank you so much! Happy judging. :)

[[NGADM] Undertow]

I like the mood at the beginning, but I think the pauses were extremely unnecessary. The piano has this awesome, flowy and smooth quality, especially with the reverb, and the pauses sort of detracted from that flow. Once the synths come in at :43, I understand where you were going with the pauses, but they still impact the pacing of the piece negatively IMO. This piece progresses very slowly. I liked the part at 1:00, although I thought you might’ve been able to equalize out some of the treble tones in that rather high-pitched lead. The part at 1:00 is still rather minimalistic, though, and I thought you could’ve done a lot more to add to the harmonic content and progression of this piece. The strings during the breakdown at around 2:30 also sort of caught me off guard. Generally, it’s not a great idea to introduce new instruments 2/3 of the way through a track. By the end, this track is repetitive and fails to keep me engaged, unfortunately. The octave jumps around 3:00 – 3:15 don’t really serve to channel the energy in this track very well, and the coda was a bit rushed and lazily done IMO. I admire your sense of rhythm, but overall this track was pretty generic and repetitive. It’s also catchy, and the production quality is pretty high. Still, I would’ve liked to see some more creative and varied content. I hope this review helped. Keep at it, man! ;)

6.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[NGADM round 1 [WIP]]

I liked the mood at the beginning. You left yourself a lot of space for climax and contrast, which is good. That said, though, it’s very slow to progress, and you only actually reach an “arrival point” of your piece about halfway through. That cool, quirky melody instrument at 1:05 made for a neat post-chorus section, although I think the instrument was a bit too loud. Obviously, this isn’t a structurally complete piece. I know this is supposed to be a WIP, but I’m afraid I can’t take that into account when judging your submission. You could’ve done so much more with this. I think it has a lot of potential, and I’d encourage you to keep working on it after the competition. The production quality is solid. The soundscape is cool, and I like the melodies and harmonies, etc. But for this competition, you need to show me more of your abilities, especially regarding structuring/transitioning, that often are on display later in the piece. Despite the fact that this piece was cut short, I thought you could’ve at least tried to conclude it in a more creative way. Instead, you had this sort of cliché sweep in there. Again, I’d encourage you to keep working on this. For what it’s worth, “Recharge” is still one of my personal favorite tracks from the NGAUC 2014. Hope this review helped. Keep at it, man! ;)

5.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

DjAbbic responds:

I also feel like this has a lot of potential, and it's a shame I couldn't really get it out before the deadline. I'm personally feeling a bit conflicted about everything after the intro, because I feel like there are other directions I could take it. I'll probably continue working on this but it may be unrecognizable by the time it is finished.

I'm glad you're still enjoying Recharge, I still think it's one of those 'outlier' songs which is better than what I normally make, but then again I have thought the same thing for a fair number of my latest (kinda old now) songs. Perhaps it is a sign that I'm improving :).

Anyway, thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate your input!

[noodles]

I like the exotic, somewhat industrial beat at the beginning. It’s rather slow to progress, yet it has this engrossing mood about it that kept me engaged pretty well for a while. I love the ominous vibes and percussion. The soundscape is well-varied and interesting. You fill a lot of your texture with just reverb, though. Instead, I’d encourage you to harmonize more and develop the piece faster with regards to structure. In fact, very little in the way of phrasing is going on at all between about 2:00 and 2:45, giving this piece a sense of stagnancy and lack of direction. I like the melodies at around the 3-minute mark, as well as the post-chorus at 3:20. This piece has a drone-like quality and accompanying tension that I wanted to see you opening up at some point. Despite the cinematic nature of this track, it lacks in melodic development and dynamic contrast, as well as in any sort of grand “arrival point” or climax. The result is that this is a cool, yet relatively unmemorable piece, I’m afraid. The production quality is solid, yet at the same time there’s not a lot of harmonic content to make sure stays clear in the mix. If you added some more engaging melodies, climaxes, etc., I think this would be an awesome track! Hope this helped, man. Keep at it and good luck. ;)

7.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

Sequenced responds:

i forgot im not generic enough to win anything

[In Gods Mournful Design]

I like the dark, ambient vibes at the beginning. Sounds like it’s from a dystopian action movie. The melodies at around :35 were really cool. I’m loving the quirky, industrial sound design. I think this piece was lacking in structural contrast. It has this flowing, eternal energy about it that might need some relief at times. I liked the vocals at around 3:20. I lot of the ideas you have in this piece are really cool. You have this industrial beat playing for almost the whole piece, though, and I think it would’ve been a welcome change if you had stripped it away at one point. I think that the near-uniform intensity that you have during most of this piece makes it hard to discern its structure, and it kind of comes across as lacking coherence despite the beat. I also really didn’t understand why you had that last bass in there at 5:38. The piece was conclusive enough without it, and so it just kind of confused me. I’ve seen you use this heavy, industrial, consistent-energy style time and time again, Lich, and while I like it overall, I think you need to broaden your horizons more if you’re serious about reaching the final stages of this competition. I would recommend exploring a style that allows you to experiment more with melodic development, dynamic contrast, and other aspects of a more emotionally-driven structure. Until then, your hard-hitting and structurally flat pieces will almost always earn you good (but not great) scores from me. I’m not saying you need to change the genre you use, just the approach you take to structuring a piece so that it fits with the genre. Hope this helped! Keep at it, man. ;)

7.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[Acceptance & Commitment]

I loved the atmospheric vibe of the intro and the sense of climax into :28. Quirky instruments and reverb combine to build an awesome, full texture. I love the vocal samples around :55. The melodies at 1:15 were so upbeat and cool. The drums also helped keep me engaged – they almost sounded like hip-hop-style kits. I thought the piece progressed a little slowly at times. For example, I didn’t think you needed the extra repeat on that post-chorus at 2:28. Nice job creating some structural relief at around 2:55. The melodic content here is amazing. The part at 3:16 brought me a ridiculous amount of bliss. Before I forget, let me also mention that the mixing and mastering in this piece is superb. The production quality is just amazingly high – I can hear everything clearly throughout. It did feel a bit repetitive by the end, but honestly man…I’m just desperately searching for things that are wrong with this piece at this point. The coda with the wet, reverberated and distorted vocals is ingenious, and I love those huge, melodramatic descending synth patterns, like at 6:23. If I dared, I might also say that I thought this piece could’ve used some more dynamic contrast, but at the same time this piece is very well-structured (albeit long) as it is. Holy sh*t! Amazing job! You’ve managed to create an upbeat, melodic EDM track that’s not even remotely cliché! Here – take my 5-vote…and my fave…and someday when you’re rich and famous my money on countless iTunes binge-downloads as well. Keep up the great work, Midimachine! ;D

9.75/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

midimachine responds:

really glad you liked it so much! thanks for the kind words :)

[Caliginous Newcomer]

I liked the exotic percussion and other samples you had here. Very cool soundscape. You left yourself a lot of space for contrast at the beginning here, but the piece itself progresses pretty slowly. The piano that starts fading in at around 1:10 was also a nice touch. I love the somewhat ominous and apprehensive mood you’ve created here. There isn’t really a big “arrival point” until 1:50, and even then you don’t release a lot of tension. I also think you could’ve brought out that bell-like synth a lot more, as that seemed to be the main melody at that part. The build-up at around 1:30 doesn’t lead much of anywhere. I like the frantic synths at around 2:45. Nice job bringing the structure of the piece full-circle with the re-introduction of that first lead at 2:57, and then the subsequent variance of that lead at 3:08. That variance really helps give the piece a sense of direction. I suppose my main problem with this piece is that you build up a lot of tension, and then you never release it. Take 3:30 for example. I was expecting a soaring melody, a hard-hitting drop, or at least something more cathartic than a mysterious, flowy riff following a huge sweep. It would help create a lot more structural contrast in this piece if you added that point of arrival and release, probably at least twice in your track. If anything, 4:15 was sort of a dramatic “height” in a way, yet it was somewhat structurally isolated from the “height” at 1:50. I think this piece dragged on a lot longer than it really had to. All the various build-ups and subsequent re-intros don’t really keep my attention for almost 6 minutes. Furthermore, the transition at 4:58 was a little sudden. You could’ve at least used a crash there or something. That said, I enjoyed the ominous quality that the coda had (it certainly seemed fitting given the 5 minutes before it). The mixing and mastering is generally very solid as well. Fix the structural and concision issues, and I’ll say you’ve got a well-polished track here, Lordedri! Keep at it, man! Hope this helped. ;)

8/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

Adjeye responds:

Thank you very much! This is definitely something I can work on!