TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[Dubstep] Chainsmokers - Roses ft. ROZES (TruNotFals Remix)]

I love the sense of climax at the beginning and the way you incorporated the lyrics. The drop added a lot to the piece IMO, while also having some interesting pacing that added some variety. I love the almost melancholy vibe that the melody at 2:10 has. I think slowly down the tempo from the original was a good idea. Also, perhaps I'm a bit biased (because I love the original), but I think might be the strongest piece of the four I've reviewed recently. It just adds so much emotion to what is originally supposed to be sort of a feel-good kind of song, right? Also, may I ask what contest you wrote this song for? I think it came out great! ;)

trunotfals responds:

Thank you Tainted for another amazing review! This song is by far my favorite remix so far. This song got a lot of praise on the site I did the remix for. It's called Indaba music. Awesome site where they hold contests for cash prizes and the chance to be released with the original artist and all sorts of things. I'm surprised it doesnt have a larger producer base. I love the original too, and I don't dabble to much into dubstep, except when I work with VOX and this one really really worked for me, I'm really glad you like it. Especially since I dont have too much sound design experioence with dubstep stuff. Traditional dubstep stuff that it.

[[Dubstep] Doe Paoro - Hypotheticals (TruNotFals Remix)]

I like the beat at the beginning. The chopped up vocals came out sounding just a little bit...too choppy, though. The excessive rolls and panning was a little jarring and overwhelming IMO. Sorry. I liked the build-up you had into 1:03, but the harmonies you had with the vocals and synth melodies playing at the same time didn't really work for me. It was just a little too much to listen to at once, especially since both the synths and vocals at 1:45 (for example) probably deserve a little more...independence, so-to-speak. The piece is well-structured, smooth-flowing, and well-mastered, though. I'm not sure the transition into 3:10 quite worked for me, and the section at 3:10 itself also seemed just a bit too busy. The texture there was just overflowing, and the balance might've been a little off too. You had these roaring arpeggios playing over a luscious synth melody, while I thought it probably should've been the other way around. I also wasn't a huge fan of your rather abrupt transition back into the vocal part around the 4-minute mark, and after that there wasn't much of a coda to tie the piece together. It's pretty rough around the edges, I think, but overall there were a lot of individual riffs that I thoroughly enjoyed. In a way the main issue might boil down to just the opposite problem as that trance track I reviewed just a couple days ago: I think you tried to do too much in just a 4.5-minute long track as opposed to not creating enough variety in a 7-minute long one. As it is now, it comes across as a little hard-to-follow structurally and perhaps even incoherent at worst. Still, I like your style and the instrumentation. Still has a lot of potential in case you have a weekend afternoon to yourself. ;) Keep at it, man!

trunotfals responds:

Yea I've been meaning to revisit this, I tried something experimental with the part at 3:10, going into the triplet quarter note as the quarter note, a little tempo modulation, and I may have been too excited about those arps when mixing, and mixed them too loud, it was an experiment that I loved, but didnt translate well, but I do plan to revisit this, thank for the awesome review, I love when I don't uphold to my potential, you hold me accountable (: Don't ever be sorry for constructive criticism.

[An Autumn Dream]

YES! I love Emily Dickinson. :D I like the sort of gritty, droning and jarring synth (oh wait, no - viola) and how that contrasts with the light piano music in the background. The pacing is very good too. It got pretty apprehensive and dissonant at about the 1-minute mark, and then you just created some more space for yourself by 1:35 with another "droning" session. Then the piece resolves to complete tranquility by about 2:45. The progression is just seamless, and the brighter, hopeful mood at about 3:30 and beyond is amazing. By around 4:15, it gives off a floaty sort of vibe, and then 4:30 is an explosion of emotion, a revelation of the most divine kind. I also love how you really fleshed out the coda from around 5:15 on. It made the piece feel very conclusive. Overall, great work and happy new year, Phonometrologist. ;D

Phonometrologist responds:

Happy New Year Logic! This review of yours is fun to read. Merely because I get a chance to hear this piece with a set of new eyes and ears. When constructing such a thing, as I'm sure you know, we kind of miss out on what others would take from it as they are unaware of the inner workings of the mind to construct it. There's something fresh about your writing here.
In regards to the "divine kind," that's what I would hope to reach in any of my writings and for it to be known to others who listen. What a difficult thing to do.

[[Future Bass] _Transcend (Original_Mix)]

I've gotten really into future bass recently, so I'd thought I'd give this a listen. I love the tranquil mood at the beginning and the engaging, bouncy synths that come in soon after. The drop was pretty cool. I think my favorite section is 2:28, though. It just sounded so bright and floaty. You did a good job with the structure, transitions, and mixing and mastering, although I thought the "ay" samples during the drops could've been a little more present. I'm not a fan of fade-out endings, though. I simply find them lazy and not-so-creative. Otherwise, this is another solid track. I sincerely hope one of your tracks finds its way onto the front page again. You've earned it by continuing to work hard since the competition! :)

trunotfals responds:

Man I love this review. And I agree, I HATE fade out endings, but i went into a drop where i took out all my drop layers and it went into a disco feel, and I felt that was appropriate for the feel. I dont think I've ever done a fade out transition in my life, i just don't know what it worked for me. As I fade out, i keep adding in elements, taking them away, adding in again even as it gets quiet. I feel you, I agree, however, I just CANT get over that it just felt like for once in my life i needed to do this transition, even on a song i loved. :D

I need to make some darn music again.......

[[Progressive Trance] Insomniac (Original Mix)]

I like the snare sample right off the bat. Good use of reverb and risers/sweeps. It progresses a little slowly, and seems like some pretty standard fare for progressive trance (not quite cliché, but...well...almost). It has a cool beat and progression, but is a little long-winded. I think you should've brought the more melodic part that started sneaking in there at around 1:15 a lot more. I appreciated your use of dynamic contrast at around the 2-minute mark. It kind of bothered me that the sweep had this stop-start thing going on at 2:18, but that's a tiny detail. I appreciated all the details involved in the first half of the piece or so, but you kind of painted 3:07 as the "emotional high point" with all the build-ups here, yet there were very few memorable melodies before then. Even when you do have melodic content, like at 4:10, I don't think you bring it to the front of the mix nearly enough, and you also could've done a lot more to vary it given the length of the piece. I do like all the instruments and moods you've weaved into the piece, though. You probably could've cut this down to a 4-minute piece relatively easily, though. There are pieces that deserve to be 7 minutes long, but I'm not convinced that this is one of them. Sorry. Otherwise, nice job and happy new year! ;)

[Stand By]

I like the emotion and progression. Honestly, I didn't notice any clicks at the loop. It's a bit flat dynamically, but I couldn't expect much more from a 1-minute-long loop. Nice job with making the time signature changes so natural-sounding, btw. Not much more to add. You should start keeping track of what percentage of your NG uploads are piano solos. ;P

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hey, and thanks!
The click at the loop was worse, during the time that there was something wrong with the NG Audio Player. But there still is a minor one, but you might need really good headphones or speakers to be able to hear it :)

Aww, and I though the volume dynamics in my performance was okay D:
But I guess you mean rhythmically? It's not really meant to be more dynamic there, as it's based off of Eric Satie's Gymnopedies after all :3

You know, I actually didn't realize I changed the time signature until after I made the piece, which probably explains why they ended up sounding natural... Me and theory don't go too well together XD

Uhh... A large percentage? They tend to be among my best tracks too :)

More importantly, if you haven't, check this out!

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/659992

Phonometrologist just made a cover on this piece, and it's waaay better than this piano track. It might have all the dynamic you're looking for :3

Thank you for yet another review! Now, I'm back to work... I need to upload 4 more tracks this year...

[[Dubstep] F**cking Loose My Mind (Charlie Puth Remix)]

I like the synths and beat. Clearly, the vocals are powerful and also have an emotional quality that you brought out well with the instrumentals. I like how the drops corresponded to the chorus of the original too. I also thought the balance between the vocals and instrumentals were better than in the last piece I reviewed, "Things that I would Change." However, you might've overdone the reverb on the vocals a bit, which is especially noticeable after 3:13. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the pacing of the vocals in that first verse, but listening to the original now, I believe that was Mr. Puth's choice and not yours. :) Overall, nice work! Keep it up, Trunotfals. ;D

trunotfals responds:

Thank you so much Tainted! I thought i sidechained the reverb so i could have a strong reverb without over powering the vocals when they were active, but idk i liked it. And yea I kind of agree about the pacing on the vocals, I listen to this and realize that the drop needed some high high hats to add some drive and excitement, i may go back. Man I LOVE your reviews and the fact that youre somehow keeping tabs on me! I would love to hear what you think about the rest of the songs I've made man!

[First Day Of Spring (Cover)]

I love the bare-bones, laidback vibe here. The vocals felt a little dry, though. Some more reverb may have helped, especially on the choruses. I appreciated your extended efforts at vocal harmony following the 2-minute mark or so. Small detail: I thought the transition at 2:51 could've used a simple crash or something, just to smooth it over a bit more. Other than that, I admire the simplicity. Keep at it, man. ;)

[Vanquish the Night]

I liked the emotional intro, but I think you rushed a little too quickly into the heavy guitar content. I would've liked to see a more fully fleshed-out climax towards the beginning. That said, this is some really powerful content! You meshed together a lot of different moods here, although sometimes the pacing is a little too fast. It seems fitting for a Hollywood chase scene more so than a stand-alone piece at times (although that might've been what you were going for). I love the melodic content, though, like at 3:30. For a rushed mastering session, I think you guys did a great job, btw. The piece also fittingly has a victorious and triumphant sensation at the end, which I appreciated. Overall nice work! ;)

[~SW~ Annar]

I like the powerful, variable percussion and funky synths. The melodies have a pretty weird pacing. At times they bring this sort of relaxed vibe, but at others they stop-start and jitter a lot and that makes it a little hard to follow the rhythm. Despite my love of the creative drums in this piece, I wish there was something a little more straight-forward in the piece just to keep the listener grounded a bit more. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the sensual guitar solo at 1:48 when contrasted with the more energetic, spurt-y synths. In theory, it would've created a nice breakdown, but I think you need to flesh out some of these melodies more and pace it a little more modestly in order to tie some things together (by which I mean: it comes across as a pretty incoherent). This isn't one of your better tracks IMO, unfortunately, but I do still like the instruments, and the mix is clear as always. :) Hope to hear more from you soon, man! ;)