TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[[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! ;)

[Last Stand (Orch Edit)]

I like the powerful piano at the beginning. As with a lot of your tracks, it progresses pretty slowly. Also, I wasn't a huge fan of your samples here, and I'm afraid the instrument at :53 sounds exactly like a synth (what was it supposed to be?). If you wanted that to be a synth, I would suggest replacing it with a flute or clarinet or something. I kinda liked the orchestral theme you established at the beginning, and I would've liked you to keep it for the whole piece. I think you also could've mastered this differently to bring out some of the instruments more clearly. The coda was also pretty cool, although I would've liked to see you prime the listener a bit by using that harp-like instrument at another point in the piece. Overall, not bad. It could use some polishing here and there, but as it is I like it. Happy holidays, TeraVex. ;)

[Spooksville (Loop Version)]

Hmm...you made this quite a while ago now. I got behind on my reviewing. :/ I do like the pizzicatos and pensive mood. The lower strings at :31 need to be brought out more IMO. A moving line amidst a repetitive riff such as the pizzicatos is much-needed here. I like the snares at :48, but they sort of just blend into the repetitive texture here after a while. I actually think you can condense this piece a lot. It progresses very slowly, and the substantive melodic content (i.e. 1:25) shouldn't come more than halfway through the piece. You also don't really vary the melody significantly (or at least discernably) after that point. The horns at around 2:20 were a good idea, but this could still easily be a much shorter loop that's still structurally sound. It has potential, though, and I'm sure it'd work well for whatever game was in your mind when you made this. :) Keep at it, man! ;)

[Immortal Fear]

Woah, you've made a lot of tracks since my last binge-review session. I like the strings and piano combo. The emotion is great, and the rain/thunder sound effects complement those harmonies well. It's beautiful, if a little structurally flat. I would've liked to see you do more to distinguish between the various sections of the piece, and some dynamic contrast and phrasing couldn't hurt either. You might need some sort of breakdown section or bridge as well. Still, I think your samples are really good, and the ending was fitting (even though the track cut off a little suddenly). This is one of your better tracks IMO. Keep up the great work, BO! ^_^