TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Unsung Hero]

So I see you've won the NGADM. Congratulations! Now it's time to see why...yup, I see why. Rock and orchestral were meant to be together and you've proven it, guys. It has a great sense of flow to it, and some pretty cool pacing about it too. I love all the melodic riffs, like at around 1:40, and the mixing and mastering is simply top-notch. It has a very intricate structure that really tells a story. The mood is excellent - alternating between victorious, reflective, anticipatory, and several others. If I had to complain about anything, it might be that the intricate structure makes it a little hard to follow all the ups and downs of the piece sometimes. Also, the ending was a bit abrupt. I suppose I expected it to wind down a bit more before the end. Overall, though, this is quite admirable work, and you'll probably see some more reviews on your other NGADM tracks from me in the coming weeks... ;)

bassfiddlejones responds:

Thank you friend! I always appreciate your reviews, and thanks for following along through the contest!

[~SW~ Thurm ins_wa_]

I love the furtive vibe at the beginning. It progresses pretty slowly, yet still has an engaging atmospheric quality about it. I love how you snuck in some rather luscious and memorable melodies here and there too. The mixing and mastering is quite good as usual, btw. Your sound palette is always really engaging and cool. It's well-structured and smooth-flowing, too. Just a super-fun piece. Also, I may be wrong but it sounds to me like this piece is in 7/4. I'm not sure I'll be able to find all the 4/4 bars, though...at least not before I've listened to it a few more times. ;) Keep up the good work, Skye!

SkyeWint responds:

7/4 it is!

Thanks for the review, TL! I've gotten to really appreciate your reviews recently. :)

[Equilibria - Blood Moon (Infinite Realms)]

Yeah, I'm really behind on my reviews now, huh? So let's fix that!

First of all, I love the heavy, slow piano section at the beginning. The arpeggios at around :20 really helped you transition effectively into the more intense bits too. I think you probably could've used some more drums and bass in the first minute or so, though, just to add more substance in an otherwise relatively bare soundscape. I loved the energetic bass at 1:55, though. I think that the drums were not as strong as they could've been, especially around 2:30 where the bass has a monopoly on the mix. That said, your mastering is as good as ever. I love the little mini-guitar riffs that start popping in at around 3:20, but I thought you needed a smoother transition into them. I also thought the gradual fade-out of the guitar solo at around 4:30 was pretty anti-climactic and unnatural-sounding. My biggest complaint, though, is probably the balance. You really highlight certain elements of your mix more than others, but it seems a little out-of-place sometimes. For example, the guitar is clearly hi-jacking the mix throughout the last couple of minutes, most notably during the last minute. Yet around 6:30, as you're winding down the track, I feel like it should have a darker, quieter, more furtive feel about it, yet it's as loud and in-your-face as ever until the very last note. Overall, however, this is a cool track, and I'm glad you're expanding your horizons by using some different samples (i.e., the guitar). Until next time, DM. ;D

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks for the review, man!

A lot of the gripes you have with this track I do have to agree and disagree with. A lot of the odd things about the track, like the solo fade out and keeping it in your face throughout the whole track, were really just artistic choices that we preferred over others. Though the balance thing, totally agree with. It was really hard to find the balance in the track that would also translate well in the master, as it was a little more balanced before I started mastering and, with the handicap I had mastering the track (headphones only, no monitors), I ended up tipping the scales a little more than I wanted.

[Hiatus]

Hmm...ironic how I skipped this piece in my initial binge-review of your new tracks. I like the wet, spacious claps and the quirky synths at :26. It reminds me a bit of "Lucid" in that it's sort of minimalistic, yet super catchy, melodic, and moody. I love your hi-hat work here. I thought the transition at 1:17 could've been led up to a bit more effectively. That crash only superficially makes it flow better. The male vocals (like at 2:41) later on also added a lot to the piece. I thought you could've done a bit more with the rhythm of the melody at times, but overall it's a really cool track. I'm really impressed that this only took you 5 hours to make, albeit a little disappointed at the ending (or lack thereof). Overall, though, this is a really cool track. Keep up the good work, Lockyn! ^^

Lockyn responds:

I guess you took a...

Hiatus

on reviewing this one initially. :P Glad you saw the similar style, was going for it for sure. Ending needs work as always, but I was happy with it doing it in one session. Cheers mate :)

[happy WIP]

It's about time I catch up on the rest of your fall tracks. This is cool, catchy and upbeat. Definitely has some potential. I might challenge you to do a little more with your beats, though. Some hi-hats or other percussion would add a lot to this piece. You have a great sense of melody, and it shows here. ;)

Lockyn responds:

Yeah I'll see where this goes to. Might not be for a while though. Cheers!

[Detious & Lockyn - Allure]

I love the atmospheric intro. There's a lot of space for contrast here. The mixing and mastering is top-notch, and I love all the frantic synths and well-balanced frequency range. One of my favorite elements of the track is how much space you left at times. The pacing from 2:03 to the drop at around 2:25 is awesome. I'm not a huge fan of heavy dubstep, but you blend the drop in so well with the floaty, lighter sections that it really comes together well IMO. I love the vocal samples you guys used around 3:15 - 3:30. It's truly a huge accomplishment to pull off the sheer variety of instruments you have here. Having three drops in a song is a bit unconventional, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I still felt like the piece dragged on for a bit too long. The ending left me with a lot to think about too. XD Overall, this is really admirable work though. Well worth the hundreds of hours. ;D Keep up the great work, you two! ^^

[Skybound]

I liked the airy, bright synths and sense of climax at the beginning. It could've used a bit more rhythmic variation early on though. I'll also say that it progresses pretty slowly in general. I like the mood and instruments. The drop at 2:15 was cool, yet also a bit underwhelming IMO. In fact, I thought 3:15 might've even functioned better as an emotional height, but you didn't really seem to portray it that way given the scale of your various build-ups (if you catch my drift). The mixing and mastering here is top-notch, as is typical among your tracks. It's well-structured and smooth-flowing. You have an excellent relaxed and flowing aesthetic here, yet at the same time it's very energetic and engaging. You did a better job at winding down the ending this time, although there was this random heavy percussion hit at 7:00 that seemed a little out-of-place. Also, I think it was a great idea to make an album for your fans. That's great! I'll check it out right now. I remember when I first reviewed your WIP for "Sequence." It must've been years ago now, though...anyway, I'm looking forward to your future work! Enjoy your Thanksgiving. ;D

Lockyn responds:

Thank you as always for the lengthy reviews TL, always makes my day. :) Hope you enjoy the album! I do agree with your points, the track definitely was longer than it needed to be and some transitions were awkward but I hope the feels made up for it. Cheers!

[Abandoning the Past]

Given the genre, the intro was a little unexpected, although I did enjoy a taste of your more orchestral work that you used to make. The transition into :38 was pretty cool. I'll admit I've grown quite fond of your punchy, mid-range snares. The arpeggios at 1:36 had a really soothing, flowy vibe, but then you sort of cut them short to make way for this drum fill or something, which sort of threw me off. I will say that I really liked the exotic themes it had. It sounds like some sort of Middle Eastern-inspired track. The mixing is awesome as usual, and I never doubted for a second that you composed the whole thing. ;) Also, the ending here is a lot better than in the last piece I reviewed IMO because you really scaled back the energy towards the end and focused on the atmosphere. Insta-faved and downloaded. I applaud your efforts, sir...which is awkward because I'm sitting alone in my room in the middle of the night. Anyway, hope to hear from you soon! ^^

[Infinity + 1]

Gosh darn it, man. Don't you know arithmetic operations involving infinity just yield infinity? Wait, of course you do. You're, like, super smart and stuff. My bad.

Anyway, this is a really cool track. I love the furtive mood at the beginning and the synths. The melodies are catchy and cool. Appropriate amount of reverb too. Perhaps it progresses a bit slowly until around 1:10, but it was well worth the wait. You just kinda have these awesome solos coming out of nowhere all the time, even in the breakdown at 2:08, and I'm loving it! Sure, it's not the best for coherence purposes, but overall I thought you tied it together pretty well. Classic "Light Up"-style modulation at 3:18. I'm not sure the coda felt as, well, conclusive as I'd have liked it to. The ending itself was fine, but things didn't really ever seem to be winding down, y'know? Overall, though, great work. I continue to admire your work from afar (i.e., Maine), even if I save all my binge-reviews and downloads for when I'm back home from school. I'm looking forward to your future tracks, but in the meantime enjoy your Thanksgiving! :D