TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-:{ I.N.C.I.D.E.N.T }:-]

I like the sense of apprehension at the beginning. I think this dark cinematic content you've been experimenting with lately suits you well, LN. The gritty percussion and effects are great, although I think they may have dragged on a bit too long without much in the way of notes. If this piece were 5 minutes long, I might make an exception, but 2 minutes leaves more to be said IMO (i.e., you could've done a lot more with this). It's not really a structurally complete piece, and it ends pretty abruptly too. I thought the mixing and mastering was good, though. Overall nice job. ;)

[Remix - Fading Dream (LucidShadowDreamer)]

Hmm...as a huge fan of LSD's music myself, I should probably check this out. I love the emotion and soundscape here. I understand that this is a remix, but I think the quality of instruments you've contributed really adds a lot to the piece. It has a warm, grand, and cinematic sound. Nice work!

Ylmir responds:

Thanks a lot ! Actually, the source material was pretty awesome already, and although this was all MIDI, it was easy to see how to orchestrate it. I maybe messed up a little bit with the reverbs (especially on the strings), but it still makes me smile when i hear it into my playlists. :)

[Moar WIP]

I like the chord progression and instruments. The percussion that comes in at around :30 caught me off guard a bit, but is very unique and adds a lot to the piece IMO. I thought the chords sounded distorted in some way. I'm not sure if you did that on purpose or if you simply haven't mastered this track yet, but either way it's especially noticeable during the first 30 seconds or so. Beyond the first minute or so, it really doesn't change that much at all. The percussion is engaging and cool, but you simply need to build more harmonies around it in order to keep my attention. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product, though. Keep up the good work, TeraVex. ;D

[Fall to Ashes]

I like the emotion and the instruments. I like what you did with the guitar towards the end. The loop is flawless, and the mood and slow tempo add a lot to the piece. Great job! I can honestly say that this is one of the better birthday tributes I've seen on NG. Keep up the good work, LN. ;D

[Lavender Town]

I like the ominous mood here. I think the lead is a little repetitive and distracting, yet at the same time it's pretty much all you've got going on for most of the piece. I would encourage you to add more onto this, maybe some pads, harmonies, and some sort of breakdown section that offers some structural relief from the harsh-sounding lead. You arbitrarily keep varying the rhythm of the same 8-note theme, but overall you need to do more to structure this piece more effectively IMO. Hope this helped. Keep at it, man. ;)

[Things That I Would Change Feat. Hayden Reed (Dubstep)[Remix]]

I love the instruments and mood. You've created a very full and engaging texture here. The sense of climax at around :45 on was great, and that first drop was well-paced without being too heavy. The vocals clearly add a lot to the piece, and I like how you've chopped them up in places (2:48, for example). This is a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece. The mood is great too - it has this triumphant feel to it, even if the lyrics seemed sort of rueful (as evidenced by the title). The song dragged on for a little long, but I thought the tempo fit the song very well. I would regard this as a great accomplishment, Trunotfals. It can be such a privilege and a challenge to work with vocals, and you put this track together really well. Keep up the great work! ^^

trunotfals responds:

Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! I don't typically delve into dubstep too much as to me it takes a lot more effort; Balancing, blending, sound design etc.. But I really liked this remake and I learned a lot from it. I like what you said about the triumphant feel that almost clashes with the lyrics. One could say that you should triumph over lost lovers and be happy alone rather than stress over the past. "guess that we were wrong for eachother!! OH WELL" :D Thank you for your feedback Tainted!!!

[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 :)