TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Final Frontier (Infinite Realms)]

I can tell that this is mastered really loudly and clearly right off the bat. It's climactic and cool. I thought that the transition at :20 could've been smoother. There wasn't a lot of lead-up to the addition of that snare. A crash or something would've gone a long way IMO. Still, I love how the harmonies really start creeping in by around the 1-minute mark, and it sounds pretty upbeat, yet simultaneously bass-heavy, which is cool. I found it a little difficult to pick out an emotional height and/or "arrival point" amidst the various textural ups and downs you have here. Still, the piano solo at 2:45 was cool, and I liked the distorted guitar sounds you had at around the 3-minute mark. I also feel that the balance was off occasionally. For example, at 3:40 the bass sort of overwrites the melody. The coda was cool, although the ending itself seemed a bit abrupt. I would recommend adding a sweep or something there, just to make it feel a bit more climactic. Overall, this is pretty solid. Not your best track IMO, but the melodies, instruments, and harmonies are all catchy and cool (as always). Keep it up, DM! ;D

Dylnmatrix responds:

Off the bat, I'm going to agree with you that this is not my best track, by a long shot. This was more an experimental track with everything to be honest. This track was actually one of my hardest to write as I really had no idea what to do with the track half the time. It was also the hardest to master, dear god.

I agree that it's actually really hard to pick our an emotional "height" so to speak. When I said I added a touch of feels, I just meant that the melody and harmony at the 3 minute mark is a fairly emotional melody compared to the first half.

I do have to disagree with you on one thing though. At 3:40, the bass is actually supposed to overwrite the melody for the "electro" drop. The melody is actually only added because the drop sounded so empty with just the single bass playing and is only there for support until the solo comes in. And on the ending, it felt better to me personally to end abruptly. The song is called Final Frontier, and there's actually a (sort-of) short story to the whole album that I could share with you if you wish through PM that (kind of) explains the abrupt ending.

All in all though, thanks for the review. I do actually agree with you on the majority of the track, and I do agree on the parts I countered with too, I just had reasonings to do those. This really, really is not my best track, and it's my least favorite off of the album, but I did have fun writing it and it really helped pave the way to Solar Flare actually existing.

[Metroid Prime Title Theme (Drumstep Remix)]

I think the mixing is solid and the sound design is cool. It was quite slow to progress, though. It's even-textured and climactic into 1:34. I thought you could've done a bit more with the drop. It was hard-hitting, but slow-paced in a way. You also drag the melodic section after the drop on for a bit too long IMO. I enjoyed the glitchy content you started incorporating at around 3:50, though. You could've added a lot more during that second drop, especially as a means of creating some more development. I also thought the repetition at 5:27 was unnecessary, and the fade-out came across as lazy and anti-climactic. I know it's really tough to continue to live up to the standard you set coming off of the contest victory (this goes for just about anyway, btw - not just you), so that's why I want to continue to push you. If you're going to be one of the truly great artists to come out of this site, your work is not done yet. Winning the NGAUC was a good start, and I congratulate you again. And don't get me wrong - this is a good track. I'm just being tough on you because I want to see you continue to improve. Best of luck, man! ;D

trunotfals responds:

AWWWWW well thank you so much for the feedback. i actuallyt started working on this song BEFORE the contest, then just went back to it and mastered it rather than re writing it. Infact, i lovet hat you feel the desire to push me, I like that motivation!!!! maybe ill just re do this!

[EnV - Ginseng]

Great! This is probably my favorite song from the album. I love the bass-y vibe at the beginning, and the cute, somewhat furtive synths. Your melodies are always catchy and strong. Good structure and flow. The sound design is also good, if not that much different from much of your other work. I love the structural relief and dynamic contrast you offer at around the 2-minute mark. It really helps keep the listener grounded. Your transitions are cool, like at 2:35. Perhaps it does get a little repetitive by the end, but it's still very engaging throughout. You also returned to the bass-heavy, house-ist vibe towards the end of the piece, which I liked. Overall, great work! Thanks for not forgetting about good ol' Newgrounds. ;D

[Lil' Doom in the Rain]

I didn't know you made music! I love music! :D I really like the mood here, man. It sounds ominous and melancholy. You also know how to add texture to a song pretty well. The high-pitched synths, mid-range piano and bass compliment each other really well. The clock-ticking FX was cool too. You should definitely do more with this! You've established a solid chord progression and atmosphere, and now I'd love to see a soaring, reverberated melody and some drums to keep it moving along. Please PM me if you decide to expand upon this. ;) Nice work, man!

[Leap of Faith (Infinite Realms)]

I like the heavy, dark piano at the beginning. It leaves a lot of space for climax and contrast. It progresses a little slowly, though. I'm hearing the classic DM-style leads. ;) Also, it sounded like it was really leading somewhere up until around 1:05, but then you stripped away the synths again, making it sound pretty anti-climactic. Generally, I think you could've cut a lot of content in this piece, especially during the first 2 minutes. When you bring on the bass at 2:10 it has an awesome, energetic vibe, although the bass is really up-front in the mix. I suppose I would've liked to see the melodic content take over a bit more at some point before 3:30 or so. I also think the kick might be a bit too loud. In my opinion, the kick (especially if it strikes on every beat) should serve to simply keep the beat going and the energy up, but here it's a little distracting at times. That said, I love all of the melodies, harmonies, and the progression. You might also want to aim for some more dynamic contrast sometime. Creating a re-intro that builds up in a similar way as the first 2 minutes of this piece would be a more effective way of structuring such a long track IMO. Anyway, overall nice work, DM! Keep at it, man. ;)

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks man.

I agree that it progresses slowly. Honestly at this point, I've just accepted the fact that I'm not very good at progressive trance or house, as I just like to draw out my ideas too long. Intro is my case in point. At 1:05, when I cut the arp lead out, that's when I actually started the real piano progression, and it's also where I had originally started the track when it had started to be written but nooooo, I had to go and add more to it because I just could.not.stop.writing piano melodies for this damn piece. Then I had to go and add the arp melody because I wanted an ambient electronic synth to support the piano as it progressed to the original intro.

Personally for me, on all the systems I've listened to it on, the bass or kick aren't too loud, they actually balance themselves out with the rest of the synths but it could be the way my system works or the way I EQ my systems outside of my computer. It's actually a million times better than it used to be as well. I think I also just wanted a more bass heavy track, but just didn't execute it as well as I should have haha. It's a problem that was fixed in my tracks by the time I wrote and finished Solar Flare. The way the mix is right now was barely changed from how it was when I originally said I was done with it back in 2013, so that also contributes to it as well.

I'm glad you like the melodies and harmonies though, as that's the point that truly matters to me honestly. Those end up being the parts that I spend the least amount of time on and after I get used to them, I can't change them at all, and I worry that people won't actually like them. (4:08-4:35ish is the only part in this whole track that I truly enjoy and don't care what others think, as that part was so much fun to write and I just love the transition, the way I did the filtering, ugh just everything I did was perfect to my ears.)

Thanks so much for the reviews man, can't wait to see what you think of the others, particularly Blood Moon as you had mixed opinions on it in your two reviews.

[~SW~ 2]

I decided this needed a review. I like the atmospheric intro. It progresses pretty slowly, but I like the instruments. You used just the right amount of reverb. The progression itself is pretty cool. I like the percussion, especially the aggressive-sounding hats at around the 2-minute mark. It's very flowing and spacey, at times soothing and at others strangely angry. The mix is clear, although to be fair there's not a ton of content here to create any mixing conundrums. The ending seemed pretty lazily done IMO, but at the same time I understand that many ambient tracks aren't really supposed to end. ;) I can see what you mean about losing inspiration - you could've done a lot more with this track - but still, love the chill aesthetic. Keep at it, man. ;)

SkyeWint responds:

I could have done a lot more with this. I think at the time I was just intending to have an atmosphere.

Funny thing, the percussion is what most people don't like - especially those hats.

If you want more stuff to be done with a piece though... I finished my NGADM round 2 track!

[Vehemer But Slower]

I vaguely recall listening to this when you uploaded the original, and I have to say that I think the slower tempo fits this piece better. It really retains that dreamy quality, although I think it still could've progressed faster and it needs a fuller texture. It's not really a structurally complete piece, but I don't think that's what you were going for anyway. Cool synths and harmonies! Keep at it, man. ;)

[Listless]

I like the relaxed mood. It's a bit minimalistic though, and some of your synths sounded a bit hollow and dry, like the one during the intro (0:00). I like that's it upbeat, catchy, and even cute. Kind of sounds like a dialed-back version of "Lucid." Also, do you purposely start all your tracks with the letter 'L?' :P Mixing and mastering is really solid as usual. Texture is well-balanced, if not quite as full as I'm used to hearing from you. I admire your sense of harmony and progression, though. It sounds like something they'd play at a trendy beach-side bar or something. I guess the wave FX at the beginning made me think of that, though...Anyway, overall nice work, Lockyn! Keep up the good work. ;)

Lockyn responds:

Thanks for the review TL :) Appreciate the feedback, been real busy finishing up school stuff. Cheers.