TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hand Drum Improvisation]

Ooo...this is cool. I always really admire people who can improvise compositionally sound pieces on various instruments. You have a really good sense of rhythm. It sounds pretty exotic and danceable. You should expand on this by adding some melodic instruments!

[Aurore]

Personally, I found it a bit hard to follow the rhythms at the beginning, although I did like the cute synths and the reverb. The pulsing pads also added a lot to the somewhat furtive vibe of the piece, while also leaving a lot of space in the mix, which was cool. I liked the somewhat quirky percussion. The vocal samples at 1:20 are also really interesting and funky-sounding. This piece is well-structured and smooth-flowing, and has a really unique and creative mood about it. The woodwind solos at around the 3-minute mark were also a valuable edition to the piece. I'm not sure I liked the kick sample you used that much. The ending also seemed a bit rushed. Most of this piece is very easy-going and slow-paced, but the ending was almost comically short. Still, this is really original content here, which I love to see. Keep up the good work, Adieuwinter. ;D

[Babokon - Dragonfly]

I like the upbeat mood at the beginning. The melodies are catchy and fun. I think it progresses a little slowly at times, and I think you could've used a smoother transition into 1:31. Still, the drops were cool. The mixing and mastering is generally very good. I'm not sure I felt like the parts on either side of the transition at 2:55 were connected very well. Still, the arpeggios at 3:09 were interesting (I especially liked the VGM-style instrument you used for them). The coda was kind of strange. It had this chill, atmospheric aesthetic that didn't really fit with the bouncy, energetic vibe of the rest of the piece IMO. I also thought a couple of your instruments sounded a little too harsh and/or loud, perhaps most notably the melody instrument at 1:06, although that's a pretty tiny detail. Overall, nice work here! As I said, I like the melodies and the production quality is really high. Keep it up, man. ;D

[Let the Kingdom Crumble My Liege, the Crown Must Be Protected]

Well, that's quite the title you've got there. I like the emotional quality this has, and the puttering, jittery piano tremolos contributed a lot to the mood, and the atonal string sounds added quite the haunting vibe to this piece. I can already picture the dark thoughts going through the king's mind as he abandons his loyal subjects to save himself, his solemn queen and his children surrounding him. His young son stares up at him in wonder, attempting to be brave, and his young daughter tugs on his royal gowns, offering him a consolatory hug. It is a hot summer day, and he seems about ready to faint. But he is the king. What would it say to his family if he gave in now, even after committing this rather cowardly action? So grim-faced guard after grim-faced guard leads them down the long tunnel to the sea, where a ship is waiting to whisk them away to some desolate island. No one speaks. Occasionally the king nods at his men. We don't know if they ever make it to the sea. All we hear are the echoes down the tunnel left by the wind, and perhaps a brief screech by the daughter, who stepped on a rat...

Haha, I'm in a creative mood today, okay? In all seriousness, I really love the mood and atmosphere here. Keep up the good work! ^^

[The Infinite Cosmos]

I like the edgy sound here. There are a lot of catchy, engaging guitar riffs, and the progression is really cool. The lyrics are good, but the pacing on the vocals seemed kind of strange. The vocals have a very similar intensity between the verses and the chorus, which makes them a little hard to distinguish from each other. You also could've done more with dynamic contrast in that regard. I love the solos at around 2:15, though. The ending could've been a little less sudden. It almost sounds like you cut the recording off a little too early. Instead of ending this rather intense track on a staccato-y bass guitar riff, I sort of expected that bass riff to lead into a more sustained final chord. That's probably a pretty tiny detail, though. Overall, this is a job well done, MetalRenard. ;D

MetalRenard responds:

The sound actually, I didn't check it on enough sources. On my phone it doesn't sound so great. On a full speaker system it sounds good though so I guess it's not all bad. ^_^

Haha! That ending. I was criticised for the ending in a previous song for ending too quickly so I thought I'd mimic the extra section from Underdogs Rise which people seemed to like. I can't win! :P

As for intensity, I wanted it to be a non-stop rollercoaster ride from start to finish, manic, exciting with only a second to breathe in the middle to build anticipation for the moment of truth - are the aliens truly peaceful or are they going to rip us to shreds... Resolved through their mutual love of music. Peace woo!

Thanks for the detailed feedback, I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and a score, cheers buddy! Sorry for taking ages to respond.

[Vocals Only - New Song Intro]

I love the intensity and the vibrato in your voice. It can be really hard to record layered vocals like this and, given that fact, I thought you did a pretty good job. I really like the rebellious, western vibe this piece had, as established by the soulful guitar at the end. The reverb effects also enhanced the mood here, making me picture a wandering minstrel screaming across the plains, his voice bouncing off of distant mountains! :O I'm also impressed with your vocal range, and I think you should definitely keep working on this, man! Good luck! ;)

[Euphoria (ringtone cut 1) {Dj-Abbic}]

I love the upbeat vibe this has! It's melodic, engaging, and has a really full texture. Solid production and progression (even if it's such a short piece). It serves its purpose (as a ringtone) pretty well, too. I like the instruments and the mood, and I liked the filters you used on the pads leading up to around :24 or so. Good job, man! I'm rooting for you in NGADM this round, btw. Keep up the good work! ^^

DjAbbic responds:

I'm glad you liked it. There's is a full version in the author's comments section by the way, this is just a cut from the full song as someone wanted me to make a ringtone out of it. Thanks for the support :D

[The Horror of Self]

Beautiful string melodies at the beginning, although the drone that plays in the background for at least the first minute or so sounds a little dry and dull. This piece has a simple beauty to it that I like a lot. Sounds like an introduction to some sort of movie, perhaps one that takes place in Scotland. XD The progression was rather beautiful, although that drone is still bothering me tbh. I might've transposed it down an octave at the very least, where it sort of rounds off the texture a bit and gives this piece a fuller-sounding mix. You could've done a lot more with this, too. I might suggest holding the slow-paced melodies you have playing here to a minute or so, and then coming in with something more energetic and climactic. I wouldn't really regard this as a structurally complete piece. Either way, I like the sound and I hope you expand upon this at some point! ^^

sleepFacingWest responds:

Thanks! I wanted to go further with this one, but I wasn't 100% sure where to go. I could keep meandering with the modal melody, but it seems to lack direction after awhile.

As far as the drone goes, the stagnant quality was sort of on purpose. I like the way that it creates this dull lifeless ground from which melodies can ricochet and intertwine. I took a lot of influence from early plainchant like this -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eFPJa95qQE

That's one of my favorite pre-polyphonic composers (ca 1100).

I had a teacher who always stressed that a drone is never just a drone and that it's important to find ways to activate them somehow. It's pretty much what I feel like you're saying as well. All good advice. I'll spend some time trying to figure it out. I WOULD like to continue writing this piece, and that might help give it a more solid sense of direction.

[My Fondest Heartache]

Interesting atmosphere here you got here. I think it needed a bit more spaciness, though, which you could've accomplished with some reverb. The snare was a bit dry, and the distorted vocals could've sounded more ominous and cool if they were smoothed out with some reverb. You have a cool mood with the blissful synths and vocals, though. I think you might've needed a smoother transition into 2:11. Even a crash probably would've sufficed. I also thought the snare was a a bit too loud. Again, dialing back the volume but increasing the reverb would've really helped give this piece a nice, flowy and smooth vibe. I admire your sense of harmony and progression, though. There's another sudden transition at 4:14. After around 4:30 it also becomes obvious that the vocal sample clip comes in and cuts off rather suddenly, which probably could've been fixed with some more careful editing techniques. Also, this piece lacks conclusiveness IMO, ending on a rather ambiguous, clashing chord instead of any tonic I could discern. It's really unique and engaging work, though, so I'd encourage you to keep working on this! About the "chipstep" NG genre: I'm pretty sure it's generally used for miscellaneous electronic music. XD Keep at it, SleepFacingWest! ;D

sleepFacingWest responds:

Thanks! I wasn't super happy with this one in general. It was supposed to be on a new album I'm working on, but I cut it out. I'll give your suggestions a try. Hopefully they'll help me like it a bit better.

Thanks for your thoughtful response. As always, you give me good things to work on.

[Day of the Sloth]

I like the atmospheric nature of this piece. I only realized it was "happy birthday" at about 30 seconds in. XD You definitely added a unique and creative mood to the song, but perhaps I would've at least liked to see some more variation, since this piece was kind of really long for just being "Happy birthday" over some warm pads. Otherwise, it probably should've been 45 seconds and not 2+ minutes. "Goddammit Andrew, you're taking this way too seriously." --> There! I said it for you. ;)

Happy belated birthday, LN! ^^

larrynachos responds:

Like I said, I wanted it to loop after 45 seconds, but it didn't work so I just extended it.

Edit: I forgot to mention, this song wasn't for me. It was for a friend of mine.