TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Eclipse Of Destiny]

I like the edgy guitar sound you were going for here, but the piece seems to lack an appropriate intro, instead throwing you into the midst of some energetic riff. I also think the drums are just a little too quiet. The drums helped channel the energy of this track, but as it is now it just sounds like a continuous stream of high-energy content with little dynamic contrast. If you have a structural design to your piece that ebbs and flows a little more, it could really help keep the listener grounded and enhance the emotional/dramatic qualities of the piece (as they may apply, in this case, more so for drama). As the piece is now, it can be kind of hard to discern the structural components of the piece. I loved a lot of the individual riffs, though, and the distorted pulsing effect you had at around 3:05 was really cool. The ending felt conclusive enough, although I think the track is quite unnecessarily long. I generally think it's a good idea to keep the listener engaged using dynamic contrast, as well as by introducing new instruments at transitory moments in the piece. You did neither here. I admire your sense of harmony and the punchy, crisp vibe this has, but for me it's a little hard to latch onto given the structural flatness. Hope this helped, and keep up the good work. ;)

7/10

[Uplifter]

I'm going to be tougher on you than I usually am, because, well...this is for a competition. I liked the warm pads at the beginning, but the brass at :07 seemed a bit punchy by comparison. The synth at :14 is a little high-pitched and harsh-sounding, and I think you could've gone in a lot of different directions with it melodically. I was a little confused when :41 offered an almost breakdown-like section because I expected there to be a notable climax before any sort of re-intro. I liked the melodies at around :56, and the progression by around 1:20 is rather pleasant. I love all of the melodic development you offer by the end of this piece, but I'm not sure you needed much of the first 40 seconds. It's, overall, very smooth-flowing and structurally sound. I think you could've done a bit more with dynamic contrast (even though there are clear structural ups-and-downs to the piece). I think the harmonies around 3:22 are my favorites of the piece. The ending is a bit sudden, though, and I think it gets a bit repetitive by the end. Still, I love the upbeat mood and melodic content. The mixing is also rather good. I suppose one big drawback for me was that it didn't seem very unique. I've reviewed a LOT of upbeat techno/trance/house songs for this contest already, and while the melodies are memorable and the production solid, perhaps doing something more original with the sound design or adding some interesting effects would be a better way of distinguishing yourself from the other competitors. Still, this is a cool piece. Keep up the good work, LunacyEcho! ;D

7.5/10

LunacyEcho responds:

=> brass at :07 =>

My bad! I was planning on raising the volume of the pads in the intro and automating the volume of the brass and trance synth to gradually get louder after a somewhat softer entry, but I didn't get the chance to. :P I'll fix it once the competition is over, though!

=> synth at :14 =>

Is it really? I just used a really common trance synthesizer. :P It's basically a preset, actually! Just with a few tweaks in regards to resonance.

=> :41 breakdown =>

Yeah, I think the only reason that happened was because :27 was the very first thing I wrote, so I kind of got used to hearing it at the beginning :P I do agree it feels a little out of place, though.

=> sudden ending =>

That was another part I didn't have enough time to fix :( I DEFINITELY agree with you on that account :D

=> unique =>

I was kind of hoping the solo melodies would add to the uniqueness of the song :P Hey, if you've heard a lot of songs in the same vein as this, mind sharing some? This is the kind of style I love to listen to :D

Thanks for the review! And thanks for all the reviews you'll be giving over these next few days :D All your work has been appreciated!

[For Love is strong as Death]

I like the rain FX and the pensive piano at the beginning. The progression is really interesting. There's a lot of dissonance, yet in a way that gives it a soothing, jazzy vibe. At times I thought the rain FX was a bit too loud, especially towards the beginning, and I think you needed a stronger transition at 1:19. Otherwise, the strings come in a bit suddenly, and I highly doubt any sort of suddenness would fit with the flowing and emotional mood you were going for here. I love the sense of climax into around 2:10. 2:10 serves as a grand "arrival point," and it's important to have contrast in a piece like this. Another great arrival point was 3:30. I love your efforts to harmonize more at that point, and how you mold the mood towards a darker and more apprehensive sound. The pulsing strings are excellent, and I love how you bring the song full-circle by bringing back the tranquil piano chords at around 5:20. The ending was mysterious, even ominous, yet also conclusive enough. I love how you played with the pacing a bit at the end, as if the rain was slowing down and the sun coming out. :) Overall, this is clearly excellent work. As far as I can tell, the mixing and mastering is solid, and I'm impressed with the emotion, dynamic contrast, and progression. Keep up the good work, Phonometrologist! :D

9.25/10

[Heartsteps]

Hey LE! Thought I might as well leave a review since you asked me to help you decide what to audition for NGADM with. ;) I really like the progression with this one, although I will say that the chords at the beginning seemed a little indistinct (maybe you went a bit overboard on the reverb, or otherwise the mix could be clearer). I liked the cute melodies, and the transition at :56 was really cool. The minimalistic section at 1:33 could've also used some more texture - maybe some light pads or something. I liked the melody at 1:51, but I think it would do you some good to make sure those notes are held right up until the next one starts. There are a few awkward pauses in there (like at 1:57), but that's a pretty small detail. Still, it's a really flowy, cute, and upbeat piece. The ending was appropriately conclusive. I think I like this one more than "Analog Rush," but it might be worth your while to simply clean up "Shimmer" based on the feedback you've received if you have time. Hope this helped! Let me know if you have more questions, and good luck! ^^

LunacyEcho responds:

Haven't responded to this one yet :P Figured it was time!

=> chords at the beginning =>

Yeah, they were a little reverb-heavy. Mixing was an issue for me :D (was then, still is now)

=> transition at :56 =>

Yay! I liked that one too.

=> 1:33 =>

I wanted to make a huge contrast, especially after listening to johnfn's "i believe" and thinking about how to effectively use silence in music. But pads would probably have worked well too :P

=> awkward pauses =>

I guess my justification for keeping those in is realism? Then again, for an electronic song... Yeah, I get what you're saying :P I don't pay attention to that sort of stuff much, and it's attention to detail that's going to make or break a piece :D

=> ending =>

I thought it felt a bit tacked on :P Glad you think it was conclusive!

Hey, thanks for the advice! I ended up changing my submission song from Shimmer to this one, and it looks like it worked! Thanks a ton, TL! :)

[Death of a Prodigy]

A liked the warm string sound you had here. I think it progressed a little too quickly given such a heavy, dark ambience. It's only 3 minutes, so I don't think it would've hurt to dial the tempo back a notch. Still, the progression is really beautiful, and I love how you cycle back to those initial chords at around 1:27. It kind of reminds me a little of Hans Zimmer's "Time" (and that's DEFINITELY a good thing!), but I think in order to really sell this piece you needed a little more dynamic contrast. Volume automations could really help. I would suggest making 1:27 pianissimo at the loudest, and then really highlighting the crescendo back into around the 2-minute mark. Little details like that really help bring out emotion in these kinds of pieces. Still, overall this is really solid work. Oftentimes, simplicity is beauty. :') Keep up the good work, LN! ;D

[Horizons]

Excellent! I love the energy and intensity in the guitar riffs. You went for a very edgy sound here, although I didn't think it flowed very well into :57. Your voice is very soulful and emotional. I especially like the guitar riff at 1:31. It's very catchy and contributes a lot to the progression of the piece. I would've loved to have the lyrics (I'm terrible at discerning lyrics), and it is a bit short. The structure of this piece is kind of bizarre. As I see it, it kind of goes from hook (:00) to verse (:23) to breakdown (:57) to what could've functioned as an awesome re-intro if there was an intro in the first place (1:09) to outro (1:52). It's a short piece that might need some structural considerations, but other than that I love your sound here, man. Solid mixing, high-quality vocals and a lot of emotion make this piece really cool. Keep up the good work, and I'm sorry we couldn't accept you into the Knock-out Round of my competition. ;)

[Starlit Flight of the Dirigible]

I like the mysterious mood and cool bell-sounding instruments at the beginning. The (oboe?) also sounded rather beautiful, and I think this is a very flowing and well-structured. I like the drums at 1:18, but I wish they were louder and sharper. You have a very good sense of harmony and progression. I would've liked to see a bit more melodic development on the last refrain at 1:38, even though the piece is very short. The mixing is pretty good, too. I think you could've done a bit more with this piece (taken a few more risks, you know?), but for what it is I appreciate the effort. I also like how you decided to experiment with a new genre for this piece. Submitting experimental pieces is almost always better than submitting generic ones. I love the melodies, and I'll also compliment you on your samples AND the fact that this sounded rather authentically classical stylistically. Good job, ZombieSlayer5P! :D

8.5/10

ZombieSlayer5P responds:

Thank you very much for your review. I can see how the piece could have benefited from a little more something in the second half of the middle section. Just trying not to make things overblown or too complicated to follow along with. Though, this track may get a revision after thinking about it.

I thought about bringing out the snare more, but I didn't think it would sound as authentic if I brought it too forward in the mix (I was a hardcore band nerd, and became familiar with the sound of a symphonic group from the listener's perspective), so it wound up being a bit more subdued as though it were actually in the back of the band with the rest of the percussion. Still, your review has given me the urge to play with the mix some more, and continue to experiment.

Thanks again for the review. I always appreciate any information/criticism which will help me improve. :)

[New Town]

Some of the piano notes at the beginning sound like they weren't quite struck at the same time as the other notes in their chord, which made the track sound rather unpolished. The saxophone that comes in at :10 sounds rather fake. You could at least have smoothed it out by adding some reverb, and I would suggest "humanizing" it, if that's possible in whatever program you use to make music. I appreciated the attempt at structural relief at :46, but that section still sounded rather minimalistic. If you're going for the simplicity approach there, please at least add some reverb and have some tempo automations so I don't know you recorded it with such a simple rhythm. That way, it would really give the piano some feeling there. You didn't really have much melodic development in the piece, although it is quite short. I liked the ending with the strings fading to nothing. Still, you could've done a lot more with this piece. I wanted to see some more predominant melodies, and maybe some stronger drums to move the piece along a bit and create some contrast in energy between :46 and the rest of the piece. The discrepancies in the piano chords also make me wonder how exactly you produced this piece. If you fix some of these production errors and try to do more with the melodies and progression of the piece, this could be a pretty solid work! Until then, though, keep at it, Zechnition. ;)

5/10

Zechnition responds:

Thanks for the review I will use it to make my work better =D