TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Ghost Pilot]

I liked the heavy, distorted bass at the beginning, and the “haunted” theme is really cool. I think you might’ve needed a less sudden transition at :09, or you could’ve at least faded in the melodies that came in there to smooth it over a bit. The percussion you have at the very beginning ducks under the mix a bit by around :17, and in general I thought the drums could’ve been a lot louder, with more reverb to add some punchiness. I liked the full texture you had at :24, as well as the melodies, but I think a lot of the individual elements of the mix could’ve come through a bit clearer, especially in the bass range. The transition at :54 is also quite abrupt. I thought this piece was well-structured, though. The bridge you have at 2:11 is neat, but I think it drags on a little longer than it should’ve. As I see it, that whole section essentially lasts until around 3:20, where you bring some more prominent drums and lead guitars back in. You could’ve done a lot more during that 2:11 – 3:20 section to create more dynamic contrast, phrasing and build-ups into the last “emotional height” at around 3:20. I also thought you could’ve added more to the last minute or so of the piece. You lost some opportunities to add some melodic development there, as there weren’t really any memorable leads and/or solos. Overall, there are a lot of good ideas in this piece, but I think they can be fleshed out more. Hope this helped! Keep at it, CruelDeity. ;)

8/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[~SW~ Data Transfer]

I really liked the atmospheric vibe at the beginning. You left yourself a lot of space for climax, which is always good to see. It progressed a little slowly, but you maintained this sort of tense and ominous mood that I really liked. I thought the drop at 1:01 was engaging while simultaneously not being too heavy. The part at 1:27 offered some much-valued structural relief, although I thought the bass was a little too loud during that section. Perhaps it would’ve helped create even more structural contrast if you had kept the bass in the backdrop a bit more at that point. I liked the melodies at 2:08. They helped lead into the second drop really nicely, and it was good to see that you varied the drop more the second time around. It helped create some melodic development. I liked the coda too, but I thought you dragged it out a little longer than was necessary. I’ll also add that there’s a lot of built-up tension in this piece that I didn’t think you released fully by the end, even with the second drop. It would give this piece a much more cathartic emotional height at 2:21 if you had some more hard-hitting content in there IMO. Still, I love the soundscape here, and the production quality is very high. Keep up the good work, SkyeWint! ;)

8.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

SkyeWint responds:

Hey, TL!

Quite honesly, I can't disagree with any of your comments. I completely agree.

The bass at 1:27 could have been a bit quieter - it didn't sound like it on either my speakers or my headphones when I was mixing though. :( Se la vie, I suppose.

Definitely some tension that could have been released better in the second drop, and I agree that the outro was a *bit* long. I think that's the only part I take slight issue with, as the piece was meant to have slower progression - that's why I had all the little partial melodies hidden in the plucks at the beginning and end. That said, I guess the outro being as long as the intro is a bit much. To be *perfectly honest*, I kinda copy/pasted a lot from the intro and the first drop for the second drop and the outro because by the time I put it out a lot of me was just done with it (partially due to other life issues at the time which are still going on but much improved - see my recent news post if you really want to know). Probably apparent, but I thought there was still *enough* content (since I stuff way too much content into my music normally). I guess there was enough, but it was clearly still apparent.

In any case: Thank you for the review. It was definitely helpful - I can respect every single point you made since they were clearly written and directly applicable. Respect for you yourself +20!

[Escape]

I liked the upbeat mood and the instruments you used. It progressed a little slowly, but the drop at :50 was awesome. I think you should’ve brought out the arpeggios during the drop more, because they did a lot to create a full texture for the piece. I really like the melodic content in this piece. The riser at 1:58 is really cool, too. I like the energy and progression, but I think you could’ve done more to create some structural contrast here. I don’t hear much of a breakdown/bridge/re-intro that would’ve helped you bring out the emotion during the final refrain a lot more. It would’ve helped to vary the melody more, as well as play with the dynamic contrast and phrasing. I also thought the ending sounded a bit rushed. It’s usually a good idea to at least conclude the piece on the tonic. That said, I do admire your sense of harmony and rhythm, and the production quality was rather high. Overall solid work! Keep at it, SolarexMusic. ;)

8/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[A Droplet of Imagination (Original)]

I love the emotional quality at the beginning. At around :22, I’m hearing some dissonance between the piano and guitar. This piece progresses pretty slowly, and I think you could’ve done more to form a fuller texture at times. I’ll also say that the melody notes in the piano at around :40 are pretty high-pitched and harsh-sounding. You might want to equalize out some of the treble tones in that instrument, or otherwise transpose that riff down an octave. I did like the warm strings you had here, though. The part at around 2:10 offers some much-needed structural relief. However, I think the second half of the piece was a little underwhelming. I wanted to see you create some more melodic development and really go for maximizing the emotion. Instead, it had the vibe of being elegant and upbeat, but not quite cinematic or climactic. You could’ve used some more dynamic contrast to really bring out the drama here. I would’ve returned to the dynamic level you had at the beginning during the breakdown at 2:10, and then created some soaring melodies thereafter to really sell the majestic quality of this piece. This is a solid track, but next time I want you to take some more risks! Otherwise, keep up the good work, Jabicho. ;)

8/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

Jabicho responds:

Hi man!
Thanks so much for the review, I always improve a lot after reading your reviews! :D
Oh yes, I understand what you say, I think this song felt too "comfortable" after I made it, and needs a climatic part in it.
Thanks again for your words, and for taking the time to check it out, it means a lot :)

[Velcro]

I love the dreamy, pensive synths at the beginning and the drums. This track has a really cool energetic and engaging vibe about it. The funky instruments and melodic content help it a lot too. It kind of threw me off at :44 when you seemed to creating a re-intro only a fifth of the way through the piece. Typically, I’ll only let things like that slide if its purpose is to create contrast for an epic, impending climax, which wasn’t really the case here. That said, I really like the direction this piece is going in by around 1:30. This piece is smooth-flowing and well-structured and overall has a great, upbeat, and feel-good vibe about it. You create a sufficient amount of variation for your melodies while also keeping it coherent. I also liked the way you wound the piece down at the end. It made it feel very conclusive. I think the drums should’ve been a lot more up-front and prominent in the mix, though. I also think that the last refrain wasn’t the most climactic instance of melodic content here. I would encourage you to really go all out at 3:15 next time, just to make sure you maintain that sense of direction and emotional height. Still, overall this is really solid work. Keep it up, LunacyEcho! ;D

8.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

LunacyEcho responds:

=> vibe =>

That's definitely the feeling I wanted to create! :D

=> 0:44 =>

Personally, I prefer a song that has a lot of ups and downs in its structure, as opposed to just gradual development. :P Perhaps I should have a breakdown, but make it less variant maybe?

=> variation for your melodies =>

After all the repetition in the last piece I put out (which was for the NGAUC!), I really wanted to make a song that could maintain melodic interest!

=> drums in the mix =>

I think johnfn once said that novices in mixing almost always mix the drums in too quietly, and I guess I've shown my novice-ness through my drum mixing here! I definitely have a lot to learn in terms of production. :P

=> last refrain =>

Really? It had the most instrumentation, but I guess it didn't have the most melodic variation within the tracks. I think I can see what you mean, and in hindsight, I definitely should've put more effects onto the synth at 3:15! It sounded interesting at first, but now when I hear it it sounds a little simple. :P

Thanks so much for the review, and thanks for all the judging you did for the NGADM! :D

[Serenity (Prince Fisher)]

No one else submitted from your group – so sad. :’( I love the mood here, man. The FX at the beginning sets the atmosphere nicely, and I love the soundscape you put together. I will say that I think you could work on the balance a bit. The flute is really quiet relative to the pads, bass, and drums. The jazzy vibe you went for here is really cool, though. With the FX at the beginning, it sounds like I was outside on a hot summer night and walked into a bar out of my parents’ generation. ;) I thought that the texture of the piece started to feel a little too busy at around the 2-minute mark. There were just a few many isolated and rather engaging riffs to latch onto there that it sort of sounded…confusing, in a way. The ending was cool – kind of mysterious and chill, yet the recording also seems to cut off suddenly at 2:50, which bothers me. Overall, though, solid work! Hopefully, you’ll have a competitor next round. ^^

8/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

frootza responds:

I know, it is an odd feeling not going up against anyone :( I hope pharow stays with me haha.

You are right about the mix, it was tricky since I haven't recorded or mixed live flute before. I tried to get all the levels right, but didn't take into account how loud the flute gets at higher registers which threw the song off a bit (among some guitar parts I should have put more thought into and cleaned up a bit).

I didn't realize the cutoff, but I will look into it. I'd like to revisit these tracks with a less rushed mindset in the future and actually track the drums live :P

Thanks for the review though TL, good advice! Gotta start writing for the next round!

[Anticipate]

I really liked the space you left yourself at the beginning for the impending epic climax. The chord progression and synths were really engaging and cool. You really show off your sense of rhythm at :55 with those funky and cool melodies! Great! It does seem a little minimalistic in a way, though. Could use some mid-range pads at :55, just to keep the texture a little more well-balanced. The progression is cool, though. This is a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece, if a little repetitive by the end. I also think the production quality of this piece is rather high, which is good. The ending was cool, too – almost ominous in a way. I suppose my main problem here is that you could’ve done a lot more with this. It has such a cool soundscape, and your sense of harmony is clearly on full display here. Why not really aim for some more melodic development, really take those killer synths into the stratosphere, you know? I’ll also say that the kick was a bit dry, although that’s a tiny detail. I suppose a more hard-hitting kick would’ve fit the pizzicato-y vibe of this piece better IMO. Still, nice work here, man! Keep it up. ;)

8.5/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

[Pluto]

I like the distortion at the beginning. However, the chord progression was warm and soothing in a way, and that kind of made the really harsh-sounding instruments you chose seem odd. This piece also progresses really slowly. The sudden entrance of the snare at 1:43 seemed pretty bizarre. Not only did you not lead up to it at all, but it also didn’t seem to be playing on the downbeat. That said, I liked the drop at 1:58 a lot. Quirky, bass-y and cool, it had this really funky and creative mood about it between the somewhat solemn melodies and punchy mid-range basses. I think you could’ve equalized some of your instruments a lot more carefully, though. When that melodic synth comes in at 2:34, it sort of hijacks the mix and buries a lot of the other instruments beneath itself. Also, when it comes back in at 3:19 it’s not only way too loud but also cuts off way too suddenly. The ending was extremely underwhelming too. It was abrupt, inconclusive, and to be honest a bit lazy and cliché. Bass slides are awesome, but they should be used conservatively. You have a lot of great ideas here, but you seem to have taken some mixing and/or structural/compositional shortcuts here which I think will hurt you. I suggest you try and fix these things (after the competition, of course) because this piece is worth it, trust me! Good luck, man, and keep working at it. ;)

6/10

This review was written for the Newgrounds Audio Death Match 2015.

Pandasticality responds:

i did some shortcuts with some sounds because i was in a hurry :x thanks for the review, good feedback!

- Pandasticality