TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Dance Of The Violins]

Glad to hear some of your stuff again, Mr. F-777. As a string player myself, I think that your violin sample wasn't superb, and you can especially tell it's just a sample at around :30. Still, I liked the energy and melodies in this piece. After around the 2-minute mark, I thought it was getting pretty repetitive, so 2:28 provided some much-needed structural relief. That said, I think you might've needed a smoother transition into 2:28. The last half of this piece was also pretty repetitive. This piece should probably be more like 3 minutes long, not 5 and a half. You also used a pretty generic chord progression, although I do appreciate the melodic variation later on in the piece. Your mixing is rather good, btw, although it doesn't really capture my attention until the very end. Overall, pretty nice job. I'd love to see less repetition and more originality going forward, but otherwise keep up the good work! ;)

[Twenty Years]

I didn't even recognize it as "happy birthday" at first. It's quite solemn and even regal in a way. Makes me think of a desolate, snow-covered kingdom with an ancient castle looming oppressively overhead. I understand this was a quick thing, but I'm not sure I like the instruments too much (or maybe it's just the way you balanced/mastered them, idk). Still, interesting mood here. Congrats on finding a way of making a song that literally has the word "happy" in its title...well...extremely depressing! :O

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

You're not really meant to recognize the melody at first! That's what makes this interesting, you know XD
The regal is surely because of all the brass. I can kinda see the snow thingy. Interestingly enough, the brass is pretty warm in a way though, and the harp is very similar to the one track that made you think about a more tropical landscape! :p

I don't like the instruments that much either. That said, it's kind if the point. I wanted this to feel heavy, and perhaps a bit unpleasant too. Bu I should've used something else than a harp for the melody; that's for sure.
Thanks!

[Stomping Ground]

I like your style. Cool instruments and progression, and your mixing is really good. You used some pretty generic rhythms, though, which was especially noticeable during your rather lengthy intro. When it started picking up around :50, it was still minimalistic (at best). I might suggest adding some more pads/harmonies. The overall structure of the piece was pretty cool, and it's rather smooth-flowing. I liked the dynamic contrast you tried to incorporate from around 1:45 - 2:15, yet I don't think there's any practical reason why there was essentially 30 seconds of silence in this piece. Interesting way of transitioning back to the "refrain" at 2:17, but the final 30 seconds are so lacked resolution and development from the first refrain IMO. I really liked "1077" and "Bass Knight," but somehow I don't think you managed to have quite the same full texture and engaging sound here as you did in those pieces. Still, I'm looking forward to hearing some of your future tracks. Uploading this kind of music can be a risk sometimes. There are going to be some times when it doesn't pay off, and this is one of them IMO. Maybe that's just because you seem to have a "formula" when you compose a piece that hasn't evolved much in the past couple of years. Either way, keep at it, man! I'm sure there'll be "much more to come" indeed. ;)

[As Stars that Shine (FULL)]

I love the atmospheric, spacey synths at the beginning. The vocals sounded really good, but that's not really a surprise coming from you. ;) Interesting how "celtic" and "medieval" were tagged, given the electronic sound textures, but it still seemed fitting somehow. Maybe because of the mood and style of the piece? The vocals also help with that mood. It loops really well, and I love the sense of progression throughout the piece. The vocal melody at :37 was quite a high point of the piece. I like how it feels conclusive at the end, yet it still loops! :D Keep up the great work, Troisnyx. ^^

[Conquest of the Uncharted]

First of all, I like the mood a lot. I think the strings should've been EQ'd more, though, especially towards the high end, because it sounds a little harsh up there, which is most notable towards the beginning of the piece IMO. Also, the section from around 1:00 to 1:23 is pretty muddy. SINGLE MOST HELPFUL MIXING TIP EVER: get rid of all of the tones below 200 Hertz in everything except the bass and kick (and, in fact, most of your pieces don't seem to have a bass and kick). Otherwise, I admired the structure and progression (as usual), and I think orchestral music could suit your compositional abilities quite nicely. Until you become the lead conductor of a major symphonic orchestra, though, you might need to focus on your mixing. ;) Keep at it, LSD! ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Oh, another one already? Cool!
Yeah, the mixing in this one sucks pretty badly XD It was just a project for fun though. I'm actually releasing a new full orchestral piece this week, and it has slightly improved mixing (still pretty bad though)! If I keep this up, I'll be able to mix properly in about 5 years or so ;)

Well, I think the strings should've been EQ'd differently, but not more (and I'm pretty sure that it should be lessened in the high end if it is harsh, though I might be wrong of course).

"1:00-1:23"

=> Yup. It's super muddy, but actually, the entire piece is pretty muddy; it's waaaayyy too wet!

Heh, I have an even greater mixing tip though: EQ sweeps. Nuff said. I'm pretty sure I didn't use it enough when mixing this. Also, I think that it's very relative whether you should remove everything below 200 hertz, as several string instruments have their very nice sounds around those frequencies (a cello, as an example you might be familiar with, can sound pretty nice down there. Perhaps you count that as bass, but there are strings that play in higher octaves that have a nice sound surprisingly low on the scale too). Most of my issues lies in horrible percussion mixing, and way too unrestricted reverb/wetness. For the next orchestral track (as apart from the one I will soon upload), I will probably try to look more at that! :D

I think that Orchestral music is actually a pretty suiting genre for me indeed, as I listen to it quite a lot, due to movies, games, classical music and such :)

Thanks again! I will definitely focus on my mixing, as it is perhaps my weakest area!

[Neo-Metry Medley]

I like the idea a lot! The melody at :22 seemed really out of place when it first came in. I think you needed a clearer transition when it first came in. Other than that, you mesh all these tracks (many of which I love, btw) together quite well. I liked the instruments throughout. One tiny thing that bothered me is that the brass synth pad at 2:30 was a little too loud IMO. There were some other minor balance issues too, for example the drowned-out melody at 2:50. Other than that, I love all the synths, and you kept up the intensity and mood throughout. The ending felt a bit inconclusive, but I imagine it was hard to end it given all the various songs you crammed in here! Love the idea, and it helps that I'm familiar with about half of these songs. :) Keep up the good work, LunacyEcho! ;D

LunacyEcho responds:

=> 0:22 =>

Yeah, I've been getting that a lot. But that's what you get for not listening to feedback! :P

=> 2:30 =>

But.. but... the wubs! Yeah, I see what you mean. :P In my defense, it sounds AWESOME when played out of my Mac speakers (which are definitely renowned for being the best speakers in the world obviously)

=> 2:50 =>

You mean the Electroman Adventures melody was drowned out? I can see what you mean, but I sort of just wanted some more high mids in there to keep up the balance. The Club Step melody was the focus of that part!

=> ending =>

Yeah, seriously. None of the songs in the game have proper endings, since they're all cut at ~1:30. So, I had to work with what I could. :P Glad you can sympathize!

=> familiar with about half =>

The Waterflame half? :P

Thanks for the review! And man, going through all your missed work must be long and arduous. Thanks so much for going through all the trouble!

[A Beginner's Harp Improv]

Hey, I'd say that's pretty good for only having played the harp for a little over 2 months. Singing was lovely (as always), and I admire your sense of progression and harmony. I thought the balance was a little off at times (i.e., the harp sort of drowned out the singing). Still, you use simplicity to your advantage here. It's very pretty. Keep up the good work! ;)

[Ikuisen talven maa]

Oooo...instruments make it sound like some sort of shadowy tropical evening. XD I like the progression and atmosphere/mood. It loops really well, and I admire your sense of structuring, even in such a short piece. The only downfall of this piece IMO is that it's so short! Funny how you put "winter" in the tags. Makes me think of just the opposite season for some reason...Anyway, keep it up LSD! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Ugh, relistening to this, the tremolo strings stand out waaay too much; dem0lecule was totally right.

I guess this makes you think of the opposite season, as the strings I used are actually pretty warm. The most indicating intrument that this is winter themed, is that bell-ish thingy that plays every measure, and the fact that the harp is a bit colder (but it should be even more cold!) than it would normally be, along with that other violin that's playing softly in the background, which is much colder than the warm strings.
So I totally get what you mean with this sounding tropical as well!

This is pretty short, yeah. Not the shortest one I've made, but certainly not the longest XD
The strength of this piece, imo, is its progressions that seem to almost constantly move upwards, even though it actually loops at one point.

Oh, are you doing reviews in order? If you're going to review many of the other pieces I've uploaded, that's really cool!

Thanks for this one as well :D

I'll reply to your PM relatively soon, hopefully by the end of this week, but I have a concert, so you know XD