TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Medieval Adventure]

The mood was well-established and heroic and fun, but the poor instrument quality somewhat detracted from that experience. I'm sure you have better instruments now than you did when you made this (right?), so I'll let it slide. ;P Otherwise, I really like the melodies and transitions and harmonies and structure. I like how it transitions from a glorious fanfare-type thing to a depressing fugue around 1:30, then it gradually brightens again. Some of the chords threw me off a bit, like the one at 2:07 that didn't even really correspond to the previous rhythmic pattern. If I didn't know you better, I'd say it sounded like a mistake. 0_O Despite my criticisms, pretty solid work here! Keep at it, LSD! Also, did you get my PM from a week or two ago? :3

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

The poor instrument quality sucks indeed. I think this is the last song I'll submit that sounds like this though. I'm back in action, and I think I've uploaded almost all of my older pieces, except for a few that I might just remake for fun :3
I'm not promising not to upload horrible tracks in the future though XD
I actually think the melodies are pretty decent in this song, and the transitions are fine, albeit a bit drastic.

It's interesting that you think the chord sounds off at 2:07. It's the exact same chord as in 1:53, used in the very same chord progression too :p I think it's the poor instrument quality that once again causes the part to sound slightly queer.

Thanks for yet another review!!

And yes, I read your message long ago :')
I've just failed at writing a response. As I said... These are busy times... Not for long though. I'll hopefully have a response up in a few days :'D

[Ancient Resentment]

Cool! I like the instruments in this one. It's pretty upbeat, which is strange based on the title and theme apparently surrounding the piece. Might be good for a videogame menu or something. You should've made it loop! Anyway, not much more to add...looking forward to more of your 2014/2015 pieces. ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hi! Sorry for the late response, these are busy times...
Well, as I mentioned, the title and the piece have little in common :p
Oh my, maybe I should've made it loop XD
I'm looking forward to my future pieces too, as well as yours!

[Requiem Loop]

Ooo...was this the piece I kept forgetting I promised to review? I'm sorry, Matt! I was really busy with school and stuff. :'( I'll do better next time. Anyway, I love the progression and climactic nature of it. That piano just floats on top of all that heavy bass work - I love it! At times, I thought it could've progressed a little faster, but the melodies are top-notch, as usual. ;) You made a loop for a change, which is cool. A lot of the same synths you use all the time are in this one...but that's not a huge deal, I guess. If you're looking a genre suggestion, it kind of seems like house with the prominent kick later in the piece. Couldn't hurt to throw in an open hat on the off beats if you really want to make it unambiguous. ;) Otherwise, great work, DM! How's college going?

Dylnmatrix responds:

Hey, man. Was not expecting a review on this one actually! But hey! A review's a review, and any review is always appreciated.

As it stands, this project was simply a way to test out the new bass that I made which is now being used in the new Equilibria project as well as trying out some cool ambiance effects with the intro. Also using that lead that I made, but that's beside the point. As usual, it's a hit or miss with my usual synths, but at the end of the day I do make the music for me, and those synths are so pleasant for my ears, it's gonna be awhile before I find something else I like. (still working on it though!) I'm not too worried about the musicality of this, as it is just a remix of Requiem for a Dream, but I'll keep those suggestions in mind if I ever write another house song (so bad with progression in House music haha)

On the school front, I'm now on Winter Break until about the 2nd week of January so me and Ionic Force are buckling down on this EP, that's almost becoming an entire album, which we've promised the public. Our solo originals are done, with minor tweaks being made to fit the EP, Ionic Force's collab with Willteknyx is about halfway done and the Equilibria originals are coming to fruition with us working on the drops and sound design of them alongside the verses and breakdowns being 90% done.

[Hammer]

Almost sounds like I'm hearing the sound through an old television or something at first...interesting choice. Nice work with the vocal samples around :40 and the instrumentation. You really kept up the ominous, apprehensive, and funky moods throughout! :D I love all the distorted guitar solos and the progression. Maybe it could've used a bit of a smoother transition into :17. Other than that, though, I don't have many complaints! I love how you kept the theme so succinct throughout this - great work, Possibly. ;D

[Becoming Independent]

Hmm...this is different! I love the emotion and the climactic nature of it into 1:00. The intro might've been a little long, but it really has a simple beauty to it that compliments the film very well. I really love the victorious yet reflective mood. 1:55 was one of my favorite parts. Overall, it's well-structured, smooth-flowing, and has an appropriate amount of structural variation and dynamic contrast. It's at times upbeat and energetic, and at others slower and more emotional - just what I like in a piece of this style. May I ask why you chose to call it pop instead of classical or cinematic? Anyway, the quality of your instruments, as always, is superb. This could be a professional orchestra performing this right now, and I couldn't tell the difference. I also really liked the outro with the cellos and basses and then the soothing piano once again. Really good work, especially for making this in only one night, Step. :O Happy Independence Day, Malta! :D

Step responds:

Man, your reviews have become pretty much consistent. I always love reading what you have to say, so thanks a lot for yet another review!

The intro was on the long side, I'll agree, but my goal over there was simply to complement what was being shown on screen, as opposed to actually creating a musical progression that was a bit more sensible and didn't drag out as much, so I'm mostly glad I pulled that off haha.

Yeah I agree 1:52 is probably one of the stronger parts of the score, so I'm happy you like it!

Like I said to SilverFoxJams below me, I just felt like the instrumentation was more suited to pop, what with the piano, drums and guitar. It isn't really classical because it has almost no qualities of a classical piece of music. I guess maybe it could sorta fit in Cinematic, but ehhh. No biggie :3.

Once again, thanks a lot for reviewing! Gonna be posting two more tracks before the year ends.

[Funked Too Hard]

That synth sort of has a smooth, atmospheric vibe to it - good for hardstyle - yet the pauses sort of ruin that smooth effect IMO. Still, it is pretty catchy, and you used the reverb really well. I think it's a little bare throughout, though. Your mixing has improved, yet there just isn't that much to keep my attention throughout. You need more melodic development, dynamic contrast, structural changes, and the addition of new instruments throughout the song for variety. Also, the ending wasn't really satisfactory either, my friend. There's really no indication that it's about to end...it just sort of does. It might be cool to loop it so that it would be fitting for a videogame, but idk...It could still work better as a full-length song, but it needs more content that keeps me engaged throughout. Sorry to be so tough on you, man. It has potential, so keep at it! ;)

TeraVex responds:

Thanks for the feedback!
Yeah, the reason it's the way it is, is because I couldn't really figure a way of making it more interesting without redoing everything completely.
My envision was to have this song as like a jam backtrack type of thing, which I personally think it works fine, but as a song by itself, it doesn't have enough variety, yes.
I agree with all of your points! So yeah!
Thanks again!

[dash]

Woah...different from your usual intros. I love the bass and the in-your-face drums. Great job setting up that climax, and the wailing melodies really capture my attention. I love how you transitioned into :50. It almost seemed comic with the bit at :52! I love the way you structured this one. Your sense of melodic development is superb (as I've always known)! I have two complaints, however. 1) The ending! AHH! It's SO sudden that I thought it was supposed to be a loop at first (and it actually makes a pretty good loop, I'll admit, but I don't think that's what you intended). 2) At times it felt a little bare, such as 1:01. That's not a huge deal, though, as it actually added some structural contrast. Still, you could've at least added some extra reverb to that last snare and had it fade into oblivion before you corruptly stole away last few milliseconds of an otherwise-awesome song! *Starts breathing heavily as if he had actually just spoken all of those words* Still, it's quite a fun and engaging piece. Instant fave and DL. Never stop, sir fn! Never stop...

johnfn responds:

Thanks TheDoor OR WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS! I understand your complaints. Actually, one of my experiments with this piece was not using so much reverb on everything. I think it worked out pretty well, except maybe the ending hehe. Glad you liked it though.

[A Silence / A Brilliance]

Woah! Haven't been here in a while...How's in goin', Adieuwinter? :D I love the atmospheric intro and the dreamy synths and pads. I love the progression. The little descent into minor keys at :53 seemed a little out-of-place at first, but overall it helps add some direction to the piece. I thought the drums at 1:02 were a little busy and arbitrary. I think the mixing isn't great...maybe EQ'ing those drums a little more would help create some space, but I think you still need to simplify it a bit. I loved that open hat on beat 4 of every measure between 1:02 and ~1:30. :) By 1:40 it got really dark and minimalistic. It didn't really seem to compliment the first 1.5 minutes of the piece very well. I think you need to connect those parts better, and a smoother transition into 2:38 would be nice, too. I must admit, that beat works a lot better at 2:38 IMO. I think by 3:20 there were some melodies that were, again, a bit too busy given the chill atmosphere. Step-wise melodies with ONLY A FEW jumps are usually ideal, as I think you need to simplify them there. That said, I liked the mood a lot by around 4:10, and that white noise that gradually crept up-front in the mix was cool. I liked the way you ended it, too, even if I was somewhat fooled by the pads at 4:42 after a seemingly conclusive fade-out. Overall, well done! I think you're good at these ambient tracks, Adieuwinter. I was tough on you in this review, but the instruments, melodies, mood and atmosphere are all really well done. I'd work a bit on the transitions and structuring, but otherwise great job. I'm TheDoor6 btw...I changed my name in September. ;D

adieuwinter responds:

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this! Haven't gotten such a thorough review for a while. Lately I've been finding some trouble as to working with mixing drums effectively in the busier sections of these ambient pieces - I'll keep going at it! So I've tried making a few adjustments with this one based on your comments; I've covered the dark, minimalistic portion with a layer of ambient synths that sound more in tune. At the moment I'm still working on simplifying the drumbeats and melodies, but maybe when I'm done with it I'll upload and you can have a listen? I dunno.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words and being critical too!
(and I caught the name change when you did it back then :D)