TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Recharge {Dj-Abbic}]

Ooo...very catchy and cool! I love the breaks right off the bat! It's extremely engaging, and it really makes me want to get up and dance. :D I love how you oscillate between energetic and chill, and that melody at :46 is cool. You really create a lot of space for contrast for yourself, and it's very smooth-flowing and well-structured. That melody at 1:47 also really got my attention. The melodic and harmonic content is just excellent, and it always has an excellent sense of direction about it! Nice job with the part at 2:11 as well. The breaks at 2:49 are awesome. You really went all-out with this one and took huge risks, and they all paid off! The mixing is fantastic, and I even really liked how you ended it with that sort of ominous melody. Submissions like this are easy to score: not only am I giving you a 9.5/10, I'm also instantly fav'ing and DL'ing this (the only time I've INSTANTLY done that for any track in this competition). Keep up the excellent work, Djabbic. I do believe that you, sir, have just landed yourself a spot in the final round of this competition! >:D

9.5/10

DjAbbic responds:

That comment about creating space for contrast is quite interesting, as my brother always complains that he enjoys the chill parts but can't enjoy the energetic parts :D.

It's good to hear you liked the melody, as that was the main part of the song which propelled me to finishing it within 10 hours. The ending is also something that I quite like, as it is something I've never tried before, but I guess it worked out in the end.

Glad to hear you liked it so much :D. I'll try my best to top this for the next round.

[Slow Me]

I like the powerful chords at the beginning and the warm mood. The saxophone was a nice touch. It really adds to the chill, yet also quirky mood. I think it may have progressed a little slowly, at least for the first couple of minutes or so, but the part at 1:19 really did something for me. I think it was nice how you found a way to contribute to that chord progression meaningfully. It is a little minimalistic for most of the track, though. There are a couple of transitions that may just need a sweep or crash or something to make this flow as smoothly as the chords, 2:10 for example. I think the lack of fill is somewhat made up for by the mood and interesting structure you have here, and I like the pulsing riser/effect that begins at around 2:34. The breakdown that occurred just after the 3-minute mark also added some structural relief, and I like how you have that re-intro before the variations at 3:55. That said, I don't think this piece needed to be 6 minutes long. It struggle to hold my attention for that long, as most of it consists of variations on one rather simple chord progression. I think you could've even just looped it off at 3:29 and it would've gotten the job done. It does have an interesting sense of direction about it, though, but perhaps I would've liked to see a little more melodic and harmonic development. An interesting piece, and great for just chilling to, but stand-alone I'd say it needs to be a little less...bare and repetitive. Good job with the mixing, instruments, effects, and structuring though! Keep at it, Birdinator99. ;D

7.5/10

Birdinator99 responds:

Chill! I love that word -- glad I'm falling in that category. It's really my jam, honestly. Everyone needs to relax, so why not put it to music?

I enjoy the minimalistic transition at 2:10. I'll have to disagree with you there. The rising effect at 2:34 is great for thickening up that section -- makes it more intense, you know?

The repetitive nature of the song is something I anticipated judges to take issue with. I wanted to challenge myself to think about layering sounds more to maintain listener interest, while using the same chords the whole time. I wouldn't want to make this a loop, but yeah I could have ended it halfway. I felt like I had to more to say, though. I wanted to bring back the alto sax, but to do so before 3:29 might've been too soon.

If I could do it again, I might add a melody, but I would keep the length overall. It doesn't feel "bare" to me, but this kind of stuff isn't exactly crowd-pleasing, so it might feel bare compared to other genres you like.

Glad you liked it for the most part. Thanks for judging AND hosting!

Take care!

[You Know Nothing]

I like the sense of climax, and the chord progression is very interesting. It's a bit hard to follow that synth melody at :17 rhythmically, but I like the mood and instruments. That hi-hat is nice and crisp. The ravens were quite interesting and cleverly integrated, I must admit. Now I know why I saw a picture of one when I was scrolling through the thread. XD I'll admit I wasn't expecting such a minimalistic drop given all the melodic content during the first minute or so. It's very repetitive overall and progresses a little slowly for my tastes. That said, I did enjoy the second drop a bit better, as the pulsing effect was rather interesting. I also enjoyed the thick texture of hi-hats at 3:46. It's catchy, if a little minimalistic (but I suppose you (and I) already acknowledged that). The melodies are catchy, but I would've liked to see you vary them a bit, at least before the final drop. Overall, though, it's a pretty solid piece. It ends a little suddenly and is pretty long-winded, but these are minor complaints. The mixing and mastering was very good. Keep it up, Voltus! ^^

8/10

Voltus responds:

Thank you! I will keep it up as best as I can! ;)

[Sundans - I Dream]

It's very climactic and catchy. The fade-in approach at the beginning is a little cliché, but I think that's a minor complaint. The sense of direction in this one is good, and you channel the energy throughout rather well. It's very dreamy at times, and energetic at others. The mixing is pretty good, and the melodic content is rather enjoyable. It was a bit minimalistic throughout, though, although you still nailed dynamic contrast and melodic development. Structurally, it's a sound piece, and I thought the way you ended it was much more creative than the way you began it. It kept my attention throughout, but I think you should really pay attention to the lack of fill I see here in the future. This was a relaxing and atmospheric piece - trance that puts you in a trance, just the way I like it! Solid work, Sundans. Keep it up! ;D

8.5/10

[1000 Laughin' Corpses]

I love the ominous effects and mood at the beginning. I think they'd be more effective if they were more rhythmically varied, though. I think you could stand to cut down that intro a lot, too. I love the creepy piano at :40, however, and the climax into 1:30 was simply fantastic. It's very mechanical and quirky, which is why I like it! My main problem during the first half of the piece is that it's very repetitive. The long-awaited structural relief at 2:30 was welcome, but short-lived. It still progresses very slowly throughout. My main problem during the second half was that it seemed rather rhythmically busy from 2:48. It was a little jarring, to be honest, and I really think some more melodic development and well-integrated harmonic content could help this piece a lot. The mixing is not bad, but it really isn't enough to keep my attention for the full 4.5 minutes, I'm afraid. The ambiance was good, but you need to build more around that, Stapless. That acid riser that you have going for most of the piece was cool, but I think you should explore some different methods of channeling energy in this track, yes? Overall, it's pretty good, but it could really be a lot better than it is IMO. It can't be just all effects and bass, my friend. A 30-second intro with them is fine, but a 4-minute song is not. Sorry to be so tough on you - the effects and bass are COOL, but they shouldn't have been the only thing going on for over 4 minutes. I think this piece has a lot of potential, though, so you should keep working on it. Keep at it, man! ;)

6.5/10

Stapless responds:

Thanks for the review :0 I'll keep at it.

[Stories of the Battlefield]

I like the Celtic vibe I'm getting from the strings at the beginning. The melodic and harmonic content in this is rather enjoyable, but I think the mixing/balance could've been better. That echo-y synth really gets buried under the strings at times (I can barely hear it after the 1-minute mark or so). At 1:32, the texture gets a little too thick IMO. What I mean is there's a bit too much going on, and I think the chords might be culprit. I would choose between atmospheric and pizzicato-y/ melodic there. It would make for a neat little breakdown of sorts. The ending was simply not what I expected at all. It sounded like you were introducing an entire new theme at 2:57, and then it simply just ends. That's a little disorienting, my friend. The combination of instruments is rather enjoyable for most of the piece, however. The thick texture issue is an easy fix, and structurally it's sound as well. Smooth-flowing, well-established mood; I have few major complaints besides the mixing! Keep up the good work, Sovarozum! ;)

8/10

Sovarozum responds:

thanks for the feedback! much appreciated. and sorry about the ending ^_^' there will be a revised version in the coming weeks :D

[The_Imaginary_Sword]

I like the vocals at the beginning, but the transition into the more string-oriented part was a little sudden. I think you did a nice job integrating all of the other instruments in there, and then integrating the choir back in at 1:23. It's a beautiful piece, contemplative and pleasant. I think at times it seems to lack direction a bit, as in the middle minute or so (1:30 to 2:30 or so). I think the guitar comes in a bit suddenly, but it certainly adds a greater sense of direction and intensity to the piece. Your sense of harmonic and melodic development is good, and I like how you conclude the piece with a slightly more tranquil vibe as well. I thought for a second there that you might use the cliché "final guitar chord and let the reverb do the work" method. That transition (into the more tranquil ending) was effective, but I challenge you to find better ways of integrating the two sides to this piece (graceful orchestral and angry rock-and-roll) early on. Overall though, great work! Perhaps your mixing is not the best (for example, the guitar at :59 really gets buried under the strings), but overall, I like it a lot! Keep up the good work, Possibly! ;D

8.5/10

[Tavern theme]

I love the jazzy vibe to this one. The synth's melody at :17 is quite quirky, but enjoyable nonetheless. I like the rhythms at :30 and beyond, especially in the percussion. The pads at 1:10 really added some structural relief. It's a fast-paced piece, but really works well, I'd say. It could work well as background music to a videogame, late-night soundtrack at a bar & grill, or even an intro song to a night of dancing at a jazz club! XD It loops very well, and I like those punchy organ hits you put in there later in the piece. They really added some flavor. This is an entertaining and well-mastered piece that's not too busy or overwhelming at the same time. Really nice feel-good sort of vibe you got going on here, Jernemies. This is not only structurally sound and smooth-flowing, but the combination of instruments really show your talent on this one. Keep it up, my friend! ;)

9.5/10

Jernemies responds:

Hey, thank you :) Glad you liked it

[All Minds Obsession]

I like the synths/pads at the beginning, and the quirky piano works very well with them. I like the bright, upbeat tone it has. It'd be good for a video game! The melodic content was rather good, and the chord progression was very interesting. I think the piano could be varied rhythmically a bit more, though. The drums are good, and really have a bright, energetic pop to them! It is a bit repetitive by about 1:15, although that's about when you start varying it. Those quirky synths are just awesome! :D That melody instrument at around 2:10, while I like the melody itself, is very high-pitched and harsh-sounding. You can probably fix that by EQ'ing off the high tones a bit more, but overall the mixing was very good. I liked the ending and, despite the repetitive piano rhythms and whatnot, I think this is a fantastic piece! Well done, Blacklawn! ;D

9/10

Blacklawn responds:

Thanks! I probably need to try harder to make my pianos sound more realistically played. I guess I naturally tend to focus more on the melodic progression and usually don't care too much about adding variation to the rhythm, but I'll keep that in mind.