TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[LL (Old) - Host Victim (2014]

I love the creepy robotic vocals at the beginning and the ambiance. The vocals set the mood perfectly. I think I'd like it even better if they were even more distorted, just to set that dark mood even more. The vocals at 1:02, on the contrary, were a little too angry and distorted-sounding for my tastes, though. I think that you could make the vocals sound distorted and obscure without making them so aggressive. It is a rather long-winded piece, though, and I think it needs more dynamic contrast and variation in the instrumentals. Perhaps it's only my personal opinion that it's too distorted and angry, though. I think the instruments and mixing are pretty good. The ending was a bit lack-luster for such a show-y piece, though, and I think it really shouldn't be 6 minutes long - maybe 3 or 4. I might have added more reverb to the vocals, but toned down the attack a bit. Otherwise, though, a pretty solid effort. Keep at it, Lich! ;)

7.5/10

[Rise]

I like the frantic synth bass at the beginning, and the quirky lead at :15. I think you needed a more effective transition at :15, though, even if it was a simple crash. I like the climactic nature of it and the melodies. You have a great sense of harmony. I loved the transition at 1:25. I think this piece has a great sense of direction to it, and it definitely keeps my attention throughout. That said, I think you had some slight balance issues. For example, the bass at around 1:30 and onward was a little too loud. Also, you have some really high-pitched and harsh tones in there later on which could've been compressed more, at the very least. Otherwise, it's an extremely amusing, energetic, and fun piece. The title seems fitting. I think you needed another crash at 3:06 though to aid in that transition. The ending was good, and it doesn't even make a bad loop! Great work, Larrynachos! I think you could potentially go very far in this competition. ;D

9/10

larrynachos responds:

Thanks! Your points were all incredibly valid, and I agree with all of them. I'm flattered to receive such a high score!

[Popping Flowers]

I like the warm chords at the beginning and the way the synth arpeggios gradually fade in. It definitely felt climactic into :46. I think the chord progression was a little cliché, but I did enjoy the melody and the upbeat and blissful mood. The transitions are smooth and the progression is well done. My main problem with it is that you didn't really do anything unexpected or "risky" if you know what I mean. It's an enjoyable piece, but it's one of those that a lot of people would call "good" but not "fantastic," y'know? It was a little repetitive later on, and I think you needed some more variation on the melody to keep my attention, to be honest. The ending was a little lazy, too, and even a transition that's slightly different would've helped gain you some more points in my eyes. Anyway, sorry to be so negative. It's really not that bad at all, and definitely deserving of the All-Star group despite my grievances. The mixing and mastering is good - no complaints there - but that doesn't really help get it past its simplicity. Good job with the mood, instruments, and all, though. Keep up the good work, ForeverBound, and sorry if the results come out when it's a bit too late over there in Europe! ;)

7.5/10

ForeverBound responds:

I wasn't intended to do something risky, I just wanted and easy to listen song whitch is catchy as well and I think I did the job well for that. but Thanks for the review and for hosting this competition

[Rainbow Stream]

I like the instruments and mood. It's pretty fun and upbeat and blissful. I like the climactic nature of it into 1:17. That melody is a little high-pitched and harsh, though. I think it's well-structured and smooth-flowing, and the vocal samples add to the piece significantly. It was pretty repetitive at times, but overall the melodic and harmonic content is rather good. I think you overused the transition at 3:24. Couldn't have hurt to shake that up for some variety later in the piece. Variety on the main melody would have also been welcome. It's a fun piece, but a little simple to be honest. I think it has potential, but I was looking for that "wow" factor throughout and I never really found it. It's not bad, though, but I think you can do a lot to improve it. Keep at it, Ectisity! ;)

7/10

EctiBot responds:

Thx for the review thedoor :). You points are absolutely valid.
The high pitched melody during the drop was something I did on purpose to give the listener kind of a Rollercoaster experience. Instead of just playing the song in a single octave the entire song, I think it adds to the interest to change it up at times. It's also there because it gives the song more energy, which this song is focused on. Ofc, I understand that not everybody likes it.

It's true that the piece is a bit repetetive at times, but it's dance afterall XD. I tend to add more variation in my tracks, but I liked the melodies so much this time around that I couldn't bring myself to switch them up just to do it. Know what I mean?

And about the song being "simple", that might be through, but I don't think a songs value should be rated on how complex it is. Especially Dance music. I do totally agree that this track lacks a "wow" factor though. That's one thing that bothered, and still bothers, me quite a bit about it. In normal Dance, either the bass, kick or the melody is the "wow" factor, but I don't like to go for a standard bassheavy track :/. Thus I tried to mix it up a bit with 8-bit sounds, which I think worked pretty well, but the track is still missing something. It's like there is no "Holy Molly" thing going on during the drop, It sounds a bit empty to me. Hopefully I'll be able to fix this in my future tracks.

Again, thx for the review. Can't say that I agreed on ALL of your points, but they were logical and made sense. Is really just a matter of preference in my opinion :).
-Ectisity

[Oppression]

I like the cinematic vibe it had, and the instruments really work well together. The brass, strings, and (guitar?) really add to the mood. This could be the soundtrack to an action movie! :D I like the apprehensive mood that starts coming in at around :58. You did a really nice job with the progression, and all the transitions are very effectively smooth. You did a great job of constantly shaking up the pace. It was very well varied, and always had an excellent sense of direction to it. Perhaps it could've used a bit more dynamic contrast, but the melodic development is simply superb. It felt pretty conclusive at the end, but perhaps it wasn't the big finish I expected given the drama of the previous 2.5 minutes. I think it needed a real stand-out conclusion to a stand-out piece, but this less show-y finish could also be ideal for a videogame in which it would be looping. I think the melodic and harmonic content in this piece are fantastic and very complex, and I see no problems with the mixing and mastering. Excellent work, EagleGuard!

9.5/10

EagleGuard responds:

Thanks for the review man, glad you liked it! That 'guitar' was actually a synth I used to make it sound more aggressive :) That said, this is an older piece, and I've definitely learend a lot more about dynamic contrast in the meantime, so hopefully I've improved enough for future songs.

[Empty]

I love the emotion and ballad-like vibe. The lyrics are very vivid and imaginative; I applaud you for that. It has a good sense of climax about it. I think the vocals weren't perfectly in tune all the time...but it doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the piece that much. I like the guitar solo at around 2:00 a lot. You did a good job with the harmonic/melodic content, and I think it's well-structured and smooth-flowing, which is good. I liked the ending a lot. It's very dark, somber, and mournful. In fact, the entire piece is like that! I see no problems with the mixing and mastering, and the balance was rather good. I think that, besides the intonation, the vocals actually did a great job of conveying the rueful mood and emotion of the piece. I applaud you for this, though. You took a big risk with this one, especially with the vocals, and I think it paid off overall. Keep it up, man! ;)

8.5/10

DivoFST responds:

Thanks for the kind words TheDoor6 :D
The piece was originally made for NGADM 2013 and i was aware that i had neither the mixing and composing skills nor the high quality samples to compete with most of the names in there, so i took it to vocals and guitar where i could stand out as more unique. (i lost anyways xD)
The vocals failed a bit specially in mixing :S But i guess your view on the song is not wrong at all, from a certain perspective it does transpire lack of confidence in the world we live on just like the lyrics!
A thousand thanks to you once again and i will try not to disappoint!

[Snowflake]

I like the tranquil mood at the beginning. It sounds very muddy and distorted at :10, though. The guitars completely overshadow the drums. I don't know if you made this in a DAW or if you recorded it, but either way please work on compressing that guitar and Equalizing ALL of the instruments. Otherwise, the harmonic and melodic content wasn't bad. The progression wasn't bad either, although the transition at :34 didn't really work that well. It was way too sudden. I would try letting the reverb do the work instead of cutting it off (kind of like you did at 1:16). Overall, it's not bad, but I'm afraid the poor mixing seriously detracts from my enjoyment of the piece. It's also rather short. I think some more melodic development and overall variation would help do the good ideas I'm seeing here justice. Right now, it's short, simple, and a rather "safe" piece to tryout with if you know what I mean. Please try to improve it, because it has a lot of potential. Keep at it, DFerociousbeast! ;)

5/10

DFerociousbeast responds:

I agree with the muddiness of the guitar at :10. The whole mixing was off because I had a pair of 5$ headphones when I made it, I just recently got a pair of fairly good ones for ~$50 so my eqing is off for that reason. I also know the drums are a bit unexistant because my main focus was the melody transition. Thank you for the honest review, it really helps with development of my music in a very good way

[Save the Nebula]

I like the melody at the beginning. It's sorrowful and serene. It progresses rather slowly, and is rather simple harmonically. I like the cinematic vibe the strings gave it later on, but I think you have some balance issues. The piano and strings were too loud - they both completely overshadowed the synths. I think the dramatic mood is what really draws me to this piece, though. At 3:45, the strings cut off a little suddenly. I'd probably let the reverb do the work as you transition into that melancholy synth melody. Also, the ending kind of cuts off in an odd place. I don't know if you intended to fade this out or what, but it doesn't seem very conclusive. I'd try adding some tempo automations and ritardando-ing your way back to the tonal center, if you know what I mean. ;) Overall, it's not bad. Again, the mood is what really stands out to me in this piece. I like the instruments, and it's well-structured and smooth-flowing for the most part. Good job, and thanks a ton for offering to make forum sigs for the winners. I just realized that would be really awkward if you won, lol. ;)

6.5/10

DESHIEL responds:

lol you are right... I would be forced to replace my own SIG! :( I didn't think about that lol.

About the issues you had with my track. Sometimes I am aware of them & sometimes I'm not.
See I love music and making music, but I never studied it anywhere rather than listening to it.
So I didn't recieve any tutelage on how to give a music track its hands and legs. But I'm geting better. :)

[Sunshine(Remaster)]

I like the mood at the beginning, as well as the instruments. The first 30 seconds were slightly disorienting. It's basically 3 build-ups in a row, at 0:00, 0:04, and 0:20, one in front of the other, which I found really bizarre. I think the mixing and mastering are pretty good, though, but it's very minimalistic for most of the piece. I liked the vocals - you did a good job there - and between 2:04 and 2:48 is the main section of the piece that does much harmonizing at all. It's catchy and cool, and the lyrics are pretty good, if a little cliché. I thought it was very long-winded and repetitive. This didn't need to be 6 minutes long, maybe 3 or 3.5 tops. I actually like big room house more than a lot of other people, but I think it's relatively easy to make compared to many other forms of EDM. I would've liked to see you take a bigger risk with the piece you chose to audition with, but at the same time I can't exactly take off points for that. It is catchy, well-mastered, and very danceable, but it doesn't really keep my attention very well for the whole 6 minutes. Sorry if this review seems so negative. It isn't that bad at all. I'll tell you right now that you're worthy of being in the All-Stars group, and I wish you the best of luck with your future tracks. Keep at it, man! ;D

8/10

[Asylum]

I love the mood at the beginning. It's creepy and even apprehensive, yet also has a strange brightness and beauty to it. I loved it when the strings came in and made everything more cinematic. The structure was very well-done, and while it was very well-varied, it wasn't the most coherent piece I've heard for this competition. I love the sense of direction and climax you have going on throughout the piece though. Epic is an overused term, but I have few other words to describe the piece as a whole. You did an excellent job with the mixing and balance, and I absolutely love the woodwind solo around 2:45 onward. It's simply breathtakingly beautiful. Makes me think of the huge, sweeping images of the Great Plains they have on those big-budget documentaries about nature. Just beautiful instruments, moods, etc. The ending could've been more conclusive imo. I think you should've tried to add a more energetic section toward the end as a way of wrapping it up, but perhaps that's only a personal preference. NOW I know why you've been an NGADM judge for these past couple of years. You clearly know what you're doing - more than that, in fact! ^^ Well, I think it's safe to say that you stand a very good chance in this competition. Bravo, sir Bassfiddlejones, bravo!

9.75/10

bassfiddlejones responds:

Thank you so much for the kind words and taking the time to leave such a thorough review. I hope to do well and will give it my all!