TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[box of secrets]

I love the mechanical effects and the haunting melodies with the (harp?). You incorporated the electronic elements very well, as usual. I'm not sure I like that heavy bass drum/percussion sound at :31 and other places, though, at least toward the beginning of the piece. It seemed very distorted and had too much reverb and created a really clashing mood with the other tranquil and pensive instruments. The tempo changes around 1:40 worked well. The melodies, as always, are amazing, and I love the transitions with the clock-ticking noise like at 2:17. All the instruments really contributed a lot to the piece, like that creepy exotic guitar that comes in at 2:57 or that sophisticated, melodic piano just 8 or so measures later. I also loved that organ at 2:40. It really added to the day-at-the-circus-gone-wrong vibe I was getting during the second half of the piece. The tempo automations at 3:30 and after were just brilliant. When I first heard it, I was a little concerned about where you were going with it, but all in all bringing back that minimalistic ominous riff at 3:51 was just genius. That transition (from 3:30 to 3:51) is probably my FAVORITE transition out of anything I've heard in 2014 (at least by you). I just loved it. That said, the ending was a little disappointing. I know you usually do fade-out, quiet, or slow endings, but I feel like the mechanical nature of this piece needs something short, distinct and staccato as a last note. Overall, though, just fantastic, fantastic work! :D Sometimes it scares me how quickly your music has tyrannically taken over my iPod. Then, when I hear tracks like this, I'm reminded: "Oh yeah, that's why!" ;D

johnfn responds:

Mwhahah! Yeah that was intended to be a music box but I actually couldn't find a decent music box vst! So I just used some crappy ableton preset thing. Though it ended up sounding really nice eh?

I ended up liking the massive drum stomp thing, though you're right, it might not go so well in the beginning where there isn't any bass...

Yeah I have been working a little more on instrument choice :) Starting to realize how important it is.

> exotic guitar

Would you believe that's still my guitar ;-)

> That transition (from 3:30 to 3:51) is probably my FAVORITE transition out of anything I've heard in 2014 (at least by you).

Hahaha yeah I was so delighted when that came together. I just took the frequency shifter that I've been using on everything to detune the accordion and it sounded awesome. Then I took a crash and progressively pitched it down a few times and it sounded like explosions. heheheh

> staccato last note

Yeah that's a much better idea then what I did.

> tyrannically taken over my iPod

MUAHAHAHAH! Thanks for the review :D

[Load]

Sorry I didn't review this earlier. My life's just so busy right now. Okay, so, anyway...uh...THIS IS FREAKING AWESOME!!! I love the beat and rhythms and instruments, and the little details at the ends of phrases adds a lot to it. I love what you did with the filtering into :16. That high-pitched instrument at :31 really added to the ominous and apprehensive, yet climactic mood. I also loved that effect starting at :39 that reminded me of soap bubbles! :D Your melodies are simpler than usual, yet are cathartic and very satisfying. You led into 2:01 beautifully. The pizzicato-esque thing at 1:59 made it seem almost comical in a way! I love that effect at 2:09, too. This really lives up to the definition of big room, yet is also much more entertaining and less repetitive than Garrix or any other mainstream minimalistic crap. I love how you slowly re-introduced those melodies, and the slight variations like the little bass-y melody at 3:46 really added to it all the more. You have an excellent sense of rhythm, timing, and structure. The transitions were flawless, and overall it's just an amazing track. Now here's the tough part: the ending was extremely disappointing. It was sudden and inconclusive and just...completely unsatisfying. I wouldn't mind if you used the cliché "use-filters-to-gradually-strip-away-the-music-except-for-the-beat" method that's in every damn Deadmau5 song, but please, at least add some more reverb to smooth it out a little. I know the nature of the genre doesn't give you much leg room on this, but in the future you could also make the drums a bit more interesting. Anyway, now that that's out of the way, AMAZING JOB! :D I feel stupid for stealing half a star for that tiny little ending detail, but it REALLY stood out to me, and things can always be improved, I guess. Well, so long for now, Mr. Lockyn, and I'm extremely excited to see what else this EP has to offer! ;D

Lockyn responds:

Hey, don't even worry about it! Didn't you hear me making that excuse 24/7? ;) Seriously though, deal with life, my song's not important compared to that lol.

Thanks so much man! LOL I did not expect a comparison to Martin Garrix. Although he is definitely making BANK right now. Holyyy. I appreciate the sentiment though :D

Did I ever tell you I suck with endings D: pls halp!

Don't feel stupid about that, it was justified. I'm glad you enjoyed the track despite the downfalls, and... yeah! xD Hope you enjoy the rest when it comes out. Cheers, Door! :D

[Alone]

Beautiful! :D I love the pensive, steady, and ominous piano riffs, as well as the melodic and surreal riffs on top of them. It's a contemplative and wonderfully-crafted piece. I love the structure, and of course it's very smooth-flowing and loops flawlessly. I especially like the parts at :43 and 2:27; they add very well to the haunting beauty of this piece. I like the reverb, too. It seems like you played it in a big concert hall. Overall, excellent work! Good luck with your game! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm glad you liked it! It just feels a bit dumb that this time, I didn't have time to add anything new to the track; it's the same as in the old version, but hopefully with better production :D
Good thing the older version had such a good structure and composition already, so it was no necessity to build upon it :p

Actually, it's possible to spot a very minor click when the track loops, as usual. I tried my best to loop this flawlessly this time though, so I'm glad I pretty much succeeded :)!

Also, it's good that you like the overly exstensive reverb! I was actually about to remove some reverb, as well as EQ away some bass, but my father told me not to, so I decided to trust his opinion; after all, he has listened to 10 times more music than I have, at least!

Thanks for the review (and the five stars :3). I hope that my game will do at least somewhat well, but we shall see the results shortly XD

[Euphoric Date of BIrth]

Well, it is pretty generic trance, and not your most original work, but I sure am glad you're back! :D I liked the instruments, though, as well as that filter or pitch automation or whatever it was that came in at the end of every sub-phrase (i.e. 2 measures). Given the circumstances, it would've been nice if you at least looped it or something, but lol sorry I took that way too seriously. I'm just glad you posted something, man - 3 months is long enough! Hope school's going well, btw...that will be all... ;)

Lockyn responds:

OH GAWD hello thedoor! xD I am so sorry you had to hear this LOL. Load is coming soon, I'm sorry for this disappointment. LOLOLOL OH GAWD I'M EMBARRASSED

[soar]

It's that time of the 8 days, isn't it? :D The mood at the beginning was interesting. It was a little distorted, yet there was this epic sort of clarity to the synths and piano that just made me feel like I was floating on a cloud. I loved those riser-transitions like at 1:09. The melodies were excellent, as always, and I love the instruments as well, especially that funky one at 1:38. As usual, you incorporated the guitar very well, and the structure and transitions overall were, once again, very, very good. One complaint I have is that you seem to use very similar drums (especially snares) across tracks. Couldn't hurt to shake that up a bit in the future. The melody at 3:13 is one of my favorites, though. The glitch-y drums around 3:30 to 4:00 sound excellent. You somehow manage to make those glitch-y sounds work well in almost any piece of music, John! :D AH! That cut-off ending really got to me, though. This piece DESERVES a timely cut-off, man! Overall, though, excellent work! Antiskill is awesome, and your piece really fits the art well. Best of luck in the competition! :D Unfortunately, I don't have time to enter this year (I was considering using one of Antiskill's pieces myself), but I wouldn't be surprised if you won. ;D Keep it up, Johnfn! I wonder what April's theme will be...

johnfn responds:

> It's that time of the 8 days, isn't it?

hahaha. Actually I have another song coming out really soon which I was working on in parallel with this one (which is why I was a little more quiet than average).

> riser-transitions like at 1:09

This was really fun to do! I just took a frequency shifter and shifted the frequency of the whole track :D

> funky one at 1:38

Yeah omg I loved that synth.

> One complaint I have is that you seem to use very similar drums (especially snares) across tracks

This is actually a really good idea. The main problem is I have only downloaded like one drum library and I just keep using it haha. Will be getting some more variety in the future :)

> melody at 3:13

You have a really good ear, this was actually my favorite also. That's why I repeat it later on in the outro at 4:43 (you can usually tell how much I like a melody by how often I repeat it haha).

> That cut-off ending really got to me

Lol I'm a derp. I'm getting better at not forgetting to do this but I still do sometimes. I'd fix it except that, since I'm using the demo version of the glitch vst, I lost all my glitching data when I closed (it doesn't save) so I'd have to recreate it all :( If I update this track I'll fix this.

I don't really expect to win the competition but it was super fun to write this track :)

Thanks for the review dude!

[Secret Base Zone GRD RMX]

I like this one a lot better than your last remix, man. The quirky pizzicatos are really funky and cool, and the instrument itself fits VGM really well. It couldn't hurt to make it progress faster, but I understand it was for a videogame, so it's bound to be repetitive. ;) I also really like the fact that there's not really a very strong beat and within certain phrases it's pretty variational. I think you could've done a bit more with it, as I'm getting the sense that you stuck very closely to the original, but otherwise nice job. Keep at it, man! ;D

P.S.: this one looped a lot better than the last one, too! ^^

[Aquatic Ambience (RMX)]

I like the harmonies and structure and transitions. That piano that comes in at 1:00 is really cool. The percussion during the second half of the piece is also really good. I think at the beginning, though, the guitar seemed a little too loud and aggressive for the style I think fits with this piece. I would've lowered the volume of it a bit, and did whatever I could to compress it without screwing up the mixing. It might just need some re-filtering or something, too. Transposing the strings down an octave might also help. I think it gets a little repetitive by the end, and I can't exactly give you points for originality either, but one thing I really did like was the subtle pitch automations in the strings. Also, it doesn't really loop well. Try selecting "wrap remainder" under "looping mode" when you export it (I assume you use FL Studio). Overall, though, it's not bad. I'm looking forward to hearing some more original work from you, man. In the meantime: stay in school, listen to your parents, eat your vegetables, and don't download YikYak! ;D

[Winding Canyons]

I'm not sure I liked the sample you used for the brass at the beginning, and I think the pauses there didn't make it very climactic. I really liked the riff at :20, though, as well as the harmonies thereafter. I admire your ability to combine a lot of very different instruments into a very concise whole. It was sufficiently varied, and I really like the structure overall. The transition at 1:48 was very sudden, though. I love the melodies at 2:17, as well as the harmonies with the cello, which I thought was very well done! :D The chorus at 3:00 was also a highlight. It does have a cinematic feel to it by the end, but overall I could picture it as a sort of organic-sounding VGM track. I could picture it in a sort of action/adventure sort of format. I also think you could've led into the end better. Overall, though, nice work, LunacyEcho! If you stick to this 2.5-track-a-month thing, you'll get far very quickly! :D

LunacyEcho responds:

=> brass at the beginning =>

I think I layered a french horn, a trilling violin, and a cymbal roll together. I guess it didn't work that well. :P

=> sufficiently varied, structured =>

Well, at least I'm getting better in those parts. I can feel the project working...

=> sudden transition =>

Derp.

=> harmonies with the cello =>

You know, I actually had a cello on legato later in the song, but I think the harmonies you were talking about were the ones on staccato. I'm not entirely sure why, but when I was writing it, I wasn't able to do both in one track; i.e., have one part of the track be legato and another staccato. It usually works, but this time, it didn't. I'm scared of what's happening to my software. :D

=> VGM track =>

Nuuuuu wai u do dis

I was actually trying to gravitate away from video game music, which is one of the reasons my mind used to justify the different parts. :)

=> could've led into the end better =>

Yeah... After spending around half my time on the transitions in the last song, I guess I subconsciously wanted to take a break for this one and didn't try that hard. :P

Thanks for the review, TheDoor!

[The Watchmen Cover]

This is interesting. I like the instruments, especially the echo-y drums and dark, cinematic strings. The crash/effect at 2:16 was also cool. My main problem lies with the vocals. They seemed off key at times and otherwise rather half-heartedly done. I'd assume you didn't rehearse them that much before you recorded it. Sorry. I also can't exactly give you points for originality, but it is a pretty cool tune. I also noticed the mechanical bass synths on my second listen, which I liked. It also loops pretty well, which was a pleasant surprise. Always nice to hear from you, MistaRogerz! Keep it up, man! ;D

mistarogerz responds:

Hah, that's why I don't sing on many songs. Thanks for listening!