TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Classic Square Loop]

It's "Yankee Doodle Dandy!" :D "Yankee doodle went to town, riding on a pony. Stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni!" It was originally published as an insult to American colonists in the 1700s, but now is considered a patriotic song for all Americans, especially in Connecticut. I could actually see you going somewhere with this, though. The cute, simple melody line is fitting for a videogame, and it has a strange energy to it as well. It loops well, too. Not much else to say - it is only 7 seconds long - but maybe you could elaborate on this melody, even if it is almost 250 years old! ;)

TastyTeo responds:

hahaha true, thanks man!

[the song of the sea]

Dude, are you making a sea-themed EP or something? XD Anyway, this is really chill. I love the atmosphere and mood. I thought the clap at :49 had WAY too much reverb for a piece this mellow, though. It's really easy to space out when I listen to this, but that's a good thing! ;) I loved the LFO effect (is that an LFO effect?) at 1:59. Your melodies are hypnotic, and the structure is very well-done. It just perfectly channels my emotions away from cold, dreary New England. I loved how you got glitch-y around 3:00. That said, some of the instruments sounded a little high-pitched and harsh at times, and this is especially noticeable at 3:05. The ending is dreamy and brilliant, though. Overall, this is another fantastic piece of music. You should seriously consider charging people money for this. I would pay! :)

johnfn responds:

LOL I don't know. Last month I was really obsessed with snow and wrote like 5 snow related songs. (Most were improvs that didn't see the light of day.) I just have these weird obsessions sometimes.

Yeah the reverb on that clap doesn't really fit in until later.

"It's really easy to space out when I listen to this" Yeah I've been trying to de-busy my pieces and have more space and less things happening. I think it gives this piece a really chill feel.

I kinda agree that 3:05 is harsh, but argh I also kinda think that it works. Like I dunno how I'd get that emotion out without a similar sounding synth. Time to do more sound design exploration I guess.

> album

I have thoughts about this. SECRET THOUGHTS. (Not really.) But I usually keep my project ideas close until I finish them - or at least start them - because I've found that talking about my ideas makes me less likely to actually finishing them. So it could be a while before I start talking about it. It might end up being something you don't expect though.

[Bound By Fate (Original Mix)]

This is very good. I can really tell the mixing and mastering has improved a lot, and the vocals definitely add a lot to the piece as well. What plug-in did you use for the piano, btw? The piano in the original almost sounded out-of-tune at times, so I'm glad you replaced it. The structure and transitions are very well-done. All the structural twists and turns really make this piece feel cinematic in a way. The mood is the perfect mixture of energetic and atmospheric. The only thing I feel the need to point out in the negative for this piece is that the texture feels a little too thick for me around 5:58 and at other places (although this might just be because I'm not used to hearing it with vocals). Overall, this is one of my favorite pieces of yours, so I'm really glad you remastered it. Also, may I ask what the lyrics are, please? Anyway, I hope I'll hear from you again sooner rather than later. Btw, I can't describe how awesome it made me feel when you linked my channel to the text "You should go listen to this dude." I'm honored. Thanks Matt! ;D Talk to you soon. ^^

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks man. Yeah, I'd have to say that it's you getting acclimated to the vocals. It was also hard to mix those in, so I might have messed up somewhere in that regard.

Also, lyrics have been added to the author comments :3

Edit: Oh yeah I forgot to tell you what I used for my piano. It was the Nexus Grandpiano, from none other than Nexus.

[Singularity]

It's very ominous and dark. I love those bass riffs, though. You really paid attention to the details in this one - the hats and the bells really added something to the piece. It loops well and has some potential. It would work well as the background music for an informative video or something. Maybe in 20 years, they'll play this kind of music when they're showing the 5-day forecast on the weather channel. XD Anyway, overall I liked it. Couldn't hurt to add something a little more engaging if you want to turn it into something more, but this is a good start. Keep at it, RetromanOMG. ;)

[Solitude Salvation]

I like the instruments and the mood. In the beginning it sounds like you're creating some space for climax, like something's about to happen, but it progressed a little slowly in general. I thought the chords cut off a little suddenly at :34. I think either the sidechain or the limiter affects the strings too much between 1:06 and 1:33. I'm not sure what level you're at with the mixing yet, but please never use limiters on the master channel. Instead, adjust the volume levels in the mixer until the peak meter (top-center of screen) never turns red throughout the piece. Also, that instrument you used for the bass drum sounded a little inauthentic, and I think it had too much reverb. Lastly, I'm afraid the fade-out ending sounded a bit boring. Sorry this isn't really a very positive review, TeraVex. I do like the structure and reflective moods, and it would be good for a videogame, but I can't help going all out to make sure this track reaches its full potential. :) Happy new year! ;D

TeraVex responds:

I understand what you mean.
This was rushed out because I was working on something. (A prelude to Dawn Of Destruction) and it's not going to be done for a while so my apologies, I'll be sure to fix this up a little because honestly I agree with everything you've said up to this point.