TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Zoftle x Tokzick - Hellfire]

I like the eerie atmosphere at the beginning - very airy and full of creepy arpeggios and an ingrained sense of tension. The hip-hop-inspired beat at :34 is super nice, and there’s a great build-up throughout the first minute or so. The vocal samples at :57 help add some narrative appeal to the piece too. It feels like you did as much as possible to delay the drop as much as possible, but when it finally hits at 1:23, it’s just orgasmic. The male choir and glitchy sound effects throughout the second minute of the piece are great, and I also like the prominent strings and female choir at the bridge at 2:07.

I’ve heard the vocal sample at 2:30 used multiple times in this competition - where is it from? I’m not sure I was a fan of hearing it multiple times in the song, either, especially since it’s so long, but ultimately that’s a pretty small detail. The second drop at 2:52 doesn’t feel quite as dynamic as the first one, and the strings get a little lost in the mix there among the heavy reverb. I like the crisp strings and robotic-sounding synths at the outro, though. Overall, this piece has some killer sound design, amazingly catchy and rich harmonies, and a healthy amount of variety. Really impressive work, guys. You say this took you 3 years to complete, and I believe you. Keep it up! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.5/10

[Far From Home]

I like the quirky atmosphere at the beginning and the guitars at :06. The vocals at :11 are great, although they weren’t quite as up-front in the mix as I would’ve liked. The drums also sound a tad dry, and could use some more reverb or other mixing effects to help it contribute to the atmosphere. The lyrics are relatable, but also a bit cheesy at times (“reaping what I’ve sown,” a fairly predictable rhyme scheme, etc.). Is the vocalist a real person? I suspect not given how consistent the tone of voice is throughout the piece, but it would be great to hear more details about her/it. Overall, the vocals are very realistic-sounding.

The production quality here is fantastic. All of the instruments sound crystal clear in the mix throughout, and overall are rather well-balanced with each other too. Composition-wise, the arrangement is pretty generic, but the guitar solo at 2:25 absolutely shreds. Some more variety in the main melody during the final refrain would’ve been welcome, but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed the full texture, vocal harmonies, and punchy drums throughout. Strong work overall. Keep it up, Zip-Zap-Official! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[The Land of Illusion]

I like the distorted atmosphere at the beginning. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture, but it doesn’t affect the mix that much since the texture is so minimal. The eerie synth at :24 is nice and creepy, if a tad harsh-sounding in the mix, but I really like the more mellow harmonies backing it up. The melodic synth at :50 really hits the spot, although the drums at :48 are a bit flat and could use a boost in the mix. At some point, I wanted to hear some more bass tones in the texture - the mix sounds a bit top-heavy for most of the piece. That said, the texture really starts coming together well at 1:09 - the sound design is both eerie and tranquil at the same time, and I love the glitchy slides that start at 1:49 or so. Haunting stuff. The distorted bridge at 2:04 was also pretty neat, and the part at 2:13 serves as a nice secondary melody with some equally neat mixing effects.

I wasn’t quite ready for the piece to end at 2:40, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. A good thing because I really liked the second half of the piece a lot, and wanted it to continue. A bad thing because the piece doesn’t quite feel structurally complete yet to me as is. I think you could do a lot more with the composition here, including shaking up the harmonies at some point and building a second point of climax later on. Still, as it is you won me over with the creative sound design, melodic content, and engrossing and quirky mood. Keep at it, Ziondiac! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.5/10

[Enemy Territory]

I like the riser at the beginning and the airy synths at :04. The drums could’ve been a tad punchier in the mix, especially the snare. I’m also not a huge fan of the kick sample here - seems a bit sub-bassy for a piece like this. The texture comes together well by :16 - I love the string lines and dense harmonies with the overlapping rhythmic patterns. The mellow breakdown at :45 was also nice, although the synth at :55 sounds a bit thin and tinny. You also overuse the hats/crashes in the drum kit here. Later on in the piece, I would’ve liked to hear both some more variety in the harmonic framework and a more climactic refrain or melodic section. Right now, I feel like the piece never quite got back to the energy level it had at around :30, and the ending itself cuts off pretty abruptly. Overall, the sound design is good, but I wish you had done a bit more with the composition here. The production holds up pretty well, but the mix is a bit quiet overall, especially the snare. Still, I hope you keep working on this piece. Flesh out the structure a tad more, and this could be a real banger. Keep at it, ZeroDigitZ! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7/10

[Barriers]

I like the cutesy riff at the beginning and the crisp drums at :12. The mix feels a bit strained starting at :12 - the bass doesn’t quite come through well, and by :25 even the lead is ducking under in favor of the drums and harmonies. Part of the problem might be that you need to filter out more of the bass tones and low-mids from the harmonic instruments using an equalizer. I’d also check to make sure that the drums are compressed enough to avoid clashing with some of the harmonic instruments later in the piece as the texture gets busier.

Still, the sound design and melodies here are awesome. Love the ballpark-style organ and the increasingly upbeat and energetic vibe until 1:35 or so. The melodies at the bridge at 1:39 are great, and I’m also glad you brought back the mallets at 1:50. The drums at 2:04 are especially nice, and overall you hit the piece home with the final melodic section at 2:17. Some more variation on the final melodies compared to the earlier refrains might’ve been nice, but that’s a pretty small detail.

To summarize, my main concern here is the mixing. The composition and sound design are fantastic, and with a little more tweaking this piece could make a fantastic loop for a video game soundtrack or something. Keep at it, ZaneLittle! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

[Imperfecto]

I like the percussion at the beginning and the bass line. The funky synth at :20 is pretty cool too. At :40, there’s this really nice stringed instrument (maybe a harp?) that’s so far back in the mix, I can barely hear it, but I really want to! Maybe some more compression would help it shine in the mix more. The mix here in general is pretty quiet - a compressor on the master track might be advisable, actually.

I like the synth melody at :59 and the mini-breakdown at 1:38. The composition could use a stronger sense of ebb and flow over time, though. It seems like you switch up the texture every 8 bars or so, but within those 8 bars the piece doesn’t sound very dynamic. Filtering, automation, slight variations in the drum patterns, etc. can really help a piece sound more interesting, especially when the harmonic framework is the same throughout.

Still, you clearly have a good sense of rhythm, harmony, and progression, and I like the sound design a lot too. A sharper mix and some more “humanization” in the composition would really help take this piece to the next level. Love the Latin inspiration and memorable melodies here, though. Keep at it, Yayday4evr! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Blaze Of Beheaded Fungi]

I like the punchy drums at the beginning and the murky bass riff shortly thereafter. The synth pad at :16 blends into the texture nicely, and the texture really starts coming together at :38 or so. The guitar riff at :48 is really catchy, but the mix here could be a bit sharper. There’s a tad too much reverb in the texture, and the guitar overwhelms the synth harmonies a bit. I like the solo at the breakdown at 1:20, but part of me feels like it could’ve been a bit bolder melodically. The injection of energy at 1:53 was a welcome change, but I’m not sure I like how quickly the piece oscillates between the bottom-heavy synth sections and the guitar solos. Maybe if the “true lead” was either vocals or a more powerful synth, that kind of formulaic arrangement would be okay, but since the guitar seems to be the main thing to pay attention to in the texture most of the time, it kinda just disrupts the flow of the piece IMO. Overall, the sound design is really cool, and I like the spacey atmosphere and rhythmic content. The composition could’ve been a tad bolder here, though, and the mix could use some tighter equalization and a little less reverb. The instrumentation is my favorite part of the piece, but I also really like the title (even though there’s no place for scoring titles on my rubric). Keep at it, xZiriusX! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[Utopia]

I like the dreamy synth arpeggios at the beginning. The lead at :21 is a bit quiet relative to the arpeggios, but the texture comes together well by the time the drums come in at :47. The drums sound a bit dry and flat - some more compression, reverb, and other mixing effects might help give them some punchiness - and also a bit generic. The bridge at 1:21 was nice, but I wanted to hear more of the low-mids in the mix.

I also think that the vast majority of this piece has a near-constant energy level, which is not the most conducive to keeping the listener engaged. At some point, a more dynamic melodic section or atmospheric breakdown or something would really help take this piece to the next level. Also, the very end of the piece gets cut off pretty abruptly. I’d suggest automating the wet reverb there and then letting it fade out over maybe 5-10 seconds - you don’t have to even add another note, but that would give the piece a nice sense of “fading back into the atmosphere.”

Still, I think my biggest problem with it is the somewhat off-balance mix. I’d like to hear a more prominent bass line - maybe you could free up some room in the mix by cutting a bit of reverb on the harmonies and dialing back the volume of the arpeggios once the leads come in? Either way, I did enjoy the atmosphere, upbeat mood, melodies, progression, and rhythmic content here. Keep at it, Xyrul23! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[sinky]

I like the cutesy synth riffs at the beginning and the crisp beats and quirky atmosphere at :15. The piece has a strong rhythmic appeal, but the arrangement feels a bit choppy and could use some smoother, legato elements to fill out the texture at some point. The distorted vocals and glitchy treble-range synths work very well. The mixing is strong, but if anything the drums could’ve been a tad louder, and some more reverb and echo/delay effects could’ve helped you give the piece a stronger sense of atmosphere. Overall, you nailed the sound design, mood, and rhythmic content here. I would’ve liked to see a bit more depth in the compositional details and narrative appeal in the progression. But otherwise, this is a really catchy and unique track. Keep at it, xxxZigZagxxx! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[disparate]

I like the filtering at the beginning. The lead synth is a bit dry, and could use some mixing effects to help fill out the atmosphere. The drums are pretty cool, although they also sound a bit undecorated in the mix, and the distortion on them kinda overwhelmed the lead riff. The harmonies are really good, especially that floaty melody at :28. The piece could use more of a fleshed-out composition, with a stronger sense of ebb and flow over time. Right now, you only really just started layering on some harmonies before the piece fades out with that dramatic filter/flanger thing at 1:04. Still, the sound design is flashy and the harmonic and rhythmic content are strong. Keep at it, Xetto! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10