TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Twins At The Edge Of A Dream]

I like the furtive tone at the beginning and the dark organ sound. The chord progression at :24 is a little generic, and the piece is pretty slow to progress for a while. I wasn’t a huge fan of the choir sample at :49 - it sounds pretty inauthentic, and also was introduced pretty abruptly. Right as you’re getting to a seemingly climactic part of the piece at 1:12 with the rich chords, you also strip away a lot of the harmonies, which makes it feel more anticlimactic. You slowly build back up to 2:05, which was probably my favorite section of the piece - it sounded much more like a “point of arrival” than anything that came before. I also really like the warm, triumphant feel to the organ and brass pads at 2:50 or so. There’s another good sense of build throughout the 4th minute of the piece, although the texture at 4:09 sounds very busy and distorted. Part of the problem might be that there’s a bit too much reverb in the texture for all of the instruments to be heard clearly. I’d suggest looking at the plugins you got the instruments from and seeing if you can dial back some of the reverb there. Still, I like the mellow outro with the choir pads and organ synth.

Overall, you have a really good sense of structuring, harmony, and rhythm. The composition comes together nicely here. Unfortunately, the instruments you selected for this piece are not my favorite - most of them sound very cheesy and fake. Sometimes, you’re better off selecting instruments that are meant to sound fake (i.e., synths) if the orchestral samples you have don’t sound authentic. To talk more about the composition, though, I really like all the dynamic contrast in this piece and the variety in how you employ the sound design during different parts. In other words, even if the harmonic content is pretty repetitive, you’re keeping things interesting by having different volume levels, different rhythms, and different instruments playing a given part (chords, melody, bass line, etc.) at different times. That’s an advanced compositional skill to have, and it really comes through well in this piece.

Still, I’d encourage you to work on finding some more realistic orchestral samples to use. I’d suggest PM’ing @LD-W and joining the NG Audio Pub on Discord. The Resources tab there is full of great sample libraries and tips on where to find more. Good luck! Looking forward to seeing what else you produce, man. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.25/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
5.5/10

[Ellora]

I like the synth arpeggios at the beginning and the ambient sound of a street scene (or…restaurant? Hard to tell). Anyway, the soothing synths and child-like vocals at :27 are really nice, and there’s a great sense of building energy throughout the first minute and a half here, despite the slow pace of progression. The lead at 1:22 is a little too loud IMO, especially relative to the volume of the build-up before it. That said, I like how echo-y it is, and how the rhythmic density of the notes increases over time throughout the melodic phrase. The breakdown at 1:59 was another good idea, and I like the rhythmic syncopations in the piano and flute melodies there. I really like how you varied the main guitar riff the second time around compared to the first melody at 1:22. If I had to complain about something in the composition, it might be that the arrangement and chord progression are both pretty generic here. Still, I really enjoyed the sound design, top-notch production quality, melodies and flow of this piece. Keep it up, Skayden! ^_^

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
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

[Mijn en ambacht]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. The lead guitar at :07 sounds a bit inauthentic, but a bigger problem is how much it’s drowning out the drums and bass here. I’d suggest adding a bit more compression to the drums, and adjusting the volume levels on the bass as you can. The rhythmic content here is really nice - I especially like the drums at :24 - and the organ lines are also really catchy. The transition at :57 was very sudden, and during that section the drums in particular get very lost in the texture. The mallets at 1:13 were another cool sound design choice, but they don’t quite feel well-integrated with the synth patterns that come both before and after them. The stop-start transition at 2:02 is once again pretty jarring, but I thought it was really clever to slow down the pacing of the main riff at 2:02. There’s a lot of dissonance in the texture at around 2:30. I feel like you were going for a final climax there, but the texture was very muddy and the drums needed to be punchier to sell the sense of urgency given the slower tempo.

Overall, the sound design, rhythmic content, atmosphere, and mood of this piece are really good. The two big suggestions I have are 1) to work on your transitions and 2) to tighten up the mix. There are a lot of sudden shifts in the texture during your piece, and the result is that the arrangement is rather choppy. Instead of adding or subtracting instruments without warning, introducing them more gradually, or even doing a cross-fade with the lead instrument before it, could help keep the listener more grounded here. As for the mixing, the piece needs both some more compression across the board, maybe even on the master track, to give the mix some more sharpness and distinction, as well as some stricter equalizing. There are a lot of muddy, lower frequencies that should probably be filtered out of the harmonic instruments here - as a general rule of thumb, 200 Hertz and lower should only ever appear in the bass and drums.

Still, the compositional details and frantic melodies in this piece are totally cool. I hope you’ll continue working on this - lot of potential here. Keep at it, SirSandman0! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.75/10

SirSandman0 responds:

thank you for the feedback! I generally suck at audio mixing, so I'll definitely be making use of this.

[Celebration]

I like the airy brass at the beginning. The percussion at :03 is a little overly distorted and “lo-fi” for my tastes, but the rest of the sound design is really cool. The mix might’ve been a bit sharper if you had cut back a bit on the reverb, but otherwise everything blends well together. I really like the unconventional meter of the beat at :28 and the blissful mood of the harmonic instruments. The transition at :54 threw me off of the flow a bit at first, but you quickly got back in the groove with the prominent piano lines during the next section. The mix sounds a bit harsh at 1:26, especially in the treble range of the frequency spectrum, but I like how you tied up the piece with a final climactic section at 1:46. It might even be worth throwing a bit more compression on the snare at 2:03 to add some punchiness. Overall, I really admire the experimental texture and creative sound design work of this one, even if not all of the individual decisions you made in that regard were my cup of tea. The composition is really enjoyable overall, but the production needs a bit of tightening. Still, I’d encourage you to keep working on this. Clean up the mix a bit, and this is approaching banger territory. Keep it up, Silliu! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.25/10

[Left To Right]

There are some really neat ideas here, from the rhythmic content to the vocal samples to the effect that sounds like an emergency siren, to the airy synths. I just would’ve liked to hear more of it. You have a lot of pent-up tension in this piece, and I’d encourage you to make an epic build-up and drop cycle that (eventually) releases some of it. Until then, I’m not sure how to evaluate the “structure and transitions” or “melodies” part of my rubric here, because this piece doesn’t have any. Also, the production work could be a bit tighter here - the drums get a little lost in the mix when they’re trying to play over the synths. Sounds like a job for some more filtering/equalizers and compression. But this piece has a lot of potential, so you should definitely keep working on it. Feel free to send me a PM if and when you flesh out the composition more, and I’m happy to leave you another review. In the meantime, keep at it, Seyrnox! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
5/10

Seyrnox responds:

Honestly I did this for fun (like everything that I do), it's normal that I didn't take into account almost anything so don't expect me to do a reedit or something like that

[Boom Bap]

I like the vocal sample and rhythmic content at the beginning. The sound design is also pretty neat, although some of the sounds (like the chopped vocals at :09) might need some reining in in the mix. The drop at :31 was pretty minimal, and you start seriously overusing the vocals at 1:03. Later on, the piece gets pretty repetitive, and there’s little in the way of harmonic depth or an overarching sense of progression here. The arrangement is also pretty generic, despite the really unique sound design. Overall, my favorite element of the piece is definitely the production quality, but the rhythmic quality is a close second. You also use mixing effects like reverb well intermittently to add atmosphere during the drops. Despite my complaints with the composition, this is a really creative piece. Keep at it, Semzaiy! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
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
7.75/10

[Bathing while Boiling in Blood]

I like the crisp beats at the beginning and the mysterious-sounding pads and guitar riffs shortly thereafter. The rhythm has a bit of a weird pattern of emphasis at first, but I’m getting used to it by the time the lead comes in at :47. The mix here is very quiet - you could stand to manage your volume levels a bit better, honestly. The texture sounds pretty clean, but could also be punchier with a little more compression. I love the melodies here, though, as well as the prominent hi-hats at 1:25, the descending flute line at 2:09, and other compositional details. The harmonic content/main melody got a bit repetitive after a while, and I might’ve liked to see you switch up the melody instrument or pitch range at some point. Even the variation of the main melody at 2:14 has a very similar contour. Still, the catchy beats, cool sound design, and well-balanced mix all score you a lot of credit here. Keep at it, Scott! ^_^

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

[The Chucklesome Chucker]

I like the rhythmic content at the beginning. The synth pads are a bit soft in the mix at first, but I like the distorted vocals and synth bass at :13. The mix could’ve been a tad punchier here - the drums might need a boost during the busier sections, and the pads sound watery and indistinct - but the trumpet solo at 1:00 is really great, and I like the prominent vocals at the outro too. Overall, the harmonies could’ve used a bit more depth here, and the arrangement sounds pretty formulaic, with a lot of instruments added and subtracted over time but not a lot of variety in the main harmonic riffs. Still, the rhythmic content and sound design here are fantastic. Keep at it, SAKKth! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
7.5/10

[(AIM) Ryzmik - "Aztec Reaper"]

I like the sound design and atmosphere at the beginning a lot, as well as the rhythmic content and the ominous mood. You blend the orchestral/world and electronic elements of the texture quite well, and the eerie flute riffs contrast really nicely with the grouchy mid-range bass. There’s a lot of reverb in the texture, though, and the drums don’t always come through the mix as strongly as I would’ve liked. The bass-y percussion at 1:54 is also something I really would’ve liked to be more front-and-center in the mix. I also would’ve liked to hear some more melodic content and/or harmonic depth at some point, but you still did a fairly good job creating variety with the spacey breakdown at 1:54. Some of the main riffs towards the end could’ve used more variation as well, especially compared to the first refrain at :46. Despite the full texture and rich atmosphere here, I find myself craving some vocal samples or even full rap verses that further sell the drama of the piece. Still, some nightmares are better left unspoken. >:D Really neat piece overall, Ryzmik! Absolutely love the instrumentation, catchy breaks, and apocalyptic overtones of this one. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
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?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

[Bullet Hell]

I like the frantic synths at the beginning. The transition at :08 was a bit jarring, though. Very different soundscape there than just a few seconds before, and you do the same thing to me at :32. It’s like I’m switching the dial on the radio constantly throughout the piece.

The more mellow section at :56 (and other places) has a better sense of balance and melody than the one with the frantic breaks, but the sound design is still a bit cheesy (especially with the piano), and the reverb is a bit too heavy to keep all the instruments sounding distinct in the mix.

The busier section at :32 (and other places) has some catchy beats and cool sound design, but is also very internally disjointed after switching between the sub-sections with the heavy bass and the cutesy, frantic synths. By 1:42, you do a good job of integrating elements of both of the main sections, although the mellow section’s melody gets a bit buried in the mix by 1:55 or so. I also think some of the compositional details and effects, like the ascending chiptuney thing at 1:50, are a bit too loud.

I like the tempo automations at 2:15 or so, but the rough transitions keep on coming, and you also don’t do a lot to create variety in the main riffs over time - even a key change or slight variation in the melodic pattern would help give this piece a stronger sense of progression over time. The downtempo groove at 2:55 was probably my favorite part of the piece, actually, as it offered a bit of much-needed variety here.

Overall, you have a lot of good individual ideas here - from the rich atmosphere of :08 to the rhythmic content at 3:18 - but you need to do more to integrate the ideas together in a smooth and gradual way. The arrangement feels very disjointed, and over time I’m getting whiplash trying to keep up with all the sudden shifts in mood, instrumentation, and energy level. That sense of frequent, abrupt mood shifts might’ve been your intention behind the piece, but I personally don’t find it very enjoyable. Sorry!

For what it’s worth, I think you clearly have a good sense of harmony and rhythm. If and when you make another piece that reflects my feedback here regarding the transitions, sound design, and mixing details, feel free to send me a PM, and I’m happy to leave you another (hopefully more positive) review. I hope this review doesn’t come across as discouraging - from the section between 1:36 and 1:42, I know that you know how to make smoother transitions. I just wanted to see the whole piece reflect that.

Keep at it, Rougetoad49! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
5.5/10

MYYA responds:

I had some balls using this as an audition, that's for sure. Given what you're grading it on, I probably should have thrown another song at you instead but eh, you live and you learn.

I suppose my goals here were not really in line with what NGUAC is all about. Most of the things you're docking me points here for were actually intentional choices, barring mixing. I know nothing's gonna be reconsidered, but I kindof regret using this song as my audition. Oh well.

Thanks for listening to it and writing all that anyways. Surely I'll do better next year.