TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-Midnight Vibrancies-]

I like the eerie low-register rumblings at the beginning. The mixing sounds fine - I can hear all most of the instruments clearly throughout, although the bassy instrument gets a bit murky after a while. Frankly, I'm impressed so many of your other songs sound as clean and clear as they do without EQs. In general, your mixing is pretty good, and I'm glad you have another tool in the toolbox now.

The composition here sounds a bit thrown-together, though. The instruments don't always blend well with each other, and a lot of the entrances are pretty sudden (like the ghostly mid-range synth at :58). Between 1:10 and 1:30 or so, there's quite a bit of dissonance between the chords that play on the downbeats and the other instruments. The melodies could use a lot more variety, too, although the main one (at :58 and 2:13) is pretty catchy. I would encourage you to use more melodies that have longer, held out notes - often, they're more memorable that way.

Good to see you're still doing so much experimenting with new tools/ideas. :) Happy holidays, CF24!

Creeperforce24 responds:

This was mainly experimentation in EQ fields, not really anything else. I’m probably gonna use EQ’s much more often, but not as much as this one, it makes the whole song sound a little too muddy, cause I even EQ’ed the bass and drums, big mistake. Thanks for your critiques!

[KJörd - Space Valkyrie]

I like the growly bass guitar at the beginning. The piece is a tad slow to develop, and is also mixed very loud, which can cause a bit of distortion in the texture (I’m not hearing too much here, though - just something to watch out for going forward). The riffs here are really catchy, but since their contour is very similar throughout, they don’t quite keep my attention for the full 5+ minutes. Some drums could really help give this piece more of a sense of drive, and at some point a melodic element (vocals, lead guitar, etc.) would also help fill out the texture in the higher pitch range. You’re clearly a really talented bassist, though, and I love the compositional details here, like the ornaments at 4:49. You’ve earned a scout, my friend. Thanks for coming out to Battle of the Bands 2024. Keep at it! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Unitron2112 responds:

Thanks for the kind words and constructive suggestions! I've always loved some good growling bass. The slow buildup is intentional, but I agree that adding in some drums would really help express the sludgy vibe, and bass and drums go hand and hand for creating the power rhythm section. I was originally planning on experimenting with some additional instruments for this, like a drum machine and maybe even guitar and vocals, but I didn't have the time for the Battle of the Bands, but I'm definitely planning on doing that in the future!

This is also the first time for me mixing anything with distortion. I've gotten pretty used to mixing my solo harmonic stuff, but figuring out how to record and mix distortion has been a real trial-and-error thing. I felt like this was good though for a first distortion heavy recording, but I've got some ideas of how to maybe improve the mixing. I'll probably release a remix of this song at some point after I've had more experience with that.

Thanks for the scout, and glad to have entered a song into this, it was a new experience!

[burn yer bridges]

I like the sound design a lot. It’s a little hard to follow the rhythm at the beginning, though. Sounds like the different harmonies are fighting to establish their own patterns of emphasis. The individual riffs are pretty catchy, and the production quality is solid, but unfortunately the rhythmic issues never really get resolved. The structuring of the piece is good - I like the mellow breakdown at 2:13 and the transition back into the busier section at 2:43.

If you’re not doing it already, one thing that might help you stay on the beat is if you listen to a metronome (or phone app that mimics one) through one earbud while you’re recording. That way, your DAW won’t pick up the metronome clicks, but it’ll be a lot easier to stay on the beat.

To your credit, I think the stripped-down sections of this piece where it’s just the guitar and 1-2 main harmonic riffs (like at 2:17 and 3:28) sound a lot better than the busier parts. I also really like the ascending line at 4:20 - it was a cool, atmospheric way of hitting the piece home.

Overall, you’re clearly a talented guitarist who has range as a composer - atmospheric, danceable, etc. In the parts of this piece where a lot is going on at once, it just needs to be clearer where I’m supposed to tap my foot. Keep at it, jedlev! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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?)
0/1
Composite score
7.25/10

jedlev responds:

I'm surprised by "production quality is solid," I thought that was the weakest part. I don't quite know what you mean by clashing harmonies, I was struggling to figure out the music theory behind this and couldn't get a clean idea of things. I kept everything in F major though the guitar is tuned half a step down so it's realistically E major. The chords in the first measure should be A E G#, C# E B, G# B F#, D# F# C# and the second measure changes the last chord to E B D#.

I thought the rhythm was pretty weak too since I didn't give myself enough time to understand them. This was very rushed, so I'm surprised to be hearing any kind words for something turned in a minute before the deadline where that is the end result. Anything north of one star was unexpected. I will keep at it, feel free to message me if you would like to give me any more dearly needed advice.

[(SOTHC) What Is A Man Without Their Flesh?]

I like the gritty texture and demonic vocals at the beginning. The production quality is super clean and clear - the drums really pop in the upper register, too. The bass is a bit overpowering at times, so much so that it’s hard to make out the vocals. I think the composition might benefit from a bit more ebb-and-flow. There are long sections of the piece that largely have the same texture, energy level, and mood. The atmospheric breakdown at 4:05 helps add some variety. Love the mood there, too - creepy, but also strangely soothing. The pacing of the piece is still a bit slow during this middle section, but I like the more foregrounded vocals at 6:00 or so. The lyrics of the piece in general are compelling. The return of the gritty bass and busier drums at 7:40ish help round out the piece nicely. I feel like there’s an almost full-circle narrative element to it. Overall, killer sound design and mixing as always. This piece is a slow-burner, and could benefit from a bolder “point of arrival” later on, but I appreciate the experimental texture and thematic elements here. Keep at it, LD-W! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
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
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

LD-W responds:

Thanks for the review

Alot of what's going is pretty genre-specific in both merger ways, for the better or worse (although I've ensured to maintain pretty surgical production-values wherever possible, since it's an area important to me). It's a careful balancing act between existing tropes and 'what I prefer' per-say without specifically trying to maximize scoring potential (otherwise I would do exactly that with a completely different style of entry in a more serious contest).

While you don't like the bass-profiling, it's a staple of both the genre(s) and the overall intended design-palette, so a future album's worth of tracks for this project will be keeping it, especially since a large heap of private feedback I've received from metal contacts are demanding more tracks exactly like that and heavily praising the fretless processing. Not overtly-bothered by the vocals situation since they're not that important, and I've resculpted them somewhat anyway for an updated-mix variation being pushed to streaming services shortly, so it's abit more forward (but not by too much more). I won't update it here until the judging period is over.

Bridge sections done with the 'Cinematic Dark Ambient' flare I've done alot over the years are more of a personal staple and I'm always happy to do them, glad that you enjoy it!

I'm very likely to go ahead and do a full album next year since the demand via private feedback is high enough to take the gamble to do so. Although most of what's going on will stay as-is in terms of mixing decisions, albeit with some additional creative additions & compositional shifts where I'm not restrained by a 10-minute contest time limit to squash everything within (it's not uncommon to see 15-25 minute tracks within that space).

[LocaGreñasRojas]

I like the soothing guitar groove at :19. Some of the talking/“false starts” at the beginning could probably be edited out. I like the energetic vocals at :40, but sometimes they get a bit buried underneath the guitars. The “QUIERO” chant at the end of each vocal phrase should probably be mixed a bit further back - it’s often very loud relative to the rest of the vocals. I really like the guitar solo and busy drums at around 2:00. Overall, this is a really catchy and fun piece. Some more careful mixing and maybe a better sense of pacing could really help take it to the next level (by pacing, I mean the “body” of the piece is only maybe a third of it, with the intro and solo/outro much longer. Better to intersperse the two). Still, you guys are some talented musicians. Thanks for coming out to the Battle of the Bands 2024! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.5/10

Jerossan7 responds:

Thanks for all, we will take it into account for the next :)

[Screed - Queering Cat Rescue]

I like the acoustic guitar and crisp drums at the beginning. I also think that throwing the listener right into the action of the piece (as opposed to having an extended intro) was a good decision here. Love the lyrics too - great storytelling, compelling stream-of-consciousness style. I also really like how the lyrics never repeat, even though there’s still an underlying verse-chorus structure. I think my favorite line is “I have no other friends; I was lying when I told you that before.” The vocals are exaggerated and theatrical in a tasteful way. The vocals also get a bit buried underneath the guitars at times (like at :48). This piece has a ton of variety - I especially like the introduction of the intense strumming at the end of each vocal phrase starting at :55. The production quality is strong too. Honestly, this song is about as close to a 10 as it gets for me. Complete outpouring of emotion. Lyrics are poetry. Well-structured and well-mastered. Excellent job, y’all. ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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
10/10

UwUwizard responds:

Aw man, thank you so much for your kind words and thoughtful feedback. I really appreciate the observation about not reusing lyrics but retaining the same lexical symmetry during repetitions of the same melody, that’s something I particularly dig in music too and really liked how naturally it came out here. Will definitely take into account the vocal mixing in future too. Thank you for listening!

[Behind the Curtain]

I like the fade-in at the beginning and the emotion behind the lyrics at :09. The high-pass on the drums is a little strong for my tastes, and I think the vocals could be mixed a little more up-front in the mix at times. The instrumental tracks are great, though - love the seamless combo of synths and guitars. I enjoy the contrast between the ascending vocal line and demonic response at 1:20, too. The vocals at 1:30 could’ve blended a bit better together, but the rhythmic bridge at 1:43 was a nice “reset” moment, and that in turn transitioned nicely into the more high-octane section at 2:20 or so. Overall, the production quality here is really nice, and I’m impressed with the variety and structuring here. You channel the energy really well throughout, and also tell a compelling story in general. The parallel bass/synth solos at 3:15 really hit the spot, and I love how the tenor of the piece “stabilizes” again for the final refrain at 3:30. This is top-to-bottom a really well-done track, Spadezer. Keep up the good work! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
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?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.5/10

Spadezer responds:

This is encouraging! Glad you liked it. 8 definitely appreciate the critiques on the vocals since this feels like new territory for me.

[Flower Dance]

I like the bright tone and cute synths here. The piece is consistently catchy and smooth-flowing, with strong transitions and a pleasing progression that channels the energy well. The drums are a bit generic, and the kick in particular has a lot of higher-range frequencies for my tastes. I also think the mix could use a tad more bass at times, especially during the refrain at 1:04. The melodies are nice, but a bit repetitive. The drums get a little buried in the mix during the busier sections of the track, although I know Garageband has only a limited set of tools for dealing with that. I'd encourage you to experiment a bit more with panning and stereo widening, which could help the drums stand out in the "front and center" of the mix.

Overall, this is a solid track, V1ZION! The composition could be a tad bolder and more well-varied at times, but I like the melodies, sound design, and blissful mood. Keep it up. ^_^

V1ZION responds:

Thanks so much, TL! ^^

[-Port Force-]

Catchy piece! A bit minimal, but it has a decent amount of variety regardless. I don't think you mixed it too hard, but I would've liked to hear a bit more of the lead at :58 or so - it was way far back in the mix. The melody writing isn't your strongest here. The phrases feel very stop-start, with the harmonies getting increasingly thin until the track "resets" (like at 1:22, 2:17, etc.). I'd challenge you to make longer, more dynamic melodies with a wider range of pitches. Still, I like the cute instruments, production quality, and rhythmic patterns. Keep at it, CF24! ^_^

Creeperforce24 responds:

MINIMAL!? That is not what I was thinking! Thanks for the honesty tho!

[-Psycho Lady-]

I like the groovy bass line. The texture is a bit dissonant at :11, and I also think the snare could be a bit more up-front in the mix. The brass instruments sound a bit inauthentic too.

I like the more upbeat mood at around 1:15, although there are still a few too many notes that don't seem to match with the other harmonies there. I'd suggest laying out all the chords you want to use in advance and making sure that every note that's playing during a given bar/measure is in the corresponding chord. It also might help to look at some online tutorials specifically on jazz harmonic structure - I'm not sure it's always quite as loose as you're treating it here.

The frantic piano line at 2:40 is probably one of my favorite elements of the piece. It gets a little lost amidst a very busy texture at around 3:00, but it has a really light and airy feel that I like a lot.

Overall, I appreciate you going out of your comfort zone with this one. I hope you find more time to do some more jazz-inspired tracks - it's a really underappreciated genre in my opinion. Cheers! ^_^

Creeperforce24 responds:

Sorry that it’s not that great, thanks for your honesty