TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lost Forever (Official Remaster)]

I like the somewhat foreboding piano chords at the beginning. The beat is kinda the main feature of the texture for a while, but the synths are pretty cool. Despite the slow progression, you kept a strong sense of directionality throughout the first minute or so. Unfortunately, the intro (as I see it lasting until 1:26) doesn’t really lead anywhere. The piece has a nice shape and phrasing, but is quite minimalistic throughout. The arpeggiated content at 1:51 also doesn’t offer a satisfying substitute for melodic content, which this piece badly needs more of. I didn’t notice any particular problems with the mixing besides a lack of thickness. Even sections like 3:32 lack bass, before devolving into a section like 3:43 that doesn’t really blend well. Overall, I can tell you’re a talented producer, and the sound design was proficient. That said, the composition is seriously weak here. I think you should consolidate some of your ideas (the piece doesn’t need to be 6 minutes long) and focus on offering the listener some more harmonic depth. Also, I personally don’t mind the atonal sections too much, but that’s certainly something to watch out for in the future as well. Nice job with the atmosphere, instruments, and flow. Keep at it, DJTECKIE!

6.5/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
.5/2
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?)
.25/1
Composite score
6.5/10

DJTECKIE responds:

Thanks a lot for the feedback! :D I revised the track and making the proper improvements. I appreciate the feedback it's just what I need to improve for my future tracks ^_^
-TECKIE-

[Artificial Imagination]

I like the creepy atmospheric elements of the beginning. The texture sounds pretty distorted and experimental for a while, and the transition at :33 comes on pretty suddenly. The beat at :45 is really cool. You have a great sense of rhythm and harmony, although I think the progression needs some work. The piece has a lot of abrupt entrances of instruments. I’d encourage you to consider doing more with phrasing, cross-fading, automation, and maybe even more generic things like sweeps/risers. The frantic energy of the piece is quite captivating, however, and the mastering quality is impressive. The texture is both thick throughout and cleanly mixed. Despite the rich texture, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of strong melodic content in the piece. That said, my main problem with the piece is still the transitions. I think it’s especially rueful that 3:12 (a rather exposed spot) is such a non-transition. Still, the other compositional elements are strong, and the production and sound design are top-notch here. Keep it up, DjCrystalux!

9.25/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

CrystaluxX responds:

Thank you <3

[Rotten Star]

I like the retro-sounding pads at the beginning, even if they sounded a tad generic. The mix is VERY loud, and the guitars really take over the texture by :31. I guess I would’ve liked to see a little more room in the mix for the drums there. I was a little confused by the role of the panning at :51, especially since not much is going on besides the guitar riff there. After that, the energy is nice, and the guitar riffs are quite catchy, but the progression is much slower. The texture is oscillating between the guitar-heavy section and the more synth-based refrain for quite some time, but within that paradigm there’s not much structural variety. At some point, I would’ve liked to see the piece get some more shape and contrast. The section at 3:13 is a good start, and I really liked the solo at 3:35, but the intensity of this piece is near-constant throughout. I feel like you may have needed a more tranquil section to refocus the energy earlier in the piece. Overall, the composition sounds much more dynamic by the end, which is a huge plus. The octave transposition with the synths for the final refrain was also a smart move. It really sold the emotional climax as the piece wrapped up. Overall, this is undeniably strong work. My detail-oriented compositional complaints amount to little in the midst of some strong instrumentation, production quality, and passion. Keep up the good work, Denza91!

9.25/10

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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9.25/10

MisledSatellite responds:

Thank you for such a detailed review. And thank you for inviting me to NGUAC 2018.)

[Swerve]

The gritty sitar sample at the beginning complements the punchy beat well. The sub-bass is scrumptious, and the production is both loud and clear. I think the sitar sounds a bit harsh at times. It might need some more careful equalizing. That said, my main complaints here include the lack of harmonic depth and the lack of dynamism in the composition. The minimalism wears on me after a while, and I would’ve liked to see some more phrasing, automation, and other forms of variation. That said, I appreciate the additional layering of synths during the second half of the piece. The strong rhythmic elements, mastering quality, fun sound design, catchiness, and dark mood are all huge pluses, though. Keep at it, Delitescentaria!

7.75/10

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.75/10

DelitescentAria responds:

woo! thanks for coming back for a second year dude :)

it sucks that I probably can't make a track for knock-outs but I sure am proud to have made it there this year! here's to hoping i can make it even further next year :)

cheers mate

[Cs - 'Risen']

I like the fade-in at the beginning and the powerful chords. The drums are a bit cliche, and the frantic bass line at :10 takes over the mix a bit too much imo. It just sounded pretty harsh. The production quality is generally quite good here, though. The piece doesn’t have that much melodic content in the texture. Other than the breakdown at :48, it’s mostly just chords and some supporting harmonies. The tempo automation at around 1:20 was a creative idea, but ultimately I don’t think it leads much of anywhere. Your production has improved considerably as I recall, but I wanted to see you flesh out the composition a bit more here. The chord progression is really cool, but I don’t think it should be the main attraction in the texture for so much of the piece. I’d suggest that you try crafting some melodic content that supports the chords, and then integrating some rhythmic content that complements the melodic content. Right now, the drums are well-mastered, yet the pattern usually only falls on the strong beats of the measure and could be more creative. Overall, this is strong work on the production side, but the composition is not quite as rich and dynamic as I’d like to see. Keep at it, Cusukskos!

5/10

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

Csucskos responds:

Now the tempo change seems a little lame, but it felt very spot on during the making...so... I don't know what happened... Anyways, I agree that the song is lacking something...
OK, I finally should look into melody making, since I haven't really made progress on this front in the past year. (From your last years NGADM review: "...Overall, I’d strongly suggest creating a piece centered around a stronger melody next time. ...")
Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely consider making a move towards more melody centric music... In the near future... Maybe. ;) (I mean I'm not very good at it, so it's hard to make myself even try it.)

P.S.: I don't know how you do it, but even with a 50 % score I feel like I got an A because of the wording. Magical!

[Flight]

I like the cute synths at the beginning and the build-up into :15. The instrumentation is occasionally a bit cheesy, especially the 3xOsc sweeps. That said, the progression is quite satisfying and the mix is loud and pretty clean. The drop at 1:00 was pretty good, although I think that mid-range bass is hijacking the mix a bit too much. You might consider equalizing it a bit more strictly. I also appreciated the more tranquil section at 1:45. It was nice for some structural variety. I’m really enjoying the pulsing pads and floaty arpeggios by around 2:30. Perhaps I would’ve liked to see a bit more variation on the main melody by the end of the piece, but at the very least I like how you brought it around full-circle with those square-sounding stabs. Overall, I’m particularly impressed by the structuring and the thick texture throughout. Great work, ChrisTheGamer!

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
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
9/10

CrisTheGamer responds:

Thank you!
Yeah, now I realize the track needs a melody change or variety at the ending...
And the bass at the drop hijacks the mix, I understand, so EQ would have worked better than loudness. Got memorized!
I'll also try to learn more about musical theory and mixing!

[You're the Same]

Woah...hitting the listener right away with the sensual violin line, I see. The progression at the beginning sounds so romantic and wistful, and then the piano really comes down hard at :45. The violin sample is pretty good too, and the quality doesn't really deteriorate too noticeably in its higher range, which happens in a lot of other samples in my experience. The progression is beautiful, and the melodic content is too. The piece had a very similar phrase structure from :43 to 2:00 or so, but it still felt pretty dynamic in terms of volume and harmonics.

I'm curious what the title means to you. "You're the same" almost sounds disappointed, like the protagonist's idyllic memory of a lover doesn't quite hold up. Or maybe...he (the lover) is the same amazing man he's always been and it's just because he wasn't with her that he fell back into a monotonous and empty life. My literary inclinations aside, the layered violin section at 2:26 was gorgeous, and I also really like the part at 2:51 with the rapidly ascending lines. As the piece ages, the violin line almost sounds like it's wavering rapidly between emotions and registers, much like our protagonist. XD Okay, I'm done with that now.

I also really liked when the piece took a more slow-paced and somber tone at 4:10. You resolved the thematic content of this piece really well with the leapy ascending lines at around 4:25 and the subsequent return to the highest register. If you happen to have a sheet music adaptation of the piece (which is a long shot, I know), I'd love to show it to some of my friends who play the violin. I'm curious to see if the double stops hold up as actually playable. :) Also, where did you get that violin sample, might I ask? I've probably asked you where you get your samples before, but I'd like to invest in some myself.

Fantastic piece overall, Ale. I feel like I've doubled the size of my favorites list recently between AIM, NGUAC, and now the NGADM, but people on this site are just so damn talented (you included!). I know I still haven't responded to the PM you sent me a while back. I'll fix that soon. But until then, best of luck in the ADM and keep up the great work!

Also, this is my 2,500th audio review on the site, so consider that a good omen. ^_^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I was contemplating whether I should bring in the violin later or not. Jordi told me I should probably have it come right in at the start, and then take a break for a few bars when the piano gets more intense at 0:45. That made a lot of sense to me, so props to him for the suggestion!!!

I experimented a lot with the highest of high violin notes (a few harmonics too, but I kept them to a minimum, as that could have gotten insane had I allowed it to, haha) at the start, and throughout the piece. As you say, the quality doesn't really drop with this VST even in the high register. The classical musician and virtuoso Joshua Bell recorded more than 20.000 samples for Embertone, with his Gibson ex Huberman 1713 Stradivari violin. Then the team programmed it insanely well, so that it could be incredibly expressive in a number of different styles. It's seriously the best VST instrument I've seen. It costs 199$ though, but you can get a "20% off" student price:

https://www.embertone.com/instruments/joshuabellviolin.php

The title means a couple things to me, though I didn't want to point it out in the description, as I enjoy having the listener interpret the piece themselves (like you did). One interpretation is that the piece is about someone's continuous refusal to change their destructive behaviour. Another is a warning not to be so quick to blame others. I basically imagined a scenario where two people are accountable for having done something terrible, but they both blame each other ("You're the Same" then implying, that both people bear the same burden).
I enjoyed your interpretations too!

The layered violin section (2:26) is still only one violin. Since three notes are playing at once, it'd be incredibly difficult to play it that cleanly for real. Should be possible though! The high notes are probably difficult to play in a manner that sounds this clean as well, but I'd like to pretend that I have Joshua Bell himself performing the piece, haha :'D
Unfortunately I don't have sheet music for this. I would generate some for you, but the entire piece is off-tempo, meaning it's not quantized (and thusly, the software doesn't understand it that well).

I totally messed up while playing that slower section at 3:31 on the piano, and I didn't have time to re-record, so I ended up fixing it in post. I feel it was necessary after all the bulding up and the climax. 4:10 is like a sort of rerun of the beginning of the piece, but with a slightly different feel. I'm glad you like that part. Good catch on the ascending lines (the violin actually plays the main piano melody at that point)!

Thank you for the review! And WOW!! :O
That's a lot of reviews xD
I feel lucky to be the 2,500th one ^__^

[Cali Crazed - Neon City - Monsify]

The beat at the beginning is really catchy. The progression is pretty slow, and there wasn’t much of a transition into :32. The synths and drum samples here are pretty generic. The riser into 1:03 would’ve functioned better as a sweep imo. It comes off as sounding a bit dissonant here. The refrain at 1:03 was catchy, and the texture sounds pretty well-balanced there. The pitch alteration at 1:29 was amusing, but didn’t really serve as an adequate transition. In fact, transitions are something I think you should work on in general. There’s another abrupt one at 1:53. I appreciate you trying some more automation at 2:23, but it came off as a bit cheesy. I think the cliche arrangement and instrumentation constitutes one of my biggest problems with the piece. The composition is also a bit disjointed, and melodic content is not especially prominent in the piece. I think my favorite element of the piece is the production. It’s clear and crisp throughout. I’ve been tough on you in this review, but I think the piece needs more harmonic depth, melodic content, and flow before I’m impressed with the composition. In the meantime, it’s a catchy piece with some strong mastering. Keep at it, Calicrazedbeats!

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

calicrazedbeats responds:

I definately struggle with video game music but i will continue to work on it. Thanks for the feedback.

[Vision Space]

I like the really dynamic synth riff at the beginning. The piece kinda throws you into the middle of the action, without a proper intro. There’s an excess of reverb in the texture that was compromising the mixing quality a bit. Those mid-range pads are probably a big offender too. I’d recommend taking a second look at the equalizer on them. The instrumentation is pretty good overall, but is also a bit generic. The pads, for example, sound like a Nexus preset. I appreciated the structural variety you offered at 1:14, and the lead-in back into the thicker texture at 1:45 was pretty nice too. The first non-arpeggiated melodic content of the piece is at 1:45, but I thought that synth sounded a bit too thin and high-pitched to take up the prominent role in the mix that it deserves. I also thought the piece ended rather suddenly. This review has been really negative so far, though, so let’s change that: I like the busy texture and loud mix, despite my reverb complaints. You clearly have a good sense of harmony and progression, and overall the piece has a good amount of shape and variety. I guess my main complaints would be with the mixing and the lack of structuring at the beginning and end of the piece. The instrumentation could also use some work. That said, this is a compositionally pleasing piece with a cool atmosphere. Keep at it, BeeFef!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
6.5/10

BeeFef responds:

Yeah, especially back when I made this, a major struggle for me has been EQing. It's hard for me to know what frequencies to take out and how much because there are so many different options to how I can do it.

I entered this piece because I wanted to focus on composition and sound design rather than mixing. I see that I still have quite a bit to work on and that I may have not moved on to the next round, but I guess that's an even better reason to pressure myself to make music to the point where I can't function and I've stayed inside almost the whole summer

But yeah I hope I make it to the next round

[Inspiration]

I like the rich texture and energy of the piece. The rhythm is a little hard-to-follow at the beginning, perhaps in part because the string samples have a little delay on them to make them sound more realistic. I liked the transition into :18. The panning on the drums is a bit heavy, but the mix is tight as a result. This piece has a lot of shape and phrasing, but the pace can be a bit fast at times. The instrumentation is good except when it’s obvious that the instruments are inauthentic (the string delay is a dead giveaway, for example). The composition is very strong in general, though. There’s a lot of melodic content here and a refreshing amount of variety. Solid work overall, AzulJazz!

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
.5/1
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

AzulJazz responds:

thx so much!