TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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!

[Azure Rei - Mind Slayer (Final)]

I like the punchy drums and suspenseful mood. The progression is pretty slow, especially for a relatively short piece, and at some point I would’ve liked to hear some more melodic content. The transition at 1:12 could’ve been smoother - maybe it would’ve helped if it was more gradual. The mixing and mastering is strong here - loud, clear, distinct, well-balanced. This piece has a lot of fun details, like the drum fill at 1:52 and the ghostly high-pitched synth at 2:02. My main complaint is just that the composition needs more structural variety and shape. The piece has a cool mood and sound design, but it doesn’t have a strong sense of directionality for most of the piece. I’d suggest doing more with dynamics and phrasing, and also going in a different harmonic direction with the piece at some point. Breakdowns, bridges, and solos can really help create some much-needed variety in your piece. Stripping the drums away and making room for some melodic content would be a great place to start. Overall, nice job with the instrumentation, atmosphere, and rhythmic elements. The underwhelming composition just needs some work. Keep at it, Axel7!

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

Axel7 responds:

Wow, thank you for your feedback! that's really helpful :D

[The Elvenking’s Prayer]

I love the bassy intro and ambiance. The Middle Eastern flavor is really cool, and the dissonant layering at 1:16 really considerably to the texture. I love the lyrics, too. Your description of "haunting" fits this piece in many respects. The drone-like quality of the piece limits the ebb and flow of the composition, but you did a good job of incorporating melodic content between the vocal phrases that filled in the texture. Nice job with the production, too. What exactly is the language you're using, btw? Google Translate tells me it's Kurdish, but I don't trust Google Translate. XD Anyway, keep up the great work and good luck in the ADM!

etherealwinds responds:

Thanks for your review TL! It's in Sindarin, a language created by Tolkien used in the world of Lord of the Rings. :)

[Saruz - Violin Master]

Hey man. I'm not judging your group, but I've heard this track is pretty stellar from the other judges. I was not disappointed. The violin is beautiful, and you integrate so well with the heavy breaks. The piece is well-structured and smooth-flowing, and has a great amount of structural variety, too. The frantic solo at 2:03 was probably my favorite part of the piece. This track has a ton of melodic content and dynamic contrast, and overall the production, sound design, and composition are all very strong. You talk about how you're unsatisfied with the quiet mix, but I think that's a negligible detail in the context of such amazing musicianship. The only thing that's really worth complaining about imo is the abrupt ending. You really sold the drama with this piece. Keep up the great work!

Saruz responds:

wow, thank you for all of these nice words! I personally didn't expect that this thing will get such attention, although this is definitely the best one I have ever created. and well, I think there are many more revelant technical details to work at though, 'cause I always compare my work to reference tracks and it doesn't sound fully satisfying yet. But I have big bunch of time to achieve this, actually this is only the second year of my music production. thanks once again!

[Origins]

Catchy piece. The drum samples at the beginning sound a little generic, but I'm really loving melodic content at :17. The climax into :44 is great, and the refrain there is really cathartic. The panning is a bit heavy at times, but the production quality is really clean overall. Well-structured and smooth-flowing content too. I appreciated the structural variety offered by the breakdown in the middle, and the climax into the second refrain was well-done. I wish you had varied the melody a tad more the second time around, and the ending is a tad abrupt. Otherwise, not much to complain about here. I can totally tell you were influenced by EnV, too! Keep up the good work, Sylux03, and gl in the ADM! ^_^

Sylux03 responds:

THANK YOU SO MUCH! OMG <3

[Frigice (Topaz Version)]

Good to hear from you, TV! I like the groovy dance pads and automations/filtering into :30. Smooth flow and progression. The hi-hats at the 1-minute mark or so are really quiet. Nice sense of climax into 1:30. The melodic content there was quite enjoyable. Kick could've been a little stronger there. Overall, the mix is really loud and pretty well-balanced. I think the pads are taking up a bit too much room after a while. Overall, it's a really catchy track with some cool sound design. Might function better as a longer piece with a couple of verse/refrain cycles. Looking forward to hearing the rest of the stuff from the album! ^_^

TeraVex responds:

Thanks man! Always look forward to your reviews!

[Chords Dance]

I like the smooth strings at the beginning and the bright mood that becomes more prominent at :17 or so. Instrumentation is lovely, if a bit inauthentic. The hurried swell at :52 works really well to channel the energy, even if the harmonies around there (:53-1:01 or so) sound a bit clashing. The panning was a little strong for my tastes; I think the mix emphasized clarity a lot more than blending. The composition has a lot of ebb and flow to it, and the final emotional height (3:10) ties the piece together really well. Beautiful work overall. Good luck in the ADM! ^_^

AzulJazz responds:

Thx so much TaintedLogic