TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Slowly]

Cute riff at the beginning. The instrument at :09 sounds a bit harsh in my ears, and after :18 the texture gets a little dissonant. That sample at :19 sounds percussive, yet you use it as a pitched instrument here, which I think is a questionable call. After that, you kinda just oscillate between a few patterns to form the entire structural basis for your piece. The result is that the track doesn't have a strong sense of direction, climax, or resolve. I think in the future you should focus on building your track around a more melodic pattern. Right now, it sounds like you have a lot of ideas for riffs that aren't really developed beyond their minimal, staccato-y form, and I think that's a big problem. Still, a lot of the individual riffs are pretty catchy and interesting. It's just the arrangement and composition that's seriously lacking. Keep at it, man!

Gougou responds:

You are right

[Honor Within]

I like the orchestral hits at the beginning and the suspenseful mood they imply. The string instruments sound pretty fake, but overall the melodic content at :17 is well-composed. The snare sounds like you went a little overboard on the high-pass, and I'm also not a huge fan of the instrumentation by around 1:23. Also, when the strings come back in at around 1:40, the mix sounds a bit overly compressed. The source of the distortion there might be something else, though - some more careful equalizing may be in order. Despite the cool mood of the track, I feel like you didn't really do too much with the composition. After the beat comes in, the energy level is very uniform, and the piece was lacking a section of climax or resolve towards the end. Overall, solid work, but I'd love to see you do more with the composition going forward. Keep at it, man!

TenodiBoris responds:

Thank you very much for the review, I needed a skilled ear to hear this, and now I got one :) I have very humble studio, and sometimes I just hit the bottom up of what I think I can do, but, you proved me wrong, yes I could do more on dynamics of the song, some better lift up, and better ending... Again, thank you :)

[Rewind Once Forward]

Cute melody at the beginning. The transition at :44 could've been a tad smoother. You seemed to make a ritardando into it, which can work, but I think the timing could've been a bit better, perhaps with a big up-bow crescendo or something. That said, the section with the violins sounded absolutely beautiful. I also love when the oboe comes in at 1:34. The transition at 2:31 isn't particularly smooth either, but I appreciate the change-of-pace. Up until that point, the piece had gone quite a long time without much of a change in energy. The melody at 3:35 is probably my favorite part of the piece. The ending was well done, too. Nice job making it come full-circle. :) Keep up the good work!

Veneox responds:

I love in depth reviews like this, I will surely work on the transitions to evolve more smoothly. Hope you can review some of my early works as well, thanks. ;)

[[Dubstep] Falkuma]

I like the distorted atmospheric part at the beginning. The percussive thing that plays on every off beat starting at :13 was a little much. It basically functions like a snare, yet sounds more like a transitory effect. The build-up wasn't bad, but the drop at :53 sounds really distorted. You may have used a bit too much reverb there. Despite all the reverb, the drop is also quite minimal from a harmonic standpoint. I like the mechanical sound effects at 1:54, though. I appreciate the variations on the second drop, but in general this piece has very little in the way of harmonic depth, which is probably my main complaint. It's a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece with some unique sound design, but I think you need more moving notes in there to offer the listener a more memorable harmonic framework. Keep at it, man!

Delerium responds:

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback. The snare sound you talked about was a risk i was taking for some interesting percussion. In general my music is minimal melodically and harmonically, and I think I could improve that. However, I feel like the lack of harmonic depth is what draws people to the focal point of this piece, which is the drop.
Did you notice that some of the percussion and foley pan? I was hoping that would add some effect.
:)

[Game Intro Loop]

The intro isn't bad, but I think you need a stronger transition into :18. Cute melodies at around :30, but I wish they were a little more up-front in the mix vis a vis the arpeggios. Also, that synth you used for the arps sounds a bit harsh in my ears, and could benefit from some filtering work. I'm not sure what the project is, but it sounds like some menu music or something. Cutesy and vaguely adventurous, yet not structurally complete. My favorite parts of the piece were the sound design and melodic content. Keep at it, man!

verjamon responds:

Yes it was a menu music!
Thanks for the critic!

[With you (Dubstep)]

I like the atmosphere at the beginning and the chord progression. The drop is pretty hard-hitting, yet very catchy. I guess I would've liked the drums to shine through the mix a little more at the drop, though. The secondary drop at :59 was a bit of a surprise. The pace of the piece is pretty fast, although I really like the chordal section at 1:20. While very loud and full-textured, I think the mix could be tightened a tad. You seem to have an excess of reverb in there, especially some of the busier sections, and the hats seem to be fighting for attention at 3:06. Overall, though, this is really strong work compositionally. I really like the 2-drop paradigm, although I wish you had varied the drops a bit more the second time around. It's engaging throughout and generally smooth-flowing and well-structured. Keep up the good work!

lukiaffe responds:

Thanks for the well written response. I agree with you. All things considered, I made this when I was like 15 so I didin't know much about mixing back then ;) Cheers!

[You Were My Friend]

I like the progression at the beginning and the phasing. The beat, while minimal, is pretty catchy and really drives the piece forward. Excellent job with the production on this one. Everything comes through the mix very clear and well-balanced. The underlying harmonic structure of the piece is very repetitive, and I wish you had highlighted the added details like that descending line at 2:24 a little more. Still, really cool atmosphere and sound design, and great use of reverb and automation, too.

I support you, Pr0tagonist.

larrynachos responds:

I found out that I wasn't following you a few weeks ago, and refollowed you, but today it says it again! They're breaking NG lol.

This was a really great piece to work on. I'm really glad I hit the monotonous nail on the head with this one. I can still listen to it on a loop and not get bored, which is something I want in all of my music really.

Thanks for the review!

[Elizabeth (The Refix)]

Strong work here yet again. What I especially like about this one is all the dynamic contrast. You really turned the drop into an emotional height, unlike the last piece I reviewed where it wasn't even as busy as the build-up. I really like your style, man. It's definitely dubstep, but still has a huge emphasis on melodic content and phrasing. If I had to complain about one thing, it might be that the ending came on a bit suddenly with this one. Still, very impressive work. Keep it up, dude! ^_^

ItsAlmagestFR responds:

Thanks m8, Yes, this is not the extended version of it. it's still the Radio version. i'm working on the extended version and hoping could release it sooner :)

[Unravel]

I like the frantic synths at the beginning. The instrumentation is also quite good. The quirky pads at :27 are really refreshing, as are the chopped vocals that appear shortly after. The mixing and mastering is great, btw. Really loud and clear mix here. The drop at 1:10 was a nice point of structural contrast too after the busy section before that. The build-up at 2:35 is great, and I really appreciate how you varied the drop the second time around. The little melodic theme at 3:06 was a huge highlight too, and the warm pads at the end are great. Really strong work here, my friend. Downloaded.

ItsAlmagestFR responds:

Thanks A lot! Appreciate it man!