TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Pyrolysis (Original Mix)]

I like the dark mood at the beginning. The synths are pretty cool and have a good amount of reverb. The melody at :23 is super catchy too. I like the injection of energy at :53. Has a good sense of climax into 1:08. I like the drop. It was a little minimalistic, but the reverb helped fill in the texture. The melody at 1:38 is really enjoyable too. Very smooth-flowing piece here. I think I would’ve liked some sort of structural relief by around the 2-minute mark instead of hearing another drop. The laughing vocal samples also got a little repetitive at about that point. Good use of atmosphere at 2:38. Once again, engaging and catchy melody at 3:08. You have several different melodies in this piece, which would usually be problematic coherence-wise, but seem to function well in their respective niches here. The piece is a tad long, but keeps me engaged throughout. The ending was also pretty creative. Overall solid work! Keep it up, dude. ;)

9/10

KaixoMusic responds:

Thanks!! I really enjoy making several melodies in one song, so you can expect to hear more of that in the future. As for the longness of the song, I really enjoy working on a song very long because starting a new one usually takes a long time, that's why there are a lot of elements and different parts. And about the second drop, yeah I think that's a little to much too. Thanks for the 9 :D

[Hidden Tension]

I like the smooth, atmospheric sound at the beginning. The phasing synths are a little generic, though. It has a good sense of climax into :33. I like the melodic content at :58 too. The bass is really groovy, though, and the mix is pretty clean. The transition at 1:39 was creative, and I appreciate the use of structural relief at 2:01. The section at 2:01 sets up your climax into 2:11 well. The atmospheric bit at 2:56 is also really enjoyable. It’s a bit of a quirky piece mood-wise, alternately cheerful and ominous. I think you could’ve done a bit more to offer some melodic development, too. Otherwise, the latter half of the seems seems comparatively underwhelming to the first half. Overall, I like the piece a lot. The instruments blend well together, the texture is full throughout, and the mixing and mastering are solid. Keep up the good work!

8.75/10

McGorilla42 responds:

Hey. Thanks so much for such a hugely detailed response and criticism. This is the kind of review that I appreciate more than any other since it gives me pointers on what to focus on in future and how to improve :) It means a lot that you took the time to write that and offer your opinion and advice and I'm incredibly grateful for that. Keep well!

[Denial]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. Good use of atmosphere and reverb too. It is a little slow to progress, but the drop at :56 is worth the wait. Interesting sound design too - a lot of those samples sound like they’re more typical of VGM tracks. The mix is tight. I love how much pop the drums have. Good use of structural relief at 1:54. The piano melody there has a cool somber tone to it. The chord progression from 2:43 to 2:44 sounded a little wonky, but that’s a relatively small detail. The latter half of the piece didn’t have as much of an emotional height as the first half, and I also didn’t hear much melodic development in the piece. That said, overall this is a very enjoyable track with a rich texture throughout. Keep up the great work! :)

9.25/10

SmallTownRook responds:

Thanks for the review! Chord progression is definitely something i'll pay more attention to from now on.

[Lockyn - Aqua (Wick3dR remix)]

I like the bright piano at the beginning and the powerful chords. There’s a good sense of climax into :30, and a nice relaxed atmosphere. The rhythms of the open hat and bass at :45 don’t mesh very well together in my opinion. The melodic content at 1:32 was really enjoyable, though. The pause at 2:05 is a little awkward, and the music comes back in VERY quietly relative to the loud refrain before it. I think this is a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece overall, though. I like the mid-range synths that play on each downbeat during the second refrain. The texture is rich, full, and refreshing throughout. The ending came on a little suddenly, though, and you may have overused the sweeps at a couple of points in the piece. The sound design and atmosphere of the piece are quite enjoyable, and overall the mastering is solid as well. Keep up the good work!

8.75/10

Wick3dRabbit responds:

Thanks a lot! I'll take your advices and improve in my future songs :)

[Wide Open Waters]

The beginning of this piece was pretty interesting. Sounded like you were going for something a little more atmospheric, but I think you needed some more reverb to make that happen. I think the beat at :19 is a little too busy. The synth at :39 struck me as pretty generic, and also didn’t add much to the musicality of the piece. By around the 1-minute mark, I’m really itching for some melodic content. The transition at 1:17 was pretty rough - very sudden change in instrumentation. Compositionally, you could’ve done many more creative things with this piece. The atmosphere is pretty good, but the arpeggiated synth you have playing through most of the piece is not enough to keep me engaged. The piece has very little sense of direction, very little shape or variety, and also doesn’t feel very conclusive by the end. I think it’d be good for you to try centering your next piece around a strong melody. A strong melody generally has a well-varied rhythm, and isn’t too fast-paced like the arpeggios here, among other characteristics. I think that composing a melody-driven piece would help you improve your composition skills. The piece isn’t all bad, though. I didn’t notice any problems with the mixing or balance, and the piece is pretty catchy while simultaneously having a rich atmosphere. Keep at it, man!

5/10

vince-galaxy responds:

Really appreciate the honest review. Thank you so much for inviting me to take part in the NGADM!!

[Superstitions]

The distorted guitars at the beginning are cool. I think the vocals sound really dry, though. They need some reverb at the very least, and the mic didn’t seem to pick up the words “past” or “cat” very well at all around :40. The texture sounds a little too busy - verging on clashing - at :45 or so. It’s also pretty difficult to hear the kick in the mix during the busier sections. Overall, the mixing could sound a lot cleaner. I like the solo at 1:22 a lot, though. The lyrics are also enjoyable. I thought the fade-out ending was a bit lazy, and I also think you could stand to flesh out the structure of the piece a little more. Right now the pacing feels a little frantic and rushed, squeezing in an intro, 2 verses, a chorus, and solo in 2 minutes. My favorite elements of the piece, on the other hand, were the sound design and mood - they combined to make the piece really punchy and engaging. Keep at it, man!

6.25/10

johnnyq1233 responds:

Thanks for the great review! I knew throwing something newer into the contest was not the best idea.. but it was the newest piece I was working on and at the time I was totally into this piece..lol
My sweat girlfriend bought me a beautiful Behringer FX-2000 processor to give me some more tools for the battles that lay ahead!
ROCK ON!
Best wishes to the ones that went on!
JQ

[Walking Dead Theme Hip-Hop Remix]

I like the string arpeggios at the beginning. They have a nice underlying intensity and drive. The sample is actually pretty good, too, although I can still tell it’s fake. The piece is really slow to progress compositionally, though. You switch up the instrumentation a lot without warning, although I did like the melody at :56. I think the drums could’ve been a bit stronger, just to give the song a little more bite. The song has a feeling of continuity, which I would’ve liked to see you break down at some point. The arrangement doesn’t have a lot of shape or phrasing, and the energy level is very similar throughout. Experimenting more with dynamics and filtering could be a great way of expanding your compositional repertoire a bit. I also would’ve liked to see you vary the main melody a bit. There are a lot more creative things you could’ve done with the composition, although I did like the sub-bass and beats. You have a good sense of rhythm and harmony. Keep at it, man!

6.75/10

PureJoy responds:

Wow, thank you so much for your complete argumentation ! I'll take into consideration your whole analysis ^^

[Dreams]

I like the cute synths and upbeat mood at the beginning. The melodic content at :20, although fleeting, is enjoyable, and the pitch-bending on that synth that first comes in at :26 is really refreshing. The drums could’ve been mastered a bit louder IMO, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the piece much at all. The texture is so full and everything blends together really well. The breakdown with the strings is gorgeous, and really gives the piece a nice sense of structural contrast. The variations on the melody at 2:07 were great as well. Honestly, outside of the contest, this is just everything I look for in a piece of electronic music. Excellent work! You’ve set the standard high, my friend. Fave’d and DL’d. By all means, keep it up! :D

9.75/10

Namice responds:

thanks ^_^

[Cosmic battle]

I like the groovy bass riff at the beginning. The pads and harmonies at :16 are really atmospheric and dreamy. I thought it was really creative for the melody to gradually fade in at :55, although I think it’s a bit too loud by the end. One thing I didn’t like about the piece was the drums. They’re really weak, and definitely need more compression or equalization work to stand out in the mix, especially the kick. The piece also has a bit of a long continuity to it, which I think you could’ve solved by adding a proper breakdown section or at least stripping away the drums and bass at some point. That would help give the piece a little more shape and structural variety. The loop was smooth, though, and I think the piece feels conclusive by the end anyway. Some of your instruments are also a little generic, especially the melody synth. That said, there’s a lot of strong melodic content here, and your use of reverb gives the piece a good atmosphere. Keep at it, man!

7/10

Electronox responds:

Thanks for the review! I know I didn't get through to the next round, but I think 7/10 is still good! Could you maybe give me a hand structuring a piece? That is the main problem I have with making a piece of music :P
Hope you can help!