TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[TRUE - Hiryuu no Kishi (Lockyn Remix)]

I'm not very familiar with the original, but I love the punchy synths and the frantic vocals. I think you should've fleshed out the intro a lot more. The track kind of just throws you right into the middle of the action. The melodic content in the synths is great, but I think the vocals could've been a bit more up-front in the mix at times, especially at the chorus section at :48. The textbook Lockyn piano breakdown (1:43) gets me every time. :') This is a very well-structured and well-mastered piece as always. Oftentimes, your pieces border on being not coherent enough IMO, but this piece has a great balance of repetition and variety, especially in the vocals. The crunchy piano chords at the end were great, too. Excellent work, man! ^_^

Lockyn responds:

Hey TL, thanks as always for your reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed it regardless. I agree the intro was a quick throw, but I kinda liked the jarring feeling so I kept it. Vocals have been mentioned before - I intentionally buried them a bit because of the way I made the acapella, it was very messy and had noise due to the source material not being very keen to vocal extraction. Great feedback as always!

[Hidden gem]

I love the quirky, chill mood and the spacey atmosphere it has. The drop at :57 was very catchy and melodic. Mixing and mastering is solid. The bird sound effects were incorporated really well. You seem to like integrating nature sounds into your works, and you do a good job of it too. :) I suppose I would've liked to see you vary the drop a little more the second time around, but you've still created a short 'n' sweet piece here. Well-structured, smooth-flowing, catchy and fun. Keep up the good work, man. ;)

8-bitheroes responds:

Hey, good to see you. Thanks very much for dropping some feedback, much apprciated. I agree with you on that 2nd drop, think I got a bit lazy at that point :p. I love using natures textures to add extra flavour to my music.

[Mayya Malyshka]

I like the spacious arpeggios and strings. It has a very dreamy and atmospheric vibe. The vocal samples contribute to the mood a lot, too. By around :40, I love the victorious mood, simultaneously injected with child-like wonder. I love the female vocals at around the 2-minute mark. They display such a raw sense of uplift and empowerment. Your pieces have a strong sense of continuity, yet are full of variety, and this is no exception. The strummed strings at 3:35 (and other places, I believe) are a nice touch as well. The coda was a little drawn out, but also fittingly delicate and majestic. Very dreamy, unique, and imaginative piece, my friend. Do yourself a favor and have an excellent new year. :)

Phonometrologist responds:

Than you my friend. I appreciate you letting me know your thoughts on it. I don't know what to say. It's been a while since I've written this, and so hearing it over, I hear many flaws still.
I'm contemplating your statement, "strong sense of continuity, yet are full of variety."
For which I think of now: 'tis are the days we live in.

[Death Slumber: Lucid]

I like the foreboding ambient theme, and how the atmosphere clears away in a subtle way right before the piano comes in at :22. You did a great job of bringing out emotion in this piece. I also like the gradual signs that something is "wrong." First, there's the bizarre pause at 1:09, as if the pianist had to stop and stare at the moving shadows following him, and then the stutter effect at 1:17 and the dark strings at 1:24. I think the transition at 1:47 could've used a bit more fleshing out, but the frantic "chase scene" through music immediately following was fantastic - full of drama. Also, excellent job with the gradual transition back into the tranquil section at 3:20. It's much more soothing in tone there, as if the pianist finally escapes on a boat destined for a safe passage on calm waters. The sound design and composition in this piece are simply top-notch. It definitely puts a story in my head. Excellent work, Phonometrologist! ^^

Phonometrologist responds:

Thank you very much again. Yes, I think the transition at 1:47 could be better fleshed out, and I know what I could do to make it so. I just tend not to dwell on a singular piece for very long while continuing on to the next. Even so, I thought abruptness of sections reflect more accurately a dream, but I also written the two parts separately while linking them together. The whole piece is a bit abrasive and sudden. I think it's interesting you find the repeated piano theme at the second half more soothing than the first as the second is downtuned. I suppose because of the context and the added melodic instrument. Regardless, I want to share with you the inspiration for the "bizarre Pause at 1:09." Chopin wrote this in in his second ballade at 3:30 in this video:
https://youtu.be/MsoUIBcl7iw?t=3m19s
In fact, the whole piece can be compared to a jarring dream as well with it's sudden shifts in tone.

[Twitterpated]

Wow, you weren't kidding about trying dubstep! Good for you! I like the soothing tone in the beginning. Reminds me of sunrises on the ocean. ^^ Naturally, then the texture gets a bit more hard-hitting, but I'm not sure this qualifies as dubstep, exactly. It certainly has some of the edgy and distorted qualities associated with dubstep, but the instrumentation seems much more typical of rock, and the drum samples are more reminiscent of hip-hop IMO. For me, the most distinctly "dubstep" sound design involves a heavy contrast between the kick and the snare, with a prominent mid-range electronic bass with some LFO automations. That said, this is a beautifully composed, well-structured and smooth-flowing piece with an excellent variety of moods, and has instantly gone on my favorites list...but I don't think it qualifies as dubstep. ;) Sorry to be that guy telling other people what genre their productions fall under. XD Keep it up, Ceevro. ^^

Ceevro responds:

Hehe...I don't think it qualifies either, which is why I kinda noted the homage to hair-bands in the description. But it's also not 80s rock, either. All I know is that the synth sounds came from the 'dubstep' file of my sound library, and I'll admit that I mixed the percs between electric and hiphop.

Not sure how I'd classify this. But that's always a pain in the ass, isn't it? I just played what sounded right.

[-Space Ghost-]

I like the quirky instruments and frantic harmonies. The effects at :17 really drown out the harmonies, though. I was also confused when you brought back those same harmonies after the transition at :24. It detracted from the sense of direction the piece had IMO. You also lack a strong transition into the drop at :29. The bass instrument at :29 is also too muddy for my tastes. I think you should try using equalization to restrict its frequency range a bit, because it's clearly distorting the harmonies that come back in at :41. I also think you should add some drums - that should help give the piece more direction too. You also lack a transition into 1:03, and after that the piece is extremely repetitive, and I think you overdid the reverb on the percussion later in the piece. The track cuts off very suddenly, too. I think my main concerns with this piece are the transitions and the sound design. I would suggest using drum riffs or crashes to prime the listener that a transition is coming. Also, I know muddy and distorted basses are in fashion, but they can sound a lot cleaner and more distinct (without interfering with the frequencies in other instruments) through a process called mixing and mastering. I would suggest looking up "equalization" tutorials on YouTube. One of the major ways of making your song sound clearer is to get rid of the bass frequencies (200 Hertz or below) in all of the instruments except the bass and kick drum. Hope this helped! Keep working at it, man. ;)

jpingo responds:

Thanks for the feedback! check out my new songs and a few of my older ones if you can, I would really appreciate reviews on them : ) and besides this one is one of my worst ; )

[Anime savage]

I like the somewhat melancholy mood and the sense of continuity this has. I think the drums are a little weak, though. Usually the snare should be the loudest instrument in the mix. Perhaps this is a mixing and/or mastering problem, though. I'd suggest looking up tutorials on equalization, panning, and compression. They'll really help you get a clear and crisp sound in your tracks. You also lack strong transitions into :29, :43, and other places. Even a simple drum fill or crash would help prime the listener that you're making a transition. I like the hard-hitting vibes at :29, though, and how you contrast that with the more sensual, emotional appeal of the last minute or so of the piece. At the same time, the distorted drums at 1:31 felt a little out-of-place. Overall, though, this is a well-structured piece with some cool sound design. Keep at it, man. ;)

Alyctro responds:

The problem is it's an old project i didn't attent to because i had it saved only in mp3

[Random Loop]

The loop isn't that smooth, and you kinda spam the snare, especially at :01. It's way too short to get any sense of progression, and personally I question the musical appeal of a loop this short. At the very least, I'd suggest making sure the loop occurs at the end of a measure. That usually makes it sound smoother. It could also be that you don't have the file settings on "wrap remainder," which will appear when you export it. Keep at it, man!

RealToxic responds:

Thank you for the review! I know it's not great, its my 3rd loop i made in FL Studio 11, so its not perfect but i hope to get better at making loops soon!
~ Toxic

[Integrity]

I like the punchy drums and cute videogame-esque riff at :06. It has a bit of an odd progression and there are quite a few moments of dissonance, but you have me captivated with the quirky mood and atmosphere. What bothers me about the structure is that it doesn't really build on itself as the piece goes on, and reads more as a collection of ideas delivered in rapid succession. I appreciated the moment where you stripped away the drums at 1:33 to offer some structural relief, but it still seems pretty repetitive by the end. Still, this is a catchy and cool piece that seems fitting for a fast-paced video game or something. Keep up the good work, man! ;)

MalcolmTurnbull responds:

That's so nice of you to say that, thanks for ur time citizen of whatever country come visit me at the embassy