TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Freeman]

I like the dark mood at the beginning. It’s ominous and apprehensive, yet also atmospheric. I think the intro lasted a little too long without much sense of direction, though. You have a good sense of rhythm, and the instruments blend well together. My main problem with the piece is that it needs more melodic content and structural variety. You have that flute-like high pad playing a simple moving part, but it’s just too repetitive and simplistic to keep my attention. I also wasn’t a huge fan of your instrument choices. They appeared to consist mainly of bass bombs, with some atmospheric fill. The drums were engaging and dynamic. I can’t discern any problems with the mastering or production quality, but the piece is missing some higher-frequency tones throughout the piece. I know this is D’n’B, but you still could’ve capitalized a lot more on the whole textural space here IMO. One thing you have nailed here is the mood. It maintains its mysterious and sneaky vibe for the entire duration of the piece, even throughout the energetic sections. Still, I think 2:18 functions better as a breakdown than a coda. I would’ve liked to see you flesh out this piece more, but with a little more structural ebb and flow. Right now, it lacks elements of phrasing and dynamic contrast that can add a lot to the overarching direction of a piece, especially in tracks like this that don’t add or strip away instruments very often as the piece progresses. Overall, this piece has a fun theme and mood that you really could’ve taken advantage of more. I wanted to see a more cathartic finish with moving parts that finally released the tense anxiety of these 3 minutes. Without that, the piece is a little underwhelming and, despite the solid atmospheric work, doesn’t keep my attention as well as it should. I actually really want to see you keep working on this, though. Please PM me if you decide to expand it further, and I’ll review it again. ;) Keep at it, Demon-Wolf!

5.5/10

DEM0NW0LF responds:

Thanks for your review.

[End Times]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning. Nice job with the panning, too. It has a really pensive and calming vibe to it. Despite the slow progression, you have me entranced. The instruments blend really well together, and the melodies at 1:03 are beautiful. It’s a bit minimalistic for the first 2 minutes or so, and I think you could’ve more gradually transitioned into the part at 2:14, just to maintain the slow pace of the first half of the piece. The guitar solos are wonderful, however, and you did an excellent job of bringing the piece full-circle at 2:50. I’m not always a huge fan of “one-climax” formats, as I think they tend to offer little in the way of structural variety over the duration of the piece, but I think the melody at 1:03 helped give some shape to the first half of this track. And there’s no way you’re not getting full credit for emotion and atmosphere here. I see (or, rather, hear) no problems with the mixing and mastering. This piece has a haunting and embeddable beauty about it that’s extremely well-developed, which makes it stand out among the other submissions. Some fuller pads or something may have helped create more textural depth, but the minimalism is my main complaint. Great work, my friend! ;D

9.25/10

Daveisgr81 responds:

Thanks for the positive review - I'll work on it for future submission!

[Pacifist]

I like the warm brassy pads at the beginning and the sense of climax throughout the first 30 seconds or so. Perhaps that initial riser was a little cliche and drawn-out, but I enjoyed the melody at :44. The piece is mastered nice and loudly too. The quirky instruments are cool, and they certainly seem reminiscent of classic video game music. In my experience, it’s usually good to be subtle about filtering, phasing, and portamento effects, but you seem to pull off some not-so-subtle phasing &c at around 1:02 - 1:10. ;) This piece is generally well-structured and smooth-flowing, with an odd drone-like quality. I liked the ominous string melodies at 1:36 a lot. The piece is very flowy, yet lacks dynamic contrast, phrasing, and a proper breakdown or bridge section to give it an overarching sense of development IMO. The final chorus seemed short-lived and concluded the piece very suddenly. I almost thought you had intended to loop it at first. I also would suggest varying your melodies more the 2nd time around. Otherwise, the piece feels a little stagnant and repetitive. Otherwise, this is solid work. The melodies are memorable, and you did a good job of selling the theme and mood of the piece. Keep at it, AeronMusic! ;)

8/10

AeronMusic responds:

Thanks TaintedLogic!

[Veva]

I like the atmospheric intro and the short pauses at the end of every 2 bars. The pauses give the piece a nice sort of cycle of anticipation and relief. The melodies at :39 are really smooth and enjoyable. The modulation at 1:17 was a good way of building the energy. The piece progresses a little slowly for the first 90 seconds or so, but the moment of catharsis at 1:34 is rewarding. Everything seems really well-balanced in the mix. I thought the tempo at 2:10 was a little rushed. It almost sounded like a completely different piece thereafter. I think it would’ve helped if you gave the piece a little more breathing room after that first “emotional height” (1:34 - 2:09) before launching into another melodic section. I would’ve liked to see you do more to make this piece coherent. I see you tried to bring it full-circle at the end with those radio effects (3:18), but it wasn’t enough IMO. As far as I’m concerned, this piece only has one true moment of climax, which limits any sense of direction and conclusiveness it has at the end. The part at 2:10 sounds a lot more like a final climax, yet it occurs only a little more than halfway through the piece. The “quiet ending” format can often be effective, but I would’ve liked to see a little more structural ebb and flow first. These structural complaints are my main concern. I think you have a great sense of harmony, and the texture was full and engaging throughout. I thought your instrument choices enhanced the mood a lot here - the piece felt pensive and relaxed at times, and danceable at others. You might’ve been able to do more with dynamic contrast and phrasing, but you still did a nice job of fleshing out the piece (besides that minor complaint I had about 2:10). Nice work overall! :)

8.5/10

Onefin responds:

Hey, TL!

So... big structural complaint, huh? I went from a drop straight into another drop, so I can see how that would be jarring. Maybe I could have written something in between to bridge the gap, but I always have a hard time writing something that's exactly what I want it to be in exactly the right place, since in the process of creating a section the idea changes based on what happens. Also, I suck at transitions, so that must have played a part. Always trying to make those better.

The ending breakdown at 2:47 was made basically to allow for a full circle ending with 3:18 - I had to change the key back to B major in a calm, conclusive way. Perhaps if that section didn't exist and I let the piece end with a shorter outro, the 2:10 part would be pushed closer to the end? I don't know. I think my main issue would have been that between 1:34 and 2:10 there was no softer part.

Well, thanks for reviewing! My response is kinda late but hey. No mixing complaints? Huh, I'm kinda surprised. Maybe Gragon's advice helped more than I thought it did. :)

[IV]

I love the atmosphere at the beginning. The spacey instruments are cool, from the luscious pianos to the synth arpeggios at :09. The mixing and mastering are top-notch as always. It's a little slower to progress than most of your other pieces, but it affords the track a great sense of climax and "breathing room." I guess one instrument I wasn't a huge fan of was the melody synth at 1:15. It was just a little high-pitched and harsh-sounding for my tastes. The melodic content itself was very enjoyable throughout, though. Also, I've digging the chord progression by around 1:35. I'm also a huge fan of bass slides (1:32) in general. :3 When the piece started adopting a more orchestral texture, I was completely hooked. I guess I was a bit disillusioned by the build-up at 2:07, however. It didn't really lead anywhere, and then you switched gears and launched into another tension-ridden electronic section, as opposed to the cathartic orchestral content I was expecting based on the build-up. Oh, wait, it's a mash-up. That explains some stuff. XD When the Latin vocals came in, I knew I was missing something. I still think this medley lacks some sort of epic climax, but at the very least it feels conclusive enough by the end. Overall great work, undoubtedly! I think you should experiment more with electronica, Step. ;)

Step responds:

Heyyyyy. Thanks for reviewing!

You read my music like a book sometimes. I definitely intended this to progress more slowly than my usual music, which you pointed out. Things like the buildup lasting from 1:32 - 2:07 or having such a long instrumental intro before the vocals come in aren't things I usually do.

We're gonna have to agree to disagree on the synth at 1:15 :(. That kind of thin, sine/triangle-based synth is something you hear often in the Metroid Prime soundtrack, and I wanted to emulate it. I like how precise its pitch is and how it cuts through the mix, just like it does in the original soundtrack. Perhaps it was a bit too harsh/shrill though. You might be right!

2:07 is something I can't disagree with you on though. I was hoping that the buildup with 2:07 would be the tension building which would carry over during the quieter bit and then get released at 2:12. That was my plan, at least. Didn't really turn out like that and what we ended up with was an almost arbitrary-sounding change in direction. In my defence, it was damn difficult to smoothly transition between those two sections! As I told Skye below they're in a different key/mood/time signature, so I definitely found trouble progressing to the second half in a way that made musical sense.

Aw, I was kind of hoping 4:08 would be the "epic climax" you're talking about. I threw everything I had into that part haha.

Thanks a lot for the honest review. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Johnfn's Low Budget Cooking Show]

It's super catchy and flowing. I wasn't a huge fan of some of your samples. The snare at :54 comes to mind - it just seems a little heavy for the otherwise light, cute, and brisk mood of the rest of the piece. Also, some of the harmonies at :32 could've been a little more up-front in the mix IMO. That said, I love the mood and simplicity of it. Of course the cooking show is low-budget, though - you spent more time on the intro music than the actual cooking!

Keep it up, my friend. ;)

johnfn responds:

Actually you are right that snare is out of place >:( Though I don't really hear any harmonies at :32 lol. But yeah I agree with your assessments!

[3MBER - I Will Be There]

I like the atmospheric intro and panning. It has a great bright tone to it, and the vocals help enhance that effect. Perhaps the change-of-pace was a bit sudden at 1:14, but I think the frantic nature of the melodic section was fitting overall. I think you should’ve brought out the plucking melodies at 2:02 a bit more. The pads overwhelm them a bit. I appreciated how you offered some structural relief at 2:26, but I think you could have maximized the emotion by incorporating some more dynamic contrast and phrasing. I would’ve liked to see some more melodic development here. The piece needed another moment of climax to really tie it together IMO. Right now, there’s only one “emotional height,” and it occurs about halfway through the piece. Instead, I’d suggest at least 2, which would give the piece an overarching sense of direction, because otherwise the energy just dies out over the last third or so of the piece. The mastering was impressive, though, and I enjoyed a lot of your synths, especially the Far Eastern-sounding one at 2:02. You used the frequency range well overall. All things considered, this is solid work. Keep at it, man. ;)

7.5/10

x3MbeRx responds:

Thank you for the in-depth review :) The two week time frame was really the ultimate cause of most of those problems I think. I generally like to have at least two "drops" but I tried to focus more on getting a good mix and master on this one.

[N1NJA - Traverse The Unknown]

The intro was pretty cool. It felt very contained and minimalistic at the beginning, so I enjoyed when you started opening it up a little more at :45. The melodies at 1:15 were a little too jumpy (as opposed to stepwise) IMO. The transition at 1:45 was effective, but I think the pads overwhelm the melodies a bit at 1:47. I would try to create more space for the melodies in the mix with some more careful filtering. That said, one thing you’ve done really well in this piece is created a lot of space (as opposed to overwhelming the listener with constant energetic content). You did a good job of bringing out emotion in this piece, like at 2:49, even if the rhythm was a little square there. I liked the build-up into 3:53, although it doesn’t have quite the same cathartic vibe that 1:47 has. In general, the ending felt a bit rushed, and you could’ve capitalized more on changes for melodic development there. In general, I think you really missed out on some opportunities to vary the rhythm more. From 2:19 to 3:23, the most mobile notes are straight quarters, which, despite the emotion, makes the piece seem a bit dry and robotic. Also, I would’ve liked to see you vary what I regard as the main melody (1:47) later in the piece in a climactic way. Right now, there’s not much of an overarching sense of direction here. There were also parts of the piece that felt a little minimalistic, but I think they could still keep my attention if you incorporated some more dynamic contrast and phrasing. I didn’t think any of your instruments or stylistic choices were very unique either. Fortunately, the mastering is up to par and I enjoyed the emotion and atmosphere. Overall pretty good work. If you fix a couple of structural and instrumentation choices, this would be a really solid piece. Keep at it, man. ;)

6.5/10

N1NJA-Official responds:

Thanks so much for the feedback and for organizing this whole contest! This contest really helped me improve a lot as a producer. Hopefully I'll do better next year :)