TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Surfer Ghouls 'n Ghosts]

Ahh, I see you also have a Halloween track to showcase. >:) I thought the whole "ghostly surfer" theme was extremely clever. The franticly picked guitar really adds a lot of tension to the piece. The organ is creepy, yet also cute in a way. It's definitely fitting for a videogame IMO. Time to haunt as many animated people as possible! ^^ As a stand-alone piece, though, it lacks a bit of variety. And even if there is a significant amount of variety, it's hard to tell because you don't really change the texture a lot throughout the piece. I also thought the drums were a little weak. I think it would've sounded more powerful and intimidating if you compressed them and then added more reverb. Overall, though, it's a cool piece! If I or anyone I know ever make a ghostly surfer-themed videogame, I'll let you know. Keep it up, man. ;)

LexRodent responds:

Thanks for the nice feedback, I'll add "extra power" to drums asap, and if I can think on some other change to add extra variety I'll do so too.

[Facing the Foe]

Hmm...yeah, allow me to put in my *long* ***overdue*** ******input*****. Heh.

I love the sound design, the huge conglomeration of moods, the progression, the...well, the everything. It is a bit fast-paced at times, but at the same time, it could be made to fit a video game extremely well. The mixing here is also freaking excellent. You've demonstrated rapid improvement on that front, LSD! :O

I love all the string solos, though. Sometimes, they're a little hard-to-follow, but at the same time I'll commend you for tying all these diverse elements together so nicely. Still, 2:33 was a bit of a rushed solo, and 2:45 was almost comical IMO. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. This piece clearly has a lot of character and charm.

OH SHIT, no! The ending...the e- WHY! *struggles to hold back tears*

OH, WAIT. It loops. Never mind. My stupid MacBook can't accommodate the loop feature very well. I'm sure it loops well, too. I'll confirm that fact when I have access to a PC again...

Anyway, overall this is a freaking awesome piece. I suppose I'd like to see you slow down the pace a bit more at some point during the competition, but for now this is going to get you far! Best of luck, guys. ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Not as overdue as my response to your message you sent ages ago XD
But I promise, I have actually been busy! Apart from the three animes I watched. But that was research for the next ngadm track, I promise! I hurt myself really badly living through extremely dark animes, so that I could write an amazing track. It kinda worked, I guess. We'll see in 2 days :D
That is also why my response to this review is late; that, and a lot of school work... But I aced the fist test at least, so that's good, right? But we're nearly finished with the next track now! So I'll totally respond eventually, even if I have to write a blog post too... I also haven't reviewed your track yet, as I might take out... My revenge, on it. I'm not sure yet though. We'll see! I suck at time management these days XD

It's great to hear that you love the sound design, as I put a lot of work into it. As for structure and progression, and composing in general, most of it was made on my piano, which explains why it's a pretty complicated piece :p
I'm glad to hear that the mixing has improved. I know there's still a lot to do, but it's fine as long as I am getting better.

Yeah. I think this piece is easier to listen to if you hear it once or twice at first. I wouldn't call 2:33 a solo, but I get what you mean. It differs a lot from the rest of the track. As for 2:45, I'm not sure why it's comical, but I don't mind, as this is meant to be a lively piece anyway :D

Hehhe, yeah. No worries. I am not johnfn XD
The loops is pretty good, but not infallible.

Thanks a lot for the positive review! I'm the most glad to hear that you think my orchestral mixing is improving :)
Oh, and for the next track, I guess we'll slow down the pace, in one way at least, hehhe XD

[~{ || MEGA || }~]

I love the sound design in this one. It has a cool cinematic vibe, as you touched upon in the tags. I love the sense of apprehension. It would fit a movie or game trailer very well indeed. The best thing about this piece is definitely the instrumentation, though. I'm really glad you got your hands on those horns. Together with the strings, hard-hitting percussion, and somewhat harsh sound effects (e.x., :10), they work really well to create the mood I think you were going for. If I had to complain about one thing, it would probably be the ending. I think you could've wrapped up the themes here a little more conclusively, unless you intended on looping it, of course. Still, very nice work overall, and congrats on the 11,000+ plays and 700+ downloads! ;D

larrynachos responds:

Jesus, I'm almost at 800 downloads? Holy shit!

Thanks for the review, dude! I'm glad I finally managed to get more than 4 stars from you lol.

[Hope (Piano)]

Ah, I love piano music. Excellent sense of progression and harmony here, Phonometrologist. It has a heaviness to it, yet at the same time it flows beautifully. It does get a bit repetitive after a while, though. I suppose you could've added some more creative rhythms. Still, it's very majestic. As a stand-alone piece, it might need more rhythmic variation, but it would probably fit very well in certain video games. I really like the way you gradually stripped away the energy at the end. It made it feel really conclusive. Overall, nice job! Keep up the good work, man. ;)

Phonometrologist responds:

Thanks TaintedLogic. I've always considered this piece to reflect the eb and flow of the ocean when it comes to the repetitive nature of this. But this was an improvisation as I didn't put too much thought into specific notes but rather just the overall mood and direction of it. Thank you for listening

[Archaic Oblivion]

I like the dark pads and nature FX at the beginning. It has this really apprehensive, yet also relaxed mood about it. I think you went a little overboard on the white noise effects, but the mood here is great. I wish it progressed a little faster, though. You left yourself a lot of space for contrast and climax that you didn't really capitalize on that well. I know it's supposed to be very laid-back, easy listening, but I wish there was more engaging and melodic content here. It's extremely long for having such little melodic content. Still, for what it is it's not a bad first track at all. The white noise is still the main thing that bothers me. I think you need to both a) equalize it so it's less prominent in the mix and b) add more creative effects to it to make it more interesting. Right now, it sort of just steals the show from what few notes you actually have in there, like at 4:37 for example. I really like the title here, though, and I think you've shown some potential with this track. Tell you what: if you upload another track here that displays a broader skill set, PM me and I'll scout you. Good luck, man! ;)

WazeFaze responds:

Thanks alot my friend! I really enjoyed reding your opinion, just keep in mind that this is not a finished song :P

[Witches' Hut]

I love the oom-pah sort of vibe this has. Awesome melodies, progression, etc. as always. I suppose this is a little more minimalistic than a lot of your other work, and also lacks the structural intrigue of most of your recent stuff IMO, but I still applaud you for uploading content that you don't feel is your best work (which I have to work on myself, so it provides motivation). The rhythms and instruments are cool, though. This piece has a nice flow to it, and I liked the little flourishes you added at several different points (such as :49) to add phrasing and character. The mixing is great, as always. This is one of those tracks that I like more the more I listen to it. I think I'll download it. I download a TON of your tracks though...yeah, wait, I'll still download it. Keep up the good work, Johnfn! :D

johnfn responds:

"The mixing is great, as always"

Heck yeah, I mixed that one instrument SO WELL! :D

[Final Frontier (Infinite Realms)]

I can tell that this is mastered really loudly and clearly right off the bat. It's climactic and cool. I thought that the transition at :20 could've been smoother. There wasn't a lot of lead-up to the addition of that snare. A crash or something would've gone a long way IMO. Still, I love how the harmonies really start creeping in by around the 1-minute mark, and it sounds pretty upbeat, yet simultaneously bass-heavy, which is cool. I found it a little difficult to pick out an emotional height and/or "arrival point" amidst the various textural ups and downs you have here. Still, the piano solo at 2:45 was cool, and I liked the distorted guitar sounds you had at around the 3-minute mark. I also feel that the balance was off occasionally. For example, at 3:40 the bass sort of overwrites the melody. The coda was cool, although the ending itself seemed a bit abrupt. I would recommend adding a sweep or something there, just to make it feel a bit more climactic. Overall, this is pretty solid. Not your best track IMO, but the melodies, instruments, and harmonies are all catchy and cool (as always). Keep it up, DM! ;D

Dylnmatrix responds:

Off the bat, I'm going to agree with you that this is not my best track, by a long shot. This was more an experimental track with everything to be honest. This track was actually one of my hardest to write as I really had no idea what to do with the track half the time. It was also the hardest to master, dear god.

I agree that it's actually really hard to pick our an emotional "height" so to speak. When I said I added a touch of feels, I just meant that the melody and harmony at the 3 minute mark is a fairly emotional melody compared to the first half.

I do have to disagree with you on one thing though. At 3:40, the bass is actually supposed to overwrite the melody for the "electro" drop. The melody is actually only added because the drop sounded so empty with just the single bass playing and is only there for support until the solo comes in. And on the ending, it felt better to me personally to end abruptly. The song is called Final Frontier, and there's actually a (sort-of) short story to the whole album that I could share with you if you wish through PM that (kind of) explains the abrupt ending.

All in all though, thanks for the review. I do actually agree with you on the majority of the track, and I do agree on the parts I countered with too, I just had reasonings to do those. This really, really is not my best track, and it's my least favorite off of the album, but I did have fun writing it and it really helped pave the way to Solar Flare actually existing.

[Metroid Prime Title Theme (Drumstep Remix)]

I think the mixing is solid and the sound design is cool. It was quite slow to progress, though. It's even-textured and climactic into 1:34. I thought you could've done a bit more with the drop. It was hard-hitting, but slow-paced in a way. You also drag the melodic section after the drop on for a bit too long IMO. I enjoyed the glitchy content you started incorporating at around 3:50, though. You could've added a lot more during that second drop, especially as a means of creating some more development. I also thought the repetition at 5:27 was unnecessary, and the fade-out came across as lazy and anti-climactic. I know it's really tough to continue to live up to the standard you set coming off of the contest victory (this goes for just about anyway, btw - not just you), so that's why I want to continue to push you. If you're going to be one of the truly great artists to come out of this site, your work is not done yet. Winning the NGAUC was a good start, and I congratulate you again. And don't get me wrong - this is a good track. I'm just being tough on you because I want to see you continue to improve. Best of luck, man! ;D

trunotfals responds:

AWWWWW well thank you so much for the feedback. i actuallyt started working on this song BEFORE the contest, then just went back to it and mastered it rather than re writing it. Infact, i lovet hat you feel the desire to push me, I like that motivation!!!! maybe ill just re do this!

[Leap of Faith (Infinite Realms)]

I like the heavy, dark piano at the beginning. It leaves a lot of space for climax and contrast. It progresses a little slowly, though. I'm hearing the classic DM-style leads. ;) Also, it sounded like it was really leading somewhere up until around 1:05, but then you stripped away the synths again, making it sound pretty anti-climactic. Generally, I think you could've cut a lot of content in this piece, especially during the first 2 minutes. When you bring on the bass at 2:10 it has an awesome, energetic vibe, although the bass is really up-front in the mix. I suppose I would've liked to see the melodic content take over a bit more at some point before 3:30 or so. I also think the kick might be a bit too loud. In my opinion, the kick (especially if it strikes on every beat) should serve to simply keep the beat going and the energy up, but here it's a little distracting at times. That said, I love all of the melodies, harmonies, and the progression. You might also want to aim for some more dynamic contrast sometime. Creating a re-intro that builds up in a similar way as the first 2 minutes of this piece would be a more effective way of structuring such a long track IMO. Anyway, overall nice work, DM! Keep at it, man. ;)

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks man.

I agree that it progresses slowly. Honestly at this point, I've just accepted the fact that I'm not very good at progressive trance or house, as I just like to draw out my ideas too long. Intro is my case in point. At 1:05, when I cut the arp lead out, that's when I actually started the real piano progression, and it's also where I had originally started the track when it had started to be written but nooooo, I had to go and add more to it because I just could.not.stop.writing piano melodies for this damn piece. Then I had to go and add the arp melody because I wanted an ambient electronic synth to support the piano as it progressed to the original intro.

Personally for me, on all the systems I've listened to it on, the bass or kick aren't too loud, they actually balance themselves out with the rest of the synths but it could be the way my system works or the way I EQ my systems outside of my computer. It's actually a million times better than it used to be as well. I think I also just wanted a more bass heavy track, but just didn't execute it as well as I should have haha. It's a problem that was fixed in my tracks by the time I wrote and finished Solar Flare. The way the mix is right now was barely changed from how it was when I originally said I was done with it back in 2013, so that also contributes to it as well.

I'm glad you like the melodies and harmonies though, as that's the point that truly matters to me honestly. Those end up being the parts that I spend the least amount of time on and after I get used to them, I can't change them at all, and I worry that people won't actually like them. (4:08-4:35ish is the only part in this whole track that I truly enjoy and don't care what others think, as that part was so much fun to write and I just love the transition, the way I did the filtering, ugh just everything I did was perfect to my ears.)

Thanks so much for the reviews man, can't wait to see what you think of the others, particularly Blood Moon as you had mixed opinions on it in your two reviews.