TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Twenty Years]

I didn't even recognize it as "happy birthday" at first. It's quite solemn and even regal in a way. Makes me think of a desolate, snow-covered kingdom with an ancient castle looming oppressively overhead. I understand this was a quick thing, but I'm not sure I like the instruments too much (or maybe it's just the way you balanced/mastered them, idk). Still, interesting mood here. Congrats on finding a way of making a song that literally has the word "happy" in its title...well...extremely depressing! :O

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

You're not really meant to recognize the melody at first! That's what makes this interesting, you know XD
The regal is surely because of all the brass. I can kinda see the snow thingy. Interestingly enough, the brass is pretty warm in a way though, and the harp is very similar to the one track that made you think about a more tropical landscape! :p

I don't like the instruments that much either. That said, it's kind if the point. I wanted this to feel heavy, and perhaps a bit unpleasant too. Bu I should've used something else than a harp for the melody; that's for sure.
Thanks!

[Conquest of the Uncharted]

First of all, I like the mood a lot. I think the strings should've been EQ'd more, though, especially towards the high end, because it sounds a little harsh up there, which is most notable towards the beginning of the piece IMO. Also, the section from around 1:00 to 1:23 is pretty muddy. SINGLE MOST HELPFUL MIXING TIP EVER: get rid of all of the tones below 200 Hertz in everything except the bass and kick (and, in fact, most of your pieces don't seem to have a bass and kick). Otherwise, I admired the structure and progression (as usual), and I think orchestral music could suit your compositional abilities quite nicely. Until you become the lead conductor of a major symphonic orchestra, though, you might need to focus on your mixing. ;) Keep at it, LSD! ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Oh, another one already? Cool!
Yeah, the mixing in this one sucks pretty badly XD It was just a project for fun though. I'm actually releasing a new full orchestral piece this week, and it has slightly improved mixing (still pretty bad though)! If I keep this up, I'll be able to mix properly in about 5 years or so ;)

Well, I think the strings should've been EQ'd differently, but not more (and I'm pretty sure that it should be lessened in the high end if it is harsh, though I might be wrong of course).

"1:00-1:23"

=> Yup. It's super muddy, but actually, the entire piece is pretty muddy; it's waaaayyy too wet!

Heh, I have an even greater mixing tip though: EQ sweeps. Nuff said. I'm pretty sure I didn't use it enough when mixing this. Also, I think that it's very relative whether you should remove everything below 200 hertz, as several string instruments have their very nice sounds around those frequencies (a cello, as an example you might be familiar with, can sound pretty nice down there. Perhaps you count that as bass, but there are strings that play in higher octaves that have a nice sound surprisingly low on the scale too). Most of my issues lies in horrible percussion mixing, and way too unrestricted reverb/wetness. For the next orchestral track (as apart from the one I will soon upload), I will probably try to look more at that! :D

I think that Orchestral music is actually a pretty suiting genre for me indeed, as I listen to it quite a lot, due to movies, games, classical music and such :)

Thanks again! I will definitely focus on my mixing, as it is perhaps my weakest area!

[Neo-Metry Medley]

I like the idea a lot! The melody at :22 seemed really out of place when it first came in. I think you needed a clearer transition when it first came in. Other than that, you mesh all these tracks (many of which I love, btw) together quite well. I liked the instruments throughout. One tiny thing that bothered me is that the brass synth pad at 2:30 was a little too loud IMO. There were some other minor balance issues too, for example the drowned-out melody at 2:50. Other than that, I love all the synths, and you kept up the intensity and mood throughout. The ending felt a bit inconclusive, but I imagine it was hard to end it given all the various songs you crammed in here! Love the idea, and it helps that I'm familiar with about half of these songs. :) Keep up the good work, LunacyEcho! ;D

LunacyEcho responds:

=> 0:22 =>

Yeah, I've been getting that a lot. But that's what you get for not listening to feedback! :P

=> 2:30 =>

But.. but... the wubs! Yeah, I see what you mean. :P In my defense, it sounds AWESOME when played out of my Mac speakers (which are definitely renowned for being the best speakers in the world obviously)

=> 2:50 =>

You mean the Electroman Adventures melody was drowned out? I can see what you mean, but I sort of just wanted some more high mids in there to keep up the balance. The Club Step melody was the focus of that part!

=> ending =>

Yeah, seriously. None of the songs in the game have proper endings, since they're all cut at ~1:30. So, I had to work with what I could. :P Glad you can sympathize!

=> familiar with about half =>

The Waterflame half? :P

Thanks for the review! And man, going through all your missed work must be long and arduous. Thanks so much for going through all the trouble!

[Ikuisen talven maa]

Oooo...instruments make it sound like some sort of shadowy tropical evening. XD I like the progression and atmosphere/mood. It loops really well, and I admire your sense of structuring, even in such a short piece. The only downfall of this piece IMO is that it's so short! Funny how you put "winter" in the tags. Makes me think of just the opposite season for some reason...Anyway, keep it up LSD! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Ugh, relistening to this, the tremolo strings stand out waaay too much; dem0lecule was totally right.

I guess this makes you think of the opposite season, as the strings I used are actually pretty warm. The most indicating intrument that this is winter themed, is that bell-ish thingy that plays every measure, and the fact that the harp is a bit colder (but it should be even more cold!) than it would normally be, along with that other violin that's playing softly in the background, which is much colder than the warm strings.
So I totally get what you mean with this sounding tropical as well!

This is pretty short, yeah. Not the shortest one I've made, but certainly not the longest XD
The strength of this piece, imo, is its progressions that seem to almost constantly move upwards, even though it actually loops at one point.

Oh, are you doing reviews in order? If you're going to review many of the other pieces I've uploaded, that's really cool!

Thanks for this one as well :D

I'll reply to your PM relatively soon, hopefully by the end of this week, but I have a concert, so you know XD

[Destruction]

Hey BO! Long time, no see (and/or hear)! ;D I like the ominous melody with that bass-y synth at :21. Did you make it yourself? That riser with the ping pong effect at :45 was cool. I thought the drums were a little loud, but the kick instrument itself sounded fine to me. :) It was a little minimalistic throughout, but I understand that's your usual style. I like the structure and transitions, but it might be a good idea to EQ out some of the high tones on that melody instrument at 1:52. Other than that, I felt like the ending was conclusive, the overall sound design and mixing are good, and it's a cool piece! Sorry I was so late in reviewing this. I've been hell-a-busy these past few months. Also, I'm dying to know where you're going to college! Please PM me if you get the chance (or, if you'd rather keep it to yourself, that's fine too). ;) I hope I'll be hearing some more of your work this summer! ^^

Everratic responds:

Hi TrainedLogic! Yes, I think I made that bassy synth myself, as well as the riser with the ping pong effect.

"It was a little minimalistic throughout, but I understand that's your usual style."
Hopefully this will change by the time I start making music again because I'll lose my habits.

"but it might be a good idea to EQ out some of the high tones on that melody instrument at 1:52."
The highest frequencies were definitely EQd out, but nearly all of the instrument's sound comes from the high end and there is no way I can remove that. Simple instruments are difficult to EQ for this reason. I could have tweaked the instrument to make it sound less harsh though.

Thank you for the review!

[Equilibria - Nebula]

I like the ominous strings and piano combo in the beginning, but I think the intro might've gone on for a bit too long. Also, I'm not sure I liked the snare sample at :42. Still, 1:26 was a highlight. You know I love that open hat sound you use a lot! I think it lacks some harmonies/pads at a few points in the song...a lot of the time, there's a melody and drums and a bassline, but not much else, y'know? I can see what you meant by "loud compared to a lot of NG's tracks," but that's a sign that your mixing has improved a lot. I love the intricate breaks at 2:35. I need to know where you got that dirty bass sample! I love it! Also, nice work with the hi-hats around 4:10. I like how you brought the orchestral theme back around there too. I also thought the filters you put on the kick leading up to the drop at 4:52 were really cool. I thought the ending was a little sudden: although it was a good idea to use the static/glitch-y stuff at the end, the kicks made it seem a little inconclusive...unless, of course, you wanted it to loop, but the way it was cut, I don't think it loops that well. Still, overall this is an awesome piece and you've improved a lot in the past year or so! I'm catching up on my reviews in chronological order, so I'll do March tomorrow and hopefully April between Monday and Tuesday. Keep up the great work, DM! ;D

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks man! I actually agree that the intro went on a bit too long, but we were also aiming for a longer intro in this. Every single melody in this was written on the first day and we kept each one for the final version, including the long ass intro haha.

"Also, I'm not sure I liked the snare sample at :42."
Those were tom samples actually! Since we don't have orchestral percussion, toms are the next best thing we've got. This was the first track that we used tom samples for more than just filler, so mixing was difficult for us there, but we fixed it (and all the problems we knew of in this track) in Unsustainable.

"I love the intricate breaks at 2:35. I need to know where you got that dirty bass sample!"
That bass sample is FM8 being modulated by a bass made in Massive with Vocodex. ;) The sound design for the basses is actually really simple when you look at it, but still complicated and effective enough to be freaking awesome.

"Also, nice work with the hi-hats around 4:10. I like how you brought the orchestral theme back around there too."
Got to have those shakers man ;)
I'm glad we brought it back too. It was so much different from the rest of the track that we wanted to use it more than just once, and it actually made for a really cool breakdown and build.

"I also thought the filters you put on the kick leading up to the drop at 4:52 were really cool."
That was actually just the toms being layered with the kicks haha, no filters needed.

As for the ending:
Honestly we don't really know what we were going for, but we wanted it to seem inconclusive and end abruptly with the static. Since this is a single from the EP, it's going to be leading straight into the intro for the title track, Infinite Realms. Since IR is in a different key, we wanted an interesting way to make it fit right after Nebula and static FX and high passing the track sort of worked and we're sticking with it for now.

[Spoiled Coffee]

Spoiled coffee?! I will cry! :'( Just kidding; I don't even drink coffee. Anyway, I like the warm string sounds at the beginning. Kind of seems ominous and cheerful at the same time (not sure how you managed that). The string synth does seem to accent the beginning of each downbeat though, which bothered me a bit when you tried adding in dynamic contrast (it sounded like an Fp when you clearly didn't intend for that to be the case). I like the progression, but I think this piece lacks some more harmonizing to keep it interesting. Overall, though, solid work! Sorry I was so late in reviewing this; you know why I was. ;P

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Cool! It would seem like you're finally getting some well deserved time! :D
Yiss! Another non-coffee drinker! We shall form our own empire and rule the world one day still.

It's the weird tremolo string that makes it feel ominous, I think, while the melody and chords are, to the most part, not so ominous. I really made this in an extremely lazy manner XD Now that I have better instruments, I could easily reassign the MIDI and make a version that sounds much better :p

This is a pretty simple piece. I think it would sound much better, if the melody stood out more with perhaps a solo intrument, while just a few clean string intruments played the chords. Chordwise, this song repeats itself very little. However, in order for the emotions to really show, one would need to automate the volume dynamics much more, which I didn't even do at all XD

I don't mind a late review at all! If anything, it's very nice to get a new review on a piece that was already uploaded wuite a while ago! :D
Thanks for reviewing ;)

[Best Song Ever Made]

NOTICED FRONT-PAGE; HAD TO REVIEW! :D I like the tranquil atmosphere at the beginning, although given the date of upload and genre, I was expecting some sort of intense drop at some point. Still, I like the progression and mood. It's very bright and quirky, as if one is suddenly arriving at a quaint Irish village after a long night of trudging through the snow (although maybe I'm getting the "Irish" part only because "potato" is tagged). ;) If I had to complain about anything, it would probably be the quality of the stringed instruments around 1:10. You can tell that they're fake because the vibrato is on a fixed sine-wave pitch ratio. I'm not sure how to "humanize" things in Cubase, but I suggest you look into that. Otherwise, nice work and congrats on the front-page! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

LOL! How did I not even notice the frontpage at all? Hahha XD

And I like how you actually reviewed this as if it was some serious piece. This song goes back two years; I made it on my synth in about 30 minutes. It was as a challenge for myself, but I really failed. The thing is, I came up with the chords in about 15 minutes. After that, I improvised every intrument once, based on the chords. There are five intruments, as many as my synth can record at a single track. That's why the audio quality is like it is, and why there are some weird mistakes, and everything is off tempo and messy XD
This was too bad to upload as it is, but I have been waiting a year to upload it as an April Fools joke! Finally the time came, and it seems it even managed to get front paged! Somebody has a good sense of humor :D

So yeah. This was NOT made in Cubase, nor is it a recent work :3
But thanks for the review anyway, I appreciate it ;)

P.S. Potatoes rule!

[(HoS) Foe Hammer +]

I like the sense of impending doom this has. Good sense of climax too, although it does progress a little slowly at the beginning. I'm not sure the instruments are the best quality, but you might just need to EQ them a bit more. Also, did you by any chance use Sakura to make this? I think I recognize some of these samples. The drums were a nice touch, though. I like how the strings offer a tense apprehension, and the drums start channeling the drama (which the strings then respond to at :47). I really enjoyed the build-up into 1:25, but I think you could've done more to maximize the drama there. 1:25 sort of sounds like a re-intro in a way, the part after a big crash that eases the tension again after the height of emotion. The height of emotion in this piece is the only thing that's missing IMO. It's a well-structured piece, with some appropriate transitions when necessary. I think you could've done a bit more with the drums to maximize the drama, though. Still, it's a solid piece that kept my attention to the end, although the ending itself was a bit sudden and inconclusive. Perhaps it would make a good loop if you were planning on using it for a videogame. Either way, keep up the good work! ;D

HonorOfStyle responds:

Wow Tainted Thank you very much for taking the time to write all that! I am going to take all the advice you've given and learn from it!

[Ehrgeiz]

I love the dark energy that your pieces have had recently. There are a lot of distorted sounds in there, which I acknowledge are staples of the genre, but I think the piano and chords got drowned out a bit too much by them. This piece might need some more melodic content (first melody as I see it is 1.5 minutes into the track), although it is rather short. The moods and instruments are fantastic, though - I think the main issue I have with it is that the effects and drums are too up-front in the mix. Other than that, keep it up, man! ;D

fxarchive responds:

I definitely agree. This piece was more of an exercise in technique than anything heavily melody-focused.

I've been listening to a lot of more "mainstream" drum and bass recently, e.g. Noisia, Spor, etc., and wanted to try something new ^^;