TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[In Search of Asphodel]

I love the instruments and mood. The transition into 1:22 was really cool - definitely one of my favorite parts, along with 1:48. You have a lot of effective transitions between moods in this piece - I like it a lot. One suggestion I have would be to lower the volume of the bass notes from around :44 to 1:48. It seemed to me like you were going for a light vibe there (although I may be wrong) and the bass made it seem very heavy and angry in a way. It also seemed like a quieter bass would aid the balance with the higher notes. Still, I really like it overall. The ending seemed fitting as well. Good work, LunacyEcho, and sorry I'm EVEN LATER than LSD - I've been at a family reunion and college visits for the past week. XD

LunacyEcho responds:

=> transitions and moods =>

Thanks a lot! I think the two things I focused on most in this song were the velocity of notes and the transitions between parts, since those are the two parts I think I need to work on the most.

=> lower the volume of the bass notes =>

Interesting idea... I kept the bass notes louder to portray an eerie, ominous feeling, but it guess it can easily mask the higher notes. I definitely didn't want it to sound angry! Perhaps I should lower the bass, to make it sound less aggressive. :P

=> LATER than LSD =>

Dude, it's fine. Family and education are two of the most important things in this world (although in my opinion, college tours aren't worth the money it takes to get there when you can just look up reviews and opinions of the colleges online. Then again, you live in Massachusetts and I live halfway across the world. :) )

Thanks for the review! Don't stress yourself out!

[champ]

I really love the instruments and the climactic nature of it. The glitches at :25 add a lot to the piece, but are perhaps a little distracting at times. It's a well-structured and smooth-flowing piece, though. I'll congratulate you on your conventional ending, as I personally think that it's for the better that you go a more traditional route in that regard. Anyway, overall nice work! Keep it up, Johnfn! ;D

johnfn responds:

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY GLITCHES!!!

Haha when I did that ending I was like "omg everyone is going to be so proud of me!!!" And they were... well, except LunacyEcho... that jerk. hahaha

Anyway I'm glad you liked it!

[Orchestra Help]

I like the mood and percussion. Sounds almost militial (if that's word) in a way. Somehow I picture a mysterious yet melodic string riff coming after this, maybe with the continuity of the percussion/brass, just for some coherence. Seems ominous to me so far, so you might as well continue to use that mood to captivate your audience. ;) As for the VSTs, I'd say the strings sound pretty good (although they might be a little too blatantly fake in higher octaves - idk) but the brass is bothering me a bit...although it couldn't hurt to get another opinion on this. I'm not very good at selecting instruments myself. :/ Hope this helped though! Keep at it, TeraVex! ;)

TeraVex responds:

Thanks! As for the instruments, I haven't even finished add all of the higher voices and percussion yet, maybe it might sound better, if not I'll switch it up a little. Thanks for your thoughts!

[When It's Cold]

Beautiful! I love the simplicity and the atmosphere (reverb), as well as the chord progression. :57 was a high point for me. It gets a little repetitive after a while, but is very calming and relaxing. I liked the part at 2:07 a lot, but I think that you needed a more gradual transition between moods here in order to go along with the sort of "droning" aspect of the piece. I like how you transitioned back into the main theme at 3:25, though. The very ending could've been more climactic/conclusive, but overall I don't have many structural problems with it at all. Nice work, LSD! Sorry I didn't review this earlier. I stayed up 'til 4:00 A.M. this morning finishing my most important essay for English of the year. T_T Anyway, nice work! Keep it up, man! :D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Why hello there! :D :D :D
Good to see that most people here like my chord progressions in this song. I actually think I might have played this piece too "safe", but the chord progressions came to me naturally, so why not keep them? XD

I have to agree with everyone that this piece gets a bit repetitive. I wish I could've added more elements here and there, but oh well :) Some other time.

I personally like 2:07 the most I think, for the same reason that you think I should've made a better transition. I think I like the very rough transition, because it's almost the only place in the composition where you might go: "oh, what was that?". It's probably just my personal preference though. Maybe I should've made a more even transition :p
Especially since the rest of the piece is, as you said, "droning".

"3:25"

=> I know what you mean. I would say that the main theme is the one at 0:30 & 2:32. But I know what you mean; I'm pretty happy with how I transitioned back to the same theme as in the intro too XD

I like the ending, personally, but I think I get what you'd want out of it. I just like how it stays kind of true to the artpiece (in my opinion, that is), while still giving a slight mysterious feel. Or maybe not :p

Oh, and there's NO need to worry about being a bit late (I'm such a hypocrite though... As one might notice). I hope your essay went well, I'm sure it did, as you seem quite talented in that area (from what I've seen)!!!

Anyhow... Thanks a lot for the review, as always ;) !!!

[Strange Way]

I love the instruments and mood - it's very mysterious, atmospheric, and dark, even mechanical at some points, which is interesting. The title fits well. I love all the variation. I especially appreciated that quirky bell/chime at 2:01. The piece fits very well with the art as well. I think it would make a good track for a video game. My one complaint is that at times it lacks fill a bit, but that's not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things. The minimalism adds to the creepiness in a way. Overall, excellent work, man! Keep up the good work! :D

Possibly responds:

Thanks very much, and thanks for taking the time again to review, it's much appreciated. I may lack perspective at the moment, but I was trying not to overwork it and make it too busy, thanks again!

[Echoing Calm]

I love the melodies, but sometimes the instruments you used for them were VERY high-pitched and penetrating. The syncopations at :15 bothered me a bit - just seemed a little too busy for half a second, a little disorienting...but that's a minute detail. I liked the transition at :52, though, as well as the mood. The title fit well, too. The structure is good, too. I liked that breakdown at 1:51, btw, as well as how you transition back into a more main theme at 2:34, this time with more bass! >:D Nice work overall, and I like the ending, too. Keep up the good work, LunacyEcho! ;)

LunacyEcho responds:

=> VERY high-pitched and penetrating =>

Trust me, it sounds a LOT better if you're wearing fake Beats. Sorry about that.

=> 0:15 =>

I probably should've started with lower velocity notes and worked towards a louder main riff. Eh. I guess I just got used to it and didn't think how it would surprise people. :D

=> transition at 0:52 =>

I still think that's one of my favorite parts of the song, and I'm pissed that I didn't make the echo on the piano just a BIT less. Meh.

=> breakdown, transition back into main theme =>

I try adding a breakdown in most of my songs. It's an easy way to give structure and also make the song longer. :)

=> more bass =>

I'm happy someone noticed that! I was wondering if anyone would. Good job!

=> the ending =>

I'M SO LAZY WITH ENDINGS but having all the instruments play a thing at the same time sounds nice. I'll probably keep doing it until people realize and start complaining. :D LAZINESS FTW

Thanks for the review!

[Never Backing Down]

I have attempted dubstep before as well. It's an extremely hard genre to make. Nevertheless, this turned out really well! :D I love all the structural changes, and the instruments and moods work really well together. I love the piano melody at :56! ^^ It's nice to see that there's some rhythmic variation in your melodies this time - I absolutely loved the one at 1:30. The climax into 3:13 was great, but I feel like the mixing got a little distorted there. Overall, though, it's a great, feel-good sort of piece. Those piano melodies at 4:36 are beautiful, and I love you transition into 4:50 with something so electronic-sounding! :D I love this new direction your music is taking, Matt. I've downloaded more songs by you in the past month or so than I ever had previously! :D Keep up the great work, man! ;D

Dylnmatrix responds:

Thanks man! I'm really glad you liked this. I had a lot of fun writing it (maybe too much, but that's another story) and I'm enjoying this direction that I'm taking my music as well.

I do agree that it does get a little distorted at the build, but I never noticed it while mastering with ASIO on in FL, so it's something that happened during the render. I could do a re-render, but I don't want to, I think it actually sounds good with a little distortion. But that's just me ;)

[Cat Upon A Cup]

It's not bad! This is a rather ambitious project! ;D Keep working at it, though. Improvised stuff is really hard to master. It was a little repetitive at the beginning, and I think the harmonies between 1:20 and 1:45 don't really work all that well. Might I suggest that, for at least your first few projects, you record an improvised song, solidify some structural/harmonic things outside of the studio, and then re-record it so as to avoid any clashing harmonies/repetitiveness. Overall, though, this seems like an exciting project with some real potential! I love the guitar riffs and the mood, as well as the ending. Keep at it, TeraVex and crew! ;D

TeraVex responds:

Thanks man! We'll try to do that next time we meet!

[Dream Fantasy]

Beautiful! :D I love the instruments, especially the vibes, as well as the melodies and atmosphere. I think that the vibes/bells take over the mix a little too much here and there, though, and it could've done with a little more dynamic contrast and structuring. Nevertheless, it's climactic, contemplative, moody and very pretty. I like it a lot! :D Sorry I haven't been responding to your PMs recently btw. I've had little to no time. :'( Oh...and that is one long tag! 0_o

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks! I'm glad you like the composition in general, although the mixing could be better :)
You are indeed right in that the vibes take over too much here and there, which is exactly what I meant in my description. The main reason is the fact that the strings and the vibe were originally recorded together, so I couldn't really mix them separately; I'm not so good at mixing in the first place XD

"... more dynamic contrast..."

=> Yup, I think you're right :p

Don't worry about the PMs :'D You already said you'd be busy, so it's no problem XD

Ps. I was genuinely curious about how long a tag can be :')