TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[WorldAnvil - NGUAC Final]

I like the dark atmosphere at the beginning and the dramatic orchestral/vocal hits at :25. The vocals at 1:04 are absolutely haunting, and you’ve certainly done an excellent job with the pacing here. The triumphant mood at 1:34 is thrilling, and I love how you implement the orchestral hits into the energetic Celtic melodies at 2:15. The bass slide at 2:28 (and again at 2:45) were nice touches as well. And you slide seamlessly into another beautiful, captivating atmosphere at 2:52. The bridge at 3:48 with the horn stabs had another strong progression with some excellent phrasing. The percussion during that section sounds a bit bottom-heavy and unnatural somehow. Also, the vocals seem to be “washing back” in the mix a bit at around 4:25, such that the body of the sound is just slightly behind the beat - and the same thing may be happening to the strings at 1:55, but it’s hard to tell with so much going on in the texture. Otherwise, the mixing here is really strong, though. The final climax at 5:25 totally earned its title, although you may have overused the bass slides a tad by the end. Overall, all of my complaints are tiny details. The progression of the piece is probably my favorite part. Seriously, let me call up George Lucas and ask him to make a movie based on this piece. :D Keep it up, Elias!

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.75/10

Santi-Montali responds:

Thank you very much tl, I agree to everything you said and I'm going to improve it and repost it! Thanks for the encouragement

[Snikio - Checkmate]

I like the old-timey piano intro. You may have overdone the static in the background, but the tape speed-up at :10 was a nice touch, and the bouncy piano riff at :12 is really nice. I would’ve liked the walking bass to be a bit more prominent in the mix, but the descending melodic riff at :28 help keep me engaged. I love the pads that start fading in during that section, but the first minute of the piece still feels pretty top-heavy frequency-wise. Despite the minimalism at 1:01, you finally hit me with that bass, and it’s glorious! By then, though, the melodies feel a tad repetitive. The piano re-intro at 1:34 was a nice touch, and I’m really liking the brass melodic variations at 1:55. The more traditional build-up into 2:22 was also really neat. The eagle screech sound effect at 2:41 works well, although I would’ve liked to hear some more variety in the melodies during the second drop/chorus, and the transition back into the “old-timey” tape sound at 3:31 was a little rough. Overall, you’re definitely getting full credit for catchiness and melodic content, but the lack of variety is also hurting you a bit. Still, really admirable work on the production/sound design side, and the rhythmic content is a big plus here as well. Keep at it, Dowon! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Snikio responds:

Thank you so much!!! It's happy to have this detailed review. I'm gonna edit and complete this track refer to your amazing fantastic super duper absolutely hyper great comment

[(OTG) Cirque Du Dismay - Intro]

I like the percussion at the beginning and the dramatic orchestral hits starting at :05. It’s a little hard to get a sense of the harmonic framework at first, but I like the dreamy texture at :27 and the string melodies shortly thereafter. I like the sense of climax into :53, and the mix is clean and well-balanced throughout. The organ hang-over from the held note at 1:16 threw me off a bit, but by 1:31 I’m enjoying the crisp string line, and the organ blends in nicely. The dissonance in the texture at 1:55 or so and the accelerando are all great compositional details. The ending felt a bit inconclusive, but it is an intro, after all. Overall, my biggest concerns here are probably with the choppy arrangement and meandering harmonic structure, especially the modulations at :53 or so. It’s very hard to follow the progression of the piece at times, despite the generous use of percussion fills and similar instrumentation between adjacent sections. Still, I really admire the variety of moods and textures you’ve crammed into a short 3 minutes, and the cinematic appeal of the piece is irresistible at times. You told a story for sure - I’m a little concerned that the story is disjointed and incomplete, but the narrative ebb and flow is self-evident here. Otherwise, excellent work with the sound design, production quality, melodies, and atmosphere. Keep it up, Codefreq! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.75/10

Codefreq responds:

Thank you very much for the detailed feedback! :) I'll definitely factor those notes into my creation of future pieces.

[The Shopkeeper]

I like the bouncy piano riff at the beginning. The mix is full, clean, and well-balanced, and the sound design is refreshing. This is one of the most authentic-sounding vocoders I’ve ever heard - I thought it was a real person singing for a full 6-8 seconds. The conversational tone of the lyrics is really nice, too. Feels like this song is right out of a musical. The layered string/guitar melody at :51 complements the vocal verse perfectly, and the exposed percussion line at 1:08 does a great job of pushing the “reset button” on the song. The layered vocal line at 2:15 was a great way of adding closure to the piece - it feels like the level of attention to detail and passion for her work the shopkeeper is demonstrating is increasing as the song goes on. Really strong work here, Vermeen! You told a convincing story with this one, right down to the vocaloid. Keep it up! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.75/10

vermeen responds:

thank you so much! i really did try to bring out a sense of playfulness with this track, i feel proud it shone through. while i don't quite expect to stack up against the veteran competitors in the finals, i'll come up with something i know i'll enjoy writing like i did with this.

[Fairy Tail]

I like the glitchy vocals at the beginning and the eerie atmosphere. You started to overuse the vocal samples a bit once the call-and-response started between the “designated for termination” authoritative voice and the more indistinct, calm voice. The sound design is a bit cheesy, including the synths, but the vocal samples take up a bit too much of the mix compared to the synths throughout. The “narrative” of the piece is driven mostly by the vocals, although the techno backing track does have a nice, full texture. Overall, I really enjoyed the creepy mood, rhythmic components, and progression, but some of the other compositional elements are a bit lacking, including melodic content and transitory moments. I also wasn’t too impressed with the sound design - it’s way too dependent on the vocal samples to maintain interest, as much of the rest of it is some pretty unpolished and generic synths. Not to be too harsh, though. You’re clearly a guru at crafting some compelling atmospheres with some catchy techno riffs. Keep at it, Ukatz! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.5/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.5/10

Ukatz responds:

It's hard to deny some problems with instrumental part, for the most part I focused on voices and probably, as usual, wanted to throw as much as possible, I'll take this into account in future.
Thank you for your feedback, and in general for holding such an event, it was a pleasure to participate for the first time

[Scars]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning and the combination of the gritty guitars and majestic vocals at :07. I think the compression is a little heavy - the drums are taking up a lot of space in the mix, to the extent that they’re really breaking up the sound waves of the other instruments. The intensity and thick texture are really fun, and I like how you contrasted that with the eerie atmosphere at 1:20. Later on, the piece doesn’t quite get back to the same “emotional height” as before, and I thought the ending could’ve been a bit more creative than a fade-out. I also think there could’ve been some more dynamic melodic content in this piece, as the most prominent example of that is the (short-lived) guitar riff at 1:03. That said, you nailed the atmosphere, rhythmic elements, and sound design here. Solid work, ProjectSoary! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.25/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.5/1
Composite score
8/10

ProjectSoary responds:

Sorry for the late reply. Thank you very much for the detailed review! I'll def. keep that in mind for future releases. Still learning how use this GGD drum plugin. Much appreciated!

[Ruins of old]

I like the string chords at the beginning and the cutesy synth at :17. I’m enjoying the atmosphere at :31 too, but the kick drum there sounds like it has a tad too much treble for my tastes. The cello at :46 sounds pretty inauthentic, but it also blends in well with the texture. The piece is a tad slow to develop at times, but you kept things interesting by doing things like the volume adjustments on the piano line at 1:20. The flute solos at around 2:05 work well, but I would’ve liked to see some more variation on the main melodies during the last minute or so. The arrangement of this piece feels a bit formulaic at times, with very little phrasing within a particular section. The production quality is pretty good, but sometimes the mix feels like it’s missing some higher-pitched tones that would balance it out more. The composition also could’ve been a bit more dynamic and bold at times. Still, overall I enjoyed the atmosphere, sound design, melodies, and progression of this one. Keep at it, OliRO! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
7.25/10

OliRO responds:

Thank you so much for this detailed review! It was quite a good challenge for me and I appreciated every bit of it. If there is something I learned on this one is to be a bit less square in my construction and more daring in the phrasing. : )

[Garden of Eden]

I like the cutesy synth riffs at the beginning and the bouncy beat. Some of the synths are a bit cheesy, but they pair well with the upbeat mood and crisp drums. The melodies at :44 are nice, but they could’ve been a bit more up-front in the mix compared to the rhythm section. The panning here is also pretty heavy for my tastes sometimes. Composition-wise, you clearly have a strong sense of harmony and progression, although the harmonic framework is pretty generic and the drums could be a bit more creative at times. I appreciated the scale-back in the texture at 2:30 to offer some more structural contrast. Other than that part, the piece felt like the piece had a near-constant energy level for 6 minutes, which is a lot of time to stay engaged. I’m enjoying the melodies at 3:51, and again at 4:22. The arrangement of this piece feels a little dragged-out, especially since there isn’t much of a strong sense of overarching “story” here, but it’s still smooth-flowing and has a good amount of variety. Overall, this is a strong piece, Pandaguru! Nice work with the production, melodies, transitions, sound design, and mood. :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
8.25/10

Pandaguru responds:

Thank you for the detailed review and organizing the competition! Will keep your points in mind for next time.

[Mestrix - Reverie [King Step Release]]

I like the emotional quality of the piano at the beginning and the bouncy synths at :25. The progression is a little slow-paced, but I liked the build-up into 1:03. The percussion at the drop is a little generic, and I also would’ve liked to see some more harmonic variety at some point. You did a nice job crafting the upbeat mood and dynamic contrast, though. I also liked the cute melodies at the breakdown at 1:43. Things come together well at the second “emotional height” of the piece at 2:24, but it’s still missing a bit of dynamism in the composition, at least in terms of the harmonic structure. The mixing is strong here, although at times it feels a tad over-compressed, especially at :22 where the kick takes up so much space. Still, you won me over here with the upbeat mood, melodies, emotional appeal, and phrasing. Keep at it, MestrixMusic! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.25/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

MestrixMusic responds:

Thanks man, super stoked to be in the finals. I'll take what you said into consideration!