Agreed. Not a whole lot added to the source, but the remix itself still has me bippin' and boppin' in 2024!

The intro choir does sound quite fake which is unfortunate. It plays a lot throughout the piece.  Ideally, this choir patch should be replaced with something more natural if possible, otherwise perhaps just lengthening the attack on the patch for the longer notes would improve the feel of it. There is so much going on in this soundscape.  I get that black metal is a wall of sound, and mostly I can handle that, but here as the other two Js have pointed out, it feels like too much, and there is no way to mix this many midrangey elements in a way that everything is audible and not painful to listen to.  This is more of a problem in this arrangement because you are actually trying to convey source-material motifs and melodies over this mid-heavy soundscape.  Each writing part (leads and countermelodies) is very complex so it's a lot to take in, melodically.  As the guys said, it's hard to make sense of what's what. When the quiet breakdown begins at 3:00, it is very welcomed, and I find that my ears are actually ringing from the previous section.  Then that fake choir begins again.  This choir sample has got to be swapped for something a little more natural, since it is playing such a prominent role at the breakdown.  As Wes said, when it is buried in the backing elements it works a little better, but for me that is primarily because it does not sound like a choir when it is buried, but it sounds like another instrument.  Other than that, the breakdown is lovely! As for the source use, Emu and proph could not quite make sense of what was playing where, and I certainly can not either.  A timestamp of the source use would be much appreciated, but I agree with the guys that somehow the actual writing has to make a bit more sense, and that can only be achieved by stripping back some of the elements playing in the heaviest sections, and making sure the countermelodies aren't overwhelming any lead writing by being too busy rather than supportive. The track is mastered VERY loudly to the point that I *almost* hear some pumping, it's just on the cusp for me.  The final limiter has been pushed hard. It's a bold, ambitious arrangement, really awesome arrangement ideas and the overall track dynamics are great.  This arrangement can totally work if it is mixed a bit better and the source melodies are more clear.  And I do hope the choir can be improved since it is so prominent in the mix. NO (resubmit)

Quick co-sign from my fellow judges - this is a great start and nails the vibes you want from a Lavender Town remix, but there's just not enough substance yet. With such a slow pace and only 2:20 of runtime, you haven't given yourself enough of a runway for this song to take off and fully develop. There's absolutely a strong foundation with the sounds you've picked out, but you need to do more with the pieces you've laid down in terms of additional writing/countermelodies/fills, and in general finding ways to evolve the sound throughout the arrangement. The workshop would be a great place to take this as you develop further - you've got a great ear, now keep expanding what you can do with it! NO

I have to concur with the above. The approach is neat, but the harsh and loud melodica is an issue. And even though you do make use of three themes, the arrangement is only 2:40 long and leans heavily on the Water Island hook, the backing is repetitive (admittedly, intentionally), and the ending fades out, all of which combine to make the track feel underdeveloped. The judges above gave you some good advice, not the least of which was to hit up our workshop forum/Discord for more involved feedback, and I hope you take it to heart. NO

I am currently working on the mastering for this as well. Dunno how to really effectively master orchestra-centric pieces, but I can damn sure try and use some new techs I've learned for sub-processing and organization in REAPER to experiment on / with. So... I can have a chat about either end of it, be it mixing or mastering. I think the arrangement is pretty much solid and finalized because I had taken the advice during a previous Office Hours WIP Review session at face-value, to modify MIDI so that notes didn't clash, and I have cut some harmonies and countermelodies that I wrote myself--that I really did love in the piece, and out-of-context or isolated, worked in certain situations; but because I couldn't get them to work with everything else going on (muddying up support parts and taking away from focus / front-end parts) I...had no other choice. Logic-brain / emotional-disconnect prevailed. It was for the betterment of the piece, in the end, so folks who commented on that and the disparity caused by over-complicated part-writing were, indeed, correct all along. I'm saying this to prove the point I am listening, and to apologize for stubbornness and flying too close to the sun / being too married to some of what I had wrote. It's a huge amount time/frustrations/emotions sunk, clipped, and gone now, but the raw MIDI (meta-)data is around somewhere, probably, and I learned some stuff about how to compose for left vs right hand piano concerto. :) At least there's a silver lining to be had.