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I feel like that bass groove was doing its' best to embed itself into my cranium. Very nice remix, quite enjoyable to listen to! :)

What a cool remix! I was really drawn to the bass in this remix for some reason, it's just really punchy and vibrant. The varied mix of instruments kept this remix nice and interesting. The production on this remix was top notch as well, excellent job!

I'm going to quickly close this one out because I think the above three judges did a fantastic job expressing what works and doesn't work about this track. I love the studious approach to iterating a theme in as many different styles as possible, and keeping it cohesive along the way. But the orchestral programming needs a ton of polish to make it sound more like it was performed by an actual orchestra, rather than just a series of instruments being played off of a MIDI file. I will also add that there's some very massive dynamic jumps in terms of volume. Obviously, some degree of that is warranted, given the shifts in styles, but your quiet parts get REALLY quiet, and it doesn't sound intentional. You can still achieve this effect without requiring the listener to actively engage with the volume slider throughout the song in order to maintain a comfortable listening experience. This can start with normalizing the volume levels and automating them in certain parts, and can be further balanced out with some subtle compression on the master channel. There's so many great ideas here, but this feels like a draft rather than a polished production - I do hope we see this back someday! NO (resubmit!)

Was not expecting the operatic symphonic metal vocals, but I am here for it. This whole production was very powerful and clearly had a lot of fun and passion thrown into it. Excellent job on this!

Incredibly strong opener, one of the better ones from a rockin/guitar heavy remix that I've heard. The arrangement on this was very well done, I could not tell that this was a scrap brain zone remix until I realllly listened for it, and I've heard that tune a LOT. Some excellent electric guitar work going on here, very well done!

That guitar coming in around 1:50 was straight awesome! This remix oozes a lot of charisma and style. The run time is filled with razz, pizzazz and all that snazz! Great job on this!

That setup around 20 seconds in was stellar. This was supremely cool and VERY interesting. The ever changing landscape made me pause and replay some parts so I could get a grasp on what was happening. Excellent sound tweaking on this one, great job!

Additional ears? You got it. I'm coming in cold on this one so you're going to get all of my impressions - not saying that all of this needs to be addressed to pass a resubmission, but hopefully you can make use of the brain dump. The intro brings some really cool flavor - the noisy distorted elements remind me of Porter Robinson's Fellow Feeling (see the 3:00 mark if you're short on time.) If you're going for random blasts of noise, I think this works - if you're trying to make it sound like footsteps stomping through, it's not giving that impression at all because every stomp is exactly the same. There's no variation in the sample and it reaches uncanny valley territory fast when you play the sample multiple times in a row. This all boils down to what you are going for here, but either way, I think some subtle variation with each repetition of the sample/layer of samples (without knowing how you actually did this) would build immersion. Some of your orchestral elements (flute, glock) are very resonant, oftentimes peaking at their fundamental frequency between 3-6db above everything else. The bells in the intro also feel comparably dry. This will probably get ironed out in your next pass, but I'm going to point it out anyway. The orchestral sequencing sounds workable for the most part, you're getting good mileage out of your samples. It's not the best but I do think you're using them effectively for the most part - the main areas that sound really noticeably fake are the half-step chromatic runs on the strings at times like 2:48. I just don't think the big ensemble patch moves fast enough to accommodate that writing, and would recommend adjusting the lead writing to fit better within the limitations of your samples. I also feel like the intro could use some deeper sub bass presence. It's not that the stomps aren't contributing any bass frequencies, but a big cinematic sub drop or sustained bass to accompany the stomps (see Fellow Feeling) would make this feel much more dynamic, or have some risers building up tension in the low end leading into :49. The decision to intersperse various melodic elements (glock, harmonic strings, cello) was a good one - otherwise, this intro would be way too long. It already feels a bit lengthy as-is, but those additions help pad it out quite a bit and justify the length. However, this gets to the problem of transitions and buildup, which I think is my biggest gripe currently. There is rarely much going on to signal that we're approaching a new musical idea, so even though you have some very dramatic changes throughout your arrangement (which are quite inspired and interesting, I must add!) they come on very suddenly. Cinematic risers, fills, sweeps, etc. are a part of this equation and could definitely be used to greater effect here to bridge your gaps, but there's another element I want to touch on: the idea of movement in your part writing. You do a great job building atmosphere and have all the makings of a very dramatic song, but there's a lack of movement on a compositional level. When cinematic music is clicking well, composition and sound design have a lot of synergy. Right now, you are doing a good job building an interesting sound palette for each individual section, but the underlying chord progression feels weak. It hovers around the tonic chord for most of the time, and even when you do have chord changes, they don't feel properly supported with anything strong in the lower frequencies. This is where a bit of music theory troubleshooting could go a long way - your melody has many opportunities for powerful chord movements that build drama and tension, especially as you lead into new sections, but you're not fully capitalizing on that potential. I don't think it would even require changing up much fundamental about the rest of the parts; just identify the chord progression you're playing and make sure that there's strong support in the bass for whatever chord/root note you're trying to play. I don't know how else to suggest addressing this without studying up on some fundamentals of music theory, but certain chords just move naturally into others and can help you allude to future changes and help transition between vastly different musical ideas in a way that feels rewarding. I think you're running up against some of the same problems I faced before I made the decision to finally start researching music theory. I had a conceptual idea in my brain for what each section of my song was supposed to do, and could support it in terms of selecting sounds and picking grooves/effects/etc., but it boiled down to luck whether or not it worked on a fundamental composition level, and I spun my wheels trying to fix that issue with every other production tool known to man. I think if you were to pick an area to focus on, the big orchestral section starting at 2:36 would be where I'd focus my energy most. Everything else before and after that can skate by a little easier, but when you're trying to make a big melodic orchestral statement, the fundamentals need to be strong first. Figure out what chord you're playing on each measure and map them out in sequence using just a basic patch. I find that it helps to actually just plot my chord progressions out on piano so there's no temptation to get distracted by sound design. See if the song sounds strong and compelling when it's just played on a single instrument, and go from there.

Serene was a good word to describe this remix. It has a pleasant rhythm and style to it and has very good instrumentation that suits the source well. Excellent job on this!

I definitely approve of this genre getting its' just desserts on ocremix! Those buildups and drops were fantastic! Super ear candy all the way through, excellent job!

This is an interesting topic I've been thinking a lot of lately because the recent hype with AI generated music got me in a time when I just released my first original music album. Since I'm still learning and lacking of experience the results aren't that great so some people might prejudge that and assume it's AI, even though actually I manually wrote every single note in the pianoroll. But it was a pleasant surprise to see you all pointed at exactly the points I'm concerned of. It's not about results but more about the process. Nowadays AI generated music might be still mediocre, to say the least, but even if it eventually got real good... there's something special about the satisfaction of simply having your work done after all the time and work spent. You kinda grew with your works in a way that it makes them more like friends you build memories and stories with, and when you finally see them ready to be published you feel like you accomplished something you can be proud of. It don't matters if the compositions or arrangements are bland, if the mix sounds horrible or the genres/styles are not everyone's cup of tea. It's your work and you love it and want others to enjoy it just as you enjoyed the process, with all its moments of both tediousness and happiness. And then you keep learning and being able to do more and better stuff as you keep trying and doing more and more of that. If all you did to get it done is just writing some text line in a web/app form, however... where's the story? Where's that special feel that may connect both artists and listeners? That work ends being nothing but some randomly generated product, very much like any of these old Flash avatar generators. Music making can be often too hard and frustrating, especially if you are under disfavorable conditions of some kind (like lacking proper tools, dealing with ancient hardware, being in some kind of depression or any mental craps that makes everything even harder, etc), so I can totally understand people loving the idea of having access to such a task with just asking some cold and emotionless AI. I'm all into making things as easy as possible for anyone to show their creativity to the world, actually. But making things easier is one thing; and I can see how practical AI tools can be to just ease some parts of the process; but for the end-product? That's a totally different thing that does nothing good for creativity but rather the opposite.

First set of progress -- FIXING SOME MIDI GRID/POCKETING ISSUES AND ADDING NEW MATERIAL: [The added SFX/drum loops and eventual drum treatment are heavily-inspired by the epic shit @ZackParrish cooks up on his mixes. :) ] TY for the advice so far, @pixelseph. Will keep it movin' and groovin'. Next is FX sends, volume and reverb issues. . . Additional ears would be lovely. Tysm. ♥ VQ - Sorrowful Bellows MASTERED WIP.wav

I don't really like the idea of A.I. generated music because, to me, it kinda hinders people like me who want to get back into making music, and quite frankly, it is hard enough with finances and etc.

genny has everything AND if you use FL you can use it as a native FL plugin. means you can use the pitch notes and stuff! i bought rym2612 as well, but then i found genny and....felt a bit stupid tbh :S especially cause i am an FL user and you never see that, someone releasing a free 3rd party plugin in FL format. it's really good! has the PSG as well. also has the drum/sample channel! and it uses NO cpu and i dig the interface more and and and. multitimbral one instance full genesis. it could be that the sound of the inphonik one is a bit better? i think genny just uses the sound engine of some well known genesis emulator. sounds good to me anyway. edit: yknow, i feel stupid now...basically i think people should just use what they love or what grows on them. but well...i was really blown away by genny. what can i say. especially amazing for FL users, as i said. ok, enough :)

Chippty goodness aplenty! I enjoyed this remix, it had the retro feel mixed with a fresh reimagining. It is also a nice way to expand upon the original stage select theme which is no easy feat! Great job on this!

I really enjoyed the vibe of this remix. The vox sfx were extremely well placed and the transitions were incredibly smooth. Excellent remix here!

Most of the time I found myself listening to the percussion, a lot of energy going on there! This remix was definitely a trip, I never quite could predict where it was going to go. Great job on this!

What a fun ride. I know that anytime I hear the retro whistle sound, I'm in for a romp! This remix exudes a naturally fun energy and I can dig it. Excellent job on this!

While screamo metal may not be my cup of tea, I wanted to remark on the creativity and style that this remix exudes. Reading the lyrics alongside the listening helped to drive home the feeling of this remix. The tonality was perfect for the title of the remix, and the vibe was pulled off excellently!

The part/interlude around 2:53 was so lovely and easily my favorite part of the remix. There is something about the mellow nature of this remix that puts you into a calmer state of mind. The instrumentation was well done and you managed to flesh out the runtime very well. Excellent remix!

I ended up listening to this 3 times before reviewing, I'll take that as a sign that it's very good! THis remix is pleasant, light and airy, and makes for great background music for a quiet moment or for a small moment of triumph! Great job on this!

I've got RYM2612 by Inphonik and SuperPSG by AlyJamesLab (both paid VST). I like your idea about automating parameters for realistic sound. I like to use the velocity sensitivity in RYM2612 and just alter note velocities for change in sound via the individual FM operators. A lot easier than automation, but that's with RYM2612. I'm not sure what Genny has, I've never used it.

The last minute of this remix was definitely my favorite part. This was an enjoyable and smooth remix and I was boppin my head along most of the way. Great job on this!

I'll admit, I kind of zoned out for the first couple of minutes, but things really kicked up a notch starting with that warbling and creepy lead, and then things just started sound cooler and cooler. Once this remix kicked off, it definitely felt like an awesome Metroid remix. This remix was appropriately creepy and dark in some parts and intense in others. Excellent job!