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DPC spikes? Do you have an NVIDIA graphics card, by any chance?

I really like your arrangement of the other two sources though. Especially the way you treated the piano part from Inner Quarters -- I have not been able to integrate it that cleanly into my mixes!

Now that I think about it, at 0:00 - 1:25, what I think is your lead guitar is far back, and what seems like the rhythm guitar is pretty upfront. Is that intentional? That entire time interval, it feels like there's not much leading going on. At 1:25 - 1:59, though, that organ sounds like a practical lead despite being an arpeggiated pattern. At 2:10 - 2:21, what sounds like the lead guitar seems too far back. At 2:22 - 3:00, it sounds more like a lead. The rest sounds more reasonable to me when it comes to what's leading. Besides the production, I think this arrangement might come off a bit directionless sometimes because at 0:00 - 1:25 and 2:10 - 2:21, for instance, what seem like leads to me are not upfront enough to suggest that they are leading, and other instruments that are more upfront have been sometimes playing notes that don't sound like melodies to me (they sound more like accompaniment). It may just be a result of the source not having much of a melody to latch onto, but don't be afraid to put an original melody on top of source arpeggios or something like that, as long as the source is audible. Having arpeggiated patterns upfront can feel "longer" than having a melody upfront to latch onto.

I am the only one shocked by the fact there's an enemy called Sephirot? (Never played the game though)

I really don't buy that this is an accident and even if it was, I have doubts the composer wouldn't catch themselves. "When Worlds Collide" is among the most popular nu-metal/industrial rock tunes from the 90s. It still pops up in movies, games, commercials, radio etc. all the time. I mean, the vocal style, melody, rhythm and even the backing power chords in that FFXIV track sound almost completely the same. I'm normally not one to agree with most of these kinds of claims, but I'd bet that if Powerman5000 wanted to, they could probably convince a court without much effort that it's a rip-off. While it's true that there's only so much you can do and patterns happen in genres, part of being a composer is being familiar with a wide variety of music and being able to tell if your piece is a little too close for comfort to something you're inspired by. I recently scrapped one of my tracks because I realized that it sounded like something I'd heard before, but I couldn't remember exactly what. When I shared it, people pointed out how very similar it was to "Rapid Fire" by Blue Stahli, which is a track I actually knew how to play. Then, I face-palmed hard, laughed, and got rid of it. I get the feeling this composer may have skipped that final step.

Genius. Absolutely love the sound. Toms are killer. Absolutely feels like a montage from an 80s high school movie about a robotics club at Doctor Light High School getting ready to take on their archrivals at Albert Wily Prep. Gonna sign off on the arrangement here. Kris you wanna contact Coffee and see if we get get a fix on mastering? YES

Yes. I believe that if you buy either conquest or birthright, you get the other two for 50% off. I read that the Special Edition with all 3 sold out in just a few hours - so I was super lucky to get that. I wouldn't buy the special edition second-hand - people are selling it for ridiculous prices online but buying the other two as DLC amounts to roughly the same price, maybe a little less, as the special edition cost brand new. I have a few. Conquest definitely isn't messing around. 1) Always have Azura on the map. Especially in the timed missions or ones where an enemy mage has "freeze", being able to move twice in a turn is more useful than it's ever been in these games. It's very easy to level her up by just having her sing on every turn. Have her sing for someone even if moving someone on a second turn isn't necessary - it's easy exp. 2) In Awakening, "pairing up" was almost a win button. In Conquest, pairing up will only give you a defensive boost or your partner possibly defending you - they will not attack with you. Have them stand side-by-side and they will give you an offensive bonus and possibly attack with you, but they won't throw themselves in harm's way. For the most part. "pairing up" is only useful if you intend to use a weaker unit or a support unit as a shield when your squad is cornered, such as on a survival mission. Alternatively, you could use a high-level unit as a shield when trying to level a lower level unit. I suspect a common mistake is that people would pair up units too often and the lack of exp to the supporting unit as well as being unable to utilize each party member will put you at a disadvantage. Also, be mindful of the new color triangle as well as the traditional weapon triangle! It's not enough to just look at axe/lance/sword anymore! 3) Wherever possible, let a low-level person or support unit (even Azura) get a kill. In a game where you can't level grind, getting everybody as equal as possible in levels and promoted to an advanced class is super important. 4) Maids, Butlers and Adventurers ftw! Definitely do your best to keep Felicia, Jakob and a promoted Niles alive. They are so useful because maids & butlers can throw daggers AND wield staves. Adventurers can fire arrows and wield staves, but can open chests too! Always have these people standing right behind your front-line units. and lastly 5) It's not always ideal or possible, but in general this type of formation is usually good Frontline - Heavy units like knights or melee fighters like Berserkers and Heroes. 2nd line - Cavalry units and ranged units. When an enemy is killed, your horsemen can quickly move in and score another kill either on the enemy frontline (where your cavalry unit will likely be standing next to a heavy unit for an offensive bonus) or attack enemy archers etc. a few spaces back. Back row - Healers, songstress and fliers.

There's no release date for Europe yet and I'm super stoked to play through Fates! Awakening was the first FE game I ever played and it made me re-think how to approach tactical RPGs, so I'm totally set for going through the new installment. Birthright playing a lot like Awakening should be no problem, so that'll be a case of getting back to how the system works. Yet from what I read on the net though, I noticed people saying that Conquest (the one that plays more like a traditional FE) is insanely difficult and has nowhere to grind if you're stuck on a certain map. And being the challenge seeker that I am, I feel uneasy at the idea of playing through it on Casual mode. @AngelCityOutlaw - considering that you're actually making good progress through what I presume to be Conquest (in comparison to one journalist I read taking 12 hours to beat an early map, apparently), do you have any tips to share that would help out anyone that's currently struggling?

I should have a rough WiP for the first deadline. This album's concept is too good to pass it!