Vig

Okay, i'm going to do this run-on style....so the synthesizers you use are all pretty cool sounding, but you jump around too much; there's no consistency in the textures, so the sound doesn't feel cohesive. The one you put reverb on is waaay out front. The balance is way off. The guitars are dull; bring up the high-mids. The sound effects are jarring. Might be better if they were down in the mix. The groove never changes, and why is the snare/clap panned right? 2:50 in, why is this still going? I've already heard 3 repeats. That's way too many for not being 3 minutes into the thing. Did you copy and paste this track three times? you need some variation in the arrangement. Sorry to be glib. Bring it to the WIP forum and see if you can't build your chops a bit. NO

I'm gonna agree the drum mixing is weak. The track in general is awash with high mids. I can really hear the compression..why did you make this 128kbps? 192 would be within our size limit.. I'd like to hear some tweaks to the mix. Put it up next to a successful metal record and adjust the drums accordingly. Also, encode a higher bitrate! NO

Very Rainbow 6 at points. I do think the "guitar" and the lead could be brought up quite a bit. I think that in itself might be enough for this to pass, because the main issue is just that the leads are a bit buried. I guess I'll go with the crowd. NO Bring up the leads!

Pretty much a straightforward cover with some cool drum sequencing, and cool guitar sounds. There's really no arrangement to speak of until the halfway point. The solo section is pretty cool, but you really need to make your beginning and end more interesting. Also, the drum sequencing is great, but the mixing is not. NO

Man the rhythm guitar is seriously hurting this track. Not the performance, but the tone. Waaay too wet and washy in the low mids. you really need to trim that away, and give some clarity. They are taking up way too much of the energy of the mix. The lead guitar could also use some extra presence. As it is, this thing is just muddy. NO

On it. -Vig

Slammed! Holy shit. Drums up front is good for dance music, but that snare is really killing the strings, it's so loud. Oh, look at that, there's a piano too. Just noticed, because the snare is too loud. Aside from that, the arrangement is really kind of simplistic and repetitive. Sorry, but this is a pretty easy NO

Hmm. It's nice. My opinion fluctuates. Sometimes I think it's a bit too aimless, but there are certainly points of dynamic interest. Ultimately it's nice, but it's really not cohesive enough to be a solo piano OCRemix. I'm not saying there's anything really wrong with it, but we've got to set a pretty high bar in terms of composition and scope for solo piano mixes. NO

Easily one of the best songs off the soundtrack. I'm loving the atmosphere, the soundscape is very rich. AH no!! Right at :53 the string writing gets really wonky. It sounds like you were trying to use some dissonant tension, but since you use the string in a melodic line and the "dissonant" notes have no intuitive approach or departure, the tension is not established and it just sounds bad. Bad string writing continues until the 2 minute mark. Again at 2:27 2:36. Beyond those most egregious offenses, the strings are just generally poorly written. lots of doubling, not a lot of good linewriting. Sorry, but the strings are clearly a dealbreaker. NO Please resubmit because everything else about the mix is really cool.

The intro is a little weak because of 1. the choppy guitar timing and 2. the dryness of the mix. The arrangement is pretty cool, but the mix is really really weak. There's no low end at all, and everything sounds really small and dry. Arrangement and performance aside, I feel that this shouldn't pass simply because of the mix. NO

Fantastic execution. Maybe you should do a Sonic metal album, and develop each of these vignettes. NO

Might want to add a second to the abrupt start. The vibes and the flute aren't really doing it for me. It may be the samples, or it may be they just aren't bright and up front enough in the mix. The strings also sound fairly tacky. The main problem with this track is that the performances are just not tight. The groove never locks, and the tempo is all over the place. I appreciate the arrangement, but the execution is really sloppy. NO

Always wanted to remix this track. Thing about MMX3 music is that it really requires a genre departure. This remix is a lovely track; I love the arpeggiating synth. Dig the harmonic treatment. I don't have too much to say, as it's a fairly simple, if creative trance adaptation. Just wanted to make sure I got in here before Larry says it's too liberal or something. YES

Hah cool intro. The fusion of orchestral, rock, and synth elements works very well. I love it. I'm not crazy about the mix though. The whole thing is a bit brittle. Also, Those drums are getting crushed, and the cymbals breathe audibly at times. It's tough to make room for everything in such a loud and busy mix, but you really need to get that kick drum up a bit. I'm not going to go no on this one; I think the fixes are pretty minor, and I want this to be a YES, conditional on bringing up the bottom end a little bit.

Cool. I'm digging it on the whole. The bell synth, the composition, all very cool. I like the snare, though it's a bit crushed and boxy (400-800Hz). I'd say the snare drums are a bit forward. I think the strings and pads are the worst thing about this song right now. The strings don't sound pleasant, and there's just too much going on at times. When you've got that percussive synth going crazy with the thin bright strings underneath, it's just too much. The brass pads...There's really just so much going on. Make some space down there. NO

Hmm. On one hand, it's chthonic. On the other hand, it's Pokemon. On one hand, the processing and production are tight. On the other hand, the composition is cheesy as hell, and not at all memorable. On one hand, the arrangement does a great job with the source material. On the other hand, the source material is Pokemon. You can see the bind I'm in. I guess this fits in with the pop paradigm that you don't need a good song or an interesting melody if you've got a beat that bangs and a mix with lots of ear candy. Sigh. YES EDIT: NO! NO NO NO NO NO! I refuse to concede this point! I will stand by my principles! Chthonic, you're really talented and everything, but the song you chose to remix has absolutely no redeeming qualities. You have polished a turd. This track is enjoyable for no reason besides your own production talents. I could burp out the first two bar melody that came to mind and you could remix it with equal if not greater success. I just listened to your remix twice and the only thing I remember about it is the sonic textures. It's not your fault that the composition is utterly forgettable, but I don't feel like we should let slide the compositional shortcomings because you've managed to quite impressively turn a completely forgettable song into a really slick-sounding remix of a completely forgettable song. This is like a painter paining a square: I know it's really difficult to paint a perfect square freehand and it's impressive that you did it, but I really don't need to sit around staring at your square. PS I feel okay taking this small stand because I know this thing is going to pass anyway. No hard feelings.

I love this original. The piano is incredibly mechanical but it's done tastefully, as an effect. I think it goes on a bit too long on its own. I like the textures and the ideas introduced, but here you have a rather short remix with very little in the way of dynamic changes. I'd like to hear this either expanded or kept at this length, but with more efficient use of the time. Jumping around in the track doesn't really give you different sounds. NO

I think the guitar seems so far forward because it's so dry, and it sounds like a really poorly recorded sample. Everything sounds great in the mix except the guitar. There's also distortion around 3:20, as well as one or two places earlier. Gotta fix that. These are a couple of relatively easy fixes. NO

I think the lead guitars are quite smeared in the low-mids. I'd trim out some of the 300Hz range in favor of some extra 2k. Ok, the same problem with the rhythm guitars. This is actually quite detrimental to the mix in my opinion. The whole mix seems muddy during the sections that have guitars. As for the composition, there are great ideas, but a lot of them aren't linked very well. Like what's up with the transition at 3:20? Jarring. I feel like the track features a lot of vignettes that are of dubious relationship. Not bad though. The performances are okay, but not great. The recorder was way out of tune. I don't think you have to fix all these issues for this to pass, but you have to fix some of them. NO

Yikes, what's with the modulation at 2:20? Incredibly jarring. The textures are nice, though nothing terribly nuanced, which means that it gets tiresome after almost 4 minutes. For a minimalist track to work, there has to be some sort of direction, whether it manifests in the soundscape or composition. The B section at 4:00 is similarly nice but underrealized. Pretty close, but I think you need to make the A section develop more. NO

The performances are kind of loose. As in not tight. The clav and piano weren't sequenced naturally. Clearly faking it. I'd also say the song concludes prematurely. Fornication. NO

A bit on the quiet side. The mix is also a bit dark at times. That said, I'm a sucker for decent ambient stuff, which this is. On the other hand...there really isn't a ton of subtlety here. I feel like it gets by on the strength of the sounds, which aren't actually that unique. Keeping its head above water is the fact that the structure is fairly well-conceived. Close call for me, but I've got to say YES

I dig the low end..the pads, etc. I also think the arrangement is pretty cool, although at times it could use additional punch and energy to emphasize some of your interesting rhythmic ideas. In particuar, the snare could use a lot more presence. However, this track is pretty good as it is. YES

If I were to try to capture the overarching problem with this track I'd say the composition is clunky. The xylophone, the strings, especially the organ...just about every part has moments of extreme awkwardness. The section around 1:00 when the organ is playing with the guitar...it's just so sloppy. There's really no other way to put it. On the plus side, it gets better as it goes on. The last third is pretty good. NO

I'm going to say this isn't my favorite halc remix. Doesn't seem to have a very well-defined direction. The production is fine. I have no issues with the sounds or anything like that. I just think this is kind of uninspired. I'm actually kind of torn, because I have no other real complaints. What the hell. Borderline YES